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PHR Panel: Franchise Building Blocks

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We’re now several weeks into an NHL postponement and there is still no clear timeline on when professional hockey will return. While fans of the sport have received small tidbits of news over that time, including college signings and contract extensions, the thirst for discussion has rarely been quenched.

With that in mind, we’re happy to introduce a new feature: The PHR Panel. Three times a week, our writing staff will give our individual takes on a question many hockey fans have been wondering about. If you’d ever like to submit a subject for us to discuss, be sure to put it in the comments. This series will run each Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Last week we touched on potential playoff formats the league could use if the season resumes later this summer, and took a look at how the shortened scouting period affects draft prospects.

Today, we’ll each give our thoughts on who we would want to build a franchise around.

Q: If you had to build a team around one player drafted in the past three years, who would it be?

Brian La Rose:

It’s the age-old debate of what’s more valuable—the number one center or the number one defenseman.  Two players from the 2017 draft immediately jump to mind in Colorado’s Cale Makar and Vancouver’s Elias Pettersson.

In Makar, Colorado has a dynamic offensive threat from the back end and considering he has just one full season under his belt, it’s certainly reasonable to expect that he will improve considerably from where he is now.

Meanwhile, Pettersson has immediately stepped into a key role in Vancouver and this season, he proved that his rookie campaign was no fluke.  He has shown that he can handle the rigors of playing down the middle without too much difficulty.

Makar is going to be an elite offensive weapon in the NHL.  He basically already is.  But I’m not sure his defensive game gets quite to that level.  Meanwhile, Pettersson has made some strides defensively and has the potential to be that all situations type of player.

If I’m a GM building a team around one of the two, I’d take Pettersson as a result.  There are no limitations with him—he should soon be a point-per-game player or better and number one centers are extremely hard to acquire outside of the draft.  Makar is an electric player already with room to get even better but will his defensive play improve to where he can be that all situations player?  I’m not as certain about that so I’ll take the safer play with Pettersson.

Holger Stolzenberg: 

There are a number of impressive prospects who have made quite an impact early in their careers and while I could easily go with a defenseman like Makar or Quinn Hughes as the anchor to my team’s defense and quarterback of my power play, I am still of the belief that if possible, it’s always better to build around your centers, just like the New Jersey Devils have done over the past three years, picking up both Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes.

Looking at all the top centers drafted over the past three years, I’m inclined to pick the Canucks’ Pettersson as the player that I would build around. Pettersson spent his first season in the SHL where he broke numerous rookie records and was often compared to the great Sedin twins. He came to North America and had an impressive rookie season in 2018-19 in which he posted 28 goals and 66 points. He matched that production again this year with a 27-goal, 66-point campaign in 68 games, while avoiding a major injury.

The skilled forward has taken the Canucks to a whole new level of play this season and had them in the middle of a playoff race before the shutdown. Pettersson still has plenty of room to take his game up a level or two and in my opinion, makes the most sense to build a team around.

Zach Leach:

I am a firm believer in building a team around the literal centerpiece of your lineup: a top line center. Look back through the annals of NHL history and you will be hard-pressed to find a Stanley Cup winner that didn’t have an elite center on their first line and usually a top option on their second line as well. A top contender is built down the middle.

The problem with this premise and the past three draft classes is that too few centers have yet to establish themselves as “elite” in the NHL. The jury is still out on 2019 No. 1 pick Jack Hughes, who disappointed as a first-year pro, and New Jersey Devils teammate Nico Hischier is a solid two-way player, but to this point has shown limited star power. Carolina’s Martin Necas, Vegas’ Cody Glass, and Chicago’s Kirby Dach are among a large group who simply have too small of an NHL sample size as well.

