The Athletic Hockey Show - Seattle Kraken clinch first playoff berth in team history, Cale Makar out indefinitely, can the New Jersey Devils win a playoff round this year?

Episode Date: April 7, 2023

After an eventful Thursday night of NHL games, Hailey and Sean take a lap around the league to discuss the Seattle Kraken clinching a playoff berth for the first time in team history, Cale Makar being out indefinitely for the Avalanche, the volatile ups and downs of the Minnesota Wild in the Western Conference. Then in the East, the Panthers holding on to a wildcard spot, an argument for Matthew Tkachuk as a Hart finalist, if these Devils can win a playoff round, and more.Subscribe to The Athletic Hockey Show on YouTube: http://youtube.com/@theathletichockeyshowGet a 1-year subscription to The Athletic for just $1 a month when you visit http://theathletic.com/hockeyshowLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at http://LinkedIn.com/nhlshow Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the Athletic Hockey Show. What's up, everybody? It is a Friday edition of the Athletic Hockey Show, Haley, Salvi, and Chun Jolie here with you. We got together, this is your little peek behind the curtain, we got together to record the show on Thursday night, as we typically do. And then we started discussing things and said,

wait a second. There's way too many games on the schedule that actually matter. We don't know the results of them yet. Let's just do this in the morning when we actually know what we can talk about instead of saying, well, if the penguins lose, then this was what it means. And it's a good thing we didn't do that because penguins win, Islanders win, Panthers win, Panthers win, crack and clinch the playoffs. Ryan O'Reilly returns the Leafs line up. There's injuries galore. We've got frozen four results. Big day on Thursday and no games on Friday. So this is a perfect little

Friday edition. Yeah. Zero games today 16 tomorrow on Saturday. Totally normal. Hello. Hello, by the way. Yes. This was my whole workup and just saying like, hello, Sean, welcome. Hi. How are you?

When we record on Friday morning, does that make it Thursday? No, it's just Friday. No, just Friday. Okay. It's just Friday. Jesus. Oh, I'm just asking, you invented one bullshit word. That is how you react every time I talk about Friday.

It's just like, I'm not saying that. Just check. It's just the Friday show. This is one of the only times, like I swore to myself that I would stop complaining about the schedule. And I would stop complaining about the uneven, you know, front loaded game, whatever. The 14 games on Thursday, zero on Friday, 16 on Saturday kind of thing.

Because generally that is something that only media people care about. Like it's the people who care the most about that are media folks who are just like annoyed that they have to pay attention to everything at one time. So I swore like a year or two ago that I was going to stop complaining about it. That being said,

the last, This isn't This is the last weekend of the regular season The last full weekend of the regular season This is bullshit This sucks This sucks This sucks

There should be Yeah I think there should have been a few less games last night In a few In a few less tomorrow And have A couple decent Friday night games Because there's too much stuff

happening. And this is a time when we're out of the NCAA tournament. Yes, there's baseball games going on, but it's like kind of a pre-NFL draft lull. This could be like, this could and should be a big weekend for like deciding playoff races and really getting stuff figured out. There should be stuff spread out between last night, tonight, Saturday, and Sunday. And there's not. So this is the only time, like I am allowing myself to complain about the same. schedule here after after swearing basically that I would get off that get off that train right and I will say like I do agree with you I don't think it's an ideal schedule set um and I I'd have to look back like

does the NHL always decide that they're not going to play on good Friday because that what's happening now I doubt it they just never play on Friday there's like how it's there are almost never hockey games on Friday nights I think that's I think that's part of it I can't imagine that like, I mean, there's baseball games and stuff today. I know that, I know that, you know, and the Frozen Four was yesterday and tomorrow. So they couldn't even really get it together with people who want to watch college hockey. I mean, for me last night, luckily, the Panther Sends game got out of hand pretty quickly. And the only thing I missed was like a couple of fights when the game was already toast.

So it was easier for me to just pick, like, okay, I'm going to watch Penguins Wild. but there were a lot of options last night. I was like, okay, pick your poison. I focus on Penguin, I focus on Penguins Wild and then kind of tracked the other two Eastern Conference games, which involving, you know, I didn't watch Leaks Bruins. I mean, I don't know.

I know. Those are two good teams, but it's like what's left to decide there. It just ended up being a good game, two on an OT. Yeah, right. That's, I honestly, I should have just watched that because like the wild card games were relevant, while they were relevant, they were also kind of stinky

because the penguins, penguins kind of ran it hide with it, ran it hid with it on the wild, in the Islanders one, in the Panthers ones. So there was no meaningful change for either of those teams, even though the, but it was a better night

for the penguins than anybody because they needed to win, they needed two points because, you know, they were very, they were facing the very real chance that they were going to be three points behind both teams. with three games remaining, even though the penguins have the softest schedule of any of the three,

that's not a spot that you want to be in. So they came out and answered the bell, but those other two games, like I said, they kind of, they were kind of whack too, but I was still paying attention to them. In the meantime, which is what you alluded to at the top, like all this other stuff was happening in these other games where you have, you know, we figured out that Cal McCar was hurt and Tanner Genoa got hurt and, you know, the crack and clinch. and all this newsworthy stuff was happening outside of the Eastern Conference, you know, the three wild card competitors. And the only thing I'll say about the scheduling is like,

I agree that the last little bit has been annoying. Like this weekend, it's silly. But I think the pacing out the games and like can we not have the schedule, like puck drops be more staggered conversation. It's like, not everybody cares about that. I do think that's like a weird sports writer thing where we like to bitch about all the seven o'clock puck drops as if most Leafs fans or Penguins fans give a shit what time the Vegas Golden Knights game starts at. Like it's like it's not all about you. Like it's not all about us here.

