Red Wings 2016 free agency results

“But He knows the way I take; When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

Red Wings General Manager,
 Ken Holland

You know when you start a post with a quote from the book of Job, things probably did not go well for your team in free agency.

Look, I know it's probably silly for Red Wings fans to ever complain. 4 Stanley Cups in the modern era, 25 years of playoffs, half the teams in the league being coached or run by former Red Wings employees. I get it, they've had more than their share of success.

But sometimes you need to call out stupid. I think we all knew it before, but if there was any doubt, July 1, 2016 cemented it, Ken Holland has got to go. The man is a dinosaur who the game has passed by. He looks at a league that is getting faster, younger, creative and nimble and he continues to pour money into overpaid veterans with their best years long past. He watches as teams like Tampa Bay, Chicago and Pittsburgh dominate with speed and skill and he responds by saying he needs his team to be big and slow.

Let's do a quick recap of the state of the Red Wings

Steve Ott, known for playing
white supremacist characters
in the off-season

1. Holland handed out a $31.5 million contract to a 32 year-old (Frans Nielsen). The six-year-contract actually does not expire until after Zetterberg's insane contract. 
2. He gave Darren Helm a five-year-contract at almost the same cap hit as Johan Franzen. Helm will be 34 when that contract expires and so far has played more than 75 games in a season only four times in his career. Oh, and in his best season he scored a whopping 15 goals.
3. Almost $2.5 million tied up in Luke Glendening. Drew Miller and Steve Ott, with Miller potentially earning another $350,000 in a performance bonus. That trio will very likely be the worst fourth line in the NHL by a mile. Not one of them is an NHL caliber player. Detroit could easily ice a vastly superior fourth line using players on entry level contracts and use the extra cap space for flexibility in a trade. But ... grit?
4. Speaking of trades. Signing Miller and Ott creates a log-jam at the forward position, with Holland obviously intending to trade some forwards for much needed help on defense. The scary thing is, signing those guys means they're not the forwards he plans to trade.
5. $1.9 million - That's how much cap space the Red Wings are using to cover bonuses from last year and for Stephen Weiss and Jakub Kindl to not play for them this year.
6. These guys - Jimmy Howard (3 more years and $15 million cap hit), Justin Abdelkader (7, 7!, 7 years and $30 million), Henrik Zetterberg (5 years and $30 million), Jonathan Ericsson (4 years and $17 million), and Niklas Kronwall (3 years and $14 million)
7. That pretty much leaves 5-6 guys on contracts that are not terrible, though this group is probably getting smaller once Holland trades for a defenseman.

This does not look like a playoff team to me, let alone one that could advance on a serious playoff run. Unless there are drastic moves made, the "streak" dies at 25. The sad thing is, I would probably be happy to miss the playoffs if it meant Holland was canned. But by that point Holland will no doubt have already traded Detroit's first lottery pick in 25 years.

Top 10 things I'll remember most about Pavel Datsyuk's NHL career

I had to bring my blog out of retirement since my favorite player Pavel Datsyuk formally announced his retirement from the NHL today. I've had many players I've loved over the years but so far only three that at one time I'd have called my favorite. The first player to win favorite status was Wayne Gretzky. Hey, I was 2 and a front runner. The second player was Steve Yzerman. His struggles to bring Detroit their first Stanley Cup in 42 years won my heart. Luckily for me by the time Yzerman retired, a new young start had emerged in Detroit, Datsyuk.

Datsyuk has been my favorite player for my entire adult life. I have examined and dissected his game more than any other. He was captivating and brought me to my feet in disbelief more times than I can remember. I've slowly been coming to grips with the end of his NHL career for the past year and a half. Still, it is with a heavy heart that I share one last tribute to his genius.

So here it is, the top 10 things I'll remember most about Datsyuk's NHL career.

The passing

Datsyuk had almost twice as many assists as he did goals in his career and at times was accused of passing when he should have shot. But one of the things that made Datsyuk such a great playmaker was his understanding of the importance of deception in passing. Similar to a quarterback who looks off defensive coverage before throwing to his real target, Datsyuk was a master at appearing to be doing one thing, while he was really setting up for something completely different.

