The Hockey PDOcast - Extracting what we can one game into the season

Episode Date: October 13, 2022

Shayna Goldman of The Athletic NHL joins Dimitri for this edition of the PDOcast. What can you realistically derive from opening night across the NHL? Can you extract any real information from a team from game one? This podcast is produced by Dominic Sramaty. 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. 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.

Pressing to the mean since 2015. It's the Hockey PEDEOCast with your host, Dmitri Filipo. Welcome to the Hockey PEDEOCast. My name is Dimitri Filipovich. And join me today is my good buddy, Shana Goldman. Shana, what's going on? Hey, thanks for having me. All right, so here's the plan for today.

We are going to talk about some initial impressions from the first couple night of games. And Shana and I are both aware that talking about one game samples and pretending like they're the B-all-and-all is obviously not, the, the, wisest thing like yeah we understand how little it can mean in the grand scheme of things there's 81 more of these to come at least so um all that in mind though it's all we've got to work with at the moment and so you and i thought it would be fun to kind of bounce around some ideas of like initial takeaways initial impressions things we saw from these first couple day of games and hopefully identify some things that are actually going to be relevant for for people to keep an eye on the rest of the way

as well so i'll give the floor to you here first uh what's the first kind of impression or takeaway from the first two or three nights of games that really kind of caught your eye. I mean, we've seen one game from a couple teams, and I think that defines what we're going to see for the rest of the year. Like, whatever it is, that's it. We're done for the year. The Crackens, they're winning every game. Cole Calfield, he's going to have, you know, 164 goals.

Like, this is what we've seen, right? Absolutely. All right, so what do you go? What's your first thing? Okay. Let's talk about one of our favorite players, Mark, Mark Stone and his return. I think the quintessential Mark Stone that we expect to see,

and we didn't know exactly what we were going to see, given his injury status last year and the rumors of his demise, being so greatly exaggerated. I think it was so refreshing to see him playing to his strengths against L.A., a really good defensive team. We saw him picking the puck off players. We saw him speeding up the ice off the rush. He had some really crappy passes.

and he had a clutch goal and an elite celebration. Yeah, it was a full Marksone experience. It was tremendous seeing him back on the ice, and not only that, but actually looking like himself, right? He played the 37 games last year, but it felt like a lot of those he was playing because, you know, he's a competitor, he's their captain, they needed him out there.

They were incredibly thin, but he probably shouldn't have been playing. Like, he looked like he was definitely laboring for a bunch of those. And I think it's always frightening, you know, dealing with the uncertainty of a bit of a bit of, back injury for any player, but especially for a guy who's now on the other side of 30 and probably, you know, based on his skating ability, even when he's at his best, doesn't have that much wiggle room there to lose an extra step or two. So I have to admit, I never really allowed it to

be to consider the possibility that this was just going to be a new reality and he was going to have to play hurt or just not be able to play at all anymore. But remember at the start of the training camp, we kind of heard some rhetoric about how like, oh, his back's not necessarily responding that well to the surgery. He might not be ready to go at the start of camp. We'll see how it goes. Like all that stuff made me pretty nervous. So I think just seeing him out there actually looking like himself was a massive revelation.

Now, it's a back injury and, you know, it could flare up at any point. But knock on what it doesn't because what we saw from game one, I really hope continues for the rest of the season. Yeah, I think honestly, he, you know, he's definitely. one of the most fun players in the league. It's the energy and it's the skill level. And honestly, like, you look at this Vegas Golden Knights team and there's an argument to be made that this is their weakest team since their first season when it was the band of misfits together. And obviously, we all underestimated them. But, like, on paper, this team isn't

the caliber of last year's team who obviously underperformed and a lot of it was out of their control. So him being in the lineup is so important for them. And it's interesting that, because they're stretched a little bit thin with their depth because they kept having to, you know, move cap out because of the decisions they've made, right wrong or sideways. They put themselves in the position. And now you have him carrying his own line, which we know he can do, but you don't have Pashterati on his left. You know, he had Brett Howden, who by all means, has been a disappointing NHL player to this point.

He wasn't, he hasn't become that third line center that Tampa and the Rangers both thought he would become, but he worked on that combination because you have Stevenson and Stone, and it allows them to spread out their depth in a way that you should want to. Jack Eichol is one of the best players in transition. He doesn't need Mark Stone on his line, and Mark Stone doesn't need him. And then you can have William Carlson down the middle of that third line, and you can keep splitting the top competition between Stone and Carlson. So that gives Vegas the options I think they need to have success this year.

And when they want Stone to go against top competition, you get that power versus power match. that I think we all love to see because he can shut down top opponents and he can, you know, skate right back up the ice and create offense. It's not one way. So healthy Mark Stone is so important for them and their line of construction right now, I think. Yeah, it's remarkable how he can be in complete command like he looked in game one while seemingly operating at like half speed compared to everyone else, especially when you see Chandler-Stevens. And it almost makes Chandler Stevenson faster just because by comparison, you're seeing how Mark Stone's moving than all of And you see Stevenson flying through the zone and you're like, wow, that guy's, that guy's really fast.

