Remembering the sheer joy of the NHL offseason’s craziest hour, ten years later

Do you remember where you were and what you were doing exactly ten years ago?

If you were a hockey fan back then, there’s a decent chance that you do. But it depends on what time you’re reading this.

If it’s early in the morning, then you probably have no idea. Exactly ten years ago, the hockey world was waking up to what felt like a typical Wednesday. We’d just had the draft, with Auston Matthews going first overall, and the Red Wings had traded Pavel Datsyuk to the Coyotes, because that’s just what we did with Hall-of-Fame players back then. And we were still a few days from free agency, a crop loaded with wingers like Milan Lucic, Kyle Okposo and Loui Eriksson who'd surely sign reasonable deals.

Exactly ten years ago, on that pleasant summer morning, your hockey fan brain was probably taking a nice deep breath and enjoying the calm between the storms.

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Making the HHOF case against Pekka Rinne, P.K. Subban and even Alexander Mogilny

The Hockey Hall of Fame will welcome seven new members this weekend, including three players from the men’s side. That’s one fewer than the committee is allowed to induct, meaning they didn’t run out of room; they just decided that some of the bigger names weren’t worthy.

Good.  The Hall is supposed to be tough to get into, and we should be slamming the door on some of the names that just don’t deserve a spot.

At least, that’s the angle we’re taking today. I’m not necessarily a Small Hall guy, and I’ve spent plenty of time over the years making the cases for various stars. But I think there’s value in trying the other side sometimes, if only to force the supporters of certain stars to sharpen their arguments. So today, I’m going to make the case against 10 names that could be front and center when the HHOF committee holds their next meeting.

We tried this a while ago, with a list 15 players. That was two years’ worth of inductions ago, and four names from that piece have got the call: Mike Vernon and Tom Barrasso in 2023, then Jeremy Roenick and Pierre Turgeon this year. Apparently my other 11 arguments were just more convincing.

We won’t be doing any repeats this time around, so check that older post if you want to see my case against names like Rod Brind’Amour, Patrik Elias, Ryan Miller or anyone else you're expecting to see today but don't. This time, the group of 10 will be made up of some names that I left off last time, as well as a few new that are new to the mix. I won’t bother with a few players I think are easy slam dunks, including Zdeno Chara, Joe Thornton and Patrice Bergeron, and we’re not tackling anyone who isn’t eligible until 2027 or beyond, including anyone who's still active.

That still leaves us with plenty of names to consider, including several who’d probably have my vote. Here’s why none of them should make it – just for argument’s sake.

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Puck Soup: Retirement home

On this week's episode of the Puck Soup podcast:
- Every veteran defenseman retires
- We remember how cool P.K. Subban and Zdeno Chara were
- Nathan MacKinnon gets a new contract
- Blake Wheeler is out as Jets captain
- The Oilers have a type
- Ryan quizzes me on all the new coaches
- Survivor talk and lots more...

>> Listen on The Athletic >> Subscribe on iTunes.

>> Listen on Spotify

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The Athletic Hockey Show: Phil in the blanks

On this week's episode of The Athletic Hockey Show:
- I have to yell at Ian about Phil Kessel's ironman streak
- Should Michael Bunting be a legitimate Calder candidate?
- Why would the Devils terminate P.K. Subban's contract?
- Is Jaromir Jagr overlooked in the all-time GOAT discussion?
- A surprisingly large amount of baseball talk for some reason
- Plus this week in history, the goalie quiz, Wayne Gretzky as an analyst and more...

The Athletic Hockey Show runs most days of the week during the season, with Ian and I hosting every Thursday. There are two versions of each episode available:
- An ad-free version for subscribers that you can find here
- An ad-supported version you can get for free wherever you normally find your podcasts (like Apple or Spotify)

Puck Soup: Sources are telling us

On this week's episode of the Puck Soup podcast:
- Trade season heats up, but will your favorite team make a deal just for the sake of making a deal?
- Who's selling and who's buying
- Do rumors about P.K. Subban or Shea Weber make sense?
- The Western playoff race is chaos
- The Coyotes are a juggernaut, and also Phil Kessel made a baby
- Are people getting weirder about awards?
- And lots more...

>> Stream it now:

>> Or, listen on The Athletic or subscribe on iTunes.

>> Get weekly mailbags and special bonus episodes by supporting Puck Soup on Patreon for $5.

