Articles in NHL Talk

from Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic,

We’ve got some ’80s hockey back in vogue, minus the Cooperall pants and Jofa helmets, of course.

We’re talking about wild, high-scoring games.

On Nov. 29 in Los Angeles, it was a 9-8 overtime contest between the Kraken and Kings. Six days later, it was a ridiculous 7-6 overtime game between the Habs and Canucks in Vancouver. On Wednesday night alone, it was Tage Thompson scoring five goals in a 9-4 Sabres win over the Blue Jackets, the Oilers coming only one goal shy of that total in an 8-2 win over the Coyotes and the Canucks winning another high-scoring overtime affair, this time 6-5 over the Sharks.

These games are emblematic of a wacky NHL season full of lead changes and, of course, goals galore.

“It’s a pretty freewheeling game right now,” Kings coach Todd McLellan said Wednesday after practice in Toronto, his hair perhaps having added another tint of gray from that 9-8 game. “Probably not a lot of fun for the goaltenders or some nights for the coaches. But for the fans, it’s great.”

To wit: The NHL this season is averaging 6.36 goals per game, continuing the trend that saw the league average 6.29 goals per game last season, which was the first time above 6.04 since the 2005 lockout ended with new rules meant to open up the game and created a temporary spike to 6.17 in 2005-06 — followed by averages under six in every season from 2006-07 through 2017-18.

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via Sportsnet's YouTube page,

On this edition of 32 thoughts, Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman discuss how the Canucks are starting to explore a trade with Brock Boeser, the possibility of the All-Star game coming to Canada in 2024 & when the World Jr. roster will be announced.

NEW YORK (Dec. 2, 2022) – The National Hockey League today announced a season-long partnership with P-X-P (formerly Play-By-Play Sports Interpreting) to expand its commitment to Deaf and hard-of-hearing fans.

On this edition of 32 thoughts, Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman discuss how there could be a new directive after Connor Hellebuyck's mask off incident, the concern of player safety from fans and how the Sabres could be dark horse for Jakob Chychrun.

Watch at Sportsnet

via Sportsnet's YouTube page,

On this edition of To The Point, the Hockey Night in Canada panel discuss Sidney Crosby's multiple exits in the first period against the Maple Leafs, Matt Murray dislodging the net numerous times, and Connor Hellebuyck losing his helmet during play.

from Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet,

- It was the summer of 2002, right after Steve Yzerman’s greatest season. He led Team Canada to Olympic gold and the Detroit Red Wings to the Stanley Cup on a severely damaged right knee. Twenty years later, teammates still marvel at what he endured.

The questions became: Can his knee be fixed? Could he continue? During a visit to the industry-leading Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Birmingham, Ala., it was recommended Yzerman visit Dr. Peter Fowler at the University of Western Ontario. So, he did.

"The doctors in the United States saw him as an innovator," Yzerman said Tuesday. "He grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil, (illustrating) what he was going to do. He left a tremendous impression. He sat and talked to you as 'Pete,' not necessarily Dr. Fowler."...

- Some situations to watch: First, Florida. Anthony Duclair is on the road to recovery and the Panthers — twice forced to play with 17 skaters due to their cap crunch — must find room. Duclair’s salary is $3M, so that’s the figure that must be cleared, assuming (hopefully) the Panthers remain otherwise healthy.

- Ottawa: It’s not for a lack of effort that the Senators haven’t added a defenceman. Name someone who might be available, they’ve considered it. It’s one of my old lines — if you’re drowning, the other GMs throw anvils, not life preservers. I do think they’ve considered what kind of sweetener would be necessary to move Nikita Zaitsev, but there’s a limit.

more on the first topic and other Thoughts too...

from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,

- New rule time regarding the hated offside video review:

A team gains the offensive zone on an entry that will be subject to a coach’s challenge for offside, but proceeds in real time without a whistle. The defensive team gains control of the puck, but is unable to clear. An exchange or two of possession ensues before the offensive team scores a goal around 45 seconds after the initial entry.

Under current rules, the scored-upon team issues a challenge after taking whatever time is allotted by the officiating crew. Three minutes later, offside is confirmed. The goal is taken off the board, those 45 seconds are expunged and added to the game clock even as those in attendance have wasted about five minutes they will never get back.

New rule: The NHL should institute the delayed-penalty approach to continuation plays on offside challenges. Once the defending team gets possession of the puck, the opportunity for a review would end and everyone in the rink would be better off for it.

