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Thankful Series 2021-22

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Edmonton Oilers

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As the holiday season approaches, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for as the season passes the one-quarter mark. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Edmonton Oilers.

What are the Oilers thankful for?

Being in a win-now situation.

While that doesn’t hold up the greatest at the moment with them currently being on a six-game losing streak, this is a team that’s built to try to contend now.  Not a couple of years from now but right away.  GM Ken Holland brought in several veterans over the summer and paid big money to ensure Ryan Nugent-Hopkins isn’t going anywhere anytime soon either.  There will come a time where the cap consequences of those moves will be problematic but in the short term, Edmonton is going for it which is usually fun for both the players and the fans.

Who are the Oilers thankful for?

Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

Really, it’s hard to pick just one here.  One leads the NHL in scoring with 45 points and the other, well, also leads the league in scoring with 45 points.  There is no other duo as dominant as McDavid and Draisaitl are around the league.  Both can dominate their own lines and when they’re put together, they’re even more potent.  Both are franchise players in their own right and when many teams don’t have any, they have two.

To that end, Edmonton is also quite thankful that both are signed long term.  McDavid has the richest deal in the league at $12.5MM but many would argue that’s below market value and he’s signed through 2025-26.  Meanwhile, Draisaitl is definitely on a below-market contract; his $8.5MM AAV doesn’t crack the top-30 league-wide.  He’s locked up through 2024-25 meaning the Oilers will have their superstar pairing intact for at least three years after this one.

What would the Oilers be even more thankful for?

More secondary scoring.  Zach Hyman has certainly helped in that regard as he already has 11 in his first season with the team.  It goes downhill after that, however, as only one other player on the team has more than five tallies.  Nugent-Hopkins, who admittedly is more of a playmaker than scorer, only has three goals, their defense has just ten combined (including only one from Darnell Nurse whose big extension kicks in next season), and their bottom six have pretty much all vastly underachieved.  This is how a team that has the two top offensive players in the league is barely in the top ten in goals scored.  If even one or two players can pick up the pace, Edmonton would become a lot more dangerous in a hurry.

What should be on the Oilers’ Holiday Wish List?

After reading the last paragraph, secondary scoring might seem like it should be atop their list but there are other areas of concern.  Mikko Koskinen has done better than expected this season but he and the currently injured Mike Smith are a tandem that would appear to be on the weaker end heading into the playoffs.  Adding another capable veteran – even if it’s one that just raises the floor of their goaltending group – would certainly help.

So, too, would bringing in another defenseman.  Injuries to Duncan Keith and Slater Koekkoek have thinned them out and their younger prospects aren’t quite ready for full-time NHL duty.  Another veteran to serve as injury insurance and bridge the gap to the youngsters would be beneficial while a top-four addition would be a critical addition.

However, wishing for this is a lot easier than actually getting it done.  Edmonton is well into LTIR and by the time they get their players back, cap space will be at a premium.  They won’t be able to bank any space as they will still be in LTIR thanks to Oscar Klefbom, Josh Archibald, and Alex Stalock so it’s going to be pretty close to a money in, money out situation.  Accordingly, it’s far from a guarantee that they’ll be able to add anything on their list.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Detroit Red Wings

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As the holiday season approaches, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for as the season passes the one-quarter mark. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Detroit Red Wings.

What are the Red Wings thankful for?

A competitive team.

For an entire generation of Red Wings fans, missing the playoffs wasn’t even a possibility. A 25-year-long playoff streak ended in 2017 when the team finished 33-36-13, good for seventh place in the Atlantic Divison and 16 points back. Detroit hasn’t even sniffed the postseason since, bottoming out with a 17-49-5 record in 2019-20, one of the worst seasons in NHL history. Five years without a playoff game is a rarity for the Red Wings, with only a stretch in the 70s and early 80s to really compare it to. If you were part of the PHR Live Chats for any of the past few years, you probably saw several questions from Detroit fans asking how the team can improve and make a run–right away, not in the future.