But it was the full, when I say the full Marksone experience, you mentioned some of it, like knocking pucks out of midair, threading the needle and beautiful dimes through traffic, kind of just hovering ominously around the opposition whenever they have the puck. Like it must be so unnerving and just knowing that he's kind of waiting there to take it from you. And I want to make one final point on this because it's always like a frustration of mine when I see people referencing giveaway and take away stats that the NHL tracks and provides. the NHL had Mark Stone down for one takeaway in this game against the Kings. I went back and watched all of his shifts. I can, for a fact, say he had at least six, and you can make an argument for two more

that he kind of either was like involved in or made some sort of deflection that led to a turnover. So the fact that he was marked down for one is hilarious. Like every player's numbers are kind of skewed lower because the league seems to kind of misrepresented and doesn't fully seem to understand. what the definition of a takeaway is. But whenever you see people are even referencing Mark Stone's takeaway stats, keep in mind that it's probably significantly higher than the number you're actually seeing.

Which is wild. You know, he's one of the best of the league in this. And it's like if that's underrepresented, like the true numbers, it's so stark of the difference. But no, if Mark Stone has one takeaway in the game, that's when you have to question if he's healthy. And he very clearly looked healthy and had more than just one. Like this team wouldn't have clicked at the pace that they did if he wasn't doing that.

Yeah. Okay. Here's my first initial takeaway. Cole Cawfield. So for all the attention that the Leafs losing to the HABs last night is going to get, and then certainly that was the big story. And I think Sheldon keeps comments after the game about kind of like sounding the panicle arm, basically didn't help throw cold water on that. I thought the big story for me just watching that game was how threatening Cole Cawfield looked every time he was on the ice yet again, just because it was kind of a continuation of what we saw from him down the stretch, towards the end of last year. And so seeing him kind of not only replicate that success that he had from one point that Marty St. Louis took over halfway through the year,

but actually build on it and just kind of look like a nightmare offensively every single time he stepped on the ice. It's going to be a long year for Montreal. I think we're still expecting them to be a bottom five team and compete in the lottery as opposed to the playoffs. But having Caulfield scoring a bunch of goals and looking this good has to be encouraging and at least gives you a reason to tune into their games a nightly basis.

Yeah, absolutely. Like this year isn't about competing so much. It's, you know, building that winning environment and not getting dragged down by the losing, I'm sure. But it's all about player development. And Cole Field is one of the most important players to develop. And the difference between his play last year before C&Lew took over and after is mind-blowing. Like the difference, his shot rate didn't really change. You know, he was pretty consistent at how many shots he was taking per night on average.

But at five-on-five, the difference in the shot quality was so, you know, it was, this huge leap from barely getting to the quality areas and not getting to the areas that make Co-Call Field successful to him driving to the slot consistently and then finishing his chances. So the more he does that, the better the Canadians are going to be. And now with Marty Sam-Luiz, that emphasis on concepts over systems and making reads and making those offensive reads when you see it take the opportunity, that's so huge for a player like Caulfield, who last night already had nine shot attempts, five shots on goal.

And two goals. And yes, was, you know, Matt Murray perfect? No, but, you know, don't take away what Caulfield did because of the goaltending. It just feels like you couldn't have a better person to be coaching Caulfield. It's two short kings and it's magic together. Yeah, it's tough to know how much of it is, you know, Marty St. Louis just coming in and being able to sort of relate to him on a more personal level than the previous coaching staff. How much of it is Caulfield having some success?

and then that kind of inspiring more confidence and impeding future success and how much of it is them using him differently because I actually went back and watched all of the shots that he took last year throughout the year. And you're right, the shot rate itself from a volume perspective didn't really change at all. But he started scoring significantly more goals because all of a sudden on the power play, he was inching closer on his releases. He wasn't kind of standing up near the point for no reason tentatively. He was aggressively coming down that left flank and firing. They were finding ways to get him out in transition where he'd fly the zone and all of a sudden be involved in odd man rushes two on ones three on twos and that's stuff that he wasn't doing at the

start of last year and we already saw it yesterday i mean how many times was he involved in an odd man rush for the canadians i think at least three or four times by my account and so that's kind of a recipe for success for for a goal scorer like him and the fact that they're either encouraging him to do so or kind of uh game planning ways to get him out there in space is is highly encouraging and something that you just want to basically keep seeing. Yeah, and it's going to be interesting to see how this continues. Like, the Maple Leafs are a good opponent. They're a good defensive team.

I know, like, it's so easy to make jokes because they've were bad defensively for years. But, like, this is a very good team to be able to make a difference against. And obviously, they're not going to be playing teams of that caliber the entire year. There's going to be games where they have even more time and space when they're playing, say, you know, Chicago and Arizona. And, you know, it's going to be interesting to see how he continues to evolve this season. And last night, that line did get out shot. And that's going to build up, obviously.

But it's how they find ways when they do create their own shots. Can he continue to make a difference? And if he's shooting the puck at a high rate and getting to the quality areas, we know he has the finishing talent. And we know he's a good passer, too. I mean, we didn't see it as much last night because the focus was on him shooting the puck. But in the playoffs, when he made his debut, like we did get to see that passing aspect of his game that is probably underrated.

So if he can keep building on both sides of it, He's going to be a very good offensive player for years to come. And it's just a matter of, you know, finding space and creating his own space so he can make the difference that we expect him to make. Yeah, he's got 24 goals now in 38 games since Marty St. Louis took over. And you saw that skill on both shots. I mean, his ability to kind of elevate the puck and basically fire it just past Matt Murray was impressive.

