The NHL trade deadline is always a fun time for NHL fans. If our team is in the thick of the playoff picture, we hope it makes huge trades and pushes all our collective chips into the center of the table with hopes of playing for the Stanley Cup.
But is this the right approach? Do we want to mortgage the future in hopes of acquiring the top player from the TSN trade bait board? Does it even work?
Against my better judgement, I went back and reviewed the last five trade deadlines of the Stanley Cup Finalists in hopes of clarifying if going “all in” is the right approach to the trade deadline.
2016 trade deadline acquisitions
Stanley Cup champion
Justin Schultz was the primary acquisition at the trade deadline by the eventual 2016 Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins.
The only notable move the Pittsburgh Penguins completed around the trade deadline was the acquisition of Justin Schultz from the Edmonton Oilers for a third-round pick.
At the time, the move was not thought to be very significant, and Pittsburgh did not give up much to get him. Schultz drew into 15 of the 24 playoff games for the Penguins and averaged just 13 minutes of ice time in those games, the lowest time on ice across all Penguins defensemen.
While Schultz did not play a significant role in the Penguins 2016 playoff run, he played four more seasons with the Penguins and contributed significantly to their 2017 Stanley Cup Championship.
Stanley Cup runner-up
The San Jose Sharks did not make any significant moves at the trade deadline in 2016. The team swapped back-up goalies with the Toronto Maple Leafs (Alex Stalock for James Reimer).
In a separate trade with the Leafs, the Sharks acquired Roman Polak and Nick Spaling for a pair of second-round draft picks. Polak played in all 24 of the Sharks’ playoff games but did not register a point. One of those draft picks turned into Maxime Comtois, who is having himself a pretty good season currently.
Other notable trades from the 2016 NHL trade deadline
The New York Rangers swung for the fences and acquired Eric Staal from the Carolina Hurricanes for two second-round draft picks and the signing rights to Aleksi Saarela. The Rangers lost in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and although it is still early to assess the prospects that Carolina acquired in the trade, they have only played a collective nine NHL games since being traded to the Hurricanes organization.
2017 trade deadline acquisitions
Stanley Cup champion
The Pittsburgh Penguins added Ron Hainsey at the trade deadline for a second-round draft pick. Hainsey logged the second-most minutes on the Penguins during the Stanley Cup Playoffs and pitched in with eight points across the 25 Penguins playoff games.
Stanley Cup runner-up
The Nashville Predators did not add any players of significance at the trade deadline.
Other notable trades from the 2017 NHL trade deadline
Kevin Shattenkirk was a trade deadline acquisition by the Washington Capitals in 2017.
Kevin Shattenkirk was traded to the Washington Capitals with goaltender prospect Pheonix Copley for two prospects and two draft picks, a 2017 first-round and 2019 second-round pick. The St. Louis Blues defenseman was considered one of the prized targets of the trade deadline in 2017. Shattenkirk played fine for the Capitals in the playoffs, but Washington was eliminated by the Penguins in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Shattenkirk signed with the Rangers in the ensuing offseason.
The Minnesota Wild sent a prospect and three draft picks (first, second, and fourth-round picks) to Arizona for Martin Hanzal, Ryan White, and a fourth-round pick back to the WIld. Minnesota was eliminated in the first round and Hanzal posted one point in the five playoff games. White played three of the playoff games and has been bouncing around the AHL ever since.
2018 trade deadline acquisitions
Stanley Cup champion
Perhaps learning their lesson from the big swing they took on Shattenkirk a year earlier, the Washington Capitals only added Michal Kempny at the trade deadline from Chicago for a third-round pick.
Kempny played in all 24 Capitals playoff games and averaged about 17 minutes of ice time per game. He did not show up on the score sheet that often, but he was an important depth piece for the Caps championship run.
Stanley Cup runner-up
Tomas Tatar was a trade deadline acquisition by the Golden Knights in 2018 but would appear in less than 50% of the Golden Knights playoff games.
Flush with draft picks from the 2017 Expansion Draft, the Vegas Golden Knights took a big swing at the 2017 trade deadline on Tomas Tatar. The Detroit Red Wings received three draft picks: a first, second, and third-round pick from Vegas.
In retrospect, the Tatar trade was a disaster. Tatar was a healthy scratch through most of the playoffs, appearing in just eight of the Golden Knights’ 20 playoff games. He was packaged up with Nick Suzuki and another draft pick in the offseason in a trade with Montreal for Max Pacioretty.
Vegas also added Ryan Reaves in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Although popular with the fans, Reaves only got into 10 playoff games and averaged only eight minutes.
Other notable trades from the 2018 NHL trade deadline
The Tampa Bay Lightning pulled off a big trade with the New York Rangers, acquiring Ryan McDonagh and JT Miller for Vladislav Namestnikov, Brett Howden, and Libor Hajek plus two draft picks (first and second-round picks).
Tampa advanced to a game seven in the Conference Finals against the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Washington Capitals. McDonagh and Miller both played a significant role in the Lightning’s playoff success that year. McDonagh logged the second-most minutes behind Victor Hedman while Miller chipped in eight points over the Lightning’s 17 playoff games.
The San Jose Sharks traded a prospect and two draft picks (a first and a fourth) for Evander Kane. The Sharks were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs and Kane had five points in the nine games he played. The Sharks re-signed Kane in the offseason and currently leads the team in goals scored since he joined the Sharks organization.
Winnipeg acquired Paul Stastny from the St. Louis Blues for a prospect and two draft picks (first and fourth-round). The Jets were eliminated by the Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup Conference Finals. Stastny played very well for the Jets in the playoffs with 15 points in 17 games. He became a free agent in the offseason and signed with Vegas.
Rick Nash was traded to the Boston Bruins by the Rangers for Matt Beleskey, Ryan Spooner, signing rights to Ryan Lindgren, a first-round, and a seventh-round draft pick. The Bruins lost in the second round of the playoffs where Nash posted five points in 12 games, his final season in the NHL.
2019 trade deadline acquisitions
Stanley Cup champion
St. Louis Blues essentially did nothing at the trade deadline. They acquired Michael Del Zotto for a sixth-round draft pick. Del Zotto appeared in just seven regular-season games for the Blues and did not crack the lineup during their Stanley Cup Playoff run.
Stanley Cup runner-up
Boston Bruins added two significant pieces to their roster in Charlie Coyle and Marcus Johnsson. Coyle was acquired from the Minnesota Wild for prospect (at the time) Ryan Donato and a fourth-round draft pick. Johansson was acquired from the New Jersey Devils for a second and fourth-round draft pick.
