Pearlo Wisdom

PearloWisdom@THNN

Copied to clipboard

Purveyor Of Fine NHL Takes

I quit my job 12 years ago to follow my passion for the greatest game on earth. My study and appreciation of the game compel me to express myself in any way possible about my findings and to learn more. It just never stops, nor do I want it to. I watch a divorce-worthy amount of hockey.

Posts

2Followers

8Following

Pearlo's House Of players to watch frolic

These are a couple of players who have been fairly highly touted by many to eventually be exceptional players in the NHL that I have some concerns about and need to see more before I am bought in. It is tough to rate a guy in 29 games in the NHL, but Howard has been a guy I have been watching as much as I can since he won the Hobey Baker award in 2024/25. It is great that he earned the award but the problem is he won it on the third year after being drafted, there are not too many players that have won the Hobey on their 3D as they call it and have had successful careers and did that. The last on was Jimmy Vesey in 2016 and he has had a decent career with over 600 games and 200 points but nothing spectacular. Every time I see Howard play, I see a guy with good speed and skills, but not a very high hockey I.Q. that will translate well to the N.H.L, He looks lost on the ice in all three zones. He has the skills to put up numbers if he can just rely on his hands and net drive ability like he does in the A.H.L. but if forced into decision making or playing positioning to survive he sorrily lacks. I see a poor man's Jack Roslovic and I am not a big fan of Roslovic for the same reasons. I do not think Misa will be a bust, but he may end up being perceived that way simply because of the hype of being a 2nd overall pick behind Matthew Schaefer in the 2025. Misa is a beautiful skater and to watch him he gives you the impression that he could be a 100-point player in the N.H.L. I really do not see it though. Maybe 60–70-point guy but he does a lot of skating with accomplishing much, mostly because his on-ice vision is on the below average side. At 20 years old he could certainly prove me wrong but there will have to be a pretty big jump in that part of his game for me to get there. I will be watching and rooting for him though. Simon Nemec is the sexy pick by many it seems to have a breakout year for the Flames after being acquired from New Jersey in the off season. I suppose he could do alright offensively but that will be really dependent on how much coach Huska lets him roam and does not try to reign Nemec in defensively. Nemec kind of goes where he wants when he wants so far in his career and can look impressive doing so if you do not pay attention to his lack of detail or even concern it seems for his defensive positioning in all three zones. Simon has a booming shot and great physical tool to be a very good player. However, roaming every play and taking high risk low reward plays all game could be very frustrating for the Flames this year. With maturity and proper persuasion, he would be a very good defensemen, but if he stays stubborn in his approach as he seems to be, this could be a long year for him and the Flames. I did every team during a live on my You Tube channel hereSep 28, 2026

The Hockey News

Dylan Larkin expands his list to 8 teams, but did he?

I did an article two weeks ago where I talked about how Larkin could expand his list to 12 teams Minnesota would still have the best offer assuming that offer was something like Yurov, Stramel/Brodin and two firsts. That is the equivalent of four first rounders or three first rounders and a good roster player. On my live show I talked about how I figured Larkin's camp would keep adding teams that they were sure would not want to trade for him or at least not willing to offer as much as Minnesota would. (See previous articles for reasons I came to this conclusion). Dylan and his agent have seemed to leak information now that the list is 8 teams and names Tampa, a team I thought would be on his original list of three teams, Colorado, Dallas and Washinton plus one mystery team. I am going to guess that team is Utah. When you look at this list, Colorado has no real tradeable assets and no cap space. The guy's Detroit would possibly be interested in have no trade clauses and I doubt they would waive the to go to a team that has not made the playoffs in ten years and does not have Larkin on it now. Dallas was an interesting one because it was leaked that Larkin added them to the list during trade talks that the Red Wings were having for Jason Robertson. That leak came out about the same time that iy came out that there was no trade to be made. My theory then was that Larkin's camp added Dallas when they knew there was no trade to be made and with the cap space being in a worse position now I imagine there is still no trade to be made. My theory that Utah would be the mystery team is based on the idea that it wouldn't be the worst place to go to as far as being a contender if a trade did happen, but with Trocheck picked up in the off season to play center for the Mammoth they have no need for centers and it is doubtful they would trade Cooley, or Schmaltz in a lateral deal. Washington is the most interesting one as you can make a very good case that Larkin would be an upgrade over the center used in the number 1 spot most often Dylan Strome. The problem I see here is threefold. 1) Although Strome does not have trade protection his 5 million per year deal is finished after next year. Detroit would have to hope he would be willing to resign, or he would basically become a rental that may get them a late first if they traded him but Detroit has stated that they are not looking for a "futures" type trade. 2) Dylan Strome is nowhere near the player Larkin is and has played very sheltered minutes for Washinton mostly alongside Ovechkin as his 56 percent competition rating on the card above suggests. This would suggest he was played more as a second line centerman with a little more than second line minutes. He would be playing top line in Detroit, but Larkin received some of the toughest minutes in the league. If Strome received those minutes he would get crushed, I am sure. Maybe Washington could throw in a 3rd liner like Beauvillier and a couple 1sts that will likely be very late rounders and as a whole this deal is not really any better than what Minnesota is offering. 3) Capitals G.M. Brian McLellan and his scouting staff have been raving over Ilya Protas for years now and lifting him up as the future number one center for them. His brother Aliaksei also plays for them and I imagine the prospect of both brothers being on the same team is something Washington would favor maintaining. IIlya's brother already signed a very team friendly deal at 3.7 million to remain a Cap and i wouldn't doubt that the opportunity to be on a team with his brother is part of the reason why. I cannot see Washington now jumping ship and getting Larkin who would be way more expensive and would block Ilya from the number one roll that they have been grooming him for. Washington has done a fantastic job of setting themselves up for the future after Ovenchkin retires while being very competitive now, I would be very surprised if they upset that balance now. Why would Larkin give teams that are not good trade partners? By continuing to add teams like he has Larkin makes it look like he is sort of complying with the narrative that he must expand his list to appear reasonable. This gives better optics that Larkin is being "fair" in the process which puts a little more heat on Detroit to get a deal done. It also makes that Minnesota deal look more reasonable since he has expanded his list and it is still the best deal out there. We are getting close to the season starting and Detroit has to ask themselves how much they are willing to endure the disruption of this situation carrying on. This situation looks really bad for corporate sponsors as well who are probably not too happy with how this is playing out. Negative media every day and unhappy fans are not really what they signed up for. I personally think the Dylan Larkin "injury" was a hand-shake agreement to keep Larkin away right now. That tells me that that is exactly what Detroit wants to have be the case. Is Detroit willing to pay Larkin to stay home and for how long? Will they let Larkin play and have that awkward every day experience with booing hard-core fans and average fans having there nice family outing turn into an angry negative experience? We will see.. I say he ends up in Minny as I predicted. More in this from my show this morning hereSep 25, 2026

The Hockey News

Mark Messier puts the smack down on the Oilers signing Babcock?