Vancouver’s Elias Pettersson is the only player who might fit the bill. The reigning Calder Trophy winner has posted 66+ points in back-to-back seasons to begin his NHL career and has shown strong offensive instincts and a sniper’s touch. However, it remains to be seen whether he will actually continue to line up at center for the Canucks, who have used him on the wing more often than not this season. The winger role would seem to align better with his style and tendencies, but does bring down his value somewhat. Petterson is a hard player to pass up, but I’m not entirely sold that he can be a team’s best player.

So if not Pettersson, then who? If not a center, then what position? A superstar defenseman is another highly valuable asset and there are at least four who fit the mold among the past three classes: Buffalo’s Rasmus Dahlin, Dallas’ Miro Heiskanen, Vancouver’s Quinn Hughes, and Colorado’s Cale Makar. While all project to be elite, top-pair defensemen, only one to me is destined to be a perennial Norris Trophy candidate.

Makar is my choice as the best available player to build around. Between his collegiate career, taking UMass from an unknown to the National Championship game, to his NHL start, a strong playoff debut followed by what could very likely be a Calder-caliber rookie season, Makar has left few questions unanswered. A generational puck-mover who already skates and sees the ice as well as anyone, Makar is also not afraid to throw his weight around and shows good defensive awareness and the speed to make up for any mistakes. Perhaps most importantly, Makar has already shown some prize intangibles in college and the pros, including leadership ability and the ability to excel under pressure. Even on a loaded Avalanche roster, it is not hard to see a day when Makar could be the team’s very best player, as he could for most NHL clubs.

Gavin Lee:

In a year’s time you may be talking about Jack Hughes, Kaapo Kakko or Kirby Dach as potential options here, but there just hasn’t been enough time for any of them to prove they can be franchise-altering talents. That’s the kind of thing they’re going up against when you look back at the 2017 and 2018 drafts, which provided a huge number of potential league superstars.

It’s hard to argue with the selection of Pettersson, who looks like he’ll be a first-line center for years to come in Vancouver. Hughes, his teammate, would also be an outstanding pick and gives the Canucks a dynamic duo that will make opponents regret taking any penalties over the next decade. Either one would be a great building block for your franchise, just as players like Rasmus Dahlin, Andrei Svechnikov, Miro Heiskanen or even Hischier—who is routinely overlooked when discussing up-and-coming talents—would be.

But my choice lies in Colorado, where Makar has quickly taken over as the second-best player on a team already loaded with other top talents. It’s easy to forget that just three years ago the toughest competition Makar had faced was in the AJHL, and now he’s making NHL opponents look silly on a regular basis. The 21-year old simply doesn’t have an offensive ceiling and could well be competing for the Norris Trophy instead of the Calder in a year’s time.

PHR Originals: 3/23/20 – 3/29/20

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Here’s a rundown of the original content here at PHR over the past week.

Our Stretch Run Storylines continues as we wrapped up our tour of the Central Division and shifted to the Eastern Conference to begin previewing the Atlantic Division.

Minnesota: The Wild certainly got a boost following the coaching change that saw Dean Evason take over from Bruce Boudreau and Evason’s future as the bench boss may very well come down to how they fare down the stretch (if there is one).  However, I believe the biggest thing to watch for will be Devan Dubnyk.  Saying he has struggled this season would be putting it nicely and for them to make a push the rest of the way this year and even into 2020-21, he will need to get back to a starting goaltender level.

Chicago: While the Blackhawks would make it to the playoffs if a 24-team proposal gets adopted, that’s about their only postseason hope.  With that in mind, players playing for their next contracts becomes their focal point.  I took a look at some of the players who are in that situation including Corey Crawford who will be hoping to land another contract with Chicago for next season.

Boston: The Bruins have been the top team in the league for most of the season and naturally, one of the questions will be whether or not they’ll be able to pick up where they left off and hold down first overall.  As Holger noted though, one of the key things for them will be integrating late acquisitions Nick Ritchie and Ondrej Kase into their lineup.  The pause in the season certainly makes that a bit more challenging, especially if the NHL winds up jumping quickly to the playoffs.