Coyle and Johansson had 16 and 11 points respectively in the Bruins playoff run. At the time Coyle had one additional year on his contract and signed a six-year extension with Boston that started with the 2020-21 season. Johansson became an unrestricted free agent after the 2019 playoff run and signed with Buffalo.
Other notable trades from the 2019 NHL trade deadline
The Vegas Golden Knights acquired Mark Stone from the Ottawa Senators for Oscar Lindberg, Erik Brannstrom, and a second-round pick. Stone signed an eight-year extension with the Golden Knights shortly after joining the team during the 2018-19 regular season. Vegas eventually lost to the San Jose Sharks in the opening round of the playoffs and Stone accumulated 12 points in seven games. Stone also leads Vegas in points since being acquired in 2019.
Winnipeg acquired Kevin Hayes for Brendan Lemieux plus a first and fourth-round draft pick. Winnipeg was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs where Hayes had three points over six games. Hayes entered free agency in the offseason and signed with the Philadelphia Flyers.
2020 trade deadline acquisitions
Stanley Cup champion
The Tampa Bay Lightning acquired Barclay Goodrow and a third-round pick from the San Jose Sharks for Tampa Bay’s first-round pick of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft and prospect Anthony Greco. The Lightning also acquired Blake Coleman from the New Jersey Devils for prospect Nolan Foote and a first-round pick in 2020.
Both Coleman and Goodrow were considered modest trades when they happened but have been widely acknowledged as a significant reason why the Lightning won the Stanley Cup in 2020. Both of them logged about 18 minutes per game and were a major part of the team’s penalty kill in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Goodrow logged the most penalty kill time on the ice (70+ minutes) amongst forwards for Tampa during the playoffs while Coleman was third in penalty kill ice time (~60 minutes) amongst forwards.
Stanley Cup runner-up
The Dallas Stars made no material moves around the 2020 trade deadline.
Other notable trades from the 2020 NHL trade deadline
New York Islanders acquired Jean-Gabriel Pageau for a first-round and second-round pick from the Ottawa Senators. Pageau signed a six-year extension with the Islanders shortly after being traded and had eight goals in 22 games in the Islanders’ playoff run to the Conference Finals.
The Hurricanes did not have one big trade, but they made a series of moderate trades in acquiring Vincent Trocheck, Brady Skjei, and Sami Vatanen in three unique deals.
Trocheck was acquired from Florida for Erik Haula, Lucas Wallmark, and two prospects.
Skjei was acquired from the New York Rangers for a first-round draft pick.
Vatanen was acquired from New Jersey for two prospects and a third-round draft pick. One of those prospects was Janne Kuokkanen who is having a pretty good year in his first full NHL season with 20 points in 34 games.
None of them had much success in the playoffs but at the time of the trade, both Skjei and Trocheck had term remaining on their contracts and remain with the team this season. Trocheck is having one of the better seasons of his career.
Finally, the Golden Knights acquired their eventual playoff starting goalie, Robert Lehner, and also added a top-pairing defenseman in Alec Martinez with trades with the Chicago Blackhawks (with a little help from the Toronto Maple Leafs) and the Los Angeles Kings, respectively.
Lehner costed the Golden Knights Malcolm Subban, two draft picks, and a prospect.
Martinez was obtained with two second-round picks to LA.
Both Lehner and Martinez played well in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the Golden Knights before being eliminated in the Conference Final against the Western Conference champion Dallas Stars.
Is it worth it?
It is hard to reach a definitive conclusion on the right approach teams should take to the trade deadline based on our research of the prior five trade deadlines, but it is hard to find a team that went all in where it paid off. It can be debated that of the last five trade deadlines, the only team that went big during the NHL trade deadline that reached the Stanley Cup Final was the 2019 Boston Bruins.
Conversely, the 2016 New York Rangers, 2017 Washington Capitals, 2018 Tampa Bay Lightning, and 2019 Vegas Golden Knights went big at the trade deadline without material success in the subsequent Stanley Cup Playoffs.
What are your thoughts? Do you recall a time where a team took a big swing at the trade deadline that paid off in the Stanley Cup Playoffs?
In this week’s Data Dump Saturday, I dig into the playoff races in the Central and West Divisions by looking beyond the points in the standings to get an idea of who might claim the fourth playoff spot in each division.
Earlier this week we did a round of Buy, Sell, or Hold on the Sound Of Hockey podcast where we discussed if Nashville or the San Jose Sharks were playoff bound teams. We talked about ‘games at hand’, ‘goal differential,’ and who is ‘hot’ right now as justification for our picks in qualifying for the playoffs.
Let us take a current and data-focused look at these two divisions with interesting playoff races.
For the more casual fans:
GP is games played.
PTS is the points earned (teams are awarded two points for a win, one point for an overtime or shootout loss, zero for a regulation loss).
P% is percentage of points earned versus what is possible.
GF is goals for goals for.
GA is goals against.
I am focusing on Arizona, St. Louis, and San Jose in the West and Nashville, Chicago, and Dallas in the Central. In my opinion, these are the only teams vying for the fourth and final playoff spots in their respective divisions.
Points percentage
Both San Jose and Nashville have made recent surges in the standings which have launched them into contention over the last few weeks. I want to see how these teams are trending by looking at their five-game moving average of point percentage.
In the chart below, you can see that Nashville has been outperforming Dallas and Chicago lately. Additionally, Chicago has been underperforming with a point percentage lower than 50 percent over the last 10 games.
In the West, you can see St. Louis underperforming has provided Arizona and San Jose the opportunity to be in contention in the playoff race.
It should be noted that we cannot assume that these trends will continue. There could be underlying conditions that are driving performance such as injuries, hot goalies, or coaching/strategy changes, but that is beyond the scope of this post.
Goal differential
Another stat to look at is goal differential which is the sum of goals scored minus the sum of goals scored against.
Nashville appears to be reaching another level in goal differential, scoring 18 more goals than it has allowed over the last 10 games. If you look at the goals for and goals against numbers you can see Nashville is doing it with a combination of higher-than-normal goal scoring and being stingy with the goals allowed.
Shot differential
One of the first things I look at when trying to understand how well a team is playing is shot differential. It does not account for everything, but in general, if a team is producing more shots than the opposing team, then they are getting more opportunities to score. From a statistical perspective, it is a way to broaden the sample size instead of simply looking at the number of goals in a game.
It is a little surprising to see Nashville with a negative 18 shot differential because in goal differential they were (coincidentally) a plus 18. This would imply a heavy reliance on goaltending. A quick look at Juuse Saros’ stats and it shows that he is averaging less than 1.25 goals against average and a save percentage of .965 over his last 10 starts.