The wicked wrister

Datsyuk's reputation as a brilliant passer was cemented early on, but his wrist shot was just as good. Every year you'd hear announcers and local press harp on Datsyuk for passing so much when he had a great shot. Much like every other part of Datsyuk's game, he could use his shot to make something out of nothing on a moment's notice. In the clip below Datsyuk has nothing to shoot at, he's off balance and going top speed, but he still threads the needle.

The backhand

Much of what made Datsyuk brilliant was that he refined every skill in a player's arsenal. One of those he turned to often was his backhand shot. This made him dangerous from a whole new set of angles and locations on the ice. The clip below is maybe my favorite demonstration. No dekes, no moves, just an impossible shot made to look easy.

The resilience

Datsyuk was successful in many ways because he was relentless. As an undersized Russian he had all sorts of biases working against him. His resilience is how a player drafted in the end of the sixth round could become a super star.

There were times, especially after his prime and as the NHL slowly let more obstruction go, when a team might seem to shut down Datsyuk. But keeping him off the scoreboard required constant attention and just when you thought you were getting the better of him, he'd make you pay. This was a pattern I saw repeated many times, none quite as stark as the clip below.

The mean streak

Datsyuk may have won four Lady Byng trophies for gentlemanly play, but make no mistake, he was fiercely competitive. And that competitive streak could turn nasty once the playoffs began. I'm not sure how many remember, but in 2008 when the Red Wings won their second Stanley Cup of Datsyuk's career, he led all Detroit forwards in hits, and fell shy of team leader Brad Stuart by just 3. In fact his 56 hits were good enough to rank 9th in the entire league for the playoffs, putting him among players like Brooks Orpik, Brenden Morrow, and Steve Ott.

Datsyuk was incredibly strong on his skates and near impossible to take off the puck. He was also a master of the hit-back, anticipating a check, sometimes even suckering in an opponent as if he were unsuspecting, only to dig in his heels and send the defender flying once contact was made.

The hockey IQ

Like most players who rise above other top players to become truly elite, one thing that set Datsyuk apart was his ability to read the play and make moves a step or two ahead of everyone else. This manifested itself in many ways throughout his game. The way he could intercept passes, or pick a players pocket. His seeing-eye, no-look passes. Sometimes you had to look for it when it wasn't always readily apparent.

Take Datsyuk's 300th career goal from this past season. At first this looks like a broken play with Datsyuk getting a lucky bounce to put home his milestone goal. Only when the replays are slowed down do you see the true brilliance. Datsyuk doesn't just gather the bouncing puck and bring it to his forehand. In the split second after the puck bounces over his teammate's stick Datsyuk recognizes he has the defender in no man's land. Boston's Torey Krug can only dive toward Datsyuk and hope his backhand attempt doesn't go in. Except Datsyuk instantly saw this and decided he had another option. He gives himself and one touch saucer pass from his backhand over the diving Krug before one-timing a perfect shot over the goalie's shoulder. These type of plays do not seem possible. But they were routine for Datsyuk.

His creativity

Probably the thing hockey fans love most about Datsyuk was the fact that he played the game differently than almost anyone before or since. You could almost say he thought the game differently. This attitude made the impossible seem possible when the puck was on his stick. Whether it was using soccer kicks or headers with the puck, vertical passes from behind the net or even flipping the script to stick check defenders to give himself more room on offense, you could count on Datsyuk to try the unexpected. This is probably the reason I'm saddest about his departure from the NHL. Datsyuk turned the rink into a gallery and we were the patrons lucky enough to see his art.

The defense

It's crazy looking back after Datsyuk won best defensive forward for three straight years and was a finalist numerous other times, but when his career started many fans questioned his defensive play. In fact, once Zetterberg joined the team following Datsyuk's rookie year I often saw this pointed out as a minor difference between the two players, Datsyuk had the extra offensive flash, while Zetterberg had the more complete defensive game. That is downright laughable now. In fact, Datsyuk leaves the NHL as arguably still a top 10 defensive forward, despite closing in on his 38th birthday. He was a master of backchecking in so many subtle ways. So frequently he knew the exact lane to take to force his man into the path of a teammate, suddenly turning a 3 on 2 into a 1 on 1 for the puck carrier.