Puck Soup: Ironman in an Apple store

On this week's episode of the Puck Soup podcast:
- Thoughts on hockey's ongoing racism problem
- The Canucks make some intriguing hires
- The Flyers keep on losing
- Ryan tells a story about Keith Yandle in an Apple store
- Aaron Dell, the Blues, and lots more...

>> Stream it now:

>> Or, listen on The Athletic or subscribe on iTunes.

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Weekend rankings: If Taylor Hall gets the midseason trade market moving, who’ll be next?

Despite a reasonably full schedule featuring 20 games, by far the biggest story of the weekend was a trade that didn’t happen.

Or at least, one that hasn’t happened yet. Because it sure seems like a Taylor Hall trade is coming very soon. Teams typically don’t hold healthy players out of multiple games because talks are heating up. They do it because a deal is almost done.

No surprise, but expectation is no Taylor Hall tonight vs ARIZ — as this process continues

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) December 14, 2019

We’ll try not to get ahead of ourselves on a Hall trade because even deals that are almost done can still fall through. Instead, let’s get way ahead of ourselves. Now that we’ve been reminded that it really is possible for a GM of a struggling team to do his job during the season without waiting until the week before the trade deadline, the question naturally shifts to: Who’s next?

In other words, which team that’s falling out of the running for a playoff spot is the most likely to swing the next blockbuster trade that ships out a legitimate star in exchange for future assets?

To state the obvious, the answer might be “nobody.” Maybe the timing of a Hall deal would be a one-off quirk, and everyone else will go back to waiting until February to get serious. Then again, the last time we did one of these “Who’ll be next” pieces, the entire world immediately went insane. So let’s give this a shot and see where it goes. We’ll focus on the teams that are currently under .500 in points percentage.

We can pretty much rule out a few bad teams right off the bat. The Red Wings won’t be trading away any veteran stars because they don’t have any. Neither do the Senators. Both teams have pieces they might move; in Detroit, we’re due for another round of the annual “Luke Glendening is somehow a top trade target” stories, and a healthy Jimmy Howard would draw some attention, while the Senators will have to figure out what to do with pending UFA Jean-Gabriel Pageau and his career year. But neither team has a Hall-level move available.

The Kings probably don’t either. They do have some big-name veteran stars, but Drew Doughty or Anze Kopitar aren’t going anywhere, and nobody’s trading for Jonathan Quick. Jeff Carter is at least a possibility, but this feels more like a situation where Tyler Toffoli will be the biggest bait.

The Ducks are interesting. At first glance, they don’t seem like they have much to offer, without any pending free agents who’d be especially attractive to a contender and a bunch of late-20s guys on long-term deals that you’d figure they’d be better off keeping. But then there’s the Ryan Getzlaf question. He’s 34 and comes with a massive cap hit north of $8 million. But there’s only one more season after this one left on that deal, he’s playing well this year, and with some retained salary he’s the sort of player who’d be awfully attractive to a contender with a hole in the top six. He has a full no-move and there don’t seem to be any serious rumors about him, so this is probably more of a next-year situation if it ever surfaces at all. But it’s at least worth keeping an eye on if we’re looking for an actual blockbuster.

Moving up the standings, we hit an interesting situation in Columbus. Like most bad teams, they’re not exactly dripping with elite talent, and like the Ducks, they don’t have a single expiring deal that would draw serious attention. The unique factor here is the recent history, and last year’s refusal to cash in any chips at the deadline. That worked – I still say that giving fans the greatest week in franchise history was worth sacrificing some long-term prospect depth – but it’s part of the reason they’re where they are right now. If there’s any team that would have an appetite to figure out a way to make some moves this year, you’d have to think it’s the Blue Jackets.

I’m not sure what to do with the Hawks and Sharks, two veteran teams with a recent history of contending that appear to be going through transitions. Chicago isn’t moving Jonathan Toews or Patrick Kane or Duncan Keith, and good luck on Brent Seabrook. Could Brandon Saad make sense for someone? Or maybe more realistically, does Robin Lehner’s strong season and one-year deal make him attractive to a contender who needs help in net? That was supposed to be the Sharks, and maybe it still is, but I really have no idea what Doug Wilson does next, especially since he’s locked into most of this veteran core. Could we see a finally-win-a-Cup type of rental for Joe Thornton? Patrick Marleau? The Sharks still want to make the playoffs, but at some point that goal could be off the table. Realistically, it probably already is.