The patience that was needed is finally paying off. The Red Wings have two star rookies–three if you consider Alex Nedeljkovic at that level–several twenty-somethings playing strong hockey and a few veterans dotting the lineup to give them structure. Things are headed in the right direction for Detroit and they are finally back in the playoff hunt. Sure, it’ll be difficult to topple the top teams in the Atlantic Division, and a wild card in the Eastern Conference is going to be difficult to obtain with so much experience in the Metro, but the Red Wings aren’t at the bottom of the standings anymore–and likely won’t be for some time.

Who are the Red Wings thankful for?

Steve Yzerman.

The idea of a franchise legend leaving the powerhouse program he built for a division rival just to return home and turn around a struggling franchise is the stuff of Disney, not the NHL right? Well, maybe the league can sell Yzerman’s front office story to their new broadcasting partners if he ever completes the journey and brings the Stanley Cup back to Detroit. From the moment he was hired in 2019, the Red Wings have suddenly had a clear direction to their moves and are now poised to enter another long period of success.

He’s added dozens of prospects to the system, seemingly hit a home run with at least two of his first-round picks, and cleared the books of any long-term financial commitments. The Red Wings don’t have a single player signed past 2023-24 and that’s by design. The team can now wait for the right time to strike in free agency, extend their young talent and build the roster to become a true contender. While sometimes cap flexibility is overblown because leadership still has to make the right choices with it, Yzerman certainly has the reputation to back it up. The Red Wings aren’t there yet, but he’s taking them.

What would the Red Wings be even more thankful for?

A breakout from a pre-Yzerman draft pick.

It’s not like the Red Wings only started getting top draft picks after Yzerman arrived; in fact, they picked in the top-10 both years immediately preceding his tenure with the team. Despite that, both Michael Rasmussen (ninth overall in 2017) and Filip Zadina (sixth in 2018) have already been surpassed by Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond in terms of prospect excitement. Joseph Veleno (30th in 2018) can be added to that list of top picks that still haven’t made an impact, and Dennis Cholowski (20th in 2016) and Evgeny Svechnikov (19th in 2015) aren’t even around anymore.

If there’s one thing that could really allow the Red Wings to make a giant leap forward in a short period, it’s a big breakout for one of the highly drafted forwards. Zadina especially was supposed to be a top goal-scoring threat but has just 19 tallies at the NHL level through his first 113 games. It’s important to mention Filip Hronek, who was a second-round pick of the last administration and is a very important part of the team, but there’s honestly not a whole lot else so far from those years of postseason absences.

What should be on the Red Wings’ Holiday Wish List?

Draft picks.

One more time. One more time the Red Wings should sell at the deadline, add picks to the cupboard and build out the pipeline. The team already has seven selections in the first four rounds this year, but veteran players on expiring contracts like Robby Fabbri, Vladislav Namestnikov, Nick Leddy, Troy Stecher, Marc Staal, and Thomas Greiss could all probably net them some extra picks at the deadline.

Sure, the team wants to compete for the playoffs this season, and gutting them of their entire veteran group would make that difficult, but none of the names listed above are going to be core pieces when this team is truly competing for a Stanley Cup. If the team loads up on picks for one more year, the future–which already looks plenty bright–will shine even more.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Dallas Stars

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As the holiday season approaches, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for as the season passes the one-quarter mark. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Dallas Stars.

What are the Stars thankful for?

The 2017 Anaheim Ducks.

Hear this one out. At the 2017 deadline, the Stars traded Patrick Eaves, then on a one-year, $1MM deal, to the Ducks in exchange for a conditional draft pick. Eaves was in the midst of a career year, scoring 21 goals in his first 59 games with the Stars and making him a prime deadline target. He’d go on to rack up another 11 goals in 20 regular season games for Anaheim, but it was the postseason performance that the Stars were interested in. If the Ducks made it to the third round and Eaves played in at least 50% of the games to that point the Stars would receive Anaheim’s first-round pick in 2017. Otherwise, it would be a second-rounder.

The Ducks ended up making it to the Conference Finals, but it wasn’t because of Eaves. He ended up playing in just seven games through the first two rounds, still enough to cover that 50% threshold. The team had needed 11 games to get through those series against the Flames and Oilers, squeaking out a 2-1 win in game seven to ensure the Stars would have an extra first-round pick.