You often hear about snipers who excelled at finding the "quiet" places undetected by the defense so they were ready to strike once the puck reached them for a one-timer. Datsyuk showed this same skill on the defensive side of the game more than any forward I can ever remember. He had a way of lurking, skating deceptively slow, before pouncing when an opposing player looked away for a split second. Sometimes this meant a tipped pass or a rushed dump out so the Red Wings could quickly regain the puck and counter-attack. Often this took the form of his famous pick-pocket takeaways. In the clip below Datsyuk deposits the puck in the net before half of the Predators even realize he's stolen it.

The magic

When Datsyuk put the whole thing together he was mesmerizing. He dubbed himself the Magic Man, and it was a perfect moniker. There is a saying about skilled hockey players that you cannot give them a bad pass. The 2014 clip below is maybe the most absurd example you could imagine. Datsyuk receives a pass two feet behind him in the middle of three defending players. In one motion he swipes the puck forward, between his legs and onto his forehand. In less than one second he's turned a likely turnover into an attack 20 feet down the ice. As if that is not enough, he then turns the standard 2 on 2 situation into a goal. I'll note that Zdeno Chara and Tuuka Rask were each finalists for top defenseman and top goalie during this season, despite looking like out-of-place AHLers on this play. That's what Datsyuk did to the very best of the world routinely.  

The reminder he was human

It's fun to imagine our sports heroes are perfect, that they are good people and that they'd probably even be our best friend. There were times Datsyuk let me down. Both on and off the ice. On the ice, Datsyuk was not immune from cold streaks. While he showed flashes of his future brilliance early on, by the time Datsyuk was 28 and in his fifth season, some fans wondered if he should be traded for a proven playoff performer. Through his first 42 playoff games he'd only scored 15 points. Thankfully Detroit kept him around. This is a lesson I hope Detroit management remembers as they work to recover from Datsyuk's departure.

Easily the most disaffection I felt toward Datsyuk was during the lead up to the Sochi Winter Olympics. At the time athletes were being asked what they thought of Russia's discriminatory policies targeting the LGBTQ community. While Datsyuk did not come out forcefully for the measures, his evasive answer made clear that he supported the Russian government.

I'm certainly disheartened that Datsyuk is leaving Detroit in such a bind by not honoring the final year of his contract. But ultimately he's decided to do what is right for his daughter. I honestly can't imagine living so far from my own daughter and I don't doubt I'd lean heavily toward Datsyuk's position if I were in his shoes. One thing is certain, I will not soon forget the great memories Datsyuk created in Detroit.

Sharing family traditions

The NHL season has rolled around again, but wow, things have changed a lot for me. Really, the last 10 months have been a blur. That's because me and my wife welcomed our daughter Annabelle into our life.

I've picked up more than a few lessons since becoming a father. I've learned sleep deprivation is no joke. Learned how to almost literally change diapers in my sleep. And learned that "free time" for hobbies is not what it used to be. That's one reason my podcast output has dropped off a cliff.

But amazingly (or maybe to some, depressingly) I've still maintained my strong passion for hockey. I just have not quite had the time to put my thoughts into blog/pod form. What I have done is try to start passing on my love for the frozen game to Annabelle.

I have been dropping coin on Red Wings gear left and right (onesies, socks, hats, mini jerseys), mini hockey sticks, and every plush octopus I come across.

Generally, we try to limit my daughter's screen time. But flipping on the overtime playoff games proved too tempting on several late nights when I was up with Annabelle. Maybe watching the vibrant jerseys flash across the white ice is not ideal viewing for an infant. I'm just hoping the added snuggle time with her pops helps to balance things out.

It's hard to describe or explain why it makes me so happy when Annabelle surveys her toy box and opts to grab her hockey stick first. It's a pang of totally irrational pride that I know is irrational but still happily indulge. I think it's because I want to teach Annabelle about her heritage and culture, and the other things that make up my identity.