Chicago’s shot differential has correlated with their points percentage obtained over the last 10 games.
As we stated earlier, Arizona and San Jose have been playing better over the last 10 games that has created the opportunity to get back in this playoff race, but the shot differential of -31 and -27 respectively is a bit surprising. This would imply that they have been more effective with their shots (i.e. scoring at a higher rate) or that they are relying on their goaltending as well.
I focused on the last 10 games for these teams, but again, there is no guarantee that their trends will continue over the remaining ~16 games of the season. The next 10 games facing these teams will be critical considering several of them will play each other and the stakes will be that much more significant as they jockey for position in the playoff hunt.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments or how you would evaluate a team’s performance in the playoff race.
Seattle Kraken news has not been particularly groundbreaking of late, as we patiently await the next big story like a coach hiring or the team’s final payment to the league which could lead to the signing of the team’s first player. None of those items have come yet, but there were at least a couple tidbits this week, which we are of course happy to discuss here in Sound Of Hockey’s Weekly One-Timers.
Kraken Bar & Grill
Sure, a coach hiring or something of the like would be neat, but who doesn’t like bar/restaurant news?
It’s been no secret that there will be a restaurant and watering hole at the Seattle Kraken Training Center at Northgate, but more details were made public about those plans on Thursday.
The Kraken Bar & Grill will have a capacity of 300, will overlook rinks 1 and 2 at the facility, and will have a whopping 17 TVs plus a view of the 375-square-foot LED screen in rink 1. I don’t have a ton of relativity on that, but that sounds like a pretty big screen.
One can only imagine how rocking this place is going to be during Kraken games, especially road playoff games.
Mick McHugh — a famed restaurateur in Seattle best known for FX McRory’s — will head up the new Kraken-themed establishment.
“I count myself first as a loyal Seattle sports fan from the early days of the Sonics, through the Mariners, Seahawks and Sounders,” said McHugh via a press release. “It’s only right that now I can help welcome the Kraken to the city.”
“Rather than waiting for the next home game, Kraken fans can come to Kraken Bar & Grill and engage with their team every day of the week,” added McHugh. “From watching practices to just being in the home of the Kraken, this is going to be a great place for everyone to gather and share their love for the city and its teams.”
MONORAIL! MONORAIL! MONORAIL!
“I’ve sold monorails to Brockway, Ogdenville, and North Haverbrook and by gum it put them on the map!” – Lyle Lanley, The Simpsons, 1993
Transit to and from Climate Pledge Arena on game days has always been a concern. Traffic around that area is a nightmare in non-Covid times, and that is true without layering in hockey games attended by 17,000+ Kraken fans, many of whom will certainly prefer to drive to the venue.
But the Kraken have been creative in finding ways to combat this issue, like granting free public transit for ticket holders on gamedays. That transit access will include rides on the Seattle Monorail which began a $6.6 million renovation project this week.
The improvements are a part of Climate Pledge Arena & the @SeattleKraken’s investment in Seattle Center Monorail. All fans traveling to Seattle Kraken games will have free transit access, including use of the Monorail.
— Climate Pledge Arena (@ClimateArena) April 5, 2021
Will this work in cutting down traffic around the Pledge? You’ll have to buy a ticket to find out.
Whoa, boy! Thursday was a fun day of college hockey!
I know I’ve been laying it on a little thick around these parts with the college hockey talk of late, but I’m frankly glad that I have, because this NCAA Tournament has not disappointed. With the NHL still in the midst of its season but in a bit of a news lull, the NCAA somehow found the perfect weekend for its Frozen Four.
Huskies knock off Mavericks in topsy-turvy affair
Will Hammer rifled home (I was going to say “hammered home,” but it felt too obvious) St. Cloud State’s third goal at 2:40 of the second period, giving the Huskies a two-goal lead over Minnesota State. At that moment, it felt like SCSU was about to bury Minnesota State and skate to an easy victory.
To the credit of the Mavericks, they battled back and made Thursday’s earlier semifinal an incredibly fun back-and-forth contest that ultimately did end with St. Cloud getting the win, but not without some awe-inspiring fireworks.
Mankato scored the next three goals, forcing St. Cloud to come back and tie it, which the Huskies did with 10 minutes remaining in the third.
Later, with the game appearing destined for overtime, Nolan Walker created some magic in front of the Mankato net with a perfectly angled stick blade and some top-notch hand-eye coordination.
It wouldn’t be a Minnesota Duluth game if it didn’t go to overtime. After the Bulldogs won the longest game in NCAA Tournament history last week, they came up short against UMass in the late game.
UMD had the better of the play throughout regulation, but somehow the Minutemen found just enough juice to tie the game at 2-2 at 8:25 of the third period.
The extra frame looked like a completely different game, though. After being outshot 36-15 in regulation, UMass dominated every second of the overtime period with a 13-2 advantage in shots. Garrett Wait ultimately found the winner at 14:30 of overtime when Bobby Trevigno’s wraparound attempt slid right through the blue paint and onto his stick on the backdoor.
Wait had a pretty beautiful quote in his post-game interview with ESPN’s Quint Kessenich. “We just ate some food in the locker room between periods, got our legs back, and we just focused on playing our game, getting pucks low and forechecking.”
They just ate some food. College kids, am I right?
A new champion will be crowned
The Huskies and the Minutemen will now meet in the NCAA Championship on Saturday at 4 p.m. Pacific on ESPN. Neither of these teams has ever won a national title before, so we will have a new king of college hockey crowned that day.
Trade market heating up
The NHL trade deadline is on Monday, so the associated wheeling and dealing is well underway around the league. In the past few days, we’ve seen Brett Connolly, Kyle Palmieri, Travis Zajac, Vinnie Hinostroza, and multiple guys named Lucas (Carlsson and Wallmark) get moved. TSN has a good tracker here.
Perhaps the biggest news on this front so far is that Palmieri was forced to shave his beard now that he plays for an organization led by Lou Lamoriello. Lou does not accept facial hair on his players. After all, this is hockey, and we can’t have these toothless animals looking like toothless animals out there.
— Ashlee Casper Palmieri (@AshleePalmieri) April 8, 2021
Around the boards
The Vancouver Canucks continue to deal with a Covid outbreak that has resulted in as many as 25 positive tests within the organization. NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly expressed hope to ESPN’s Emily Kaplan that the team will be able to resume by the end of next week, but with the Canucks falling quickly out of playoff contention, there has been plenty of wondering whether their 56-game season will actually be completed.
Jack Campbell set a Toronto Maple Leafs record for most consecutive wins to start a season, bringing him to 10-0-0 on the year. He gave a pretty great interview after his latest victory as well.