Greg Wyshynski posted this on Twitter last night and I have to say it made my ears perk up quite a bit. Messier does not take me as a guy that would normally be this critical of what a team does. he is usually very diplomatic and cautious about his wording out of respect for teams and players but here he is about as scathing as I have ever heard him to be. Mark is a player that knows a lot of players in the league and knows the character of those players. For him to use adjectives such as "shocked" and "horrified" when talking about the hiring of Mike Babcock is pretty telling. I cannot say that O know the goings of what happened in room that Babcock coached but I trust Messier when he says he "could go on and on" about it. I have personally tried to play devil's advocate about Mike Babcock. Maybe some players overreacted in Detroit? The Marner situation where he asked Marner to list the teams' laziest players and proceeded to read off that list in the room or team meeting or whatever seemed very odd to me, and I would of loved to have heard his reasoning, but completely outlandish? maybe not. The Columbus situation I also thought could have been overblown with him asking to look at players phones to see family pictures and such. Especially when some players in Columbus seemed fine with it. However, when Messier comes out like this who would know much more than I would about the things that happen in the room I take a step back for sure, something is amiss here. The other thing I find interesting about Messiers comments is that he was confused by how it seems the players were the catalysts for the hire of Babcock and how he mentions that this sort of thing simply would not happen when he played. Messier talks about the how the leadership in the room is there to protect players in the room and seems to question how credible they will be doing that if they were in fact the ones that chose the coach... I get this. Pretty easy for the finger now to be pointed at the leadership in the room if things fall about here creating division on the team. My theory on what happened here was that the Oilers ran out of options for coaches to hire. Edmonton seemed to go all in on Cassidy when he was fired by Vegas prematurely and when the Golden Knights did not give them authorization to speak to Cassidy the Oilers brass leaked that fact to the public in order to get enough sympathy to force Vegas' hand to change their mind. There was talk that they might have even figured the league would get involved. That didn't work and when it did not, they were left in a very awkward spot with the coach they already had in Knoblauch and pretty much had to let him go. Oilers G.M. Stan Bowman apparently talked to recently fired coach Craig Berube and those talks didn't seem to go anywhere. Peter Laviolette was available, and I predicted he would not go there until he saw roster changes, but for whatever reason he chose L.A. That left the coaching market for experienced "hold players accountable" coaches which they publicly said they were looking for, pretty bleak. Then out of the blue it seems Mike Babcock's name came up and talk of Zack Hyman being supportive of him. I wonder if it could have been Zack that even came up with the idea really. With the limited time and limited options, it appears the Oilers decided to run with it, while holding their breath that the league would authorize the decision. An investigation was made about the details of Babcock's short time and firing in Columbus and after a fair amount of time the N.H.L allowed him to go through the process with Edmonton. McDavid and Draisaitl got beind the decision and walla here we are. It all seems very reactionary and wreaks of desperation to be honest. I have more to say about this in the live show I did this morning but the more I have pondered this situation and after getting this info and take from Mark Messier I have to say. This decision could end up being a terrible mistakeSep 24, 2026

The Hockey News

The New Jersey Devils goaltending as bad as it may look?

The New Jersey Devils and their new General Manager, Sunny Mehta, are heading into the season with a goaltending trio that has many in hockey land, and especially Devils fans, a little shook, as my Twitter feed shows. Understandably, they're also going with an aging 36-year-old goaltender who's been more of a backup for most of his career. A 32-year-old goaltender who has had his ups and downs in his career for sure, and an unproven 25-year-old guy who has shown pretty well in spot duty in the NHL and has some decent A.H.L numbers but is really a wild card going into the season. This a quote from Sunny Mehta that I will elaborate on later “Goaltending has changed dramatically during the past 20 years. Starters and backups are extremely talented, which can make performance difficult to predict. Because there is randomness at the position, I’m reluctant to invest significant assets there instead of in areas where the results may be more predictable,” the Devils general manager said. Sunny Mehta . So let's look at the goaltenders Jake Allen is a goalie who has played 477 career NHL games and, in my mind, was the Devils better goalie last year. He has not played in a number one role for several years. in a 30 to 35 game allotment though he can play at a pretty high level, especially if he gets solid play in front of him with a strong system. Allen has always had a problem with rebound control but makes up for it very well with exceptional reflexes and good puck placement into the corners after saves. Very good goaltender for a collapse type defensive end system. David Rittich Would love to give you the player card here but for some reason JFresh will not let me download it. So let me say that this is a data driven pickup by Sunny Mehta. Rittich had a very good year last year from an underlying numbers perspective. The Islanders gave up a lot of high danger chances last year and "Big save Dave" fared pretty well with them. He also had some stretches last year when Sorokin was injured that he played some of the best hockey of his career. Rittich struggled with the mental part of the game earlier in his career but seems to have overcome those issues and kind of screams late bloomer. at a one-million-dollar contract it is well worth the look. Also unlike Allen Rittich has always been good with rebound control Nico Daws Nico has been honing his craft in the A.H.L for a few years now while getting spot duty in the N.H.L from time to time. He did look good with call ups last year however most of that was when he was placed in random spots against teams that would not be familiar with him and probably would not really have a book on him. In the past when he received a little more work he would struggle over time, but it is his time to shine now, and he is a big goaltender that has athleticism. I do not have the type of data that the Devils do on the A.H.L guys but at the very least a true shot is probably deserved here. I personally think Daws will be the backup to start the season and Rittich who has been used to going long stretches without playing in his career will sit in the stands a little bit while New Jersey gets a better idea of what Daws can do with an extended look at this important stage of his career. Allen has expressed some concern for this three-goalie type system as it did not work well in Montreal when they were forced to do so. Allen did say that it could work if there was a detailed plan and the goalies were given a clear understanding of where they sat and knew when they would be playing. The important thing to me will be how New Jersey plays in front of all these guys. Great analytics teams like Vegas, Carolina and Colorado have thrived without elite goaltending do to excellent system that are goaltender friendly. They keep shots down and prevent shooters from getting shots to the weaker aspects of their goalies game. Mehta has brought in some excellent players in the summer to activate such type of systems, the question is is Sheldon Keefe the guy to put one in place? I am not so sure. However, if he is not, I imagine it will not take long for Sunny to identify it and make a change. Going by Mehta's quote I gave at the beginning of this article and the fact that most analytic team building models do not advise paying large for goaltenders I am more inclined that these goaltenders will get very good looks and if it goes south the coach may take the heat. If Mehta simply thinks the goaltending is the issue do not be surprised if he still doesn't go out looking for the "big fish" Get more on this topic and more from my show this morning hereSep 22, 2026

The Hockey News

Blackhawks coach Jeff Blachill has never seen an analytics model that accurately depicts players defensive play?

