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Poll: Which Non-Playoff Team Will Make The Playoffs This Year?

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From the 2021-22 season to the 2022-23 NHL campaign, the league saw two teams from the Eastern Conference (New Jersey Devils and New York Islanders), and three teams from the Western Conference (Seattle Kraken, Vegas Golden Knights, and Winnipeg Jets) make the playoffs after having missed the year prior. With another offseason almost behind us, it is time to start thinking about which teams will make the jump this upcoming year.

Western Conference Contenders

Nashville Predators – In what many considered to be a disappointing campaign in 2022-23, the Predators still only missed the playoffs by a hair, sitting three points back of the Jets. This offseason, the team filled out the roster with some aggressive moves, adding Ryan O’Reilly, Luke Schenn, and Gustav Nyquist into the mix. The Central Division is top-heavy with the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars likely leading the charge, but the Predators should have some room to sneak their way into the playoffs.

Calgary Flames – The success of the first half of the year for the Flames should largely dictate what this team looks like at the season’s end. If Calgary is unable to come to terms on extensions with Mikael Backlund, Elias Lindholm, and seemingly their entire defensive core, the Flames will likely be one of the biggest sellers at next year’s trade deadline if they are unable to string together some wins. However, if the team plays well, Calgary would only be a couple of rental pieces away from being a legitimate playoff candidate.

St.Louis Blues – A very similar team to the Predators in regards to their circumstances, the Blues could be a sneaky playoff candidate coming out of the Western Conference in the upcoming season. Bringing back a largely similar roster to the one they finished last year with, St.Louis has good young talent, very intriguing project players, and has also added Kevin Hayes to their forward core. Again, playing in a division with only two surefire bets for the playoffs, the Blues could make some noise.

 

Eastern Conference Contenders

Buffalo Sabres – For the first time in a long time, the last week of the season mattered for Buffalo. Going down to the wire with the Florida Panthers, the Sabres only finished one point outside the top wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. They finished third in the league last year in Goals For but finished a dismal 26th in Goals Against. Their goaltending could become an issue if Devon Levi does not live up to the hype, but adding defensemen such as Connor Clifton and Erik Johnson should help mask some weaknesses between the pipes.

Ottawa Senators – After acquiring Alex DeBrincat at last year’s draft, as well as signing Claude Giroux in the offseason, the Senators seemed poised to return to the playoffs last season. Unfortunately, due to some untimely injuries and poor goaltending performance, Ottawa once again found themselves outside looking in. The team is hoping to have found their answer in the net, signing goaltender Joonas Korpisalo for the next five seasons. The team will also benefit from a full year of defenseman Jakob Chychrun, and now having the privilege of employing Vladimir Tarasenko in the team’s top six could get them back into the mix.

Detroit Red Wings – Copying last offseason’s method, the Red Wings were once again one of the more active teams in free agency this year. Adding players like J.T. Compher, Justin Holl, and James Reimer, Detroit is once again trying to fill holes through their ample cap space. Not feeling they had done enough, the team went out and made a trade with the Senators to bring DeBrincat to Motor City. After some impressive drafts over the last four seasons, the sentiment around the league is that the Red Wings are on the cusp of returning to the Stanley Cup Finals. Unfortunately for them, and the two other Eastern teams mentioned, they all find themselves in arguably the toughest division in the game.

Now, we leave it to you. Which team do you think will make it back to the postseason for the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs? Will it be one of the teams mentioned above or a team completely off anybody’s radar?

Poll: What Was The Top Offseason Acquisition?

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As we approach August, this time of year typically signifies the gateway to the dog days of summer for the NHL. There already has been significant movement up to this point, including Alex DeBrincat, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Dmitry Orlov, etc., but dominoes such as Vladimir Tarasenko, and Erik Karlsson, still need to fall.

With all the moves being made so far, the question arises about what acquisition moves the needle the most for the acquiring team. Stanley Cup contenders certainly added to star-studded rosters, and several teams made moves to end lengthy rebuilds.

At this stage of the summer, what do you think has been the best off-season acquisition?

Poll: Who Won The First Week Of Free Agency?