Campbell has been outstanding in his opportunities, posting a 1.57 goals against average and .944 save percentage.
The Chicago Blackhawks’ affiliation with the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs was set to expire in 2022. But the partnership was fully solidified this week when the Blackhawks purchased the IceHogs from the City of Rockford for $11.8 million. The Blackhawks become the 21st NHL team to own its AHL affiliate.
Tanner Pearson re-signed with Vancouver for three years. We were trying to figure out if this means he will be protected from the Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft, and we think it probably means that.
Nikita Gusev was placed on unconditional waivers with the New Jersey Devils planning to terminate his contract. Chris Johnston of Sportsnet says Gusev hopes to sign with another team. Before moving over from the KHL, Gusev, 28, was once considered the best non-NHL player in the world.
Things obviously haven’t worked out as well as he had hoped in the NHL, but perhaps a new situation will do him some good.
Palate cleanser
So as some of you know, we're not allowed to show highlights of games on ESPN. So with the UMD-UMass game only in the second intermission, I had to improvise with the "highlights": pic.twitter.com/BnXnNwaAU9
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at Sound Of Hockey and the host, producer, and editor of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is an inconsistent beer league goalie who believes that five players have to make a mistake before the puck gets to him. Follow him on Twitter @DarrenFunBrown or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
When we last discussed the Seattle Thunderbirds 2017 Championship run, the team was finding a way to win during the second half of the season and get into the playoffs. They had overcome injuries and reeled in the Everett Silvertips, who had previously built up a lead in the U.S. Division race.
The two clubs would take turns on top of the standings down the stretch.
With a couple of short weeks before the playoffs, Seattle faced another blow. It was a Friday night game at the ShoWare Center against Everett, and just as the national anthem was starting, Mathew Barzal skated off the ice and did not return. He would miss the next month of the season.
Donovan Neuls: I remember that clear as day, against Everett. Everybody was cautious because the mumps were going around. He just skated off. Everyone was a really worried.
Keegan Kolesar: I remember someone told me Barzy isn’t going. My immediate reaction was ‘Are you kidding me? Good joke, the guy doesn’t miss a game, there’s no way he’s missing this one.’ He missed the last while there and the first round of playoffs. We were happy he was ok but in the moment that really sucked.
Ethan Bear: We didn’t know how long he’d be out for. We thought he had the mumps, and we would have other guys going out later on. With Barzy, he stayed away from everybody, but we knew he was doing what he could to get back. Whenever you see a top guy go down like that it’s scary.
Austin Strand: That was very strange. It was a big game, and it was weird because he warmed up and all of a sudden, he’s being waved off the ice. We were all looking around wondering.
Turner Ottenbreit: That was crazy. I think I was on the ice for the anthem and skating around. He didn’t make it to the anthem.
Scott Eansor: You need the big guys and you need them to be healthy and whenever one of those guys is not healthy it’s a concern.
Keegan Kolesar led the WHL in scoring during the 2017 WHL Playoffs (Brian Liesse photo)
The Thunderbirds would come up just short of the U.S. Division Title
With Barzal out with what would later be learned was mononucleosis and not the mumps, the Thunderbirds continued to fight with Everett for the U.S. Division lead. The Silvertips would edge out Seattle for the title by one point, despite the Thunderbirds winning two more games. It meant that the Thunderbirds would not be the top seed in the playoffs.
Kolesar: We wanted the division title for sure. We were a confident team and felt that there was not a team that could beat us. It’s unfortunate we couldn’t get it but at the end of the day we got the whole thing.
Bear: We knew we were the better team. Everett played that shutdown style and we knew that if we met in the playoffs, we were confident that we could beat them. I think them winning the division gave us extra motivation.
Strand: We all kind of knew what a special team we had. We weren’t too worried about the banner at that point.
Neuls: Looking back on it now, it doesn’t mean much being that we got the big one. To be honest I didn’t care about the division so maybe it was good they beat us out by a point.
Up first in the playoffs for the Seattle Thunderbirds were the Tri-City Americans
Not only did Seattle lose the Division title but a week before the playoffs, the Thunderbirds lost their goalie as well. Rylan Toth had come over from Red Deer in the offseason and won 36 games during the regular season. He got hurt, and Seattle turned to 16-year-old goalie Carl Stankowski to take over. The rookie had barely played during the regular season and now was the number one goalie heading into a first-round series with the Tri-City Americans.
Matt O’Dette: We were mindful he was a young guy. It doesn’t change a whole lot, but you want to dig in even more. That was probably the biggest adversity we faced, having your starter go down for the playoffs.
Bear: That was definitely another scare for us. As a player we knew how good a player Stankowski was. We let him be, he made the saves. He bailed us out more times than we helped him. It was definitely phenomenal what he did. Tother was there supporting him too.
Neuls: Going into the first game I think everyone was a little nervous. It didn’t take long to gain our confidence, he stopped like four or five breakaways and he didn’t let one in. For him to come in and play like he did was remarkable.
O’Dette: I think everybody in the building and on the bench, when we saw those breakaways there was a sigh of relief and feeling that Carl was up to the challenge. It gives me nightmares, those breakaways but that was a turning point.
Eansor: Everyone loved Carl, you couldn’t not. He was so innocent and nice and worked his ass off. It was really easy to stand behind him.
Strand: I was consistently shocked because he made massive saves. I thought he looked tiny back there, but he started making all the saves and we were confident.
With the rookie goalie standing tall, the Thunderbirds would sweep Tri-City in the opening round of the playoffs. Barzal and Ryan Gropp missed the series but Seattle didn’t miss a beat and dominated the Americans, including a blowout win in Kennewick.
Ottenbreit: They had some good players, so we weren’t too sure of what to expect. I think Donny [Donovan Neuls], Keegs [Keegan Kolesar], and [Alexander True] piled up points in that series.
Bear: That just shows you how deep our team was. I remember that last game we had three guys get five-point nights to seal the deal. A lot of us were joking [with Gropp and Barzal] we don’t want you guys to come back.
Neuls: I think everybody had a pretty good night that night. It was fun, happy we won.
Strand: I had never been on a playoff team that just swept right through a series. We got that longer rest to hang out and bond. We went to a Mariners game and then went into that Everett series.
The Thunderbirds had to rely on rookie goalie Carl Stankowski in 2017 (Brian Liesse)
After a first-round sweep, the Thunderbirds headed to Everett
The second round of the playoffs for the Thunderbirds would feature an anticipated matchup with the Everett Silvertips. Everett was the higher seed and opened at home. Seattle would get Barzal and Gropp back for Game 1 and set the tone when Barzal helped set up a late game-winning goal from Neuls.
