Down the Frozen River

Tag: Edmonton Oilers

  • 2018-19 Projected Standings

    It’s still way too early to make these bold claims, but let’s do it anyway.

    Using marginal goals for and marginal goals against from the 2017-18 regular season– let’s assume there were no roster, coaching or front office changes this summer that would otherwise flip everything upside-down– here are expected points totals for all 31 National Hockey League teams for the 2018-19 season.

    Eastern Conference

    Atlantic Division

    1. z-Tampa Bay Lightning, 114 points
    2. x-Boston Bruins, 113 points
    3. x-Toronto Maple Leafs, 108 points
    4. Florida Panthers, 92 points
    5. Detroit Red Wings, 77 points
    6. Montreal Canadiens, 71 points
    7. Ottawa Senators, 65 points
    8. Buffalo Sabres, 61 points

    Metropolitan Division

    1. y-Pittsburgh Penguins, 100 points
    2. x-Washington Capitals, 99 points
    3. x-Columbus Blue Jackets, 96 points
    4. x-Philadelphia Flyers, 95 points
    5. x-New Jersey Devils, 93 points
    6. Carolina Hurricanes, 81 points
    7. New York Islanders, 79 points
    8. New York Rangers, 78 points

    2018-19 Eastern Conference Outlook

    Not much is different in the Atlantic Division heading into 2018-19.

    The top teams are the top teams, regardless of their additions (John Tavares to the Toronto Maple Leafs) or subtractions (uhh, James van Riemsdyk from the Maple Leafs?) and there’s going to be a little movement in the Metropolitan Division (most notably, a new division leader from 2017-18 to 2018-19).

    Carolina’s revamped defense and the Rangers post-trade deadline to present overhaul are wild cards to watch for any surprises in the standings.

    2017-18 Eastern Conference Expected Points Totals vs. (What Actually Happened)

    Atlantic Division

    1. y-Montreal Canadiens, 102 points (z-Tampa Bay Lightning, 113 points)
    2. x-Boston Bruins, 101 points (x-Boston Bruins, 112 points)
    3. x-Toronto Maple Leafs, 95 points (x-Toronto Maple Leafs, 105 points)
    4. x-Tampa Bay Lightning, 95 points (Florida Panthers, 96 points)
    5. Ottawa Senators, 91 points (Detroit Red Wings, 73 points)
    6. Florida Panthers, 81 points (Montreal Canadiens, 71 points)
    7. Detroit Red Wings, 77 points (Ottawa Senators, 67 points)
    8. Buffalo Sabres, 77 points (Buffalo Sabres, 62 points)

    What happened in the Atlantic? Injuries and age slowed the Canadiens way, way down, while Tampa reemerged as one of the top teams in the NHL, appearing in their third Eastern Conference Final in four years (despite losing to the Washington Capitals in seven games).

    Boston proved to be ahead of schedule in their plan, while the Leafs were right on track. Meanwhile, the floor fell out from underneath the Senators and a new head coach didn’t bring the expected progress in development for the Sabres.

    Florida turned a few heads, though ultimately proved to be a non-contender, missing the playoffs by a point (Columbus and New Jersey locked up the Eastern Conference wild cards with 97 points on the season), while Detroit fell within the expected margin of error (anywhere from 72-82 points on the season).

    Metropolitan Division

    1. p-Washington Capitals, 125 points (y-Washington Capitals, 105 points)
    2. x-Columbus Blue Jackets, 114 points (x-Pittsburgh Penguins, 100 points)
    3. x-Pittsburgh Penguins, 111 points (x-Philadelphia Flyers, 98 points)
    4. x-New York Rangers, 106 points (x-Columbus Blue Jackets, 97 points)
    5. New York Islanders, 91 points (x-New Jersey Devils, 97 points)
    6. Philadelphia Flyers, 85 points (Carolina Hurricanes, 83 points)
    7. Carolina Hurricanes, 83 points (New York Islanders, 80 points)
    8. New Jersey Devils, 67 points (New York Rangers, 77 points)

    What happened in the Metropolitan? Sometimes it’s not about the number of points, but rather, the divisional standing that matters.

    Washington may have surprised some experts by finishing 1st in their division in 2017-18 (then going on to win the Cup), but to us it wasn’t (the division win, not the Cup). The rest was a crapshoot. Three teams (Washington, Columbus and Pittsburgh) made the playoffs from our predictions heading into last season, while one (N.Y. Rangers) fell flat and hit the reset button.