That pick, which ended up being 26th overall, was used on Jake Oettinger. He joins Miro Heiskanen and Jason Robertson as the team’s first three selections that year and arguably the three most important pieces of Dallas’ future at this point. The 22-year-old Oettinger currently has a .951 save percentage at the NHL level this year and a perfect 5-0 record.

Who are the Stars thankful for?

Miro Heiskanen.

It’s not very often that a team could consider a player like John Klingberg a bit redundant, but that’s exactly the situation in Dallas as Heiskanen has completely taken over control of the Stars’ blueline. The third-overall pick from that 2017 draft, Heiskanen averages close to 25 minutes a night, has 16 points in 22 games, and makes the whole machine turn. While some may overlook him because of the market he plays in or the style in which he effortlessly floats around the ice, Heiskanen is a legitimate star in the league and will be a leader in Dallas for a long time.

Need even more reason for thanks? The Philadelphia Flyers could have had Heiskanen (or Cale Makar, which is another story) at the draft, but selected Nolan Patrick second overall instead, leaving the smooth-skating Finn for the Stars to snap up.

What would the Stars be even more thankful for?

Denis Gurianov’s consistency to come back.

In 2019-20, the Stars gave Gurianov his first full-time shot in the NHL and he rewarded them with strong, powerful play. Even though he wasn’t seeing a ton of ice time, he was always a threat to score, tallying 20 goals in 64 games. Perhaps the fact that he had just nine assists during that stretch should have been a warning sign, but the 12th overall pick from 2015 has been frustratingly inconsistent–at least in terms of goal scoring–since.

He posted just 12 tallies last season and there were stretches of up to 15 games where he failed to put one in the back of the net. This year he has just four goals and eight points in 21 games, not exactly what they were expecting from that impressive rookie. Roope Hintz and Jason Robertson are the present and future of the Stars offense, but it sure would be helpful to have Gurianov living up to his draft pedigree. He’d benefit from it too, given he’s going to be an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent this summer.

What should be on the Stars’ Holiday Wish List?

A “hockey trade” for one of their goaltenders.

The Stars have too many goalies. Oettinger can’t even get playing time because of the red hot Braden Holtby who has become the starter, while Anton Khudobin has struggled in his part-time role. That’s not even mentioning Ben Bishop, who is on a conditioning stint and will be ready to return to action in a few days.

The Stars need more offense and several teams around the league need goaltending, but the crunch is coming for Dallas. If they can work out a way to leverage one of these talented netminders into another forward (especially one that can play center when needed), this hot streak they’re on may not end anytime soon.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Columbus Blue Jackets

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As the holiday season approaches, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for as the season passes the one-quarter mark. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Columbus Blue Jackets.

What are the Blue Jackets thankful for?

Their future down the middle.

After moving Pierre-Luc Dubois to Winnipeg last season, Columbus’ center depth was extremely limited.  However, that changed over the offseason.  Kent Johnson was picked fifth overall in the draft and has been nothing short of stellar at Michigan.  Cole Sillinger went seven picks later and has acquitted himself well while playing a regular role for the Blue Jackets this season.  All of a sudden, the center position went from a significant question mark to a long-term asset almost overnight.  Add Boone Jenner getting locked in on a four-year extension and there’s their top three for the foreseeable future.  That’s a foundation to build on as they continue to rebuild.

Who are the Blue Jackets thankful for?

Zach Werenski.

The list of high-end players that have left the organization either through free agency or trade (due to dissension or declining an extension) over the last few years is quite significant.  Werenski could have been the next one to do so.  The top of the market for defensemen increased sharply over the summer and Werenski appeared to be the next one poised to potentially leave.  He could have simply filed for arbitration in July, taken a one-year award, and gone to the open market in 2023.  But he didn’t.  Instead, the 24-year-old opted to lock in a six-year extension, ensuring he’ll be with Columbus throughout the prime of his career.  He was certainly well compensated for it; he’ll have the third-highest AAV of any NHL defender next season.  But other players turned down lucrative money to stay before.  Werenski is the recent exception and they’re quite thankful for that.

What would the Blue Jackets be even more thankful for?

Max Domi to stay healthy and productive.