Neuls: That was probably the biggest goal I had scored up until then.
Kolesar: We were pumped up, that’s the rivalry. I-9? I-5? I didn’t even know the highways when I was there. I was pumped, we took them out the year before, so we knew they were coming. I was really hyped.
Bear: We knew we were going to have to earn every inch in that rink. We dug down and gave everything we had in that series. They don’t give you much room in the D-Zone and it was challenging, plus they had Carter Hart.
Eansor: We always battled with Everett. It was always a hard, hard series. Despite the sweep it’s the hardest team to play in all of hockey that I’ve ever played. It takes a lot out of you to play them.
Ottenbreit: It’s always fun playing those guys. We hated them and I’m sure they hated us. Everett and Seattle are never going to like each other.
Kolesar: They were a tough team, and they weren’t going away at any point in that series. It was annoying, we would get a lead and they’d come back, and it was ‘Come on, just give up.’ It just makes it more fun when it’s a rivalry.
Bear: The way it all turned out it was one of the most fun series I’ve played.
Neuls: I think any time you can beat Everett, any time, you’re pretty excited.
In Part 3 of the Oral History of the Seattle Thunderbirds 2017 Championship, we’ll look at the Western Conference finals, another huge set back, the Regina Pats, and the big trophy.
The Sound Of Hockey Podcast has a NEW BIT this week! We repeat, the Sound Of Hockey Podcast has a new bit. This is not a drill.
Yes, folks, HYPEotheticals will both get your mind in a pretzel and simultaneously get you hyped.
On this week’s episode, Andy gives a WHL update, Darren gives a NCAA Frozen Four preview, and John leads a raucous game of Buy, Sell, or Hold.
The guys also discuss what’s happening with the Vancouver Canucks before diving into segments, which this week include Bad Boys, Weekly One-Timers, and Tweets of the Week.
The Sound Of Hockey Podcast has a NEW BIT this week! We repeat, the Sound Of Hockey Podcast has a new bit. This is not a drill.
Yes, folks, HYPEotheticals will both get your mind in a pretzel and simultaneously get you hyped.
On this week’s episode, Andy gives a WHL update, Darren gives a NCAA Frozen Four preview, and John leads a raucous game of Buy, Sell, or Hold.
The guys also discuss what’s happening with the Vancouver Canucks before diving into segments, which this week include Bad Boys, Weekly One-Timers, and Tweets of the Week.
The NCAA Men’s Frozen Four is upon us, with the semifinals getting underway this Thursday and the championship game scheduled for Saturday at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. We at Sound Of Hockey recognize that college hockey isn’t always the easiest thing to follow living in the Pacific Northwest, so we thought it would be helpful to bring you up to speed on the participants remaining in this incredible tournament and what to look for in what will surely be a riveting couple of days.
First, a few housekeeping items. The first semifinal will be played at 2PM Pacific on Thursday and will feature the Minnesota State Mavericks and the St. Cloud State Huskies. The second semifinal is scheduled for that same evening at 6PM Pacific with the UMass Minutemen facing the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs. Those semifinal games will be aired on ESPN2. The winners will move on to the championship, scheduled for 4PM Pacific on Saturday. That one will be on ESPN.
Also, before digging into the individual teams themselves, we wanted to take a quick look at how the remaining squads are constructed based on age.
It’s interesting to note that none of the teams with the really elite young NHL prospects remain, as Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Boston College were all bounced in the regionals, while Michigan was forced to back out due to Covid protocols.
The above proves that experience at the college level can be even more important than having elite skill on your roster. The most exceptional players typically don’t last beyond their sophomore seasons, often opting to leave school early to accept pro contracts. So, while it can certainly benefit a school in the very short term to recruit elite talent, it doesn’t necessarily lead to postseason success.
Minnesota State Mavericks
Record: 22-4-1
Conference: WCHA
Coach: Mike Hastings
How they got here: The Mavericks overcame a two-goal deficit against Quinnipiac in the opening round, earning a 4-3 overtime victory. They followed that up with a convincing 4-0 win over Minnesota in the Loveland regional championship to earn their first Frozen Four berth in school history.
What to know: One trend you’ll notice amongst these four teams is that they all managed to fly under the national radar to varying degrees this season. Minnesota State probably deserved more attention, based on its exceptional record, but it was hampered a bit by playing in a relatively soft WCHA conference.
Plus, this is a team that entered the NCAA Tournament having never won even a regional game, let alone getting through to the Frozen Four.
The Mavericks have remarkable structure on defense and do a great job of managing the puck, as was evident when they pushed the favored Golden Gophers around for 60 minutes last week. On the rare occasion that things break down, Hobey Baker finalist Dryden McKay is there manning the goal crease at an elite level, stopping 93 percent of the shots he’s faced and allowing just 1.39 goals per game this season.
The Mavericks are very much a score-by-committee type of team with no obvious superstars, instead getting the job done with good structure through all three zones and a stifling combination of defense and goaltending. They also have the best power play of the teams remaining, clicking at 25% on the season.
Junior forward Julian Napravnik leads Minnesota State in scoring with 10 goals and 17 assists in 26 games.
NHL Draftees:
Player
NHL Team
Class
Position
Draft Year / Round
Todd Burgess
Ottawa Senators
Senior
F
2016 – fourth round
Nathan Smith
Winnipeg Jets
Sophomore
F
2018 – third round
St. Cloud State Huskies
Record: 19-10-0
Conference: NCHC
Coach: Brett Larson
How they got here: The Huskies knocked off two good teams from Boston—first Boston University, then Boston College—en route to the Frozen Four. Taking down BC and their many elite NHL prospects was especially impressive. The Huskies trailed after one period but came out flying in the second, potting three goals in the frame against Spencer Knight. SCSU ultimately skated to a 4-1 victory and a win of the Albany regional.
This is SCSU’s second Frozen Four appearance in school history. The previous appearance was in 2013—also in Pittsburgh—and ended with a semifinal loss to Quinnipiac.
What to know: St. Cloud’s record may not look that impressive when compared to that of its semifinal opponent from Mankato, but the Huskies come out of a much tougher conference in the NCHC, where they finished the regular season in second place behind North Dakota. The Huskies also made a bid to win the conference tournament, beating Minnesota Duluth before falling to UND in the championship game.
The Huskies bring a similar approach to the game as the Mavericks, getting production in relatively small doses from across their lineup. They do have a speedy and skilled forward in Veeti Miettinen, who leads the team in both goals (10) and points (22). They also have a strong puck mover on the backend in Nick Perbix, who has contributed 18 points from the blue line.