But the first one, how he was able to kind of corral that rolling puck, and basically in one motion, sweep it back up and pick his spot was a high-level goal-scorer's goal. I guess the reason why I just thought this was interesting beyond it's cool seeing him thrive and score all these goals is, you know, it's one thing to lose and be kind of like relegated to your fate of like, oh, this is going to be another year where we're going to have a high draft pick. There's not much reason to come out and cheer for and watch this team. And the haves are going to lose a lot of games this season. But last year, especially before the coaching change, it was just such a miserable product to watch. And I think they finished the year 27th in the league as a team offensively in terms of goals. goal scored per 60. And I think this year, despite whatever defensive deficiencies they have,

they're using Lealder of young players on the blue line, I think offensively there's reason to believe they're going to be significantly better than that. And in particular on the power play, which has kind of been a sore spot for them for years now, when you have Suzuki on one flank and Caulfield on the other, like we saw the magic that can provide. And I think there's going to be a lot more like reasons to tune in and actually watch this than there might have been throughout last year. Yeah, without a doubt. I think, you know, the whole Dusharmer was interesting,

but it did feel like there was too much structure that just weighed down players. And whether or not he had good ideas, I think the fact that you have to, like, pick and choose what ideas to implement, what not to, was maybe the biggest problem of all. So it feels so different and to see what the offense can do because it does look like there are some players on the Canadian that seemingly wants to play a different way, that maybe they had played their entire career.

Maybe he sees something differently. You know, this is a former player. He was elite at so many different things. And one of the hardest workers when he was playing. And, you know, there was the versatility to his game. So I think that brings a lot of intrigue to it. Because if anybody knows how to push a player to do something different so they could be that all-around threat that he tried to be

because he had to compensate for things that, you know, especially then were looked down on like his height, it's going to be really interesting to see how much he helps players play to their strengths. Like we already see with Caulfield and Suzuki, and how much he tries to bring a different element than maybe we've seen before. And I feel like players like Josh Anderson, that's what we're going to see, you know, this season moving forward. So there's definitely reason to watch them.

Yep, definitely building blocks. All right. So we got Mark Stone. We got Cole Field. What's next on your list of initial impressions? All right. It's overreaction season because we've only had one game. and the Rangers looked really good against a Tampa Daylighten team.

We expect to be contenders, and, you know, it's going to be interesting to see how Tampa manages without Torelli and with their depth a little bit stretched in because, you know, they're feeling the impacts of the cap as any team does, but, you know, they just keep adding those big contracts and that's the cost of being a very good team. But the Rangers are so interesting because a lot of people look at them and think that they were a fluke last year, because Shesterkin was otherworldly, and Chris Kreider had an uncharacteristically elite goal-scoring season, but, you know, even if both of them regress, it's going to be to a very good level still. You know, it's not like all of a sudden they're turning into pumpkins, their bed, and that's it. So I'm really intrigued to see what they do moving forward, because if they can fix their five-on-five play,

that's a contender to watch. Yeah, that game for me was much more about the Rangers and the Lightning. As you mentioned, I thought at the start of last year, I was a bit worried about what I was seeing from the Lightning. And obviously they didn't have Kutra out for a significant stretch at this start there, but they look old, slow. And I was like, all right, maybe this is finally the year. They kind of fall off and take a step back. And then we see how the year played out.

And it was clear they were kind of pacing themselves and figuring it out. And of course, at the trade deadline, they made the necessary upgrades and brought in some some speed into the lineup as well. And I have no doubt that this year is probably going to follow a similar path for them. But for the Rangers, you're right. The fact that they dominated the puck to the degree they did in terms of shots, chances, to expect the goals, everything is so, you.

encouraging for me because not only did they out shoot the lightning 39 to 26, but they controlled nearly 68% of the expected goals for the game. And here's a stat for you. So last year, they played 102 games, including the regular season and the playoffs the Rangers did. Only four times that they matched that mark. And it was twice against the Sabres and twice against the Red Wings, two teams that were not good last year. And so the fact that the Rangers showed this, that they have at least this kind of range of outcomes in their bag that they're able to kind of take it to an elite team in this regard is so encouraging because the power play looked amazing. You know, they had the 14 shots and a bunch of scoring chances in like just three powerplay

opportunities, basically. Shasturkin only gave up the one goal, which was a beautiful shot by Stephen Stamkels, which will happen. And so the goaltending and the special teams will be there. If they have this or even something resembling this in their 5-on-5 profile moving forward, it's going to be a team that's going to be a real problem. Yeah, their five-on-five play last year was the biggest problem. And, you know, obviously new coaching staff came in

and there's new systems to adapt to. And it felt like they never clinched onto it the way you expect. It didn't have that same pop as a good Gerard-Gallant team would have. And you look at Vegas under him and you look at Florida after those first couple years when they start to trend in the first couple months, really, in the right direction. It never happened last year. And it was something that it felt like the players weren't executing right.

It felt like the coaches weren't adjusting to the players either. And during the regular season, they were not the better team of five-on-five. They would have these stretches where, you know, Artagnan-Pen-Aron would do something incredible. And for two seconds in the game, you know, he does something amazing. The scores change, the vibes change. They win a game. Like, that's the difference with elite talent if you have that and they obviously do. And in the playoffs, round one was a disaster at five-on-five.

but they did manage to pull it together for the next two rounds. And part of it was the Rangers overperforming and, like, the hurricanes underperforming. But it was encouraging to see. So if this is something that is the new trend, this is absolutely a team to watch out for. And it's going to be interesting to see because they didn't add many pieces this summer. They brought in Vincent Trocheck, who is a better two-way center than Ryan Stirl. That should help Panarin. The right-wing situation is a little bit fluid, especially now that they lost craps off.