It has been a rocky year for the 26-year-old.  He was left unprotected in expansion and Seattle passed on taking him.  He had shoulder surgery which cost him most of training camp.  Then he fractured some ribs and along the way, caught COVID.  That’s not a fun way to start a contract year.  But in between all of that, he has had a decent season with nine points in a dozen games.  If he can stay healthy and keep producing, Domi would become a prominent trade chip heading into the deadline as an intriguing piece that can play down the middle or on the wing.  Another decent prospect or pick wouldn’t hurt as they look to stockpile assets.

What should be on the Blue Jackets’ Holiday Wish List?

Assuming they fall out of the playoff mix (they’re hanging around a Wild Card spot at the moment), picks and prospects will be at the top of GM Jarmo Kekalainen’s wish list.  They don’t have many notable pieces to sell beyond Domi and backup goalie Joonas Korpisalo (and his start to the season isn’t going to have general managers calling to try to get him).  But Columbus has plenty of cap space at their disposal and that could be a way to try to add some of those future assets.  Are they willing to be a third-party facilitator or take a bad contract back to add those assets?  On the other hand, if they happen to still be in the mix by mid-March, they can leverage that cap space to add a piece or two without giving up a significant return.  The Blue Jackets shouldn’t be overly busy on the trade front over the coming months but there will be a chance to add to their stockpile.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Colorado Avalanche

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As the holiday season approaches, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for as the season heads towards the one-quarter mark. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Colorado Avalanche.

What are the Avalanche thankful for? 

That Matt Duchene trade.

The impact of a single trade is rarely as extreme as that 2017 deal. The Avalanche, coming off one of the most dreadful seasons in NHL history, ended up sending Duchene to the Ottawa Senators in a three-team deal that netted them Samuel Girard, Vladislav Kamenev, Shane Bowers, Andrew Hammond, and three draft picks. The best of those, Ottawa’s first-round pick in 2019, became Bowen Byram, meaning with Girard, Duchene had landed the team–at a minimum–two top-four defensemen.

But it doesn’t end there. In the 2018 draft, when the Avalanche had Nashville’s second-round pick, they decided to trade down when No. 58 was on the board. The team traded that pick to the Pittsburgh Penguins, who used it on Filip Hallander, for a third and a fifth. The third became Justus Annunen, who has quickly developed into the team’s “Goaltender of the Future.” Annunen is making his NHL debut tonight, coming on in relief of Jonas Johansson, and could find himself battling for regular appearances in the coming years.

Who are the Avalanche thankful for?

Cale Makar.

Quite simply, Makar is one of the best defensemen in the league at age-23. The fourth-overall pick from 2017 is scoring at a better than point-per-game rate once again and is in the race for the Norris Trophy in year three. He finished ninth in that race as a rookie, was the runner-up as a sophomore; it appears as though it’s just a matter of time before he takes home the award.

Notably, it’s Makar’s ability to play so much and so well that allows the rest of the defensive group to slot into more appropriate roles. Veteran Erik Johnson might be miscast as a top-four option if he were on another team given his history in the league and pricey contract, but some nights he’s able to play just 15 minutes because Makar is soaking up so much ice time. As the Avalanche move forward, that will make it possible for the team to fit everyone in under the cap–Makar’s $9MM hit through 2026-27 was a bargain from day one.

What would the Avalanche be even more thankful for?

A healthy Darcy Kuemper.

This piece is dropping at perhaps an inopportune time, as Avalanche fans may not be thankful for much after tonight’s game against the Ottawa Senators. After Kuemper was injured a few days ago, Johansson has shown that he simply can’t carry the load as an NHL starter. He won’t have to for long, as Pavel Francouz is on the verge of finally returning, but Kuemper’s injury has highlighted an issue for the Avalanche.

After being unable to retain Philipp Grubauer in the offseason, the team was forced to make a move for Kuemper–and his long injury history. The 31-year-old netminder has only started 30 games or more once in his entire career, and is on the shelf once again. He hasn’t even been very effective this season when he’s been in the net, but his availability is the most important thing to consider.

What should be on the Avalanche’s Holiday Wish List?

A goaltender.

