The Hockey PDOcast - Episode 419: The 2021-22 Watchability Rankings

Episode Date: November 19, 2021

Pete Blackburn joins the show to help construct this year's version of the annual Watchability Rankings. We discuss what makes a team watchable, and what we prioritize when tuning into a game, before ranking all 32 teams in the league from top to bottom based on that criteria. Topics include: Whether the Coyotes are so bad that they're good Why you need to give the Blues a second chance What makes the Ducks this year's 'Midnight Rider' Fear of missing out on Connor McDavid's latest highlight Enjoying Alex Ovechkin chasing history Teams we struggled to rank because of injuries The novelty of the Kraken vs. their actual performance Young teams we want to get in on early Established teams we know what we're getting from If you haven't done so yet, please take a minute to leave a rating and review for the show. Smash that 5-star button. Each one counts, and helps us out greatly. If you're feeling extra generous, you can also leave a little note about why you recommend people check the PDOcast out. Thanks for the help! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices If you'd like to gain access to the two extra shows we're doing each week this season, you can subscribe to our Patreon page here: www.patreon.com/thehockeypdocast/membership If you'd like to participate in the conversation and join the community we're building over on Discord, you can do so by signing up for the Hockey PDOcast's server here: https://discord.gg/a2QGRpJc84 The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

On a beautiful run through the park, on a pleasant day, you can easily get lost. No, no, no. She didn't kill him. Huh? In your true crime podcast. It was the pool guy. So obvious. Whatever motivates you works for us. It's all about letting your run be your run. And Brooks is here for every runner.

Doing the research and sweating the details to create gear that works for you. It's your run. Brooks, run happy. progressing to the mean since 2015. It's the Hockey PEDEOCast with your host, Dimitri Phil. Welcome to the HockeyPedioCast. My name's Dimitri Philpovich, and joining me is my good buddy Pete Blackbird.

Pete, what's going on, man? How are you? It's been a while. It has. Last time we recorded was like right when the pandemic had started and we rewatch the classic team North America versus teams from the 2016 World Cup. So yeah, it's been a while.

Yeah, it's always a good excuse to revisit team team North America. I was happy to do that. And I'm happy to be here again. Thanks for having me. We're going to do something a bit more topical this time. So the concept of today's show,

people that have been listening to the PDOCs know it full well by now. I've done it for at least the past five or six years on his feed. It's initially co-opted from Zach Lowe's league pass power rankings that he does for the NBA. But we're going to rank the teams based on watchability. So just say it's a Saturday. And as the NHL has wanted to do,

they put 12 games on at once. And the league just seems completely disinterested in the concept of staggering fuck drop times. And I know it's because of advertisements and all that. And they want people watching the commercials and intermission reports and all that. But everyone's playing at the same time. You can only kind of bounce around and get a taste of everything. All things equal. Who are you prioritizing, watching, and why. And so I get that it's a very subjective definition. Everyone's going to kind of have different preferences and things they value in the product and what they're looking for. I've got a list of sort of things

that I have up for consideration. But I'm curious, just give the people kind of a peek behind the curtains for like the methodology of what you're looking for when you're deciding, oh, should I watch this team or this team? Like, kind of what are you looking for and what are you prioritizing the most? Yeah, I mean, I think there's a lot of things, a lot of different areas you can go to. Like, obviously, you know, we'll get into them as we go in through the teams. But like, you know, it doesn't start and end with a team's quality of roster

or like their record or where they're at in the standings. Like, there are often bad teams that are pretty exciting. And, you know, they're worth tuning it, tuning into. on any given night. And, you know, I think that even if you want to go as deep as like announcers, you know, announcers that you like or broadcast teams that you like, it can help sway you to tune into a certain team. Arena atmosphere, time of game.

Like, I think there are a lot of things that go into the watchability or like the ranking of a game that you want to watch on any given night. Certainly. I mean, I've got written down here as a taste. I got talent. like the star power is important and especially if you have specific players you're interested in seeing or following more closely or kind of at the start of the year i'm always curious to see how like either players that have switched teams or young players who we have come across from europe or something i want to see how they look in the NHL but team playing style especially in terms of like the pace they play at whether they have unique tendencies to their game that i've noticed the likelihood of engaging and entertaining games and more on this in a second the aesthetics whether it's broadcast quality i'm assuming you're going to be hyping up all the bally sports ones. No, no, give me some credit.

I'm not, I'm a company man, but I'm not, I'm not totally in, in Bally's pocket. Okay. I thought you were going to go in a different direction there. I thought you were going to say, like, I do have this on a lot of my list. I'm a big aesthetics guy too. I'm a huge uniform guy. Like, I'm massive on a uniform matchups. And, like, there are times that I just won't watch teams because their uniform

stink. It's, it's a stupid, stupid mindset. but like it's part of the game. It's part of the experience. It's a visual medium, of course. I think the home crowd as well certainly plays into it. If you're like depressed by the crowd versus where, you know, it's going to be a good time and they're going to be amping you up.

Relevance, you know, if the whole Twitter timeline is talking about a game and you feel like you kind of can't miss out on the live experience, I think that's an important thing. And then you hit on this. I think it's important to keep in mind that this isn't necessarily correlated with being good or winning games. If you want to power rankings, just go sort by the current standings. I think in this case, being bad defensively or kind of pro into breakdowns might actually lead to a better viewing experience because it increases the

number of events and likelihood of goals and all that. So let's get into it. Let's not waste any more time because I think we're going to try to power through and kind of touch on every team or at least kind of give one nugget or something to care about for then. Last year I did this with Jeff Merrick and I unfortunately made the mistake of letting him talk about teams 31 through 25 for like 45 minutes and then we just had to race through the rest of the actually interesting team.

So we're going to try to pace ourselves a little better here this year. Yeah, I have very, very minimal bullet points. So we should be able to move kind of quickly. All right. Well, let's start with 32 and we'll work our way all the way through to one. Also, people get hung up on this. I understand. But I more so like tiered my teams into kind of sections and like lump them together

with similar teams as opposed to worrying necessarily about whether a team is 21st or 15th because they're in the same tier. That might not actually be any difference. So with that out of the way, let's start it off. So give me your 32. My 32 team is the San Jose Sharks. I have the Sharks in there just because I don't particularly care about the sharks right now because it feels like a team that is absolutely stuck in no man's land.

They're not really going anywhere. It's a weird one, but their camera angle on the home broadcast absolutely sucks. It's so high up. It's basically in the rafters. And they're a West Coast team. So for somebody like me who's on the East Coast, it may help them sometimes. where like they're one of the few late games on, but you know,

I would prefer like an Edmonton or a, like L.A. I'm going to pick those teams most of the time over watching the sharks because I just feel like the sharks are not that interesting and they don't have a very high ceiling. Yeah, I think that's fair. Let me see where I have them on my list.

I have them 23rd, but I totally see what you're saying, especially in terms of like it's helped them a bit in terms of wins and losses this year because they're not as big of a defensive dumpster fire as they've been in the past. But that's actually kind of decreased their watchability. Yeah, exactly. Like it used to be like, I remember what was their one game last year they played? It was like one of the only games on late on a Saturday.

It was against St. Louis and it was like eight, seven or something like that. And they just kept trading goals back and forth. And it's like, if you're going to be bad, at least give me that. I think they've been better. And as a result, it's kind of hurt their watchability. So I'm totally with you. I do think they check boxes in terms of like, Timo Meyer is fun to watch,

Tomas Hurdle is fun to watch. They have individual talents that I like to tune in and see, but the home broadcast, you're so right. The camera angle, it's so not necessarily off-putting, but kind of disorienting for me. And every time I tune it in, I'm like, oh, I'm just going to go check something else out instead. So I'm with you.

All right, 32. I am absolutely stunned that you did not have the Arizona coyotes at 32. Was it purely based on the fact that they were wearing those white kachina a jersey's in the season? No. And not to throw in a crazy amount of spoilers here, but like, I, I'm a fan of chaos. So, like, you kind of just alluded to it. But, you know, teams that are not good can be really, they can be watchable because, like,

you can laugh and get, like, just enjoy how bad they are. So you'll probably be surprised at, like, where the coyotes are on my list and, like, some of these other teams. Like I would rather watch a very, very bad team that gives me entertainment value than a team that like the sharks where, you know, like you said, they got a little bit better. They're a little bit tighter. Sometimes I feel like that hurts the watchability and the entertainment factor. All right. Counterpoint.