And, you know, credit to the Rangers, they managed to play. 11 forwards last game and still put up those results. And also encouraging with the fact that in the third period, they took over. They don't shut down teams. You know, that's something you expect from the lightning in the third period, not the Rangers. You expect them to, you know, like we may win, but we may die. We're going to try everything, but it's really going to be the show Sturkin Show. So if this is, you know, the start of their season and they can figure it out and players like

Lafringay are going to step up, whether that's on the right or the, you know, left. and right now it's going to be on the right side. And Caco looked incredibly strong. It's really, you know, a bright outlook for the Rangers because we know Crichter's Abanajad, Fox and Panarin what they can do. But it's the Lafineers, Caccos, Hedels, and Millers that, if they live up to their potential, like, that's a huge leap forward for them. I'm glad you mentioned Keandria Miller there because earlier this week,

I did a show fully dedicated to players are excited to watch this season. And I had Kandrea Miller on my list and which ran out of time now that it's a strictly a one hour show here on the PDO cast. But I was so encouraged by what I saw from him last postseason in terms of like remembering that he's still only a 22 year old with basically like a year and a half or so of professional experience to his name. And they just threw him right into the deep end where I believe no player played more five and five minutes in last year's postseason than he did. And a lot of them were in matchup minutes. And you could kind of see like that way that he can be a very modern day shut down defenseman in terms of his mobility and his reach and how he can kind of basically be glued to puck carriers. And I think there's still so much more offensive potential for him in terms of his ability to take the puck deep in a zone and basically engage in the rush and even help lead it at times. And I think that's going to be such a key for this Rangers team in terms of some of those issues they've had in the past of, you know, having a smooth transition game and breaking out of their zone and being able to sustain possession and not just kind of dump it off the board.

boards and have to chase it again. And he's one of the few players they have. Obviously, Adam Fox is amazing in terms of his passing. But Miller's ability to actually kind of transport the puck out of his own zone, if he's kind of encouraged to do that more this season and really embraces that and adds that to his game to go along with the defensive acumen we've already seen. I think that's going to be so huge for this group moving forward. Yeah, he is like one of the most exciting players to watch on the Rangers,

which is saying something when you talk about who they have, like you expect it to be Panarin. and obviously he's right there. But Miller in the second half of last season was one of their best players. You really saw him step up. And it's funny, like, we talk about the Rangers a lot in their player development and how it hasn't gone according to plan. And you look right up front the Kakohedal Lafrierey right there, their first couple seasons.

But they don't have, they haven't had that defensive depth. So players like Fox and Miller were really thrown in, it's been trial by fire for them. And both of them have run with it. And it really could have hurt their development. but for Miller it's so interesting too. It's the defensive action we talk about when this is someone who was a forward who converted to defense

not long before he went into the college level and the NHL level. So that offensive side is there. It's just a matter of unlocking it. And last year it finally looked like he had the confidence to jump up and plays to skate the puck forward. And we know his natural skills, his reach, which he uses so well to poke the puck away from opponents

and, you know, stick check the puck away. and, you know, he's adding more of a physical edge to his game and maybe playing with Trouva's helping him in that way. You know, he's talked a lot about how Trubis's leadership has helped. So, you know, he has another way to beat opponents. And he has the foot speed, you know, for straight line speed. In year one, it was in close. He really struggled and you could see him get flat-footed and players skate around him in tight. But it seems like that's something he worked on last year as well.

So now it's just a matter of sprinkling in the offense that we would think he has. And, you know, it really does look like he's starting to do that to break out the pocket. bit more. And, you know, it'll be really interesting to see if that pair starts taking on the matchup minutes from Lingren and Fox, who have held on to them the last two years, or even if the Rangers can split it a little bit more to lighten each of their loads, you know, it's going to be a good thing if they can manage that. The one drawback for him that is probably going to keep him out of the conversation of, like, top defenders is, one, he might not ever be the one that solely takes on those matchup minutes. Two, he's probably not going to get power play minutes.

unless they go with two defenses on the second unit. But even still, if he has the even strength offense and can really stand out, it'll be interesting to see where he starts to rank among, you know, defensemen in the league. Two defensemen in the second unit. Do you see the abs using three defensemen on their second unit? It's wild. I guess, like, if you feel you don't have the forward depth, you're that confident in your defenders or you're trying to get your defenders to play more like rovers,

it's bold. You know what that is, Shana? That's a flex. We won the Stanley Cup last year, and we can do whatever we want. And certainly playing against the Blackhawks in the opener helps. But I imagine they're going to experiment with that moving forward as well. It's interesting. I mean, when you have the personnel, right?

When it's like when it's Byron, Gerard and Taves, like those are three really good players. So it's not like they're necessarily using like kind of stay at home, shut down defensemen in that role. But yeah, I can't ever really remember that before other than maybe if a team was trying to protect the lead in like a very, very high leverage situation. Yeah, no, you really don't see three defensemen out at once. And it's going to be interesting. Like, we talk a lot about, like, positionless hockey. And, like, I'd love to see forward stepping back on defense. And we've seen it more with defenders stepping up on offense as the 12th forward.

And sometimes, like, the fourth line is a little bit flat. But it's going to be so interesting to see if this clicks. Because even if they feel that they're so good at out possessing their opponents, do you kind of go for that and say we could pull the goalie earlier in games and just roll out 3D? and, you know, three forwards and see what can happen because you trust them to be so good on both ends of the ice. Like, is there a way we can see that integrated even strengths in a way that we wouldn't have before? Like, I am curious about that. Yeah, whatever.