And that brings us back to the one sub-.500 team we haven’t looked at: The Devils. They seem like the best fit, even once Hall is off the list. Maybe especially with Hall off the list, since his trade would prove they’re open for business and not interested in waiting around. They have Wayne Simmonds on a one-year deal, plus Andy Greene and Sami Vatanen with a year left and Travis Zajac and Kyle Palmieri with two. And then there’s maybe the biggest name who seems to make sense: P.K. Subban. He’s got a huge cap hit and isn’t playing well, but if the Devils were willing to retain a chunk of his salary, you’d figure some team out there would be able to talk themselves into a right-shot defenseman with a Norris pedigree.

Or maybe not. Having gone through the list of certifiably bad teams, maybe we are going to have to settle for Hall and not much else. At least until the Predators or Leafs join the party with a bad week or two. If you’re a fan of the trade game, you can always hope.

Onto this week’s rankings.

Road to the Cup

The five teams that look like they’re headed toward a summer of keg stands and fountain pool parties.

If you’ve been paying close attention over the last few months, you may have noticed something missing from the top five: The Pacific Division. Other than some very early appearances by the Golden Knights, they’ve been completely absent from the rankings. That’s not necessarily wrong – we’ve flirted a bit with the Coyotes but will want to see more, and the Oilers aren’t exactly making us regret being skeptical of their early success. But it’s worth mentioning because whoever wins this division is going to get at least two rounds of home ice, which should be worth something.

So yeah, we haven’t forgotten you, Pacific Division. We’re just not sure what to make of you quite yet.

5. New York Islanders (22-7-2, +18 true goals differential*) – They keep rolling, with a two-game sweep in Florida and an overtime decision over the Sabres. They’ll get a big challenge this week when they go into Boston on Thursday, which should be a fun one.

4. St. Louis Blues (20-8-6, +12) – The losing streak got to three, but wins over the Knights and Hawks turned things around. That sets up a big home matchup Monday with the Avs, with first place in the Central on the line. It’s the second meeting of the season, with two more to come in January and then another on the season’s final day.

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Get ready for holiday shopping regret with the NHL’s all buyer’s remorse team

Today is Thanksgiving in the U.S., and if I know my Americans friends, that means two things: Some of you are reading this through the haze of a turkey coma and you’re going to do some serious shopping tomorrow.

The whole Black Friday thing isn’t as much of a thing in Canada yet, at least in its full-on “fight a stranger to save $20 on a blender” form. But we get the gist of it. You’ve got a list of stuff you need. You’ve got a chance to get that stuff. You go out and get the stuff, and hope you don’t regret your spending spree when it’s all over.

It’s kind of like the NHL offseason. Except that the offseason has hockey players instead of electronics, it lasts three months instead of a few days, and nobody gets a discount. So really, it’s nothing like the NHL offseason. But it’s too late now because I’m committed to the bit and we’re going with it.

Today, we’re going to celebrate this weekend’s shopping spree by looking back at the NHL’s version. With a few months’ worth of hindsight, some of those offseason trades and free-agent signings look pretty good. But others haven’t aged well, and like a cheap TV that stopped working after a few days, they may be causing some buyer’s remorse.

We’re two months into the season, which means there’s still plenty of time for some of these moves to work out in the long run. That’s part of the fun. But for now, let’s put together a roster of players who switched teams in the offseason and may have their new GMs looking around to see if the receipt has a return policy on it.

Goaltenders

Sergei Bobrovsky, Panthers

Twenty starts into the season, and one of the offseason’s biggest prizes is still sporting a save percentage well under .900. The good news is that there’s still plenty of time for him to get into a groove. Almost seven years, to be exact. So assuming this is a slump, and not a guy hitting the downside of the aging curve at 31, he should be fine. Of course, with the second-highest cap hit at his position, the Panthers might want more than just “fine.”

Cam Talbot, Flames

He wasn’t traded for Mike Smith – he signed as a free agent after a quick stop in Philadelphia – but it kind of felt that way. And it seemed like a decent exchange because even coming off of a brutal season, you figured a change of scenery could get Talbot back on track. Instead, he’s only had six starts, and hasn’t looked great in most of them. He comes cheaper than Smith, and it’s just a one-year deal, so this signing has hardly been a disaster. It hasn’t been much of anything.

Late cuts

Other than Bobrovsky, the two biggest crease names to move in the offseason was Robin Lehner leaving the Islanders for Chicago and Semyon Varlamov coming into New York. Both have been very good in their new homes. Smith’s been fine in Edmonton, James Reimer has been OK in Carolina and nobody else who switched teams were expected to do much more than mop-up.