Tampa Bay: After a quiet start to the season, the Lightning have been one of the stronger teams in the East in recent months as expected.  Holger assessed their situation, highlighting how the pause in the schedule should help ensure that one of their top players will be healthy if play resumes.  That will certainly be critical as if the usual playoff format remains intact, they could be in for a very high octane series against Toronto in the first round.

One of the more intriguing trophy races down the stretch is the Hart Trophy for the player most valuable to his team.  There are several players that legitimate cases could be made for if the season winds up being over but that could certainly change if regular season games resume.  As things stand, who should get the nod?  Make your vote count here.

The Vezina Trophy is going to be a tricky one as well.  Statistically, the top goalies have played in fewer games due to injuries or a platoon situation which could open the door for someone like Connor Hellebuyck.  However, Winnipeg is barely holding down a playoff spot which may dissuade voters.  With that in mind, who would you pick?  Make your choice here.

We debuted a new series called the PHR Panel which gathers the opinions of each of our writers on topics around the league.  Our first one discussed which of the various playoff formats that have been suggested if the regular season is unable to last a full 82 games.  The second discussed how the cancellations of playoffs and tournaments would impact the various types of draft prospects and which ones would be the most affected.  This series will run each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

PHR Panel: Draft Prospect Impact

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We’re now two weeks into an NHL postponement and there is still no clear timeline on when professional hockey will return. While fans of the sport have received small tidbits of news over that time, including college signings and contract extensions, the thirst for discussion has rarely been quenched.

With that in mind, we’re happy to introduce a new feature: The PHR Panel. Three times a week, our writing staff will give our individual takes on a question many hockey fans have been wondering about. If you’d ever like to submit a subject for us to discuss, be sure to put it in the comments. This series will run each Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Earlier this week we gave our thoughts on potential playoff formats the league could use coming out of the pause. Today, we’ll talk about how draft prospects are impacted by the sudden conclusion of their junior and college seasons.

Q: Which kind of draft prospect is impacted the most by the shortened scouting season—high-, mid- or late-round?

Brian La Rose:

By now, teams have a pretty good idea of the players that are going to be at or near the top of their draft lists.  There could be some movement up or down but most players ranked in the first round on a list at this point are still probably going to be ranked in the first round when final lists are set.

The stretch run and playoffs can certainly help a mid-ranked player move up (or down) but it shouldn’t affect their stock in terms of being drafted.  It would take a significant injury or a dreadful late performance to knock a player from being ranked mid-round midseason to the do not draft list.

That can’t be said for the late-round prospects.  Oftentimes, a big showing in the playoffs or the Under-18’s can make that lasting impression that gets them onto the late flier list.  Conversely, the lower-ranked player that played well at the start of the season but struggles in such an event can fall off the list entirely.  The movement in the rankings is much more drastic.

There is a considerable gap between first-rounders and those taken after.  There is a small difference between second and third-rounders relative to those who go later.  But once you hit the back end of the draft, the gap is minimal and it doesn’t take much to rise or fall in those rankings.  That’s why they’re the most impacted by the early ends to their respective seasons.

Holger Stolzenberg:

For the most part, high-round picks have already been established. Teams and scouts are already well aware of the top-caliber players and where they will go in the first couple of rounds. While there is always some shuffling up and down those first few rounds, most of those players have been scouted quite a bit (perhaps minus a handful of Russian prospects, but isn’t that always the case?)

It’s the later picks that are likely to be affected the most. With no playoffs coming at the junior and collegiate levels as well as overseas, many of those often-missed prospects won’t get a chance to shine at the final level and show that they should be taken earlier. Plenty of prospects establish themselves near the end of the season as they develop in their own team’s systems or get to step up and prove themselves when injuries creep up. These late-season tournaments as well as the IIHF canceling the IIHF U18 World Championships will eliminate key scouting opportunities that will have a major effect on the mid to late rounds.