This is an interesting quote by Jeff Blashill. I want to start off the top by saying that I am confused by what Jeff means by "while on ice stat" here. I am not aware of any models that have collected data for players when they are not on the ice... I am thinking he misspoke here and look into a few things he might have been getting at. There ar some areas that analytics fail to capture that I have come across. Let's look at Bedard for instance. Bad Team Context There is an obvious stat that pops out here when looking at Bedard's data and that is of course even strength defense. This may be what Blashill was alluding to when he said "While-on-ice stat" Chicago overall has been a very young and inexperienced team since Bedord joined the Hawks three years ago and the vets they have had have mostly been past their prime character guys. In other words, not very good. Because of this Chicago has had a tendency to play from behind quite a bit and when doing that, they, like any other team will mostly play a swarm offence and make high risk offensive plays to try to score and catch up. This usually leads to opportunities going the other way as well as players like home playing with a lot of fatigue in the defensive zone. Even if it is a tight game Bedard is more likely to play a lot of minutes under fatigue simply because he is by far the best player on his team. For that same reason Bedard is heavily targeted by the opposition because if you can nullify him, you probably beat Chicago. Since I watch a divorce worthy amount of hockey I have watched a lot of Chicago games, and I can say this data does not accurately portray Coonor's defensive ability. These are a couple of contextual issues that analytics do not really capture well. Also taking into consideration that he too is very young and learning that aspect of NHL defensive awareness and I think as Chicago improves so to will this data. Coach Deployment Aho has been championed as a top end defensive center by many for most of his career and for the most part it has showed up in analytic models throughout his career as well. However, as we can see the last three years has shown a steady decline is his defensive data. This is probably a good time to point out that defensive analytics do not just measure a player's defensive play in the defensive zone. It is a measure of a player's overall impact defensively in all three zones. As you can see Aho is and has always been a very good penalty kill guy. There is a fair difference between PK and 5 on5 defensive zone ability but a being good at PK still shows that a player does have solid defensive instincts. So why does he show data with defensive ability regression you ask? Well, I asked the same question and went back and watched several Carolina games over the last two seasons and what I came to realize was that coach Brind'Amour had been changing up his system to try to give Aho more ice time with high energy level in the offensive zone. Brindy was getting Aho to come off the ice more often when coming back to the defensive zone on the fly so other players could play more D zone time and he would be fresher for O zone time. Aho was also getting more of a green light to be creative and make higher risk plays in the offensive zone more often than pervious would leave him on the ice behind the play a bit or have high danger chance occur while he was on the ice. I imagine Carolina was making this adjustment in order to solve an obvious scoring problem they were having whereas they would dominate possession and get a high shot volume but not score a ton. Something they were well known for. They must have calculated that giving up high danger chances occasionally did not outweigh the additional offence they would achieve with this model. What this does do though is skew the data quite a bit. The data will show that Aho has very low zone exit and possession stats in the D zone and is on the ice for a high amount of high danger chances, but in actuality he is simply being deployed in a way that data cannot pick up. As of yet anyway unless there is a model out there, I am not aware of that can. This too could be what Jeff Blashill was trying to say. For more on this check out my show from this morning hereSep 22, 2026

The Hockey News

Here is a Fantilli trade proposal to chew on.

If you have read my last Fantilli article you will know that I am personally not as high on Fantilli as others are and would prefer to sign Marchenko long term than Fantilli. If you have not, you can check it out to see my reasons why. However, with that in mind, I had some fun this Sunday and put together a trade that I would do for Fantilli if i were in the shoes of Waddell for Columbus that I think makes sense. Tell me what you think. To Chicago As I said you can read my previous article for a deeper analysis but in a nutshell Fantill's hockey I.Q. away from the puck is not at a level that I would want to toss 14 million for 8 at and apparently, he wants more than that. Chicago's coach Blashill just publicly came out and stated that he had not seen an analytics model that accurately articulates a player on ice defensive ability.. my guess is Chicago does not have one so they should be all over Fantilli who is eye test eye candy. To Columbus Nazar does not have the shot that Fantilli has for sure and his overall skill set is not to the level of Fantilli offensively, but he has shown to be much better away from the puck and at under half the price allowing Columbus to sign Marchenko I would take it. Nazar's defensive analytics do have to looked on the context that Chicago played from behind a lot the last 3 years and high risk offensive play was the order of the day a lot because of it. That is one thing defensive models have not caught up to yet, Teravainen is on the last year of his contact and Chicago has several young players coming up that will be need that spot open soon. At 32-year-old I would say that he is not in the Hawks future plans. This could very well be a rental for Columbus as well, but the door would be open for him to resign for sure. Chicago would have to free up cap space to sign Fantilli in this deal and probably would be open to moving a player that is not likely to be in their future plans. With Columbus seemingly in a very motivated spot to make the playoffs, someone that can play with defensive awareness in all three zones as well as Teuvo can and still produce offence I am sure would be a welcome addition. If things go south for the Jackets they can recoup some value for Teravainen at the trade deadline I am sure. With Byram being added in off season there is a good chance that Kaiser could lose his spot in the top 4 with Chicago. At the moment Chicago is experimenting with putting Bowen Byram on the right side which pushes either Rinzel or Levshunov down to 3rd pair. Especially in the case of Rinzel I can not see this lasting. Rinzel has top pair written all over him and from what I saw of Byram in Buffalo he is much more effective on the left side. In Columbus Wyatt may also play a 3rd pair role as well but there are not many players that are pushing for that spot in Columbus, and he would be in a pretty secure spot for a long term deal at the end of the year. Kaiser would be a banging third pair guy for the Jackets and would strengthen what is actually already and underrated D core. I would also consider Oliver Moore instead of Kaiser who is trending towards an exceptional 3C or possibly just Chicago 1st round pick next year. There are ways that the trade could be played with and I am sure I will get opinions about it in the comments. If you are enjoying this fine programming give me a follow to catch other musings in the future this is a video we did last night about FantilliSep 20, 2026

The Hockey News

What are the Toronto Maple Leaf's Building Here? Some kind of new analytics?