Arizona's averaging 1.9 expected goals for per game. That's the lowest clip that we have record of dating back in 2007 or just somehow lower than that 2014-15. Sabres tank team impressively. They're scoring 1.6 goals per game, which is the lowest rate of any team since like the 1920s that I could find. I'm going to play all game with you here. So Shane Gostis Bear is their only score over 10 points. Can you name their two leading goal scorers, though?

One has four and the other has three. I probably can't. Is Lassen Krauss, one of them? Loss and Krausson leads the team with four goals. Clayton Keller is tied for a second place with three goals with Andrew Ladd. Andrew Ladd is a surprising one. Remarkable stuff. I will say, though, I think their home broadcast is genuinely hilarious,

and it might be for unintentional reasons. But if you just got rid of the scorebug and you plopped yourself into the middle of any coyote's game, you could just, you would guess they're up 5'1 and had a lost in the weeks purely based on Tyson Nash's energy. He's like just talking about Karel Vamalka and like all these rams. random guys like, oh, like look at that, look at that four check there. It's like, they're down seven, two right now. What are you talking about? But I appreciate it as a company. Yeah. That's kind of incredible. Like, I feel like that's a, that's a credit to Tyson Nash. Like, it's got to be horrible to subject yourself to that on night and on night out and like have to be positive about it. So for it to come through as being like genuine, good for him. Certainly. All right. That was a very optimistic view of the Arizona Coyotes by you. Give me, give me 31 on your list.

31, I have the, the Dallas Stars. I think the Dallas Stars are a very, very slow, very sloggy style of play. Like they have some exciting players, like their back end, Mirr Heiskin is like a really exciting player.

And like, I love Tyler Sagan, you know, Jay Ben, you know, they have got, they've got exciting players, but they don't play an exciting style of hockey.

And it's just kind of gets like, and I don't want to say like, like defensive hockey isn't good hockey. And, you know, I think that'll come up when I talk about the Islanders a little bit later. But like, you got to give me something. You got to give me a little bit more in terms of excitement. And rather than just trying to drag down the pace of play all game long. So the Dallas Stars are basically, you know, the snooze button for me of NHL teams.

Yeah, I haven't at 30. Some right there with you. Anyone that follows me on Twitter knows how much I hate watch them because I, I, I, despise myself, but for whatever reason, I'm watching a lot of Dallas Stars games. I honestly just, I find them to be such an inferiority team because maybe I'm overrating their talent individually. And even if they play it a more uptempo style and just said, screw it, let's try to score goals. They wouldn't be able to for or whatever. But I feel like there's so much more there that just untapped by the way they choose. Like they go the least

ambitious route possible and just try to hang on for dear life to like flip a coin at the end and see who can win in overtime. Yeah. And I guess there's drama involved in that. Like at the end where It's, you know, like they're probably going to be playing a pretty close game and you'll be able to tune in with five minutes left and it'll be tied and next shot wins. But, I mean, they're leading five on five goal scores, Luke Lendning right now. And that's just like the most Dallas star is that imaginable. So I considered them for 32. I bumped them up a bit because I think their broadcast is fantastic. I really enjoy Razor and Josh Bogorad.

So I wanted to give them a bit of love. But it's, yeah, they're a tough watch. My 31 is the Montreal Canadiens. I'm curious where you had them on your list. do you want me to spoil it or um well i mean we're going to talk about them right now i guess so like yeah give us a little spoiler okay i have the canadians up at uh 17 because i think that it's it's interesting like it's interesting they're an interesting case study as to like what can happen from a year to year uh perspective like obviously i think that everybody thinks that

um they kind of like outkicked their coverage last year and and you know rode a hot streak all the way to the stanley cup final but it's still kind of, you know, and you can talk about the offseason and the pieces that they lost and how important that was. But like, I still think it's very interesting that you've got a team that made it all the way to the cup final and one of two teams remaining. And now this year, like, nothing is going right. I think that's interesting. And I, I am intrigued to watch them and see what happens. And, like, I do think on any given night, they are capable of giving you, you know, they're capable of giving you something interesting. Like, they, they,

fall apart quite a bit. And, you know, they have flashes of being able to kind of come out of it. And then they fall apart again. So they're a team that I'm interested in watching. And, you know, I think their uniforms are great. Their atmosphere is one of the best in the entire league. So like that sort of lends itself too to being watchable. Yeah. I mean, I'm just being a bit overly kind of harsh because of the playoff fatigue after just watching them so much last year. Or maybe I'm like knocking them too much because I'm disappointed that Cole Cawfield hasn't. been playing and hasn't been scoring goals the way I expected so far. I think he just got called back up.

So we'll see maybe that can bump them up a little bit. But yeah, beyond like the occasional bit of wizardry from Nick Suzuki, there's just been very few redeemable qualities for me. I think it's amazing. I think David Savard has value as a player, but like they were never going to be able to fill the void left by Shea Weber, right? But somehow they found a player who is even slower than Shea Weber was. and just watching David Savard move around is, I guess, entertaining in a way.

Like, it can only be described as glacial. So, I mean, like, you talk about Che Weber and his impact and his loss. But, like, their second most important defenseman last year was Jeff Petrie. And he has not been very good this year. And, like, I guess, like, this speaks to why I have them so high, you know, as a Bruins fan, I think one of my funniest moments of the season so far is Jeff Petrie throwing a puck off Charlie Coil's head and him scoring a goal. from that.

Like, there's, there's, there's, there's entertainment and, and sort of like that mess. Yeah, it is a bit of a clown show so far. I'll give you that. All right. I think it's so, this is going to be very confusing. I'm going to keep losing track of time. Who's next to your list?

Next on my list is the Buffalo Sabres. You know, I think that the Sabres are, you know, in the first, first month of the season, I was locked in. They were, they were performing and, you know, surprising. So I was watching them. I was, I wanted to. see like what the heck was going on there. And so, you know, if you had asked me a couple weeks ago, you know, a month ago,

would have had it much higher. But, you know, I lose interest in the sabers in, like, sort of them being in the middle. Whereas, like, I will watch the Sabres, just like I will watch the Arizona Coyotes. If they are awful, like if they are tanking, I want to see that because it's a mess. It's a clown show. I love that. So, you know, the Sabres are to the point where. they're bad, but they're not so bad that it makes me want to be interested in them.

Yeah. No, and I see what you're saying from that. Like, I have on 29th on my list. I actually quite like the process in terms of like the idea of how they want to play under Don Granato and what they're trying to do. They just unfortunately don't have enough talent in place right now to convert on those opportunities or really like capitalize on it, especially like Victor Oliveson was really good at the start. And for their power play, it just completely got in a dumpster with them out. So I think it's significantly less depressing than it was under Ralph Krueger last year. But you're right from a sort of watching a car crash element.

Right. It's not that. Like they're well coached and like there's actual strategy involved, which is kind of And I think that this can't be understated. They're like playing with pride last year. There was very minimal effort and pride. And it was it was tough to watch. Like everyone actively hated it.

Embarrassing. Yeah, yeah, it was. So at least they have some pride behind them this year. Yeah. All right. Next on my list, because I had to say it as same as you, I have the Vancouver Canucks at 28. And this is shocking to me because if we had done this, like you and I had been talking for weeks now about doing the show, if we had done it before the season, like originally planned,

I think I had them near the top 10 because I figured they wouldn't be good, but they had enough talent up front to play a lot of high scoring games. And that just hasn't been the case at all. like their bottom like so they have the worst power play in the league uh they have the worst penalty kill in the league they're a bottom five five on five team in pretty much every metric no one's trailed more than they've somehow trailed for more uh percentage of their games and the coyotes have so far they only have three regulation wins like it's it's genuinely stunning um and yeah there is an element of like this is such a disaster but i would say that the hockey has been so bad

and so disjointed that it hasn't necessarily even been satisfying from a, from a like just pure hate watch perspective. It's actually been depressing. I think the most entertaining part of their season has been this past week of like ownership being like, oh, yeah, we're going to meet with Jim Benning to figure out who's responsible for this. And Jim Benning being like, wow, I did not see this coming. And it's like, all right, well, this is a problem.

