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PHR Originals: 11/25/19 – 12/01/19

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In an otherwise quiet week for news and action, with three different days of three games or less, PHR’s writers stayed busy with some original articles:

Brian La Rose began our annual holiday series “What Your Team Is Thankful For”. Going alphabetically, he took a look at Anaheim, Arizona, and Boston. The league leading Bruins obviously have plenty to be thankful for, but so too do the Coyotes, who currently hold a top-ten record in the NHL. There’s room for improvement in Arizona, but the team has to be happy with how the season has gone thus far. Anaheim however has a hefty wish list this holiday season, needing more out of their young forward corps and a difference-maker on defense. Stay tuned for more write-ups from Brian on the other 28 teams as we march toward 2020.

Sticking with the holiday theme, I outlined the recent trend of the standings at American Thanksgiving being a strong playoff predictor and asked who could be the outlier teams that qualify for the postseason this year after missing the mark on Turkey Day. The readers responded very favorably toward one team in each conference – the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Vegas Golden Knights. If only those two teams turn things around this season, then the current standings already reflect 14 of 16 playoff teams.

Gavin also offered a poll to the readers, asking who might be the early favorite for the Hart Trophy this season as NHL MVP. Gavin detailed the accomplishments to this point in the year of a number of the game’s biggest names, but voters gravitated toward two forwards on ungodly scoring paces. Edmonton’s Connor McDavid already has almost 50 points and is currently on pace for 144 points, while Boston’s David Pastrnak has 24 goals in 26 games and looks poised to score 75+ goals at this rate. However, do the presences of Leon Draisaitl and Brad Marchand also among the league’s top scorers hurt their teammates’ Hart cases? Could the likes of Nathan MacKinnon and John Carlson swoop in as more “valuable” candidates?

In my bi-weekly piece, I took a look at the happenings in college hockey of late. As Hockey East teams continue to underwhelm this year, especially Boston University, other northeast schools have filled the top-ten void in Cornell, Clarkson, and Harvard. Meanwhile, Minnesota may not be a top contender in the Big Ten this year, but added another talented recruit to an impressive incoming class. And college hockey will continue in Alaska, at least for now.

Finally, Gavin hosted his weekly chat, with topics ranging from coaches on the hot seat, the sustainability of upstart teams, and franchise building blocks. The Red Wings, Predators, and Senators received some special attention in yet another great segment.

For all of the original work from PHR’s writers, be sure to keep up with all of the action each and every day!

Poll: Who Is The Early Hart Trophy Favorite?

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The Hart Trophy is the most prestigious regular season award in the NHL, given to the “player judged most valuable to his team.” While there are always debates over what exactly most valuable means, the award is often given to one of the league’s top scorers who also contributed greatly to team success.

Last year saw the trophy go to Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning, whose 128 points led the league. Kucherov was part of a powerhouse club in Tampa Bay that won the Presidents’ Trophy easily, finishing the season 21 points ahead of the next team in the standings. The then 25-year old forward was a dynamic force on the powerplay, but also posted 80 points at even-strength.

Kucherov was a relatively easy choice as the winner—he earned 164 first-place votes, 161 more than second place Sidney Crosby—but it’s not that way every year. This season for instance has several players who could be considered the favorite at this point.

Through the first quarter of the season Leon Draisaitl is the top scorer, with 48 points on the year, one ahead of linemate Connor McDavid. Both Edmonton Oilers forwards could make a claim as the best player in the league this season, something McDavid is used to at this point after taking home his own Hart Trophy in 2017. The Oilers as a team are experiencing success for the first time in a while, giving even more credence to the idea that one of their superstars could be considered for the award.

There is also a pair of Boston Bruins in the running, with Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak taking up residence just below McDavid on the scoring charts. Two parts of the “Perfection Line” in Boston, Marchand and Pastrnak have not only found incredible chemistry but are now two of the best bargains in the entire league. The Bruins are arguably the league’s best team at this point, with just three regulation losses through 26 games.

