Pearlo Wisdom

PearloWisdom@THNN

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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.

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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 9h

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.2d

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. 2d

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 4d

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.4d

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 6d

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.1w

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.1w

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.1w

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.1w

The Hockey News

Marchand comments about Stutzle captaincy speculation speaks volumes

Brad Marchand of the Florida Panthers had some fun today while perusing his Twitter feed and decided to comment on a particular Tweet that suggested Tim Stutzle was on the short list for the Ottawa Senators to become the next captain of the team. This was a position of course that was previously occupied by the now Florida Panther Brady Tkachuk before Tkuchuk requested a trade out of Ottawa in hopes of playing with his brother Matthew which he accomplished. This has been a point of considerable contention among Senators fans as you can well imagine. Brady Tkachuk's exit has been well foreshadowed for quite some time now and there have been rumblings about dissatisfaction amongst Ottawa players throughout the ordeal as well.  Now just a month or so after the trade was made sending Brady packing Brad Marchand decides to put his two cents in on twitter about the possible selection of Stutzle  as captain to replace Tkachuk. I find this absolutely beautiful and a wonderful example of what makes Florida such a great winning organization. I love the fact that players like Marchand are always n the look out to take a dig at opposing teams and finding possible angles that may benefit his team down the road. This attitude of cocky smugness is what the game of hockey was built on and does well to celebrate the healthy love to hate that bring grown men to the rink with a smile om their face and thirst to bring pain and displeasure to the opposition. It is this type of gamesmanship and bravado that has fueled the Panthers two 2 Stanley Cups. Steal a teams captain and laugh while they do it. Whether it is the chants of F the Oilers during a Stanley Cup parade or a Sam Bennett oopsy into a goaltender. The Florida Panthers will find every angle to get in your head and smile from ear to ear as they do so... I for one, LOVE IT.1w

The Hockey News

The Luke Evangalista trade is why New Jersey signed Sunny Mehta?

When Sunny Mehta was announced as the New Jersey Devils general manager, a little tear came to my eye. As a Florida Panthers I knew that the Panthers would have some big shoes to fill. Sunny was well known to be an analytics guru and, as head of the analytics department and assistant general manager, he sure seemed to do some great work. He was in Florida for the acquisition of Carter Verhaeghe, EetuLuostarinen, Sam Reinhart, San Reinhart, Gustav Forsling and Matthew Tkachuk all of whom were fairly well known for their strong underlying numbers. I am sure he was not the only one involved with the moves but they sure screamed analytic guru plays for sure and look at that team now. Now that Sunny is G.M. of the New Jersey Devils i was on the edge of my seat to see how he would work his magic there. So far he hasn't disappointed. First picking up a low-risk, high-reward contract with Anthony Mantha and then brought in the very underrated Evan Rodrigues from his old team in the Panthers. Both have solid underlying analytics and add significant forward depth. Yesterday, though, he made a move that shows the same savvy that brought Florida a Stanley Cup roster with the acquisition of Luke Evangelista . Luke is the type of player that can often go unnoticed to the eye test. Not overly big or physical and not a lot of pop in the goal department but has gradually worked his way into becoming a premier young defensively aware play driver with borderline elite play making skills. He has been deployed against top lines a fair amount, especially last year, and has done an admiral job for such a young player. He is like a much more offensive Luostarinen with better offensive tools. It is these kinds of moves that can get teams lower cost high producing players that compliment top offensive players and help defenses in ways that seldom get the credit they deserve. The Mehta era is looking bright.1w

The Hockey News

Will The New Jersey Devils Try to Acquire Quinn Hughes or Connor Hellebuyck?

                             Is Sunny Mehta Done? Something that came to me last night, as I lay down and clutched my pillow before slipping into a cornucopia of impure thoughts, was the possibility that New Jersey G.M. Sony Mehta may have finished his work for the summer with the acquisition of Luke Evangelista. When I look at the lineup as it stands, I see something very similar to what Sunny helped build in Florida, and I wonder if that may be the avenue he is looking towards going here. Way too much to explain in one article, so I went the video route 1w

The Hockey News

Did New Jersey Just Hose the Predators in the Evangelista Trade?