I think that's been the most unintentionally sort of entertaining part of their year so. Yeah. And so like I'm glad that you think. throughout the word depressing because it is legitimately depressing what this team has become. A few years ago, I had like named the Canucks, my Midnight Riders team, which I think, you know, if anybody doesn't know what that is, it's, you know, I pick a West Coast team every year to kind of like root for and, and it's like keep close tabs on so that I have like a late game favorite.

And I picked the Canucks because you mentioned it. Like they had talent up front. They scored. They were exciting. But they were like thoroughly imperfect where, you know, it. was always entertaining for better or for worse. And that it's no longer for better. There's like very little for better for that team.

And they were trending in the right direction, I thought, a couple of years ago. And they, you know, this bottom has since fallen out. And, you know, it's been tough. But I have them a little bit higher. For me, my, we're on 29, I believe here. I have the Pittsburgh Penguins, which is shocking to me to have a team with Sidney Crosby on it this low.

But like I'm just, I'm not super interested in the penguins because I feel like, and maybe it's a bias, like preseason bias. But like, you know, I don't think this team is going anywhere. I don't think they're heading in the right direction. Sidney Crosby is not enough anymore in terms of just like a showstopper to pull in me, pull me in on any given night. And so like the penguins are just kind of a mess.

And, you know, they're just simply not very interesting. Well, I have the penguins at 21 and I just didn't know how to rank them because they're kind of like the zombie penguins, right? Like it's, it's, they've had such an insane year from from a health perspective that I just never know who's going to be in the lineup. Like there was that one game where they basically just field their HL team and beat the Leaf 7-1. And if anything like that's almost more entertaining because I'm just like, man, this is like the only organization that can pull shit like this off where it's just like Rodriguez is scoring a bunch of goals and Danton Heinen and they're just lighting it up and you're like, what is going on? I think we just haven't seen enough from Crosby yet this year, right?

He's only been in a lineup for a couple games. He's clearly working his way back into game form. So we'll see. I'm willing to bump them up more once Crosby's at full health and Malkin eventually comes back and they actually have a full lineup. But you're right. For right now, it's like only maybe for the defensive purists and like guys who just really, like people who really love for checks.

Maybe, maybe the penguins can be higher. But for us, I think it's fair to have them this low. 26 is next on my list, I believe. I have the New York Islanders. 26. You skip a few? Well, I've already done a bunch of my low ones. Okay.

I guess, I have 27. I have 27 of Chicago Blackhawks. So I actually should, we should do them first. I don't even know what to say about this team. It feels gross watching them. And so I have to admit, I haven't watched much Chicago Blackhawks hockey this season as a result, especially over the past couple weeks. They've obviously been playing better since their coaching change and TBD.

But yeah, it seems like the on ice product is kind of doing a deep dive on it right now. It just seems to be ridiculous. Yeah. You know, I feel that. I mean, I have at 28, I have the senators. You know, it's, they're a rebuilding team. I'll give them credit for that. Like they've got some nice young pieces that I'm interested in and seeing how,

that develops and I think that they can be an entertaining team on any given night. But like I just don't have, I think they don't have the poll really to prioritize them over, over like some of these other rebuilding teams that are making more traction. So they're in there. I will say Matt Murray watching him is an adventure any, any, any night. So like I do,

I might, I might give them a few extra. watchability points from Matt Murray's and net just for the sake of seeing what might happen with him between the pipes. So like they're there. And then if you want to catch up at 27, I have the Columbus Blue Jackets.

I think that Blue Jackets have some of my least favorite uniforms in the league. Not crazy about like their entire branding. They lose some intrigue without Patrick Line in the lineup. And I just I have like, I have a general curiosity as to what they are right now and

and where they are. But beyond that, I don't think that they're all that crazy, exciting to watch. I have them at 25. And I've actually enjoyed watching them play this year. They're actually kind of sneaky fun. Like,

it's kind of a rag tag group of veterans and young players. And you're right, heading into the year, I had no idea what to expect. So they're 10th and combined shots for and against. They're fourth in combined goal scored and sixth and expected goals. Like,

they've been playing actually pretty high-end hockey, certainly a departure from what we saw last year and under John Tortorella. And they've been involved in some of these crazy games where recently they like stole a game against the abs and both the Red Wings and like the final minute with a goal. They won a bunch of overtime games. I like seeing guys like Sillinger and Chinacov

and some of these young players they brought into the mix. Like I want to see how they look. But I really passionately dislike their broadcast. So I struggle with that one. I usually watch the away broadcast. if I'm watching a Blue Jackets home game. But yeah, I'm surprised. I've enjoyed watching them quite a bit.

And I'm willing to bump them up even further if they keep this up. So I agree. So who's next on your list? I guess you did the Blue Jackets at 26 or something like that? 27. Yeah, 26. I have, I have the Kings. The Kings, I think, you know, they can climb.

I feel like they have an ability to climb the list. if they start to, you know, put things together more consistently, get young players more involved and like have the future kind of come clear into picture. But I feel like right now they're a complete wild card every night. And maybe like maybe that's a positive for a lot of people where like you just kind of don't know what you're going to get. But it hasn't been all too exciting from what I've seen. I did, I did watch them late last night. and I was absolutely crazy about those metallic buckets that they wore with the old school style.

Those jerseys are so nice. They're so nice. And I was pretty torn. It took me almost the whole game to decide whether or not I liked those chrome buckets. But like, I don't know. There's such a uniqueness to it. And I think that it works better than the Vegas gold ones. So I'm willing to give them some points for those.

And so, you know, I think they can keep climbing, but right now, not super high. I'll put them at 26. Yeah, I have them higher. I have them 18 on mine just because I think they play pretty fast. You know, they've been winning a bunch of games here recently. And they have a bunch, like they have good depth, especially in terms of young players. Like, I'm curious to see how they develop. So I have them a bit higher.

Those jerseys, I mean, that needs to be a full-time thing. Those are freaking gorgeous. All right, let's do. So let's get to my list now. I've got 26, the Islanders. which I mentioned earlier. I'm on the record as saying that people underrate how fun the Islanders have been to watch in the past because when they're firing on all cylinders, like there's something beautiful about how structure they are and how discipline they are and just like everyone is kind of pushing and pulling in the same direction at all times.

And I do appreciate that. It just that hasn't been the case lately. Like I understand they started the season on this insane road trip while they waited for their rink to finish up. they're going to be finally playing some home games here. I'm looking forward to checking out what that looks like. And I'll certainly be watching those games. But I mean, they've been outscored 19 to 4 in their last four games. Ryan Fulawks out for a month now or so.

And it just, like that game the other night was it yesterday or two days ago against the Panthers. Like within a couple minutes, you're like, all right, this one's over and there's nothing to see here. So like it's a work in progress. I don't think this is their future. But for right now, like, I just can't have them any higher because this is what they've been. This is perfect because at number 25, I have the New York Islanders. I am completely in agreement. Like, I was quite defensive of the islanders over the past couple of years,

and people just saying that they, like, they play boring hockey because they're defensive. I don't think that that's true at all. I like the structure of their defensive style and, like, contrasted against the, like, a team like the stars, like the islanders are content. to sit back or had been content to sit back and just like bide their time and then really pounce on the openings. And they created a lot of, they created a lot of offense off the rush, which is really exciting. And like I love the, I love watching the, um, like the, the camaraderie between that team. It did seem like a very, very tight knit group. They roll four lines. They really buy in.

I was big on the islanders, but like, you know, this year, I feel like I haven't, they haven't had that sort of intrigue and they haven't had that sort of success. So there's really not much there besides like Matt Barzell and seeing him on any given night. Like I have a personal rooting interest for Zayno Chara. So like I kind of want to check him out. But there's not much there right now. No, there isn't. Chara's had a rough go of it. The other night against the lightning, he got like at the end of the game, I guess he like,

he had hit Boris Kachuk and then he just turned around and like punched him. But like, I think he was expecting to punch him in the face, but because it's did Ocharra, he like punched them like in the chest basically and tried to like double like take him down. It was pretty comical. But yeah, it hasn't gone the way they certainly expected to start here. All right. Next on my list, I'm up to 24 right now. Yeah, same. We're aligned now.

All right. I have the crack in here. Okay. It might be a bit of a blind spot for me. It's something I wrestled with a lot because on the one hand, I enjoyed the novelty of it. I, like, I'll tune in. I watched the game last night against the Blackhawks on T&T. I like seeing the New Jersey's. I like seeing the combinations of new players playing together that haven't previously.