Zach Leach:

Unlike the other top pro sports leagues, the NHL is unique in that all rookie contracts are more or less created equal. The entry-level system creates a narrow salary window in which each draft pick is able to negotiate his contract, while also allowing time before signing to create leverage for a greater base salary or performance bonuses within that range, as opposed to negotiating based solely on draft position.

This is all to say that the most important thing for an NHL prospect is just getting drafted, not where you are drafted. For this reason, the “late-round” prospects are absolutely the group most impacted by the Coronavirus-shortened season, as they are not locked in to be selected at all. Top prospects who can safely assume that they will be picked in the first four or five rounds have that security because there is a consensus that they are a strong NHL prospect. That consensus can only be built by multiple viewings by multiple scouts over the course of the season. A shortened season still leaves most teams with more than enough information to make a decision on those top- and middle-tier prospects. Those late-round prospects often do not have the luxury of multiple viewings by scouts. High school, prep school, Junior-A and European junior league games do not offer the same value to scouts as attending CHL, USHL, or European pro games, where there are multiple draft prospects to watch. As such, postseason play and other spring tournaments offer the best opportunities for scouts and the best chance for a late-round prospect to be seen and make an impact on a team, improving his draft odds. Many of those players will not get that opportunity this year and some lower-caliber players from bigger leagues may get the nod based on teams’ number of viewings alone.

Once a player is passed over in their first year of eligibility, earning a selection only gets tougher. So it is those fringe, late-round prospects who may have lost their chance to impress the maximum number of teams possible who will be most affected by the shortened recruiting season.

Gavin Lee:

There’s no doubt that the players at the fringe of any ranking may end up missing a chance to impress an NHL team enough to earn a selection, but I would argue that it doesn’t really change their situation all that much by going undrafted. Every year teams decide not to hand out NHL contracts to their sixth- and seventh-round picks from prior drafts, letting them become free agents or bringing them in on minor league deals instead. The situation for a seventh-round pick isn’t all that fundamentally different from one that slips by—they’re still going to have to put in a lot of hard work to prove they are worthy of an NHL contract slot.

No, I believe it is actually those first-round talents that could be affected the most, in both positive and negative manners.

Last year, just a few weeks before the draft, Peyton Krebs suffered a torn Achilles in an offseason workout. Krebs had been in line for a potential top-10 selection, ranked that high by several outlets including by TSN’s Bob McKenzie, who polls NHL scouts from around the league. Instead, after his injury, Krebs dropped to the Vegas Golden Knights at 17th. If you compare his entry-level deal to that of, say, Victor Soderstrom, who went 11th, you’ll notice that Krebs has a substantially lower number of available performance bonuses—some $750K over the three years.

For an example the other way, one can point at Mortiz Seider’s performance for Germany at the IIHF World Championship in May of 2019 as a potential reason why he ended up being the sixth player off the board in June. NHL.com correspondent Aaron Vickers wrote exactly that last year when he spoke to players like Leon Draisaitl who was so impressed with the 18-year old’s play. Seider landed more than $2.5MM in potential performance bonuses for going so high, twice as much as Krebs and certainly more than he would have at his #16 ranking in the same TSN scouting poll.

PHR Panel: Optimal Playoff Format

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We’re now two weeks into an NHL postponement and there is still no clear timeline on when professional hockey will return. While fans of the sport have received small tidbits of news over that time, including college signings and contract extensions, the thirst for discussion has rarely been quenched.

With that in mind, we’re happy to introduce a new feature: The PHR Panel. Three times a week, our writing staff will give our individual takes on a question many hockey fans have been wondering about. If you’d ever like to submit a subject for us to discuss, be sure to put it in the comments. This series will run each Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Today, we’re tackling the thing most people want to know about–the playoffs.

Q: What is the optimal playoff format for when (if) play resumes?