Just roll out. Add McCart of that group and then maybe even put like Curtis McDermott or something as the next front guy on that power play. I'd like to see the five defensemen unit. All right, Shana, we're going to take quick break here. We're going to be back in a few with more from the HockeyPedio cast on the Sportsnet Radio Network. All right. We are back here from break on the Hockey PEOCast with Shana Goldman today, and we're going to pick our conversation back up. So, Shana, we're doing initial takeaways from the first few day of games that have caught our eye and that we also think bear watching going forward.

And next up on my list is the performance I saw from Marty Natchez yesterday against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Now, the reason why I think it's notable is because he had a pretty disappointing season last year. his production regressed following what was a really encouraging year previously in the bubble in the shorten season. He basically kind of had the same production in these two seasons despite playing 25 extra games last year. His ice time dipped down to being the Kane's eighth most used forwarder 515. And I think it wasn't surprising after the year to kind of see some frustration boiling over from both him and Coach Ron Brindamore, where they were both talking about how like they need to work on their relationship. start trusting each other more and how Nages said he wants more responsibility, but then Brindamore

kind of shot back and said, well, he needs to be better first and all that. And so it was like a very tenuous situation that potentially look like it could lead to a trade, especially with Nages's name popping up in a lot of rumors throughout the summer. But then they brought him back on a two-year bridge deal, which was like the definition of a prove-it deal. And it looks like, I thought he'd have a huge bounce back year. And certainly if that first game against the Blue Jack, where they seemingly had the puck the entire game is any takeaway. This is going to be a great bounce back season for Martin Naches. Yeah, I'm really interesting to see where it goes with Natchez.

Like, over the summer, I crowdsource trade proposals, do some analysis, and I got so many featuring him, especially for Jesse Pooey-R-V. So it's so interesting to see, like, where this goes. He obviously was given the contract, has to prove it. It's a deal that if he doesn't prove it could easily be moved, or, you know, he's just never going to get that big deal moving forward that maybe a year ago we would have expected him to get that long-term, not super expensive deal that's good for like a middle sixer.

And last year he started the year pretty well, and it was around, I don't know, like January, that it just fell apart for him. And it's that inconsistent play that really pushed him lower in the lineup, you know, some of it's that he doesn't take the shot often enough and he's passing up really good opportunities. and, you know, there's all things like that, and his finishing wasn't where it was, and his offense dipped, and his defense dipped. But, like, at his best, which if last night's any indication,

it's tough given, you know, the Blue Jackets did lose line A. They didn't have Merz-Lakins and that, like, and they're not projected to be some, like, contender, like the canes are. So, obviously, like, we would expect the canes to overpower them. But if it's any indication, like, it's a step in the right direction. And the Pascheretti injury is, in a way like a blessing to him because it allows him to play higher in the lineup than maybe he would have started otherwise given where he finished the season last year.

So if he can get back to that and still be a strong pastor and start creating more of his chances and actually taking them and be a really good penalty killer, which I think is what we saw from his game. Not as much last year, but the year before in particular, you know, there's a lot of potential here for him to carve out a role as a really big difference maker that the Keynes hope he can be. Well, the fit between him personally and the way the Hurricanes, I think, do play and ideally want to play under Rod Brindamore is such a fascinating dichotomy for me because, like, on the one hand, the Hurricanes are your prototypical sort of puck hunting team, right? Like, they love to just go north-south all the time. They push the pace.

They basically aggressively, as Fortec as aggressively as any team in the league, and they want to turn the puck over that way. And they don't know, like, they certainly have creative players and highly skilled players. but they kind of prefer to play a more simple game in that regard. And NACS, on the other hand, is a player who ideally wants to hold onto the puck, like he wants to kind of has a lot of wiggle to his game in terms of going east-west and creating that way. And I think ultimately, what you'd hope any good coach, and we do think Rod Byrd Moore is a good coach would do here is basically provide the latitude for him to do so, right? Like I'm sure there's times where he's just going to want him to dump the puck in and go in and forecheck and chase after it and play that way,

especially they're protecting a lead or something. But for the most part, like what makes him so special is his ability at that size with that reach to kind of create on the move and both for himself and for others. And so I'd love to see them kind of just embrace that as opposed to trying to kind of change him to be a type of player that they already have plenty of throughout their roster. Yeah, absolutely.

Like it helps to embrace a player's strengths. And obviously you can try to change a player's game to a point. You can advise them to pass the puck if they're, you know, too selfish or if they're too unselfish, encourage them to take shots themselves. But it's not like they're going to do a full makeover of his game. He's just going to go elsewhere if it doesn't work out. But I do wonder this year if there's a little bit more opportunity for him to do more

and have that work. You know, last year, one of his most frequent line mates was Trochechek. He played a lot with Trochecich and Spetschukov. And obviously, Spetschnikov has a ton of skill and he's a player that can create everything all on his own. But replacing Kockini Emmy with Trochek is a downgrade at this moment. And obviously, that can teach him. changed now that Coffinamee's going to have better line mates and more ice time to prove it.

And it is someone that, you know, had some pedigree when he was drafted. So we're not saying like, you know, all of a sudden he has someone that he has to do everything. But I think there's a little bit more latitude for him to play to his strength and do a bit more because the line is going to need more support than maybe it did last year. He was the third player, the supporting player. That's not really the case now. If he can step it up, he can be, you know, one of the difference makers on that line behind Spetchnikov.

