You said there are no soap operas in the NHL, but holy cats, has this last week been a soap opera in the NHL. The cast of this week’s episode features the New York Rangers, the Washington Capitals, the NHL Department of Player Safety, Gary Bettman, George Parros, James Dolan, Jeff Gorton, John Davidson, Chris Drury, and—at the center of it all—Tom Wilson, whose actions and lack of suspension caused this whole thing.
More on this in a bit.
Seattle Kraken news
Before we really peek under the circus tent that has been installed where Madison Square Garden once stood, let us chat quickly about what is happening on the Seattle Kraken front.
The moment you’ve all been waiting for has arrived! Yes, the Seattle Kraken’s first act as the official 32nd franchise in the NHL is…
The plates range in cost from $59 for a motorcycle with any random jumble of letters and numbers up to $129 for a passenger vehicle with personalized plates. For what it’s worth, I have dibs on CRAPWSL for my plate, so please keep your filthy tentacles off of that one.
And what’s the One Roof Foundation, you ask? Why, it’s the newly announced official philanthropy arm of the Seattle Kraken and Climate Pledge Arena, of course!
The One Roof Foundation focuses on three pillars: fighting youth homelessness, making hockey more accessible, and environmental justice. We at SOH are very excited to see what impact the Kraken can have on the community, and the foundation will certainly be central to those efforts.
The team also tweeted pictures of the ice slab going in at Climate Pledge Arena on Friday. It’s starting to look legit, folks!
In other Kraken-related news, Milan Lucic agreed to waive his no-move clause to allow the Calgary Flames to protect an additional player in the Expansion Draft. That’s bad news for Seattle, which we believe will now be choosing between Oliver Kylington and Mark Giordano.
The soap opera
In case you were paying zero attention to the NHL or Hockey Twitter this week, we will fill you in on what happened with the aforementioned cast of soap opera characters. Spoiler alert: it was a doozy.
A net-front melee erupted in the first of two consecutive meetings between the Rangers and the Capitals on Monday. Tom Wilson shoved Pavel Buchnevich’s face into the ice, then Artemi Panarin jumped on Wilson’s back. Wilson grabbed Panarin by the hair and threw him like a ragdoll, then gave him the same treatment that he had given Buchnevich. Wilson then flexed in the penalty box. Panarin will not play for the rest of the season, but it doesn’t sound like he was seriously injured (he certainly could have been).
On Tuesday, Department of Player Safety director George Parros opted to simply fine Tom Wilson $5,000, rather than handing him a suspension for at least the next game between the two teams.
Later that day, the Rangers issued one of the strongest official statements ever made by an NHL club.
On Wednesday, James Dolan, the owner of the Rangers, fired the team’s brain trust, replacing Jeff Gorton and John Davidson with Chris Drury as the new general manager. Dolan claimed the firings had nothing to do with the statement the team had issued, but it’s impossible to ignore the timing of the moves.
Oh, then the two teams had to play each other again on Wednesday night!
The game started with a line brawl, then another fight, then another fight, until the penalty boxes were busting at the seams in a downright comical scene that the internet enjoyed to no end.
In all, 141 penalty minutes were assessed during the game.
TJ Oshie steals the show
Somewhere hidden deep within all this bizarreness was the story that TJ Oshie was playing Wednesday in his first game since the passing of his father, Tim, lovingly known throughout the hockey world as “Coach.”
So what did Coach’s son do? He rose above the terrible mess that was happening all around him in that game to score a hat trick.
Oshie was visibly emotional and was embraced by his teammates in a way that you rarely see in professional sports. It was perhaps the most beautiful story of the year, and yet it was oddly overshadowed by a bunch of guys punching each other.
No Tom Wilson suspension, yes Pavel Buchnevich suspension
The off-ice ugliness picked up again on Thursday, as the NHL fined the Rangers $250,000 for their public comments directed at Parros, and—in perhaps the most ironic twist of all—suspended Buchnevich for one game for cross-checking Anthony Mantha in the face during Wednesday’s Broadway Brouhaha.
You seriously cannot make this stuff up.
If the league had simply suspended Wilson for a game—which folks would have argued was either unjust punishment or not nearly enough because you can’t please everyone anyone—then this all would have been nipped in the bud.
Emily Kaplan summed it up perfectly on ESPN’s Around The Horn.
"[The NHL] could have avoided this entire mess."@emilymkaplan says the "manifestation" of unwritten rules in Capitals-Rangers resulted in a bad night for hockey pic.twitter.com/YrtKW2QyeK
Canada defeated Russia 5-3 in a thrilling gold medal game at the IIHF U18 World Championship on Thursday.