Perhaps though the linemates in Edmonton and Boston will split their respective votes and drop down the list. There are other players like Nathan MacKinnon who have had to carry their team in relative solidarity this season and are still finding great success. Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog, MacKinnon’s usual linemates, have both been injured for a good chunk of the start of the year, yet the speedy Avalanche center still has 39 points in 25 games.

Maybe even a defenseman could win the award for the first time since Chris Pronger in 2000. John Carlson has an incredible 36 points in 26 games so far for the Washington Capitals, a pace that would give him the best offensive season from a defenseman in 30 years. Only Bobby Orr and Paul Coffey have ever scored more than 103 points while playing defense, a group that Carlson will try to join this season.

There are countless others who could contend for the award by the end of the year, but cast your vote for the one who you think is the early favorite. We’ve listed some of the most likely candidates, but be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments below.

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Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Poll: Where Will Mike Babcock Coach Next?

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When Joel Quenneville was fired by the Chicago Blackhawks on November 6th, 2018, many across the hockey world were stunned. One of the most decorated coaches in the history of the NHL was thrown aside in favor of Jeremy Colliton, a second-round pick and journeyman player who had found new life in coaching but had no experience at the NHL level. Quickly, countless stories were written about how Quenneville could take his time and decide what was next for his career, knowing that someone would give him a job whenever he felt ready to get back behind the bench. That opportunity presented itself five months later when he was hired by the Florida Panthers and given a hefty, five-year contract.

Earlier this week, just over a year after Quenneville found himself watching Blackhawks games from ski chalets instead of the United Center bench, Mike Babcock experienced a similar career moment. The Toronto Maple Leafs decided to move on from their experienced coach in favor of Sheldon Keefe—a second-round pick and journeyman player who had found new life in coaching but had no experience at the NHL level.

Babcock can now enjoy the slopes himself while the Maple Leafs try to turn things around, knowing that he too will have jobs waiting for him in the NHL whenever he decides to return to the coaching arena.

One thing is different between the two men and their situations (other than the number of Stanley Cups they’ve won as head coaches, which Quenneville leads 3-1) however, and that is the money left on their remaining contract. In Quenneville’s case, the Blackhawks still owed him the remainder of his $6MM salary for 2018-19 and another $6MM for 2019-20. For another team to hire him, they would have to work out an agreement with the Blackhawks to cover either that entire salary or part of it.

In Babcock’s case however, things are a little more complicated. The former Maple Leafs’ bench boss had three more years on his deal after this one, and Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports that each of those seasons carried a salary of $5.875MM. That’s a lot of money and term to still owe a coach that isn’t working for you any longer, and something that could make Babcock’s future employment a little tricky. The Maple Leafs could potentially tell an interested team that they want them to take on the whole deal, which is an amount that many wouldn’t be able (or willing) to afford.

The first team that comes to everyone’s mind is the Seattle expansion club, which doesn’t need a head coach until the 2021-22 season. Babcock could take some time to enjoy the unemployed life before being able to set the culture for a brand new franchise. That would mean watching all of next season from the sidelines though. His intentions aren’t clear at this point.

Where do you think he will end up, and when? Cast your vote for the team below, and make sure to explain your thoughts in the comments.

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Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

2007 NHL Draft Take Two: Twenty-Eighth Overall Pick

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Hindsight is an amazing thing, and allows us to look back and wonder “what could have been.”  Though perfection is attempted, scouting and draft selection is far from an exact science and sometimes, it doesn’t work out the way teams – or players – intended.  For every Patrick Kane, there is a Patrik Stefan.

We’re looking back at the 2007 NHL Entry Draft and asking how it would shake out knowing what we do now.  Will the first round remain the same, or will some late-round picks jump up to the top of the board?

