Down the Frozen River

Tag: Andrej Sekera

  • Bruins open 2021-22 season with, 3-1, victory over Dallas

    Bruins open 2021-22 season with, 3-1, victory over Dallas

    Brad Marchand kicked things off with a rare feat in the National Hockey League– opening a season with a penalty shot goal– before adding a late empty net goal for insurance in the Boston Bruins’, 3-1, win against the Dallas Stars at TD Garden on Saturday.

    For the first time in nine years, a goaltender other than Tuukka Rask served as the starter for Boston on Opening Night, while Jeremy Swayman also became the first Bruins rookie to earn the start since Blaine Lacher did just that on Jan. 22, 1995, in the lockout shortened 48-game 1994-95 season.

    Swayman (1-0-0, 1.00 goals-against average, .964 save percentage in one game played) turned aside 27 out of 28 shots faced in the win for Boston.

    Meanwhile, Stars netminder, Braden Holtby (0-1-0, 2.26 goals-against average, .939 save percentage in two games played), made 37 saves on 39 shots against for a .949 save percentage in the loss.

    With the win, the Bruins kicked off their season 1-0-0 (2 points) and moved into a tie for sixth place in the Atlantic Division with the Ottawa Senators, while Dallas fell to 1-1-0 (4 points) and tied for third in the Central Division with the Colorado Avalanche.

    Curtis Lazar (upper body) missed the Opening Night action as he remains week-to-week since sustaining an injury during the preseason.

    Boston captain, Patrice Bergeron, centered the first line in his usual role between Marchand and David Pastrnak on his wings, while Taylor Hall and Craig Smith surrounded Charlie Coyle on the second line.

    Bruins newcomers, Erik Haula and Nick Foligno were slotted on the third line at center and right wing, respectively, while Jake DeBrusk suited up at left wing.

    Tomas Nosek centered the fourth line in his Boston debut with Trent Frederic on his left and Karson Kuhlman on his right side.

    Derek Forbort made his Bruins debut on the first defensive pairing alongside the newly extended, $76 million richer, Charlie McAvoy, while Mike Reilly was paired with Brandon Carlo and Matt Grzelcyk suited up alongside Connor Clifton.

    In the crease, Linus Ullmark served as Swayman’s backup.

    John Moore, Jakub Zboril and Anton Blidh joined Lazar on the short list of healthy scratches and injured players for Boston.

    Not much was happening until about midway through the opening frame as the Bruins dominated in shots on goal, while end-to-end play ensued.

    Then, at 9:35 of the first period, former Minnesota Wild turned Stars defender, Ryan Suter, hooked DeBrusk and was assessed a minor infraction.

    Boston’s ensuing power play was cut short, however, as Smith tripped up Andrej Sekera along the endboards at 10:58.

    The two teams skated at 4-on-4 for about 37 seconds before Dallas earned an abbreviated power play that went by the wayside.

    Late in the period, Marchand skated towards Holtby on a breakaway with Suter hot on his tail, whereby Suter promptly held Marchand’s stick denying No. 63 in black and gold of a scoring opportunity while on the breakaway– yielding a penalty shot for Boston at 17:38.

    Marchand (1) skated towards the crease with speed and beat Holtby with a clean shot above the pad, but under the blocker to give the Bruins the, 1-0, lead on a penalty shot goal.

    It was the first penalty shot goal in a season opener for Boston since now current assistant coach, Chris Kelly, scored on a penalty shot goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Oct. 3, 2013.

    Marchand’s penalty shot goal in a season opener was also just the third instance of such an Opening Night goal in league history as Mats Sundin had done so first with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Oct. 4, 2006, prior to Kelly’s penalty shot goal in 2013, and Marchand’s on Saturday night.

    About a minute later, Roope Hintz caught a skate to the face and bled profusely as he skated off the ice and went down the tunnel. Hintz later returned to the game after the first intermission.

    The Bruins presented the Stars with another power play opportunity to close out the opening frame as McAvoy smothered the puck with his hand, yielding a delay of game infraction at 19:08.

    Once more, however, Dallas’ power play unit couldn’t get anything going as the horn sounded to signal the end of the first period with Boston ahead on the scoreboard, 1-0, and in shots on goal, 17-4.

    The Bruins also held the advantage in hits (15-14), while the Stars led in blocked shots (3-2), takeaways (3-2), giveaways (5-2) and faceoff win percentage (54-46).

    Dallas was 0/2 on the power play while the B’s were 0/1 heading into the middle frame.

    Jacob Peterson caught Pastrnak away from the puck and was sent to the penalty box with an interference minor to kick things off at 4:51 of the second period, but Boston’s power play– like Dallas’ special teams– couldn’t get anything past Holtby on the skater advantage.

    Shortly thereafter, Luke Glendening (1) capitalized on some open space in the slot where he received a pass from Tanner Kero before wiring a shot past Swayman to tie the game, 1-1, after the Bruins botched a clearing attempt in their own zone.

    Kero (1) had the only assist on Glendening’s first goal in a Stars uniform at 9:15 of the second period.

    Almost two minutes later, Jamie Benn cross checked Smith and cut a rut to the sin bin at 11:29, but Boston’s resulting power play was cut short by a hook when McAvoy tugged his stick around Glendening at 12:40.

    Once more, the two teams skated at 4-on-4 before a brief power play for the Stars– which later turned into a short 5-on-3 advantage for Dallas as Marchand tripped Esa Lindell behind the Stars’ own net at 14:30.

    Dallas couldn’t send another puck behind Swayman, however.

    Through 40 minutes of action at TD Garden on Saturday night, the Bruins and Stars were tied, 1-1, on the scoreboard despite Boston leading in shots on goal, 28-14, including an, 11-9, advantage in the second period alone.

    Dallas led in blocked shots (9-7), takeaways (4-3), hits (25-19) and faceoff win% (51-49), while Boston led in giveaways (7-6) after two periods.

    The Stars were 0/4 and the Bruins were 0/3 on the power play heading into the second intermission.

    Early in the final frame, Haula rushed into the attacking zone before dropping a pass for Foligno, whereby the Bruins winger flung the rubber biscuit towards the net as DeBrusk cycled down low.

    Foligno’s initial attempt couldn’t get through, but DeBrusk (1) collected the loose puck and slipped it through Holtby to give Boston a, 2-1, lead at 4:43 of the third period, as well as Foligno (1) and Haula (1) their first points in a Bruins uniform with the primary and secondary assists, respectively.

    Midway through the period, Foligno interfered with Alexander Radulov, but the Stars couldn’t muster anything on the ensuing power play opportunity at 11:12.

    Hintz hooked Forbort at 14:25, but Boston’s bench miscalculated the number of skaters on the ice and was assessed a bench minor for too many men at the whistle, resulting in two minutes of 4-on-4 action.

    With 2:05 remaining in the game, Stars head coach, Rick Bowness, pulled Holtby for an extra attacker, but it wasn’t enough to keep the puck in Dallas’ possession for a late comeback as Marchand (2) emerged from the neutral zone with plenty of space and time to assure the Bruins of the victory with an empty net goal at 18:23 of the third period.

    Pastrnak (1) had the only assist on the goal as Marchand made it, 3-1, Boston.

    Holtby vacated his crease for an extra skater with about 1:14 remaining and then again with about 38.3 seconds left in the game as Reilly sent the puck out of play for an automatic delay of game penalty at 19:21.

    At the final horn, the Bruins had won, 3-1, and finished the night leading in shots on goal, 40-28, despite Dallas leading a valiant effort in the third period with a, 14-12, advantage in shots on goal in the final frame alone.

    The Stars left Boston leading in blocked shots (11-8), giveaways (11-7), hits (33-25) and faceoff win% (53-47).

    Dallas went 0/6, while the Bruins went 0/3 on the power play in their season opener.

    The B’s improved to 1-0-0 (1-0-0 at home) when scoring the game’s first goal, 1-0-0 (1-0-0 at home) when leading after the first period and 1-0-0 (1-0-0 at home) when tied after two periods in 2021-22.

    The Stars, meanwhile, fell to 0-1-0 (0-1-0 on the road) when allowing the game’s first goal, 0-1-0 (0-1-0 on the road) when trailing after one period and 1-1-0 (1-1-0 on the road) when tied after two periods this season.

    The Bruins hit the road for their first road trip of the 2021-22 season with a pair of games next week.

    Boston heads to Wells Fargo Center next Wednesday to take on the Philadelphia Flyers before venturing up to KeyBank Center to square off with the Buffalo Sabres next Friday.

    The B’s return home to TD Garden on Oct. 24th against the San Jose Sharks.

  • Let’s pretend to be the Seattle Kraken

    Let’s pretend to be the Seattle Kraken

    The 2021 NHL Expansion Draft welcomes the Seattle Kraken to the league as its 32nd member club Wednesday night at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN2 in the United States and Sportsnet in Canada.

    Because of a lot going on right now, this mock expansion draft got delayed until the day of the actual draft and ultimately is arbitrary. If there’s even one prediction right here, then Kraken General Manager, Ron Francis, apparently reads DTFR.

    We’ll make that assumption, thank you very much.