I want Annabelle to learn about our family traditions. I look forward to showing her how to spread masa on a corn husk, or one day watching her try to find the afikoman at my in-laws' during passover. And I can't wait for the day when she tells me which name she wants on the back of her Red Wings jersey.

I will support Annabelle's interests and passions 100 percent. I'm as excited for all the things she's going to teach me as I am for the things I get to share with her. But boy oh boy do I hope she grows up to love the Red Wings.

2015 NHL playoff preview

Playoff hockey has arrived. But instead of wading through each matchup and painstakingly parsing each series, I’m just going to look at the cup contenders and consider their chances.

What makes a cup contender?

Here is what I consider when choosing contenders:

1. Does the team score goals? Scoring becomes so hard in the playoffs. Teams that have both depth scoring and elite players who put the puck in the net have a real advantage. More so than the teams that count on winning 1-0 or 2-1. You need those timely goals by the bottom six forwards to get the early lead or have the unexpected OT winner. You need those elite players who can break open a defensive slog or be double-shifted when the game gets late and your team has the goalie pulled.
2. Does the team control play? If you’ve ever played golf, you’ve heard the saying about your bomb of a drive counting just as much toward your score as that three-foot-putt you missed at the end. Well, in hockey fluke goals that bounce in off the defenseman's skate or get knocked in by the goalies butt count just as much as the perfectly placed snipe or tic-tac-toe tap-ins. What that means is the team that consistently directs more shots at the net is going to have better odds of winning. It’s science. That’s also what the stats Corsi and Fenwick measure (do I have to keep explaining this or is everyone caught up on the basic “fancy stats”?)
3. Is the team’s success attributed to it’s play or is it just riding a lucky hot streak by its goalie or shooters? Conversely, is an “under performing” team actually about to come out of a funk? Remember how I mentioned those fluke goals in the last point? Those generally even out over a season. If all the bounces have gone your way, things are likely to swing back around sooner than later.
4. Health. This one can’t be predicted, but an injury to a key player can pretty much change the entire dynamic of a series in a single moment.

On to the contenders

The West

Chicago Blackhawks

No surprise here. Chicago has the closest thing to a team that could almost compete in the pre-cap era. The cap-circumventing deals for Marian Hossa, Duncan Keith, three players obtained in trades whose original teams retained 50% salary and the salary they were able to add by putting Pat Kane on long-term injured reserve means the Blackhawks are icing a roster being paid closer to $76 million than the actual cap limit of $69 million (I think, I’m bad at math). With Kane and Toews set to raise the team cap number by $8 million next season, there’s no doubt changes are on the horizon for Chicago. If that fact turns into a motivator, I could easily see the team steamroll through the playoffs as a last hurrah for this group of players.

That said, Kane needs to be healthy. When you look at the Blackhawk’s possession stats for the season, they’ve ranked fourth at 53.7%, mostly through peppering a ton of shot attempts at the opposing goal (second most in the NHL). However, when you look at play since January 1, a big chunk of which Kane missed, the Blackhawks drift down to 11th place in Corsi (52.4%) and are only plus 1 at even strength. And with the team ranking only 14th in goals, they will need every minute they can get from a gamebreaker like Kane.

St. Louis Blues

Similar to the San Jose Sharks, the Blues seem to be a team that is always excelling, always in the conversation as a contender, but never quite pulls it off. Things could finally be aligning for the Blues. Chicago might be dinged up. Los Angeles is already out. Ken Hitchcock has continued the team’s evolution from defense-at-all-costs to one that puts up some serious goals (5th most in the NHL). Young players like Vlad Tarasenko and Jaden Scwartz have certainly helped in that regard, offering a missing element from the older core forwards Backes, Oshie and Steen.

Two points of concern. The Blues are only the 10th ranked possession squad (52.4%), but they’ve been better recently. The other point of worry? Who plays between the pipes. Brian Elliott and Jake Allen have each spent stretches of the season vacillating between lights-out and less than stellar play. Still, the recent success by the Kings and Blackhawks show that in the modern NHL you don’t necessarily need Dominik Hasek in net to bring home the gold.