Bedard, 15, is the first player ever to be granted exceptional status to join the WHL early and showed on a big stage why scouts are clamoring for this kid. With 14 points, Bedard tied for second in the tournament scoring race with teammate Shane Wright. Wright and Bedard finished behind only Russia’s 16-year-old future superstar, Matvei Michkov, who notched 16 points (12-4=16) in just seven games.
Everett’s Olen Zellweger had a huge tournament on Canada’s blue line with a goal and seven assists. Seattle’s Conner Roulette had two goals and three assists, while netminder Thomas Milic posted a 2-0-0 record with a .975 save percentage and .50 goals against average but did not play in the playoffs or gold medal game.
AHL teams relocating
Recently on the Sound Of Hockey Podcast, we surmised that—because the operator of the Utica Comets had filed a new trademark for the brand “Utica Devils”—there was some AHL shuffling on the way.
We were correct.
The Utica Comets, Vancouver’s top affiliate, are re-locating to Abbottsford, British Columbia, while the Binghamton Devils, New Jersey’s AHL franchise, are moving 90 miles north to Utica. I can’t help feeling for the people of Binghamton, but the moves make sense, at least on paper.
The Canucks having their top prospects playing thousands of miles away and in a different country was never a good plan and created even greater challenges during this pandemic. But AHL hockey in Abbottsford has been tried before and did not work, as the Heat only lasted five seasons there with low attendance.
Perhaps the fact that the NHL and AHL teams of the same organization will be playing within the same province will make it more successful this time around?
Around the boards
With the new national TV deals coming next season, broadcaster hirings at TNT/TBS and ESPN are starting to trickle in. Kenny Albert and Eddie Olczyck will be the lead team for Turner Sports, while Craig Morgan has reported he believes Ray Ferraro will be the lead analyst at ESPN.
David Backes is likely to retire after this season. His Anaheim Ducks visited St. Louis on Wednesday, where Backes played 10 seasons and served as captain for five. Backes gave Darren Pang an all-time post-game interview on Wednesday, which was played over the public address system in the arena.
Marc-Andre Fleury recorded his 490th career NHL win on Wednesday, surpassing Roberto Luongo and giving him third place on the all-time list. That’s not bad for a guy who was selected by the Golden Knights in the Expansion Draft after the Penguins sent an extra draft pick to persuade Vegas to take him.
Goalie gear corner
As a huge Felix Potvin fan as a child, I very much approve of David Rittich’s new look.
There’s something a little trippy about seeing the outline of the old Koho crosshairs logo on a pair of CCM pads, but man… this was beautifully done.
Who wore it better?
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 it comes to hockey rivalries, Canada and Russia is one of the best. The two countries have played epic games on the international stage and will write the next chapter Thursday night in Texas when they play for the gold medal of the IIHF U18 World Championships.
The U18 tournament features many top 2021 NHL Draft prospects as well as some unbelievably talented players who will be featured in the 2022 and 2023 Drafts.
Canada has breezed through the tournament so far, unbeaten and outscoring its opponents by an absurd 46 to 9 margin. It’s a deep squad loaded with future NHL talent and one of the deepest teams the Canadians have brought to the U18s.
We’ve heard this before, though.
At the 2021 World Juniors, Canada looked invincible, with a roster of first-round NHL picks. Surely nobody would stop them. That was the narrative heading into the gold medal game and yet the U.S. ended up skating away with the prize.
This time it’s the Russians who will try to upset the seemingly unbeatable Canadians. Will they do so? They have talent but will have to play a near perfect game Thursday night. The game starts at 6 PM Pacific time and will be broadcast on the NHL Network.
Canada versus Russia for U18 gold
After ripping through the preliminary rounds, Canada advanced to the gold medal game with a pair of seven-goal wins. They beat the Czech Republic 10-3 and Sweden 8-1. The game against Sweden was closer than the score appeared as Canada led 2-1 through 40 minutes. With the way Canada has played, that’s what constitutes a close game in this tournament.
The Russians tied Finland in points during the preliminary rounds but lost out on the top seed due to a head-to-head shootout loss. They had a taste of revenge by beating Finland in a thrilling 6-5 semi-final contest. Prior to that, they had taken care of Belarus, 5-2. Russia has played exciting games during this tournament and won’t be a pushover here. They’ve already erased a 5-1 deficit against the United States to hand the Americans a heartbreaking loss early in the tournament.
Canada-Russia by the numbers
It should be no surprise that the two teams fighting for the gold medal have some impressive numbers. Despite Canada routing all of its opponents, Russia boasts the best shooting percentage as a team at 18 percent, but Canada is right behind them at 17. Both squads are far and away the best shooting clubs in the tournament which could lead to some explosives Thursday night.
Special teams are always a factor in gold medal games and Russia and Canada feature the top two power-play units in the tournament. Russia’s is clicking at 43 percent while Canada is just a tick below at 42. Russia will need to be disciplined in this game as their penalty kill was not as good (75%) as Canada’s (85%) and too many kills could lose the gold medal.