    Seattle has run numerous mock drafts at this point and gone through many scenarios, but who would’ve imagined that players like Alex Ovechkin, Ondrej Palat and more would be available?

    Of course, keep in mind that the Kraken have to spend between 60-100% of the previous season’s salary cap ($81.500 million).

    For the sake of keeping things simple here, we’ve provided some built-in scenarios that would allow Seattle to be cap compliant as a result of the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft.

    The Kraken will be selecting one player from 30 NHL clubs as the Vegas Golden Knights are exempt from this round of expansion. The 30 other teams had the option to protect seven forwards, three defenders and one goaltender or any combination of eight skaters and one goaltender.

    For more on the protection and exposure requirements, check out the protected lists and 2021 NHL Expansion Draft rules.

    The majority of this was written before the leaked selections were revealed, so let’s just pretend we’re all in an alternate universe for a bit longer.

    ANAHEIM DUCKS

    LD/RD Haydn Fleury

    25-years-old, 1 year left, $1.300 million cap hit

    Fleury was dealt to Anaheim at the trade deadline as the Carolina Hurricanes feared they would probably lose him anyway to former Canes GM Ron Francis at the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft.

    Turns out their fears were based in reality as the Ducks experience déjà vu that harkens back to when they lost Shea Theodore to the Golden Knights in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft.

    Fleury had 3-1–4 totals in 47 games for Anaheim and Carolina in 2020-21.

    ARIZONA COYOTES

    RW/LW Christian Fischer

    24, 1 year left, $1.000 million cap hit

    Fischer (3-8–11 totals in 52 games) is a safe bet for Seattle as he’s entering his prime and carries a low-risk, high-reward type of contract with the expectation that he could blossom into an attractive bottom-six forward.

    It’s either that, or he’ll be a sweetener in another transaction as the deadline approaches if there’s a team looking to bolster their depth.

    BOSTON BRUINS

    LD/RD Connor Clifton

    26, 2 years left, $1.000 million cap hit

    Boston is more than likely going to lose a defender– whether it’s Clifton, Jeremy Lauzon or Jakub Zboril– rather than a forward, like Nick Ritchie, for example. Between Clifton and Lauzon, the Kraken can’t go wrong.

    If they’d prefer the younger of the two, then Lauzon is your choice. Of course, if Seattle is looking for an NHL ready bottom-pairing and/or seventh defender, then look no further than the hard-hitting Clifton (1-6–7 totals in 44 games) despite his 5-foot-11, 175-pound frame.

    BUFFALO SABRES

    LD Jake McCabe

    27, pending-unrestricted free agent, $2.850 million cap hit in 2020-21

    Like more than a few players in Buffalo this offseason, McCabe could benefit from a change of scenery and can be best utilized as a bottom-pairing or depth defender.

    Perhaps the Kraken can’t come to an agreement on a new contract or they find a way to flip him at the Expansion Draft– ether way, Seattle’s looking to get more out of his 1-2–3 totals in 13 games in 2020-21.

    CALGARY FLAMES

    LD Mark Giordano

    37, 1 year remaining, $6.750 million cap hit

    Though Seattle wouldn’t go wrong with either Milan Lucic or Giordano in terms of drafting leadership out of the Flames’ dressing room, it turns out the Kraken liked the Golden Knights’ model enough and pried a veteran defender out of Calgary to lead the first generation Kraken roster.

    With 26 points (nine goals, 17 assists) in 56 games in 2020-21, a Mark Messier Leadership Award and a James Norris Memorial Trophy under his belt in 2019-20 and 2018-19, respectively, Giordano’s had a late career resurgence and could prove to be an effective piece on Seattle’s blue line.

    CAROLINA HURRICANES

    RD Dougie Hamilton

    28, pending-UFA, $5.750 million cap hit in 2020-21

    Hamilton arrived to Carolina after Francis left the organization, but that doesn’t rule out the six degrees of Kevin Bacon factor here, which allows the Kraken to select the right-shot defender that had 10-32–42 totals in 55 games this season.

    Though he’s a pending-UFA, Seattle has the space to get creative with either a new contract or the ability to trade his negotiating rights for more assets before free agency begins on July 28th.

    CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS

    LD/RD Calvin de Haan

    30, 1 year left, $4.550 million cap hit

    de Haan’s (1-9–10 totals in 44 games) been a journeyman for three out of the last four seasons having gone from the New York Islanders in 2017-18, to the Hurricanes in 2018-19, then Chicago from 2019-present.

    He’d either play a bigger role with Seattle or would continue wracking up the airline rewards points by being used as trade bait for another club in the offseason similar to how the Golden Knights used Marc Methot and David Schlemko in their Expansion Draft year.

    COLORADO AVALANCHE

    LW/C Gabriel Landeskog

    28, pending-UFA, $5.571 million cap hit in 2020-21

    Vegas was wheeling and dealing at the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft and Seattle will likely be doing the same in this year’s 2021 NHL Expansion Draft, so why not take a chance on Landeskog and see what happens?

    At best, he sticks around. At worst, you trade his negotiating rights before July 28th or play it safe and claim Joonas Donskoi instead to provide yourself with some quality top-nine forward depth.

    Landeskog, however, brings his 20-32–52 totals in 54 games this season, as well as his leadership qualities as the current captain in Colorado to Seattle if he were to sign a long-term extension to guide the Kraken through their formative years. He’d be the surefire captain for the new club, no doubt.

    COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS

    C/LW Max Domi

    26, 1 year left, $5.300 million cap hit

    Columbus took a gamble and it didn’t pay off as Domi’s 44 points (17 goals, 27 assists) in 71 games with the Montréal Canadiens in 2019-20, faltered to 24 points (nine goals, 15 assists) in 54 games with the Blue Jackets in 2020-21.

    As such, Domi was exposed to the elements and that’s where the Kraken come in to take a flyer on a top-six forward looking for the right system and something to be built around. If all else fails, it’s only one season to get Seattle off the ground and provide a spark.

    DALLAS STARS

    LD/RD Andrej Sekera

    35, 1 year left, $1.500 million cap hit

    Sekera’s five points (three goals, two assists) in 46 games won’t be attracting any buyers for his offensive capabilities from the point, but if it’s a shutdown defender that can play throughout the lineup you need, then he’ll come in handy as a Swiss Army knife of sorts.

    If the Kraken trade from the rest of their plethora of defenders and Sekera remains, it’s not the end of the world. If Seattle sends him packing after claiming him from Dallas, then the Stars won’t have lost that much for nothing with bigger fish to fry.

    Either that or the Kraken could just snag Jamie Oleksiak and call it a day.

    DETROIT RED WINGS

    RW/LW/C Vladislav Namestnikov

    28, 1 year left, $2.000 million cap hit

    Remember when Namestnikov was a household name in a Tampa Bay Lightning uniform? Or when he was a New York Ranger? These days, it seems like he’s been everywhere– especially since he’s suited up for the Rangers, Ottawa Senators, Colorado Avlanche and Red Wings in the last two seasons.

    His best season came in 2017-18, when he amassed 48 points between the Lightning and Rangers in 81 games played, but Namestnikov only managed 8-9–17 totals in 53 games with Detroit this season.

    At $2.000 million for one season, he’s a suitable asset in your bottom-six forward group with a low-cost, high-reward 30-40 point potential at best or easy to move at the deadline at worst.

    EDMONTON OILERS

    RD Adam Larsson

    28, pending-UFA, $4.167 million cap hit in 2020-21

    Larsson (4-6–10 totals in 56 games) is sure to hit the open market on July 28th, but if the Kraken find themselves in position to stake their claim to his negotiating rights and sign him before anyone else can even submit an offer it wouldn’t be unwise.

    At best, Seattle lands a top-four defender. At worst, they avoid having to take something else from the Oilers. James Neal likely isn’t getting another call from an expansion team this time around and Kyle Turris might be the only decent cheap contract if he can find his game again.

    FLORIDA PANTHERS

    G Chris Driedger

    27, pending-UFA, $850,000 cap hit in 2020-21

    Seattle was enchanted by his emergence in the last couple of seasons and with Spencer Knight coming out of the shadows behind Sergei Bobrovksy’s contract in Florida, Driedger finds himself hitting the open waters of Puget Sound and/or free agency.

    Whether or not Driedger’s 14-6-3 record, 2.07 goals-against average and .9217 save percentage in 23 games (23 starts, three shutouts) is a promising sign of things to come or simply a solid mark of defensive work in front of him remains to be seen.

    That said, Driedger is one of the better goaltenders on the open market– if he even makes it there first.

    LOS ANGELES KINGS 

    RW/LW Austin Wagner

    24, 2 years left, $1.133 million cap hit

    Despite having one of the best prospect pools in the league right now, the Kings don’t have too much to offer via expansion, so the Kraken will have to settle for a fourth-liner that has yet to reveal whether or not this is really all that there is to his game.

    Wagner had 4-4–8 totals in 44 games with Los Angeles in 2020-21.

    MINNESOTA WILD

    G Kaapo Kähkönen

    24, 1 year left, $725,000

    The Wild chose to protect Cam Talbot over their future potential starting goaltender in Kähkönen which is good news for Kraken fans and bad news for Minnesota fans.