Brian La Rose:

I know there is some growing optimism to expand the format to as many as 24 teams in an effort to try to artificially improve revenues by getting some larger market teams in. Sure, it’d create some extra short-term interest and create the opportunity for even more upsets than last year. But let’s face it, Chicago and Montreal have no business being in the playoff discussion and there are no guarantees fans will be allowed to attend anyway so the potential revenue boost may not wind up being as high as they’d like.

I’d rather see a 16-team format and an effort made to try to play out the balance of the regular season or as much of it as possible and have the bubble teams battle it out that way. Gary Bettman has talked about the importance of protecting the integrity of the Stanley Cup and the season as part of any discussion about what to do moving forward. That is achieved by doing this over opening the field up to as many as eight more teams and playing best-of-three series. It may not be the most optimal from a salary cap perspective for next year but that number can be negotiated over solely being fixed by HRR anyway.

Now, if they feel the need to change something, they can scrap the divisional format and go back to the older way where the top team played eighth place, second played seventh, and so on.

Holger Stolzenberg:

Generally, I often hear people complaining about the current playoff system as many wish it to return to the 1-16 format. However, I’m a big fan of the current seeding structure and would never want to change it.

However, this is a year in which we might want to make some changes to the playoffs, depending on whether the regular season is canceled or not. Obviously, if the league has time to finish out the regular season, then my vote would be to keep the playoffs the same. If the regular season is canceled, I would like to see the playoffs expanded as a one-time event. With some teams having played more games than other teams, it just doesn’t seem very fair to just take the top 16 (even if they base it on points percentage). A team like Columbus might slip out of the playoffs since they were already at 70 games. While they had won just three of their previous 10, I feel like with Seth Jones likely back on the ice for them the team could surprise someone again in the playoffs.

I would like to see some more teams get in, but the suggested 24-team playoff seems like way too many. In my estimation, 21 teams were close to challenging for a playoff spot (maybe 22 if you want to include Arizona). So, I think whether they are play-in games or something minimal, I would like to see all those teams get a chance to earn their way into the playoffs.

Zach Leach:

One format that could a) stress the importance of regular season success, especially maintaining the league’s emphasis on division battles, b) fairly include an expanded field if the regular season cannot be completed, and c) take place in a more limited amount of time would be to reward the top two teams in each division with first-round byes while implementing shorter series in the first round.

If the playoffs were to start with standings unchanged and seeding was to be based on points percentage, the first round would feature byes for Boston, Tampa Bay, Washington, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Colorado, Vegas and Edmonton. Eight “wild card” teams in each conference would battle in three-game series. In the East, it would be Pittsburgh vs. Montreal, Carolina vs. the New York Rangers, the New York Islanders vs. Florida, and Columbus vs. Toronto. In the West, it would be Dallas vs. Chicago, Nashville vs. Arizona, Vancouver vs. Minnesota, and Calgary vs. Winnipeg.

The winners of each wild card, three-game match-up would be re-seeded for the second round, which would essentially mirror the traditional first round and set up the standard playoff structure. The conference semifinals, finals, and Stanley Cup Final would proceed as they normally do. In total, a field of 24 teams would be able to take part in the postseason with no more than three extra games compared to the usual course and no chance of a top-four team in either conference being knocked off due to time-constrained, shortened series.

Gavin Lee:

Quite frankly, I’m not sure there is an optimal setup at this point. The idea that any more regular season games will actually be played this season seems more and more unlikely each passing day and without those, it is hard to maintain the integrity of the Stanley Cup playoffs, what has become known as one of the longest and most difficult grinds in all of professional sports.

Sure, including teams like Montreal and Chicago would be beneficial to hockey related revenues, but it would taint the whole process in my opinion. How would you draw the line? Do the Sabres and Devils both also make it, given they’re only three points behind Montreal with two games in hand?

If it were possible, I would actually be shrinking the field to try and maintain some integrity, instead of expanding it. Eliminating all four wild card teams and giving byes to each division leader would allow you to keep the tradition of seven-game series and reward the teams that were really the best performers of the first part of the regular season.