Like fans want to watch their team at seven. That is why all the games are at seven. It's one of these annoying things recently where I'm just like, oh, it bothers the 10 people on the planet who want to watch six games at once. Oh, just double screen it. Like, eh, makes me very angry, evidently. It's not worth inconveniencing fan bases

of Eastern Conference teams or whatever. And really anybody. people shouldn't local fans should not have to deal with watching their teams play games it start at 830 local time or like six or it's six or whatever it's crazy it's it's crazy to expect people to watch it on TV it's crazy to expect people to deal with it from a you know if they're if they're traveling to games like I get it like that's that's you just can't do it like we don't need 630 starts and 7 o'clock starts and 730 starts and 8 o'clock like it's should not happen outside of of like a couple different days where I think there there are opportunities for the NHL to make it a special thing and they do this sometimes right they've they've done this they've done this in the past whether it's like hockey hockey day in in America or whatever but I think there could be some attention paid like in this particular weekend maybe at a

couple on a couple other dates like throughout the year where you could spread it out a little bit because, you know, there are, because other fan bases care about what's going on in other games too, right? Like, if you're a Penguins fan or an Islanders fan or a Panthers fan, like you're scoreboard watching at the same time. So why not set it up to make it a little bit more conducive to that, right? But it shouldn't be a normal thing. Like, we're talking about like, what I was saying, I'm done complaining about in early December where it's like, oh, there's 13 games a night and 10 of them all start at 70s. You're like, who cares?

Like the priority needs to be for the fan basis. Who's teams involved with those? Not me because it's because it helps me personally to be able to, you know, not have six games go to intermission at the same time. Yeah. That's all. That's all I meant. You're right.

You're right. It's a niche. It's a niche, it's a niche or niche complaint. Yeah. Just be a little sick of like Dom. Do you say niche or niche? I feel like it depends. on the day.

Yeah. I switch it up and just wait and see how people react. If I say niche and people are like, what are you talking about? I'll say niche the next time. I'm a coward. If you're talking to rich people, it's niche. Rich people say niche. So poor people say niche.

If you need to blend in. I code switch based on how I pronounce the word niche. I'm hanging out with my dirtbag greenfield buddies. It's niche. That's for sure. Yeah. Okay, so that was our little mini rant to start the show. There was a lot of games, as we just mentioned, that matter for the postseason.

Let's start with the Seattle Cracken. They clinch a playoff spot in the second year of their existence last night with a win over the Arizona Coyotes. A couple little Cracken things here as well. Shane Wright and the number one-seeded Windsor Spitfires were swept by the eight-seated Kitchener Rangers and the OHL playoffs last night. So this whole thing about Shane Wright, going to the OHL,

going to a playoff team, trade him to a team where they can go on a deep playoff run. He's out. He's done. That's the season for Shane Wright. I didn't even realize that. Oh, yeah.

Well, it just happened last night. So we can table that just very unfortunate, unlucky, just bad. I mean, that that team loaded up and they got beat by the Rangers. But the crack and clinch the playoffs. like how did they do it? And that sounds like a silly, like almost too big of a question

that I think we can like more generally just answer by saying, Ron Francis did a really good job in the summer. He looked at the areas that that team needed improvement. They had trouble scoring. So what did he do? He went out and got guys who could like improve their offense. And their goal tending has been way better. And they just have like new faces,

younger faces, veteran players. They use their draft capital and their cap space to build a better hockey team in year two. How many players on that roster do you think have at least 10 goals? 7. Nope. 10. Nope.

They've got depth. They've got a ton of depth. Is it more than 10? 13. I'll give you one more guess. It is 13. It is 13? They have 13 players with at least 12 goals.

And one with my... more than 23. So you have that top-end skill, like you kind of, like you kind of said, they add be nears. You get a 38-goal season from Jared McKeon, a 38-goal season from Jared McKeon. Which is wild. And then just wild depth throughout the lineup. They have 13, 10-goal scores, and they could very, it could conceivably add a couple more. Jamie Alexeax got nine and Morgan Geeky's got eight.

I don't think Adam Waterson's going to score three times in the last three games, but, you know, Stranger things have happened. Very realistically could end up with 15 guys on that roster. We have at least 10 goals. Like that's how that's how they're doing that. Even in the absence of like true top end offensive talent. Uh-huh. Right.

And we love Maddie Baneers. You wrote something very good about him at the start of the season or in the kind of the middle of the season. It's kind of rank. It felt like years ago. Was it November? I thought that I thought that was, I guess. The seasons felt long as shit. I thought that was closer.

I thought that was closer to Christmas, honestly. No. But, I mean, it's rang true, though. Like, what the stuff that you reported out on that, the stuff that people said about him, it's turned out to be true. And also, he came up in the, our power rankings gimmick for this week was like, we just gave kind of fake awards to every team. Fake, but with some real ones mixed in, like with some real trophy picks mixed in.

And Benares is, you know, he sewed up with all due respect to our buddy and our Paizan in Arizona, whose name I always forget the kid with the Italian last name. That's very embarrassing. I always, I always forget his name. It's fine. Just keep going. Just skirt over it. Yeah, it's fine.