    Unless Seattle has a deal in place to acquire assets from the Wild to not select Kähkönen, this is a dangerous game for Minnesota GM, Bill Guerin, to play– but then again, he’s put an emphasis on change at the forefront of his tenure in Minnesota’s front office.

    Meanwhile, Kähkönen went 16-8-0 in 24 games (23 starts, two shutouts) and had a 2.88 goals-against average and a .902 save percentage in that span in 2020-21.

    MONTRÉAL CANADIENS

    G Carey Price

    33, 5 years left, $10.500 million cap hit

    Whether or not Price is even being considered by the Kraken hinges upon two things 1) his health and 2) if Seattle and Montréal have already worked out some sort of trade.

    The league has already informed the clubs that they would be circumventing the salary cap if the Kraken select Price, retain 50% of his salary and deal him back to Montréal.

    But, Seattle could take the 2021 Stanley Cup Final runner-up goaltender that amassed a 12-7-5 record in 25 games (25 starts, one shutout) in the regular season and had a 2.64 goals-against average, as well as a .901 save percentage in that span and play him, place him on long-term injured reserve or eat some salary and trade him elsewhere.

    In any case, Price to Seattle would be as big a deal as Marc-Andre Fleury to Vegas in 2017.

    NASHVILLE PREDATORS

    LD Mark Borowiecki

    32, 1 year left, $2.000 million cap hit

    Borowiecki’s 2020-21 campaign was cut short and limited to 22 games due to injury, but don’t let his one assist fool you– he’s a physical defender that will do anything to make a hit, block a shot and lead in the dressing room when he’s not on the ice.

    If he’s healthy, he’d be effective in Seattle as the Kraken look to establish their workplace culture and team identity.

    NEW JERSEY DEVILS

    LW/RW Andreas Johnsson

    26, 2 years left, $3.400 million cap hit

    Johnsson had 43 points in 73 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs in his first full season at the NHL level in 2018-19. He then had just 21 points in 43 games with the Leafs in 2019-20 and 5-6–11 totals in 50 games with the Devils this season.

    In the right situation, he could bounce back. In New Jersey, it doesn’t look like that’d be happening anytime soon– regardless of Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes’ emergence with Ty Smith and Yegor Sharangovich playing a part in the club’s turnaround.

    Some, however, have Mackenzie Blackwood pegged as being selected by the Kraken as they certainly have plenty of goaltenders to choose from and trade thereafter.

    NEW YORK ISLANDERS

    RW/LW Josh Bailey

    31, 3 years left, $5.000 million cap hit

    Bailey had 8-27–35 totals in 54 games with the Islanders this season and would provide some meat in the middle of our hypothetical Kraken roster.

    Between Bailey and Jordan Eberle, however, Seattle can’t go wrong. The former tends to score clutch goals in the playoffs and has a cap hit that’s $500,000 less than the latter, though that’s not much to worry about.

    NEW YORK RANGERS

    RW Julien Gauthier

    23, 1 year left, $775,000 cap hit

    It’s not always about size, but having the option to use a 6-foot-4, 227-pound winger in your lineup certainly will help the Kraken in the physical elements of the game– especially against their rivals in the Pacific Division.

    Gauthier had 2-6–8 totals in 30 games with the Rangers in 2020-21.

    OTTAWA SENATORS

    G Joey Daccord

    24, 2 years left, $750,000 cap hit

    Daccord appeared in eight games (six games) this season as the Senators struggled to stay healthy in the crease and went on to amass a 1-3-1 record in the process with a 3.27 goals-against average and an .897 save percentage in that span– revealing two things 1) he’s a young goaltender and 2) the Sens really need a better roster in front of any and all of their goaltenders.

    But choosing Daccord is O.K. for Seattle since he’ll develop in due time and it takes care of having to pick something else from Ottawa’s scraps.

    PHILADELPHIA FLYERS

    RW/LW Jakub Voracek

    31, 3 years left, $8.250 million cap hit

    Want to get messy? Let’s have the Kraken select Voracek from the Flyers and see what happens!

    No, this isn’t about postgame press conference outbursts or anything (though Voracek was in the right in that regard), but rather, there’s a lot of teams that would take Voracek at a reduced rate and Seattle could make bank off trading him.

    Or they could keep the guy that had 9-34–43 totals in 53 games in 2020-21 and see what happens in 2021-22, but Francis isn’t likely going to take on that big of a contract unless it’s a free agent signing.

    PITTSBURGH PENGUINS

    RW/LW Brandon Tanev

    29, 4 years left, $3.500 million cap hit

    Tanev can skate, hit and compete, so… …in other words, he’s a hockey player. He’s also got the long hair to go with it.

    In 2020-21, he had 7-9–16 totals in 32 games in his second season with the Penguins. Though he was on the cusp of the 30-point plateau with the Winnipeg Jets in 2018-19, Tanev’s career-high 29 points is about the most Seattle could get out of him, but that’s fine for the meat of their lineup.

    SAN JOSE SHARKS

    C Dylan Gambrell

    24, 1 year left, $1.100 million cap hit

    Be honest, did you really want to have to take anything from the Sharks?

    Gambrell matched his career-high in goals (five) and set career-highs in assists (seven) and points (12) in 49 games with San Jose this season, but aside from being young, he’s still very much a fourth liner in the NHL, so the Kraken have that going for them, at least.

    ST. LOUIS BLUES

    RW Vladimir Tarasenko

    29, 2 years left, $7.500 million cap hit

    Name brand power. Seattle would assure themselves of having some top jersey sales if they’d just take Tarasenko and keep him on the roster.

    Then again, he’s missed significant portions of the last two seasons and already wants out of St. Louis, so what’s not to say he won’t be disgruntled about going to a completely new franchise and any growing pains?

    With 4-10–14 totals in 24 games in 2020-21, and 442 points in 531 career NHL games, it’s probably worth at least being in control of his next destination– whether that’s the Kraken or elsewhere.

    TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING

    C/LW/RW Yanni Gourde

    29, 4 years left, $5.167 million cap hit

    Gourde is an affordable player to build a brand new roster around, but just how far up the lineup can he play? Will Seattle try to make him like William Karlsson in Vegas’ first year and demand first line minutes or are they comfortable with taking a more conservative approach and, say, making him a second liner at best?

    In any case, 17-19–36 totals in 56 games en route to back-to-back Stanley Cup rings with the Lightning brings the right amount of depth scoring and valuable playoff experience to the Kraken’s roster.

    TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS

    LW/C Jared McCann

    25, 1 year left, $2.940 million cap hit

    There was a reason why the Maple Leafs went out and got McCann in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins ahead of the expansion draft, but it clearly wasn’t as an insurance plan in the event that Seattle took Alexander Kerfoot and Toronto needed a new third line center or something.

    Instead, the Leafs left both available and the Kraken took the guy with the better offensive production in 2020-21, as McCann had 14-18–32 totals in 43 games with Pittsburgh, while Kerfoot had 8-15–23 totals in 56 games with Toronto.

    VANCOUVER CANUCKS

    C/RW Zack MacEwen

    25, 1 year left, $825,000

    All of Vancouver’s bad contracts are coming to bite them just as everyone expected. Sure, some attractive salary cap hits were available if the Kraken needed a boost, but for the point scoring output, none of them would’ve made sense in a million years– even as a favor to the Canucks, you know, the closest geographical rival to Seattle.

    Thus, MacEwen’s taking his talents and 1-1–2 totals in 34 games with the Canucks this season to the Kraken, where he’ll become intertwined with some semblance of depth.

    WASHINGTON CAPITALS

    G Vitek Vanecek

    25, 1 year left, $716,667

    Yeah, there’s no way around it, really, but this is the worst thing that could happen for the Capitals short of the Kraken getting bold and taking Alex Ovechkin.

    Vanecek (21-10-4 in 37 games, 36 starts, 2.69 goals-against average, .908 save percentage, two shutouts) provides a great 1A/1B punch with Ilya Samsonov as both goaltenders develop, but since Washington couldn’t get a deal done with the team that plays in Washington (state, that is), then it’s a solid grab for Seattle.

    Whether or not they keep Vanecek in the mix with all the other goaltenders (or any of the other goaltenders, for that matter) remains to be seen.

    WINNIPEG JETS

    RD Dylan DeMelo

    28, 3 years left, $3.000 million

    It’s simple, draft DeMelo from Winnipeg and either end up with a decent top-4 defender or use him as trade bait a la the Vegas way in 2017.

    Nine assists in 52 games won’t get you much offense from the point when DeMelo is on the ice, but his shutdown style and decent cap hit is attractive around the league.

    Total Cap Hit (excluding players already on SEA roster): $80,681,666

    Average age: 27.7 years old

    Seattle won’t actually be spending to the cap from the expansion draft alone kind of like how the Golden Knights did in 2017, but in this mock draft, let’s get crazy.

    Spend every penny and sell high, why not!?!

    Yes, Price carries a hefty price tag, but that doesn’t have to be your problem if you find a team desperate enough for goaltending. Imagine trading Price to the Maple Leafs and watching all of Québec sit through the uneasiness of another Toronto-Montréal matchup in the postseason by the time his contract expires.