The top two scorers in the tournament are both Russians. Captain Nikita Chibrikov has 13 points and is tied with teammate Matvei Michkov – 11 of his points are off goals. Canada’s Connor Bedard (12 points) and Shane Wright (11 points) are third and fourth in scoring, respectively.
Players to watch
It would be easy to list the entire Canadian roster here as their chances to grab U18 gold against Russia lay in the hands of a talented roster that has depth through all four lines.
For Kraken fans, forward Dylan Guenther, Brandt Clarke, and Mason McTavish are just three players who are projected as first-round picks in the range of when Seattle will pick in its first Draft. In particular, Clark — who normally plays with the OHL’s Barrie Colts but played in Slovakia this year due to the OHL season being canceled — has had a strong tournament and could see his stock on the rise.
Canada’s Dylan Guenther will be a top NHL Draft pick in July. (Photo by Andy Devine/Edmonton Oil Kings)
Local fans will want to keep an eye on Seattle Thunderbirds forward Connor Roulette, who has six points in six games, and Everett Silvertips defenseman Olen Zellweger, who has seven.
Russia also has NHL talent on its roster, most notably its two leading scorers.
Chibrikov is a speedy two-way and fluid center projected to land in the first round. Another first-round prospect is Fyodor Svechkov who has checked in with 10 points for the Russians. Svechkov is another fantastic two-way center who will have his hands full against Canada in the gold medal game.
The future of the future
Both Canada and Russia have younger players who will not be eligible for the NHL Draft this year but in the coming years. These guys have been electric and have put on a show during the tournament in Texas.
It’s a U18 tournament which means that 15-year-old Bedard could be and was invited for Canada. The Regina Pats phenom is the first player ever to be granted exceptional status in the WHL and after leading the league in scoring there, he’s come to Texas and has led Canada. He’s as dynamic a player as you’ll see in this game and turned in a hat trick during Canada’s semi-final win against Finland. Bedard is eligible for the 2023 NHL Draft and is already being talked about as the top pick.
Not to be outdone, Canada’s Wright, 16, has been equally impressive. He’ll be eligible for the 2022 Draft and already looks like the No. 1 guy. Wright was named Canada’s captain for this tournament, which is exceptional by itself, but then you watch the guy play and he does it all. He can score, play in his own end, he’s on the Canadian power play, and he kills penalties.
Russia also has a 2023 eligible player in Michkov. At 15 years old, he’s exploded on the scene during the U18s, leading the way with 11 goals. He’s got size for a guy his age and could give Bedard a push for that top Draft spot in two years.
Gold medal goalie matchup for Canada and Russia
Obviously, it took good goaltending for Canada and Russia to reach the U18 gold medal game and both clubs have it. Russia’s Sergei Ivanov will get the call in net Thursday and will bring with him a 2.36 goals-against and a .920 save percentage.
On the Canadian side, Seattle Thunderbirds goalie Thomas Milic started two games in the preliminary rounds – only allowing one goal – but will serve as the backup goalie for Canada in the gold medal game. Instead, Canada will go with Benjamin Gaudreau, who started both playoff games. Gaudreau has only allowed eight goals in six games with a save percentage of .922. Playing for the OHL’s Sarnia Sting, Gaudreau had not played in a game all year, making his U18 performance that much more impressive.
The Seattle Kraken are officially the 32nd NHL team, now that they have submitted the final payment of their $650 million expansion fee to the league. The Sound Of Hockey Podcast is quite excited about this, and the guys react accordingly in this episode.
John, Andy, and Darren give an update on a couple of news items from the women’s hockey world, then stroll around the NHL to look at how the divisions are shaping up with playoffs on the horizon.
Things then get bit- and segment-heavy, as the guys go from Three Stars to HYPEotheticals to Goalie Gear Corner to Weekly One-Timers to Tweets of the Week.
Within those bits and segments, you’ll hear about Ryan Miller retiring, Tom Wilson being a dick, Kirill Kaprizov being amazing, and much more.
The Seattle Kraken are officially the 32nd NHL team, now that they have submitted the final payment of their $650 million expansion fee to the league. The Sound Of Hockey Podcast is quite excited about this, and the guys react accordingly in this episode.
John, Andy, and Darren give an update on a couple of news items from the women’s hockey world, then stroll around the NHL to look at how the divisions are shaping up with playoffs on the horizon.
Things then get bit- and segment-heavy, as the guys go from Three Stars to HYPEotheticals to Goalie Gear Corner to Weekly One-Timers to Tweets of the Week.
Within those bits and segments, you’ll hear about Ryan Miller retiring, Tom Wilson being a dick, Kirill Kaprizov being amazing, and much more.
