It’s both justified and annoying: Every time a hockey analyst or fan or fanalyst ponders something that’s happened in the NHL so far, it comes with the qualification that “it’s early.” “It’s a small rehearsal.” “It might not mean anything, but…”
And sure, these things can Not means everything. But from the beginning of November we suddenly find that teams that are already out of the playoffs rarely make it back into the playoffs. One, two, maybe three teams might start badly and climb into the playoffs, but some clear divisions By then, the good has happened from the bad teams, so I don’t think it’s unreasonable to zoom out after each team has played about five games , and to say, “Do we have any clues as to the direction of certain teams (or players) this season? ?”
Because the answer is yes. We have some clues. And some of the early ones that catch my attention are…
Could Connor Bedard join the Sharks?
Contrary to the belief of Sam McKee, the producer of Real Kyper and Bourne, I’m fairly certain that NHL drafts are not and have never been rigged. (I can’t believe the league over the years has believed that their brightest stars are best found in Pittsburgh and Edmonton). And so I don’t think it’s preordained that Connor Bedard is going to go into the desert and save the Arizona Coyotes, who will no doubt end up in a league-wide mid-30th and 32nd.
But I’m intrigued by the idea of him ending up somewhere else with a warm climate, in San Jose. The Sharks start the year 0-5-0, and looking at their forward group, it’s hard to imagine that they’ll suddenly bounce back and get to .500 (which would still miss the playoffs by a fair bit). Their division has suddenly gotten really good – the Kings were a playoff team, Calgary and Edmonton have cup ambitions, the Knights got off to a flying start – and it just doesn’t look like San Jose’s year. Did they die last? Probably not. But they could be closer than most thought before their season began quietly in Prague.
If nothing else, the Buffalo Sabers are a handful
They’re only 2-1-0 and they’re on a tough West Coast swing here where they’re likely to lose a game or two, but they just look like a team that’s going to be a challenge to play against, which is a huge one is compliment. They’ve got big bodies – they’ve seen Tage Thompson’s big goal and maybe Ilya Lyubushkin’s latest big hit – they’ve got some young talent and they’re working hard. I don’t necessarily see a playoff team in the tough Atlantic, but I do see a future with some real opportunities. As shocking as it is to say this, they are genuinely fun to watch.
Bruce Boudreau the first coach in the hot seat?
Like many people, I love Bruce Boudreau. I think his teams love him too, mostly. But the way the Canucks lost early on, with blown hints and comments that they were “mentally weak,” and player-only meetings, and that he doesn’t have a contract that extends into next season, and… Young.
The Canucks are good enough to have a two-goal lead on a regular basis, which is good. They will likely be a team that ends up somewhere in a 10-15 team rangeth and 24th league wide. But if the winning portion of the season doesn’t happen soon, Boudreau may not see Games 15-24 of the Canucks season.
Some teams that inspired “oh damn, this is an extremely good team” thoughts and why:
Some of these teams: the Hurricanes, Flames, Rangers and Golden Knights. And what do they have in common? Good defenders.
With just about every team wedged against the salary cap so much that you have to accept some roster errors, some teams have prioritized staying good forwards and, in some cases, goalies. But it’s the teams that have built solid D-Corps that seem to have such an advantage at the moment, and the groups mentioned here fit that bill. Vegas hasn’t kept all of their forwards, but boy is this still a really good defensive group (and wouldn’t you know, the goalie looks good because of it).
Related: early concerns for the Leafs, Lightning, and Oilers
Each of these teams that have slowly come out of the gate started the year with great sympathy for their respective groups while having slight concerns about their ability to defend. It’s weird to say that about Lightning, but without Ryan McDonagh and Jan Rutta you suddenly see a lot of Cal Foote and Haydn Fleury and Philippe Myers. The Leafs have lost Jake Muzzin, are without Timothy Liljegren and are getting questionable performances from the defenders involved. The Oilers have talent in their D Corps but don’t excel on actual defense, and while their season has barely started it’s definitely worth keeping an eye on these teams’ defensive capabilities.
How much does Pasta the Bruins cost?
David Pastrnak looks like a salary storm for the Boston Bruins. It has all the elements of a great ticket. He’s young, just 26 years old. He is an aspiring UFA. He scored 40 goals in his sleep last year despite missing 10 games and already has a Rocket Richard Trophy. He was grossly underpaid for years — like Nathan MacKinnon — and made just $6.6 million against the cap. He’s been dangling like crazy so far and has eight points in four games, the cap is reportedly set to go way up, so yeah… he’s not going to come cheap. Nathan MacKinnon gets $12.6 million a year, although Pastrnak doesn’t get that on principle. But you’re crazy if you think he costs less than $10 million a season, and I bet it’s way north of that.
Sneaky Good Player of the Season: Gustav Forsling
Despite only playing three games, Florida’s Forsling is currently 25:29, a second behind Victor Hedman’s average TOI per game, which ranks him sixth in the NHL in that statistic. With MacKenzie Weegar gone (and a pretty average D-Corps in general), Forsling has been promoted to a bigger role and looks like an effective player these minutes (he’s an excellent defender in the neutral zone). This from a guy who was a waiver pickup and will only make $2.66 million for this year and next. All I know is Florida better hope he stays this good: Aaron Ekblad went on LTIR today, so don’t expect Forsling’s minutes to come down any time soon.
Why are the flyers doing this?
Tanking is the worst and every team should always try to win, period. But the Flyers start 3-0-0, boy I’m not sure that’s the best thing for their future. But they don’t hire John Tortorella to make a peaceful trip down the league’s basement, so clearly they want to win. Props to them to get things moving in the right direction.
Speaking of the basement…
Do the Habs have too many good players to end up at the bottom again?
I still expect the Habs to have some lottery balls and a shot at Connor Bedard, but when you look at this team it’s hard not to see that they have a bunch of guys who can make plays and put the puck in the net . No, they don’t have a D Corps to speak of, but with their forward lineup, it doesn’t feel like watching a team like Arizona or the Sharks or even the aforementioned Flyers. Between Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki, Kirby Dach and Mike Hoffman, Brendan Gallagher, Jonathanb Drouin, Josh Anderson, and even Sean Monahan and Evgenii Dadonov, you’ve got guys who can do theater. If they’re not going to be good this year, at least they’re fun to watch.
#earlyseason #overreactions #NHL #Sportsnet.ca
Leave a Comment