Dark Horse - Winnipeg Jets

The best possession team since January 1 … is the LA Kings. But just behind the Kings are the team that just edged them for a playoff spot - the Winnipeg Jets (at 54.4% Corsi). The Jets actually were the 6th best possession team over the entire season, making their return to the playoffs for the first time since 2007 no fluke. While the Jets are only middle of the road offensively, what I like about them is their possible road to the cup. The Jets as the low wildcard team move over to the Pacific division for the playoffs and get to by facing the always overrated Ducks, followed by one of the other two weakest teams in the West, the Flames or Canucks.

Now if Ondrej Pavelec reverts to his career form, all bets are off. Still, it’s going to be exciting to see a return of the Winnipeg whiteout for the playoffs. I think it should be mandatory for sports bars to use the audio from the Jets home games during the playoffs.

The East

The New York Hockey Rangers

Saying the New York Rangers are a favorite to repeat as Eastern Conference champs is not exactly going out on a limb. Much like the Blackhawks it’s now or never for New York. I think they’ve traded away every first-round pick through the end of the CBA. So it’s time to get busy living or get busy dying.

They’ve scored the fourth-most goals while giving up the third-fewest. They have star players, young speedsters, maybe the best blueline in hockey and a hall of fame goalie. Plus they gained a whole lot of playoff experience last year. It’s pretty dang hard to poke holes in the Rangers. But I’ll try.

As good as the results have been for the President’s Trophy winning team, the possession numbers do not look as good. They actually ranked 18th in Corsi directing just over 50% of shots at the opposing goal. The other red flag is that the Rangers have the highest PDO in the NHL at 101.7 as a result of having a top 5 shooting percentage and top save percentage. Meaning they’re due for a change of luck. What happens if their scorers suddenly go cold? What if that coincides with a few unlucky goals bouncing in at the wrong time. And will that shift happen before the cup is handed out? Add to that the long odds of making it to the final in back-to-back years and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Blueshirts run out of gas.

The Tampa Bay Lightning

If I were actually placing money on a team to win it all, I’d bet on the Lightning. They’ve scored the most goals, are in the top 10 defensively and are tied for second overall in Corsi for the season. But on top of the numbers, the teams construction is just excellent. All of their key contributors are either just entering or in the heart of their prime production years. Even their key veterans are not yet 31. GM Steve Yzerman had the best signing of the off-season when he inked top pair defenseman Anton Stralman, one of the key drivers behind the Rangers success last playoffs. And on top of it all, they have 19-year-old Jonathan Drouin, two years after being drafted third overall, showing signs of starting to finally click at the NHL level.

The one weakness has been the play of goalie Ben Bishop who ranks dead last in even-strength save percentage among playoff starters. But Bishop is just one year removed from being a Vezina finalist. If he can get back to even half of where he was last year the Bolts could be unstoppable.

Dark Horse - The Field

I really think the East comes down to either the Rangers or Lightning. They're just better than the rest of the conference. There are too many question marks about every other team.

• Montreal has the best goalie, but can he keep the run going? If not, they're going home early. Especially with Max Pacioretty's injury depleting an already weak offense. 
• Detroit has been the third best possession team all season, but primarily by limiting the number of shots, not producing shots/goals. And the continued decline of Jimmy Howard puts a cloud of uncertainty over the team. Maybe they won't waste time with Howard and play virtual rookie Pete Mrazek, but how far can he carry them?
• The New York Islanders have been a strong scoring/possession team, but like the Red Wings have failed to get consistency in net.
• The Penguins are too banged up and still have a headcase for a goalie.
• The team I'm most tempted by is the Washington Capitals. If Holtby gets hot and Ovechkin continues his improbable goal-scoring rate, the caps could be a very tough out this year. 

So I guess if I had to make a prediction, I would go with some new blood. Bolts over Blues in the final.