Yesterday we tiered all the teams in the NHL Eastern Conference by the likelihood of a side deal in the NHL Expansion Draft coming in July. If you have not read yesterday’s piece, now would be an excellent time to do so. Today, we will be breaking down all the Western Conference teams.
Likely side deal candidates
Colorado Avalanche – The Avs are stacked on the blueline with Cale Makar, Devon Toews, and Sam Girard. The problem is fellow defenseman Erik Johnson has a no-movement clause and must be protected per Expansion Draft rules. Johnson could waive his NMC for the Expansion Draft, but players waiving such clauses in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft was very rare. Assuming Johnson does not waive his NMC, expect general manager Joe Sakic to swing a side deal to avoid losing Toews.
Nashville Predators – The Predators should be desperate to get either Matt Duchene or Ryan Johansen’s contract off their books. Both carry an $8 million salary cap hit with five and four years remaining respectively. We anticipate both will be exposed, but there is no guarantee Seattle selects either with its pick from the Predators. General manager David Poile could incentivize the Kraken to select either of them with a prospect or a few draft picks via a side deal.
Possible side deal candidates
Anaheim Ducks – Before the trade deadline, Anaheim seemed positioned to lose a quality defenseman in the Expansion Draft. To make the situation worse, the Ducks acquired another young defenseman from Carolina in Haydn Fleury. We could see the Ducks offering up a draft pick to Seattle in order to influence who the Kraken select in the Expansion Draft.
Edmonton Oilers – The Oilers will have some exposure risk in the Expansion Draft. At a bare minimum they will need to expose a key defenseman in either Caleb Jones, William Lagesson, or Oscar Klefbom. Assuming Edmonton goes with the eight total skaters protection format, Lagesson is probably the one exposed. One outstanding item is a potential re-signing of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. If that happens before the Expansion Draft, you can guarantee the Oilers will protect seven forwards, three defensemen, and one goalie. This will expose one more of the defensemen mentioned before and create a potential side deal scenario.
Minnesota Wild – The Wild have three defensemen with no-move clauses, and Matt Dumba is not one of them. The general feeling is GM Bill Guerin will avoid losing Dumba for nothing in the Expansion Draft and will either trade him before the Expansion Draft, protect four defensemen, or swing a side deal with Seattle. The Wild are well positioned to start competing for a Stanley Cup and probably prefer to keep Dumba as a part of their core. If Dumba is on Minnesota’s roster on July 17, expect a side deal.
Less likely side deal candidates
Arizona Coyotes – The Coyotes might not have much to offer to Seattle, but they have two goalies worth protecting in Darcy Kuemper and Adin Hill. Kuemper is a high-end netminder when he is healthy, and Hill, who is younger and cheaper, showcased well this year while filling in for the injured Kuemper. The Coyotes might consider a side deal to protect both goalies.
Calgary Flames – The Flames’ willingness to do a side deal with Seattle will come down to how much they want to hold onto either Mark Giordano and/or Oliver Kylington. Kylington went unclaimed on waivers earlier this year. The 37-year-old Giordano is still productive in this league, but if he were to be drafted by the Kraken, his $6.8 million salary could create some space in Calgary to make other tweaks in the roster. We think this makes a side deal less likely, as the Flames may actually be ok to lose Giordano.
Los Angeles Kings – The Kings do have some decisions to make with their sixth and seventh protected forwards. Dustin Brown, Blake Lizotte, Austin Wagner, and Lias Andersson are all candidates for those last two slots of the protected list. If LA wants to protect one more of those, they might offer Seattle a draft pick or a prospect to not select a specific forward.
San Jose Sharks – There has been a lot of talk that San Jose might want to expose Brent Burns in the hopes that the Kraken select him and his $8 million salary cap off their books. Burns is still a strong defenseman in the NHL, and the Kraken may select him with or without an incentive from a side deal.
Close to zero chance of a side deal
Chicago Blackhawks – With the retirement of Andrew Shaw and the move of Brent Seabrook to long-term injured reserve, the Blackhawks moved a lot of salary cap off the books already. They are well positioned to not lose anyone of note in the Expansion Draft, and we would say it is extremely unlikely they are part of a side deal with Seattle.
Dallas Stars – The Stars are in good shape headed into the Expansion Draft with no obviously bad contracts on the books. Thus, they are unlikely side deal partners with Seattle.
St. Louis Blues – The Blues have some decent players that will be exposed, but we do not feel there are any players that warrant swinging a side deal to protect.
Vancouver Canucks – It’s hard to see much exposure risk in the Expansion Draft for Vancouver. Loui Eriksson’s contract is bad, but with only one year remining, the Canucks will probably eat that last year instead of offering up a prospect or draft pick to Seattle in the Expansion Draft.