Now, of course, the NHL would never do something like that. Having teams sit idle is only letting money fly out the window, and they’ll want as much as possible if they want to keep next year’s projections anywhere near accurate (which they already won’t be). I imagine we’ll see some sort of a play-in tournament, but they won’t risk losing a division leader in a short series against a team that wasn’t even in the wild card spot when the season hit pause.

PHR Originals: 3/16/20 – 3/22/20

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Here’s a rundown of the original content at PHR over the past seven days.

Our tour around the Central Division’s storylines to watch for continued with a look at four more teams:

Colorado: The Avalanche will be welcoming back several key players which is a huge boost for them as they try to catch St. Louis for the top spot in the Western Conference.  However, their most interesting storyline may be their goaltending situation.  I looked at the numbers for the now-healthy Philipp Grubauer and backup Pavel Francouz and there isn’t really a true contender for the job.  Teams rarely platoon in the playoffs but this is a team where that could change.

Dallas: The Stars have basically been at the top end of the playoff bubble teams for most of the season.  I broke down just how bad their offense has been but on the optimistic side, a return to form for their top veteran forwards could really give them a boost.  The future of Rick Bowness behind the bench will likely be dependent on how they fare down the stretch and in the postseason so there’s a lot riding on whatever may be left of 2019-20.

Nashville: It has been a bumpy season for the Predators who have been one of the bigger underachievers relative to early expectations.  As Holger noted, their top scorers haven’t got the job done while they also have had to deal with inconsistent goaltending from Juuse Saros and Pekka Rinne.  Will the break rejuvenate Rinne to help take some of the pressure off of Saros and resolidify that position?  That could very well make or break their postseason hopes.

Winnipeg: Their situation largely breaks down to inside their blue line.  I assessed the composition of their defense corps which is certainly a weak link relative to their competitors for a playoff spot.  Connor Hellebuyck has also been relied on a lot this year and with the possibility of a lot of back-to-backs if the NHL tries to make it through the regular season, he’s going to be heavily tested down the stretch.

Flipping the script, if the season doesn’t resume, the NHL awards will become more of a talking point.  One of the more intriguing battles would be for the Calder Trophy with Colorado’s Cale Makar and Vancouver’s Quinn Hughes being the presumptive top two contenders.  Who would win if the vote was today?  Make your choice here.

Even if the NHL does resume, it’s likely that games will be played in empty arenas for a while.  As the NHL is a gate-driven league, that will wreak some havoc on their revenues for the season which could result in a lower salary cap.  That will put many teams in even more cap trouble than they were this year.  Zach proposed a potential solution to that issue or at least something to help by suggesting the league bring back a compliance buyout.  These were sometimes referred to as amnesty buyouts in the past as teams were allowed to buy someone out without any salary cap ramifications.  With a probable drop in revenues, it’s something that the NHL and the NHLPA should be giving serious consideration to between now and the offseason.

PHR Originals: 3/9/20 – 3/15/20

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Here is a rundown of the original content at PHR over the past week.

Group VI free agency doesn’t typically get much attention but one of the things to watch for down the stretch each season is which players can still avoid it and whether or not those teams bring those players up to retain their rights.  I took a look at the four players that could still avoid hitting the open market although those situations could change depending on what happens with the schedule in the weeks to come.

Gavin held his weekly Thursday chat in the immediate aftermath of the suspension of the schedule.  Topics included the annual awards, college free agency, minor league postponements, and more.

Our Stretch Run Storylines series kicked off as we look at the Central Division.  I examined what to watch for in St. Louis where the defending Stanley Cup champions could be a team to watch for if play resumes.  Vladimir Tarasenko’s return should bolster an already strong and deep attack while they possess arguably the top pending unrestricted free agent in Alex Pietrangelo as well who could be too expensive for them to keep.

The NCAA announced this past week that they would extend eligibility for those playing spring sports and added that they would discuss the issue for those (including hockey players) that weren’t able to complete their conference and NCAA championships.  Zach broke down how that could potentially be accomplished as well as forecasting what the field for the NCAA tournament could have looked like.