First pairing

P.K. Subban, Devils

Given his name value and Norris Trophy pedigree, you figured that the Devils got him so cheap that the trade had to work out. Maybe it still will, but with just five points through two months, Subban’s been a bust in New Jersey. The analytics say he’s been a little bit better than his boxcars would suggest. But only a little, and the Devils are on the hook for another two expensive years after this.

Justin Faulk, Blues

He’s scored double-digit goals in four of his last five seasons but doesn’t have even one in St. Louis yet. Instead, he’s stuck at six assists and hasn’t recorded a primary point in over a month. Even the head coach trying to pump his tires can only come up with “he’s been fine.” The only good news for the Blues is that they didn’t rush into handing him a huge extension before they’d seen how he’d fit in. (Double-checks notes.) Well then.

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The 10 most important NHL trades of the 2010s

I love trades. They’ve always been one of my favorite parts of being a sports fan. One-for-one trades? Perfect, I love the simplicity. Big multi-player blockbusters? Awesome, let’s blow up two teams at once and see what happens. Overly complicated trades that should be one-for-one but somehow morph into a long list of throw-ins and late-round picks? Beautiful, just because I can picture the increasingly ridiculous conversations between two stubborn GMs who have to get the last word.

I love a good trade. Or a bad one. Or just a plausible rumor. Or let’s face it, a completely ridiculous rumor that falls apart as soon as you think about it for even a minute. I’ll take it all. Trades are the best. The more the merrier.

Which means the last decade has been pretty rough for people like me.

The trade is a dying art in the NHL. Where we used to get multiple blockbusters all year long, now we get excuses. The salary cap makes it too hard. It’s not the right time. We won’t make a trade just for the sake of making a trade. Hey, I’m only a general manager. What do you want me to do, my job?

So no, a list of the ten best trades of the 2010s doesn’t include any Wayne Gretzky-style deals that shake the foundation of the league. There was no Eric Lindros double-dealing. No Patrick Roy walkouts. Nothing like the mega-deals of decades past involving Doug Gilmour or Phil Esposito or Ted Lindsay. The days of the true blockbuster may be gone for good.

But that doesn’t mean we don’t have some material to work with. Today, let’s count down the ten biggest trades of the 2010s. And just for fun, we’ll throw in a few mini-categories along the way. Trading may not be what it once was, but it still deserves a place in our look back at the decade. After all, just because a job is tough doesn’t mean you don’t have to do it. Unless you’re an NHL GM.

---

Big trade No. 10: Ilya Kovalchuk to the Devils

The trade: On Feb. 4, 2010, the Thrashers traded their all-time leading scorer along with Anssi Salmela and a second to the Devils for Johnny Oduya, Niclas Bergfors, Patrice Cormier, a first and a second.

The immediate reaction in one sentence: The Devils didn’t have to give up much to get a superstar, but can they get him signed?

Why the deal was made: Kovalchuk had been the face of the franchise in Atlanta. But with his contract coming to an end, he’d repeatedly turned down offers for an extension. Therefore, the Thrashers got what they could at the deadline rather than watch him walk for nothing.

What’s happened since: None of the players the Thrashers got had much impact, although they used the first to get Dustin Byfuglien out of Chicago. One more disappointing season later, the team was headed to Winnipeg.

The Devils did get Kovalchuk signed, although it took most of the summer, $100 million, one rejected contract and the (temporary) loss of a first-round draft pick to make it happen. He had two 30-goal seasons in New Jersey, then stunned the hockey world by bolting for the KHL in 2013. He announced a comeback with the Kings in 2018, but I’ve been watching the highlights ever since and I guess he changed his mind.

The verdict today: Would it be overly dramatic to say that the decade’s first true blockbuster was the nail in the coffin of NHL hockey in Atlanta? Maybe, but we’ll say it anyway.

Big trade No. 9: Roberto Luongo to the Panthers

The trade: On March 4, 2014, the Canucks shook up the deadline by sending Roberto Luongo and Steven Anthony to Florida for Jacob Markstrom and Shawn Matthias.

The immediate reaction in one sentence: Wow, the Canucks actually managed to trade that contract.

Why the deal was made: Because Luongo’s contract sucked. Those were his words, not ours, although honestly, they were ours too and probably yours as well. His monster 12-year deal had already scuttled the team’s attempts to trade him in 2013 and ultimately led to Cory Schneider being shipped out instead. But when the Panthers came calling about re-acquiring the three-time Vezina finalist, the Canucks finally pulled the trigger, even though they didn’t seem to get much in return.