Winnipeg Jets – Winnipeg has a few younger defensemen in Sami Niku and Logan Stanley. Neither of them warrants protecting via a side deal.
Did we miss anyone? Are there players or teams that you expect to move via a side deal? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
During the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft, Vegas made 10 side deals that netted the Golden Knights an additional six players, 10 Entry Draft picks, and signing rights to one player. Such Expansion Draft side deals will be an important element of the upcoming Seattle Expansion Draft. We went ahead and tiered all 30 NHL Teams that are participating in the 2021 Expansion Draft into four buckets based on the likelihood of the team making a side deal.
We’re starting in the Eastern Conference.
Major factors in determining if a side deal can happen
Too many players to protect. This is where a team has too many quality players and not enough spots on the protection lists. Example: In 2017, the Minnesota Wild had an abundance of defensemen they wanted to protect. The Wild traded Alex Tuch and a third-round pick in exchange for Vegas selecting Erik Haula in the Expansion Draft. This prevented the Golden Knights from selecting Matt Dumba, who was unprotected in the 2017 Expansion Draft.
Bad contracts. In this scenario, a team might have a player with a high annual average value (AAV) cap hit, but the player might not be performing at a level expected based on the AAV. Example: In 2017, Columbus traded their 2017 NHL Entry Draft first-round pick and David Clarkson for Vegas selecting William Karlsson. In this case, Clarkson was the bad contract and the combination of the draft pick and Karlsson was the incentive Columbus provided to Vegas for taking the bad contract in the Expansion Draft.
Reduction of cap hit. Like the bad contract scenario, this is where a team wants to reduce its salary cap obligation for the next season to create space for current and future players. This was not prevalent in 2017 but may be very important in the Kraken Expansion Draft due to a flat salary cap caused by the pandemic.
Likely side deal candidates
Tampa Bay Lightning – Heading into this season, Tampa Bay was already doing some salary cap gymnastics to be compliant before the season opener. Nikita Kucherov had surgery that landed him on the long-term injured reserve list (LTIR). This enabled the Lightning to move his $9,500,000 salary cap off the books to keep the team in compliance. Kucherov is expected to be healthy next season and the Lightning will need to move money off the payroll to be compliant for the 2021-22 season.
Possible side deal candidates
Boston Bruins – How the Bruins approach the Expansion Draft is anyone’s guess. They have several young players in Trent Frederic, Jakub Zboril, and Jeremy Lauzon. Plus, they have some vets that are making a strong case to be protected in Nick Ritchie and Craig Smith. Three of those five players could be exposed and could create an opportunity for a side deal to protect them.
Buffalo Sabres – Buffalo will want to offload the bad Jeff Skinner contract, but with six seasons remaining on Skinner’s contract, I do not think the Sabres could offer enough to Seattle for them to take it on. However, with only two years remaining on Kyle Okposo’s contract, the Sabres might want to offer some incentives to the Kraken that will create more cap space in Buffalo.
Morgan Geekie was a third-round pick by Ron Francis in the 2017 NHL Draft (Checkers photo)
Carolina Hurricanes – Two months ago the Hurricanes looked like a prime candidate for a side deal, but it now appears Dougie Hamilton will not be signing an extension with the Canes. This will allow them to protect Jake Bean. The Canes also sent Haydn Fleury to the Ducks at the trade deadline, so the Expansion Draft options suddenly do not look nearly as appetizing. It is possible that the Canes offer up a draft pick to Seattle if the Kraken do not select Morgan Geekie in the Expansion Draft.
Florida Panthers – At the beginning of the season the Florida Panthers looked like one of the teams with not much to offer the Kraken in the Expansion Draft. Several players are having career years, though, and have made the protected list a bit trickier for Florida. The Panthers further complicated matters for themselves by acquiring Sam Bennett at the trade deadline, and the list of candidates for protection at forward is now a bit crowded. They might want to encourage Seattle to take on a big contract like Patric Hornqvist at $5 million a year by offering up a draft pick to influence the decision.
New York Islanders – As we see it, the Islanders will expose Josh Bailey or Kieffer Bellows in the forward category and either Nick Leddy or Scott Mayfield on defense. General manager Lou Lamoriello might consider offering up a sweetener to influence the Kraken’s decision here if there is a player he prioritizes over another.
Philadelphia Flyers – Signing Scott Laughton to a contract extension last month really threw a wrench into forecasting the exposure list for the Flyers. They will need to expose three of the following forwards: Jakub Voracek, Nolan Patrick, Nicolas Aube-Kubel, and James van Riemsdyk. The Flyers might want Seattle to take on some salary cap and offer up some incentive for Seattle selecting Voracek or van Riemsdyk, both of whom have salary cap hits over $7 million per year compared to Patrick and Aube-Kubel’s cap hits of ~$1 million per year.