It is a good opportunity for him right now if he can maintain his position in the lineup. And that's always the big question. You know, like a lot of teams, they're very quick to shuffle lines. And the canes aren't necessarily the most, you know, they kind of have those combinations they stick to. But if he's struggled, someone like Kasha could jump up or someone like, you know, Foss they've used in the top six before because he's such a good utility player. So there's still pressure for him to step it up. But it looks like it might click a little bit better right now. Well, the reason why I thought it was so important to see him kind of thrive in the opener

and get back to playing the way he had to play the two years ago was, you're right, that opportunity is there. Trochec left the summer. Jordan Stahl is 34 years old and his contract aspires this year. And I know that Nathis is by definition playing on the wing now. Kotkin, he's down on the center on that line with Setchnikov. He was the one that took all the face-offs yesterday. But I still think of Nages is the center because he's at his best when he's in the middle of the ice

and he has that full kind of full length, full width of the ice to create with. And so I still think of him as a very realistic number two center option behind Sebastian Ajo for them moving forward, even though he isn't playing that role right now. And so I'll be curious to see if they kind of experimented that with that as the year goes along because I think heading into next off season, they're probably going to need to figure out what they fully have in him

and whether he can step into that role because despite the investment that they've made in Kotkinemi, I'm still pretty dubious that we should just be, kind of like locking him into that role for the next, however many years he's under contract. Yeah, you can easily slot down to the third line if they, like, if need be or shift to the wing, if they feel the center is too much for him. And it's interesting with nature's here because if he can, you know, hold his weight and maintain his spot in the lineup,

come February, a player like Pasch Ready Return, someone's going to have to move out of the top six. If it's not him, that could be a really good matchup too, because he's a very good passer and he can be the puck carrier on that line and set up his teammate. So Peshretti is a very good shooter. He generally is not the puck carry on his line. If we look in Vegas, it was Stevenson and Mark Stone rushing up the ice doing a lot of the legwork there.

And it's not that Pesherty can't do that, but he doesn't have the same skill set as the rest of the canes either. He plays a very different style. So it'll be interesting to see do you want the two players to play different styles for everyone else, but maybe mesh well together or break that up. So there's that consistent, you know, style throughout the top six or top nine if you break it up and, you know, sprinkle those, you know, you know, outliers a little bit around the lineup. But I am curious if he can hold this position and push for that spot. So you have that line, even if he does shift to the middle with, you know, the return of Paschrelli.

Like, how interesting would that be if somehow Svetnikov, Paschrelli and Natchez for a second line? Like, that does sound pretty good. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, last year was a disappointment for him. I think he's one of those players we can probably get in trouble, like, thinking that he's almost not trying hard enough or be disappointed because he's so talented. and we see these flashes of him, but he also makes it look so easy because of how gifted he is.

So sometimes it seems like, oh, it's coming a bit too easy. I really wish he was grinding out more of these possessions. But what I've seen from him so far early in his NHL career in terms of his ability to be the primary Bruck transporter on the power play to get them actually in the zone, as you mentioned on the penalty killed two years ago, every time they seemingly put him and Sebastian Ajo out there together,

they were creating these odd man rushes, even though they were down a man and scoring a bunch of short-handed goals and actually being one of like the most threatening power kill units in the league. And so you put those things together with his dual threat nature at 5-1-5. And if he can be a center for you, like that's such a valuable player. And he's someone who I think last year kind of slid out of the out of the forefront or kind of like what we were paying attention to because he was underwhelming and he wasn't producing as much. But man, I think if he's able to unlock this offensive potential,

that's such a game changer for this hurricane's team that despite how good they are, at different areas, like they still kind of need some of that game-breaking skill that he very clearly possesses. Yeah, and even if it's not, you know, offense, right, that he's bringing to the table as much, and it's more of a two-way impact they get from him. That's still a good thing because it doesn't look if there's going to be too much room on Power Play 1 for him, but there's room for him to take that roll back over on the penalty kill that he didn't have last year. You know, Ajo and Terravine and are the pair that the Keynes like to deploy together and they have great results. They're not the pair that generally go out for the initial faceoff, they jump on on the fly, which works for them.

And then it's players like Stahl and Foss to take over, you know, who started out. If, like you mentioned, Stahl is aging. They're going to have to figure out a different plan. If NACIS can show that he's still that penalty killer, too, especially if he can play center, then there's that option for him, you know, if there's that way of him cementing himself in the lineup a little bit more, as a middle six threat, you know, with two-way impact and that penalty killer with two-way impact, like there's a lot of opportunities. for him if he can get it all together this year. And I feel like if it's not going to be

this year, I don't know how many chances he's going to have later in the year or next season. Yeah. Yeah, I'm with you on that. I'm just, I'm looking here quickly as it's scrolling past my Twitter timeline. Speaking of that game and that the Blue Jackets and Hurricanes played, man, how much does it suck that the Patrick Lainey is out for three to four weeks now with an elbow sprained? I mean, I was so intrigued by the possibility of him playing with Goodrow and and how many goals he could potentially score there. And he beats Freddie Anderson cleanly on a beautiful shot early in the game and then almost beats him again before he goes out.

And then now it's kind of going to have to put a pin in that and revisit this in a month, basically, I guess. Yeah, and it's going to hurt the blue jacket's chances of being that disruptor in the metro, which, you know, the chances of them doing that really relied on players like Linae and Johnny Goodrow thriving and Zach Wrensky thriving. like it really hurts their chances to play meaningful hockey down the stretch if they can't put it together this month. Like if they get behind the ball, I think they're going to have a very hard time jumping back up because the rest of the division is going to be moving on without them. But it's like from just like the experience of watching the blue jackets to not have both of them in the lineup really is so disappointing.