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As we enter the second weekend of July, unrestricted free agents have now had over six days to sign contracts and settle on new hockey homes, whether short-term or long-term. This year’s July 1 was a refreshing change of pace from some of the slower COVID-era free agency periods, with over 150 signings to parse through within 24 hours of the market opening. It may have been a weaker market than normal, but with cap space at a premium, there were some interesting signings (and choices) made over the last week.

The biggest free agent acquisition may have also been the biggest trade deadline acquisition just a few months ago – defenseman Dmitry Orlov. He found himself sacrificing long-term stability, instead cashing in for a few short years during his prime, signing a two-year deal with the Carolina Hurricanes worth a whopping $7.75MM per season. It makes him the highest-paid defenseman on the team, and it’s the highest cap hit of any deal handed out so far. Overall, Carolina’s been one of the more active teams over the past week, also signing winger Michael Bunting, and they’re expected to re-acquire defenseman Tony DeAngelo in a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers, which could go through as soon as tomorrow. They’ve also been linked to one of the best players left on the market, Vladimir Tarasenko, and remain in trade talks for reigning Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson.

Another team handing out some hefty contracts was the Anaheim Ducks, getting a pair of experienced veterans to head from coast to coast. Inking two-time Stanley Cup Champion winger Alex Killorn to a four-year contract worth $6.25MM per season and getting staunch defender Radko Gudas locked in at three years for $4MM per season, their front office is committed to adding some secondary pieces as Anaheim looks to turn the corner in their rebuild. It’s more term and money than most expected for both players at their age, however.

The Detroit Red Wings were also quite active over the past few weeks. They dished out a five-year commitment to center J.T. Compher, a one-year, $4.125MM deal for defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, a three-year, $3.4MM contract for defenseman Justin Holl, and added veteran backup James Reimer to complement their crease. The individual merits of each contract have been hotly debated – especially those of Compher and Holl – but it’s fair to wonder whether these moves leave Detroit in a more competitive position than they were at this time last year after signing players like David Perron, Andrew Copp, and Ben Chiarot.

Interim general manager Kyle Dubas also made his mark on his new team, as the Pittsburgh Penguins re-signed starting netminder Tristan Jarry to a five-year deal and nabbed defenseman Ryan Graves for six years, also making many smaller moves to round out their forward depth.

Some other notable signings have included the Toronto Maple Leafs handing out one-year deals to John Klingberg ($4.15MM), Max Domi ($3MM), and Tyler Bertuzzi ($5.5MM), the Nashville Predators adding a trio of veterans in Ryan O’Reilly, Luke Schenn, and Gustav Nyquist, the Arizona Coyotes nabbing middle-six forwards Jason Zucker and Alexander Kerfoot, and the Ottawa Senators adding to their crease with a five-year, $20MM contract for Joonas Korpisalo.

We ask you, PHR readers, which team has done the best work over the past few days? Were there any teams you thought strayed from a solid plan, overpaid on the market, or maybe instead nabbed some value talents? Make your voice heard below in our poll or in the comment section:

Poll: Where Will Pierre-Luc Dubois Play Next Season?

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During the Stanley Cup Final, Pierre LeBrun of TSN reported that Pierre-Luc Dubois and his agent had requested a trade from the Winnipeg Jets. This will be the second time Dubois has done that throughout his young career, already having his request granted once after being traded for Patrik Laine back in 2021.

Since being acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets, the former third-overall selection has become a valuable offensive piece for Winnipeg. This season, in a similar fashion to last year, Dubois finished with 27 goals and 36 assists in 73 games played. With plenty of teams in need of depth up the middle of the ice, the Jets could receive a decent haul for Dubois.

A native of the province of Quebec, the probable landing spot for Dubois would be the Montreal Canadiens. A team that is rebuilding through the draft and acquiring prospect capital, Dubois would be a natural fit behind captain Nick Suzuki. The Colorado Avalanche and the Boston Bruins could both use a young second-line center, and Dubois’ style of play would certainly fit both lineups. Lastly, although severely limited by the salary cap, the Los Angeles Kings had an interest in Dubois, dating back to his time in Columbus.

Where do you think Dubois will play next season?