That’s why another NHL-level netminder is an absolute must for the Avalanche before the trade deadline. Even if Francouz comes back healthy, the team can’t go into the playoffs with this kind of uncertainty again. In the 2020 bubble, with a team that looked poised to compete for a Stanley Cup, Michael Hutchinson was forced into the net after two injuries. The team has to have a better option this time around.

That’s certainly going to be a difficult task, given the team already has barely enough cap space to even activate Francouz when he’s ready to come off long-term injured reserve. After handing out big deals to Makar and captain Gabriel Landeskog, things are tight in Joe Sakic’s front office. The team has always been creative, but will have to find a way to add an NHL goaltender without selling off too much of the current group.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Chicago Blackhawks

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As the holiday season approaches, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for as the season heads towards the one-quarter mark. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Chicago Blackhawks.

What are the Blackhawks most thankful for?

A fresh start.

The departures of former GM Stan Bowman and former head coach Jeremy Colliton have breathed some new life into an organization that, frankly, hasn’t had a lot of it lately.  Interim bench boss Derek King has Chicago playing better with seven wins in their last ten games and while a playoff spot isn’t likely, the team is now at least starting to show some upside which bodes well for down the road and in terms of improving trade value for those who may be gone before the trade deadline.  Meanwhile, interim GM Kyle Davidson has already shown he’s willing to make a big change when he let Colliton go and he’ll have the rest of the season to try to chart a new course for the franchise.  Either he gets the interim tag lifted or someone else comes in but either way, it’s a fresh start.

Who are the Blackhawks most thankful for?

Patrick Kane.

There haven’t been many players to consistently produce a point per game average over an extended period of time but Kane has been one of them.  Over the last nine seasons before this one, he hit that mark eight times and the one he didn’t, he came close.  In 2021-22, on a team that is near the bottom of the league in scoring, he’s above that mark again.  It’s hard to get a strong return on what was the richest deal for a winger in NHL history for a little while but Kane has provided that for Chicago in recent years even after their playoff dominance came to an end.  He’s only seven months away from being eligible to sign a contract extension and whether it’s Davidson or someone else running the ship, a new deal for Kane will be at the top of the priority list.

What would the Blackhawks be even more thankful for?

Getting any sort of production from their centers.

After missing all of last season due to Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome, Jonathan Toews has yet to score in 22 contests this season while recording just nine assists.  A good chunk of that can be attributed to the energy-sapping illness but as someone that plays as critical a role as he does, they do need him to light the lamp.  Kirby Dach hasn’t been able to step up in his third NHL campaign although his three goals lead all Chicago middlemen.  Tyler Johnson has been hurt and will be out for a while yet, Dylan Strome can’t crack the lineup, Ryan Carpenter, Henrik Borgstrom, and Reese Johnson have been quiet, and Jujhar Khaira is what he is, a low-scoring checker.  Combined, those eight players have totalled a grand total of eight goals on the season.  It’s hard to win when the centers are producing that little.

What should be on the Blackhawks’ Holiday Wish List?

It all depends on what direction the team goes.  If they’re going to sell, picks and prospects for expiring deals such as Marc-Andre Fleury, Kevin Lankinen, and Calvin de Haan will be what Davidson wants to add.  If this hot streak continues for a little while longer and they can get themselves back into the mix, however, then the wish list would consist of adding a center that can drive the attack as well as some blueliners that can produce; only Seth Jones has scored more than once among their rearguards.

What will be on Davidson’s mind either way is trying to create or preserve cap flexibility.  Alex DeBrincat is owed a $9MM qualifying offer this summer and will be a year away from UFA eligibility.  That will be a big ticket to add to a team that’s already near $60MM in commitments to only 11 players for next season, per CapFriendly.  Whether they’re buying or selling, some extra financial flexibility will also be near the top of their wish list in the coming months.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Carolina Hurricanes

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As the holiday season approaches, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for as the season heads towards the one-quarter mark. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Carolina Hurricanes.

What are the Hurricanes most thankful for?

Healthy (and effective) goaltending.

Over the last several seasons, the Hurricanes have been one of the best defensive teams in the league, limiting other teams to some of the lowest shot totals in the NHL. In 2018-19 they ranked third in shots against, in 2019-20 they were second, and in 2020-21 they were eighth. With that kind of effort it would follow that any number of starting goaltenders in the league would be able to find success in Carolina, the only problem has been the health of the ones they actually chose.