You can look that up for me. Yeah, Benares is great. He's 22 goals, 54 points. Or he scored again last night. So he's got 23. Awesome defensive ability. I mean, like, they're built well, even in the absence, like we said,

of, like, true top and offensive talent. Because Jared McCann, like, good as he is. Like, he's feast, like, those 30-8 goals for him. I mean, it's silly, but a lot of them have come against, you know, basement-dwelling teams and whatever else. So that, there's a little bit of Fugazi, you know, niss to those numbers.

But, yeah, man, the Cracken are exactly, this is, like, the best version of that team that I think they could have realistically built, right? Where you're on, where you're on France is you're building around offensive depth in the absence of, you know, true game breakers, you know, a really strong defensive group and like competent goaltending, right? Like that's what they've, that's what they've gotten. They're good for them.

Yeah, it was, you know, I did a story with ClearSight Analytics, which is the private goalie data firm. They track goaltending metrics different than public models do. So typically it's like a better indicator of goalie performance. And earlier in the season, you know, Philip Grubauer and Martin Jones, I mean, Martin Jones specifically, the conversation around the crack and was like, where would this team be without Martin Jones? It was really funny to look at the actual data. Like, he wasn't that good, but it was just in relation to how bad Philip Grubauer was last season. It was like a remarkable difference.

Philip Grubauer was the single worst goaltender in the NHL last year. Yeah, right. By like private goalie metrics. By a lot. And to the eye test. Like honestly, like you could just watch and be like, oh, my God, what is happening over here? And he's been improved. I mean, Martin Jones has had a really solid season.

Like, they're getting goaltending. Like, they're not getting the best in the league goaltending, but their goalies are at least, like, making the saves they need to on a way more consistent basis this season. And as you mentioned, like Jared McCann's having a wild year. Daniel Sprong, 20 goals for. 43 points. Like that that is Jeff Merrick's thing. In November, Jeff went on like a 10 minute soliloquy about Daniel Sprong is going to have a great year. And never since he's just lit up. But he is actually pretty interesting. This is something Jeff has talked about a lot. Like Daniel Sprong for most of his hockey career had never played in the same spot for more than a year. It was just constant change in movement. And then he finally gets. It's like, oh, I'm still on the Seattle Cracken, and he's actually playing quite well. I think a big thing for the Cracken is like, they had significant injuries last year, too. I mean, the subtraction of Brayn and Tanev.

I always get this confused, so I do apologize to Cracken fans if I mess this up. It was Schwartz that was hurt last year, right? Not Schultz. Oh, God. Yeah. Yeah. That's my Brandon Chris Tanna. You can't, you get those two confused and I get Jaden Schwartz and Justin Schultz.

All the time. All the time. But that was a significant injury to that. Yeah, they had two significant injuries in that in that point last season as well. And then obviously no Maddie Baneers. Oh, and Eli Tolvinen, very good since joining from Nashville after going through waivers. 15 goals and 25 points

after the Nashville Predators decided, I don't think we have anything here. That is more points and goals than he'd ever had in the NHL with the Nashville Predators. Yeah, that's an interesting one because

Tolvin and his, you know, he's got a great shot. That's like his thing. He's a plus shot. People have, that's something that's followed him his entire career. It's why he's got, It's why he got so many shots with the Preds. And he was put in position to play, by the way, to produce by them in multiple times.

As much as they could, because the Preds forward group is just so, so whack that, you know, there aren't a lot, there aren't a ton of choices. They tried and it didn't. It didn't work. But he is, he's a guy who he's got that one elite skill, right, where you're like, how is this guy not, you know, how is he not a relevant NHL player? because he hadn't been for a couple years and, you know, there he, no, he's that's

the perfect spot for him. It's like Sprong. It's a Sprong situation where you're like, there's enough stuff in the toolbox there. Sprong, here's what I'll say, I will say this about sprong. People are doing like the, I told you so, lap with him like in some regards, like whatever, that's fine. Just a complete, like, he was a catastrophe away from the puck early on in his career here.

And he was not the most coachable dude in the world either. So I would love to see Mike Sullivan watching Daniel Sprong turn into like a relevant NHL player over the last couple of years because he drove him insane. Also, also, before you get any further out, I did, it's a Matias Michelli who plays who plays for the coyotes. And he is from Finland. His grandmother is Italian. His grandmother is Italian. He's got, he's got Italian roots. He's got Italian last name. You're just trying to push the Italian narrative. I definitely figure that it was like, that it was like a, that it was a, that it was a, that it was like a Lucas Beza or something situation where he was like Swiss. I don't think I know that he was finished.

Okay. Cool. The last note on the Seattle Cracken I'll make is, as you're talking about, Daniel. He's got 46 points for the Arizona coyotes. Matisse Macheteas Machil. 46 points. This dude is like, he's going to get, he's going to show up on calder ballots. I mean, he should.

And the other person who should be on. called her ballots, but probably won't is Jake Sanderson. Anywho, that's my sense. That's my sense narrative as you're going with the Italian thing. Pushing the Sanderson agenda. He should be, he eats minutes, he can play in all situations, just because he's not scoring as many goals and points as Maddie Baneers, whomst I also care for.

I care for. That was weird. Your biases are colliding here. Yeah. You know what? I'm just going to skirt over that. My friend, Maddie Veneers. Yeah.