Here are the results of the redraft so far, with their original draft position in parentheses:

1st Overall: Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks (1)
2nd Overall: Jamie Benn, Philadelphia Flyers (129)
3rd Overall: P.K. Subban, Phoenix Coyotes (43)
4th Overall: Logan Couture, Los Angeles Kings (9)
5th Overall: Max Pacioretty, Washington Capitals (22)
6th Overall: Jakub Voracek, Edmonton Oilers (7)
7th Overall: Ryan McDonagh, Columbus Blue Jackets (12)
8th Overall: James van Riemsdyk, Boston Bruins (2)
9th Overall: Wayne Simmonds, San Jose Sharks (61)
10th Overall: Kevin Shattenkirk, Florida Panthers (14)
11th Overall: Jake Muzzin, Carolina Hurricanes (141)
12th Overall: Kyle Turris, Montreal Canadiens (3)
13th Overall: David Perron, St. Louis Blues (26)
14th Overall: Mikael Backlund, Colorado Avalanche (24)
15th Overall: Evgenii Dadonov, Edmonton Oilers (71)
16th Overall: Alec Martinez, Minnesota Wild (95)
17th Overall: Carl Hagelin, New York Rangers (168)
18th Overall: Lars Eller, St. Louis Blues (13)
19th Overall: Alex Killorn, Anaheim Ducks (77)
20th Overall: Nick Bonino, Pittsburgh Penguins (173)
21st Overall: Pat Maroon, Edmonton Oilers (161)
22nd Overall: Paul Byron, Montreal Canadiens (179)
23rd Overall: Sam Gagner, Nashville Predators (6)
24th Overall: Justin Braun, Calgary Flames (201)
25th Overall: Ian Cole, Vancouver Canucks (18)
26th Overall: Brandon Sutter, St. Louis Blues (11)
27th Overall: Karl Alzner, Detroit Red Wings (5)

While Alzner manages to hold onto a spot in the first round, it’s still quite a drop for the blueliner as his drop of 23 spots is the largest so far of anyone selected in our redraft.

At the junior level, Alzner was a top-notch shutdown defender that also showed some offensive upside.  He profiled as a top pairing stay-at-home piece in the NHL and the Capitals saw fit to make him a top-five pick as a result.  They didn’t have to wait too long to get a return on that investment as he played in 30 NHL games just two years after being picked and was a full-time regular on Washington’s back end in 2010-11.

Over his seven full seasons with the Capitals from that point on, Alzner logged over 20 minutes a night and never missed a single regular season game.  While his offensive production was largely minimal, he was still an effective top-four option for quite a long time.

However, with mobility and puck skills becoming more and more important, Alzner’s usage dropped in the 2017 postseason and eventually helped pave the way for his departure in free agency.  Despite his style of play not necessarily fitting in with the current design for many teams, the Canadiens saw fit to give him a five-year, $23.125MM deal to try to stabilize the left side of their back end.

In his first year with Montreal, Alzner played a regular role and didn’t miss a game but he was scratched early and often to start 2018-19 and he wound up clearing waivers multiple times.  The front-loaded nature of his contract makes it somewhat buyout-prohibitive so Alzner returned for this season where he promptly cleared waivers and is currently a fixture on the third pairing with their AHL affiliate in Laval.  Suffice it to say, the contract hasn’t worked out.

Despite his recent struggles though, Alzner has actually carved out a pretty good career for himself.  Even though he has barely seen any NHL action between this season and last year, he still ranks 11th in games played among all players from this draft class and is first among defensemen (at least for another couple of months).  Although it may not quite seem like it now, Alzner was a core part of Washington’s back end for quite some time and while his days as an impact NHL player appear to be done now, the Capitals still received decent value out of this pick.

Now we turn our focus to the 28th pick in the draft which was held by San Jose.  They looked for a shutdown defenseman of their own with their selection, picking college-bound defenseman Nick Petrecki.  However, he spent the better part of five years in the Sharks minor league system and only got into one NHL game.  He retired following the 2015-16 season that was spent primarily at the ECHL level.

While the options are thinning out, San Jose will still wind up with a better player in our redraft.  Who should they select?  Make your selection below.