I can only imagine that Evangalista was having talks with Nashville about his next contract and Nashville did not like what they were hearing. Luke is one of the best young shutdown wingers in the game and currently making 3 million but will be an RFA needing a contract next summer with arbitration rights. Evangelista was deployed against top lines a lot last year and fared very well. The fact that he is not much of a shooter and more of a playmaker and that he is not overly physical but more cerebral in his approach to his defensive game can have him go unnoticed with how valuable he is. Not surprised that astute analytics guy like Mehta snapped him up. It is this kind of player assessment that allowed him to be part of building the juggernaut that is the Florida Panthers as an assistant G.M. and head of analytics. New Jersey didn't even give up their own 1st in the deal, they gave up the one they got from Calgary in the Nemec that Calgary got from Colorado. Probably a very late pick. The Devils crushed this trade IMO but we will have to see what Evangalista" contract looks next year. Anything in the 7-8 mil area is fine.1w

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Hymes "All Reach Around Player" NHL Award for Every Team 2026/27 Part 3

This award goes to the players from every team who best exemplify being "Good in the room" but not so much on the ice, and often get paid very well to do so.                                     EDMONTON OILERS The first goalie to be awarded goes to Tristan Jarry. Tristan has found a way to be astoundingly mediocre at his position the last 3 years but still gets acquired in big trades and used as a number 1 with teams praying, he can be what he showed he could be earlier in his career. Jarry has never played well in the playoffs as well, but we can only assume he has magical abilities to keep things smooth and relaxed and well lubed in the room.                                    FLORIDA PANTHERS   There really isn't a great candidate for the Panthers in this category and almost went with Marchand for how much he has floated through the regular season since joining Florida, but alas I landed on Hathaway. Garnet was at one time a very solid 3 zone shutdown winger and still holds his own with very limited and protected 5 on 5 time as well as being able to kill penalties well. However, ask most people in Philadelphia and they will tell you ha is far more adept at his room duties that ice ability at this stage of his career. A vat of Hymes and warm towels may be his most valuable play at this point.                                            L.A.KINGS  My apologies go out to Joel Edmundson and his family as it appears he gave every effort to win this award but, Cody just narrowly grabs it with his higher cap hit and contract length. Ceci has been a staple for this award everywhere he has played and will certainly be a Hymes H.O.Fer when he retires. Cody's commitment to horrible defensive play and poor P.K work is legendary. Not near as legendary as his soft hands and dedication to the Hymes way in the room. Not a soul goes chafed in Ceci's presence. No one seems to value this more than Kenny Holland who makes sure Cody is close at hand wherever he goes.                                  MINNESOTA WILD  Very close to handing this to McCarron and I think he will be there in due time but it has to go to Bogosian one more time. There doesn't seem to be much left in the tamk for the well used right D man and there hasn't been for a while. Always overrated defensively and also always heavily applauded for his room value. This year he may have to up the lube game to max levels for optimum team impact.                              MONTREAL CANADIENS  Oh, how I long for the days when Arber would not be getting this award. The days when being a beast with the gloves off on the ice was far more valuable than being so in the room. The days when as long as a player could skate without falling down and could shoot with a modicum of efficiency was plenty as long as stars were protected and the law was enforced. Alas, it is not the case in this NHL and Xhekaj is terrible liability on the ice even against the weakest of competition which will have him plying his wares in more Hymes  related activities in the room more often than not.1w

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Hymes "All Reach Around Player" NHL Award for Every Team 2026/27 Part 2

This award goes to the players from every team who best exemplify being "Good in the room" but not so much on the ice and often get paid very well to do so.                             Columbus Blue Jackets This has been the Ivan Provorov Award for quite some time now, but he actually had a good year last year, and unfortunately for him and his family, he will not get top honors this year. Gudbranson has been a solid ambassador for Hymes for quite some time as well and although he does have a previous award I feel his second entry into the Hymes lore is warranted here. After an injury filled last year I imagine Gudbranson will have plenty of time to prepare for his reach around services while watching most game from the stands and when the bell does ring for on ice services, he will provide his usual less than stellar contributions. Not bad for 1.75 mil.                               Chicago Blackhawks Although when I do my all Pearlo Allstar Reach Around Team Soderblom will probably be one of the goalies I have to hand this to Greenway for his work with the Sabres as I can only imagine he was provided 4 Mil for primarily for his off ice expertise. I am not sure I have heard anyone mentioned as much as Jordan for his room abilities. Might be one of the more on ice capable players we see on this list, but his locker room legend is to strong to pass on.                                  Colorado Avalanche  The Avalanche seemed like a pretty uptight bunch in the playoffs last year especially MacKinnon and then there was the Makar injury which may have been avoided if they had a proper reach around guy in the room. Alas the Avs may have found their guy in Vinnie Hinostroza who has fallen off a cliff with on ice ability the last two years and may be the perfect guy for some healthy Hymes application prowess this year. He does have a two-way contract so he better get primed quick in the ways of room satisfaction or it will be bus riding in the minors for him. If he stays up in the show he will probably be left holding the bag though......                                         Dallas Stars  Dallas Is another team that has not valued a healthy "reach around" guy in their lineup for a while but Faksa takes the award for his penchant for winning faceoffs and not doing much else at an impressive 2 mil a year. The Hymes orders in his account increased immensely last year so it appears he has embraced his roll away from the ice.                                 Detroit Red Wings  A guaranteed first ballad Hymes Hall Of Famer whenever he retires. Ben Chiarot will probably have a statue erected in front of the Hymes Center when or if he retires. Ben has exhibited monumentally poor offensive driving and defensive play for over a decade now while making millions and being used in a top four deployment. Chiarot is practically the face of the Hymes brand and will be forever exalted as the epitome of the honor. We can only hope that Ben opens up a program so future "reach around" players can perfect their craft,1w