We might care for it. That was weird. Why did I say that? Anyways, the last point I'm going to make about the Seattle Crack and I'm just done. I'm done talking about Jake Sanderson. Just put him on your call about it. That's all I have to say. When we talk about Daniel Sprong getting opportunity and like being better, he's on the

fourth line. It's just the fourth line in Seattle. happens to be with Brandon Tannive and Ryan Tenado, who each have, you know, more than 10 goals and more than 20 points. So, yeah, depth. They have a skilled, they have a skilled fourth line. That's like what they, it's what they've chosen to do, you know? It's building their depth, being healthier. That's the, you know, spark notes recipe for the crack and clinching the playoffs. Let's stick in the West because they're was a big injury,

Kail McCar out indefinitely, no timetable. The abs have just been kind of, there's always been this sense this season that the abs are lurking, and it's like, well, they're just going to hang around, hang around, they're going to make the playoffs and then look out.

I don't, I might eat this in a couple weeks, but I'm not afraid of the Colorado Avalanche right now, especially if Kail McCarr's hurt. I mean, I don't think that's go. That's, no, it's not, it's not going out on any kind of limb to say like, I don't, I don't, I think, I think the abs can be beaten with, with Kalamakar out of the lineup. No. It's a reasonable, reasonable conclusion to draw.

I don't think I would have said that before last night. I don't think I would have got, I don't think I would have got, I don't think I'm not, and that's the Kilmercar effect. Yeah, would you have said I'm not afraid of the Colorado Avalanche 48 hours ago? I would have said, I don't think. they will go back to back. I wouldn't have said, I'm not afraid of them, you know? Does that make...

Yeah, I understand. You're being a coward, yes. It's a cowardly take, but I understand it. This sounds like it's a long-term thing for, for a kill, or maybe not long-term, but... He's out indefinitely. We can read between the lines, right, with the way coaches talk about injuries. We have another one of those coming up, but in the case of Kail Makar and the

avalanche, out indefinitely, which is what Bednar said, that's when it's April 7th, not good. And have we gotten an update about Landisg? Oh, they're Kutrov in him. It's a Kutrov situation. They're over the cap. Oh. So he's going to magically, he's going to magically be ready to he's going to magically be ready to return. His knee has healed. Always. It was a long road back for Gabriel Landisog, but, you know, here we are.

Just get to hat trick in game one of the playoffs. Yep. That's fine. If the playoffs started today, it would be the wild against the abs. Do you even like, like, right? and that's who wins that series? I'm going abs because like why would anybody pick the Minnesota wild to go to the second round of the playoffs? It doesn't happen all that often.

It's so cruel. It's true. You pick the abs without Kail Makar? I'm saying this is if Miko Ranton didn't just hit 50 goals last night and Nate McKinnon doesn't exist. So I, you know, I'm not saying they're terrible. just don't have this like same sense as I did earlier in the year when they were playing terribly with all these injuries. And they kept just saying like, eh, just wait for the playoffs. They're going to be wild again. Like, they're going to be so hard to beat. And I just haven't

had that same sense. And maybe that's because we haven't seen them fully healthy yet this season. Right? Maybe that's why. Yeah. On the other end, it thinks the wild are a volatile team. like it blessed three in a row now twice to Vegas once to the penguins and they got you know worked pretty much in that well they got it was there was some luck involved but you know you lose four to one against the team that you know had been playing terribly that's doesn't reflect particularly well on you it's a volatile team and this is and this is you know three in a row after they came off a streak where they had won they'd won 14 of 15 or well they'd won 11 of 15 they had three overtime ties mix in there they're so

funny I feel like it's really funny every other day I'm seeing like this is what the Minnesota wild we're made to do or Minnesota wild need to find themselves losing hope quickly it's like there's like no in between let's their good team it's fine And it's magnified too because of that fan biz. Yeah. Because we're exposed to them on such an enormous level because of Russo, because half the, you know, whatever, half the state of Minnesota has an athletic subscription because of Mike Russo. So we see them constantly. Like if it's like power writing stuff or whatever in my case.

And it's always like they're always, always, always like you have them rank. way too high or you have them ranked way too low. There's never any in between. They're like, you screwed this up. Like, they're not actually that good or why do you, or it's why do you hate the wild? Because they're on it. That's what they are. They're, they're, they're, they're, they're, they're, they're, they're, it's a

passionate, it's a passionate fan base. It's a volatile, it's a volatile team and it's an enormous, you know, emotional fan base. So that's, that's, that's what happened. So I'm, I'm, like, whatever happens. with the wild. I'm here for it, right? Because they're an entertaining team.

Enormous crazy fan base. Wild, Rousseau and Joe Smith cover the bejesus out of that team. So we're never, we're never hurting for, for wild content. And King Gilgaren. Billy G.

Billy G with his, with his... Ice cream. With his ice cream tub. My dad... The thing in the planet. I was having dinner with my dad last night and he just at he asked just kind of almost out of nowhere he goes like what's billy gd doing i'm like well no he's like bill garret i'm like you're you're friends with him or

something like what's going but that's like that's like that's like i'll say that this is kind of rough that dude has in pittsburg where he's just he's still he's he's a folklore he's a legend what restaurant is he at with that ice cream that's a good question i'd like to recreate that picture i could I could probably look into it. And I will say I really liked what he's kind of done with this team. Like I do think he was given obviously a tough cap situation. Some of it was his own doing. Like he's been around long enough that he could, you know, play with things there and add to what he had to work with.

He made the call. He's made the call on Parisi on Parisi and Souter. like, you got to tear the band-aid off. It's the right move. Absolutely. Like, I think Bill Garon has done a really good job as a first time general manager at making this team. You know, they're at least like consistently in and around it. Obviously, the next step is like getting out of the first round.