Petr Mrazek and James Reimer were good, but not very reliable options for the team, with the former playing just 12 games for them last season despite being the expected starter. This year it’s been a different story, at least for Frederik Andersen, who has backstopped the team 15 times in 20 games and looks as sharp as ever. Andersen has a .932 save percentage in those appearances, a number that would be far and away his career high should he maintain it all year. While they did need Alex Lyon to come up for a few days while backup Antti Raanta dealt with a minor injury, the starters role has been locked in so far. That certainly wasn’t a guarantee before the year started, so you can imagine how thankful head coach Rod Brind’Amour is through the first two months.

Who are the Hurricanes most thankful for?

Jaccob Slavin.

The biggest reason for that outstanding defensive play is Slavin, who is an all-situations superstar for the Hurricanes–even if he doesn’t get quite as much press as some of his flashier counterparts around the league. There are 58 defensemen who have played more at even-strength so far this season, but just six of them own a better goals-for percentage during those minutes. Among those who have played at least 350 minutes, he ranks 11th in the entire league with 22 goals scored and just 14 against. His possession stats during that even-strength ice time put him in the top-five in the league, but that’s not at all where his contribution ends for the Hurricanes.

There is no player, forward or defenseman, who has logged more short-handed ice time this season than Slavin, who averages nearly four minutes a game on the penalty kill. The Hurricanes have taken more penalties than anyone else in the league this year, allowing 79 powerplays against in 20 games. Despite all that time though, he’s been on the ice for just three powerplay goals against, an incredible statistic that is the biggest reason why the Hurricanes penalty kill is ranked third in the league–and why their penchant for penalties hasn’t killed their record.

What would the Hurricanes be even more thankful for?

A return on their offer sheet investment.

No one expected Jesperi Kotkaniemi to be worth $6.1MM this season, but when the Hurricanes signed him to an offer sheet worth that much, essentially buying him off the Montreal Canadiens, there was still hope he could become at least a regular contributor. Instead, Kotkaneimi has moved further and further down the lineup, seeing less than ten minutes of action in four of his last eight games. Through the first month of the season he had just three points, certainly not acceptable for a player making that much on a contending team.

The bounces have turned for him the last few nights, with two goals and three points in his last two games, but that will have to become a trend for this move to seem like a successful one. Remember, not only are the Hurricanes paying Kotkaniemi much more than he’s worth this year, but they also gave up first and third-round picks to get him.

What should be on the Hurricanes’ Holiday Wish List?

A top-six winger.

There’s really not that much the Hurricanes need. They’re deep up front with four lines that can all compete, have one of the best defensive groups in the NHL (at least when three of them aren’t on the COVID list) and have two goaltenders that have both shown the ability to play as above-average starters. The only real question mark is 19-year-old Seth Jarvis, who is expected to once again be in the top-six tonight next to Andrei Svechnikov and Vincent Trocheck.

It’s not that Jarvis lacks the talent to play there; the 2020 first-round pick is going to be in the Hurricanes lineup for years to come. But after some flashes of inconsistency, it may be prudent to go get another winger for that spot before the playoffs. The NHL season is a long grind, and though the bottom-six for the Hurricanes is a strong group, they’re not loaded with goal-scoring talent. If Jarvis has any signs of slowing down, adding another top-six option on an expiring contract might be the best way to go.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Calgary Flames

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As the holiday season approaches, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for as the season heads towards the one-quarter mark. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Calgary Flames.

What are the Flames most thankful for?

A healthy start.

Injuries are a part of sports, and they’re going to happen for every team in the NHL at some point. But so far, the Flames have escaped relatively unscathed. Fifteen different players have suited up in at least 19 of the team’s 20 games, including basically every important member of the group.

In fact, since they started the year, Calgary has completed just two recalls from the minor leagues. Jacob Markstrom and Daniel Vladar have been the two dressed goaltenders in all 20 matches, meaning not only have they had a consistent effort, but also a consistent group in the locker room.

Who are the Flames most thankful for?

Darryl Sutter.