Poll: Who Will Be The Wild Card Teams In The Eastern Conference?

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Now that the NHL and AHL trade deadlines have passed, the league is full speed ahead toward the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. With between 15-18  games left in the regular season, there are only nine points separating the seventh-place and 13th-place teams in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

If the season ended today, the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins would cross the finish line as the wild-card winners in the East. In their last ten games, respectively, the Islanders are 7-2-1, while the Penguins are 5-4-1. Whether or not they have the rosters to get it done, both teams made moves at the deadline in hopes of making the playoffs this year.

Following behind them, the Florida Panthers and Ottawa Senators are making the strongest case to move past the Islanders and Penguins. In their last ten, the Panthers are 6-4-0, while the Senators are 7-3-0. The Panthers are not the same dominant team that they were last year, but they still have an extremely talented roster led by Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk.

The Senators are following a much different course. After a few seasons of rebuilding, the Senators are finally a fun hockey team to watch again. After signing Claude Giroux and making a trade for Alex DeBrincat, the Senators had hope for meaningful games in April at the beginning of the season. Starting slow out of the gate, it seems this team has put it all together as the season has progressed. By acquiring top trade candidate Jakob Chychrun at the deadline, the Senators have the team to bring the Eastern wild-card race down to the wire.

Rounding out the last of the group that could theoretically reach the playoffs, the Washington Capitals, Buffalo Sabres, and Detroit Red Wings are still within striking distance. The Capitals and Red Wings both chose to sell at the deadline, while the Sabres’ biggest move was acquiring Jordan Greenway from the Minnesota Wild. The Sabres have a similar aura around them as the Senators, after they too have an exciting team after years of rebuilding. However, all three of these teams have a losing record in their last ten games, with the Sabres’ last game being a 10-4 blowout loss to the Dallas Stars.

So who will it be PHR readers? Cast your vote and let us know which two teams will win the wild-card race in the East.

Poll: Who Won The 2023 Trade Deadline Week?

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The 2023 NHL Trade Deadline has come and gone, with most of the action spread among the days leading up to last Friday. Playoff contenders were as active as ever, with an eyebrow-raising 13 first-round picks dealt in the weeks leading up to the deadline. With so much activity, though, it’s difficult to immediately say which team (and which general manager) came out on top.

First off, the world-beating Boston Bruins made a pair of significant deals with conference rivals. Their biggest acquisition came in the form of Dmitry Orlov from the Washington Capitals, who had been quietly one of the best defensive defenders in the league over the past few years. His two-way play has made an immediate impact, recording three goals and nine points in just five games with the Bruins since the trade, already doubling his goal total on the season. The team also acquired a pair of aggressive forwards, Tyler Bertuzzi and Garnet Hathaway, who seem to fit seamlessly into the tapestry of a quintessential Bruins lineup.

However, their Atlantic Division rivals were some of the most active teams on the market too. No team made more additions to their roster than the Toronto Maple Leafs, who added a significant complement of defensive-minded skaters in Ryan O’Reilly, Noel Acciari, Jake McCabe, Sam Lafferty, and Luke Schenn while also adding some power-play depth in the form of defenseman Erik Gustafsson. Like Boston, they were able to avoid parting with a top prospect in the process, although young NHLer Rasmus Sandin, already off to a strong start with his new team, the Washington Capitals, was a casualty of the roster crunch.

The Tampa Bay Lightning, looking to make a fourth straight Stanley Cup Final, made one of the most controversial moves of the deadline by parting with five draft picks in exchange for depth winger Tanner Jeannot. They also made some salary cap flexibility by swapping Vladislav Namestnikov for Michael Eyssimont, who’s provided some quiet upside in his first extended NHL opportunities with the Winnipeg Jets and San Jose Sharks.

The best forward on the market on the market was undoubtedly Timo Meier, who the New Jersey Devils landed to complete a formidable top-six forward group alongside Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, Dawson Mercer, and Tomas Tatar. The 26-year-old is amidst his second consecutive 30-goal season and is a powerful two-way force. They also acquired Curtis Lazar in a minor deal with the Vancouver Canucks to improve their fourth line.