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*Tragically, 17th overall pick Alexei Cherepanov died at the age of 19 and would never get a chance to suit up in the NHL. He has not been included in this vote.

Poll: Who Is The Early Calder Trophy Favorite?

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The Calder Trophy is one of the most intriguing awards in the NHL. Every year a new crop of rookies compete for the title of league’s best and with it a shining star at the start of their NHL careers. The list of winners includes many of the best players the game has ever seen—Terry Sawchuk, Frank Mahovlich, Bobby Orr, Ray Bourque, Mario Lemieux and Alex Ovechkin are all part of the exclusive group—but also has some names that haven’t had quite the careers their early success implied.

Last year’s winner was Elias Pettersson, who beat out Stanley Cup winner Jordan Binnington in voting after a 66-point season. Pettersson only played in 71 games making his point totals even more impressive and enough to eclipse the turnaround that Binnington provided the St. Louis Blues in the second half.

Could Vancouver have another winner on the roster this time around? Quinn Hughes is off to an incredible start with the Canucks in his first season, logging some of the best possession numbers in the NHL and posting ten points in 13 games. Hughes looks to have escaped major injury recently when his leg was twisted underneath him, but he’ll have to return soon if he has a chance at holding off the field.

In fact, he’s not even leading rookies in scoring this season. That honor is split between two very different players. Cale Makar, another outstanding young defenseman that showed what he could do in the playoffs last season has 11 points in 14 games. The Colorado Avalanche have loved every minute of their rookie phenom, and are giving him even more opportunity of late.

He’s tied with Ilya Mikheyev though, who has the advantage of several years of professional hockey under his belt. Mikheyev is already 25 years old, but is playing in his first NHL season after signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs out of the KHL. It’s not like the NHL hasn’t seen a situation like this play out before. Artemi Panarin beat out Connor McDavid in 2015-16 as a 24-year old rookie out of the KHL, though he needed a 77-point season and an injury to the Edmonton Oilers’ superstar to do it. Mikheyev would probably need some good fortune to come out on top, but 11 points in his first 15 games is nothing to ignore.

There are plenty of others to consider however. Victor Olofsson leads all rookies in goal scoring with six, all of which have been on the powerplay. If his even-strength contributions could catch up there’s a real chance he could lead all first year players in points by the end of the year. Jack Hughes has also been effective, even after an extremely slow start. He has the benefit of notoriety that comes with being the first overall pick, but he’ll likely need at least a bit of team success to take home the trophy.

Others like Martin Necas, Cody Glass and Alexander Nylander have all been given amazing opportunities playing with great NHL talent, while defenders like Ethan Bear and Dante Fabbro impress in their own end. Kaapo Kakko, who may have been expected to contend for it after his outstanding international performances, will need to really turn his early season struggles around in order to catch the clubhouse leaders.

Who do you think is the favorite right now? Who will eventually win? We’ve included some of the major candidates below, but make sure to suggest other possibilities in the comment section.

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Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

2007 NHL Draft Take Two: Twenty-Seventh Overall Pick

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Hindsight is an amazing thing, and allows us to look back and wonder “what could have been.”  Though perfection is attempted, scouting and draft selection is far from an exact science and sometimes, it doesn’t work out the way teams – or players – intended.  For every Patrick Kane, there is a Patrik Stefan.

We’re looking back at the 2007 NHL Entry Draft and asking how it would shake out knowing what we do now.  Will the first round remain the same, or will some late-round picks jump up to the top of the board?