SCSU lost one of its top forwards in Easton Brodzinski when he cut across the middle and took a big hit in the regional championship against BC. Brodzinski was carried off the ice, and it was later revealed that he had broken his leg. To St. Cloud’s credit, the team rallied impressively and completed a surprising win to advance to the Frozen Four.
NHL Draftees:
Player
NHL Team
Class
Position
Draft Year / Round
Sam Hentges
Minnesota Wild
Junior
F
2018 – seventh round
David Hrenak
Los Angeles Kings
Senior
G
2018 – fifth round
Veeti Miettinen
Toronto Maple Leafs
Freshman
F
2020 – sixth round
Nick Perbix
Tampa Bay Lightning
Junior
D
2017 – sixth round
Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs
Record: 15-10-2
Conference: NCHC
Coach: Scott Sandelin
How they got here: When it was announced that Michigan had been forced out of the NCAA Tournament because of Covid, Minnesota Duluth was given a free pass to the second round, meaning it just had to win one game to advance to the Frozen Four. Easy, right?
The only problem was that one game would end up being against tournament favorite North Dakota.
The Bulldogs were up for a battle, but so too were the Fighting Hawks. Not only did a battle ensue, but it turned into a war of attrition that lasted the length of more than two games, going into five overtimes before the Bulldogs finally found the winner in the longest game in NCAA Tournament history.
What to know: Scott Sandelin is an absolute wizard. Since no tournament was held last year, the Bulldogs remain two-time defending champions, and this is their fourth consecutive Frozen Four appearance. UMD is the youngest team left, as this year was supposed to be a re-building year for this program.
One thing that was interesting about that UND/UMD marathon is that Zach Stejskal, a freshman netminder who had only started seven games all season, got the nod and played into the fifth overtime before having to leave with cramps. He was replaced by Ryan Fanti, the sophomore who had gotten the majority of starts during the season. After sitting on the bench for five hours, Fanti shut the door on North Dakota and got his team over the hump to victory. It will be interesting to see which direction Sandelin goes with his netminders.
UMD is led offensively by Nick Swaney and Jackson Cates, who each have 27 points on the season. Freshman defenseman Wyatt Kaiser played 59 minutes in the marathon game and was absolutely outstanding.
By the way, Scott Sandelin’s son, Ryan, is on Minnesota State, so if the Bulldogs and Mavericks both advance, we would have a father-son showdown in the NCAA Championship. That would be neat.
NHL Draftees:
Player
NHL Team
Class
Position
Draft Year / Round
Blake Biondi
Montreal Canadiens
Freshman
F
2020 – fourth round
Matt Cairns
Edmonton Oilers
Senior
D
2016 – third round
Noah Cates
Philadelphia Flyers
Junior
F
2017 – fifth round
Wyatt Kaiser
Chicago Blackhawks
Freshman
D
2020 – third round
Cole Koepke
Tampa Bay Lightning
Junior
F
2018 – sixth round
Luke Loheit
Ottawa Senators
Sophomore
F
2018 – seventh round
Quinn Olson
Boston Bruins
Sophomore
F
2019 – third round
Nick Swaney
Minnesota Wild
Senior
F
2017 – seventh round
UMass Minutemen
Record: 18-5-4
Conference: Hockey East
Coach: Greg Carvel
How they got here: The Minutemen got hot at exactly the right time, going 9-0-3 in their last 12 games, including a Hockey East Tournament championship and two relatively easy wins over Lake Superior State and Bemidji State in the Bridgeport regionals.
My math tells me UMass has given up just one goal per game in that 12-game stretch and just one total goal in the last three games combined.
What to know: The primary individual responsible for such low goals against is netminder Filip Lindberg, a 22-year-old Finnish netminder who had been playing out of his mind. However, in late breaking news, Lindberg will have to sit out due to Covid protocols and contact tracing, at least for Thursday.
UMass will be without it’s starting goaltender Filip Lindberg (MIN) and leading goal scorer Carson Gicewicz among others at the Men’s Frozen Four. https://t.co/xmM19kCovS
Lindberg will be replaced by Matt Murray (not that Matt Murray), who actually had more starts than Lindberg this season. The team’s third goalie, Henry Graham, is also among those sitting for Covid protocols, so best friend of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast, Chris Peters, reports that a student manager will be dressing as the third goalie.
In front of Murray, UMass has the best defensive pairing in the Frozen Four in Zac Jones and Matt Kessel, so that should help lighten the load a bit. Still, this is a huge loss for the Minutemen.
UMass may be morphing into a perennial powerhouse under Carvel. The fact that this team is back here for its second straight appearance is impressive in and of itself. But the Minutemen lost Cale Makar, John Leonard, and Mario Ferraro since being defeated by UMD in the 2019 NCAA Championship.
And yet, here they are, back in the Frozen Four.
This is a team that went 5-29-2 in 2016-2017. Yes, you read that right. UMass won FIVE GAMES in an entire season before Carvel arrived and quickly brought in elite talent to bring this program up to speed.
The question is, can they avenge their 2019 loss to UMD?
UMass is led offensively by Bobby Trivigno, who has the most points of any player left in the NCAA Tournament with 31. Kessel and Jones have combined for 45 points from the blue line. Carson Gicewicz leads the team with 17 goals, but will also have to sit due to contact tracing.
NHL Draftees:
Player
NHL Team
Class
Position
Draft Year / Round
Marc Del Gaizo
Nashville Predators
Junior
D
2019 – fourth round
Zac Jones
New York Rangers
Sophomore
D
2019 – third round
Matt Kessel
St. Louis Blues
Sophomore
D
2020 – fifth round
Filip Lindberg
Minnesota Wild
Junior
G
2019 – seventh round
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at Sound Of Hockey and the host, producer, and editor of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is an inconsistent beer league goalie who believes that five players have to make a mistake before the puck gets to him. Follow him on Twitter @DarrenFunBrown or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
After running through several forecasted protection lists and countless mock expansion drafts, I found that there are a few NHL teams that do not have much to offer the Kraken this July.
Part of the task of Ron Francis and company is to identify any expansion candidates that are projected to either have future potential or are being underutilized with their current teams. While some of these players are buried on depth charts in the NHL behind other players, others might be stuck in the AHL.
Here is my projected list of five potential AHL candidates that could be selected in the Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft this July.
Tyler Benson – LW – Edmonton Oilers
There are a lot of questions facing Edmonton’s approach to the Expansion Draft. Will they sign Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to a contract extension before the Expansion Draft? Does Edmonton protect four defensemen in the Expansion Draft to protect Caleb Jones? The former could answer the latter. If RNH is not re-signed, then they are more likely to protect four forwards and four defenseman which will expose Tyler Benson.