    New Jersey had one of the biggest improvements from 2016-17 to 2017-18, while the Carolina Hurricanes hit the nail on the head (albeit one position higher than our prediction) with 83 points in 2017-18.

    Western Conference

    Central Division

    1. z-Winnipeg Jets, 114 points
    2. x-Nashville Predators, 113 points
    3. x-Minnesota Wild, 99 points
    4. x-Colorado Avalanche, 99 points
    5. Dallas Stars, 95 points
    6. St. Louis Blues, 93 points
    7. Chicago Blackhawks, 81 points

    Pacific Division

    1. y-Vegas Golden Knights, 108 points
    2. x-Los Angeles Kings, 105 points
    3. x-San Jose Sharks, 100 points
    4. x-Anaheim Ducks, 99 points
    5. Edmonton Oilers, 81 points
    6. Calgary Flames, 80 points
    7. Vancouver Canucks, 74 points
    8. Arizona Coyotes, 73 points

    2018-19 Western Conference Outlook

    Before the additions of Ryan O’Reilly (via trade), Tyler Bozak and Patrick Maroon (via free agency), the St. Louis Blues were destined to slide through another season of mediocrity. Now, they’re the most unpredictable team of the Central Division– and, yes, that’s even acknowledging what kind of season Jake Allen has in net.

    Allen could make or break St. Louis’s season, though Mike Yeo will have to balance Allen’s starting time with Chad Johnson‘s play as a solid backup, but enough about the Blues (for now).

    Everything else looks just the same in the Central with Colorado, Minnesota and Dallas as the teams that are most likely to change places and hit or miss one of the last playoff spots in the West.

    In the Pacific, the arms race for the top of the division rages on with the Golden Knights, Kings and Sharks auditioning for the role of top-dog and the Ducks bumbling their way into a wild card spot.

    It’s status quo in Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver, with the Arizona Coyotes entering the 2018-19 season as the biggest underdogs (hint, if they had played the way they did from February through April 2018 all season last season, they would be a lot higher up in these expected totals).

    2017-18 Western Conference Expected Points Totals vs. (What Actually Happened)

    Central Division

    1. z-Minnesota Wild, 115 points (p-Nashville Predators, 117 points)
    2. x-Chicago Blackhawks, 104 points (x-Winnipeg Jets, 114 points)
    3. x-St. Louis Blues, 99 points (x-Minnesota Wild, 101 points)
    4. x-Nashville Predators, 98 points (x-Colorado Avalanche, 95 points)
    5. Winnipeg Jets, 89 points (St. Louis Blues, 94 points)
    6. Dallas Stars, 76 points (Dallas Stars, 92 points)
    7. Colorado Avalanche, 47 points (Chicago Blackhawks, 76 points)

    What happened in the Central? Simply put, the stars aligned.

    The Blackhawks were kept far away from the 90-point plateau (and a playoff spot) by virtue of injuries to their starting goaltender, Corey Crawford, while the anemic offense of the 2016-17 Colorado Avalanche was no more in 2017-18.

    Both are surprises– by definition, given expected points totals are driven by an equation that takes last season’s offense into account for the following season– but any inherent intuition would show that Colorado was destined to improve (by that much, perhaps not).

    St. Louis fell out of the race while Connor Hellebuyck backstopped the Winnipeg Jets to a 50-plus win season and the Wild surged quietly. The Stars were thought to be further off the path back to the playoffs than they turned out, but alas, Dallas was still 6th in the division at season’s end.

    Pacific Division

    1. y-Vegas Golden Knights, 106 points (y-Vegas Golden Knights, 109 points)
    2. x-Edmonton Oilers, 106 points (x-Anaheim Ducks, 101 points)
    3. x-Anaheim Ducks, 101 points (x-San Jose Sharks, 100 points)
    4. x- San Jose Sharks, 100 points (x-Los Angeles Kings, 98 points)
    5. Calgary Flames, 94 points (Calgary Flames, 84 points)
    6. Los Angeles Kings, 90 points (Edmonton Oilers, 78 points)
    7. Vancouver Canucks, 67 points (Vancouver Canucks, 73 points)
    8. Arizona Coyotes, 66 points (Arizona Coyotes, 70 points)

    What happened in the Pacific? One of the best things about making predictions using a set of data is the outliers that cause some people to doubt all of math in its entirety. Nothing is concrete in the world of projections and expectations. The 2017-18 Edmonton Oilers are a great example of that.