It’s hard to believe that a coach can make such a huge difference, but the Stanley Cup-winning bench boss appears to have secured a complete buy-in from his squad and a commitment to playing his low-event checking style. The Flames have allowed just 38 goals through 20 games and have the best goal differential in the league.

Not everything is because of Sutter, as there have been some very strong performances–perhaps even unexpected–from the defensive unit, but the veteran coach has the entire group moving in the right direction.

What would the Flames be even more thankful for?

Sean Monahan’s re-emergence.

The one concern some have when discussing the Flames, a team that has dominated the league so far, is the disappearance of Monahan’s offense. Through the first seven seasons of Monahan’s career, he had 194 goals, good for more than 29 per 82 games. Since the start of the 2020-21 season, he has 12 (just seven since Sutter took over).

His minutes have dropped to the lowest of his career and he has generated just 25 shots on goal through 20 games this season. For a player carrying a cap hit of $6.375MM, that’s simply not acceptable even if the overall Flames group is still churning through opponents. The idea of Monahan returning to some semblance of the 30-goal scorer he once was, without disrupting the defensive structure the Flames currently have would make them all the more imposing.

What should be on the Flames’ Holiday Wish List?

A Matthew Tkachuk extension.

Johnny Gaudreau has been outstanding this season, leading the team in scoring with 23 points in 20 games. He’s also an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year, so his future should be front and center when discussing any contract negotiations in Calgary. But it’s Tkachuk, who has been a lynchpin of Sutter’s structure and once again seems like the obvious choice as the team’s future captain that will really decide how much they could spend on Gaudreau.

Already the team’s highest-paid player, Tkachuk is about to hit restricted free agency for the last time, a year away from the open market. He won’t even turn 24 until next month, but is already in the midst of his sixth season in the league, meaning any extension would buy out almost exclusively UFA seasons. It will be a massive contract if Tkachuk does agree to something long-term with the Flames, a number that would limit them elsewhere or cause other cost-cutting measures (perhaps like a bottom-six center that makes more than $6MM next season).

There’s nothing that would be more important for the Flames this winter, so they can also go into the trade deadline with some sort of cap certainty moving forward.

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What Your Team Is Thankful For: Buffalo Sabres

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As the holiday season approaches, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for as the season heads towards the one-quarter mark. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Buffalo Sabres.

What are the Sabres most thankful for?

A conclusion to the Jack Eichel saga.

For months, there was constant discussion about how Buffalo management was mistreating their frustrated, injured former captain, with a new story coming out nearly every day. Since completing the trade that sent Eichel to the Vegas Golden Knights, all of that chatter has been silenced and Kevyn Adams is no longer the target of the fans’ ire (at least not for that).

That doesn’t mean the Sabres are better without Eichel, and it certainly doesn’t mean Adams has figured out how to make his team competitive, but at least the magnifying glass has been moved somewhere else for a little while.

Who are the Sabres most thankful for?

Don Granato.

The Sabres are 7-10-2 on the season. They’re 2-7-1 in their last ten. They’ve lost four in a row. But still, it feels as though they finally have a coaching staff that the fans can believe in, at least in the short term. Granato has made the team competitive, even if they will ultimately finish near the bottom of the league again in another rebuilding season.

The powerplay is in the top half of the league, Rasmus Dahlin (even with his warts) appears rejuvenated, and young players like Tage Thompson and Rasmus Asplund are finding their way. There are such huge gaps in the roster construction that Granato was never going to be able to make this team a contender, but it at least resembles an NHL team for the first time in a while.

What would the Sabres be even more thankful for?

An NHL goaltender.

There is defensive help on the way. There are offensive players honing their game in the minor leagues. But the Sabres aren’t going to go anywhere without a legitimate NHL starter, and right now it’s not clear if there is one in the organization.

Forty-year-old Craig Anderson has been good when healthy, and Dustin Tokarski has been a nice story after his journeyman career. But the net was supposed to be handed over to Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen before long and the young netminder hasn’t progressed as hoped. In 11 AHL games he has an .883 save percentage and certainly doesn’t seem ready to take the Buffalo crease. That doesn’t mean he won’t develop into an NHL starter at some point down the road, but bad goaltending can be the bane of consistent effort. It’s difficult to play hard every night just to watch goals go in behind you, and a strong netminder can help make young defensemen feel more confident.