Here are the results of the redraft so far, with their original draft position in parentheses:

1st Overall: Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks (1)
2nd Overall: Jamie Benn, Philadelphia Flyers (129)
3rd Overall: P.K. Subban, Phoenix Coyotes (43)
4th Overall: Logan Couture, Los Angeles Kings (9)
5th Overall: Max Pacioretty, Washington Capitals (22)
6th Overall: Jakub Voracek, Edmonton Oilers (7)
7th Overall: Ryan McDonagh, Columbus Blue Jackets (12)
8th Overall: James van Riemsdyk, Boston Bruins (2)
9th Overall: Wayne Simmonds, San Jose Sharks (61)
10th Overall: Kevin Shattenkirk, Florida Panthers (14)
11th Overall: Jake Muzzin, Carolina Hurricanes (141)
12th Overall: Kyle Turris, Montreal Canadiens (3)
13th Overall: David Perron, St. Louis Blues (26)
14th Overall: Mikael Backlund, Colorado Avalanche (24)
15th Overall: Evgenii Dadonov, Edmonton Oilers (71)
16th Overall: Alec Martinez, Minnesota Wild (95)
17th Overall: Carl Hagelin, New York Rangers (168)
18th Overall: Lars Eller, St. Louis Blues (13)
19th Overall: Alex Killorn, Anaheim Ducks (77)
20th Overall: Nick Bonino, Pittsburgh Penguins (173)
21st Overall: Pat Maroon, Edmonton Oilers (161)
22nd Overall: Paul Byron, Montreal Canadiens (179)
23rd Overall: Sam Gagner, Nashville Predators (6)
24th Overall: Justin Braun, Calgary Flames (201)
25th Overall: Ian Cole, Vancouver Canucks (18)
26th Overall: Brandon Sutter, St. Louis Blues (11)

Sutter manages to hold on to a spot in the first round but takes the second-largest drop of any first-round selection in this redraft.  That’s a fitting spot for someone who has carved out a reasonable career for himself but still hasn’t really lived up to expectations.

Coming out of WHL Red Deer where he played for his father briefly (before Brent went to the NHL with New Jersey and Calgary), Sutter was billed as a potential key two-way center, someone that could score enough to hold down a top-six role but also go against some top opponents as well.

His first two seasons in Carolina following his time in junior were the worst and best of his career.  He struggled mightily in his rookie year but still managed to get into 50 games with the Hurricanes but managed just six points.  However, things were looking up for his sophomore campaign as he reached the 40-point mark, something he hasn’t done in the nine years since then.

His output dipped over the next two seasons which made him expendable in the eyes of Carolina.  They flipped him to Pittsburgh back at the draft in 2012 as part of the package that saw Jordan Staal join his brother Eric with the Hurricanes.

The expectations weren’t as high for Sutter with the Penguins as they were with Carolina.  With Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin in the fold, all they needed from Sutter was to play reliable third line minutes.  That didn’t exactly happen and it wasn’t too long before their search for a more permanent fixture behind those two was underway.

In the 2015 offseason after a trio of quiet seasons in Pittsburgh, he was moved to Vancouver in a swap of centers with Nick Bonino being part of the package going the other way.  (Bonino spent two seasons with Pittsburgh where he played rather well before going to Nashville in free agency.)  The expectations for Sutter with the Canucks were similar to his time with Pittsburgh but as injuries struck and the pace of the game has grown quicker, his role has dropped in recent years to the point where he has been a regular on the fourth line and has even spent a bit of time as a scratch.

Nonetheless, despite all of that, Sutter is in the top ten in games played from this draft class and will reach the 700 games mark later this month.  That type of longevity is certainly impressive and while he hasn’t had the career that the Hurricanes envisioned when they picked him, he still has done pretty well for himself all things considered.

Now we turn our focus to the 27th pick in the draft which was held by Detroit.  They took Brendan Smith with that selection, a defenseman that looked to have some offensive upside in his early years but has emerged more as a defensive defender in recent years while also spending some time on the right wing.

He’s still on the board but is there a better fit for the Red Wings?  With the 27th selection, who should Detroit select?   Make your selection below.

[Mobile users, click here to vote]

*Tragically, 17th overall pick Alexei Cherepanov died at the age of 19 and would never get a chance to suit up in the NHL. He has not been included in this vote.