No team made more star-studded acquisitions than the New York Rangers, not unexpected from one of the most aggressive front offices in the league. A pair of veteran stars headed their way in the form of Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrick Kane, who the Rangers hope will enjoy some revitalization alongside a more robust core on Broadway. It looks like that’s happened so far for Tarasenko, who’s scored four goals and nine points in 12 games as a Ranger. Kane is still looking for his first point and has a -4 rating in two contests since the trade.

It was one team out of the playoff picture, though, that may have made the most effective roster improvement. The Ottawa Senators acquired defenseman Jakob Chychrun from the Arizona Coyotes for a trio of draft picks, filling a gigantic hole in their defensive makeup. Now 7-2-1 in their past 10 games, the acquisition of Chychrun (under contract through 2025) gives the Senators a fighting chance at making the playoffs for the first time since advancing to the Eastern Conference Final in 2017.

It’s up to you, PHR readers, to decide who they think had the best overall haul at this year’s deadline. Cast your vote and let us know who you think came out on top.

Poll: Will The Buffalo Sabres Make The Playoffs?

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The Buffalo Sabres are no strangers to hot starts that fade quickly. Despite being among the league’s best well into November multiple times over the past few seasons, the franchise has still failed to make a playoff appearance since 2011.

2022-23 seems to have a different vibe for Buffalo, though. The team sits eighth in the Eastern Conference by points percentage at the end of January, with teams over halfway through their regular-season schedules. They’ve surged past an injury-laden Washington Capitals squad to sit in playoff positioning, and they’ve kept pace ahead of other up-and-coming Atlantic Division teams like the Detroit Red Wings and Ottawa Senators.

With 33 games left to play in their season, though, can they keep up their play?

Buffalo hasn’t exactly been a model of consistency for defensive play, but that was never the expectation for such a young team. While they sit among the bottom third of teams in terms of goals against, their 185 goals scored rank third in the NHL at the time of writing.

Their patchwork goaltending tandem of 41-year-old Craig Anderson and career backup Eric Comrie raised many eyebrows at the beginning of the season. Now, it’s turned into a more capable trio, including the 23-year-old Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. He’s started 20 games in Buffalo this year, the most among all Sabres netminders and his .900 save percentage is in line with the league’s average. Anderson, while he hasn’t played often, has exceeded all expectations with a .918 mark in 16 games.

Buffalo already has four 20-goal scorers, with Tage Thompson (34), Alex Tuch (23), Victor Olofsson (23), and Jeff Skinner (20) leading the way. Thompson, Tuch, Skinner, and Rasmus Dahlin all produce over a point per game. 21-year-old Dylan Cozens is enjoying a true breakout campaign with 43 points in 48 games. 20-year-old Owen Power is near the top of the Calder Trophy conversation and is playing more than any other rookie defenseman this year, averaging 23:39 per game.

There are many reasons to be optimistic. But with such an inexperienced and young team, along with the franchise’s recent history of disappointment, there are obviously questions about sustainability.

However, many questions can also be raised about their competitors for Wild Card positioning in the Eastern Conference. Alarm bells are sounding in Pittsburgh, as the Penguins have won just three games in regulation since Christmas. Similar concerns can be had about the aging Capitals, who are cooling off after a December hot streak and continue to encounter injury news at an uncomfortable pace.

Both the Red Wings and Florida Panthers, their closest Atlantic Division threats, have dipped into negative goal differential territory and have hovered close to the .500 mark for most of the past couple of months. It still may be premature to discount the Panthers, considering their tantalizing scoring depth on paper, but they also haven’t been able to keep the puck out of their own net with any consistency this year. Unlike other teams in the conversation, Florida also has no salary cap flexibility to add at the trade deadline.

That’s one area where Buffalo shines. Despite being in playoff position, Buffalo has the most cap space of any NHL team. While some may argue it would be premature for general manager Kevyn Adams to ship out assets at this year’s March 3 trade deadline, a non-rental addition could help solidify Buffalo’s already impressive core for future seasons.

So, we ask you, PHR readers: can the Buffalo Sabres hang on and make their first playoff appearance in 12 seasons, ending the NHL’s longest active drought? Make your voice heard by voting in the poll below.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Poll: Who Will Finish With The Best Chance At First Overall?

