As most of the hockey world takes a vacation, the World Juniors in Edmonton are providing a nice change of pace for fans looking to get a glimpse of their future stars. Anaheim Ducks forward Mason McTavish leads the tournament with six goals and ten points, sometimes looking like he is six or seven years older than the rest of his competition, while Luke Hughes continues to dominate as the tournament’s best defenseman. With the tournament coming to a close in just a few days, we’ll soon have to turn our attention back to the coming season.
With that in mind, it’s time to run another edition of the PHR Mailbag.
Last time, the mailbag was broken into two parts. The first examined the risky situation in Toronto’s crease, Pierre-Luc Dubois’ future in Winnipeg, and P.K. Subban’s continued free agency. The second focused on some offer sheet candidates, the front office in Philadelphia, and some often-discussed trade targets.
You can submit a question by using #PHRMailbag on Twitter or by leaving a comment down below. The mailbag will run on the weekend.
case7187
What do you think the Bruins will do to get the cap space personally I really hope they trade DeBrusk & Griz (yes I know injuryed) but there 2 of the most overrated and overpriced players they can trade (Coyle NTC)
There not going to get anything for Smith,Reilly,Forbort, Foligno, you may get something little for Clifton, Zboril, and Frederic
I’d like them to run some young 3-4 lines with Steen,Beecher,McLaughlin,Lysell, and Studnicka
pawtucket
^ this is a more a comment than a question and even the question is hard to understand since you used it to make your opinion.
Gmm8811
Looking into the crystal ball and wondering on your thoughts on Ryan O’Reilly? Contract is coming up and we all know Doug Armstrong is not afraid to let a captain walk if he perceives the value to be too high. I’m fairly sure there’s no prospects in the pipeline that has all the intangibles to bring to the table that ROR has. Then there’s the Tarasenko thing LOL
sovietcanuckistanian
as a Bruins fan, my heart says they bury someone and trade away a 2nd/3rd pick (as sweetner) to offload a mediocre cap hit contract (Riley?) my dark horse candidate to be moved is ullmark
Nha Trang
Ullmark has a full no-movement clause.
jdgoat
Does Ottawa still make a move for a top four defenceman or are they going to have to hope a young player is able to step up and take that spot?
Johnny Z
When does Stevie pull the trigger on that blockbuster trade? He has 2 big guns in Larkin and Bert that have not been extended as of yet, and an under-performing Zadina, and some depth D to bargain with.
Nha Trang
Heh, why not go whole hog? Who wins the Cup this season, and who wins the scoring race?
I’ll even recycle a question from last year, which Brian killed, if you run short of questions: what guy comes out of nowhere to dish out an unexpected career year?
(Brian named two guys, one of whom was Tage Thompson. Best choice since 1992, when I dropped a 20th pick for my fantasy league team on a guy coming over from Europe who was supposedly a hot scorer, fellow named Selanne.)
rpoabr
Do the Kings get both Anderson and Durzi signed or do they make a trade to alleviate the logjam?
The Duke
All-seeing, -knowing and -telling Crystal Ball: Who are your top-4 candidates to become can’t-miss 30-goal scorers; top-3 scoring defensemen + top-3 standout goalies from the recent draft? Bonus Q: is UPL or Devon Levi the Sabres’goalie of the future?
baji kimran
Do you seen any real good (maybe even elite) centers coming available in the next year or two?
The Mistake of Giving Eugene Melnyk a Liver Transplant
Kadri
Zakis
What free agent forward will the Wild sign? Or will they try and trade from the D depth to acquire a more impactful F?
Karlander
Really surprised with the huge story in Canada of no crowds ar the world juniors, due to the 2018 juniors team scandal, that there is zero story coverage. It’s a big story covered by TSN, CBC,
N Y Times, CBS sports. Surprised no comments.
Karlander
Really surprised with the huge story in Canada of no crowds showing up at the World Juniors , due to the 2018 juniors team scandal, that there is zero story coverage. It’s a big story covered by TSN, CBC, N Y Times, CBS sports. Even the Canadian government has re-opened an investigation.
Surprised there are no articles as it affects pro hockey and Hockey Canada as a whole.
Johnny Z
The ticket prices are very prohibited also. Cost you $1500 to $2200 for a family of 4
MacJablonski--NotVegasLegend
@Karlander – Another reason is strangely logical, but not often considered by many living in the lower 48. Summer isn’t 3-6 months long there, so folks that have been cooped up during the winter need to get outside to get some of their sanity back. Can’t say as I blame them.
They’re too dumb to play with themselves
Helluva game from Latvia.
Granted, they’re probably not in that position if the Russians were allowed but always enjoy seeing new countries get to the QFs.
Gavin Lee
Just to address this specifically, as we did with the Blackhawks’ sexual abuse story and most other off-ice incidents, we will not cover it unless it leads to NHL sanctions of a player or team.
While this decision will not please everyone, we feel as though there is no additional context or analysis we can give a story of this nature that isn’t readily available in the dogged reporting of Rick Westhead, Katie Strang, and others.
Do not take this as overlooking, avoiding, or downplaying the significance of the story. In fact, it is the opposite; it is too important to synthesize on our platform and any limited examination would be a disservice to the original reporting.
The crowds at the World Juniors are not something we would cover normally, so even if it is tied to the scandal (which is another assumption that we cannot make with the data available to us), it’s not a story we would run with anyway.
Hopefully, that clears it up, though I know it won’t satisfy everyone.
MacJablonski--NotVegasLegend
@Gavin – Works for me. Thanks!
W H Twittle
The 2023 draft promises top end talent with the first five picks: Bedard, Michkov, Fantilli, Dvorsky and Yager not to mention Benson, Ritchie and Danielsson. With their current rosters and notwithstanding the lottery which teams will finish in the bottom five this coming season? Chicago, Arizona, San Jose, Montreal and Philadelphia?
Y2KAK
Over Under September 1: islanders make a signing
MacJablonski--NotVegasLegend
@Y2KAK – Are you saying that Lou will wait until the 59th minute of the 11th hour to break the news to us? ;)
Emoney123
With Emil Andrae, Tyson Foerster, and Elliot Desnoyers playing well in WJC, who are other Flyers prospects to watch or have a chance to make the team? Is there hope for a faster, more skilled, scoring playoff team in the future?
gowings2008
Any legitimacy to the Barzal to Detroit rumors? If so, what could a trade package look like?
Johnny Z
Bert, Hronek and a protected 1st
gowings2008
I do that in a second if I’m Steve Yzerman.
rdiddy75
Is Lou ever gonna sign Dobson and Romanov anytime soon!
Nha Trang
Probably already has. We all know that Lamoriello doesn’t announce signings or deals unless he’s compelled to do so.