2007 NHL Draft Take Two: Twenty-Sixth Overall Pick

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Hindsight is an amazing thing, and allows us to look back and wonder “what could have been.”  Though perfection is attempted, scouting and draft selection is far from an exact science and sometimes, it doesn’t work out the way teams – or players – intended.  For every Patrick Kane, there is a Patrik Stefan.

We’re looking back at the 2007 NHL Entry Draft and asking how it would shake out knowing what we do now.  Will the first round remain the same, or will some late-round picks jump up to the top of the board?

Here are the results of the redraft so far, with their original draft position in parentheses:

1st Overall: Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks (1)
2nd Overall: Jamie Benn, Philadelphia Flyers (129)
3rd Overall: P.K. Subban, Phoenix Coyotes (43)
4th Overall: Logan Couture, Los Angeles Kings (9)
5th Overall: Max Pacioretty, Washington Capitals (22)
6th Overall: Jakub Voracek, Edmonton Oilers (7)
7th Overall: Ryan McDonagh, Columbus Blue Jackets (12)
8th Overall: James van Riemsdyk, Boston Bruins (2)
9th Overall: Wayne Simmonds, San Jose Sharks (61)
10th Overall: Kevin Shattenkirk, Florida Panthers (14)
11th Overall: Jake Muzzin, Carolina Hurricanes (141)
12th Overall: Kyle Turris, Montreal Canadiens (3)
13th Overall: David Perron, St. Louis Blues (26)
14th Overall: Mikael Backlund, Colorado Avalanche (24)
15th Overall: Evgenii Dadonov, Edmonton Oilers (71)
16th Overall: Alec Martinez, Minnesota Wild (95)
17th Overall: Carl Hagelin, New York Rangers (168)
18th Overall: Lars Eller, St. Louis Blues (13)
19th Overall: Alex Killorn, Anaheim Ducks (77)
20th Overall: Nick Bonino, Pittsburgh Penguins (173)
21st Overall: Pat Maroon, Edmonton Oilers (161)
22nd Overall: Paul Byron, Montreal Canadiens (179)
23rd Overall: Sam Gagner, Nashville Predators (6)
24th Overall: Justin Braun, Calgary Flames (201)
25th Overall: Ian Cole, Vancouver Canucks (18)

While Cole ultimately slips from his initial draft position, he only dropped seven spots overall and winds up with a Vancouver team that has needed a stable blueliner like him for quite some time.

While he wasn’t a big point producer with the US National Team Development Program which St. Louis drafted him out of, Cole was reasonably productive offensively at Notre Dame over his three years there.  That helped convince the Blues to sign him with a year of eligibility remaining and he played in at least 15 games in each of his three entry-level years.

Despite seeing as much early NHL action as he did, Cole never really emerged as a key piece with St. Louis.  Instead, he was limited to a lower-end role and eventually, they decided to try someone else in that spot instead and sent him to Pittsburgh for blueliner Robert Bortuzzo and a seventh-round pick.

With the Penguins, he was quickly given more ice time and slowly but surely played his way into a top-four spot while winning a pair of Stanley Cup titles in his first two seasons with the team.  However, with GM Jim Rutherford needing to clear out money to bring in Derick Brassard in 2018, Cole became the cap casualty as he was sent to Ottawa and then flipped to Columbus just three days later.  His stay with the Blue Jackets was also short-lived as he finished out the season and hit the open market.

Despite bouncing around as much as he did, Cole had a fairly robust free agent market in 2018 and used that to land a three-year, $12.75MM deal with Colorado.  His $4.25MM AAV more than doubled that of his previous contract.  The 30-year-old is in his second season with the Avs and has been a dependable stay-at-home player on their back end.

All in all, Cole has been a fairly good selection from this class and currently sits 26th in games played out of that group, a ranking that should improve over the next few seasons.  While he’s not a flashy player, he has carved out a serviceable role for himself and should be able to land another multi-year deal in the 2021 summer.