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Success at the World Junior Championship doesn’t guarantee success in the NHL. It’s a junior tournament, after all, and there are countless examples of players who star there only to find it difficult to translate their game to the professional level. Esa Keskinen, for example, is one of the highest-scoring players of all time with 31 points in two tournaments. The fifth-round pick never came over to North America (likely due to his small stature during a different era of hockey), playing out his career in Finland and Sweden instead.

But even as scouts are starting to place less importance on performance there, the World Juniors plays an important role in something else for future stars: an introduction to a wider audience.

In the grand scheme of hockey fans, there aren’t many watching Regina Pats games. They might not get a chance to see future first-overall pick Connor Bedard on a very regular basis, if at all. So when he puts up seven points in one game or comes within one goal of the Canadian record from a ridiculous angle suddenly fans from across the league start dreaming about him pulling on their sweater next season.

Tanking for the first-overall pick doesn’t work all that well in hockey. The draft lottery gives hope to around half the league (depending on trades) and causes anxiety for those clubs at the bottom of the standings. Going into tonight’s games, the Chicago Blackhawks have the best odds of winning the right to select Bedard. Chicago has lost nine of their last ten and 25 of 33 on the year. Their .303 winning percentage would be the third worst in the salary cap era if it continued all year. The two teams ahead (or behind) them though – the 2016-17 Colorado Avalanche and 2019-20 Detroit Red Wings – both failed to win the lottery.

Colorado fell to fourth after three teams jumped them, and got the consolation prize of Cale Makar. The Red Wings fell three spots too and had to settle for Lucas Raymond.

There have been some changes since then, meaning Chicago (or whoever finishes last) won’t drop quite so far. But coming last still by no means guarantees the top pick. In fact, a team like the Montreal Canadiens could theoretically end up with an even greater chance, even without finishing last. The Canadiens have their own pick and Florida’s, who are also currently out of the playoff picture. Should the Panthers drop even further, Montreal would essentially have two cracks to move up.

There is also a lot of hockey left to play. One more win would tie the Blackhawks with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Two would bring them even with the Anaheim Ducks, who have played three more games. There’s a long race to be run by quite a few teams.

So as you watch Bedard (and Adam Fantilli) pile goals onto an overmatched Austrian squad, who do you think will enter the draft lottery with the best chance? Cast your vote below and explain how you see it playing out in the comments.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

2008 NHL Draft Take Two: Twentieth 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 2008 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?

The results of our redraft so far are as follows with their original draft position in parentheses:

1st Overall: Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning (1)
2nd Overall: Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings (2)
3rd Overall: Roman Josi, Atlanta Thrashers (38)
4th Overall: Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis Blues (4)
5th Overall: Erik Karlsson, Toronto Maple Leafs (15)
6th Overall: John Carlson, Columbus Blue Jackets (27)
7th Overall: Jacob Markstrom, Nashville Predators (31)
8th Overall: Braden Holtby, Phoenix Coyotes (93)
9th Overall: Jordan Eberle, New York Islanders (22)
10th Overall: Jared Spurgeon, Vancouver Canucks (156)
11th Overall: Cam Atkinson, Chicago Blackhawks (157)
12th Overall: T.J. Brodie, Buffalo Sabres (114)
13th Overall: Josh Bailey, Los Angeles Kings (9)
14th Overall: Adam Henrique, Carolina Hurricanes (82)
15th Overall: Tyler Myers, Ottawa Senators (12)
16th Overall: Gustav Nyquist, Boston Bruins (121)
17th Overall: Derek Stepan, Anaheim Ducks (51)
18th Overall: Jake Allen, Nashville Predators (34)
19th Overall: Jake Gardiner, Philadelphia Flyers (17)

Sliding two spots from the real 2008 NHL draft is defenseman Jake Gardiner. Originally the 17th overall selection by the Anaheim Ducks, Gardiner now goes 19th overall, this time to the Philadelphia Flyers, who had selected defenseman Luca Sbisa with that choice back in 2008.