    Based on a spectacular breakout 2016-17 season, the Oilers should’ve done a lot more than *checks notes* leave Cam Talbot in the net for too many games, facing too many shots, while Milan Lucic exerts some type of energy in the midst of another 100-point season by Connor McDavid only to miss the playoffs (by a lot) and still receive enough pity votes for the Hart Memorial Trophy to finish 5th in the voting. Hmm.

    One player does not make a team. One expected points total before a single puck drops on the regular season does not guarantee anything.

    Meanwhile, Vegas surprised everyone, Anaheim and San Jose hit their expected points totals, Los Angeles was ahead of schedule (though the core is still aging), Calgary regressed and the rest was as expected (again, given the margin of error– about +/- 5 points).

  • Long-Awaited Offseason Krug Thoughts

    It’s only taken me all offseason, but don’t trade Torey Krug.*

    *At least in a one-for-one with the Edmonton Oilers, anyway.

    There’s been plenty of talk on hockey Twitter among experts, recreational bloggers and fans alike surrounding Boston Bruins top-four defender, Torey Krug, and whether or not the 27-year-old blueliner should be considered an expendable asset for the right return.

    At some point this offseason, rumors swirled that Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney had been in contact with Oilers General Manager Peter Chiarelli with both GMs expressing desire for a defender.

    For starters, Sweeney and Chiarelli are friends.

    Sweeney worked under Chiarelli during Chiarelli’s tenure with Boston and, while it’s likely they talked at some point this offseason– as all friends do– to what extent they delved into their roster concerns, well, that’s not for me to say.

    But with rumors comes speculation on Twitter.

    Polls were created, people became enraged because people tweeted their two cents and… people tweeted. Never tweet.

    In the aftermath of the Krug Twitter War, let’s take one more sensible look at if Boston and Edmonton had worked out a deal this offseason– salary cap be damned.

    Krug notched a career-high 59 points in 76 games for the Bruins in 2017-18. He had eight more points last season than he did in 2016-17 (51 points in 81 games played) and improved his plus/minus from a minus-10 in 2016-17 to an even rating last season.

    There’s a couple of things to takeaway from that.

    First, Krug had 59 points (a career high) last season, which was only three fewer points in five more games played than one of the league’s best blueliners– Erik Karlsson— had in a down season.

    Yes, you read that right, Karlsson had 9-53–62 totals in 71 games for the Ottawa Senators in 2017-18, while Krug had 14-45–59 totals (76 GP) for Boston. Anytime a defender scores more than 10 goals, that’s something to celebrate– let alone when that player reaches a new career-high in scoring.

    And second, Krug’s mistakes are still noticeable.

    When a defenseman makes a mistake it’s usually easier to spot, because it leads directly to a goal against. Krug’s positioning hasn’t always been spot on, but he spent all of last season working with Brandon Carlo on Boston’s second defensive pairing– a season that Carlo is looking to learn from and move on from after failing to score a goal in his sophomore slump.

    Krug’s best career plus/minus (plus-18) came in 79 GP in the President’s Trophy winning 2013-14 season for the Bruins. Since then he’s slipped to plus-13 in 2014-15, plus-9 in 2015-16 and a minus-10 in 2016-17, before rebounding to breaking even in 2017-18.

    Now, I’ll fully acknowledge plus/minus does not tell the full story. Plus/minus alone does not take into account situations like being on the power play, penalty kill or even strength (Krug had 24 power play points last season– only one shy of his career-high 25 points on the power play in 2016-17). That’s where the argument for Corsi Relative, Corsi Close, Corsi Even and all that jazz comes in as another way to measure situational play, but I digress.

    Back to the Oilers for a moment.

    If Krug were to have been swapped in a one-for-one with an Edmonton defender, the Bruins would’ve taken a major step back.

    Boston doesn’t need a young defenseman approaching his prime– they’ve got Charlie McAvoy, Carlo, and Matt Grzelcyk already in those roles with Urho Vaakanainen, Jakub Zboril and Jeremy Lauzon (just to name a few) coming down the pipeline in the system.

    In other words, a hypothetical Krug for current-RFA, Darnell Nurse, deal wouldn’t look good. Especially when you look at the stats.

    In just 2017-18 alone, Krug’s 14-45–59 totals in 76 games decimate Nurse’s 6-20–26 totals in 82 games with the Oilers. While shutdown defenders are favorable for their defensive purposes, giving up 33 points from the backend for one player alone isn’t sound. Especially with Krug as Boston’s offensive defenseman centerpiece over the two-way skills of McAvoy.