Now, let’s turn the focus back to St. Louis who had the 26th selection as their third and final pick of the first round.  After scooping up Eller (13) and Cole (18) with their first two picks, they went with a riskier pick in David Perron, a second-year eligible player who had all of one major junior season under his belt.  The risk proved out to be quite beneficial as Perron sits fifth overall in scoring from this draft class, a great return for someone selected at the bottom of the first round.

Perron isn’t available now as he went 13th in our redraft so they will need to select someone else.  With the 26th selection of the draft, who should the Blues select?  Make your selection below.

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*Tragically, 17th overall pick Alexei Cherepanov died at the age of 19 and would never get a chance to suit up in the NHL. He has not been included in this vote.

Poll: What Should The Seattle Team Be Called?

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We’re still nearly two years away from seeing the Seattle expansion franchise in action, but fans across North America and abroad are already extremely excited for the NHL’s next team. The same thing happened with the Vegas Golden Knights, with plenty of speculation leading up to their November 2016 announcement.

That was a little under a year before the Golden Knights debuted in the NHL, meaning we might have to wait quite a while to learn of Seattle’s moniker. Still, today we got a little closer when the team announced that they had sealed the final five options in the Space Needle 100th anniversary time capsule. Unfortunately that capsule won’t be opened until 2062, meaning fans will have to wait and wonder what name they’ll be chanting during the 2021-22 season.

If you could name it, what would you choose? We’ll run another one of these polls in the future as we get closer to an announcement, but there’s nothing better than early speculations. We’ve included some of the most popular options down below, but make sure to leave your own ideas in the comment sections and explain why you’d choose it!

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Poll: Which Team Has Had The Most Surprising Start?

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The 2019-20 NHL regular season is now a little over two weeks old and already there has been talk of coach firings, long-term injuries to star players and surprising performances from some young talent. In a league that never gives you exactly what you expect, things have gotten off to an exciting start.

It’s hard not to start with the Buffalo Sabres, who are currently leading the entire NHL with a 6-1-1 record through their first eight games. You can’t ignore a team that has been so dominant, but can they keep it going? The Sabres are getting solid goaltending and have a powerplay that is converting at a scorching 35.5%—thanks, Victor Olofsson. They don’t show any signs of slowing down.

At the other end of the spectrum have been the Dallas Stars and San Jose Sharks, both expected to compete for the playoffs this season—even penciled in as Stanley Cup contenders by some. Both teams started the season dreadfully, though the Sharks have now won three straight to at least stay out of the basement in the Pacific Division. The Stars can’t seem to score a goal when they need one and are now 1-6-1 through their first eight, barely staying ahead of the tumultuous mess that is the Minnesota Wild.

The Sabres aren’t the only team that failed to make the playoffs in 2018 off to a great start this time around. The Edmonton Oilers and Anaheim Ducks lead the Pacific with excellent records to start the year, each relying on different strategies to emerge victorious. The Oilers are leaning heavily on Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl who lead all forwards in ice time this season, while the Ducks have a goaltending tandem that has allowed just 12 goals on 212 shots (a .943 save percentage through seven games).

Which team has surprised you the most through the first few weeks? Cast your vote and make sure to jump into the conversation down below.

[Mobile users click here to vote]

2007 NHL Draft Take Two: Twenty-Fifth Overall Pick

at CDT | by 2 Comments

Hindsight is an amazing thing, and allows us to look back and wonder “what could have been.”  Though perfection is attempted, scouting and draft selection is far from an exact science and sometimes, it doesn’t work out the way teams – or players – intended.  For every Patrick Kane, there is a Patrik Stefan.

We’re looking back at the 2007 NHL Entry Draft and asking how it would shake out knowing what we do now.  Will the first round remain the same, or will some late-round picks jump up to the top of the board?