But the actual product itself just has not been very viewer friendly. And I'm not even talking about the wins and losses because they're clearly a better team than their record indicates. Like if they could buy a single save from Philip Gruberra, they'd be better. But they're kind of profiling as the team we expected them to be, which is like, no one is playing at a lower event pace and they are. They've been really good at suppressing other teams' shots and chances against. They've just been giving up goals because Grubaher has been a complete save. But there hasn't been enough there for me from the actual product to keep sucking me in.

I do watch it just because I enjoy the novelty of it, but the actual on-ice play has not been nearly good enough. yeah i i agree with you i mean like i have uh we're 24 i have um i have the st louis blues and you know i had them way higher way higher i think that the blues like i like the blues lineup i do like i really do and i think that they are a pretty good team like they're they're good team but i'm not about about like their style and I just am not I'm yeah I'm maybe there's some bias here because I'm just not the biggest blues fan after what they did to me a few years ago but like I have one of the reasons why I will tune in to watch the blues because like any given night you have a pretty good chance pretty high percentage of watching Jordan

Bennington pee his diaper and and go off the rails and try to start some start some crap. So I have them there. Maybe that's disrespectful, but I'm not huge on the Blues. Well, I have them at 11 on my list. And they're one of my biggest risers

since the preseason. And I will say, I think you should give them a chance. I think people associate them with that team that won the cup that's historically been kind of boring in terms of prioritizing defense and trying to grind it out

and play this kind of heavy hockey. But they've been in anything but so far. Like, if anything, they have this really fun group of diverse forwards, maybe that sort of Jordan Kairu, Pavl Butchnevich duo is like catnip for me because they've been two of my favorites over the years. But they've been so fun together. And I just, they've been scoring a lot. I think they have the second rank power play.

Like they've been playing some pretty fun, high scoring games. And so for me, uh, I went into the year not expecting much and I've been very pleasantly surprised. So I have them higher than you. And I'd recommend people check them out more than if they have some bias against them. But yeah, I haven't give, I haven't given them like a ton, a ton of, uh, opportunity. And again, I agree, like I like their lineup a lot. Their depth has like, I think that the top end is a little, you know, there's a little bit to be desired there, but their depth is, is quite solid.

Well, I mean, if you think about it, like, you know, tying the two together, I brought up the Cracken earlier. Now the Blues, like, man, Vladimir Tarcenko, this version of him is pretty much exactly what the Cracken need. Like, I think they have the second worst power player or something. And he's back to shooting a lot and scoring a lot. And that's kind of exactly what they need right now. So where did you have the Cracken?

I have the Cracken actually quite high. I have them at eight just because there's been a lot of early interest in just seeing what they're about and seeing what's happening there. I mean, horrible goaltending can be quite fun to watch. And like the giffability of the Cracken is quite high. Their uniforms. And then they got John Foresland. Yep. Yeah.

No, that's fair. I'm with you on that. Okay. who's next on your list? We're up to 22 for me, so I think we got to catch up yours a bit. Yeah, so I, at 24, at 20, at 23, I have the Nashville Predators. Up to 22, there we go. Okay.

Yeah, I think that the Predators are a team that's like, there's intrigue there because, you know, their atmosphere is great. I'm really sort of invested into finding out whether Matthew Shane's resurgence is for real or for not or not. I'm also very, I'm very intrigued with the Philip Foresberg factor and what might happen with him and, you know, seeing what kind of stock he's building for himself leading up to midseason. And it's just overall, it's just a team that I think is in a very weird place. Like, they're, I would have said that this team probably should have taken strides to blow it up. And in ways they did. Like, they stripped away pieces. and it looked like they were kind of going to continue that.

But now you've got like some of these signs where, you know, they're competitive and they're starting to get returns on players that maybe we had written off before like Dachain. So like I'm intrigued and interested in what they can provide regularly and consistently. Yeah. DeShaden's been fun. He already has more goals and points than he did all of last. year. That's a pretty low bar to clear, obviously, but he's been dynamic again. You know, Soros is one of the very few goalies in the league for me that it's legitimately

entertaining to watch. Like, if you think about it, the whole concept of a goalie is to prevent fun and to keep the puck out of the net. But he's just, like, he's so dynamic. He's, I don't know if he's the conrader. He's the kale macar of goalies. Like the edge work he does, not to sound like a complete goalie nerd here, but like his lateral movement and quickness, he had. a couple saves against the Leafs the other night. I was watching that game closely where he was just going side to side and just covering so much ground. And so he's been so good over the past year and a half that even if they had intentions on taking a step back or whatever, like he's kind of dragging them into being competitive and winning a lot of these games.

But it's been really fun to watch. So I sometimes tune in just to see what UC Soros is going to do. And I love the fact that like we're in this time where it's like, all right, if you're a six, five, you're just going to put you in there and net and you can just block a lot of shots. And instead, Soros is this little guy who's just bouncing around and creatively making stops. Yeah, I love it. I love Ys and, I mean, he was my preseason Vesna pick. And so, like, I am invested in seeing what he's bringing in on any given night.

And, you know, again, like, it's a situation where I was curious preseason where they would be because, like, you know, I thought they'd be a middling team and does the fact, does whether or not they make the playoffs take UCSaros out of the Vesena running if he's, if he's at the top of his game. Like, they're always going to be an intriguing team based off the fact that I don't really know where they are. Yep. Yeah. No, I'm with you. Champions aren't born. They're made. And the secret to make your business reign supreme, Shopify, the all-in-one commerce platform to start, run, and grow your business. Forget the off-season work. Shopify makes it simple to sell to anyone from anywhere. Whether you're selling warm-ups or wall hangers, It's time to start selling with Shopify and join the platform simplifying commerce for millions of businesses worldwide.

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and around the globe. Sign up for a free trial at Shopify.com slash bluewire, all lowercase. Go to Shopify.com slash bluewire to start selling online today. Shopify.com slash bluewire. Recognized employees with Custom Ink. Show customer appreciation with Custom Ink. Outfit your teams with custom ink. Easily add your logo to your favorite products and brands at Customink.com. Make Custom Inc your custom gear partner with great customer service, quality products, and all in pricing, along with personalized help when you need it and an easy-to-use website when you don't. All backed by a 100% satisfaction guarantee. Do it all today at Customink.com. I have, so I had them at 22 just to kind of rattle through here because I had the penguins at 21.

We already talked about them. Okay. Let me catch up. Let me catch up. I got the, I have the Devils at 22. I think that they're a team like on the precipice of being something noteworthy, but like not quite there yet. And they definitely lose a bit of oomph without Jack Hughes in the lineup. And I think that like watching Jack Hughes reach superstar.

level and it's coming. I was interested in watching him on any given night and seeing where that trajectory heads. So, you know, without him in the lineup, they lose a few points. 21,

it might shock you. Might absolutely shock you. I have the Boston Bruins at 21. I have up a nine. Nine? It seems like I'm the Bruins hober on this podcast. Yeah. I mean,

I'll tell you, like even as a Bruins fan, like I'm watching every game, but like they are, not super exciting. Like their top line is obviously incredible. That's going to make you make it worth tuning in on any given night. But like they're not that exciting behind the top line.

Their watchability is quite low because it's hard to watch them. They're not playing games. They're taking like a week off in between games every time. It's insane. Whoever scheduled, whoever came up with a schedule for the Bruins needs to be thrown in jail. And I will also take off points that they keep wearing those stupid third jerseys that I dislike quite a lot. The one with just like the block B. Yeah.

The top line is so good in terms of even watchability for me that I have them that high just purely out of respect for like I want to see. Like they're their chemistry. And like this is going to be the nerdiest thing. I think I've ever done this podcast. But like the geometry they use on the ice is so appealing to me. Like they do these like kind of diagonal dump in. where it's like clearly a design sort of pass. And they just do stuff.

They just see the ice differently than everyone else. And I really enjoy that. You're going to be aware of the stat, obviously, having watched the game and being a fan of the team. But they've played 300 minutes at 515 without Bergeron or coil on the ice. So that's kind of like bottom six minutes, right, without either of those top two centers. They scored four goals in that time. Yeah. So four or five and five goals in 300 minutes is not good for those scoring at home.