I don't think this is news to any wild fans. I see how upset they get. It's like, well, it's like, what if we had a good run? The roster is like, what if we made the whole plane out of wings? out of wingers because they still like they needed they needed

Marca Rossi to level up but you know yeah progress isn't linear for him when you're coming back from something like that which is understandable

but that you know that's that's where they're knee capped that's where they're knee capped by the by the cap stuff is that they just haven't been able to go out and find any kind of center depths but they're like okay

whatever we got Caprizo we got Matt Pauty you know we've got a good group of guys that you can run run the offense through basically from the sides, which is interesting. It's not the way a typical contenders built. And I think that's probably part of the reason you see the volatility there because they don't have that consistent play from the centers, which makes them again, not knocking them. It's entertaining.

I love it. Like, let's get a run out of this group because they're fun. So Caprizov was on the ice practicing with the team. He is kind of set to return shortly. But last night, the final note on the wild Erickson Eck left the game and if he is hurt just pick the like you can probably just pick the aves in the first round.

That would be very bad for that team and he's very important to what they do. Yeah, but then it's like news is come here for this kind of analysis. Important player gets hurt.

Joel Erickson Eck is important be hurt. The team without centers, best center is important. Jesus Christ. But like, whatever. If Caprizov comes back and Matt Boldy keeps scoring a goal a game, then like, whatever, who needs centers, really? Not the wild. Not Bill Garen.

Okay. I think that's it. I think that's it in the Western Conference. The West is kind of boring, honestly. Kings lose to the golden night Stars keep winning whatever Flames win against the Jets even though It's very flames

To lose To the 32nd place Chicago Blackhawks Like who was that loss worse for Calgary or Chicago Chicago went from 32nd to 30th And the flames lost to Chicago Oh man For the third time this season I might add

The Blackhawks swept the flames this season That's a great question. It's probably more devastating for the fans of the Chicago Blackhawks than the flames who were just like just end this. But then they go and they beat the Minnesota Wild. Shit, the Winnipeg Jets, which is very flames, very much flames. And they've got three games left against Vancouver, Nashville, and San Jose. That should be six points on the board for the flames. However, they just lost the Chicago Blackhawks.

So flames are still in it. Nashville's still in it. Jets are still in it. Nobody wants me to playoff. I sincerely wonder how many guys on the flames like mentally disengaged a month ago and are now like, uh, what? Wait a second.

We might make the playoffs? And I said this the other day on the radio too is like, I almost feel like we made too much of the flames still being in it as if they did something and it wasn't just Winnipeg giving them a shot. because even some of the games they were winning, like, ooh, you beat the ducks four, three, and overtime and a big comeback win. Like, that's not really a good thing. Like, you should have, you should have dismantled the Anaheim ducks at this point in the season

with your playoff lives on the line. So there's been a lot with the flames where it's just like, eh, not sure what's going on. But it's just a team where you never really know what you're going to get. They won on a four-game win streak, which is coming at the right time. It's the longest win streak of the season. after not putting together more than two straight wins since December. And again, they lose to the Chicago Blackhawks. And the guy who had probably the worst game,

I mean, that Chicago game was a microcosm of the entire flame season. Goldtening wasn't good enough. They couldn't get a whole, they couldn't get offense. And the guys who were supposed to come in and be the guys who minimize the damage after losing Goddrow and Kachuk just weren't as advertised. The only one who's been as advertised,

I would say is McKenzie Weeger. he's been very good lately, but Nazim Kodry made like two egregious errors that led directly to Chicago Blackhawks goals, like a lazy move behind the net, like a lazy kind of soft move behind the net, almost look like he didn't want to get hit, which is weird because the Nazim Kodry, everyone talked about in the offseason and the reason he was going to make so much money is he's like, the heartbeat, he's a warrior, he comes back with a broken thumb and scores the OT winner to go to the Stanley Cup final. It just hasn't been that Nazim Kodry. in Calgary and Jonathan Hubertow hasn't been

the Johnny Goodrow replacement. There's just it's something's not working and it's not... The mix is off in one way, in one way or another. No. It could be a lot of different things. And this I think is the transition to the Eastern Conference because we've been saying the same stuff about the Flames all season. Something's wrong.

The team that was in... Can I just say one more thing about the Western Conference? And one more thing about the Flames before we before we jump over to the east. I didn't know that this was true. It's just one of those things anecdotally. It seemed like it was. But Bartley Kive is what the CBC, I guess, did the math here.

Because Dom sent this to me when we were doing the power rings last night. The jets are in the middle of the quickest collapse by a first place team in NHL history. Like, statistically. That's a thing. that has happened. And that is why the flames, who are just a bundle of bad vibes and, you know,

unmet expectations, basically, that's why we're still talking about them backing into the playoffs, because on January 26th, Winnipeg was 31, 16, and 1. And two and a half months later, you know, they're, whatever,

they're, I think, still tied. with the flames after that loss. It's insane. It's literally, literally the quickest plummet from first place in the division to ever take place. So if you want to know why a team that clearly isn't very good, the Calgary Flames,

is currently in playoff position, that's how it happens. And that's similar to what's going on in the East, right? Yeah. Somewhat, I would say to a lesser extent because the teams in the Eastern Conference wildcard or at least like winning games and actually in a battle, whereas everyone in the West just keeps losing.

Okay, but this is, I had a transition. Mm-hmm. Don't mess me up here. At one point in the season, like two months ago, three months ago, let's go like trade deadline time. The two most disappointing teams in the NHL were the Florida Panthers and the Calgary Flames, right? Mm-hmm.