- Just when I was thinking that the Bruins had completely missed it with their reverse retro design by not going back to their football-styled numbered sweater popularized by Milt Schmidt and his ilk, along come the Blues with what seems to have been a Team Sweden-inspired yellowish and blue uniform that is as aesthetically pleasing an outfit as has been introduced in years.

Those all-green Minnesota North Wild outfits are not too shabby, either.

more topics, including a look at the New Jersey Devils...

from TSN,

Three-time Stanley Cup winner Joel Quenneville is looking to get back behind an NHL bench, but TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reports it's unclear if he'll be approved to do so this season.

"He's ready but he's not able to get back in the game," Dreger said on Insider Trading Thursday. "He would like to return to an NHL bench sooner rather than later. Now any team with interest or offering a job would have to go through the Florida Panthers first for permission. That seems to be a formality but the big hurdle, of course, is commissioner Gary Bettman.

"Quenneville has to be cleared to return to the NHL by the commissioner's office – that hasn't happened yet and there are some who think that it may not happen until next season."

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Our TSN Hockey insiders Chris Johnston, Darren Dreger and Pierre LeBrun have the latest on how the NHL is handling helmet protocol in pre-game warmups, how the Jets are handling the injury to Nikolaj Ehlers, and more in this edition of Insider Trading.

Glenn Schiiler: Guys, the one chance fans get to see stars on the ice without a helmet is during warmups but Chris, are the days of the 'hair skate' numbered?

Chris Johnston: Yes, take a picture now because it won't last long, as the NHL has mandated that all future players wear a helmet during warmups. This will be grandfathered, of sorts, to begin with: any players that entered the league in the 2019-20 season or after have to immediately adhere to the rule, but any player that started before has the option to choose what they want to do with their helmet. It results from a recommendation from the NHL and the NHL Players’ Association committee on concussions and also the health and safety committee, so this was the way forward and it is now in effect.

continue and watch the segment too

from Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic,

In the 1980s and 1990s, on the occasions when Ray Ferraro roamed the ice at the same time as Al Iafrate, the forward was always on high alert. At any moment, Iafrate was a threat to bomb a slap shot that could cave in Ferraro’s helmet, to say nothing of whistling past the helpless goalie.

“It was high. Or low. And hard,” recalls Ferraro, now an ESPN analyst. “It was just erratic enough that it scared the heck out of everybody.”

Things have changed.

The one-timer remains a critical offensive tool. Goalies do not enjoy tracking a cross-ice pass, fighting to see a shot through traffic and getting in front of a rocket.

The standalone slap shot, though, has become a fossil. The maneuver, once so signature to hockey that it is the title of the sport’s definitive movie, is on its way out.

“It’s like an old skate save that goalies used to make,” says Ferraro. “It just doesn’t happen.”

Why? The Athletic took that question to players, coaches and analysts.

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After the injury to Evander Kane last week, the TSN Hockey Insiders discuss how the GMs spoke about possibly mandating cut-resistant sleeves at the Board of Governors meetings in Toronto, how Bruce Boudreau is on borrowed time with the Canucks, how active Senators GM Pierre Dorion has been exploring the trade market and why the Sharks are open to listening to offers for Erik Karlsson.

Watch at TSN

from Nicholas J. Cotsonika of the NHL website,

The NHL general managers met for about five hours in Toronto on Tuesday, mostly going over fine points of rules and setting up in-depth discussions for their meeting in Palm Beach, Florida, from March 13-15.

The NHL hockey operations department showed the GMs videos of nuances in the game now and new moves that might challenge interpretations of rules in the future.

"It's a compelling product, it's evolving, and you have players doing all sorts of things we wouldn't have even thought about 25, 30 years ago," NHL director of officiating Stephen Walkom said. "We had some unique plays that we could show them, like a player picking the puck up on a shootout attempt and carrying it in lacrosse-style and keeping it below his shoulders. When's it legal? When's it illegal? What can he do when he gets to the net?"

One GM suggested adding video review to see if a player shoots the puck over the glass in the defensive zone, which results in a delay of game penalty. NHL senior executive vice president of hockey operations Colin Campbell said the idea comes up from time to time, but it's difficult to get the right camera angle and consistent TV replays.