Like I was hoping I really like line. And I know he's a bit one dimensional. I know he's a flawed player, but I think that he's a very fun player to watch. And I really wanted to see what could happen this year because it feels like the blue jackets in a lot of ways are a good fit for him if they could get the right players around him and they finally had that. Well, Shana, we're airing live in Calgary right now. And I'm sure Flames fans won't be too upset to hear the update on Eric Branson's debut for the Blue Jackets in which he played 95 on 5 minutes and shot attempts were 44 to 12 for the Hurricanes. 44 shot attempts against in 19 minutes is quite the total. A cool 17% expected goal share.

So, you know, as the kids say, not what you want to see. All right. What's next on your list of initial takeaways from the first couple days? I am so here for the return of David Trachie. I think it's fantastic. I think it's fun he got to leave the league and go back home and play for a bit. and that he wanted to return. Seeing him at, I think it was a world championship play with David Pachshnach was so exciting.

And it was very funny that he even mentioned, like, you know, he didn't get Pashenok and even strength when he was with the Bruins because they kept that top line together. And there's even more emphasis on the second line now with Marshang being out. And it's going to be harder for them because as a result, I'm not having Marcia, Taylor Hall's on the first line. So, you know, now you have the all check line. but I am really interested by this line.

Like, yes, eventually they did get outshot and out attempted and outscored while they were on the ice. You know, they had a really strong start in the game, and it did fade out when the capitals pushed back a little bit. But it's going to be really interesting to see what he does because, yes, he's aging, sure. But he still has a lot of gas left in the tank, and he clicks so well with Posh. Not quite because he's going to have a monster season. Yeah, I'm not too worried about the getting out shot when you have David Pasternak on your line. you're probably going to wind up turning a higher percentage of those shots you do get into goals. So I think it'll it'll even out for them.

But yeah, I mean, the Bruins, as always, desperately needed that secondary playmaking. It's interesting with Northmarshined out, they went with the duos of Berger and Hall, basically, and then Creachie and Pasternak. And the reason why I bring that up is because the last time we saw Creachie and NHL to close out the 2021 season, it was just right after they'd acquired Taylor Hall to deadline, and they played the two of them together, actually. and in 200 5-1-5 minutes of those guys play, they outscore teams 14 to 1 and outshot them 124 to 64 and we're just like the best line in hockey basically

for the final 20 games that year or whatever. And so once Marshaun does come back, I'm very curious to see if they reunite Hall and create you together actually and a pastor neck on that line and then, you know, have Marshaen and Berger on their own unit basically with whoever else. Like it certainly gives them options and lineup flexibility. And I know that heading into the season, you know, I had Dom on yesterday and we were talking about his projection model and how high it was on the Bruins. And it seems like a lot of projection models were because of the players they theoretically have,

not really acknowledging that, you know, McAvoy and Marchand are going to miss a significant portion of the start of the year. But despite those injuries, despite the aging concerns, despite, you know, the new system and the new coach and everything, after one game, it looks like this team is going to be the Boston Bruins again, which is a really good hockey team. Yeah, I really do like the Bruins this year. As long as the biggest wildcard is how Marchand returns, because it's hip surgery, which is always tough to come back from, you know, and his mobility is going to be so important. And, you know, if anyone can do it, I'm sure it's Marciaan, he's an elite player,

but you do have to consider he's in his 30s and it's just a tough recovery. But if all can go according to plan, you know, this is a better team than last year, despite the fact that they are core players, Marshan and Bergeron are aging, because you have, you know, the goal tending, I think, is a little bit more settled than last year when there were more questions, you know, going into the season. And I think they played well enough that there's a little bit more confidence. And the blue line is stronger now that they have Lynn Holm, who seems to click really well in Boston and away from Anaheim because there's a lot less pressure on him.

But now you have that second line center. The one thing they were truly missing that I'm surprised they didn't go for last year. And it worked out for them because they didn't have to spend a ton to get that either. They didn't have to throw money at someone like hurdle to, you know, when he was still an option before he extended in San Jose to make it happen. So it gives them, you know, the cap space they're going to need for Pashnik at the end of the year. But it'll be really nice to see if they have that one-two punch because they were starting to get that last year. But at the end of the day, Charlie Coral or Eric Al are not the, you know, caliber player that Creach can be at his best. And, you know, you see Poshnach saying he still has it really looks to.

So pair him with hole and you pair him with flashbacks. That is a really good second line test. Yeah. Okay. All right. I got one more thing on my list here that we're going to close out on. It was the final game of last night's schedule. The Ducks Cracken.

I wonder how many people stayed up to watch the conclusion of that one. It was a remarkably fun game. I wanted to, what I wanted to see from the Cracken heading into the year was to see if them going out and getting Bjork Strand and Berikovsky. and, you know, McCann being back, Maddie Baneers finally being in the lineup full-time. We'll see you on Shane right moving forward as well. Like they added legitimate finishing and legitimate shooting talent. And it was just one game. They wound up losing in overtime.

And we can talk more about Gru Bauer and what happened defensively. But so far, so good offensively from that unit, I believe they had the three powerplay goals, Bjork, Stranen, Burakowski, their two new additions combined for 18 shots. And two just absolutely ridiculous goals where they're. they picked the spot in the corner and just beat John Gibson cleanly. And so we'll still, TBD still on this team in terms of like how much better they're going to be than last year. And if they keep getting the type of goal tending they got once again from Group hour, probably won't be much different. But similar to what we said about Montreal earlier, at least just having players who can put the puck in the net and actually convert at a high level increases their watchability to such a high degree.