Benson is having quite the season in Bakersfield with 23 points in 19 games. He has consistently produced since turning pro but has failed to break into the NHL on a consistent basis with only one point in seven NHL games last season. Benson, a former Vancouver Giants star in the Western hockey Leauge, is a smart player but is not yet at the elite skill level of a lot of NHLers which will limit his ability to play at that level. His projection in the NHL is a solid third liner.
Ty Ronning – RW – New York Rangers
The Rangers do not have much to offer in the Expansion Draft which makes taking a chance on Ty Ronning not much of a risk. Ronning, another former Vancouver Giant, has been called up to the NHL taxi squad three times this season but has yet to crack the NHL lineup. He has only played in seven games for the Hartford Wolfpack this season but has nine points including six goals to show for it. This speedster is undersized and will be turning 24 in October.
Adam Mascherin – LW/C – Dallas Stars
Dallas is another team that does not have a whole lot to offer in the Expansion Draft. Mascherin has 12 goals in 20 games playing for the Texas Stars in the AHL. His weakness is his skating skills which he makes up for in the strength of his shot and scoring goals. He could pan out to be a solid middle-six forward in the NHL.
Jonah Gadjovich – LW – Vancouver Canucks
We have been zeroing in on Kole Lind in Vancouver for a while now, and for good reason; he is good. Lind has eight points in eight games with the Utica Comets of the AHL and was recently called up to the Taxi Squad. We have come to the realization that the Canucks will figure out a way to protect him which probably means exposing Tyler Motte or trading Jake Virtanen.
Meanwhile, Jonah Gadjovich has been having himself a pretty good season in the AHL. Gadjovich has eight goals in nine games for Utica. He’s a bit of a feisty throwback that plays a well-rounded game while getting under the skin of opponents.
Cam Dineen – D – Arizona Coyotes
Most of us at Sound Of Hockey believe the pick out of Arizona will be backup goalie Adin Hill. If the Coyotes end up trading starting goaltender Darcy Kuemper, then Arizona will protect Hill which does not leave much to select from on the Coyotes roster.
22-year-old defenseman Cam Dineen could be the best option for the Kraken. Dineen is an offensive-minded defenseman that should have a future in the NHL.
These dark horse AHL candidates will not excite any mainstream hockey fans come draft day, but they offer very little risk with lots of upside potential down the road. They could be shrewd moves that pay off in a few years.
We knew this Western Hockey League season was going to be different. There were several target start dates that came and went without a single puck being dropped. Slowly but surely the WHL worked with local government entities in each province and state to come up with a plan to salvage something resembling a season. When everything was said and done, all teams targeted a 24-game intra-divisional schedule with no fans and no playoffs. The phrase we heard over and over from teams leading up to this shortened season was “player development.” For this week’s Data Dump Saturday, I am going to dig into how WHL teams are approaching development based on age, specifically focusing on their usage of 16-year-old players.
WHL eligibility rules are a bit complicated, but for the purposes of this analysis, you can assume that 16-year-olds are the youngest players eligible to play in the WHL.
Number of 16-year-olds
Comparing this season to any prior season is challenging. Let us first focus on the actual number of 16-year-olds playing in the league. In a normal season, general managers and coaches will play 16-year-olds, but if they keep players that age on their roster, they are mandated to play them in at least 40 games. If the team feels a 16-year-old rookie is not developed enough for that number of games, the player will be sent down to a lower-level club prior to the start of the season.
Outside of the top prospects, most 16-year-olds that do stay end up with limited ice time during games as they get acclimated to the league, getting deployed in favorable matchups or playing on bottom lines. This season is unique due to the emphasis on development, so many teams chose not to carry a full complement of over-aged 20-year-olds or imports, opening up ice time for younger players. To come up with a fair comparison season over season I have identified the number of 16-year-olds that have played in over 50% of their team’s games.
As you can see already, this season has the most 16’s playing in the last 10 years of the WHL, with 58 players that have participated in over 50% of their team’s games.
Here is a look at it by WHL team.
It’s interesting to note the range of how these teams are using their 16-year-olds. Victoria seems to be playing a lot of 16’s with six in its lineup, while Red Deer only has one being used on a regular basis.
A proxy for time on ice
Counting the number of 16-year-old players getting into games only tells part of the story. Actual playing time is an important data point to determine how much experience they are getting. Unfortunately, the common time on ice statistic is not available on the WHL’s stats page.
As a proxy, I am going to use average shots on goal per game in lieu of time on ice. It is not perfect, but the logic is the more ice time you get, the more shots on goal you have. Spread over the whole league, this at least gives us an idea of how much 16-year-olds are playing compared to other seasons.
If we assume shots on goal as a proxy for ice time, it appears that the average shots on goal is flat over the last four WHL seasons and therefore there is no change in ice time for players this age. This surprised me a bit since the Seattle Thunderbirds have three 16-year-olds that appear to be getting a lot of playing time.
To prove (or disprove) that gut feeling, I isolated the Seattle Thunderbirds to see if this is correct.
In this case, the data confirms what I believed based on the eyeball test.
Of course, there could be various reasons for this increase in Seattle, but they all bode well for the future if this group of 16’s is being given plenty of opportunities and generating this type of production.
Here is a look at how this group compares with 16-year-olds in previous seasons:
How this group of 16-year-olds develops based on this deployment will be interesting to monitor. With more usage of players at this this age, will we see faster development in the WHL?
If you have any thoughts or questions, feel free to drop me a line in the comments section or on twitter.
If hockey is what you seek, then the past week should have been quite fulfilling for you, because there was a LOT of it to be found. What’s more, much of the hockey that was played was quite entertaining, with each game across the various elite leagues seemingly more exciting than the previous. If this past week of hockey were a GIF, it would certainly be the Vince McMahon GIF seen below.
Yes, it has been a fun week, and we at Sound Of Hockey endeavor to continue satiating your appetite for hockey enjoyment with this latest installment of Weekly One-Timers.
Is Ron Francis wheeling and dealing?
It makes sense that Seattle Kraken general manager Ron Francis would be talking to his counterparts across the NHL to gauge their varying levels of interest in consummating side deals in the lead-up to the Expansion Draft this summer. But we’ve never officially seen or heard it reported that this was happening. Well, until now, that is.
The Athletic’s Pierre Lebrun wrote this week that Francis has been fielding calls from fellow general managers in advance of the April 12 trade deadline, as they try to get a better feel for what it will cost to keep the Kraken’s tentacles off of any newly acquired players. Lebrun also reported that according to his source, Francis is asking for “a first-round pick and a prospect and maybe another piece.”