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from the NHL,

Here are some of the key moments from the induction speeches of Daniel Alfredsson, Roberto Luongo, Riikka Sallinen, Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin and the family of Herb Carnegie, who was inducted as a Builder, as well as from NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman's comments.

HERB CARNEGIE: Stepping outside the box

Commonly regarded as the best Black player never to play in the NHL, Carnegie would channel his positive energy into making hockey a better game in myriad ways. On Monday, his inspirational, pioneering work was celebrated by his daughter, Bernice, and son, Dale, upon the late center's induction in the Builders category.

"He took the skills he learned from hockey and transposed them into his life-off-ice skills," Bernice said. "He was an entrepreneur, a trailblazer that kept stepping outside the box."...

Bernice brought the Meridian Hall Theatre audience to its feet as she closed her acceptance speech with a powerful, strong, timely message.

"I know my father is calling out to all of us to honor the sport he so loved by continuing to do it justice," she said. "We are responsible for making the sport better. We are responsible for ending sexism, gender bias, racism and homophobia.

"We are responsible for making all areas of our lives more accepting and inclusive. This was my father's life work. This is what I learned from him. This is why I'm grateful every day … that he gave me part of his vision and that we can share that with others." -- Dave Stubbs

much more

On this edition of 32 thoughts, Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman discuss if there's clarity to come with the Canucks coaching staff, the central topics at this weeks GM meetings and what's next with Mitchell Miller's contract with Boston Bruins.

Watch at Sportsnet

TORONTO/NEW YORK (Nov. 11, 2022) – The National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) and the National Hockey League (NHL) today released the following statement regarding the World Cup of Hockey:

“Over the last year, the NHL and the NHLPA have been working on plans to conduct the next World Cup of Hockey, the premier international best-on-best hockey tournament, in February 2024. Unfortunately, in the current environment it is not feasible to hold the World Cup of Hockey at that time. We continue to plan for the next World Cup of Hockey, hopefully in February 2025.”

via Sportsnet's YouTube page,

On this edition of 32 Thoughts, Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek discuss the continued reaction to the Boston Bruins signing Mitchell Miller, Bo Horvat's future with the Vancouver Canucks, the potential sale of the Ottawa Senators, and more.

from Adam Proteau of The Hockey News,

A new report from Sportico ranking the valuations of every NHL team made one thing perfectly clear: it’s never been a better time to be an NHL team owner. Franchise values surged so that the average franchise is reportedly up nine percent and pegged at a combined total of $32.4 billion. That’s not chump change. That’s a success. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has done very well for the owners who employ him.

Indeed, if we take a closer look at the financial mechanisms in place for the NHL, we see why Bettman and team owners so willingly agreed to an extension of the collective bargaining agreement in 2020. Owners are making money hand over fist, while players’ salaries have, in some regards, flatlined. As owners have watched team values soar, many players’ paydays have hit a ceiling. Bettman’s hard salary cap has worked as intended, and players’ leverage has disappeared prior to, and under the reign of NHL Players’ Association boss Don Fehr. There are a few options the players have to try and regain some leverage, and the one that does exist is not a half-measure. We’ll get into that in a handful of paragraphs from now. But let’s get back to Sportico’s appraisal of NHL teams.

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via the NHL PR department,

The first calendar month of the 2022-23 regular-season began with a back-to-back set in Prague and ended with a three-game Halloween that produced the first six-point performance by a player this season. With the calendar turned and Hockey Fights Cancer month underway, a look back at an October that yielded goals at a rate of 6.3 per game and saw 48% of contests finish as comeback wins:

from Kurt Badenhausenof Sportico,

The Nashville Predators were on the verge of relocating 15 years ago when a group of local businessmen stepped in to buy the team for $175 million and keep it in Music City. The club is now on the verge of another transaction, to former Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, that values the franchise at roughly $775 million, mirroring a surge in franchise values across the NHL over the past decade.

The average NHL franchise is worth $1.01 billion—crossing the 10-figure mark for the first time—and up 9% from a year ago. The total value of the league’s 32 clubs, including ownerships’ stakes in real estate, venues, TV networks and team-related holdings, is $32.4 billion. The Toronto Maple Leafs rank first at $2.12 billion, $110 million ahead of the New York Rangers.

