The regular season is now in full swing, and all 32 teams are at least a few games into their schedule. There have been many recent storylines of impact, such as Oilers captain Connor McDavid’s injury, a hefty suspension to Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson, and the ever-closer return of free agent winger Patrick Kane from offseason hip surgery.
With a fair idea of where teams stand after a handful of contests, it’s time for another edition of the #PHRMailbag. Our last callout for questions resulted in a pair of articles that ran the last two weekends of September. The first one looked at the future of Sharks captain Logan Couture in San Jose and the brief and controversial tenure of Mike Babcock as head coach of the Blue Jackets. The second one examined some likely Calder Trophy candidates, the sometimes-frustrating NHL-CHL transfer agreement, and some key contract details often found in ELCs.
You can submit a question by using #PHRMailbag on Twitter/X or by leaving a comment down below. The mailbag will run on the weekend.
When do the Senators finally solve this Pinto contract issue? How much further into the season is it reasonable to drag this out?
What’s the deal with people wearing a jersey of a team that’s not even playing to hockey games? I see this a lot. There are people that will buy front row seats for, say, the Ducks at Oilers, and show up with an Islanders jersey. Like those seats aren’t cheap, what is the goal here?
If they pay good money to see a hockey game, I think they can wear whatever they want, within reason. Why would it matter to anyone?
Hell, I own jerseys from four teams that don’t *exist* any more. Sometimes, just for yucks, I wear my Northeastern University Huskies jersey to a Springfield game. (OMG, I’m wearing a college jersey to a PRO game, what’s wrong with me?!?)
Seriously, dude, what kind of answer are you looking for? That George Soros is using the Jewish orbital mind control lasers to destabilize hockey loyalties, on behalf of the Illuminati?
I KNEW Soros was involved!
That’s stupid. It’s obvious it’s mind control waves from an underground bunker.
Based on the first few games, do you see any teams making an early trade?
This hasn’t been talked about much, but do you see it possible that Kyle Connor gets traded to Detroit? He’s from there (also lives there over the summer) and has multiple friends and former teammates on the team. Plus there’s definitely a hole next to his buddies Andrew Copp and JT Compher on the second line. Seems like this makes too much sense not to happen at some point.
Why would Winnipeg do it? What is Detroit offering up for Winnipegs best player?
Winnipeg isn’t going anywhere other than the middle of the pack with their current core. I know the Scheifele and Hellbuyck signings complicate things but Detroit could offer them a haul. They have all their firsts for the foreseeable future and multiple high end prospects that they could include in a deal. What Detroit can give in return isn’t really an issue, they have plenty of assets.
Winnipeg isn’t in rebuild mode and not taking picks and prospects for their best player. Think with your head and not your heart.
Then what is Winnipeg? They’re certainly not a contender.
Not a contender? No, not really. But you can say the same about a number of other teams. What’s Pittsburgh, but desperately trying to cling to a window they’re fantasizing about still being open? What’s Tampa Bay? What’s Edmonton, but praying that somehow they can ride the backs of the two best players in hockey and somehow it’ll turn out differently? Refusing to face reality, hoping against hope, or just not wanting to go through the pain of a few seasons in the wilderness, those are all pretty human things to do.
Winnipeg is in the same boat as Detroit. A middle of the pack team once the season ends. They’re 7 games into the season in Detroit, and they have been overachieving so far. By the end of the season they should come back down to earth and be a team that was slightly better than last year. Not a team with a .786 point percentage. And Winnipeg will be right in that same range with Detroit as well.
I think, at least I hope, we can agree that the trajectory of the Red Wings is much different than that of the Jets. That’s not to mention what Kyle Connor wants, he could request a trade, granted I know that’s probably unlikely.
Won’t deny that it currently appears that Detroits future looks brighter than Winnipegs. But Winnipeg is not giving up their best player, one with a decent contract at 7.1M at that, for pennies. So expect Edvinsson and a 1st to start talks. Then a contract dump from Detroits end to make KC’s contract fit. Depending in the contract will adjust other pieces involved.
After that consider the longer term effects. They need to resign Mo soon. Then add on Berggen, Sprong, Rasmussen, Perron, Fischer, Raymond, Velano, Czarnik, Ghost, and Riemer.
So they need to add the better part of 10 players just to complete their roster.
Odds of adding a Connor are slim. Sorry.
I never said the Red Wings would offer pennies. I said they have multiple high picks and prospects to include in a trade. Considering the longer terms effects, Kyle Connor would instantly rank higher than everyone you listed except maybe Seider on the priority list. Also never said there was a good chance or any chance at all that it would happen, I asked if it was a possibility, which by your last response, you seem to think it is possible.
For a team that’s supposed to be on the opposite end of the spectrum from the Wings, the Jets seemed to do alright grabbing 2 points in Detroit tonight.
When is Sullivan finally going to get the axe? Different season, same issues plague this Penguins team. Window is closing every year, now it’s cracked almost closed IMO. Most of the players who have played under his watch and since been released have done better on other teams. That tells me it’s a coaching issue. I realize there’s not many coaches available right now, but 2 years ago when they should’ve pulled the trigger there were. He’s lost the locker room, his system is ineffective. Mid season or end of season, does he get axed?
If Sid, Geno, and Tanger are advocating for him he’ll stay.
With the possibility of two new expansion teams within the next few years, what are some interesting/unique colour schemes you think could be used?
I think Seattle nailed it. When I look at their blue jerseys I can almost smell the ocean air.
With the large odds that Houston would be one of those teams, you have to figure that there’s a good chance they’d bring the Aeros nickname back, in which case they could either go with WHA era powder blue and dark blue, or the IHL navy blue/forest green/red colors. Anything else would be just tossing at the dart board.
Any word on NHL interest in Brett Brochu? I’ve seen him play a few times here in London, and I’m kinda surprised he’s gone undrafted. His numbers are good, his positioning looks good, but he’s still in the OHL at age 20 as far as I’m aware. I know goalies are hard to project, but worse goalies than Brochu get drafted all the time. I’d appreciate some insight into how goalies are scouted and what scouts are looking for, if the crew has any.
Edit: He actually plays for the Fort Wayne Komets this season, but still unsigned to any NHL affiliation.
I really like PHR’s Salary Cap Deep Dive series. Thanks for that! You included a “best value contract” category there for every team, and it could be fun to have a top 5 list of best value (non entry level) contracts NHL-wide.
(I wouldn’t complain about a comprehensive top 20/ top 25 list ofc, but I guess that’s a bit much to ask for in a mailbag lol… But might be an idea to stash in the drawer for all-star break etc)
“If”, the ny rangers were interested in resigning
Patrick Kane, who would they move out in order for that to happen?