Less likely side deal candidates
Montreal Canadiens – The Canadiens approach to the Expansion Draft hinges on their desire and ability to sign any of their big three pending UFAs: Joel Armia, Phillip Danault, and Tomas Tatar. Signing two of the three would create an exposure issue for Montreal. It might also be possible for the Canadiens to offer up some draft picks to the Kraken for them not to select platooning goalie Jake Allen who has played roughly half of Montreal’s games this season. It seems like a long shot for any of these scenarios to play out.
New Jersey Devils – The Devils continue to rebuild and do not seem like a team that needs to shed any salary. PK Subban’s contract is high at $9 million a year, but he has had a bounce-back season. And with only one year remaining, there is no sense of urgency to get Subban off the books.
New York Rangers – Colin Blackwell might be having an impressive season, but if he is exposed, we do not anticipate the Rangers offering up anything extra to protect him.
Ottawa Senators – The Senators are positioned very well to not lose much in the Expansion Draft and are unlikely candidates for a side deal.
Pittsburgh Penguins – There are a couple players of note that could be exposed in the Expansion Draft, but Pittsburgh is unlikely to part with draft picks primarily because they don’t have many left in the next two years.
Toronto Maple Leafs – The Leafs situation is a bit complicated. They need theoretical space for re-signing Zach Hyman and/or signing a UFA starting goalie not named Frederik Andersen. If they want to sign Hyman and a higher-caliber goalie, then they are going to need to move money off their payroll to create cap space. My feeling is that Hyman will not be re-signed and therefore no side deal with Seattle will really be needed.
Washington Capitals – The only way the Caps make a side deal is if they want to create some cap space, and we just do not see any obvious bad contracts on the Capitals roster to move.
Close to zero chance of a side deal
Columbus Blue Jackets – The Blue Jackets do not have much to offer Seattle in the Expansion Draft and their salary cap position seems fine.
Detroit Red Wings – The Wings are another team with very little to offer to the Kraken and do not need to worry about the salary cap anytime soon.
Tomorrow I will run through the Western Conference teams of possible Expansion Draft side deal candidates.
There has been a lot of talk about the battle for the Hart Trophy, awarded to the NHL’s MVP, between Auston Matthews (TOR) and Connor McDavid (EDM). For this week’s Data Dump Saturday, I want to dig into the numbers between these two players to demonstrate the thought process when evaluating who is truly the best.
The Basics
Points, goals, and assists are the most basic level of statistics when evaluating a player so let us start there to establish a baseline for comparison.
Next, let’s consider the number of games played. As of now, Toronto has played 50 games while Edmonton has played 48. Matthews also missed four games due to injury so we should consider average points, goals, and assists per game to make it a more level playing field.
There is no material change, but averages are better for comparing players with a different number of games played.
By Opponent
Now let us peek at what teams these players are feasting on this season.
Both players are taking advantage of the Ottawa Senators, averaging two points or more per game. Additionally, McDavid must love facing the Winnipeg Jets, while Matthews does pretty well against Montreal. These matchups might be worth noting because coincidentally the first-round Stanley Cup Playoff matchups appear to be Toronto versus Montreal and Edmonton versus Winnipeg.
Add more context
Any goals are valuable, but there are certain scenarios where it is easier to score goals, like on the power play. To even this out let us look at the point production without the power play points.
This starts to level out the scoring, but McDavid still leads Matthews in points when we just isolate even strength points.
Another way we can add context to the point production of these two players is by looking at what period of the game they are scoring their points.
One may think that scoring more at the end of the game could be considered more meaningful. As such, one might think that McDavid is more clutch by scoring more points late in the game, right? Not necessarily. We are missing context. What if Toronto tends to enter the third with a bigger lead than Edmonton does in its games? If Toronto establishes a lead in a game early then this would enable them to play a more defensive-minded game later, thereby limiting the opportunity for Matthews to score. I do not know if this is the case, but these are contextual questions that might be asked when evaluating players.
Game situation
The last comparison I am going to look at is the game scenario in which the player scores a goal. This is not perfect, but I want to try to isolate more meaningful goals based on what is the situation in which the player scores.
To do this, I am going to show the goal differential after the player scores. For example, if the Toronto Maple Leafs are down 3-1 and Auston Matthews scores a goal to bring the score to 3-2, the goal differential is -1. It would be considered a more meaningful goal than if Matthews were to score when the game is 5-0.
Assuming you believe the smaller the goal differential at the time the goal is scored, the more meaningful the goal, Auston Matthews scores more meaningful goals. 58% of his goals tie the game up or put his team up by one goal compared to 50% of McDavid’s goals.