Like the NFL and NBA, which soak up many of the sports business headlines, the NHL has similar levers that make the clubs valuable. David Blitzer, global head of tactical opportunities at Blackstone, has acquired ownership stakes across the five major U.S. sports leagues, including the New Jersey Devils. He laid out his two most powerful drivers for the investment in sports teams at Sportico’s Invest in Sports event last month.

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Find the NHL Team Ranking value here.

from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,

It isn’t a quirk that the Rangers and Islanders will meet just three times this season and just once at UBS. It isn’t a quirk that the Oilers and Flames will play only three times and just once at Edmonton. It isn’t a quirk that the Flyers and Penguins will face off only three times and just once in Philadelphia.

It is instead a feature of the NHL schedule and a league that has made it its business to devalue rivalries in favor of a more universal schedule that has become a significant factor in the wavering passion and diluted intensity across the league’s six-month tour.

Twelve of the 16 playoff spots are awarded by division standings, yet teams play a touch under 32-percent of the schedule within the division. Teams play more games against non-conference opponents than they do against division rivals … well, not really rivals, but instead, foes.

continued plus more topics...

from Greg Wyshynski of ESPN,

Is tanking worth it? Absolutely, when you're securing the services of a player like Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, Patrick Kane, Connor McDavid or Auston Matthews. Or probably of Connor Bedard, whose presence in the 2023 NHL draft class encouraged some teams' apparent self-imposed mediocrity before a single puck was dropped this season.

But not everyone respects the tank.

"Is it an effective way to rebuild? Yes, if you totally lack integrity and character. Because it attacks the very soul of the game," Pittsburgh Penguins president Brian Burke told me this week.

When Burke was a general manager and his team was mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, he would speak with the players. His message would be clear: Don't worry about where we'll end up drafting. Your job now is to "wreck teams' playoff hopes" and win as many games as possible.

While with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Burke remembers going to the TSN studios in Canada for the NHL draft lottery show and watching his peers' giddy anticipation of the drawing.

"Everyone was rubbing their hands together like little kids at Christmastime," he said. "Aren't we all embarrassed? Isn't this the most embarrassing thing that we do all year is come to the lottery? I was mortified."

much more ($)

from Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet,

- Vancouver has two points in seven games. I can find one team that made the playoffs since 2005-06 in a full 82-game season despite such a poor start. That was 2013-14 Philadelphia, which was 1-6. The Flyers went 41-24-10 to get there.

Of all the things Jim Rutherford said in his riveting After Hours appearance with Scott Oake, this is the most relevant right now: “We may very well be in a rebuild in the direction we’re going. But ideally, we’d like to transition this team on the fly. We do have some core players, some young players that are really good.”...

- Several sources described Bettman’s revelation that the cap could go up $4M next season as “ambitious,” but have also indicated that the league legitimately believes this is possible based on early-season revenue projections. While I was surprised at the possibility, I wasn’t surprised that Bettman would paint an optimistic picture. That’s what he’s always done, and we shouldn’t expect otherwise. It’s also very possible he wants to show that the NHL is a healthy investment in a challenging economy. One of the indicators to watch is the Canadian dollar. Apparently, the estimates include a valuation of the Canadian buck at 75 cents.

- I see some of your DMs about the board advertising. I do think everyone is looking at solutions for horizontal movement. Vertical doesn’t seem to be as much of an issue.

- Love, love, love Mickey Redmond’s nickname for the Michael Rasmussen, Elmer Soderblom, Oskar Sundqvist line: The Treesome. And if Redmond says it, you know Red Wings fans accept it.

more Thoughts

via Chris Pronger tweets,

For those always wondering what happened to your favorite player from your childhood, for many, there is not a good answer.

As a professional athlete everything revolves around structure and a schedule.

You are told where to go and what to do from the time you wake up.

After retirement that is not the case. For many former athletes they struggle with purpose.

They have always been Player X “the professional athlete”. Their whole identity has revolved around their respective sport.

Many more tweets in a long thread

On this edition of 32 Thoughts, Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman give an update on where Jakob Chychrun may land and also discuss the NHL looking to play future games in Australia and the candidates for the top jobs in Hockey Canada.

Watch at Sportsnet

added 9:42pm, or watch below///

NEW YORK (Oct. 18, 2022) – The National Hockey League (NHL) and its 32 Clubs released a comprehensive report, ‘Accelerating Diversity & Inclusion: NHL Report on Strategies, Initiatives and Progress,’ highlighting intentional efforts to promote positive social change within the sport.