    Sure, Nurse is only 23, but he needs a new contract as things stand right now with Boston looking at pay raises for both McAvoy (likely a hefty one) and Carlo in the summer of 2019. Then there’s that whole “already in his prime” thing going on with Krug. It’s perfectly fine to hold onto a defender in their prime into their early/mid-30s.

    What about Oscar Klefbom? Could the Bruins improve in a one-for-one involving Krug for him?

    Again, the answer is no.

    Klefbom, 25, is two-years younger than Krug (so that whole “already in his prime thing”, yeah, that’s not favoring Klefbom in this hypothetical) and had 5-16–21 totals in 66 games for the Oilers last season. He was also a minus-12, which was surprisingly worse than everyone’s favorite Chiarelli overvalued blueliner in Edmonton– Kris Russell.

    Russell was a minus-seven in 78 games and had, yep, 4-17–21 totals at 31-years-old.

    Sure, adding Klefbom (6’3″) in place of Krug (5’9″) adds height, but it hinders skill.

    There’s always that change of scenery argument, but there shouldn’t be anything attractive in Edmonton. Hard pass on any and all one-for-ones unless Connor McDavid is involved for some insane reason.

    And for the record, Chiarelli’s prized possession in his biggest one-for-one trade in Edmonton (Taylor Hall to the New Jersey Devils for Adam Larsson) had 4-9–13 totals in 63 games last season. Larsson’s only reached the 20-point plateau once in his career (24 points in 64 games for New Jersey in 2014-15). Ouch.

    If you’re thinking of trading Krug for any reason, don’t let it be in a one-for-one with the Oilers.

  • Edmonton Oilers 2018-19 Season Preview

    220px-Logo_Edmonton_Oilers.svg

    Edmonton Oilers

    36-40-6, 78 points, 6th in the Pacific Division

    Additions: F Kyle Brodziak, F Josh Currie, D Jason Garrison (signed to a PTO), D Kevin Gravel, G Hayden Hawkey (acquired from MTL), D Jakub Jerabek, F Tobias Rieder, F Scottie Upshall (signed to a PTO)

    Subtractions: D Yohann Auvitu (signed, KHL), G Laurent Brossoit (signed with WPG), F Braden Christoffer (signed with Bakersfield Condors, AHL), F Grayson Downing (signed with Colorado Eagles, AHL), G Nick Ellis (retired), D Mark Fayne (signed to a PTO with BOS), F Brian Ferlin (retired), F Roman Horak (signed, KHL), F/D Joey LaLeggia (signed with STL), F Iiro Pakarinen (signed, KHL), F Kyle Platzer (signed with Charlotte Checkers, AHL), D Dillon Simpson (signed with CBJ), F Anton Slepyshev (signed, KHL), F Nolan Vesey (traded to TOR),

    Still Unsigned: D Ben Betker, F Michael Cammalleri, D Darnell Nurse

    Re-signed: F Ryan Strome

    Offseason Analysis: The Edmonton Oilers put up 103 points on the board in 2016-17, General Manager Peter Chiarelli locked up Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl for $21 million a season combined.

    Then they fell. Hard.

    After making a return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2017 for the first time since losing in Game 7 of the 2006 Stanley Cup Final to the Carolina Hurricanes, the Oilers missed the postseason in 2017-18.

    Seventy-eight points. That’s not the worst, but it’s not great either. They weren’t even a bubble team. Edmonton finished 6th in the Pacific Division and they’re looking to climb before other teams climb over them– namely the Arizona Coyotes and their resurgence of youth.

    Milan Lucic‘s second season as an Oiler wasn’t as productive as his first. Down from 50 points (82 GP) in his first year in Edmonton, Lucic amassed 10-24–34 totals in 82 games last season. His size might read “protection for McDavid”, but his game was off– pretty far off with his worst plus/minus (minus-12) since entering the league in 2007-08.

    By default, thanks to snuggling up close to the salary cap, Chiarelli let many free agents walk. Anton Slepyshev was tendered a qualifying offer before the forward decided to return home to the KHL.

    Ryan Strome was re-signed on a friendly two-year, $6.200 million contract ($3.100 million per season), meanwhile Darnell Nurse remains unsigned.

    That’s right, 23-year-old restricted free agent defender, Darnell Nurse still doesn’t have a contract.

    It’s fair to assume that most top-4 defenders reaching their prime would earn somewhere around $4.000 million a season on their next contract– and that’s probably what’s holding things up in Edmonton. The Oilers don’t have that kind of money– at least, they don’t have anything more than that to offer.