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Hymes "All Reach Around Player" NHL Award for Every Team 2026/27 Part 1

                 Sponsored By Hymes Body Lube This award goes to the players from every team who best exemplify being "Good in the room" but not so much on the ice and often get paid very well to do so.                                    Anaheim Ducks  Helleson is played on the top pair quite a bit more than he should be and over 16 minutes a night even though he provides little more than PK ability. Not totally overpaid yet but on his last year before he likely will be based on his ice time, kind of a Hymes in training guy but a really good prospect for a lot of lather in the room.                                      Boston Bruins  Elias has been riding a wave of Hymes since he played with Gaudreau and Tkachuk on the top line in Calgary. two years ago he had his best year defensively I will give him that but it seems to be quite an anomaly. Inexplicably voted highly for the Selke award in Calgary it was actually Matthew Tkachuk that propped up that line defensively. sacking second assists and winning faceoffs has been his pathway to over 60 million in his career. Good thing for him because vats of Hymes of the magnitude he must use up in the room does not come cheap.                                                                          Calgary Flames  I know, I know that many of you are screaming Huberdeau here but Jonathan has never had a Hymes account even. Indicating to me that he does not have the room credentials to make it on the team. Pospisil however runs at about 35 vats a month and considering he is a complete anchor on the ice but is pulling 2.5 sheets a year I have to imagine he keeps everyone very relaxed in the room.                                                                           Buffalo Sabres  This was a tough one as I had to strip Payton Krebs from the award this. My condolences to him and his family. However, Carrick will likely literally be paid a million dollars this year to spend more time off the ice than on it as he gets crushed against even the weakest of competition when he is on it.  Has really soft hands from what I gather though.                                 Carolina Hurricanes  Not even Nicolas Deslauriers can knock Jesperi off this perch. With 4 years still left at 4.8 million per year contract and in the press box more than on the ice nowadays the Hymes be flowing in the room with Jesperi handling the application until his arms are numb. His expertise did get a ring on one of those fingers though. 2w

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It's not gay if its a three-way Helleybuck trade frolic

It is Sunday afternoon, and NHL hockey is still a month away. Mock trades keep my mind off of that. To Utah  Connor Hellebuyck To New Jersey To Winnipeg                    Watch video for my take on deal.2w

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Is Makar Worth 20 Sheets in today's NHL?