Every year, there are trades that contain conditional elements for a draft pick to be transferred over.  These can often pertain to games played although there has also been the odd one also is based on the production of a player with his new team.  Some of those are still in flux; Gavin assessed those and how the potential return of regular season contests could make or break those conditions.

Part two of our mailbag is now available.  Topics I tackled in this one included Henrik Lundqvist’s future with the Rangers now that he’s the clear-cut third option, Kyle Dubas’ tenure as the GM with Toronto, a projection for Philadelphia in the playoffs, and more.

Submit Your Questions For The #PHRMailbag

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The NHL trade deadline has passed and there are only a handful of games left in the regular season. Teams have fine tuned their rosters for a postseason run, or are looking forward to the draft lottery and offseason frenzy. Who are the real contenders for the Stanley Cup? Which deadline rentals will pay off? Who is best positioned to take a big step in their rebuild?

With those questions and many more in mind, it’s time to run our post-deadline mailbag. You can submit a question by using #PHRMailbag on Twitter or by leaving a comment down below. Make sure to get your questions in early and we’ll try to get through as many of them as possible when the mailbag runs on the weekend.

If you missed our pre-deadline mailbag, it was split into two parts you can read here and here. In the first, Brian tackled questions about the expansion draft, Jesse Puljujarvi’s future and Shea Weber’s health. The second took on the question of chemistry in a locker room, the Rangers’ goaltending situation and potential player holdouts in the future.

PHR Originals: 2/24/20 – 3/1/20

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Here’s a rundown of the original content over the past seven days here at PHR.

Just before the trade frenzy started, I assessed Winnipeg’s situation heading into the trade deadline.  Having already acquired Cody Eakin and Dylan DeMelo, it seemed unlikely that they’d be doing much more and that what wound up happening as they were one of the few teams to stand pat on Monday.

Gavin held two chats this week.  The first was in the morning on trade deadline day which wound up featuring way more activity early in the day than we’ve seen in a long time.  He also held his usual Thursday chat.  Topics included Jacob Markstrom’s future, a prediction for who gets the final playoff spot in the Atlantic Division, Colorado’s goaltending situation heading into the playoffs, evaluating Anaheim’s recent trades, and more.

As is often the case, there was no shortage of draft picks moving around leading up to the trade deadline.  Now that the moves have come to an end, Gavin broke down the draft pick situation for each team.  Montreal leads the way with 14 selections in June’s draft while Ottawa sits one behind them at 13 but has three first-rounders at their disposal.  At the opposite end, Pittsburgh has just four with the earliest coming in the third round.

While it is realistically too early to conclusively state which team had the best showing at the trade deadline, waiting the number of years that is needed to fairly do so just isn’t that fun.  With that in mind, we have a poll on who you think had the best showing at the deadline.  Click here to make your pick.

Zach took a tour around college hockey which is seeing its regular season soon come to an end.  On top of going over the recent results, he took a look at the future Frozen Four applications as well as a key injury to one of the top prospects that was moved at the trade deadline.

March 1st is more than just another day on the NHL calendar as it has some implications on the transaction front.  I took a look at the CBA elements that come into effect as of then and why there will likely be an influx of prospect signings in the near future.

With Robin Lehner being traded to Vegas, it appears he is no longer in Chicago’s plans to be their goalie of the future.  Corey Crawford is 35 and isn’t going to be around much longer.  That means GM Stan Bowman has a decision to make.  Does he stick with Crawford on a short-term contract or look to make a splash in free agency this summer?  Which route is the right one to go?  Have your say by voting in our poll.

PHR Originals: 2/17/20 – 2/23/20

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With the trade deadline almost here, there has been plenty of original content here at PHR over the past seven days and those articles are highlighted here.