Interestingly, between Gardiner and Sbisa, only one of them even played games with the team that drafted him, Sbisa getting into 39 games for the Flyers the year after being drafted. Both players were used to help their respective teams make an immediate upgrade on the blueline. The Flyers used Sbisa to help them acquire Chris Pronger from the Ducks, and a few years later the Ducks would use Gardiner to help them acquire Francois Beauchemin from the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Regardless of which player they chose, or whether they would have elected to keep him around, the Flyers would get good value out of the pick with Sbisa or Gardiner. Sbisa wound up having a lengthy career as a stable, physical shutdown defenseman while Gardiner has had a lengthy career as a tremendous puck-mover on the back-end. Gardiner’s career might seem a bit more enticing given his strong point totals in his prime, but he has dealt with multiple injuries that have forced him to miss most of 2020-21, all of 2021-22, and thus far, all of 2022-23. All of that considered, finding an everyday NHL defenseman at 19th overall is something many executives and scouts around the league would be rather happy with.

Now, we move on to the 20th overall pick, which belonged to the New York Rangers. In 2008, the Rangers used that pick to take Michael Del Zotto, a slick two-way defenseman from the Oshawa Generals. After taking Del Zotto, the Rangers sent him back for one more season in the OHL, which he split between Oshawa and the London Knights. Del Zotto would debut for New York in 2009-10, immediately jumping into a full-time role on their blueline, making a splash his rookie season with 37 points. However, he took a step back in his sophomore season, playing in just 47 games while spending some time in the AHL too.

The defenseman would rebound for 2011-12, scoring 10 goals to go with 31 assists in 77 games and it seemed as if the Rangers had a star on their hands. However, Del Zotto wasn’t able to replicate that production and was eventually dealt to the Nashville Predators part-way through 2013-14 for fellow defenseman Kevin Klein. That offseason, Del Zotto signed with the Philadelphia Flyers where again his production would jump up, putting up 32 points in 64 games, but once again, he couldn’t maintain.

Del Zotto then became something of a journeyman after his three-year stint with Philadelphia, spending time with Vancouver, Anaheim, St. Luis, Columbus, and most recently, Ottawa in 2021-22, where he had his first AHL time since that trip back in 2010-11. Prior to this season, the Florida Panthers signed Del Zotto to a one-year, two-way contract; to date, he’s played two games with the Charlotte Checkers, Florida’s AHL affiliate.

Much like Sbisa and Gardiner above, Del Zotto has had a lengthy career complete with several very strong seasons, but has never hit the elite level the Rangers might have envisioned when they selected him. Now with the benefit of hindsight, who should the Rangers select 20th overall in our redraft? There are plenty of solid defensemen available, including Del Zotto as well as the likes of Travis Hamonic, Marco Scandella, and Zach Bogosian, offense-first forwards like Mikkel Boedker and Tyler Ennis, or some good-old-fashioned grit with Matt Martin and Matt Calvert, and many more to choose from.

App users, click here to vote.

2008 NHL Draft Take Two: Nineteenth Overall

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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 2008 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?

The results of our redraft so far are as follows with their original draft position in parentheses:

1st Overall: Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning (1)
2nd Overall: Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings (2)
3rd Overall: Roman Josi, Atlanta Thrashers (38)
4th Overall: Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis Blues (4)
5th Overall: Erik Karlsson, Toronto Maple Leafs (15)
6th Overall: John Carlson, Columbus Blue Jackets (27)
7th Overall: Jacob Markstrom, Nashville Predators (31)
8th Overall: Braden Holtby, Phoenix Coyotes (93)
9th Overall: Jordan Eberle, New York Islanders (22)
10th Overall: Jared Spurgeon, Vancouver Canucks (156)
11th Overall: Cam Atkinson, Chicago Blackhawks (157)
12th Overall: T.J. Brodie, Buffalo Sabres (114)
13th Overall: Josh Bailey, Los Angeles Kings (9)
14th Overall: Adam Henrique, Carolina Hurricanes (82)
15th Overall: Tyler Myers, Ottawa Senators (12)
16th Overall: Gustav Nyquist, Boston Bruins (121)
17th Overall: Derek Stepan, Anaheim Ducks (51)
18th Overall: Jake Allen, Nashville Predators (34)

Right now, Pekka Rinne’s number hangs in the rafters of Bridgestone Arena, just above where another star netminder, Juuse Saros, plays his games. No doubt, Nashville is happy with its goaltending over the past 15 seasons or so. But, in our redraft, it’s hard not to think about what could have been if the Predators had selected both Jacob Markstrom and Jake Allen seventh and eighteenth overall, respectively. Instead in 2008, Nashville selected forward Colin Wilson in the seven spot and goaltender Chet Pickard eighteenth.