    Or just imagine all of the possible side deals from taking a team that’s loaded with talent and stripping it down to the essentials, plus a foundation for the future.

    Ron Francis is kind of good at that.

  • Khudobin, Stars steal Game 1, lead Bolts 1-0 in series

    Four different goal scorers and goaltender, Anton Khudobin, helped the Dallas Stars take Game 1 of the 2020 Stanley Cup Final, 4-1, over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night inside the National Hockey League’s Edmonton bubble at Rogers Place.

    For the first time since the 1919 Stanley Cup Final, the NHL is playing for the Cup in the middle of a global pandemic that rivals the scale and impact of the 1918 influenza pandemic.

    This time, the league is determined on deciding a champion, unlike how the Pacific Coast Hockey Association’s Seattle Metropolitans and NHL’s Montreal Canadiens were forced to cancel their series– tied 2-2-1 through five games– due to an influenza outbreak among several players from both clubs that resulted in the death of Habs star, Joe Hall, from pneumonia brought on by the flu.

    In the face of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the NHL rolls on with the fourth, final and most important round of the playoffs after a five month stoppage that cut the 2019-20 regular season short prompted the expanded 24-team postseason format for 2020.

    It all comes down to this– the 2020 Stanley Cup Final.

    Jamie Oleksiak scored the eventual game-winning goal midway through the second period, while Khudobin (13-6, 2.54 goals against average, .923 save percentage in 20 games this postseason) turned aside 35 out of 36 shots faced for a .972 SV% in the win for Dallas.

    Andrei Vasilevksiy (14-6, 1.88 GAA, .929 SV% in 20 games this postseason) made 16 saves on 19 shots against for an .842 SV% in the loss for the Lightning.

    For the first time in league history, two of the three southernmost based franchises are playing for the Cup in the northernmost city in the league.

    The Stars last won a Cup in 1999, while the Lightning last won a Cup in 2004, as both teams entered Game 1 with the hopes of setting the tone in their favor.

    Dallas’ interim head coach, Rick Bowness, opted to roll four complete forward lines instead of mimicking Tampa Bay’s head coach, Jon Cooper’s plans with 11 forwards and seven defenders.

    Bowness kept Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and Alexander Radulov together on his first line with Mattias Janmark, Joe Pavelski and Denis Gurianov rounding out his top-six forwards.

    Joel Kiviranta, Roope Hintz and Corey Perry lined up on the third line with Andrew Cogliano, Jason Dickinson and Blake Comeau comprising of Dallas’ fourth line trio.

    On defense, Esa Lindell and John Klingberg remained Dallas’ top pairing with Oleksiak and Miro Heiskanen completing the top-four blue liners, as well as Joel Hanley and Andrej Sekera rounding out the bottom defensive pairing.

    Once again, Jake Oettinger served as Khudobin’s backup on the bench as Ben Bishop remained “unfit to play” joining a long list of scratches for the Stars, including Radek Faksa, Nick Caamano, Jason Robertson, Stephen Johns, Bishop, Justin Dowling, Landon Bow, Taylor Fedun, Gavin Bayreuther, Thomas Harley and Ty Dellandrea.

    Cooper’s Lightning lineup was comprised of Ondrej Palat at the left side of Brayden Point on the first line with Nikita Kucherov in his usual role on right wing, while Alex Killorn, Anthony Cirelli and Tyler Johnson completed the top-six forwards for the Bolts.

    Barclay Goodrow, Yanni Gourde and Blake Coleman were on the third line as usual, while Pat Maroon and Cedric Paquette were the only fourth line forwards suited up to complete the 11 forwards and seven defenders dressed by Cooper.

    On defense, Victor Hedman and Kevin Shatternkirk remained paired, while Mikhail Sergachev, Erik Cernak, Ryan McDonagh, Zach Bogosian and Luke Schenn all took turns rotating shifts.

    Curtis McElhinney served as Vasilevskiy’s backup netminder, while Tampa’s list of scratches in Game 1 included Mathieu Jospeh, Carter Verhaeghe, Scott Wedgewood, Jan Rutta, Braydon Coburn, Mitchell Stephens, Steven Stamkos and Alexander Volkov.

    That’s right, Stamkos is still out of the lineup since having core muscle surgery in mid-March, skating in June, then missing training camp in July prior to the 2020 postseason.

    Hanley (1) opened the series’ scoring with a snipe shot over Vasilevskiy’s blocker side into the top corner of the twine to give the Stars a, 1-0, lead at 5:40 of the first period, while Hintz (10) recorded the only assisted on the goal after Kiviranta pressured the Lightning well enough to keep the puck in Dallas’ offensive zone.

    Moments later, Maroon and Oleksiak were engaged in a scrum that yielded roughing minors to both players at 8:08 of the opening frame and presented both teams with 4-on-4 action for a pair of minutes.

    Midway through the first period, Gourde (6) lucked out in front of Khudobin with a right place, right time shot that he banked off a Dallas defender and between the Stars netminder and the goalpost to tie the game, 1-1, at 12:32.

    Coleman (7) and Goodrow (5) recorded the assists on Tampa’s only goal of the game Saturday night.

    After one period of play, the score remained tied, 1-1, while Dallas held the advantage in shots on goal, 5-4, as well as in takeaways (3-1), hits (25-23) and faceoff win percentage (58-42).

    The Bolts led in blocked shots (9-3) and giveaways (2-0) entering the first intermission while neither team had seen any action on the skater advantage.

    Early in the middle frame, Coleman was sent to the penalty box for slashing Dickinson at 1:09 of the second period.

    Dallas wasn’t able to convert on their first power play of the night, however.

    The Stars also didn’t capitalize on the skater advantage again moments later when Coleman hooked Dickinson and cut a rut to the sin bin at 6:54.

    Oleksiak (5) scooped up his own rebound and roofed the puck from point blank over Vasilevskiy’s blocker side to give Dallas the lead for the second time of the night, as well as the eventual game-winning goal, 2-1, at 12:30 of the second period.

    Radulov (7) and Heiskanen (18) tallied the assists as Heiskanen tied the second-most assists in a postseason in Stars franchise history with the secondary helper on the goal.

    Oleksiak, in the meantime, has five goals in his last 22 games, while he had just four goals in his last 124 games (regular season and postseason combined).

    Late in the period, Kiviranta (5) scored on another rebound that the Tampa netminder failed to contain to give Dallas an insurance goal, as well as a two-goal lead, 3-1, at 19:32 of the middle frame.

    Lindell (6) and Klingberg (14) had the assists on the first year Stars forward’s goal.

    At the sound of the horn to conclude 40 minutes of play, Maroon shot the puck into Dallas’ bench and received a 10-minute misconduct as a result– officially at 20 minutes of the second period.

    The Stars carried a, 3-1, lead into the second intermission, while they also led the Lightning in shots on goal, 18-14– including a, 13-10, advantage in the second period alone.

    Dallas also led in takeaways (4-2) and faceoff win% (52-48), while Tampa held the advantage in blocked shots (18-10), giveaways (8-4) and hits (44-39).

    The Stars were 0/2 on the power play, while the Bolts still had yet to see time on the skater advantage entering the third period.

    Meanwhile, Hanley and Oleksiak were the first pair of Dallas defenders to score a goal in a Stanley Cup Final game since Derian Hatcher and Craig Ludwig did so for the Stars in Game 2 of the 1999 Stanley Cup Final.

    Oleksiak’s goal also marked the 15th goal from the blue line for Dallas, which leads all teams in the 2020 postseason.

    Early in the final frame, the Lightning received their first power play of the night when Klingberg hooked Killorn and was sent to the box at 4:52 of the third period.

    The Bolts were not successful on the ensuing power play, however.

    Nor did they score while Comeau was in the box for an automatic delay of game penalty for sending the puck over the glass at 9:08.

    The Lightning also didn’t capitalize on their third power play in a row after Seguin tripped Kucherov at 12:56.

    With 4:01 remaining in the game, Cooper pulled Vasilevskiy for an extra attacker, but the Bolts soon had a faceoff in their own zone and had to replace the vacant crease with Vasilevskiy’s talents.

    As the time ticked down to about 2:31 to go, Vasilevskiy jettisoned the blue paint for the bench to give Tampa a 6-on-5 advantage once more, but Dickinson (1) hit the empty net soon thereafter to secure the, 4-1, victory for the Stars.

    Comeau (5) and Janmark (6) tallied the assists on Dickinson’s empty net goal at 18:42 of the third period.

    Dallas wrapped up the action with the, 4-1, win and a 1-0 series lead in the Stanley Cup Final, as well as the advantage in blocked shots (26-18) and faceoff win% (51-49).

    Meanwhile, Tampa finished Saturday night leading in shots on goal, 36-20– including a, 22-2, advantage in the third period alone.

    The Lightning also finished the night leading in giveaways (10-9) and hits (56-50), while both teams failed to record a power play goal.

    Tampa went 0/3 and Dallas went 0/2 on the skater advantage.