5 things to watch in the 2014-2015 NHL season

NHL hockey has returned and I thought I’d post a few stories I’m eager to watch unfold this season. But first, I highly recommend checking out the season review done by The Score. In particular Justin Bourne’s posts are fantastic, identifying a unique trait for each one of the 30 teams.

On to my list.

Will the President’s Trophy winner earn 125 points?

The consensus after the free agent season was that the dominant Western Conference only got more dominant. The powerhouse clubs were mostly able to remain intact, while fringe teams like Minnesota, Dallas, Edmonton and Nashville all made significant additions. The flip side of this coin is that the path has likely been cleared for an Eastern Conference team to again feast on weaker competition and win the President’s Trophy.

Nothing new here, but I have a theory that the team with the best record has the chance to crack 125 points for the first time since the ‘95-’96 season. And that is because Connor McDavid is finally going to be eligible for the NHL entry draft. If you’re not familiar with McDavid, he is the latest in the long history of Canadian teen phenoms. He was so dominant as a youth, Canada granted an age exception so that McDavid could start his junior hockey career at the age of 15 instead of 16. He’s done nothing but dominate since. To put him in historical perspective, he’s doing things that only players with names like Crosby and Tavares have done.

But as good as McDavid is, there is now more incentive than usual for bad NHL teams to be very bad this year. The competition for the No.1 draft pick may be even more heated than the race for the playoffs. And that could mean that the good teams rack up points at a level we haven’t seen in some time.

Will the President’s Trophy winner be in black or blue?

Most of the teams you could expect to vie for the best record in the NHL actually have black in their color schemes (Boston, Pittsburgh, Chicago, LA, San Jose). With Tampa Bay and St. Louis representing the blue contenders (and yes, I’m leaving out the Rangers). But as I mentioned, I just don’t think a Western Conference team will be able to earn as many easy points due to playing so many more games against other teams in the west. So let’s look at the East.

Pittsburgh has a shot if their stars remain healthy and they aren’t hit with the massive number of depth injuries they had last year. But the bottom-feeders in the Metro have gotten better. The Islanders have filled holes in net and on defense, their biggest weaknesses. New Jersey finally shed the albatross of Martin Brodeur. And even the eliminated-before-game-one Hurricanes sound more likely to limit the damage of their own overpaid, aged goaltender Cam Ward.

The Bruins have an excellent shot to make it back-to-back seasons with the President’s Trophy. Though they are gradually starting to feel the cap crunch, with Johnny Boychuck joining Tyler Seguin and Jarome Iginla as players too expensive to keep. And the Bruins will have to contend with a Tampa Bay Lightning squad that is significantly improved from the team that already earned 101 points last season.

Will Detroit continue repeating recent mistakes?

Ken Holland is loyal, no doubt about that. But his loyalty has often caused him to pay a little extra and for a few extra years when signing his own players. All that little extra has begun to add up over the past few seasons. Holland has claimed all of these aging/ineffective veterans under contract are strategic and intended to build depth. Unfortunately the reality has been the exact opposite - stunted growth for prospects and thinner depth on the NHL club.

By artificially holding players down in the minors, sometimes 1-3 years into their prime, Holland has essentially wasted cheap contract years for talented players while overpaying to get the same (or lesser) results from veterans he then can’t trade when he needs to make space. The Red Wings have easily had $5 million to $10 million in wasted salary the past several seasons. Meanwhile, teams like Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles have deftly integrated cheap youngsters into their rosters and used the savings to sign and trade for elite, impact players.

The truth of Holland’s folly was finally laid bare last season, when a mountain of injuries forced the Red Wings to play their NHL-ready prospects. And shockingly (or not) the team did just fine. And this season appears like it will play out similarly, only on the blue-line. The pre-season made it clear that multiple prospects (Xaiver Ouellet and Nick Jensen) were superior to Detroit’s third pair Jakub Kindl and Brian Lashoff. Unfortunately, the market is pretty dry for unloading AHL-quality defenseman signed to NHL contracts, so Ouellet and Jensen will likely start the season in the minors, waiting for an injury to let them take the place on the roster they’ve already earned. How many games is Holland willing to burn using his less than best lineup? And will this strategy ultimately cost him his coach?