I will be the first one to say that I am not some new thought analytics giant that develops new, cutting-edge data and models. I pretty much purchase models that anyone can acquire and add a divorce-worthy amount of NHL hockey watching and years of studying the game to build context for the data. There are always going to be shifts in thought on how best to succeed at playing this game, and the data will change with it. That being said, the Toronto Maple Leafs have publicly stated that they are striving to be a data-driven team, and that was a big part of the reason that John Chayka and Jim Hiller were hired as G.M. and coach. However, I look at the additions they made to the roster this summer, and there is some head-scratching going on for me. Let's take a look. Roslovic is one of those players that entices you with his ability to shoot and begs a team to try to get more out of the rest of his game to have him be an effective top 6 forward. Probably something Carolina was looking at when they acquired him a few two years ago. Carolina is a data driven team as well and they had me scratching my head when they picked him up as his game had not changed from his time in Winnipeg and Columbus. Jack lasted one year in Carolina as they constantly had to put their two best defensively aware players with him in Staal and Jarvis to minimize the negative impact of his overall game. That is not ideal. Roslovic has been a player that is not quite good enough for top 6 play and terrible for the bottom 6 his whole career. His play away from the puck is subpar and his neutral zone play for zone exits is .. well. aggravating. I am not sure I have seen an NHL player not know where he needs to be on the ice as much as Roslovic does and still have as long of a career as he has had. Sissons was the winner of the prestigious "reach around" award for the player that is best in the room but not so much on the ice. Colton's best days are definitely behind him and his best days were very overrated as well. One of those players that can pop to the eyes with his effort, but what he does with that effort is mediocre at best. Sissons pretty much has to be deployed in the defensive zone against the weakest players as possible on the other team to be effective, He will win draws which fine I guess, but after that it is best to get him off the ice asap. For some reason he has been considered a good PK guy.. yet he never has been. I really do not know what has been happening with Paul. The once solid third liner has had dwindling underlying data and weakening coach deployment for three years now. Last year was biggest dip in production of his career and it shows with how John Cooper deployed him. There are still offensive tools there but he has lost his ability to hang with the top players on the other team. Nick's size will always be enticing to teams but his overall play is just not there anymore. Still can have a service as a fourth line player that plays against weaker lines but well overmatched otherwise. Nick is not far removed from being much better than he has shown as of late, so possibly we can see a rebound, however usually when these dips happen around the age he is they remain happening. Blueger is a pickup that I do like. Teddy did have to play over his head last year and did get crushed quite a bit doing so but given the opportunity to play a third line roll against average competition deployment I think he can be a pretty good 3C that gets mostly defensive zone starts. Vancouver had a terrible PK last year which probably effected his percentage quite a bit as it is difficult for data to account for that. I think Leafs fans will appreciate his dogged work ethic. On the positive side I did like the Darren Raddysh pickup. Raddysh worked hard in Tampa to improve his game every year to get to where he is now. Darren possibly does not get the point he did last year but is underrated defensively. I like his overall game and compete, and I am one who believes he is not a flash in the pan as I have been high on him for quite some time now. I also liked the Duhaime move for what he is. Duhaime is a solid energy guy that can give you 10 minutes a game and brig some jam when the team needs it, Emil Andrae was a good depth pickup that can move the puck well and has upside. At 900 Grand as a contract I can see where there could be solid value. Overall though I would like to see the data and hear the logic behind much of the moves that were made by Chayka, It is possible that he has more micro stat info than I am privy to and values certain abilities rather than the whole package more. One thing all of the guys here can do is bring room energy and maybe some swagger? Not sure I would want to hang my hat on that is value over on ice performance, but I guess we are about to find out. Follow me for more fine frolic.Sep 19, 2026

The Hockey News

The Dylan Larkin Injury Convenient?

Well, I have to say I am kicking myself for not predicting this one. I have to imagine that this a "mutual agreement mishap" that was discussed between both parties from the time of Stevie Yzerman's firing 2 months ago. I have predicted the way this Larkin situation was probably going to go from the beginning when Larkin made his trade request. I predicted he would pick 3 teams and two of them would be known to the Larkin camp to be unlikely trade partners and the other one would be Minnesota. I thought it would be Tampa and Florida but it turned out to be Vegas and Florida. Worked either way. Ron Mont and I on the "Puck In Deep" podcast than predicted Yzerman's demise which happened a couple days after doing so. I still believe that the lack of official announcement on Horcoff being G.M was a stall tactic so Detroit could focus on discussions with Larkin on a possible reconciliation but did not see that happening. My final prediction from when Larkin made his trade request was that he would end up in Minnesota one way or another before puck drop of the first game of the regular season this year. The news of Dylans "injury" has me still feeling that that will happen. It would seem to me that Detroit wants nothing to do with Larkin being in the room or even close to the arena right now with this news. For Larkin, this works fine as well as he does not have to answer the same awkward questions with "no comment" answers and can choose to be not injured at any time to force the situation. It all comes down to what I figured. Minnesota does wants Larkin before the season starts, Detroit wants the situation gone and nothing to do with Larkin in the room and Larkin obviously wants to be in Minnesota. Detroit has done well to force max from the Wild by delaying the way they have and will likely get the best package that can be got. In the end it was always Minnesota Or Larkin is actually injured..Sep 17, 2026

The Hockey News

What could be the most under the radar steal of a contact this summer ?

I mentioned that we would see more contracts like Zeev Buium received from Vancouver when that deal was announced and we just saw a ton of similar moves from other teams. How did they do, and why did they do it? Pearlo take time. This was my favorite signing of the day yesterday simply because of how intriguing it is and the fact that it is probably going to turn out very well for Washington over the term of the deal. Sourdif is a product of the future when it comes to players who fly under the radar but are identified by data driven modern teams that are having more and more success. Justin was originally drafted by the Florida Panthers, who are a strong analytics team, but the depth in Florida made it tough for Sourdif to find playing time, much to Florida's chagrin as Justin was developing a strong defensive game in the A.H.L. The Capitals identified this and acquired Sourdif for a second and sixth round pick. Sourdif did not disappoint. I his first season in the NHL Sourdif played exceptionally well. He showed a high 3 zone defensive I.Q , drove play, and seemed to adapt to any line he was deployed with. His coach showed trust in him with fairly high defensive zone starts and matched him up against top lines more nd more as the season went on while producing some decent offence. If Sourdif simply maintains what he produced last year his 6.35 million 8-year contract will look very good in a few years the way the salary cap is going. At only 24 years old though and with how quickly he has developed, it is more likely that this becomes steal of a contract. Catch my views on other contracts given out yesterday hereSep 16, 2026

The Hockey News

The Hellebuyck situation more difficult than it looks?