My intent of this week’s data dump is just to showcase the thought process in evaluating players and their commonly reported stats. Context is very important to evaluate players and will be very important for the Seattle Kraken when considering who to select for the Expansion Draft and beyond. I hope this sheds a bit of light on the topic and would love to hear any ideas or thoughts on how you would evaluate players in the Expansion Draft.
April 30, 2021, is a day that will live on in the hearts and minds of hockey fans in the Pacific Northwest. Yes, the Seattle Kraken have made the final payment of their $650 million expansion fee to the league on Friday, meaning they are now officially the NHL’s 32nd franchise.
Clearing this final hurdle allows the team to sign free agent players and contribute to any league-wide decisions moving forward.
Of course, we have long known that this day would come, but now that it has arrived, it is a nice bit of closure for anyone who still had questions bouncing around deep in their brains about whether or not this thing would ever officially get off the ground. Well, ladies and gentlemen, it is off the ground.
LET’S GO!
Other Seattle Kraken news
The team officially joining the league is certainly the biggest piece of news to come from the Kraken this week.
The only other item of interest is a follow-up from last week’s $3.5 million lawsuit, filed by the Kraken Bar & Lounge against the team for its planned restaurant at the new Northgate training facility. The update is that the team will no longer use the name “Kraken Bar & Grill” for the establishment that it is planning to open in the fall.
At this stage, it is unclear what the name of the team’s restaurant will end up being, but it won’t be Kraken Bar & Grill anymore.
The Kraken Bar & Lounge, a punk rock bar in the University District, may have a point because the names of the establishments would have been quite similar, and frankly, those two businesses aren’t even all that far apart in physical distance from one another. So, it certainly would have been confusing for patrons seeking punk.
Perhaps the name change lets the team avoid a battle in court, but the situation does still beg the question, is legal action really all that punk rock?
The “other” NHL TV deal
This week, the NHL announced that its second national TV partner will be Turner Sports, which means that in addition to ESPN, hockey fans will be able to watch games nationally on TNT and TBS starting next season.
Per the NHL’s press release, Gary Bettman says of Turner, “They put a fun and innovative factor into all of what they do and we’re excited to have that same treatment for our sport and for our fans.” He also mentions his excitement for Turner’s digital properties, which includes HBO Max and Bleacher Report. There will apparently be a streaming aspect to this deal, though the bulk of out-of-market games will be moving from NHL.tv to ESPN+.
The deal is worth $225 million annually for seven years.
NBC has done some good things in its 16 years as the NHL’s flagship national TV partner, but that network’s coverage has run its course. We at SOH are thrilled to see what fresh perspectives can be brought by both ESPN and TNT/TBS as the game moves into the future.
Of course, we should note that TNT—known for its outstanding and fun coverage of the NBA—did slightly miss the mark this week when Shaquille O’Neal was asked to name three hockey teams while a graphic featuring the retired Andrew Ference (it clearly was meant to be Connor McDavid) appeared on the screen.
Not to be too hard on the Big Aristotle—who did not claim to have any hockey knowledge when asked—but the California Kings?! When he played for the Lakers, he literally shared an arena with the Kings.
The coverage can only get better from here, gang!
The NWHL doubles its salary cap for 2021-22 season
The National Women’s Hockey League announced that it will increase its salary cap from $150,000 to $300,000 per team for the 2021-22 season.
The league champion Boston Pride had 21 players on their roster for this past season. $300K divided up 21 ways is still not bringing these women even close to the neighborhood of what NHL players make, and they clearly still deserve WAY more considering the elite level at which they compete.
But every little step towards equitability is a positive step for the women’s game, and this is definitely a positive step. It also comes in the wake of several other positive steps from the past year.
Ilya Kovalchuk wins the Cup
…The Gagarin Cup, that is.
Avangard Omsk defeated CSKA Moscow 4-2 in the KHL’s final series this week, giving Ilya Kovalchuk his third championship in Russia’s top professional league. The “Hawks” won the decisive sixth game 1-0 on a goal by Sergei Tolchinski.
Avangard—which has been playing its games 2,500 kilometers away from its home arena due to structural issues with its regular venue—earns its first championship since 2004, back when the league was called the Russian Superliga.
The Hawks are coached by Bob Hartley, who previously coached Kovulchuk with the Atlanta Thrashers at the beginning of the rising superstar’s professional career. Hartley also coached the Colorado Avalanche, where he won a Stanley Cup, as well as the Calgary Flames before going to Russia.
Hartley always had an exceptional hairline, and at 60 years old, it appears to still be holding relatively strong.
Bob Hartley has now won the Stanley Cup, Calder Cup, NLA, Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and—at last—the Gagarin (see photo for the math). Félicitations légende! pic.twitter.com/nwsiJ0hs6R
Other former NHL players on Avangard’s roster include Alexei Emelin (who did not play, as he is recovering from liver failure… Yikes!), Nail Yakupov, and Reid Boucher.