And it's a problem. And it's obviously been something. thing that's been a recurring theme with this team. It's like the top of the lineup, you know, used to be David Craichy and that number two center gig, but you know you're going to get from the top six, can the bottom six pieces together enough? And they haven't yet. And they invested a lot into a bunch of guys that could conceivably help there over the

off season and they're just not getting enough from them yet. So you're right. Like maybe I'm overrating just how good that top line. Yeah. So that's what I was just going to say. Like I think that maybe there's the discrepancy there is that I've seen this on a regular basis night in and night out for like the past two or three years where I'm sick of it, man. Like I'm sick of seeing just the top line drag the Bruins to relevance and like for as good as

they are and they are like they're amazing. I'm not taking them for granted. But I want to see more. And this team should be a lot more entertaining than it is. Yeah. Yeah, I'm with you. So I had 21 penguins, 20 senators. So we already did them.

19 levels. We did that. 20, I had the Capitals. I think the Capitals, the biggest reason, and the Capitals are a good team. They're surprisingly, been surprisingly good so far this year.

And like the Alex Ovechkin factor is insane. You know, it's, you know, anytime you can watch Alexoveskin, you should probably make an effort to do so, especially because he's still great right now. And it's insane that he's still.

that he's still great at his age. And you know, you shouldn't take it for granted because the, you know, it's closer to the end than it is to the beginning. And the chase itself is, uh, is exciting.

And they've got some, some good young players. But, you know, overall, I think that the capitals are sort of like a team that is not going to, not going to super blow you away. Yeah. You know what you're going to get from them.

I had them higher. Like I have them at seven just because I think there's nothing more fun except for maybe Connor McDavid than just watching Obechkin, score goals, celebrate and just be like impervious to time and regular human stuff. Like just he's in its own category in terms of just there's no end in sight. And every time he think he's going to slow down a little bit or he starts the year, kind of had an injury in the preseason. Is he going to be good to go or not?

And then he just is a goal at game and just looks every bit apart. And so for me, I really want to cherish these next couple of years to like follow this race and just soak up as much of Etkin as I can because I know that we're watching something that we're probably never going to see again in our lifetime, right? Like it seems very unlikely that we're ever going to see a player that has his durability, his shot volume, his goal scoring, like all of it put together into one package. So I kind of want to, I want to enjoy that while we still can. I feel you.

So I have, okay, so I think we're like into my teens already. Yeah, yeah, I'm at 19 right now. Okay, who do you have a 19? Right now at 19, I have the Vegas Golden Knights, and I think that that is very much subject to change. Like we talked about, I don't know which team you had mentioned earlier, the Penguins where, you know, they're not healthy. So it's tough to fully register what they can be.

And obviously, I think the expectations were a lot higher for the Golden Knights than like the 19th most watchable team. And now that they have Jack Eichael, that's also going to skyrocket them up a little bit. if and when he gets on the ice this year. So it's like it's very hard to gauge their watchability right now. But there is still intrigue as to what they are, despite the health issues,

because they enter the season as this heavy favorite, you know, near the top of the odds list. And, you know, I think they're a team that you kind of, it's worth investing time in finding out what they're capable of when not at full strength. Yeah.

Yeah. I mean, and they've been, I think, by any metric, like the worst defensive team in the league. So there's been a lot of volume in their games. Yeah, it's just, it's a TBD because they've finally got Mark Stone back. They can get Patch Ready and Carlson back here in a bit. And they're obviously going to be much more watchable. They just haven't really been the last little bit. They're obviously, I think, have you ever been to a home game of theirs?

I have not been to a home game. I've been to the arena. I went to the expansion draft. Nice. It's a really nice arena. I think the All-Star break is in Vegas this year, and I'm planning on going to cover it. So I love that. Okay, well, yeah, maybe we'll record something while we're there.

But even watching it on TV or on my laptop, I like, it transfers to me. Like, I feel like it's a party atmosphere, even just sitting in my bedroom watching on my laptop. So I'm excited to actually get to get to see that in person. but that certainly, like, I enjoy watching their home games just purely based on that alone. I know it's not going to be kind of this like dead atmosphere where nothing's going on. Very good broadcast too. Yeah. Their broadcast is really strong.

I like it. All right. Let's keep it going. Okay. At 18, I have the Winnipeg Jets. I really like their forward group. There's a ton of talent there. Not quite.

I think that I would have put them higher if their defense was worse. Like the defense that they've had. over the past couple of years where they're just like bleeding high danger opportunities and you're watching Connor Hellebuck go to work. Like I feel like the the defense kind of tightening up a little bit and Connor Hellebuck being not so good has been, has kind of hurt their watchability in a way. Right. But like their, but their high end talent is still absolutely going to pull in my attention.

Like I'm a big Mark Schifley guy. I love Nikki. dealers. So like I really like what they have up front, especially in the top six. And I'm, I'm going to take time to watch that more often than not. Yeah. You're killing me. I haven't six. Like you're all of my, all of my top 10 teams, you're just dismissing them as if they're just well rubbish. But I think once we get into my top 10, you're going to see that like I value certain things more than others. All the bad less watching teams. Yeah. Right. Yeah. I yeah. On my last year, I've got Kyle Conner's shot making, Nick Eilers just zipping through the neutral zone.

Pure Luke Du Bois this year, really returning to four. And we talk about Matt DeShane's bounce back. Du Bois has already basically matched his production from last year and looks the part. He's back to using that big frame to kind of power through contact. So I like watching the Jets. I also feel like, you're right. They're not having as many sort of, you know, screen captureable, like three on O's and stuff like that against Hellebuck. But I still. feel like it's a good game environment for nonsense to take place and for, you know, just random scoring chances back and forth.

So I like them quite a bit. All right. Let's keep it going. I have the Canadians at 17. We already talked about them. 16, I have the Canucks because, you know,

there's a morbid curiosity there in terms of seeing how bad it's going to get. And, you know, there's the chance that on any given night, they're going to give up like a hundred, goals. And so I kind of want to see that. And like personally, I have some sort of investment in the Canucks in wanting to see them turn a corner or like, or not or just like seeing them get to a point where they need to blow it up or like throw somebody under the bus. And I think it's very

close. So now, you know, maybe it's recency bias with the stuff that's happened this week with Jim Benning. But they're quite high. They're like in the middle, higher than they probably deserve based on a talent standpoint, but I have them at 16. Sure. Yeah, we already did them on my list. I have the flyers at 17 as like the lowest team still remaining on my list. I just, I never know what I'm going to get from them on a game to game basis. I feel like they have very high highs in terms of entertainment and also like lows.

And they've been obviously successful this season, but just in terms of the watchability, it hasn't had that sort of chaotic factor. Like Carter Hart's been ridiculously good this year and is amongst the league, in terms of goal state of all I expected. And so that's made them less entertaining from the perspective of it's just not going to be like peak flyers. They're actually pretty good. So I just, I didn't really know what to do with them on this list. And I kind of, it felt right to put them right in the middle.

Yeah, I, uh, I have them at 15. So it's literally my next team. And the only note that I have on them is, you know, they're, it's, I have that they are, you know, very unpredictable, but they also have Rasmus for. to line in, which is, you know, bring me in, hook it right up to my veins because at any given moment, you've got a chance to see something ridiculous. Yeah, and he's been better this year. And I look forward to the Flyers fans talking themselves into that one, only for him

to pull out the rug from right under their feet at the very most inopportune time. The, like the first couple weeks, though, man, it was, it was like same old, same old. And he looked quite bad at, at various points. Yep. I got the Red Wings 15 on my list. Man, we are in sync right now. I have them at 14. They're my next team. Nice. I mean, that top line is so freaking fun. Like, Lucas Raymond's first month on the scene has been incredible. Like, I just love the way he plays and sort of sees the ice and playing off of Dylan Larkin's speed has been a perfect fit. Ad Mo Cider and they're, like, they've been a really fun team to watch. I think they've come crashing back down Earth a bit here in terms of wins and losses. And I think there's still a year or two away from actually being a playoff contender, but just in terms of watchability. Like, I thought in the past, they were horrid because they're blue was so bad that they couldn't string together two passes. And it's been much different from an aesthetic perspective this season. Right.

And as soon as they break away from being a joke and being a punching bag for the league, you should probably start paying attention. And now they're at that point where they are certainly no joke. And I think that they're playing with pride. And they've got some movement behind them. We'll see if they lose it. If like the losses pile up. But again, like those young pieces are there and they're there to stay.