It would be interesting to know what the offers that Winnipeg are that Cheveldayoff considers "terrible" but I am actually not surprised that they may be very underwhelming. Quite simply, the value of goaltenders just is not what it used to be in the league today. Especially a goaltender with 5 years left on his contract and pushing 34 years old. This is not to say that Hellebuyck is not elite, he certainly is, but more and more it seems teams are willing roll the dice with an average goalie or two and hope they play well over talking what maybe a more secure swing with top end guys like Hellebuyck. Carolina won last year with an injury prone Frederik Anderson who has been very inconsistent over the last few years and a relatively unknown young goaltender in 28-year-old Brandon Bussi whom they picked up off waivers from the Florida Panthers and had no N.H.L experience. AAs analytics continue to grow in influence in the NHL the narrative of not spending big cap on goaltenders seems too as well. This thought process has been common among analytics valuing teams for a while now. Two of the teams that are well known to put high value on said analytics models are the aforementioned Carolina Hurricans and the New Jersey Devils who are led by analytics guru Sunny Mehta . The same Mehta who immediately traded the Devils higher priced number one goaltender to his old team, the Florida Panthers and replaced him with David Rittich from the Islanders who has, coincidentally, showed very good underlying data the last two years and comes in at 1 million dollars. Those two teams have been mentioned as potential trade partners for Hellebuyck and apparently have made some sort of offers, but it is no wonder why they would not be all that satisfying of ones. Buffalo was said to have been close to a deal at the draft but apparently, they asked to flip first rounders rather than just give one to Winnipeg and the deal was squashed. Now it would seem that whatever was on the table has been taken off or it is the same offer without a the high draft pick. My thinking is that Buffalo has just come to realize that they have all the leverage as no other teams are all that interested. The last issue would be the same issue that has seems to have Hellebuyck taking this stance. At his exit presser after the season was over Connor expressed how much he loved the city of Winnipeg, but it would seem most of the league does not see it as he does. This would seem accurate as Winnipeg is often mentioned as being the least desirable destination for players in the NHL. By saying this we can safely suggest that Helleybuyck felt that the organization's inability to attract players was a big component to why they were not able to get over the hump to make a significant run in the playoffs, or in the case of last year make them at all. The thing is, that very problem is another reason why offers may be light. Most players with no trade clauses in their contracts, probably have Winnipeg on their list. So what does Winnipeg do now? It would seem the popular though is to wait for injuries to happen to goaltenders during the season, which could make a team more desperate to offer a better deal. The problem? It would have to be a very serious injury as Hellebuyck comes in at over 8 million per year for the next 5 years and whenever the injured goaltender would return it would probably put a pretty huge strain on that team's cap situation. When it comes down to it Winnipeg is stuck in a lot of ways until this situation is resolved. It sounds to me like Connor will not report to camp so Winnipeg is going to have to give it a go without him in the lineup and really will not be able use the cap space that they would get with suspending him until they know what kind of return they could get or on the off chance he returns they will need it available. The long Connor sits the less the probable value he has, which apparently is not that high already. Who knows, they may eventually just have to part ways and call it even.Sep 16, 2026

The Hockey News

Pearlo's House Of Top 5 Teams In the Pacific Division

                           Vegas Golden Knights  Reports from Elliott Freidman and Jonathan Davis, who is a reported that is on my betting show all the time, say that there were players that hated Bruce Cassidy so much that they didn't even want to go to the rink last year. You could see it on the ice as well. The players  often looked frustrated and defeated last year. Vegas might have the best defense on paper in the league and with Eichel, Marner and Stone leading a pretty deep group up front and a full year of Carter Hart I think we see a different team this year.                                                               San Jose Sharks  Macklin Celebrini is a player i want to hitch my wagon to. Celebrini gives off an energy that doesn't just say he is winning, it says he already won. I am not sure I have seen a player that makes me feel like he already won the battle every time he is on the ice like him. Not only was Maklin amazing offensively last year, but he also boomed defensively as well. Just a leader in every way and with the addition of Marchment, who is also very good in all three zones and can bring a little net front that might have been missing last year this forward group is deep and can hurt you many ways. Adding Nurse and Trouba to the D is ok I guess although I do think Nurse will look better playing with better players this year. Nurse was shackled with ice time with the Oilers bottom 6 last year which was one of the worst bottom 6s in the league. A fresh start for Nurse should bring his confidence back. San Jose may struggle a bit defensively but in the regular season they can out score their problems.                                                                       Edmonton Oilers  The Oilers are a team that I could see going many ways this season. The Oilers could win the West, and I wouldn't be surprised and they could bubble in and I would feel the same way. Connor McDavid leads the way of course and he is still the best in the league in my mind for now. The bottom 6 forward group finally got a boost last year with the addition of Jason Dickinson , who is an elite shutdown center, Stan Bowman did some nice work in the Darnel Nurse trade, freeing up cap space for potentially another top 6 forward which would help a ton. Nurses replacement in Shea is about the same as Nurse at half the price and Mukhamadullin is certainly and upgrade in the bottom pair. The big question really is whether one of Devon Levy, Tristan Jarry or Frederik Andersen is an upgrade in goal. I have my doubts, but we will see. Also, how will the Oilers adjust to the new coach in Babcock who is really good at commanding accountability and pointing fingers but not taking it, Babcock is a great x's and o's and systems guy apparently so we will see.                                                                            Anaheim Ducks  Anaheim got just hammered with an offer sheet for Leo Carlsson this summer from the Philadelphia Flyers that sent their cap structure a blaze really. The Ducks had to cut Chris Kreider loose with no return and now has to go into the season with a pretty green defense as well. They might have to trim more off the roster yet to get their leading score Cutter Gauthier signed but with Cutter, Carlsson, Senneke and a very aggressive offensive system I think they can out score their problems in the regular season and their goalie Lukas Dostal with underrated Dman Jackson Lacombe holding the fort just enough for them to squeak in this year. Any significant injuries to Dostal or the backend though could have Anaheim on the outside looking in.                                         L.A Kings  This will be the first year for the L.A. Kings post Anze Kopitar's retirement. His replacement offensively was picked up last year with Artemi Panarin who played well after coming over from the Rangers but something just feels uninspiring with this roster. Manager Kenny Holland found some decent players over the summer with Zuccarello and Haula but both are well past their primes, especially Haula who has declined rapidly the last three years. Zuccarello had a good year feeding Kaprizov in Minny last year but can he keep it up at 39 years old? The defense after Anderson, Clarke and Doughty gets really thin and old as well. Top that off with a goaltending tandem of Anton Forsberg who had a career year at 33 years old and was really not close to what he was last year before that and an injury prone and inconsistent Darcy Kuemper and I see a bubble team that needs to hope things go south for Anaheim. Check out my run down on the rest of the division and more commentary from my show here Sep 14, 2026

The Hockey News

Nikishin wants the bag and Carolina not going to hold it? Where might he end up?