The flames haven't been at all what anyone would have expected. You pick them to win the Stanley Cup. A lot of people did. They looked like a team that were going to be built for the postseason. Yeah, they lost Godrow and Kachuk. They won't have the best top line in hockey, but, ooh, they're going to be heavier and hard to beat when it matters. Well, you've got to get there first. So let's see.

Maybe that still holds true if they can back their way in. And the Florida Panthers, the president's trophy winners who were on the outside looking in. As we record this on Friday morning, the Florida Panthers are now in Wild Card 1 in the Eastern Conference. They're one point up on the Pittsburgh Penguins, so were the New York Islanders. And who has been the guy who's gotten them there? It's Matthew Kuchuk. Alex Lyon. I mean, we will give him his flowers in a second.

But Matthew Kuchuk, who everyone said was never going to have another 100-point season, not without Johnny Godreau has 105 points, a new career year. He is one of only three players in NHL history to have 100. hundred point season with a brand new team. And one of only few players in NHL history to have a hundred point season with one team and then another hundred point season with his new team. And let's also get big Walt some flowers here. He ripped the Florida Panthers about a week ago and they're five and oh ever since he called

them a bunch of softies. So the Kachucks are taken South Florida and it seems to be working. Matthew Kachuk has the second highest average game. score in the league. McDavid's first. He's at 1.996. Not the heart trophy, but heart finalist. Should be.

Cachuk is at minus 1.8. In the gap between him and three is almost as large as the gap between McDavid and him. Like he is a no-brainer heart finalist for me at this point, especially. I said this two weeks ago. You're like, ooh, really? No, I, no, I, the way I, my response to that was because I didn't think that people would vote him in, honestly. Like I, I, it's not, the question isn't whether he deserved it. The question, because I, I, look, you don't have to sell me on Matthew Kuch, right?

Sounds like you don't like him very much. In the tank. I, you know, I will sue you if you say that again. Okay. I know, I know a good. I, uh, I, I recently, I recently was acquainted with a lawyer from St. Louis. So I know a guy. He's great. And you don't need to sell me on him.

I just didn't think because it's the Panthers and because of the season that they were having, it's just the way it is. Like that's the way voting works. There is an anti-American bias generally from the PWA. So that's a problem. Anti-Panthers bias. Does I say PWA? That wasn't right at all. That wasn't the hockey association or the hockey writers association.

I blended both of them. Wow. Oh for two. That's fine. Pro hockey writers are generally biased against Americans. This is a fact that nobody can deny. And they're biased against the Panthers. And they're biased against teams that don't make the playoffs.

So my logic, a few weeks. ago, or whenever it was that we talked about this, two weeks ago, was that that was just going to be a hill that's too steep for Kachuk to climb. And here we are. It's April 7th. They've won five straight games, thanks in part to a random goaltender, which everybody loves. And they're in the first wild card spot. Because we've said it, you and I have said it, me and Craig have said it, we've written it, all it was ever going to take in the East was for some team to play sustained decent hockey for a week. And it wasn't happening, not consistently, right?

Is string a bunch of games together and then don't chase it with going in the tank for a week. Because none of those teams are very good. But all three of those teams are capable of getting hot at the right time. And, you know, it's just a matter of who got hot at the end, right? And it's the Panthers right now. And they're doing all these things that we saw. from that we've Matthew Kachuk

is still playing well like that's no that's not news like he's been playing well all season but they're getting some competent goaltending and they're dealing with you know C.M. Bennett being out I mean it's a good run from them and it was the run that a lot of people

thought they were capable of but they basically haven't been able to do with any kind of sustained you know in any kind of sustained way for the duration of the season and it's happening at the right time. Yeah. So now so now as a wildguard team or in that wild card spot?

Seems like it's going to happen. Better chance than not. I'll be really confused if he's not a Hart trophy finalist this year. Yeah, I think that it'll make a little sense to me. But I said that about Johnny Godreau last season, and he wasn't. I mean, Matthew Kachuk said that about Johnny Godro last season. I remember on your podcast, Matthew Kuch went on and said, I don't know why Johnny Goddrow is not getting any attention for the Hart Trophy.

And it's because they were an obscure team. a quote unquote obscure team in Alberta that people weren't paying attention to. Nobody wants to stay up until 10 p.m. to watch Johnny Godrow cook against, you know, whatever team last year. And Johnny Godro came, what, fifth, fourth? Last season and there can only be. And there could only be. I don't think it's happening. Everybody knows. I don't think it's happening because Austin Matthews has been far enough off where he's not

going to be a finalist. People also hate him though. Like I think we are two podcast hosts who like Matthew Kachuk. Yeah, 100%. There's a lot of people. People don't demolish out to brink it last night. So everybody in the city of Ottawa hates his guts now. Yeah, it's true. There's like it's people don't, he, he's a shit disturber, right?

And then, and you pay a tax for that sometimes. Absolutely. I, that's, it's why it's why I was like, I don't think he's going to be, because that, because again, two weeks ago, these are part of this of this, of this pile of, you know, pile of rocks he's going to have to jump over. And now, you know, you're eliminating some of that because they look like a legit playoff team. It's huge, huge, huge, huge. And they're doing it with an end of season flourish, which always helps too, right? Because that's just the nature of human brains. It's, it's recency bias. It's how we

process information. That's the way it goes. It's inevitable. But people with ballots are watching Matthew could Chuck be the best player on a team that's playing its best hockey down the stretch and looks like it's going to swoop in and take a playoff spot that was yeah out of reach a month ago yep and his play driving numbers have been just incredible this season he's great he's great and his scoring has been incredible like he's a he's an asshole he can drive play he's a leader like he does everything I'm going to I'm going to make a tweet, and I'm going to read all of the mean shit people say to me about this. I know within 10 minutes someone's going to tell me I suck.