    Nurse won’t attend training camp without a new deal signed, but it’s not Chiarelli’s first rodeo with an RFA holdout. There was Phil Kessel in Chiarelli’s early days as the Boston Bruins GM, then Torey Krug and Reilly Smith took until the eleventh hour to re-sign in Chiarelli’s final season with Boston.

    Of course, of those three aforementioned players, Kessel was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

    Rumors have swirled about Edmonton’s desire to move a defender, whether it’s Nurse, Oscar Klefbom or someone else. Given their cap situation, it’d make sense– especially as they added Kevin Gravel and 2018 Stanley Cup winner with the Washington Capitals Jakub Jerabek for depth and signed Jason Garrison to a PTO.

    Perhaps the Oilers’ emergency plan is staring us in the face? Then again, perhaps not. It’s hard to tell what the overall plan actually is in Edmonton, let alone what they’re going to do today or tomorrow.

    In 2016-17, the Oilers had a plus-35 goal differential. It was their first positive goal differential since their Cup run in 2006. Last season, they were a minus-29.

    A porous defense, lack of offensive depth past their first line and an over-reliance on starting netminder, Cam Talbot, added up to mediocrity.

    Whereas last season’s expectations were set higher given 2017’s playoff run, this season’s forecast for Edmonton is served with a slice of reality. It’s going to be another long season. There’s no other way around it until Chiarelli digs himself out of cap hell again.

    Offseason Grade: D+

    The Nurse situation remains unresolved as training camp is soon to get underway, but at least Edmonton gets the benefit of the doubt on letting poor performers walk this offseason.

    There’s only one problem– they didn’t do anything to bring better players in, nor does it look like head coach Todd McLellan‘s going to have any holes to fill with youth.

  • Vancouver Canucks 2018-19 Season Preview

    imgres-2

    Vancouver Canucks

    31-40-11, 73 points, 7th in the Pacific Division

    Additions: F Jay Beagle, F Tanner Kero (acquired from CHI), F Antoine Roussel, F Tim Schaller

    Subtractions: F Cole Cassels (signed, DEL), F Michael Chaput (traded to CHI, signed with MTL), F Nic Dowd (signed with WSH), F Joseph LaBate (signed with Belleville Senators, AHL), F Jayson Megna (signed with WSH), F Griffen Molino (signed with Toronto Marlies, AHL), F Daniel Sedin (retired), F Henrik Sedin (retired), D Patrick Wiercioch (signed, KHL)

    Still Unsigned: D Anton Cederholm, F Jussi Jokinen, D MacKenze Stewart

    Re-signed: F Darren Archibald, F Sven Baertschi, D Troy Stecher, F Jake Virtanen

    Offseason Analysis: We all knew this day would come, but didn’t want the telepathy to end. Yes, both Daniel and Henrik Sedin retired at the end of the 2017-18 regular season, leaving the Vancouver Canucks with an identity crisis– well, almost.

    The face(s) of the franchise shifts full-time to the likes of Bo Horvat, Brock Boeser and Jake Virtanen while the rest of the roster, umm, does stuff on the ice.

    Does Jim Benning know the definition of a rebuild?

    The Canucks General Manager signed veteran forwards Jay Beagle and Antoine Roussel to matching four-year, $12 million contracts (worth $3.000 million per season). Beagle, 32, and Roussel, 28, are not top-six forwards. One’s past his prime, despite winning the Cup with the Washington Capitals last season and the other, well, $3.000 million a year for not just one fourth liner but two is the definition of insanity.

    Doing the same thing and expecting different results, Benning keeps patching a non-playoff contender with grizzled veterans on long-term contracts.

    It’s one thing to fill some roster holes with veteran players while you rebuild in the short term, but four-year deals? Four-years!?! Especially when this seems to be a trend up and down the lineup since losing to the Boston Bruins in the 2011 Stanley Cup Final.

    That should be enough to convince Vancouver’s ownership group (Canucks Sports & Entertainment) that they should hit the reset button on their current front office.

    One good signing– and the only good signing– made by Benning at improving the Canucks bottom-six depth was the addition of former Buffalo Sabre and Boston Bruin, Tim Schaller.

    Schaller’s respectable two-year deal at $1.900 million per season is right about what you would expect to pay a top-notch fourth liner that can play third line minutes when called upon.

    His 22 points in 82 games with Boston last season matched Beagle’s output in 79 games with the Capitals and was five-points better than Roussel’s 5-12–17 totals in 73 games for the Dallas Stars in 2017-18.