There are reports that say that Nikishin is looking for 8 million plus annually on his next contract such as this one here  Carolina is has shown to be a very fiscally responsible with very few if any hiccups along the way when it comes to contracts. Apart from the Kotkeniemi contract I would say none. The Hurricanes are also known to be very analytics driven team and there some red flags in that regard that I am quite sure they are aware of. Nikishin did put be good numbers on the surface with 33 points in 81 games, however that came with very weak deployment against other teams' weaker lines. It is amazing to me how Brind'Amour is able to give players significant minutes and keep their matchups against top lines down, but he does it. With those minutes Nichushkin obviously produced offence but defensively there was much left to be desired. For a team as committed to defense as Carolina is I am not sure committing 8 million long term would be up their alley. A short-term deal or a trade my be the best option. There has been plenty of reports that Nikishin is on the market so where might he go?                                            L.A Kings  The Kings defense after Doughty, Anderson and Clarke is pretty thin and aging quickly. I would have to think that they would have interest in Nikishin but what would they be able to offer to get him. L.A. is not swimming in prospects really but one that may be of interest to Carolina is Henry Brzustewicz who is an RD that crushed the A.H.L offensively last year. Sort of a roving type D man I would say there is still more overall refinement to be done in his game but he is an RD and has made big jumps in his development. Trevor Moore has a Hurricane type player profile to him and might be someone that would be of interest as well. Add a 1st round pick next year and that should be a pretty decent package.                                         St. Louis Blues  St. Louis seams to be the most mentioned destination for the Blues from sources and insiders with D prospect Theo Lindstein bring the most often projected return for Carolina. Lindstein has been mentioned as a Jonas Brodin type of player by some within the Blues organization. Lindstein is limited offensively but did get some time with the big club last year and did not look out of place with advantageous deployment. Carolina may push for someone like Jake Neighbours in return who matches their style fairly well but I imagine they would be met with a fair bit of resistance from the Blues as Neighbours is an integral part of the Blues offence. I would be more inclined to think someone like Otto Stenberg, who played 31 games last year with the Blues and looked to be progressing well, would be more palatable for the Blues to give up in a deal with possibly a 1st round pick next year, although St. Louis has shown to value 1st round picks more than most teams. Seldom are they willing to part with them.                                    Nashville Predators  Nashville is a team that was thrown out there just recently and that I talked about with Jonathan Davis on a show we are part of called "The Late Shift" with Dre Martinez as well, The Predators just traded Luke Evangelista which seemed very much like a rebuild type of move. When new G.M. Chris MacFarland was asked about the trade he mentioned that they had many forward prospects that needed ice time and would us the assets that they received for Evangelist for other positions. Well, defense is certainly another position. What I like about the Preds being a good trade partner here is that they could offer up a more veteran NHL tested RD like Nic Perbix. Perbix is 28 years old with 299 games of NHL experience and has showed in Nashville that he can hang with minutes against top lines not to bad but would probably be best suited in a 3D role. Nic would be a great fit beside Gostisbehere on the third pair for Carolina who would be more inclined to be looking for an NHL ready defenseman as they attempt to defend their cup winning season from last year. Nashville could add the first they got from New Jersey and some very intriguing prospects like Jaakim Kemmel who is more on the NHL ready side and got some time in the NHL last ear, Aiden Fink who is a former 7th round pick that crushed with over a point a game for Penn State last year and added 10 points in 6 games with a late look in the A.H.L. . There is also Ryan Ufko and Trevor Molendyk on D that have showed well in their development so far. In my opinion Nashville would seem like the most likely of the three here to be the most motivated and have the best offer to Carolina for the services of Nikishin if he in fact does become available. If Nikishin holds his stance on 8 million over 8 years, there is a reaally good chance he will move on I believe.Sep 13, 2026

The Hockey News

New information from Elliotte Friedman adds fuel to "crazy" take on Detroit G.M. search

I have been saying since the Detroit Red Wings fired Stevie Yzerman that i believed it was more than likely that they had already selected a G.M. to take over for the job but were delaying the announcement.                              Why Did I Feel This Way On June 4rth when Dylan Larkin made his trade request public I think it sent shock waves through the Red Wings organization. At that moment and maybe even sooner I felt that Stevie Yzermans tenure was under a microscope. Whether they should have seen the signs of coming or not might be best for another article, but it really did seem that this set in motion serious look into the relationship Stevie Y had with Larkin and possible communication their might have been. It would seem to me that the relationship with the captain and Yzerman was at least strained and possibly worse for quite some time. This combined with the fact that the team was floundering below expectations probably got the ball rolling for them to be looking a different direction long before they made the announcement to let Yzerman go. This would explain the odd timing of the firing as the NHL draft and free agency were ongoing and it would have been pretty tough to have serious discussions with the candidate, they were thinking about besides maybe a reach out or two to let them know they were. When they were comfortable the person was on board they made the announcement of Stevie's firing  Why did they not make the selection public right away? In my estimation the Dylan Larkin situation is of the utmost importance right now and announcing the G.M. replacement would have meant that the new person would have to attend to many media distractions as well as talking to players on the team, taking calls on the Larkin situation and so on. This gave all of them a full concentration on a possible reconciliation with Larkin which is probably their most effective way to come out of this the least scathed. What it also does is buy them time and an excuse as to why things are not getting done as well as giving a sense of uneasiness to potential trade partners (Minnesota) that Larkin may not be able to be moved before the start of the season. Detroit could also hope that Larkin gets cold feet and decides to work with the Red Wings on a trade to a different destination if not reconciliation. So they float a few names out there that they do not get back to. Name an inside guy in Greenberg who is already the G.M. for the Detroit Tigers which seems highly unlikely and hire a search firm that has a long link with the organization to do..well.. nothing. Probably more of a tax right off handshake thing than anything but keeps the optics up.                                      So now what? I realize that what I saying i a lot of speculation but besides the fact that I am usually pretty accurate when putting dots together it makes a lot more sense than the alternative conclusion, which would be Chris Ilitch and his staff basically chasing their tail and having no foresight whatsoever in anything they are doing. I usually give successful NHL executives significantly more credit than that. If it is the case that they have just bungled their way through this and did virtually no due diligence at all I am not sure it matters what they do from here. It probably will not end well anyways. Sep 12, 2026

The Hockey News

Kirill Marchenko is probably moving on from Columbus. One team I could see him going to.