    Bowness improved to 14-9 behind the bench in the postseason for the Stars, while Cooper fell to 50-38 all time with Tampa in the playoffs.

    Meanwhile, the team that wins Game 1 in a best-of-seven game series usually wins the series about 69% of the time– that wasn’t the case for the Boston Bruins last year, however, who won Game 1 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final against the St. Louis Blues, then went on to lose the series in seven games on home ice.

    The Stars, however, are 22-9 all time when leading a best-of-seven series 1-0.

    The Stars take their 1-0 series lead into Game 2 on Monday night. Puck drop in Edmonton is scheduled for a little after 8 p.m. ET and fans in the United States can tune to NBCSN to catch the action, while those in Canada have their choice of CBC, SN or TVAS.

  • DTFR Podcast #174- Coaching Conundrums

    DTFR Podcast #174- Coaching Conundrums

    Some firsts, 100s, broken fingers and pointing fingers– who should be concerned about their job security behind the bench? Plus Cap’n and Pete are back.

    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and/or on Spotify. Support the show on Patreon.

  • Bruins depth shines in Dallas, win, 2-1

    Danton Heinen scored the eventual game-winner early in the first period and the Boston Bruins held on for a, 2-1, victory on the road against the Dallas Stars to kick off the 2019-20 season.

    Tuukka Rask (1-0-0 record, 1.00 goals against average in one game played) made 28 saves on 29 shots faced for a .966 save percentage in the win at American Airlines Center for Boston, while Ben Bishop (0-1-0, 2.07 GAA, .900 SV% in one game played) turned aside 18 out of 20 shots against in the loss for Dallas.

    Boston began their 96th season in franchise history, while Dallas kicked off their 27th season since relocating from Minnesota (53rd season if you include their North Stars days).

    David Krejci (lower body), Kevan Miller (knee), John Moore (shoulder) and Joakim Nordstrom (foot) were all out of the lineup for the Bruins.

    Krejci was a game-time decision, per B’s head coach, Bruce Cassidy.

    Miller and Nordstrom were placed on injured reserve earlier in the week with Miller on track for a hopeful return to game action by mid-October.

    Moore was placed on long-term injured reserve to start the season and likely won’t be back with the team until mid-November.

    Prior to the start of the regular season, Boston placed Peter Cehlarik and Maxime Lagacé on waivers for the purpose of assignment to the Providence Bruins (AHL). Both players cleared and were assigned to Providence.

    Others, like Anders Bjork, Trent Frederic, Cameron Hughes, Jack Studnicka and Jakub Zboril, were sent to Providence without having to clear waivers as part of Boston’s final cuts upon the conclusion of the preseason.

    Joe Pavelski and Andrej Sekera made their Stars debuts, while Corey Perry remains out of the lineup due to injury.

    In his first shift for his new team in his first game against his old team, Brett Ritchie (1) scored on his first shot of the season to give Boston their first, 1-0, lead of the season 69 seconds into the action.

    Charlie Coyle (1) had the only assist on Ritchie’s goal at 1:09 of the first period, as the duo collaborated on the Bruins’ first goal of the 2019-20 season.

    About a few minutes later, Stars forward, Alexander Radulov, was penalized for holding at 4:23 and presented Boston with their first power play opportunity of the season.

    After receiving the puck from Matt Grzelcyk, Heinen (1) fired a wrist shot over Bishop’s blocker side to give the Bruins a two-goal lead at 5:59 of the first period.

    Grzelcyk (1) and Charlie McAvoy (1) had the assists on Boston’s first power play goal of the season as Cassidy’s second power play unit converted on the skater advantage.

    Late in the period, Radek Faksa caught Sean Kuraly with a high-stick and was assessed a minor penalty at 17:33.

    The Bruins did not score on the ensuing power play.

    Prior to the stoppage for the delayed call, however, Brad Marchand tried to chip the puck across the ice to a teammate and inadvertently deflected the puck off of Sekera’s stick into Blake Comeau’s face, leaving the Dallas forward with a bloody mouth.

    After 20 minutes of play into the 2019-20 season, Boston led Dallas, 2-0, on the scoreboard and, 6-4, in shots on goal.

    The Stars led in blocked shots (9-3), takeaways (2-0), giveaways (6-5) and faceoff win percentage (58-42), while hits were even (7-7).

    Boston was 1/2 on the power play and Dallas had yet to see time on the skater advantage heading into the first intermission.

    Early in the second period, Stars defender, Roman Polak, went to make a hit on Bruins forward, Chris Wagner, and pushed Wagner’s lower body with enough force to help spin the forward out of the way, but in doing so, exposing himself to the brunt of the boards– head first, right about at the back of his neck– as Polak tumbled into the corner.

    He was stretchered off the ice and sent to a nearby hospital for further evaluation.

    Roope Hintz (1) went top-shelf on Rask’s glove side to cut Boston’s lead in half, 2-1, a mere 51 seconds after the stoppage for Polak’s injury.

    Mattias Janmark (1) and Pavelski (1) recorded the primary and secondary assists on Hintz’s breakaway goal at 7:55 of the second period.

    The secondary assist was Pavelski’s first point with Dallas in his first game with the club since signing with the Stars in free agency on July 1st– leaving the San Jose Sharks (where he had played since the 2006-07 season after being drafted by San Jose in 2003).

    Almost a couple of minutes later, Radulov tripped Bruins newcomer, Par Lindholm, at 9:30 of the middle frame and was assessed a minor infraction.

    Boston did not convert on the ensuing power play.

    After killing off Radulov’s second penalty of the night, Dallas found themselves shorthanded once again as Janmark was sent to the penalty box for interference at 16:00 of the second period.

    During the resulting media timeout, the Stars tweeted that Comeau suffered a lower body injury, Jason Dickinson suffered an upper body injury and that Polak had been transported to the hospital for evaluation.

    All three players would not return Thursday night’s game.

    A little more than halfway into Boston’s power play, McAvoy was penalized for interference against Tyler Seguin at 17:12.

    Both teams would play 4-on-4 for 48 seconds, then Dallas would have an abbreviated power play.

    Neither team took advantage of the special teams opportunities.

    Through two periods of play, the Bruins led the Stars, 2-1, on the scoreboard, while shots on goal were even (13-13).

    Dallas held a, 9-7, in shots on goal in the second period, while the Stars also led in blocked shots (12-9), takeaways (8-1), giveaways (12-7) and hits (11-7) entering the second intermission.

    Boston led in faceoff win%, 53-37, after 40 minutes.

    The Stars were 0/1 on the power play and the B’s were 1/4 on the skater advantage heading into the third period.

    Less than a minute into the third period, Zdeno Chara was penalized for interference. Dallas did not score on the ensuing power play, but went on to establish complete control of the stat sheet in the final frame of regulation.

    Stars head coach, Jim Montgomery, pulled Bishop for an extra attacker with about 85 seconds remaining in the game, but Dallas couldn’t muster one past Rask.

    Boston sealed the deal on the, 2-1, win for their first victory of the season, despite being outshot, 29-20, in the game.

    The Stars held a, 16-7, advantage in shots on goal in the third period alone and led in blocked shots (18-16), giveaways (17-10), hits (15-12) and faceoff win% (53-47).

    The Bruins finished the night 1/4 on the power play, while Dallas went 0/2 on the skater advantage.

    The B’s improved to 1-0-0 on the season and continue their four-game road trip to kick things off with a stop in Arizona against the Coyotes on Saturday, before visiting the Vegas Golden Knights next Tuesday and the Colorado Avalanche next Thursday.

    Boston makes their home debut at TD Garden against the New Jersey Devils on Oct. 12th.

    Chara began his 14th season as captain of the Bruins, trailing Ray Bourque for the most consecutive seasons as captain in franchise history (Bourque was captain for 15 seasons). Only Steve Yzerman and Joe Sakic served as captains of their franchises for longer than Chara and Bourque.

    Yzerman served as the captain of the Detroit Red Wings for 19 seasons and Sakic was captain of the Québec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche for 16 seasons. Both are now the current General Managers of the aforementioned clubs (Yzerman with Detroit, Sakic with Colorado).

    Meanwhile, Patrice Bergeron remains the longest active tenured alternate captain in the league, having assumed his current role since the 2006-07 season.

  • Dallas Stars 2019-20 Season Preview

    Dallas Stars

    43-32-7, 93 points, 4th in the Central Division

    Eliminated in the Second Round by St. Louis

    Additions: F Tanner Kero, F Joe Pavelski, F Corey Perry, D Andrej Sekera

    Subtractions: F Erik Condra (signed with Colorado, AHL), F Ryan Hartman (signed with MIN), F Valeri Nichushkin (bought out), F Tyler Pitlick (traded to PHI), F Brett Ritchie (signed with BOS), F Jason Spezza (signed with TOR), F Mats Zuccarello (signed with MIN), D Niklas Hansson (SHL), D Ben Lovejoy (retired), D Chris Martenet (signed with Brampton, ECHL), G Philippe Desrosiers (signed with FLA)

    Still Unsigned: D Julius Honka, D Marc Methot

    Re-signed: F Jason Dickinson, D Gavin Bayreuther, D Dillon Heatherington, D Reece Scarlett, G Landon Bow

    Offseason Analysis: Dallas Stars General Manager, Jim Nill, had one thing to do this offseason and one thing only– improve the offense.