I'm going to tweet. I'm going to be very confused about Chuck's heart trophy finalist. Let's move on because I feel like we've been rambling about things. There's just so much to talk about it. It's so great. I'm so glad we're doing this on Friday. Yeah, that's okay. Let's stick in the Eastern Conference again.

We've got a couple more teams to go through. Do you want to start with the Leafs of the Devils? that was a silly question. We're going to go to the New Jersey Devils. Jack Hughes is a four-point night last night. Devils win again. Mind you, they're playing against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

That was an 8-1 final for the New Jersey Devils. But the Rangers lose last night in OT against the Blues, so they like lose a bit of pace on the Metro. Are the New Jersey Devils the best team in the Metro division right now? Yes. I think so. But do they make it out of the first round? of the playoffs.

That's the question. Right? This was a 63. This was a 63.1. Last season. I feel like people, I think that's been easy to forget. Like,

this wasn't, they weren't mediocre. Like, they, they sucked. A lot, was a lot of it, goaltending?

Like, yeah, sure. Goaltending problems. Vietek Fanacheck has been better than I thought. Just say it. I think he's,

he's done what they needed, that's for sure. Like he's been, he's been as good as they needed him to be, right? And that was a big part of what killed them last year was they played eight different goalies or whatever it was, some crazy number over the course of the regular season. I did the math in their,

in their season preview. It was like, if they got even league average gold, if they got, not even league average, if they got like 900 goal tending, they would have, you know, their gold differential would have been zero and they would have been in, conversation. So whatever. That is a problem that was addressed, basically. But you have all these

guys leveling up in one way or another, like Jack Hughes superstar now. Dawson Mercer. Can I read the stat? Yeah, yeah, totally. Jack Hughes, he's got 95 points a season. He's one away from tying the franchise record for points in a season. He's got three games to do it. It's amazing. It's amazing. He's going to continue. Yeah, absolutely. Dawson Mercer took two steps this year. Like he was, his second full season, he's been phenomenal. Phenomenal.

Corey Mazasak, by the way, gas him up. I think he was talking to us, but he's also gassed up Mercer just generally, like whenever I, whenever I BS with him,

like he was the guy when we were talking about who do you, who is off the board for a team of Meyer trade. Yeah. Corey, like, no brainer.

Like Dawson Mercer. That was on our show. Don't do it. It was definitely on our show. And it was something that, that he's said. to me in the past, which like, it didn't surprise me, but also, like, you know, you got to give to get.

And that was part of the discussion. Well, either way, they kept them. They kept them. They obviously not. Yeah. Right. If that would have been the difference between them getting Meyer and not, though, Corey was saying, like, you don't trade them under any circumstance.

And we're seeing why, because the dude's been phenomenal, right? And you have this group of defensemen and all this stuff. Like, there's a million things to love about them. Yeah. But they're at the point in their life cycle now where I am not willing to, like, write them in pen as like an Eastern Conference finals team because we've seen it time after time, even with teams that are as unbelievably talented as they are. This is the year they make it in, lose, and then next year is our year, right? Yep. And of course, when we were talking about this beforehand, I compared them to the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2007, because that's what everyone.

Every comparison in my hockey writer life comes back to is shit that happened to the penguins in the 90s and 2000s. But I think that's instructive in a way because that team was really good. That's a 105 point team. Jordan Stahl kind of, he didn't come out of nowhere because he's a top five pick. But he was, Stahl stepped in and was just like fully formed immediately. He was like, okay, you're the third, the third center, but behind those guys. And they were great. They were a 105 point team.

And then they got stomped by the seventh. in the first round. Right? And that set the table for a lot of things that, you know, happened the year after that. And then two seasons later, they're cup champs. And it's happened, it happened to the lightning, and it's happened plenty of times with really talented teams

that get their first taste of it. The aves, it happens. And I feel like that's where we are with them. But at the same time, the Metro Division playoffs are a lot, are going to be a lot more, a lot more forgiving than they have been in the past because the hurricanes are banged up,

the penguins are old, so then you're like, okay, you know, who do they fall against in the first round? Like, what happens? It's really interesting.

They're fun. So the devil's got their 50th win of the season last night, and it's only the second time in franchise history that they've won 50 or more games in a single year. The franchise record is 51. Devils have three more games left. So this is, you know,

a special season. by all accounts for the New Jersey Devils. And I don't think it will need success in the postseason for it to be special. Like this could be a building block here. And I think that would still be success for this team. I don't think the fans or players would immediately agree with that. But like this is remarkable improvement for for this organization. They have a bright future.

And they have all these players you were talking about are not going anywhere. Like, Timo Myers. Oh, well, he's an RFA still. They've got to sign him to a new deal. but they have his signing rights. So most of these players are not going anywhere. And they are, yeah, one point back at the Keynes. Cains have a game in hand,

but the Devils could realistically win the Metro Division. If they win the Metro Division and lose to a wild card team, I think that would be disappointing. But if the wild card team is the Pittsburgh Penguins, like, come on. I don't think the penguins are very good. The devils demolish the penguins three days ago with their season. Right.

But what if it's the Islanders and Sorokin stands on his head? I think there would be some disappointment if they win in understanding myself. I'm not saying there isn't going to be disappointment, but what I'm saying is like this isn't going to be a colossal failure of a year because look at the strides you made year over year. This isn't going to be their, this isn't like their last chance to ever do something in the playoffs. This is their first. And you can explain it. And you can explain it away.