And I want to see that development, especially because we know the relevance is coming. Stevie Y doesn't mess around. He's got a plan. It's going to work out. We all know this. So like get familiar with the Red Wings, especially now that they're kind of turning a corner. I'm with you. All right.

Who's next on your list then? I have the Calgary Flames. The Calgary Flames are at 13. Andrew Mangyipani is one of the most underrated players in the league, and I love him. You know, I know that you've been high, and you just wrote about Oliver Tillington.

You know, his sort of breakout is very exciting. Jacob Markstrom, possibly like the best goalie in the league. And I really like their uniforms too. Their uniform set is quite pleasing aesthetically. And, you know, I think that the flames are a team that has a lot of intrigue this year.

Yeah, I think people think of Daryl Sutter as kind of this archaic style where they want to just grind it out and turn the game to a rock fight. But they like to play fast. Like they like to create off the rush. They certainly have the personnel up front to do so with Munchipani and Johnny Goodrow and Lais, Linholm and so on and so forth. And Shillington has been a revelation, like just watching him fly around the ice. I think the list is very short of individual players. I've enjoyed watching more than him so far.

Like the amount of groundy covers, especially sometimes defensive. where he looks like he's out of the play. And the other night, I think it was Joel Farabee. He looked like he had a breakaway. Then just Shillington just comes flying in out of nowhere and just knocks him off the pocket and just prevents it. And it's like, holy crap. Like this guy was shot out of a cannon. So I highly recommend watching the flames if people haven't done so already.

I have the next time my list is the Minnesota wild. They're 14. I had the flames of 12, by the way. Okay. So that kind of lines up. I have the wilds at 12 ahead of the flames. So they were my next team. Like, Carol Cabrizov worth a press position.

He just hasn't been as fun so far this season. And I'm not going to write it off. Like, I don't think he was a one hit under by any means. Like I'm buying Carol Cabrizov stock if anyone is selling. Right. But I thought they'd be more fun just because he was like, they were easily a top 10 team last year just purely based on how he was playing. And it's taken a bit of a step back this year,

which is why I had them 13th or whatever on my first. list, but once he gets going, and I think he will, like, they're going to shoot back up. Yeah. No, I think that they have a, they have the higher potential, like, potential of being top 10, but I have them at 12. Let me ask you a question based off of that. Like, if you had to buy one stock of a player who was like a bit lower right now, would you take Carill Capriza or are you going to take Elias Pedersen?

I mean, it's tough because Pedersen has been so bad for the past, like, year and a half. And it's unique circumstances because his wrist was really messed up last. year and it's clear that he's still not 100% because he's just not shooting nearly as much as he was before and he's only 23 years old so like i think his upside is through the roof but he's been really really bad this year so i think his stock is lower than caprisov's is so purely from a value perspective i would say by peterson stock although the canucks are such a mess right now that it could drag down his performance along the way if they don't turn it around whereas the while they're playing pretty good hockey and have the pieces of

is around Caprizov where they've been able to sort of survive him being pedestrian relative by his standards. And once he turns it on, I think they're going to be really good. So I'm kind of hedging my bet there. I would buy stock for both those guys because I just, I'm a firm believer in just betting on talent and eventually winning out. And people get way too reactionary with like 10, even 20 game stretches of a guy not looking that great. Like if you know the talent is there, just bet on it turning around. Right. Yeah. And so I have, I have the wild the 12, you know, Caprizov, I think that, you know, he, that team is going to get better. But I do think that like, there is an element where they're watchable because a lot of

their games so far have been quite close and quite dramatic. So, you know, even if they're not playing at their top level, them playing at a lower level is still been entertaining. Yep. Yep. Okay, so we're up to 13 on my list. And this team is definitely the biggest. riser for me so far and one that I was not expecting.

And I'm assuming they're going to be your midnight rider. It's the high. Yeah. Yeah. They're higher for me. I mean, how high do you have them? 10. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Wow. I tweeted this the other night after his overtime winner, but like the amount of swag that Trevor Zegas has at all times is obscene. And it's deserved because he backs up with his play.

Like his skills are 30. the roof. But he's such a star already. Like, if I were the Ducks, if I were the NHL, I'd be just marketing the hell out of him because, like, I think people that follow hockey are obviously aware of him. And he was like a top guy and he just a shine at the world juniors and all that. But like he needs to be a household name because he's just insanely fun to watch. And so I'm buying all of the Zegger stock. Yeah. I think like, you know, the youngsters there are, are really worth tuning in for. And like Zegris is in that group obviously. uh, Driesdale, even like Troy Terry.

I know that he's like a not, not necessarily like a youngster by standards right now. But like we're sort of, we're seeing him reach another level this year. And it's to the point where like, you want to watch the Ducks games to see if Troy Terry's going to keep it up because like, is it going to be at the Olympics?

Like I know that. 15 game point streak for Troy Terry. Yeah, it's insane. Like, and not only that, like Ryan Getsloff is having a resurgence, which is, what are we, talking about.

Where is this coming from? The Ducks are the most surprising team in the league. And that in itself is worth tuning into. I don't know if it's sustainable, but like, I'm absolutely watching Ducks games right now. And I've been one of the biggest, like, I don't say Ducks haters, but like, I've just ignored the Ducks because what am I paying attention to in Anaheim over the past couple of years?

And like, no, not for nothing. We don't want to keep harping on uniforms, but like, I hate them so much. I resent the ducks so much because they have one of the best uniforms in league history just gathering dust in their closet with the initial Mighty Ducks look. And like that branding itself is god tier in sports. So like as this team turns a corner, I hope so too does the way that they market themselves, the way that they brand.

And like this team could be one of the most exciting in hockey in like a two years time, two or three years time. And I think they're an interesting position organizationally because they've been entertaining. They also have this 10 game point street. And I think they only have one loss of more than one goal difference. So they've been super competitive. And at the start of the year, I'm with you. Like last year, they were horribly just mismanaged and disorganized and were unwatchable

almost despite some of this young talent. And heading into this year, I was like, all right, well, they have Getslap, Linholm, Manson, Raquel, all these guys are expires. contract, they're certainly just going to have a fire sale and trade everyone and get as many picks and extend this rebuild. But now they're so good that it's like, I'm curious to see how the next whatever weeks, months are going to go leading up to the trade deadline because obviously if they keep winning, not that they're going to become buyers, but it complicates matters in that regard.

So I'm really curious to see whether they can keep this going. Obviously, I'm not expecting them to keep getting a point in every single game. But there's certainly the talent there to make them fun. So I'm with you. Who's next on your list? I'll back up a little bit because I went to 12 to 10, but I have the Blackhawks at 11. Like, I know that this season has been an absolute circus and a disaster and like they're a pretty unsavory team at this point in time from an off ice perspective. But like on ice, the circus, I just like, I've been very interested in seeing how how poorly they started the year and like what Colleton was doing and just, you know, I,

And now, you know, they're entering into recovery mode and undefeated under Derek King. And, like, so there's still intrigue surrounding that team and surrounding the talent that they have there. Like Patrick Kane's still there. I'm interested to see what Seth Jones looks like on any given night just based off of the, off of like, you know, what they were willing to sink into him this, this off season. And then like, even Mark Andre Fleury. I'm invested in Mark Andre Fleury. And I don't want to see him miserable. and, you know, even kind of watching his personal mental demise through, like, the first month of the season,

I didn't say that. I definitely didn't enjoy it, but like I wanted to keep an eye on it. And so, like, the Blackhawks have had that sort of intrigue for me. Yeah. They were so bad defensively under Jeremy Colleton that I feel like making that coaching change made them slightly less watchable just because they've tightened it up a little bit. obviously the competition hasn't been particularly good in these first couple games. So we'll see once they start playing better teams.

But yeah, like they were good for some good screen captures back in the Colleton days where I was like, where is everyone in this in this picture right now? There's like three opposing skaters and no Blackhawks in sight. But yeah, so I'm, I'm with you there. I got, we're all the way into my top 10 now. Yep. Same. So I have the Rangers at 10.

Okay. Where do you, you have, we haven't gone through them on your list yet, right? Nope, we have not. They are, they're in my top 10, but I'll, I'll let you go. Number 10 for me was the ducks. So like I'm done with 10. You can go into the Rangers and I'll build on that. Yeah, I mean, so they have a 10 to 3 and 3 records so far.