When you listen to this clip it sounds to me that Wadell is kind of resigned to the fact that Marchenko does to be traded. Don mentions that he would want roster players and says "regardless of what the agent of Kirill wants", which pretty much tells you what Kirill wants. With that in mind lets look at some possible destinations that could work for the Blue Jackets and hopefully Kirill as he does have a lot of say since he has voice whether he will sign long term with whatever team is interested as his contract is up next summer.                                  Seattle Kraken Seattle has been looking for the big fish for a while now. They were reportedly heavily in on Panarin before he went to L.A., and they worked out a trade with Dallas with a 15 million dollar offer sheet for Jason Robertson that Robertson ended up rejecting.  The Kraken have shown that they are willing to pony up the assets and dollars so as long as Kirill is comfortable with signing long with them this could be a play. Shane Wright has reportedly nudged Seattle management that he is not all that happy with his role on the team and, although he may never be what his high draft position suggested he might be, Shane has underlying numbers that show positive progression and will likely be at least a good middle six center throughout his career. Seattle could add Kaapo Kakko into the deal as well. Kaapo's playmaking ability blossomed after coming over from the Rangers in Seattle and is known for is strong two way play. would fill a whole on the right side that losing Marchenko would bring. I would look at Cale Fleury as well, the Saskatoon native has developed slowly but steadily into an NHL ready defenseman IMO. I feel the same way about Fleury as I did about Wotherspoon in Pittsburgh last year. Feels like Cale is ready to pop and I think he could be one of the surprises of 2026. Add a good scrapy prospect like and possibly Seattle's first next year and there could be a deal here Sep 11, 2026

The Hockey News

Chris Kreider terminates contract with Anaheim. Where might he go net?

First let me say that this is going to hurt Anaheim a lot. Kreider was one of the few forwards on the team that had defensive awareness in all three zones. Chris still can pot some goals for ya as well. He had 22 goals and 50 points last year so he brings and overall game at 35 years old with 958 games of experience. Should be thought of as an excellent addition to a club that is in a position for a cup run this year, something that has evaded Kreider so far in his long tenure mostly with the Rangers. With that in mind lets specualte shall we?                                       Buffalo Sabres  This move would probably be contingent on the rumored Connor Hellebuyck trade that apparently almost happened at the draft table this year and is still in the works. Buffalo would have to have money going out to make the cap work but if some like the young Ostlund is part of the deal it would leave a spot open on left wing and with Alex Tuch moving on to Washington earlier this summer who was a big leadership player for them, Buffalo would likely welcome the kind of experience Kreider would bring as well as his gritty edge and size. Buffalo really doesn't have a lot of left wingers knocking on the door in the pipeline so a little term could probably be given to Kreder as well. The Sabres have not being a desired destination for players the last decade or so, but after finally making the playoffs last year and winning a round while doing so, the perception of them seems to be changing.                                 Philadelphia Flyers I could see the Flyers doing something like this on a two-year deal while young players like Denver Barkey and Alex Bump continue to get their feet wet in the NHL. Kreider would give the Flyers some more veteran leadership for the young club and provide the with a solid three lines that can score and play solidly defensively at the same time. Kreider, Zegras and Michkov would bring a nice punch that could well support the top line and Foerster, Cates and Tippett would be a sensational 3rd shutdown line that can also produce offense. I already have Philly making it this year but this move would bring it to another level for sure.                                  Detroit Red Wings  Far less of a chance of this happening if Larkin doesn't stay, and I doubt he will but, if money is a factor Kreider could probably get an extra year and the same as he was making if not more in Detroit. If the other locations are not available this would be a good place to go to get the contact and accept a trade at the deadline to a team that might have more cap space available at the deadline due to injuries.  Detroit might give it a shot to entice Larkin to stay and Detroit just needs players right now that can play top lines. If it does not work out Detroit can grab some extra picks at the deadline.                                        Boston Bruins  Kreider is from Massachusetts and definitely would be a fan favorite in Boston with his style of play and sort of hometown ties. Boston would probably have to move out a player like Mittelstadt to make the roster work, which I think they have been trying to do anyway, but for me, if Kreider is looking to win now, this may not be the most realistic destination. If he disagrees with me or has just always wanted to play for Boston then this could have some legs. I would put Tampa in here as well if Kreider is willing to take a smaller one-year deal to go for the cup. It would probably be more of a third line role 'but would put him on a contender. Carolina might have some interest with Jarvis being injured to start the season, and Kreider having a relationship with K.A Miller but after Jarvis comes back I am not sure what his role might be and If Carolina signs Nikishin there not much left in the coffers.  I am sort of on the Sabre train here. I think his game works well for that system and the added leadership after Tuch leaving would be very valuable. Thanks for reading, catch you on the next one.Sep 10, 2026

The Hockey News

Pearlo's House Of Bold Predictions. Montreal Canadiens second line center is?

With the Nashville Predators moving on from Luke Evangelista under new manager Chris MacFarland it would seem to me that the mandate is to move forward with a rebuild. MacFarland stated that the reason for the trade was that Nashville was flush with prospects on the wing and that the picks that they received in return would help them with other positional needs. Nashville does have some good wingers coming up but Evangalista is only 24 years old and was a huge contributor to Stamkos scoring 0ver 40 goals last year. This by no means seems like a win now move. The next prospect winger in line is 21 year old Matthew Wood, who I do like a lot, but he has yet to play top comp. in the NHL and is still a work in progress. W With this in mind I contend that Nashville will be hard pressed to be in much of a playoff race this year and it must ring some alarm bells in the ears of the vets on this team. Especially that of Ryan O'Reilly who is now 35 years old and on the last year of his contract. Last year O'Reilly was gutted when Nashville missed the playoffs and put a lot of it on himself. Really though he was far from the problem. A lack of depth and young players still trying to find their way was far more the culprit and if Nashville struggles this year I think even he may concede that it may well be a good idea to move on for another cup shot with a different team.  Enter the Montreal Canadiens. Montreal has their own depth issues, especially at center but have been hesitant to pull the trigger on a deal with their premier prospect Michael Hage probably soon to finally arrive. It appears they do not have an appetite to block his way onto the line up. With O'Reilly though they would be getting an excellent shutdown center that produces very well defensively and has the experience to integrate into a lin up while basically being a rental unless he chooses to take short contracts with the understanding that Hage is right on at the door to take over. It would really be a perfect win now and possibly help out in a leadership role later type play. Montreal has some interesting young players that may entice Nashville such as RD David Reinbacher who is very close to being ready and offensive minded 20-year-old Bryce Pickford that had a stellar year for the Medicine Hat Tigers last year. 22-year-old center Oliver Kapanen scored 22 goals last year and would probably relish the ice time Nashville could offer. This seems like a perfect fit all around and it is one of my bold predictions for this year.  Catch more of this fine programming this year on my You Tube channel here Sep 8, 2026

The Hockey News

I would trade Fantilli. There I said it.