Yeah, I don't think the Krakken are suddenly going to be competitive. you know, it doesn't look like they did enough just yet. Like last year they were a really good defensive team, and it was just if a rush shot got past them, the goaltending, they didn't make the same when they needed it. But their defense was really strong, and I think it's going to take a hit this year because, you know, you did lose Giordano at the deadline and things like that.

But what they needed was goal support, and they brought that in. And, you know, Bjork Strand is such a fun player. It's funny, we talk about Branson a couple minutes ago in Columbus. Had they just not signed him, they could have kept Bjork Strand and had more offensive. of pop, but, you know, that's Seattle's gain right there. He's a really good shooter. I think he's a good passer, too, that doesn't get talked about enough because we expect

him to shoot. And you saw how he grew under Tortorella to, you know, add a little bit more jam to his game. So great addition right there. And Verikovsky is he is super star in himself. No, you know. Sorry, what? No, no, I was going to say a little before you move on from, from Bjorksran.

I'm always amazed at how he's able to get to his spots on the ice. Like, if you look at where all of his shot attempts come from, it's that like the most difficult kind of prime real estate for any player to get into. And he's added more great to his game as his career is gone and all. But he still wouldn't necessarily be kind of like thought of as this guy who just like lives in the interior and is kind of boxing defenders out. But time and time again, he's able to just kind of pop up in the slot basically and take all of his shots from there. And he has really good shooting in talent as well.

So that's a pretty good combination for those two things. Yes. It's really so nice to have that. And like, is that your superstar player that you want to build your lineup around? No, but if that's your supporting player, it's a really good player to have. I think any team would be happy to have him because he built on his game so much more. He's not a one-dimensional player. He's not an offense-only player.

He's rounded it out that he's a lot tougher to play against, and that's helped him offensively now that he toughened up on, you know, the other side of the puck. So I am really interested to see what he does here. And I'm interested to see how Berkovsky does because, you know, sure, he doesn't have the support of Colorado. and he did have some rough patch with the Avalanche, even at the end where he got demoted in the lineup.

But, you know, there's an opportunity for him to run with it here. So, like, let's do what happens. You know, when he left the capitals and where he didn't have much opportunity, and he got it in Colorado, he draws. So here the doors open for even more than he ever would have gotten in Colorado, really, because they already have their star players. So there's potential for him. And they still have players like Yanni Gord, who are very good.

And Jordan Everly now just, you know, he went from a top line winger to a middle fixer because they have that depth. So their defense might not be as strong this year, but the offense should be able to make up for it as long as they can get to fade. And that's the question we all need to have answered. Five goals against on 2.2 expected goals against. Not the start you want to see in a fresh, clean slate for Philip Rubauer.

So not the most encouraging. Some of the shots that they beat them were just like really nice finishes by the ducks. And listen to ducks, we're doing the watchability rankings here in the P. video cast next week. And I think people are going to be surprised by how high we have the Anaheim Ducks. But then if you just watch them on a nightly basis, you're going to realize that it's this perfect band diagram of like a young, not only a young team, but a team that has a lot of offensively oriented players or players who think offense first. So they're going to be bad defensively and they're going to give up a lot of goals assuming John Gibson just doesn't stand on his head all night. But they also have

such high-end offensive skill themselves that I think a lot of these five-four games, are in their future this season, and that's like, as a viewer, that's, it might drive you crazy if you're a coach, but if you're a viewer, that's exactly what you want to see from your product. Games that are like that are so much fun, and I love defense and things like that. Like, I really do. I like short-handed play, and I like to watch out teams try to maintain a lead and things like that.

But games like that that can have chaos, and maybe that's why this was so exciting because it was a close game and, you know, there was that higher score. It's exciting, hockey to watch. and for Anaheim, you have Troy Terry, who, you know, broke out last year. It's all about whether he can maintain it. There's a lot of signs that he can. And you have Trevor's yours who's creative and gutsy and everything you want to see in a young player. I mean, as long as you're not from like the Stone Age and you want your players to be very boring,

have no personality and don't take any risks. But, you know, we like risks. We like pop and that's what he has. So you're an exciting team to watch that, you know, both teams here, I think, are going to be entertaining. And they're both going to be disruptors in the West that you don't expect them to win, especially I would say the ducks, but unless John Gibson is the elite John Gibson, we know him to be, but that disruptor in the Pacific, we talk about the Sabres in the East and, you know, the senators and the Red Wings and who are they going to be taking points from?

Like, can the Ducks or the Cracken fill that role in the Pacific and in the Western Conference? Like, that's what I'm interested to see if they are, because that's the stepping stone they need. And maybe the Cracken are a little bit closer to that because the Ducks, we can fully anticipate them stripping down the roster a little bit more with some of their signings like Chattonkirk at the end of the year or Klingberg could get traded for picks to keep this process moving. But I'm curious if either one can be a team that just kind of mixes things up and, you know, play spoiler once in a while for teams that we expect to be the best in the league. Yep. I close on that.

Shane up, we're going to get out of here. I'll give you a chance to plug your work and let people know where they can check you out. You can find my work at The Athletic. I have two stories coming out tomorrow. We have our first official regular season, fantasy trends, and hidden gems, all about players in the best position to succeed in their lineup. And something about the latest trend we're seeing of contracts being signed sooner and longer deals for these young players. And you can listen to the Too Many Men podcast.

I love it. We're going to certainly have you back on here many more times this season. So looking forward to those chats. if people are enjoying the daily shows here. The only thing I ask is you go reward us with a five-star review wherever you typically get your podcast, and that would be very much appreciated. We will be back tomorrow with more.

So until then, thank you for listening to the HockeyPedio cast on the SportsNet Radio Network.