Will the Western Conference send 10 teams to the playoffs again?

When NHL re-alignment debuted, there was a fair amount of complaining about the unequal conferences. Don’t the teams in the West have an easier go of it since they only have 14 teams fighting for 8 playoffs spots versus the East’s 16 teams vying for 8? From a pure numbers perspective, yes. But that ignored the fact that most of the 14 teams in the West play at a level that’s on another planet than the teams in the East. Last year, the two teams moving West (Detroit and Columbus) both made the playoffs in the East. Will they be able to repeat? I’ve already touched on Detroit, but what about Columbus?

It took a long time drafting at the top and a rebuild of a team that was torn down before it even accomplished anything, but the CBJs finally look to be consistently competitive. Right now they’ve been hit by the injury bug, with Brandon Dubinsky, Boone Jenner and Ryan Murray all sidelined.

You’ll note that I left off Nathan Horton, whose return is uncertain right now. But having only gotten 36 games and 19 points out of the rugged winger since he signed in Columbus, the Blue Jackets have shown they can compete without him. And they may have to get very comfortable with his absence, you never want to hear words like “degenerative,” “back” and “condition” in the same sentence when a player’s injury status comes up. Long-term, this could hurt, since the oft-injured Horton is only in year two of his seven-year contract.

If all goes well for the squad, new addition Scott Hartnell will help cover up some of the thinned forward depth, Ryan Murray will take a step forward allowing Jack Johnson to play a reduced role and Sergei Bobrovsky will have another good-to-excellent season.

My hunch is Columbus will make it in again. While non-playoff teams like the Devils and Islanders should be better and make the race tighter, I think the Flyers are going to miss out. After all, the Flyers have yet to learn the lesson of goalie Steve Mason, one the Blue Jackets learned a long time ago. That lesson: Steve Mason is not an NHL goalie.

What happened to Vancouver?

I was very tempted to make my last question about Jaromir Jagr. The aged Czech had a monster year last season. Jagr showed he actually was the player that Teemu Seleanne imagined himself to be. The good year put Jagr within striking distance of moving into the top four all time for goals and points scored. But this is supposed to be about Vancouver.

Only two years ago the Canucks were coming off of back-to-back President’s Trophies. How is it possible they dropped so far, so quickly? Has father time finally caught up to Vancouver? Or was it just a case of John Tortorella being a terrible coach? Probably that one. Well, that and bad luck.

The Canucks actually had the 8th best possession numbers in the league and were 5th in the gauntlet of the Western Conference. Meanwhile, mediocre possession teams like the Ducks and Avalanche made the playoffs by finishing two and three in PDO (shooting% plus save%), meaning they were getting every lucky bounce offensively and defensively. Could one or both of these teams falter to make room for a playoff return for the Canucks?

The Ducks added Ryan Kesler and added by subtraction when Teemu Seleanne retired, but they also have the untested duo of Frederik Andersen and John Gibson in net. Meanwhile, the Avalanche let legit contributors Paul Stastny and PA Parenteau go so they could bring in washed-up Brad Stuart, Daniel Briere and cement-feet Jarome Iginla. I look forward to watching Nate MacKinnon and Ryan O’Reilly blazing up and down the ice as the aforementioned trio huffs and puffs, failing to keep up.

As to the Canucks? Despite losing Kesler to the Ducks and driving out Roberto Luongo and Cory Schnieder over the past few years, I do like the additions of Radim Vrbata, Derek Dorsett and even the maligned Ryan Miller. WIth a change of luck swinging their way this season, I would not be shocked to see the Canucks again break 100 points and return to the playoffs.

Alright, lets drop the puck already.

Drop Pass Season 2 starts now!

Check out the first episode of Drop Pass: Season 2. Neil Critchley joins me to chat about the upcoming NHL season. For season two I've updated the RSS feed, so if you've previously subscribed, you'll have to re-add the feed. Subscribe here.






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Drop Pass episode 10: Stanley Cup Final preview

Amy Fiscus joins me to preview the Stanley Cup Final and talk about the offseason move every hockey fan should be rooting for.



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