    Dallas’ defense is still growing into its own and will take care of itself as one of the better underrated blue lines in the league, plus Ben Bishop and Anton Khudobin make a strong tandem in the crease.

    While the additions of Joe Pavelski and Corey Perry are great on paper to the Stars’ offense, each comes with a price.

    Pavelski is 35-years-old and tallied 38 goals in 75 games played last season– tying a career-high that he set in the 2015-16 season. Perry is 34-years-old and six goals in 31 games played last season.

    The former was injured in the playoffs, but doesn’t seem to show signs of slowing down, even if he only scores 20-25 goals a season. Over the course of Pavelski’s three-year deal with Dallas, that’s not a terrible amount of offense, but if he deviates from the norm and regresses at all… well, he still carries a $7.000 million cap hit.

    It’s a gamble considering the age factor, but it’s not the worst contract in the world.

    Perry, on the other hand, has been oft-injured as of the last couple of seasons and looks like a shell of his former “Scorey” self.

    The good news? Nill was smart and signed Perry to a one-year contract worth $1.500 million.

    It’s a low-risk, high-reward– no foul– signing.

    But with Pavelski, Perry and newcomer, Andrej Sekera, all added to the roster, Dallas’ average age across the board has only gotten older.

    In a league that emphasizes youth, speed and hand-eye coordination, let’s just hope the Stars have discovered the Fountain of Youth and can beat the aging curve.

    Other than that, head coach, Jim Montgomery knows what to expect out of his core and can depend on Pavelski to make something happen when Alexander Radulov falls into a lull from time-to-time.

    Offseason Grade: C+

    The Stars didn’t have to go out and land the biggest star in free agency, so they went out and got a modest harvest instead. Nill signed Pavelski at a steep price on what would otherwise be a bad contract if it were longer than three-years, but it’s really only as bad as when the Toronto Maple Leafs signed Patrick Marleau for three-years and over $6.000 million.

    Something about ex-Sharks in the 35-plus category… Other general managers have learned from Toronto’s mistake to stay away– even if there’s a boost in the locker room for a season or two. At least Dallas had the room to make it work and has enough pending free agents in July 2020 to ease their salary cap concerns.

  • 2019-20 Central Division Outlook

    As the entire hockey world awaits training camp action next month, let’s make some (un)educated guesses about the upcoming season that will totally pan out because everything always goes as expected. (It doesn’t.)

    The projected standings below are only a forecast.

    They are based on recent indications– as well as the last few seasons of stats– and cannot account for variations in roster construction (a.k.a. trades and free agency moves).

    There’s a lot of variables that will turn the tables upside down, including transactions, injuries and otherwise. Anything can happen.

    As always, it’s more important to remember 1) the spread and 2) the positioning.

    Just how many points separate the projected division winner from the last wild card spot (the spread) and where a team is supposed to finish in the division standings (the position) can imply that things aren’t always what they seem.

    A team that’s projected to win it all still has to play an 82-game regular season, qualify for the playoffs and go on to amass 16 wins in the postseason.

    Projected Standings After ZERO Months

    Central Division

    1. z-Nashville Predators, 103 points
    2. x-St. Louis Blues, 100 points
    3. x-Winnipeg Jets, 97 points
    4. wc2-Minnesota Wild, 93 points
    5. Chicago Blackhawks, 92 points
    6. Dallas Stars, 92 points
    7. Colorado Avalanche, 86 points

    Nashville Predators: Pros and Cons

    Before you continue reading, it’s important to remember that this is the most unpredictable division in the league currently. Seriously.

    Nashville is more than likely going to take the division in the regular season thanks to their minor moves in the offseason and major gains in the long haul, but everything else?

    That’s to be determined.

    Matt Duchene’s cap hit ($8,000,000) costs the Preds a million dollars less than P.K. Subban ($9,000,000), but there’s 10 pending UFAs on the roster after this season. If a legitimate one-two duo down the middle can’t get the Predators a Cup, then this window may be closing– and fast.

    Pekka Rinne isn’t getting any young and the crease will soon be Juuse Saros’ before you know it.

    The good news?

    The Preds are still one of the most impressive teams on the blue line with Roman Josi, Mattias Ekholm, Ryan Ellis and Dante Fabbro.

    How would the Predators fail?

    Somehow 30 points in a season gets you a seven-year contract (*ahem* Colton Sissons), but kudos to General Manager David Poile on doing so at a $2.857 cap hit though. That being said, this is dangerous logic that’s tempting fate at the hands of the Hockey Gods, which might only further weaken Nashville’s goaltending when it counts in the postseason.

    St. Louis Blues: Pros and Cons

    Glue guys score important goals in the playoffs and glue guys come in all shapes and sizes– including dadbod, a la Pat Maroon.

    But there’s just one problem, the hometown hero that lifted St. Louis over Dallas into the Western Conference Final has left the Blues for the Tampa Bay Lightning– a product of the salary cap era, a big postseason performance and a… wait, he’s not making a huge salary?

    Why did Maroon leave? Because Ivan Barbashev– the younger, better, faster, stronger more long-term approach player– is still an unsigned RFA and the Blues have less than $2.000 million in cap space currently.

    St. Louis still has its core, however, and will now find out if Jordan Binnington is truly “The One” or a one hit wonder over the course of a full season of having Binnington as their starter.

    When all is said and done, the defending champs have a great chance to continue to make noise in the regular season and, well, we’ve never experienced the Blues winning the Cup before, so… can it happen again? Is that a thing?

    How would the Blues fail?

    The cliché Stanley Cup hangover. It’s a long, grueling, season that takes its toll– even with all sorts of proper training and nutrition.

    Winnipeg Jets: Pros and Cons

    The Jets are in trouble. Sure, they might have a decent season and finish in a divisional spot heading into the playoffs, but they’ve got about $16.150 million in cap space and currently unsigned RFAs in Patrik Laine, Kyle Connor and Eric Comrie right now.

    Not to mention the fact that they traded Jacob Trouba to the New York Rangers in the offseason for Neal Pionk, but at least Winnipeg got back their 2019 1st round pick in the transaction (previously dealt to New York in the Kevin Hayes trade).

    Yes, a team that should see a bounce-back season in the crease from Connor Hellebuyck leading the way to a potential deep postseason run, might not even make it past the First Round if two of their prominent players (Laine and Connor) are still unsigned by the start of the regular season.

    Other than that, Dustin Byfuglien is aiming for a strong run without any more injuries and the rest of Winnipeg is looking to quietly do their thing under the tremendous leadership of their captain, Blake Wheeler.

    How would the Jets fail?

    If Laine and/or Connor miss any part of the regular season, the Jets aren’t going to be soaring all that far without the fuel to get them to the Stanley Cup Final.

    Minnesota Wild: Pros and Cons

    What an offseason for the Wild and their fans, right? I mean, things are really wild in Minnesota.

    First, Mats Zuccarello lands a five-year, $30.000 million contract in the State of Hockey, then (now former) General Manager Paul Fenton is fired and now Bill Guerin has his first job as an NHL GM.

    Welcome to the club, Mr. Guerin, now undo all of this mess that was done by the last guy and the guy before him dating back to July 4, 2012.

    At least a full season of Ryan Donato in a Wild sweater should be exciting.

    Joel Eriksson Ek signed a two-year extension and Ryan Suter’s play wasn’t too terrible last season, but the wheels fell off in the crease because of how bad puck possession was in front of Devan Dubnyk and Alex Stalock.

    Though they’re forecasted as a wild card berth (the forecast formula accounts for more than just last season), Minnesota’s not looking like they’re really going to be much better than they were last season– if at all.

    Unless Guerin has any big plans up his sleeve and can get to work patching the holes left and right.

    How would the Wild fail?

    If they add another player over the age of 30 to their roster, then you know it’s a full-on rebuild (which might actually be for the better at this point).

    Chicago Blackhawks: Pros and Cons

    Patrick Kane had a tremendous season in 2018-19, amassing 44-66–110 totals in 81 games while the Blackhawks failed to make the postseason for the second straight year.

    In the meantime, those that remain from Chicago’s three Cups in five years core are another year older. Jonathan Toews is 31, Kane is 30, Brent Seabrook is 34, Duncan Keith is 36 and starting goaltender, Corey Crawford, is 34.

    While incredibly talented, time is not on the Hawks’ side.

    That’s why General Manager Stan Bowman has been working to make the team younger with Dylan Strome, Alex DeBrincat and newcomer Olli Maatta (acquired in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins this summer) taking on larger roles on the Original Six squad.

    Even better, 28-year-old defender in his prime, Calvin de Haan, bolsters Chicago’s blue line and provides some much needed time on ice relief for Seabrook and/or Keith as second-year head coach, Jeremy Colliton, sees fit.

    Winning the 3rd overall pick in the draft in June, brought Kirby Dach into the equation– whether he’ll be ready for NHL stardom behind Toews and Strome immediately or not.