Ultimately, Pickard never played in the NHL after a hot start in junior and the AHL. The goaltender would bounce between the AHL and ECHL before heading over to Europe, where he’s now a reliable netminder in Germany’s DEL. Even with Rinne and Saros, it’s likely the Predators would’ve preferred to take Allen over Pickard given Allen’s track record of NHL success.

Originally selected 34th overall by the St. Louis Blues, Allen slides nearly halfway up the draft board in our redraft. Allen was a standout goaltender in the QMJHL when he was selected by St. Louis, returning for the 2008-09 season. He would turn pro for 2009-10, playing goal for the Peoria Rivermen of the AHL and began to establish himself as one of the league’s best. He’d make his NHL debut during the shortened 2012-13 season, suiting up for 15 games with the Blues, returning to the AHL for 2013-14, where he put up a sensational 2.03 goals-against average and .928 save-percentage. That AHL performance would be his last, earning him the promotion to the NHL full-time.

Allen gradually took over the starer’s job in St. Louis, peaking from 2015 through 2018. Eventually, with the emergence of Jordan Binnington and Allen’s own performance slipping a bit, he lost the starting job. Prior to the 2020-21 season, St. Louis dealt Allen to the Montreal Canadiens, where he was expected to backup the legendary Carey Price. Now, with Price’s long-term injury, Allen has emerged as the starter for Montreal, recently signing a two-year extension that runs through 2024-25.

From the eighteenth-overall selection, we move on to the nineteenth, which belonged to the Philadelphia Flyers, who selected defenseman Luca Sbisa. The Italian-born Sbisa appears to have represented fair value for the nineteenth-overall pick. Far from flashy, the stay-at-home defenseman made a career as a steady, reliable, and at times physical presence. Sbisa made his NHL debut immediately after being drafted, getting into 39 NHL games for the Flyers before being sent back to the WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes. That offseason, he was sent to the Anaheim Ducks in the trade that ultimately brought Chris Pronger to Philadelphia.

Sbisa spent parts of five seasons in Anaheim, taking on a regular role on the Ducks’ blueline. In the summer of 2014, Sbisa was again moved as part of the package to bring in a star, this time heading to the Vancouver Canucks, with Ryan Kesler headed the other way. There, he continued to play the role of a quiet, yet effective blueliner, signing a three-year, $10.8MM extension prior to 2015-16. However, he’d spend just two more seasons in Vancouver before the Vegas Golden Knights selected him in the 2017 expansion draft.

The veteran appeared in just 30 games in the inaugural Vegas season, hitting the open market in 2018. There, he signed with the New York Islanders, getting into just nine games. That offseason, once again a free agent, he returned to Anaheim only briefly, selected off waivers by the Winnipeg Jets before he could suit up for an official game with the Ducks. Sbisa played 41 games for the Jets in 2019-20 and appeared set to join them once again for 2020-21, but was claimed on waivers once again, just prior to the start of the season. He’d work his way into the lineup for just one game with Nashville, which appears to be the last of his career. Though no formal retirement announcement appears to hve been made, Sbisa spent the 2021-22 season working with the Ducks and was recently hired by the San Jose Sharks in a player development role.

With names like John Carlson, Jordan Eberle, Jared Spurgeon, and Markstrom, just to name a few, still on the board, the Flyers likely would’ve opted to change their pick with hindsight. Still, taking Sbisa at nineteenth, given his long career wasn’t a bad bet, especially considering he helped them acquire Pronger, a tremendous asset at the time. With hindsight, would the Flyers opt to take Sbisa again with the names still remaining in our redraft? Or could they go for another option, such as Jake Gardiner, Travis Hamonic, or Tyler Ennis?

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