What’s happened since: Luongo experienced a bit of a renascence in Florida, posting four strong seasons before age and injury caught up to him. He retired in 2019, so the Panthers are off the hook for the rest of that sucky contract. Meanwhile, Markstrom has developed into a legitimate NHL starter, so the Canucks are happy with their side of the deal.

The verdict today: This was a tough one for the Canucks, if only because trading away Luongo signaled the indisputable end of the era that saw the team almost win its first Stanley Cup. But it makes the list for a bigger reason, standing as one of the first blockbusters of the cap era that was almost entirely about a contract. Trades had always been influenced by finances, but this was one of the first times that we just outright talked about a contract being traded instead of a player – even though the player was a future Hall-of-Famer.

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Grab Bag: Player vs. player rivalries, goalpost trust issues and a Brett Hull slapshot to the groin

In the Friday Grab Bag:
- We need more rivalries like Doughty/Tkachuk and I have an idea on how we can get them
- Please tell me I'm not the only one developing trust issues when shots hit the post
- An obscure player who knew how to put on a show
- The week's three comedy stars
- And happier time for the San Jose Sharks (their goalie taking a slapshot to the pills)

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Grab Bag: Why Paul Fenton was fired, the uniform number controversy and a 1979 helping of Puck Soup

In the Friday Grab Bag:
- Paul Fenton was fired after just one year and my spies found out why
- Thoughts on players taking famous numbers
- The comedy stars return
- An obscure player who was once traded straight-up for Fenton
- And a YouTube look back at a very weird piece of 1979 hockey comedy

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Puck Soup: Hockey Hall of Lame

In this week's episode of the Puck Soup podcast:
- Reacting to this week's HHOF announcement
- Our thoughts on who'll be next, including one player I think just moved into the "sure thing" category
- Our thoughts on the draft, the PK Subban trade,the Marleau deal and more...
- This whole Mitch Marner recap and why it might be about to get worse
- Saying goodbye to Roberto Luongo and Bob McCown
- Ryan and I face off in a quiz over what actually happened during the 2018-19 season
- And more...

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Rating the biggest stories and moments from draft weekend on the Surprise Scale

The best kind of NHL Draft is one that surprises us. We spend weeks and months figuring out exactly what should happen, and who’s going to wind up where and it’s always more fun to be wrong. Whether it’s a big trade, an off-the-board pick, or some unexpected breaking news, the best draft weekend moments are the ones that leave you wondering what just happened.

How did the 2019 edition do? The short answer: Not bad. For the longer answer, let’s break out the surprise scale and see just how good a job this year’s draft did of delivering the unexpected.

Gary Bettman gets booed

Fans booing is part of the fun of the first round. There are even parts of the evening that seem specifically designed to encourage it, like the traditional roll call that seems to be there just so the local fans can boo the teams they hate the most. (This year’s winners: Toronto and Boston, with honorable mention to Chicago, Edmonton and Calgary.)

But the main event is always Gary Bettman, who continues to insist on appearing in front of fans who clearly don’t want to see him. This year’s reception was especially bad, as we all knew it would be. The fans gave it to him with both barrels when he first appeared; while you could hear him on TV, he was completely drowned out in the arena. The boos continued all Friday night as he did that weird thing where he shows up between every pick to tell us who’s next even though we can all see the giant logo on the scoreboard.

Surprise scale: 0/100. Only because the scale doesn’t go any lower.

Bettman brings backup

In an admittedly funny bit, Bettman responded to the initial wave of boos by acting flustered, trying to talk over them and eventually wandering away from the podium. The crowd loved that, thinking that they’d actually driven him off the stage, only to see him return with reinforcements: Henrik and Daniel Sedin.

I mean, there’s really no way to sugarcoat this. This was a full-fledged heel turn by the Sedins, right? They just aligned themselves with the sworn enemy of their fan base. This is the NHL equivalent of Stone Cold shaking hands with Vince McMahon. Sorry, Canucks fans, the Sedins hate you now. That’s just how this works.

In related news, how great would it have been if Bettman had come back out with Mark Messier instead?

Surprise scale: 22.33/100

The top two picks

There wasn’t much intrigue around the top two picks, beyond some mild (and mostly forced) speculation over whether the Devils might throw a curveball and go with Kaapo Kakko over Jack Hughes. They didn’t, making the expected pick with Hughes and the Rangers grabbed Kakko. So far, so good.