    Though the Blackhawks are forecasted to narrowly miss the postseason for the third straight season, they aren’t going to miss out on the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs by much and will be the team to knock out one of the teams higher up in this outlook (*ahem* Minnesota).

    How would the Blackhawks fail?

    Age continues to chip away at the memories of yesteryear. That, or injuries, probably.

    Dallas Stars: Pros and Cons

    The Stars weren’t happy with the production from their best players despite the fact that they were– in fact– their best players. Who would’ve thought?

    But now Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn are joined by veterans Joe Pavelski and Corey Perry among Dallas’ forwards, while Andrej Sekera has taken a supporting role on the defense in place of the current unrestricted free agent Marc Methot (who may retire altogether).

    On the bright side, Dallas’ defense contains Miro Heiskanen, Esa Lindell, John Klingberg and one of the most underrated aspects in the league– itself.

    The Stars defense– combined with the superb duo of Ben Bishop as the starting goaltender and Anton Khudobin as their backup– is really solid.

    Unfortunately, the team with the most goals at the end of the game always wins and sometimes Dallas just couldn’t score.

    That’s where General Manager Jim Nill has looked to Pavelski’s prowess and Perry’s ability– should he rebound– to try to fill the cracks in their offensive game and start winning games even if they only give up a goal or two when it matters most (the playoffs).

    Should the Stars beat the aging curve, they’ll make it back to the playoffs. But don’t think it’s easy– they coasted into the postseason last season and shouldn’t make a habit out of that if they’re looking to play their best hockey deep into June.

    How would the Stars fail?

    Somehow bringing in Pavelski (35-years-old), Perry (34), Sekera (33)– thereby increasing your overall average age– and expanding your list of no-trade and/or no-movement clauses to seven players on your roster just doesn’t always seem to payout. But at least Perry and Sekera are on one-year, $1.500 million contracts.

    Colorado Avalanche: Pros and Cons

    Pro: This forecast doesn’t take into account how much of an outlier the 2016-17 season was for the Avs.

    Con: Unfortunately, the 2016-17 season has to be included in the dataset to “accurately” predict the upcoming season’s outcome until the 2026-27 season or so.

    Pro: Colorado has one of the best first lines in the NHL.

    Con: Mikko Rantanen is still an unsigned RFA (and he’s a vital part of the first line).

    Pro: Joonas Donskoi, Nazem Kadri, Calle Rosen and Andre Burakovsky are all newcomers to the Avalanche with something to prove. GM Joe Sakic was busy on the phone(s)!

    Con: If the team doesn’t gel by January, it’s going to be a long season.

    Pro: Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar.

    Con: The number of games Gabriel Landeskog will be suspended for at some point in the season.

    Pro: This is a very exciting team to watch and a surefire dark-horse to make the Stanley Cup Final.

    Con: Now I’ve jinxed them.

    How would the Avalanche fail?

    By proving this forecast right and inexplicably regressing to their 2016-17 season ways. Otherwise, they’re definitely not actually finishing last in the Central Division… right?

  • DTFR Podcast #164- The Free Agency Mega-Hour

    DTFR Podcast #164- The Free Agency Mega-Hour

    Nick, Cap’n and Pete recap the last two weeks of trades and first few days of free agency 2K19.

    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts (iTunes), Stitcher and/or on Spotify. Support the show on Patreon.

  • 2018 Offseason Preview: Edmonton Oilers

    Today’s yet another day of offseason previews for all 31 National Hockey League teams starting, of course, with the Edmonton Oilers.

    220px-Logo_Edmonton_Oilers.svg

    One season after finishing 2nd in the Pacific Division with a 47-26-9 record and 103 points– making the playoffs for the first time since their 2006 Stanley Cup Final appearance– the Edmonton Oilers collapsed.

    The Oilers finished 6th in the Pacific in 2017-18 with a 36-40-6 record and 78 points on the season.

    Connor McDavid continued to excel, locking up the Art Ross Trophy with his second consecutive 100-plus point season, while linemate Milan Lucic virtually disappeared on the ice.

    General Manager Peter Chiarelli bought into Kris Russell‘s successful 2016-17 season as a shutdown blueliner by re-signing the defender to a four-year, $36 million contract and Russell went on to yield 21 points on the season (an eight point improvement from 2016-17 to 2017-18). Russell fits in with Edmonton’s defense.

    The only problem is that it’s noticeable when he makes a mistake because the puck’s usually in the back of the net.

    2018 NHL Entry Draft

    Chiarelli has expressed a desire for a winger and a young defenseman this offseason.

    Get it out of your system now– you know his trade history and if you’re new around here, give him a quick search on Wikipedia.

    The good news is Chiarelli has plenty of options with the 10th overall pick in the Draft in Adam Boqvist, Rasmus Kupari, Isac Lundestrom, Joel Farabee, Ty Smith and Joseph Veleno (should any or all of them be available by the 10th pick).

    Past that, Chiarelli may try to shop Lucic and his $6.000 million cap hit through the 2022-23 season at the draft and work other transactions as necessary, but Edmonton’s a middle of the road team as things stand right now. Moving one player alone won’t help them and trading everybody isn’t an option either– what with McDavid and Leon Draisaitl‘s combined cap hit reaching $21 million.

    Pending free agents

    The Oilers can get back into playoff contention with some moves though.

    One of the good things going for Edmonton is that they don’t have too much holding them back from solidifying a goaltending duo. Sure, Cam Talbot is a starter, but at 30-years-old with one-year remaining on his contract at $4.167 million and a modified-no-trade-clause, there’s plenty of room to find a 1A/1B option.

    Talbot posted a 2.39 goals against average and .919 save percentage in 73 games played in 2016-17, but fell to a 3.02 GAA and .908 SV% in 67 games this season.

    In his first year as a starter (2015-16) with Edmonton he had a 2.55 GAA and .917 SV% in 56 games. Clearly, he’s not a high volume goaltender. Somewhere between 45 and 55 games is a sweet spot for Talbot as a starter and the Oilers need a backup that can play almost 30 or more games.

    Al Montoya, 33, and Mikko Koskinen, 29, are currently listed on the NHL roster. Both have one-year left on their contracts at $1.0625 million and $2.500 million, respectively.

    Neither are 1B options.

    Mike Cammallieri, 36, is the only pending-unrestricted free agent forward for the Oilers and should only get a callback if he’s willing to be a bottom-6 forward.

    Drake Caggiula, 23, Iiro Pakarinen, 26, Anton Slepyshev, 24, and Ryan Strome, 24, are all pending-RFAs for Chiarelli to review this summer.

    Caggiula improved by two points in seven additional games from his rookie season of 18 points in 60 games played. The 23-year-old forward had 13 goals and seven assists (20 points) in 67 games. If Chiarelli sees potential (as there have been some signs), then a bridge deal makes sense.

    Pakarinen posted 2-1–3 totals in 40 games played this season. Hard pass. Find a replacement.

    Slepyshev had six goals and six assists (12 points) in 50 games with the Oilers this season. He had 4-6–10 totals in 41 games played in 2016-17 and one assist in 11 games in 2015-16. Don’t bring him back if you’re expecting top-6 forward production.

    Strome had his best season since his 17-33–50 totals in 81 games with the New York Islanders in 2014-15, but he only amassed 13-21–34 totals in 82 games. At 24, he’s still in the midst of his prime, so things can improve, but with the right linemates. Bring him back and find him a friend or two.

    Pending-UFA defender, Yohann Auvitu participated in 33 games for Edmonton this season with three goals and six assists (nine points). The 28-year-old was a plus-four and could stick around as a depth defender.

    Both Matt Benning, 24, and Darnell Nurse, 23, are pending-RFA blueliners.

    Nurse’s name has flown around the trade rumor mill already and, sure, he could be a centerpiece to move and attract a decent package in return, but as a surefire top-4 defenseman, Edmonton should hold onto his services and try to convince Andrej Sekera to waive his no-movement-clause instead.

    Especially with Benning posting 24 points this season, both defensemen are ready for bigger roles if the Oilers are content with another middle of the road season. Having been more established in the league than Benning, Nurse is opt to be the one dealt this summer.

    Edmonton has about $10.100 million to spend this summer and will undoubtedly have to trade one of their younger guys just to keep everyone else happy– this is where Nurse’s name comes up and guys like Oscar Klefbom, the only NHL ready defenseman without a NMC/NTC as part of his contract and at an affordable $4.167 million price tag through 2022-23.

    Other pending free agents throughout the organization include:

    Laurent Brossoit (UFA), Brian Ferlin (UFA), Mark Fayne (UFA), Braden Christoffer (RFA), Dillon Simpson (UFA), Ben Betker (RFA), Joey Laleggia (UFA), Kyle Platzer (RFA), Grayson Downing (UFA)

    Buyouts on the books: Benoit Pouliot— $1.333 million through the end of the 2020-21 season.

  • 2017 NHL Expansion Draft: Protected Lists

    30 of the NHL’s 31 teams submitted their protected lists on Saturday by 5 p.m. ET. The protected lists were made public at 10:30 a.m. ET (originally scheduled for 10 a.m.) on Sunday. Additionally, the available lists of players to choose from were released.