I think their skater, the way they've performed hasn't been nearly that good. Like they've relied on E. E.R. and Stryck in quite a bit to get to that record. I'm still willing to watch them because of the combination of like, Panarin is good for at least two or three ridiculous plays with the puck. Adam Fox doing literally anything with or without the puck is really good to watch. And Chris Crater has been flying down the wing. And so put that all together.

It's a fun time. I enjoy their broadcast. I think certainly on the relevancy perspective, they're high. I'd like to see them actually improve the underlying process and start playing up to their capabilities. But they're banking all these wins. So, you know, I'm sure they're not complaining. So yeah, I have them at 10. I'm willing to bump them up even higher because the individual talent is that good.

But I just like 10 is a pretty pretty fair spot for them, I think. Yeah, I have them at five. I haven't met five because I think that there are a lot of things you just mentioned. They're thoroughly imperfect, but like there are a lot of interest points for this team. Just starting with the fact that they had one of the more interesting off seasons slash like last few months of the season last year. This team obviously completely had an overhaul. and a lot of people were critical of the moves that they made and the the summer of grit. And so I'm interested to just kind of see where that led.

And, you know, Adam Fox, Kako, Lafranier, Schisturkin, you know, so many points of interest for that team that, like, I want to watch. And, you know, there's also an element for the Rangers, like, you don't know what you're going to get on any given night. And so, like, that in itself is kind of worth tuning into. They love giving up higher light real goals, like two of the best goals that have been scored this season have been against the Rangers. So like, you know, there's for better or for worse, like I mentioned that Canucks a few years ago, for better or for worse, the Rangers are always kind of going to be interesting. Yeah. Yeah, no, certainly. They have a high entertainment factor for sure.

All right. So I'm up to eight on mine. So who do you have at nine? At nine, I have the Tampa Bay Lightning, which seems like it's probably a bit like too low for a team that's as good as they are. have them. Okay. Like, I don't know if it's, if it's, um, a, like a sense of fatigue with the lightning. Um, but, you know, they're, they're, they're obviously like the back to back champs.

And there's tons of talent there. But like, they're not nearly as polished and as deep as they've been in years past. They've, you know, sort of struggled a little bit out of the gate maybe. Um, you know, you kind of know, like, know what you're going to. to get from them in certain areas. And like the other areas haven't been crazy interesting to me. Like one one point where I've like made a point to tune in to watch is Matthew Joseph because I feel like Matthew Joseph has been somebody that I've kind of been expecting

to take the next step and take on a bigger role and fill in some of the shoes that of departing guys from that roster. So like I've wanted to see him play and see what he's capable of. But like outside of that, the lightning are not not as much of a draw as you'd expect from a team that's been as good and as successful as them from the past couple of years. And I think for me, that's purely just because Nikita Kutrov isn't there right now.

Like for as many good players they have, they play a very sort of meat and potato style of game while he's not there. Like, he unlocks so much for them with his creativity and they just play an entirely different brand of hockey when he's on the ice and he's flinging the puck around and he's a dual threat as a shooter and a passer. And so for me, like, it's a testament to how good and how deep they are that they don't have a top three entertainment level player in the lineup. And they're still in my top 10 and I have them at eight.

But with Kutraud, they'd obviously be significantly higher. So for me, that's the difference there. And you're right. We've seen so much of them over the past couple years and we kind of know what they expect. So there isn't too much in terms of surprise. We're into my top five because I had like the jets and the capitals pretty high here. And I think the Bruins. So let's get to your top five.

Let's do the teams that you haven't covered yet up at that point. Okay. So I have the lightning at nine. I had the Cracken at eight. I talked about that a little bit. At seven, I have the Colorado Avalanche, which is, you know, pretty shocking that they're that low. because, you know, heading into the season, I probably would have put them, like, one or two

based off of the top tier talent, like they're, you know, McKinnon, McCar, uh, rantan, like, you know, there's, there's so much to watch there and they play a high energy pace and, um,

you know, they open the season as a Stanley Cup favorite, so there's always going to be like intrigue there to see what they're capable of every single year or, uh, every single game. But, you know,

it's been a slow start. They've been pretty mediocre. Um, and, I've also taken issue with the fact they just keep adding blue stuff to their uniforms every single year. I don't know what they're doing. I feel like next year they're going to be full blue. Yeah.

Yeah. That's very true. I don't understand what they're doing either in that regard. They were my preseason number one. I still believe that their A plus game presents the highest upside of any of these teams. Like when their offense starts snowballing sometimes, it's honestly breathtaking because it's just like you're just sitting back and you're like, holy, it's just a barrage of rush shots. We just haven't seen all those top weapons on the ice at the same time yet. You know, the finally, Taves and McCar are back to playing together.

McKinnon, once he comes back, they'll be relatively at full form. And so I think as soon as that happens, they'll bump up. But I am at four on my list just because I thought that even with the injuries and sort of the relatively slow start, there's enough there to tune in. But, yeah, I haven't met four. I have the hurricanes at five. I have the hurricanes at six, so that's my next team. I mean, they're just like, they're good, fun team, tons of zone time, tons of shots on net.

Like, I'm interested in Freddie Anderson's revival. You know, there's not a lot to dislike about watching the Carolina Hurricanes. Yeah, that's what I was going to say. I love the pace and intensity they play with, right? Like, it seems like it obviously just comes from their coach Rod Burnhamer, who's an absolute lunatic. And I love when the camera pan, somebody's just yelling at someone.

But like they aggressively foreshank so hard. And they just don't take shifts off, right? Like it seems like whoever's on the ice for them, something is going to be happening. Like there's no time where you're like, all right, I can take a two minute break here to kind of look away. Like it feels like at all times, there could be shots and goals.

I also, you know, in that regard, Svetikov is the NHL's like events king right now, like on a permanent basis, whether it's, shot attempts or points or penalties like something every single uh andro such a club shift something is going to happen and that's makes for great entertainment because you know that you'll have something to look forward to so i um i have been five on my list and they're just yeah everyone knows like they're a really good team and they're really deep so uh let's keep it going of yours rangers were my

five okay we talked about them so uh four i have the Arizona coyotes oh my Arizona coyotes at four because there's, I mean, we could be watching the worst team ever assembled in league history. So there is, there's intrigue there. Like, I think, you know, not to be insulting, but like, I think you're stupid if you're not trying to watch the worst team that has ever been in the league. And I want to see what happens with the coyotes on any given night because it could be, it could be awful. It could be an absolute train wreck. And I want to see how bad it gets. The Kachina jerseys don't, don't hurt.

I was quite heartbroken when they had a national TV game last week and wore the howling head. I was like, number one, how are the coyotes getting any national TV games this year? And number two, how are you going to wear your worst jersey when you are on a national showcase? At least that was the game against the wild where I believe they gave up a couple hilarious highlight real goals against, including a, like there were, I was a five on three in Caprizov and Zuccarella. We were just passing it behind the head and their goalie didn't know where the clock was. was just looking side to side until it was in the net. That game ended up, I think that I'm remembering this correctly, but that game got out of hand real quick.

It did. It did. Man, four is, I guess you could just take my argument about Ovechkin and be like, you're never going to see this again and just copy-pasted here, I guess, for the coyotes in terms of that. But they'd be higher on my list if they could somehow get Carter Hidding back in the net.

Like the first couple of games he played this year were very amusing. in terms of what was going in. So like their goaltending has been shockingly competent. And it's kind of toned down a few of these games so far. So maybe if they can get hiding back in or if, you know, Vamalka and a bit wedge would stop playing as well as they have. Maybe maybe I can bump them up with it. But I don't know.

It's I had a tough time. I, they're pretty clear 32 for me. I appreciate the fact that you, uh, you put yourself on a limb here. I mean, that's, I feel like that's, that's like a good. insight into this exercise as to like where the like the evaluation comes in like there's so much to evaluate in terms of watchability that your 32 can be my four yeah wait so do we have the same top three i i think so uh yeah because we haven't covered them right yeah yeah so i have the leaps at three okay i have the uh i have the florida panthers at three so i have my two um do you

take whichever one I want. Do I want to leave the or the Panthers? I'll do the Panthers. I mean, I think the Panthers are a well-oiled machine. Like they have high high-end talent. Like, I've been impressed by how capable they've been on the back end. Like, obviously, you're going to get where you're going to get

from Barkov and Huberto and like Anthony DeClair. Hell yeah. So, like, you know, I think I'm very interested in Sergey Brabrovsky's come back and Spencer Knight's development. I have them at three.