Surprise scale: 10/100

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A brief history of players being told that they wouldn’t be traded and then being traded

It’s​ been almost two​ weeks​ since​ the​ end​ of​ the William​ Nylander contract saga,​ with its twists​ and​ turns and last-minute​​ buzzer-beater resolution. As the round-the-clock coverage fades into more reasonable daily updates, we’re trying to sort through the various details that are emerging on how this deal was put together.

One of those details is Nylander’s apparent belief that Kyle Dubas has promised not to trade him.

Nylander says he has assurance from Dubas he won’t be traded while he’s the GM.

— James Mirtle (@mirtle) December 3, 2018

Because of the way the CBA works, the personal word of his GM is the only sort of trade protection Nylander can get; players aren’t eligible for no-trade or no-movement clauses until the reach their UFA-eligibility seasons. So Nylander has to rely on Dubas to hold up his end of the bargain here.

And Dubas probably will – after all, trading Nylander wouldn’t make much sense for the Leafs, and this is a rookie GM who’d no doubt prefer to establish a reputation as a straight-shooter. Assuming Nylander’s version of the conversation is accurate and Dubas really did give his word, there’s no reason to think that the young winger has anything to worry about here.

But just to be safe, he might want to stop reading right about now.

Because as it turns out, NHL history is filled with players who’ve believed they’d been given the same sort of assurance that Nylander says he got from the Maple Leafs. And more than a few times, those promises turned out to not be quite as ironclad as the player would have hoped.

So today, let’s look back at a few of the (many) trade scenarios in hockey history that started with a firm handshake or at least a perceived wink and nudge and ended with a player angrily mumbling about loyalty while packing a suitcase.

1975: The Bruins trade Phil Esposito to the Rangers

We’ll start with what may stand as the most famous example of the genre: the 1975 blockbuster that saw the Bruins trade Esposito and Carol Vadnais to the Rangers for Brad Park, Jean Ratelle and a minor-leaguer. It was a monster deal, one that saw New York acquire the player who’d led the league in goals in each of the last six seasons. And it didn’t make Esposito very happy.

That was because he’d signed a new contract that summer that he assumed would let him finish his career in Boston. He’d reportedly been offered $2.5 million on a five-year deal to join the WHA’s Vancouver Blazers, but took roughly half that to stay with the Bruins. According to Esposito’s version of events, Harry Sinden promised him that he wouldn’t be traded, and even offered to write a no-trade clause into the deal, which at the time was rare. Esposito says he told the GM not to bother, and that his word was enough. Weeks later, he was gone.

The trade, of course, ended up being a steal for the Bruins. Esposito played well in New York, but Park became the best player in the deal. And it got even more lopsided when the Rangers decided to reunite Esposito with center Ken Hodge, and sent a young Rick Middleton to the Bruins to get him. Park and Middleton became key parts of the late-70s Bruins teams that nearly won the Cup.

At the time of the trade, Esposito told reporters that he was “crushed” and that “I thought I had a home in Boston.” But he said he had “no regrets” toward Sinden or the Bruins. That tone would change over the years, as Esposito carried the grudge well past retirement. In 2013, almost 38 years after the trade went down, he was asked about the Bruins facing the Blackhawks in the Cup final and responded that “This series doesn’t mean shit to me.”

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Grab Bag: Islander anger

In this week's Friday Grab Bag:
- Are Islander fans being unreasonable about John Tavares?
- Stop blaming your bad free agent signings on "the market"
- An obscure player who was the 1 in 1-9-1
- The week's three comedy stars
- And a YouTube look back at a certain 14-year-old phenom...

>> Read the full post at Vice Sports

Grab Bag: The chants may never come again

In the Friday Grab Bag:
- You're all doing the goalie taunt chant wrong and I'm worked up about it
- A debate that you're guaranteed to love
- An obscure player who scored a big OT goal in 1993
- Hey wait today isn't Friday this is weird
- The week's three comedy stars
- And a celebration of the 25th anniversary of Wendel Clark absolutely ruining somebody...

>> Read the full post at Sportsnet

Who is Canada's most depressing team?

With the NHL season at its midway mark, it’s time for Canadian hockey fans to start getting excited. Stake out your ground, and let the debates begin. Which Canadian team will earn the most coveted title in the land?