    The Vegas Golden Knights will now spend the next few days constructing their roster, with the full reveal set for Wednesday night during the NHL Awards Ceremony at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

    To recap, here’s all of the protected players:

    Anaheim Ducks

    Forwards: Andrew Cogliano, Ryan Getzlaf, Ryan Kesler, Corey Perry, Rickard Rakell, Jakob Silfverberg, Antoine Vermette

    Defensemen: Kevin Bieksa, Cam Fowler, Hampus Lindholm

    Goaltender: John Gibson

    Arizona Coyotes

    Forwards: Nick Cousins, Anthony Duclair, Jordan Martinook, Tobias Rieder

    Defensemen: Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Alex Goligoski, Connor Murphy, Luke Schenn

    Goaltender: Chad Johnson

    Boston Bruins

    Forwards: David Backes, Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Brad Marchand, Riley Nash, David Pastrnak, Ryan Spooner

    Defensemen: Zdeno Chara, Torey Krug, Kevan Miller

    Goaltender: Tuukka Rask

    Buffalo Sabres

    Forwards: Tyler Ennis, Marcus Foligno, Zemgus Girgensons, Evander Kane, Johan Larsson, Ryan O’Reilly, Kyle Okposo

    Defensemen: Nathan Beaulieu, Jake McCabe, Rasmus Ristolainen

    Goaltender: Robin Lehner

    Calgary Flames

    Forwards: Mikael Backlund, Sam Bennett, Micheal Ferlund, Michael Frolik, Johnny Gaudreau, Curtis Lazar, Sean Monahan

    Defensemen: T.J. Brodie, Mark Giordano, Dougie Hamilton

    Goaltender: Mike Smith

    Carolina Hurricanes

    Forwards: Phillip Di Giuseppe, Elias Lindholm, Brock McGinn, Victor Rask, Jeff Skinner, Jordan Staal, Teuvo Teravainen

    Defensemen: Trevor Carrick, Justin Faulk, Ryan Murphy

    Goaltender: Scott Darling

    Chicago Blackhawks

    Forwards: Artem Anisimov, Ryan Hartman, Marian Hossa, Tomas Jurco, Patrick Kane, Richard Panik, Jonathan Toews

    Defensemen: Niklas Hjalmarsson, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook

    Goaltender: Corey Crawford

    Colorado Avalanche

    Forwards: Sven Andrighetto, Blake Comeau, Matt Duchene, Rocco Grimaldi, Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon, Matt Nieto

    Defensemen: Tyson Barrie, Erik Johnson, Nikita Zadorov

    Goaltender: Semyon Varlamov

    Columbus Blue Jackets

    Forwards: Cam Atkinson, Brandon Dubinsky, Nick Foligno, Scott Hartnell, Boone Jenner, Brandon Saad, Alexander Wennberg

    Defensemen: Seth Jones, Ryan Murray, David Savard

    Goaltender: Sergei Bobrovsky

    Dallas Stars

    Forwards: Jamie Benn, Radek Faksa, Valeri Nichushkin, Brett Ritchie, Antoine Roussel, Tyler Seguin, Jason Spezza

    Defensemen: Stephen Johns, John Klingberg, Esa Lindell

    Goaltender: Ben Bishop

    Detroit Red Wings

    Forwards: Justin Abdelkader, Andreas Athanasiou, Anthony Mantha, Frans Nielsen, Gustav Nyquist, Tomas Tatar, Henrik Zetterberg

    Defensemen: Danny DeKeyser, Mike Green, Nick Jensen

    Goaltender: Jimmy Howard

    Edmonton Oilers

    Forwards: Leon Draisaitl, Jordan Eberle, Zack Kassian, Mark Letestu, Milan Lucic, Patrick Maroon, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

    Defensemen: Oscar Klefbom, Adam Larsson, Andrej Sekera

    Goaltender: Cam Talbot

    Florida Panthers

    Forwards: Aleksander Barkov, Nick Bjugstad, Jonathan Huberdeau, Vincent Trocheck

    Defensemen: Aaron Ekblad, Alex Petrovic, Mark Pysyk, Keith Yandle

    Goaltender: James Reimer

    Los Angeles Kings

    Forwards: Jeff Carter, Anze Kopitar, Tanner Pearson, Tyler Toffoli

    Defensemen: Drew Doughty, Derek Forbort, Alec Martinez, Jake Muzzin

    Goaltender: Jonathan Quick

    Minnesota Wild

    Forwards: Charlie Coyle, Mikael Granlund, Mikko Koivu, Nino Niederreiter, Zach Parise, Jason Pominville, Jason Zucker

    Defensemen: Jonas Brodin, Jared Spurgeon, Ryan Suter

    Goaltender: Devan Dubnyk

    Montreal Canadiens

    Forwards: Paul Byron, Phillip Danault, Jonathan Drouin, Alex Galchenyuk, Brendan Gallagher, Max Pacioretty, Andrew Shaw

    Defensemen: Jordie Benn, Jeff Petry, Shea Weber

    Goaltender: Carey Price

    Nashville Predators

    Forwards: Viktor Arvidsson, Filip Forsberg, Calle Jarnkrok, Ryan Johansen

    Defensemen: Mattias Ekholm, Ryan Ellis, Roman Josi, P.K. Subban

    Goaltender: Pekka Rinne

    New Jersey Devils

    Forwards: Taylor Hall, Adam Henrique, Kyle Palmieri, Travis Zajac

    Defensemen: Andy Greene, John Moore, Mirco Mueller, Damon Severson

    Goaltender: Cory Schneider

    New York Islanders

    Forwards: Andrew Ladd, Anders Lee, John Tavares

    Defensemen: Johnny Boychuk, Travis Hamonic, Nick Leddy, Adam Pelech, Ryan Pulock

    Goaltender: Thomas Greiss

    New York Rangers

    Forwards: Kevin Hayes, Chris Kreider, J.T. Miller, Rick Nash, Derek Stepan, Mika Zibanejad, Mats Zuccarello

    Defensemen: Nick Holden, Ryan McDonagh, Marc Staal

    Goaltender: Henrik Lundqvist

    Ottawa Senators

    Forwards: Derick Brassard, Ryan Dzingel, Mike Hoffman, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Zack Smith, Mark Stone, Kyle Turris

    Defensemen: Cody Ceci, Erik Karlsson, Dion Phaneuf

    Goaltender: Craig Anderson

    Philadelphia Flyers

    Forwards: Sean Couturier, Valtteri Filppula, Claude Giroux, Scott Laughton, Brayden Schenn, Wayne Simmonds, Jakub Voracek

    Defensemen: Shayne Gostisbehere, Radko Gudas, Brandon Manning

    Goaltender: Anthony Stolarz

    Pittsburgh Penguins

    Forwards: Sidney Crosby, Patric Hornqvist, Phil Kessel, Evgeni Malkin

    Defensemen: Brian Dumoulin, Kris Letang, Olli Maatta, Justin Schultz

    Goaltender: Matt Murray

    San Jose Sharks

    Forwards: Ryan Carpenter, Logan Couture, Jannik Hansen, Tomas Hertl, Melker Karlsson, Joe Pavelski, Chris Tierney

    Defensemen: Justin Braun, Brent Burns, Marc-Edouard Vlasic

    Goaltender: Martin Jones

    St. Louis Blues

    Forwards: Patrik Berglund, Ryan Reaves, Jaden Schwartz, Vladimir Sobotka, Paul Stastny, Alexander Steen, Vladimir Tarasenko

    Defensemen: Jay Bouwmeester, Joel Edmundson, Alex Pietrangelo

    Goaltender: Jake Allen

    Tampa Bay Lightning

    Forwards: Ryan Callahan, Tyler Johnson, Alex Killorn, Nikita Kucherov, Vladislav Namestnikov, Ondrej Palat, Steven Stamkos

    Defensemen: Braydon Coburn, Victor Hedman, Anton Stralman

    Goaltender: Andrei Vasilevskiy

    Toronto Maple Leafs

    Forwards: Tyler Bozak, Connor Brown, Nazem Kadri, Leo Komarov, Josh Leivo, Matt Martin, James van Riemsdyk

    Defensemen: Connor Carrick, Jake Gardiner, Morgan Rielly

    Goaltender: Frederik Andersen

    Vancouver Canucks

    Forwards: Sven Baertschi, Loui Eriksson, Markus Granlund, Bo Horvat, Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin, Brandon Sutter

    Defensemen: Alexander Edler, Erik Gudbranson, Christopher Tanev

    Goaltender: Jacob Markstrom

    Washington Capitals

    Forwards: Nicklas Backstrom, Andre Burakovsky, Lars Eller, Marcus Johansson, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Alex Ovechkin, Tom Wilson

    Defensemen: John Carlson, Matt Niskanen, Dmitry Orlov

    Goaltender: Braden Holtby

    Winnipeg Jets

    Forwards: Joel Armia, Andrew Copp, Bryan Little, Adam Lowry, Mathieu Perreault, Mark Scheifele, Blake Wheeler

    Defensemen: Dustin Byfuglien, Tyler Myers, Jacob Trouba

    Goaltender: Connor Hellebuyck