Ryan Miller retiring
The winningest U.S.-born goalie in NHL history, Ryan Miller, has announced that he will hang up the pads after this 2020-21 season.
The Hobey Baker winner, Olympic MVP, NHL All-Star, and 18-year veteran holds a career record of 390-289-87, with a 2.64 goals against average and .914 save percentage. Miller, 40, played the first 11 seasons of his NHL career in Buffalo, where he rose to stardom. He then made stops in St. Louis and Vancouver before settling in Anaheim, where he has spent four seasons.
A personal anecdote for you. When Miller was playing in the CCHA for Michigan State University and solidifying himself as the best college netminder ever, he wore a pretty awesome Sparty Spartan mask. I liked it so much, I designed my own high school mask with the exact same theme, but swapping in Sparky, my high school’s mascot.
I’m a huge fan of Miller, and while the time is certainly right for him to ride off into the sunset, he will very much be missed.
Around the boards
Contrary to Miller’s plans, Jaromir Jagr, 49, has no interest in ending his pro career after completing his 33rd season. Jagr both plays for and owns Rytiri Kladno in the Czech Republic. Kladno just won the second-tier Chance Liga championship, which means that it will be promoted to the Czech Extraliga next season. In deciding to continue, Jagr cites his responsibility to the club and was quoted on NHL.com, saying, “I expect much more from myself and I don’t have it. But I am aware that when I leave, many (business) partners will leave the team too. That’s why I have no choice.” So, in that sense… it’s actually… kind of… a sad story that Jagr is still playing pro hockey as he approaches 50 years old?
The date for the NHL Draft Lottery is set for June 2. Now that the Kraken are officially an NHL franchise, they will officially have a ping pong ball in that hopper (this was never really a question, but it feels neat to type that). Seattle has the third-best odds of landing the top overall pick at the NHL Entry Draft, which will be held on July 23 and 24.
You don’t see that every day
Who knew double Sam’s was such a rarity?
The @AnaheimDucks got goals from Sam Carrick and Sam Steel in the second period tonight to tie the game.
This is the first time in NHL history that two teammates named Sam (or Samuel, Sammy, etc.) have scored a goal in the same game.
Morgan Geekie, who is likely on the Kraken’s Expansion Draft radar, has the perfect way to describe the Carolina Hurricanes’ methods for moving on after a tough loss.
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.
It becomes official Friday. The Seattle Kraken are scheduled to make their final payment to the NHL, making them the league’s 32nd franchise.
The NHL awarded Seattle a franchise in December of 2018, and the team has moved forward with hiring staff and preparing for the Expansion Draft in July. But paying the remainder of its $650 million expansion fee represents the final hurdle for the Kraken becoming official members of the league.
So, what does this mean?
For 30 other teams, it means they get their cut of the expansion fee sent to them – the Vegas Golden Knights are not eligible to receive a portion of the fee. More importantly for the Kraken, the payment means as an official NHL franchise they can sign free agents and have a say in league-wide decisions.
There are undrafted college players, and soon CHL players, that will have completed their seasons and can be signed by NHL clubs. We have already seen a flurry of college players signed and while on the surface it feels like maybe the Kraken missed out, general manager Ron Francis says Seattle would not have been a destination for those players even if they were allowed to sign them.
“The college ones are a little more challenging,” Francis said two weeks ago. “It’s not so much the payment happening later. A lot of times with those big college free agents and what the agents and the players want is to burn this season (of an entry-level contract), which is this year. We can’t burn this year and would have to start next year, so that takes us out on a lot of those negotiations.
“We’re looking at that and we’re certainly looking at the Ontario League, the Western League, and the Quebec League and free agents in Europe that we might be interested in signing.”
By contrast, the Vegas Golden Knights signed their first player in March of 2017, seven months before their first NHL season. They signed Reid Duke from the Brandon Wheat Kings as his WHL season was ending. Junior leagues are nearing a conclusion over the next few weeks and the OHL didn’t play at all, so there are players that the Kraken could consider bringing into the fold.
The final payment also means that the Kraken can now weigh in on league decisions, GM meetings, and Board of Governors’ issues. Previously, the franchise had no say in these choices and just watched as the league dealt with restarting the playoffs last year and shortening the current season.
The guys are in a jovial mood on this week’s Sound Of Hockey Podcast, and the laughs are plentiful as a result.
This episode starts with a very literal Get Off My Lawn from Darren, who explains some of the new lawn- and pepper-related challenges he’s experiencing in his home.
Next, the guys discuss the lawsuit that the Seattle Kraken are facing and what it means for the team. They also discuss this week’s news that TNT will be getting the remaining portion of the NHL’s TV deal and the second cancellation of the Women’s World Championships.