What should be on the Sabres’ Holiday Wish List?

Some more mid-round draft picks.

The Sabres have always had trouble surrounding their top players with effective depth, and even though this year they have secured three picks in the first round, they don’t have any extra selections in the other six. If they’re going to do this rebuild quickly and effectively, they need to hit on a few second, third and fourth-round picks as well.

Selling off a few expiring contracts at the deadline should be the plan, especially on defense, where they’ll have to clear room for Owen Power anyway when Michigan’s season comes to an end (assuming they’re able to sign him this year).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Boston Bruins

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As the holiday season approaches, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for as the season heads towards the one-quarter mark. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Boston Bruins.

What are the Bruins most thankful for?

A light early schedule.

Normally, if you said that November was coming to an end and the Bruins were seven points out of a divisional playoff spot, alarm bells would be ringing all across Boston. But with just 15 games played so far–tied for the lowest total in the league–there’s plenty of time to make up that ground. In fact, the Bruins have played five fewer games than the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings, two teams ahead of them in the Atlantic standings. Sure, things aren’t going perfect for Boston through the early part of the year with a 9-6 record, but it’s not panic time just yet.

Who are the Bruins most thankful for?

The “Perfection” line.

Despite two of its members being in their mid-thirties, the Bruins’ top line is just as devastating as ever. Brad Marchand is off to an incredible start with 20 points in his first 15 games (a points/game pace that has him fifth in the league), David Pastrnak has 15 points despite shooting at a career-low 7.6%, and Patrice Bergeron continues to be arguably the most effective two-way center in the league. The 36-year-old Bergeron has 13 points in 15 games, has been on the ice for just six goals against at even-strength (compared to 11 for), and has won 62.7% of his faceoffs to this point, easily the highest mark in the league from any full-time center.

Like they have for years now, the top line of the Bruins is carrying the offensive load while they try to figure out the rest of the lineup. While players like Craig Smith and Erik Haula struggle to find the back of the net, Pastrnak, Bergeron, and Marchand are keeping the team in the top half of the league for goals for per game. It’s not going to last forever, but it still is for now.

What would the Bruins be even more thankful for?

Tuukka Rask’s return.

One of the biggest differences in Boston this year is the goaltending tandem, a brand new duo of Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark. Neither one has been exceptional, or even above-average so far, with a flat .908 save percentage for each of them. That’s not the end of the world, but it’s also not what the Bruins have been used to for the last decade-plus. In each of the 12 seasons that Rask played at least 23 games for the team, he posted a save percentage of at least .913. Overall in his career, that number was .921, one of the best in the history of the NHL.

It doesn’t mean Swayman and Ullmark can’t play to a level better than they have so far, but there’s certainly no guarantee that they will. The issue is, there’s also no guarantee that Rask can play up to the level he has in the past, even if he comes back to the team in 2022 at full strength. The veteran netminder has been clear about his desire to play for Boston once he recovers from hip surgery, even skating at their facility lately. If the Bruins have their eyes set on another postseason run, it still seems likely that it will include Rask, at least in some fashion.

What should be on the Bruins’ Holiday Wish List?

A second-line center.

If the change in net was the most noticeable, perhaps the most important was the one at the second-line pivot position. David Krejci’s departure and subsequent return to the Czech Republic left a massive hole in the Bruins lineup, one that to this point has been filled mostly with Charlie Coyle. It’s not that Coyle has played poorly in that role, in fact quite the opposite, he leads all non-first-line Bruins’ forwards in goals and points through the first 15 games. But the team has said many times in the past that they think he is most effective on the wing, and having him there or even on the third line instead would only help to lengthen out what has become a top-heavy group.

By acquiring a legitimate top-six center at some point, it would slot everyone else in the Bruins’ lineup down a peg and make them seem like a much more well-rounded group. It’s not always easy to find that kind of player, but the team does actually have some extra cap space this time around to make an addition at the deadline. In fact, if they don’t make any drastic changes over the next few months, they could have more than $10MM in space to make a big splash. Whether they’ll have the assets to do that is another question, as is whether they’ll be in the right spot standings-wise for it to make sense.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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