No, not the Stanley Cup. We all know that thing never lands north of the border anymore. No, we’re talking about something that fits better with the modern-day Canadian NHL psyche: the title of Most Depressing Team In The Nation.

Put two random Canadian fans in a room together, and it probably won’t be long before they’re arguing over which ones deserves to be the most miserable. Some years, it’s a crowded field — we all remember the entire country missing the playoffs back in 2015–16. Other years, like last season, there are fewer candidates. But it’s always a hotly contested title.

So the first order of business is to figure out who gets to be in the running. Obviously, we don’t need to consider the Jets or the Maple Leafs, two teams that are solidly holding down playoff spots. The Flames are a tougher call, as a recent slide had them drifting out of playoff contention (and their coach having temper tantrums) before their latest win streak. But they’re over .500 and only a point out of a playoff spot, so they’re out of the running.

That still leaves us with four contenders for the title of Canada’s most depressing team. The Canadiens, Senators, Canucks and Oilers are all well out of the playoff race, and all four are under .500 in terms of points percentage. That’s a crowded field, so let’s start sorting this out as we work our way through an unlucky 13 categories.

Expectations vs. reality

It’s one thing to be bad. It’s another entirely to be bad when everyone thought you’d be good. So who came into the season with the highest expectations?

Canadiens: They were the Atlantic’s top seed last year, and while they were far from a sure thing to repeat that title, most expected them to at least make the playoffs.

Senators: They went deeper than any Canadian team last year, but most seemed to expect them to take a step back this season. Some pessimists even had them missing the playoffs. But close to dead last? No way.

Canucks: Nobody thought they’d be all that good. As bad as this year has been, they’re actually on pace to improve on last year’s record.

Oilers: When the Sportsnet crew did our pre-season predictions, seven out of 16 of us had the Oilers winning the West, and two had them winning the Stanley Cup.

Edge: Oilers, and it’s not all that close.

Painful ex-player

When things are going bad, the two most painful words are “What if?” Seeing a former player lighting it up somewhere else only adds to the misery.

Senators: While the current roster struggles, they get to watch one-time Senator building blocks like Mika Zibanejad and Jakob Silfverberg blossom elsewhere. But the worst has been watching Kyle Turris fit right in as a Predator while Matt Duchene struggles in Ottawa.

Canucks: Luca Sbisa gets to be part of the fun in Vegas, and Ryan Miller‘s been fine in Anaheim. That’s about it.

Oilers: While only one is technically an ex-player, they gave the Islanders both Jordan Eberle and the draft pick that was used on Mathew Barzal. Then they get to watch those two do stuff like this:

This is amazing.

Barzal "takes the tour" and @jeberle_7 scores to make it 2-0 #Isles pic.twitter.com/XaZli3CgUY

— IslesBlog (@IslesBlog) November 26, 2017

Meanwhile, Taylor Hall looks like he’s going to lead the Devils to the playoffs.

Canadiens: Last year, it would have been P.K. Subban, who led his Predators all the way to the Stanley Cup final in his first year away from Montreal. This year, we might have to go with Mikhail Sergachev, who looks like a Calder candidate in Tampa. This time next year, Max Pacioretty.

Edge: It’s a close race, but the Canadiens take the crown on the strength of Subban just being voted an all-star captain.

Salary-cap situation

In today’s NHL, a flexible cap situation can fix a lot of problems. By the same token, making a mess of the cap can doom a team to years of suffering.

Oilers: Tight, thanks to the McDavid/Draisaitl deals, not to mention big commitments to Milan Lucic and Kris Russell. Trading Ryan Nugent-Hopkins would help, and they may be forced to do just that.

Canadiens: Not all that bad, depending on how you feel about the Carey Price deal. But Karl Alzner‘s signing already looks like a mistake, and that Shea Weber contract is going to be nightmare well before it runs out in 2026.

Senators: Believe it or not, they’ve got more cap space tied up for next year than any other Canadian team by over $5 million, thanks in part to ugly deals for Bobby Ryan and Dion Phaneuf. It clears up after 2019, but only because key players like Erik Karlsson and Matt Duchene will need new contracts.

Canucks: Once again, they come out looking solid by comparison. That Loui Eriksson deal was a mistake form the day it was signed, but with both Sedin deals expiring after this season, the cap picture is actually in decent shape.

Edge: Ottawa, in a narrow upset over the Oilers, if only because at least Edmonton’s biggest deals on the books are to their best players. I’m no cap-ologist, but having the worst cap situation when you don’t even have the budget to be a cap team is not good.