Like, I easily think that I could have put them at two or like perhaps one. But the reason that I have them at three, they have the worst camera angle in all of hockey. Their camera angle is horrendous. It looks like, like their placement is so low in home games that it looks like a high school hockey game. You can't see the puck when it goes into the corner. You know why they're doing that, right? They don't want to show the stands. Yeah, but like I'm not going to give them credit for that for being ashamed of their attendance.

Give me a break. No, like it is, it's legitimately rattling how much I hate that camera do you. I like it more than the opposite, which is the sharks one, which makes you feel like you're sitting in the press box while you're sitting at home. I hope Barkov's okay. That knee injury he suffered the other night was scary. And obviously that bumps him down a bit in terms of entertainment. But it sounds like he'll, you know, avoided worst case scenario. and he'll be back. They're just, they're so relentless off the rush. Like, they're the best

rush team in the league. They create so much. They have so many fun skaters. So I had them a number two. Like I, they're a priority doing for me. I make sure to watch them whenever they're on. I had the lease at three. Yeah, them at two. No one creates more chances than they have so far this year. At the same time, even though their defense has improved and their defensive numbers have improved, it still feels like they have this propensity for potential crazy games to breakout where it genuinely feels like no lead is safe. And so obviously they have a history of blowing leads. But similarly, if they go down early in a game, I want to tune in because they have

the ability to jump right back into it and score enough to get back in. So that's an issue for me with a lot of these teams where if the game starts getting out of hand early, just with the way the league is structured, like teams kind of just give up or they just don't have enough in the tank to come back. Whereas with the Leafs, it really does feel like you have to watch the full 60 minutes because anything could happen. Yeah, I mean, that's exactly why I have them at too. I mean, they've got obviously top tier talent that everybody's interested in.

And there's, you know, everybody's interested in the Leafs no matter what. Like, you know, as much as much as I make fun of Toronto and Toronto media for being obsessed with the Leafs, like in certain ways, I'm obsessed with the Leafs because everybody cares. Like, they are one of the most interesting teams in the league. And, you know, as you mentioned, there is the capability of a Leafs game going off the rails in one end or the other at any point. So like you're crazy if you are not tuning into that and seeing what happens. Yep. Oilers at one was like a no-brainer for me. Like when I started this exercise, slam dunk. I mean, Connor McDavid is just the most electric athlete, I think,

in all over the American professional sports right now. Like he operates on a different plane of existence than everyone. I have fun story here. Well, fun relatively speaking. But it was my 30th birthday recently a couple weeks ago. I'm happy belated. Thanks, man. And it was on my birthday, actual birthday was a few days later. But my party was on the night where they played the Rangers and he scored that goal. And whenever I go out for dinner or any sort of social event on an evening when the Oilers are playing,

like I have this feeling of FOMO that I'm just going to miss some kind of spectacle that everyone's going to be talking about. And I just like, I had this feeling nagging feeling in the back of my head. I can't believe I'm missing the Soylers game. Like I know something's going to happen. Meanwhile, like I'm at this beautiful cocktail party with everyone I love and just having nice fancy drinks and everyone's there to celebrate me. And I'm on my phone and I'm like, oh my God, he did it. And I was with Thomas Drans.

He was there. Then I'm like showing him. And I'm like, did you see what McDavid did? And I'm like showing everyone at the table. And everyone's like, all right, great. Yeah, that's cool. And I'm like, oh, my God. And so maybe that's very telling about the way I choose.

live my life. But yeah, not to get too deep into the weeds, but like I've, I was exactly that person for like a, like a long time where like I would feel like legitimate anxiety doing other things and like not watching hockey. And I've since learned like, hey, I'm, I'm keeping an arm's length distance. I'm not, I don't care tonight's whatever. And so like I feel you. I hope that you can help yourself a little bit to enjoy.

your 30th birthday, man. That was a cry for a problem. But, like, yeah, like, no, I mean, Connor McDavid is Connor McDavid. He's the most electrifying player in the league, but he's not the most exciting player on that team right now. Like, that's a slam dunk to put them at number one. Like, Connor McDavid is not the most exciting player on that team right now.

And that's insane. Leon Drysidal has been absolutely absurd this season. And like the power play operating at the efficiency that it has, um, you know, they're just like a high event team, a high pay. team.

Mike Smith, who could fall off the fall off, you know, the side of a wagon at any time. But like, and he could be great too. Like you never know what you're going to get from that. And like the Oilers, I think it just, they may not be the best team in the league, but they are by far the most entertaining team in the league right now. Yeah, Trice Seidel's on pace for 93 goals and 87 assists. Now, obviously he won't keep shooting 33% in scoring every single game. but with the way that powerplay is operating,

like it's just so obscene. And really it feels like the only thing that could stop it is officials just deciding not to make calls and give them the opportunities in the first place. And that very well might happen come to playoffs. But for right now, they're just ridiculous. But even like even now, it feels like officials are afraid to give the Oilers power plays

because the power play is so good. And this league is so dumb. The fact that it's like, it's like a mentality of like not wanting. officiating to impact the game too much. But by making that decision or being conscious of that, you're allowing officiating to impact the game because you're not calling it as it's supposed to be called.

And like you're robbing fans of seeing one of the best, possibly the best powerplay that has ever existed in a league. You're robbing fans of seeing that because they're like, they're thinking that they're giving them too many power plays. I know. It's so dumb. My final point on this is dry-sidal plays 23 minutes a night. McDavid plays 22 and a half. And that's a big benefit in their favor here because you'll get these games where they creep into like the 26 minute range or whatever. And so you're just getting such maximal exposure to them to. Like we were talking about the Bruins earlier.

There's certain nights where their top lines is going to play like 16 minutes or whatever, right? Like if the game gets out of hand or if they feel like they need to rest them and they don't want to overexert them, or those are like never doing that. And if the same thing, situation calls for it. It's a tight game. If they're getting power plays, they're going to be out there like every other shift. And so when you watch an Oilers game, you just know you're going to see dry sideline McDavid on the ice at all times. And that is a big time boost for their ranking here as well, just because I don't have to worry about, oh, here comes another fourth line shift. Like, that's just not going to be happening. And so that's fun. Yep. All right. Well, that's going to be

it. We rattled through it. I think that was pretty, pretty efficient on our part. plug some stuff. What are you working on these days where people check you out? All my writing and video and TV stuff is at Balli Sports. So you go to Ballysports.com, check out our website

and that's where my writing will be. And our website is semi tough to navigate right now. I'll be honest. But if you want to see the stuff that I share, you can follow me on Twitter at P. Blackburn. And then I'm doing podcast and then Twitch stuff on the side too.

So you can catch that. you know, just follow me on Twitter. I'll shove links down your throat and you won't be able to escape me. So, yeah, I appreciate you having me on. This was a lot of fun. Well, this is a blast, man. If people enjoy the show, definitely go rate and review it. Go check out that Shillington piece that we talked about earlier on EPRink side.

And we'll be back here soon. And maybe Pete and I come to All-Star break. Well, maybe we'll do an in-person show or something. So look forward to that. Thanks for taking the time, man. Thanks for doing your homework on this one. And we'll certainly get you back on the show sometime down the road. awesome all right that's going to be it for today's episode the hockey pdf cast hopefully you enjoyed

my breakdown of the jack icicle trade and vagus's perspective of it with jesse granger if you haven't listened to the one we put out last week detailing buffalo's point of view on it um certainly go and do so if you're all jack icled out at this point i don't blame you as well i'm uh i'm ready to move on from this and uh and cover other things as well so we will certainly be doing so moving forward i've got a really fun show planned here for hopefully over the next couple days or if not early next week but you have that to look forward to as well and and then we're going to keep the ball rolling and keep cranking out the PDOCES so thank you as always for listening and for supporting the show if you'd like to do so and haven't done so yet you can help us out by leaving a quick little rating and review

smash that five-star button write up a little quick review that lets us know either what you enjoy about the show or why you recommend people check it out. And thank you to those of you that have done so already. Thank you in advance to those of you that are going to do so now. And that's going to be it for today's show. So we'll be back here soon. Thanks for listening. And until then, the hockey pediocast with Dim Philipovich. Follow on Twitter at Dim Filipovich and on SoundCloud at soundcloud.com slash hockeypedocast.