This is almost certainly not going to happen but if it were me it would. It was reported by Elliott Friedman that negotiations are on going with Columbus and Fantillis camp with the Blue Jackets offering around 12.5 million while Fantilli is looking more towards 15 million. Fantilli is looking for shorter term, probably in the 5 year range which would bring hin to free agency and Columbus is looking for 8 years for more cost certainty. If it were me I would do none of it.  Fantilli is a player that I have taken a lot of interest in since he was drafted as I wanted to see how his game away from the puck would progress. It did not. Fantilli looks lost out there a lot of the time when the puck is not on his stick. He over commits in the offensive zone still quite a bit and his positioning defensively in all three zones is pretty much non existent. When he does get the puck in the slot he is lethal for sure and I imagine he will score his share because of it, but I would not want to take up 13 to 14 mil in cap space for a player that has to rely on his teammates as much as he does to get in those positions. If it were me I would be calling up some obvious weak analytically minded teams that are wooed by his speed and shot to see if I could get prime return now before I invest heavy into him.  I wonder if the L.A. Kings might take the bait. They seem to have no interest in analytic models and need a center and scoring. Byfield and Trevor Moore , something like that. I would even add a player if I were Columbus if they pushed it, but Holland would probably just spe all over the place for Fantilli.Sep 8, 2026

The Hockey News

The Zeev Buium contract is the way of the future for successful teams.

The Zeev Buium contract is a fascinating one to say the least, but the type of contract that I think we could see more of in the future around the league. In fact we sort of already have Lane Hutson of Montreal, Paven Mintyukov in Anaheim, and Simon Nemec in Calgary have signed similar contracts. I think a good way to assess Buium's deal is to look at those deals in context and compare them to the one Zeev signed. aThis would be a very long article so I went the video route.Sep 5, 2026

The Hockey News

Quinn Hughes signs in Minnesota and plays with Dylan Larkin?

If you have been reading my content and watching my You Tube videos you will know that when Dylan Larkin asked for a trade, I predicted he would pick three teams to go to and two of them would be extremely unlikely destination and the other one would be Minnesota. You can see my previous content for all the reasons I thought this, but one big reason was his relationship with Quinn Hughes and Bill Guerin. Quinn and Dylan have known each other for quite a while and of course had the opportunity to play with each other in this past winter Olympics winning a gold medal as a result. I suggested that this deepened the relationship between Quinn and Dylan even more and gave  an opportunity for even more discussion between them about their situations on the teams that they now play for. That being of course Detroit in the case of Larkin and Minnesota or Quinn where he was recently traded to from the Vancouver Canucks. The interesting thing for me was that Quinn himself had asked for a trade while in Vancouver after what appeared to be a very tumultuous previous two years with player conflict and unsuccessful team results to go with it.  After making the trade request three teams were reported to become leading candidates to acquire Hughes. New Jersey, where two of his brothers play, Minnesota, where he eventually ended up and Detroit of course where Dylan Larkin plays. The trade speculation of Quinn going to Detroit seemed to carry on for some team and I believe it quite likely resulted in many conversations between Dylan and Quinn about the possibility of them playing together which very well could have fueled the desire in their minds for it to eventually happen. As we know it did not for whatever reason to, I imagine, the disappointment of both of them.  Quinn would finally end up in Minnesota before the Olympics and. as mentioned both he and Dylan would play on the Olympic team. In my mind these series of events had quite an impact on the relationship between Quinn and Dylan. The parallel of both of them being dissatisfied with teams they were on and the conversations they probably had as Quinn Hughes talked about how he made up his mind to leave Vancouver and how much better of a time he was having in Minnesota. Dylan would seem to have been in a similar situation in Detroit and I can comfortably assume Quinn's story helped give him the courage to also change his situation. Combine this with the G.M of the Minnesota Wild who acquired Quinn from Vancouver also being the G.M. of the Olympic team . The G.M. that showed much confidence in Dylan Larkin be selecting him for the Olympic team and I felt and still feel it created a perfect cocktail for Larkin to take the big risk he did in asking for a trade with 5 years left on his deal, which is not something that would be recommended that one do by an agent I imagine due to the poor leverage a player would have, but they did it anyway. To me this is almost like a pact between the two. An I have your back brotherhood move that gets carried out until the end, For these reasons I still do think Dylan Larkin ends up in Minnesota eventually even though Detroit will make their attempt towards reconciliation. I think Quinn signs a contract lower than people are predicting to make it happen and Guerin gives up a healthy package to Detroit in order to facilitate the deal. There is too much investment to go back now.Sep 4, 2026

The Hockey News

Hymes "All Reach Around Player" NHL Award for Every Team 2026/27 Part 4

This award goes to the players from every team who best exemplify being "Good in the room" but not so much on the ice, often getting paid very well to do so                                 NEW JERSEY DEVILS The Devils are a tough one as they do not really have a player that is steeped in the art of the reach around role. This might be why New Jersey played so tight last year and had a 36 goal below expected rating. Noesen may have to sharpen his skills in this area by default as he is approaching the age that could see him perform more room duties on this team moving forward. A once valuable utility forward for a team, Stefan has seen his deployment against top comp. fade drastically the last two years and is increasingly becoming a vet that is taking up a spot more than effectively occupying it on this roster. Warm towels and soothing Hymes applications may be his future pretty quick.                              NASHVILLE PREDATORS Nashville got off to a poor start last year and might have been a little tight out of the gate. possibly why the went out and got Lyubushkin to keep everyone loose and chafe free. Ilya has been raking in fat while getting cratered against decent comp. and providing many minutes of very poor PK time. With little to no offence and a well-schooled Hymes approach that he mastered in Dallas Nashville can be rest assured their room needs are filled.                                NEW YORK ISLANDERS There are a few candidates for the Islanders that would easily win on other teams, but it came down to a two-horse race between Palat and Duclair. I will slight give it to the 4-time winner and reach around All Star. Although Palat made it interesting with his higher per capita contract he did play against tougher comp. than Anthony and has a more rounded game at this stage of his career. Duclair has good speed and a good shot but has never driven offence or played a lick of defense. pretty much floats around until the puck comes to him off the hard work of his line mates. I sure hope he provides a helping hand in the room with a fist full of Hymes but something tell me his high vat consumption is more personal use.                                NEW YORK RANGERS Move over Rempe there is a new guy in town. Korisalo just keeps getting significant contracts over and over again while posting some of the worst underlying numbers in the league every year. Going by his near record level of Hymes vats per year purchases I can only imagine that the chafe level in the rooms he suits up in is the same as his quality starts.... he is consistently bad though.                                   OTTAWA SENATORS Ottawa has a very well-constructed lineup and it is possible Tyler Kleven may reach the Hymes heights in due time but for now Matinpalo fits the bill. when he is in the lineup he might as well get deployed against the Zamboni driver with how little he plays even the slightest of decent players. I am sure all the Hymes dispensers are well topped up though. His considerable reach gets around with no problems.Sep 4, 2026

The Hockey News