>> Read the full post at Sportsnet

Ten times an elite defenceman was traded in his prime

If you’re the sort of fan who enjoys a good trade rumour, these days it’s all about the blue line.

That’s not all that unusual – in today’s NHL, it always feels like just about everyone needs help on defence. But for a change, we’re not just talking about depth pieces or short-term rentals. Instead, it’s some of the biggest names in the sport who are rumoured to potentially be available. In Ottawa, there’s been talk that Erik Karlsson could move at some point before he hits free agency in 2019. Arizona is facing a similar dilemma with Oliver Ekman-Larsson. And the slumping Penguins are now reported to at least be considering a move involving Kris Letang.

That’s not to say that any of those trades will happen, of course. But it’s rare to even see names of this magnitude show up in discussions at all. After all, as we’re so often told, nobody trades elite defencemen in their prime in this league.

Or do they? It turns out, trades involving top defencemen have been more common than you might think.

So today, let’s crack open the history books for a look at some of the times in NHL history that an elite defenceman was traded in his prime. We’re looking for guys who were established stars, which we’ll define as already having at least one post-season all-star pick or multiple top-five Norris finishes in their career. We also want players who were still relatively young, which we’ll say means they were 32 or younger. That rules out guys who were traded later in their career, like Brian Leetch and Ray Bourque, as well as some who blossomed into top-tier stars after they were traded, like Ryan McDonagh and Brent Burns. But it still leaves us with a surprisingly long list of candidates.

Here are 10 times in the last 30 years than an elite defenceman was traded in his prime, and what those deals might teach us about what to expect from today’s rumoured moves.

Paul Coffey

The trade: We have plenty of trades to choose from with Coffey, who was traded seven times. We’ll go with his first, the 1987 deal that saw the Oilers send him along with Dave Hunter and Wayne Van Dorp to Pittsburgh for Craig Simpson, Dave Hannan, Moe Mantha and prospect Chris Joseph.

The reason: Coffey was a two-time Norris winner at the age of 26 and had been a key part of three Edmonton championships, but by the start of the 1987-88 season he was holding out in a contract dispute. The Oilers made him wait until November as they worked to get a top asset back; they found one in Simpson, a 21-year-old who’d been the first-overall pick two years earlier.

The result: This trade allowed Simpson to become the first player to ever score 50 goals in a season split between two teams. But over time, Coffey had the greater impact, including three 90-point seasons, and he helped the Penguins win their first Stanley Cup.

The lesson: Sometimes, your hand is forced and you just have to bite the bullet and do the best you can. Under the circumstances, the Oilers did OK on this deal.

Rob Blake

The trade: In February 2001, the Kings sent Blake and Steve Reinprecht to Colorado for Adam Deadmarsh, Aaron Miller, a player to be named later and two first-round picks.

The reason: Blake was a pending UFA and wanted big money, so Kings ownership decided to move him even though the team was contending for a playoff spot.

The result: The deal worked out great for the Avs, who won the Cup that year and then re-signed Blake for five more seasons. The Kings didn’t get much from the deal – Deadmarsh had his career cut short by injuries and the picks turned into Dave Steckel and Brian Boyle – but did get Blake back for a few years at the end of his career.

The lesson: When a Norris-calibre player becomes available, sometimes going all-in pays off. The Avalanche had already traded for Bourque the year before, so they were firmly in all-or-nothing mode. They ended up with “all”, and have a banner to show for it. Remember that when contenders start to hem and haw about the asking price for Karlsson or Ekman-Larsson being too high.

>> Read the full post at Sportsnet

Grab bag: RIP Johnny Bower

In the Friday Grab Bag:
- Introducing the inaugural class of the Three Stars of Comedy Hall of Fame
- Sorry Maple Leafs, but shootout goals don't count
- An obscure WJC star with great hair
- The regular batch of comedy stars
- And the YouTube section looks back and the life, times and brief singing career of Johnny Bower

>> Read the full post at Vice Sports

Grab bag: The Nuclear Option

In the Friday Grab Bag:
- Introducing the Nuclear Option, a new idea to bring hope to the league's worst teams
- Why it was kind of a rough week to be a hockey fan
- An obscure player who frightened small children
- The week's three comedy stars, featuring Halloween fun and the "Good one, Del" girl
- And a Classic YouTube clip of the time the Sabres and Senators turned the goalie sliders all the way down to easy.

>> Read the full post at Vice Sports