We wrapped up our trade deadline primers for the Metropolitan Division with Gavin breaking down the situations for the Rangers, Flyers, Penguins, and Capitals.  The latter three are all likely to be buyers although limited cap space could have them shopping for depth players.  New York is interesting – while they’ve been perceived as a likely seller, they’re not that far out of a Wild Card spot either so it’s far from a guarantee that they go that route now.

Last up is our tour of the Central Division.  I previewed the Blackhawks, Avalanche, and Blues while Holger did the same for the Stars, Wild, and Predators.  Of those teams, Colorado may be the one to keep an eye on in the hours leading up to the deadline as they have plenty of cap space and roster spots to fill due to injuries.

Gavin held his weekly Thursday chat.  While the trade deadline dominated the topics, other discussion points included a pair of rookie wingers that have been big surprises this season, the surprising Blue Jackets, Dustin Byfuglien’s playing future, and more.

In our Trade Candidate profiles, the focus has predominantly been players that are going to fill an important role on a contender but there are often players that are moved simply to improve depth going into the playoffs.  Buffalo winger Conor Sheary is one of those players; I examined what teams he could fit in on if a team decides to make a late move for him on Monday.

Part two of our mailbag is now available.  Topics included the willingness for teams to consider chemistry at the junior level in determining player acquisitions, Henrik Lundqvist and Brady Skjei’s future with the Rangers, Detroit’s dilemma with Andreas Athanasiou, and more.

PHR Originals: 02/10/20 – 02/16/20

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During what has been a busy week around the NHL, the writers at PHR still had some time to produce some original content. Check it out:

With the NHL Trade Deadline just over a week away on Monday, February 24, we continued to take a look at how teams are approaching their last chance to make deals this season. We wrapped up the Atlantic Division, as Gavin Lee anticipated the Tampa Bay Lightning’s pursuit of bottom-six grit – they got that and more in Sunday’s acquisition of Blake Coleman – while Brian La Rose looked at the Toronto Maple Leafs’ continued needs even after the additions of Kyle Clifford and Jack Campbell. Attention then turned to the Metropolitan Division. Gavin examined the Carolina Hurricanes’ reported willingness to make a big move on the blue line, Brian pondered whether the Columbus Blue Jackets would make a splash this year, and Holger Stolzenberg offered a well-time preview of the New Jersey Devils and New York Islanders, who came together for a trade on Sunday.

In addition to team previews, big names on the trade block are also worthy of a closer look at PHR. This week, Brian took the time to examine the market for well-regarded defenseman Brenden Dillon of the San Jose Sharks. An impending free agent, Dillon is a lock to be moved, but the destination remains a mystery. The stay-at-home specialist could be that key defensive presence for a team fighting for a playoff spot or an extravagant depth addition for a major contender.

While it’s one of the most exciting stretches of the NHL season right now, it is also an important time for the college game, as teams march towards conference tournaments and the start of the NCAA postseason next month. I took my bi-weekly look at the college landscape in the latest edition of College Hockey Round-Up, discussing the dominance of Jordan Kawaguchi and No. 1 North Dakota, the raging battle in Hockey East, an unlikely commitment by a future NHL prospect, and the Olympic dreams of the first Japanese Division I hockey player.

In another regular piece, Brian answered your questions in another edition of the PHR Mailbag. Topics ranged from trade deadline rumors about the likes of Chris Kreider and Jesse Puljujarvi, to the future of Montreal’s Shea Weber, and the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft.

Finally, of course, is Gavin’s weekly PHR Live Chat. He fielded numerous questions pertaining to the impending trade deadline, including the possible plans of the Golden Knights, Blues, Capitals, Maple Leafs, Bruins, Blackhawks, Flames, Wild, Penguins, Senators, and more. And if that wasn’t enough, he also discussed the future of Nolan Patrick, tried his best to explain Player Safety decisions, and threw out his top five prospects for the upcoming draft.

Don’t miss out on all thee great original content from PHR, coming at you each and every week!

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