Here are the results of the redraft so far, with their original draft position in parentheses:

1st Overall: Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks (1)
2nd Overall: Jamie Benn, Philadelphia Flyers (129)
3rd Overall: P.K. Subban, Phoenix Coyotes (43)
4th Overall: Logan Couture, Los Angeles Kings (9)
5th Overall: Max Pacioretty, Washington Capitals (22)
6th Overall: Jakub Voracek, Edmonton Oilers (7)
7th Overall: Ryan McDonagh, Columbus Blue Jackets (12)
8th Overall: James van Riemsdyk, Boston Bruins (2)
9th Overall: Wayne Simmonds, San Jose Sharks (61)
10th Overall: Kevin Shattenkirk, Florida Panthers (14)
11th Overall: Jake Muzzin, Carolina Hurricanes (141)
12th Overall: Kyle Turris, Montreal Canadiens (3)
13th Overall: David Perron, St. Louis Blues (26)
14th Overall: Mikael Backlund, Colorado Avalanche (24)
15th Overall: Evgenii Dadonov, Edmonton Oilers (71)
16th Overall: Alec Martinez, Minnesota Wild (95)
17th Overall: Carl Hagelin, New York Rangers (168)
18th Overall: Lars Eller, St. Louis Blues (13)
19th Overall: Alex Killorn, Anaheim Ducks (77)
20th Overall: Nick Bonino, Pittsburgh Penguins (173)
21st Overall: Pat Maroon, Edmonton Oilers (161)
22nd Overall: Paul Byron, Montreal Canadiens (179)
23rd Overall: Sam Gagner, Nashville Predators (6)
24th Overall: Justin Braun, Calgary Flames (201)

We finally have our first seventh-round selection jumping up the board, as Braun was nearly left undrafted completely back in 2007. Picked just ten spots before the end of the draft, he was one of five players in that round to ever suit up in the NHL—surprisingly though, not the only one to break the 500-game mark.

The thing was, it wouldn’t have been the first time that Braun went unselected by an NHL team if he had fallen out of the 2007 draft. He had already gone undrafted in his first two years of eligibility and had already completed his freshman year at UMass (Amherst). Despite being more than two years older than many of the prospects available, Braun still slipped onto the NHL Central Scouting list as the 209th-best North American skater (210 were ranked).

Though he wasn’t a star in college, the Sharks must have seen something they liked in the right-handed defenseman as not only did they pick him, but decided to offer him an NHL contract after his college career finished. Stepping almost directly into the NHL, he would play 28 games with San Jose during his first professional season and recorded 11 points doing it. Rather quickly, Braun would become a dependable option for the team and ended up playing more than 600 games for the Sharks before ending up with the Philadelphia Flyers this offseason.

While his 155 career points don’t pop off the page, that’s actually the sixth-highest total by any defenseman drafted in 2007. Braun has also played in 18th-most games by any player from that class, justifying his place here in the first round of our redraft. Not bad for a seventh-round pick in his final year of eligibility.

Vancouver, who picked next back in 2007, surely would have liked to know that Braun would turn out so well. When they strode up to the podium they had a different name in mind, one that would never play a single game in the NHL.

Patrick White was an American center who was actually ranked 23rd by NHL Central Scouting among North American skaters, and was supposed to give the Canucks another weapon down the middle. Unfortunately, the offense that was supposed to develop in college never did, and White finished his four-year career at the University of Minnesota with just 53 points in 147 games.

When it became apparent to Vancouver that it wasn’t coming together, White was included in what was basically a salary dump with the San Jose Sharks, taking on Christian Ehrhoff a year into his three-year, $9.3MM deal. Ehrhoff ended up playing extremely well for the Canucks, while White was never even tendered a contract by the Sharks and ended up playing in half a dozen different European leagues.

If they had another chance, the Canucks certainly would have decided to go in a different direction with their pick. But in our redraft, the talent pool is getting shallow. With the twenty-fifth pick of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, who should the Vancouver Canucks select?  Cast your vote below!

[Mobile users click here to vote]

*Tragically, 17th overall pick Alexei Cherepanov died at the age of 19 and would never get a chance to suit up in the NHL. He has not been included in this vote.

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