Like, if they lose the islanders, it's going to be because they get goalied by one of the best on the planet. You say, okay. If they lose the bad ones, you say it's going to be because Sidney Crosby. And if Ganyi Malkin went super no and you say like, okay. But yeah, I don't know. I think we're getting, they've been so good that we're almost at the point now where there would be like legit disappointment. If they were like a 97 point team that was like firm. in third place and you go out and lose, you say, okay.

But they've been so great that expectation, I think, have been raised at the point where, you know, if they lose a wildcard team, it's going to be a bummer. That's all I'm saying. Sure. Yeah. I agree. Like, I'm not saying that it's going to, they're going to be like, we lost the first round, but it's giving me, like, Toronto Blue Jays.

It's giving me Toronto Blue Jays of last year, the year before, where it's like, wow, Vladie and Bo and all these young guys, they're so good. wow, we actually made the playoffs and then they lose. And it's like, well, it's over, it's disappointing and this sucks. It's like it's disappointing and this sucks. Like, wow, I wish they were better. But like now we, and then this year, it's like,

okay, everyone's taking it more seriously. I don't know. Maybe I'm wrong. That's fair. The final point we're going to make. Luke Hughes is expected. This is according to Elliott Friedman is expected to be joining the team in Boston. University of Michigan lost to Quinepiak last night in the NCAA tournament in the Frozen Four.

So the men's college final is going to be Quinnipiac versus Minnesota. Matthew Nyes is the guy that everyone in Toronto has been waiting on after the first round was a little bit hairy. Everyone's like, well, maybe we're going to get Matthew Nyes ASAP. And then two weeks later, and Matthew Nyes is going to the national championship. So Luke Hughes, something to look forward to in New Jersey. Jersey. I don't know if and when he gets into the lineup, given the stakes of where they're at right now, is he a guy that automatically inject something into their lineup? I'm not sure. It's always hard to put pressure on college players like that. But with Matthew and the Leafs, let's talk about Toronto really quickly. We know that they are playing against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the playoffs. That was made official like weeks ago. And we all knew this already all season. Ryan O'Reilly made his return to the team after his injuries. they lost an OT to the Bruins last night, which clinched them home ice in the playoffs.

And Tanner Geno, on the other side of the coin, because we don't need to dive deep into the Leafs because we're going to have weeks to tee up this matchup. But the other news piece, Geno, that injury last night looked gnarly. Narly. It was not good. Like I watched that clip once and was like, yep, I'm good.

I don't need to see that again. When you look at something like that where the way it came down on his leg and my initial reaction was like, I don't know what part of his leg he screwed up. The whole thing just looked yuck. Maybe it was all of it. Not good.

And he hadn't been great. It's not out of line to say that. I think they were still figuring out, you know, how best to use him and whatever. There's an adjustment period. It happens. So, you know, removing him from the regular season lineup in Tampa, it's like,

who knows how much of a loss that is, but they didn't get him for the regular season. They got him to bang bodies and stuff in the in the playoffs. And it's barring something miraculous, like he's not going to be in the, he's not going to be an option for John Cooper. Yeah. And Cooper said that. It's a shame. It's a shame for them.

It should be. I'm not surprised to hear that. It looked terrible. Yeah. Pat Maroon left the game as well, but I don't think there was a high level of concern for him. Last night, it was,

it was, you know, because that looked gross. And I don't, yeah, I think you've kind of said this. Like, if the Tampa Bay Lightning

lose in the first round of the playoffs, it's not just going to be because Tanner Juneau's hurt. It's going to be because they haven't really been, they're not playing that one. Clicking lately. But at the same time, like,

the Leafs in the first round. They've got to get over the hump. They've got to do it with Ilyos Simpsona in that. He's been good, but like Matt Murray's hurt again. They still are playing with their deep hairs and their lines. They just got Ryan O'Reilly back. Their fourth line looks very good. Zach Aston Reese is an offensive dynamo.

Yeah, that's... He's been like really well. It's what everybody saw coming. This is by Zars doing what people thought he was going to do three years ago. But he's doing it at the right time, like, heading into the postseason. Like that leaves fourth line with Zarr and Sam Lafferty is legitimately playing very well right now. So this is going to be a new look Toronto Maple Leafs. Like I, we've talked about what they did at the deadline. Like this isn't the same Leafs lightning first round matchup. Like Kyle Dubus made sure of that by making the changes that he was making.

Jake McCabe has been excellent. his expected goal numbers have been very good. He has been a very good piece of a good shutdown pair. Like the Leafs are going to look, they're going to look different. They've got way more options. They've got more centered up. They've got more grit. They're heavier.

So I'm excited to see if that actually matters, though. Like all those changes for the same result, I don't know. We'll see. If Vasilleski snaps into God mode, it's not going to matter. That's just that's the brutality of the nature. Just a reminder. And you know what? We'll say this was the second

last show before the end of the regular season. So we've got a week left. We'll be back next Friday. Because the season ends on the 14th. No? Yes. 14th. We got a week to go. We'll be back then. And then we will start breaking up all the

playoff matchups for real. And just a reminder if you're not an athletic subscriber, you can join us at the Athletic dot com slash hockey show Sean would you like to spell the athletic for our listeners yeah it's t-h-e-h-h-h-h-h-tic-c thank you slash hockey show to get an annual subscription for two dollars a month month for 12 months thanks everyone we'll see you next week