    Schaller’s cap hit is a little more than half of Beagle and Roussel’s.

    Goaltending continues to be an issue for Vancouver since trading Cory Schneider and Roberto Luongo one year apart from one another.

    Thatcher Demko isn’t ready for a full-time NHL role yet– either in the starting capacity or as a backup netminder. Anders Nilsson had his worst season as a backup in his first year as a Canuck, amassing a 3.44 goals against average and .901 save percentage in 27 games played.

    Meanwhile, subpar starting goalie, Jacob Markstrom worsened from 2016-17 to 2017-18 in GAA (going from a 2.63 to a 2.71), but improved in SV% (.910 in 2016-17 to a .912 in 2017-18)– all while making the jump from being a backup himself in 2016-17 (playing in 26 games) to being Vancouver’s starter in 2017-18 (and playing in 60 games).

    There’s hope to be had in 2018-19, however, in standout prospects Elias Pettersson and Jonathan Dahlen. Both should make the Canucks NHL roster and be implemented in the lineup for added flair, coupled with the Horvat, Boeser and Virtanen regime that’s now in full swing.

    Despite the rumblings of a young core, Vancouver’s still in a tough spot given the strength of the Pacific Division.

    The San Jose Sharks look to be a Cup contender on paper, Los Angeles is seeking one last chance at completing a trifecta this decade and Anaheim rounds out the annual California hockey powerhouse.

    Meanwhile the Vegas Golden Knights certainly aren’t slowing down.

    Between the Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames and Vancouver– anything can happen. Edmonton should be better than they were last season, but should and in reality are separate things. Calgary, despite their revamped roster, has Bill Peters behind the bench (enough said).

    So if the Canucks are looking to make any ground from 2018-19 to 2019-20, it very well might be on their Pacific Division Canadian counterparts.

    What about the Arizona Coyotes, you ask?

    They won’t be in last place in the division this season, so Vancouver better watch out. Unless, of course, Benning and Co. are starting to come around to the idea of tanking for a high-end 2019 1st round pick. That’d probably do them a lot of favors.

    Offseason Grade: D

    It’s hard to track progress when you let yourself get in the way of whatever you’ve got going. I don’t know what that means other than trying to say that the Canucks should continue to pursue a youth movement, decent depth signings (like Schaller) and abandon all hope on– oh wait, they signed Beagle and Roussel to matching four-year contracts.

    Never mind.

    If The Hockey Guy sees this by any chance– ‘sup. Let’s be friends, friend.

  • DTFR Podcast #122- 2018-19 Central Division Season Preview

    DTFR Podcast #122- 2018-19 Central Division Season Preview

    It’s the DTFR Podcast’s official season preview for all things Central Division in 2018-19 as Nick and Connor embark on season five of the show…

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

  • Down the Frozen River Podcast #121- Four-Year Vets

    Down the Frozen River Podcast #121- Four-Year Vets

    Nick and Connor celebrate the conclusion of the fourth season of the podcast, talk jerseys and logos from the week, the Edmonton Oilers defense and rank the best division by goaltenders.

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

  • Down the Frozen River Podcast #119- Thread Count 101

    Down the Frozen River Podcast #119- Thread Count 101

    Nick and Connor talk Ryan Ellis and his extension with the Nashville Predators, Brady Tkachuk going pro and analyze the 2018-19 national TV schedule.

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

  • Down the Frozen River Podcast #118- Bad Puns

    Down the Frozen River Podcast #118- Bad Puns

    The Original Trio analyze the Jeff Skinner trade, recent one year extensions, upcoming jersey retirement nights, 2018-19 Calder Memorial Trophy predictions and more.

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

  • Down the Frozen River Podcast #117- Lemieux Bed and Breakfast

    Down the Frozen River Podcast #117- Lemieux Bed and Breakfast

    Nick and Connor present yet another offseason episode while just about every other hockey podcast has gone off to their cottage on the lake. This week: Tom Wilson’s extension, Mario Lemieux’s summer home, Tyler Seguin, third jerseys so far and should teams wear white at home?

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

  • Down the Frozen River Podcast #116- Welcome Back to Arby’s

    Down the Frozen River Podcast #116- Welcome Back to Arby’s

    Nick, Connor, Cap’n and Pete reveal the conclusion of their top-10 series, capping things off with the top-10 defenders in their lifetimes, as well as more arbitration and Columbus Blue Jackets talk.

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