Lebrun also discusses this starting at the 3:04 mark of the below video.
So, that’s fun.
THE KRAKEN ARE WHEELIN’ AND DEALIN’! LET’S GO!
The real March Madness
Marathon game
You saw the marathon game between North Dakota and Minnesota Duluth, right? Or at least part of it? Because it went on for six hours and 12 minutes, so you had to have at least stumbled upon it while scrolling through channels at some point in your Saturday evening. In the end, it was UMD — for the fourth consecutive time — punching its ticket to the Frozen Four, while UND players looked sad.
It was just an incredible contest in every aspect with bizarre things happening throughout. Case in point, UMD’s starting goalie, Zach Stejskal, was forced out in the fifth overtime due to cramps. He was replaced by Ryan Fanti, who came in and made several huge saves after sitting on the bench for five hours. In total, 119 shots were taken, 142 minutes and 13 seconds ticked off the clock, and one record was set for the longest game in NCAA history on either the men’s or women’s side.
UMD now has a shot at its third straight NCAA title in a year that was supposed to be transitional for the Bulldogs.
Frozen Four field set
UMD will be joined in Pittsburgh by UMass, St. Cloud State, and Minnesota State.
UMass reached the final in 2019, but at that time, they had the likes of Cale Makar, John Leonard, and Mario Ferraro, all of whom are now well on their way to successful NHL careers. This is another team that largely flew under the radar this season, but got hot at the right time, earning a Hockey East postseason championship along the way. Zac Jones, a New York Rangers draft pick, and Matt Kessel, a St. Louis Blues draft pick, make up the top defense pairing, and together they are quite exceptional.
St. Cloud lost one of its best offensive players in Easton Brodzinski in the team’s regional championship against Boston College. Brodzinski broke his leg on a nasty (but clean) hit when he cut to the middle of the offensive zone. The Huskies really aren’t built around their stars, though, as they’re an experienced team that has been through the wringer.
Minnesota State may be the most intriguing story of the Frozen Four field. The Mavericks hadn’t won a single NCAA Tournament game in their history before defeating Quinnipiac in the opening round, then following that up with a convincing victory over a favored Minnesota Gophers team.
Ryan Sandelin, son of UMD head coach Scott Sandelin, scored the overtime game-winner against Quinnipiac to keep hopes alive for a father-son showdown in the NCAA title game. Goaltender Dryden McKay has had dizzying numbers over three collegiate seasons and earned a 22-save shutout over the Gophers to send his team through. He was named a Hobey Baker finalist, along with Wisconsin’s Cole Caufield and North Dakota’s Shane Pinto. Shockingly, McKay is undrafted.
The NCAA semifinals will take place on Thursday, April 8, and the final will be on Saturday, April 10.
Signing frenzy
With so many NCAA teams seeing their seasons come to crashing halts, there was a flurry of signings of high-end NHL prospects this week.
Player
Age
Old Team
New Team
Cole Caufield
19
University of Wisconsin
Montreal Canadiens
David Farrance
21
Boston University
Nashville Predators
Alex Steeves
21
Notre Dame
Toronto Maple Leafs
Matthew Boldy
19
Boston College
Minnesota Wild
Alex Newhook
19
Boston College
Colorado Avalanche
Spencer Knight
19
Boston College
Florida Panthers
Shane Pinto
19
University of North Dakota
Ottawa Senators
Cam York
19
University of Michigan
Philadelphia Flyers
Most of these players will need some seasoning in the AHL, but there’s some serious talent in the aforementioned group, so you should see at least some of them at the top level soon.
On the topic of signings, Thatcher Demko agreed to a five-year extension with the Vancouver Canucks worth $25 million, so apparently he isn’t a future Seattle Kraken after all. Bummer!
The #Canucks signed 25 y/o G Demko to 5 yr $5M Cap Hit extension:
Yr 1: $2.5M Base Yr 2: $3.5M Base, $1M Signing Bonus Yr 3: $6M Base, $1M Signing Bonus Yr 4: $6M Base Yr 5: $5M Base
The fine system is absurd. $5,000 is the most the NHL can fine a player based on the collective bargaining agreement with the NHLPA. McDavid makes $12.5 million per year. Do you know what $5,000 is to somebody who makes $12.5 million? Well, the median salary for all Americans is $31,133 according to the US Census Bureau. Fining somebody $5,000 when they have a $12.5 million salary is the same—in terms of percentage of income—as fining somebody who makes the median American salary exactly $12.44.
That oughta show ’em!
Around the boards
USA Hockey named Chicago general manager Stan Bowman and Minnesota general manager Bill Guerin as its GM and AGM respectively for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. The appointments come with a caveat that if NHL players do not end up participating, Bowman and Guerin will not lead the brain trust.
The “Fox Sports [insert your region here]” network of… networks… is no more, instead replaced by something called Bally Sports. Bally’s owns and operates casinos across the nation, so you can bet your bottom dollar (get it?) that there will be some sort of wagering-related programming and promotions coming soon to a Bally network near you. The scorebug on the newly re-branded Bally networks is obnoxiously large, so there is already plenty of space for live betting odds in regions where sports gambling is legal.
Shayne Gostisbehere was put on waivers by the Philadelphia Flyers this week. All 30 other teams passed on claiming the puck-moving defenseman, so he was assigned to the taxi squad. There was a time when we at Sound Of Hockey thought Gostisbehere could be a good fit for the Kraken. We still kind of think that, but we’re a tad more apprehensive now.
The University of St. Thomas has hired Rico Blasi as its head coach to lead the team’s transition from Division III to Division I next season, when the Tommies will join the newly re-formed CCHA. Blasi previously coached Miami University (Ohio), where he spent twenty seasons behind the bench and posted an overall record of 398–311–76.
The Canucks have Covid, and it sounds like this could be a lengthy shutdown for the team. It is not a good situation, as at least eight players have tested positive as well as at least one member of Vancouver’s staff. Here’s hoping for quick recoveries for all involved in this latest outbreak.
Yes, the 18-game winless streak is finally over after a 6-1 drubbing of the Gostisbehere-less Flyers on Wednesday.
The very next night, Jeff Skinner had a stickless breakaway. The Rangers scored shortly after the below fiasco and ultimately won this one 3-2 in overtime to sum up Buffalo’s season quite nicely.
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at Sound Of Hockey and the host, producer, and editor of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is an inconsistent beer league goalie who believes that five players have to make a mistake before the puck gets to him. Follow him on Twitter @DarrenFunBrown or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