This will be a topic of debate for quite some time I imagine. The first topic of debate will be if Makar id the best D man in the league, Analytics proponents of which obviously I am one, will say no. However, although I value analytics quite a bit, I also realize context is needed. This data is based on the regular season for the last 3 years with a very low play driving year in 2023-24. Why is that? Well because Colorado is a seasoned NHL squad that has learned the value of giving players easier deployment during the regular season to save them for the playoffs. When a team has tons of talents they can and should do that. Teams like the Maple Leaf's should take note. Regardless it does affect the underlying numbers for sure. That being said Cale is, IMO the most skilled defensemen in the league as shown by the 100s on the chart. When playoffs do come around and he elevates his game there is no better as far as I am concerned. Makar is also a right defenseman which is even harder to find. A leader in the room, a warrior who has played through debilitating injuries, and way better defensively when the chips are down than this chart suggests. So as far as talent is concerned, he is worth whatever he can get really.          Should Colorado Have Gave Him The Contract? This is a messier question. Makar's contract takes up 19.6 percent of Colorado's cap space next year leaving them with 11.6 million in cap space and top 6 forward Arturri Lehkonen and bottom 6 Nic Roy to sign as well as either D man Brent Burns or his replacement. Lehkonen should easily get 8 and they will be hard pressed to fill the other two spots with what's left. The Avs will probably lose Wedgewood between the pipes as well. So with this in mind, knowing that Colorado will lose depth at least in the short term should they let him go or try to trade him? That is pretty much what they would have to do if he sticks to that number, which he almost for sure will do. The answer is clearly no. Makar has a full no move clause so he could not accept a trade anyways and even if he did it would almost assuredly be on his terms which would be a team his agent worked out a deal for that he wants to go to. The return on that would be bullocks and just letting him go would leave Colorado almost in rebuild mode. Not to mention the seats he brings into the stands and his value to sponsorships and likely T.V. rights. People want to see Makar. Colorado had little leverage if any and certainly didn't want to get into a brawl with Cale. So yes, they had to pay him.                                         Is There Another Way? What we may see if their isn't a form of a luxury tax and maybe even if there is, is teams starting to sway away from the big-ticket players. If you have been following me I have been doing articles, and You Tube content with this in mind. I may look at a progressive way to build a deep lineup with players that can play a complete game rather than acquiring big ticket type players, If I were building a team now, I might consider trading top 5 Picks for value players that can shutdown other team's top lines and score a bit as well. Draft with that in mind as well. Kill the opposition with depth that they likely will not have because they are top heavy with big ticket players. Focus on the best wingers and keep the centers in at the 2nd and 3rd line quality. Wingers come at better value and if they have a high defensive I.Q. in all three zones they can help the defense enough that you do not have to pay top cheddar for them as well. Pour more money into draft and development and analytics staff to identify these players on the market and in the draft. If a team is wanting the players that milkshakes bring the people to the rink though. They will be paying up for it like Colorado did with Makar.2w

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Connor Hellebuyck Makes A Public Trade Request. What Does It Mean For The Jets?

What Does This Trade Request Really Say? Ta answer this lets first look at a statement that Connor gave to Adam Gretz of the Athletic shortly after this past season "What we did this year was unacceptable. No one wants to be part of that. ... Can you get the pieces that you need? Will the players come? These are always questions that you have in Winnipeg. I’ve made it my home and I like it here, but the majority of the league doesn’t feel the same way," So in the first part of this statement Hellebuyck doubles down on how he was pumped and committed to Winnipeg right from the start and gave everything he had to be the best Jet he could be. That meshes well with the statement previously that he enjoyed his time in Winnipeg and that he considered it "home". A nice way to appease the fan base that I am sure he feels for. He then goes on to reiterate that he asked for a trade after the season and that he has "tried" to handle the situation quietly and respectfully.... In my opinion this would suggest it has taken some effort to do so, or he wouldn't have had to try. Doing is effortless trying is opposite. If I told you I am going to try to write an article you would think there was some effort for me to do so. If I said I am going to write an article it would seem that I do it all the time and it is quite easy correct? So let me try to continue here . Connor then says that with training camp approaching he felt it important to make his request public... Done with the trying. He then says nothing has changed and he still wants to move on ... translation .. I do not want to be here come training camp.  Finally, he reminds the fans how much he appreciates them and well...please don't be mad and "try" to understand. So what does this mean moving forward? One thing is clear to me with this public trade request id that Hellebuyck is not going to be happy if he is still a Jet come training camp. The problem I would say, is the very reason he has said he has to leave ..that being that few players want to play in Winnipeg, is the very thing that is preventing him from leaving. Players with No Trade Clauses probably have Winnipeg on their lists and even if they do not a younger player on an entry level deal may express their unwillingness to extend with the team which lessens their value. As Connor expressed in his exit media interview this is a problem. By making this public Hellebuyck has really put in Cheveldayoff's court to decide whether it is worth it to wait out getting more value in a trade and bring back a player who has made it quite clear that he is growing impatient and has little appetite to do so.   My Prediction As much as the manager of the Jets Kevin Chelveldayoff would like to push the envelope here and hope for injuries to occur to widen the market I think he has to get a deal done before camp. I just cannot see Winnipeg having a malcontent goaltender playing meaningful games moving forward. Winnipeg can ill afford to mail this season in or any season really and essentially that is what they would be doing if they were too stubborn in this situation. Hockey is an energy sport and having that energy around constantly is worse than getting a lesser return than they may have hoped for. The good news is any team wanting to add Hellebuyck will probably want to have him with the team as long as possible to get acclimated to his surroundings and team systems so the sense of urgency should be pretty strong for them as well to get it done.  One thing I will say though is I could see Winnipeg sitting Hellebuyck for a bit at least. The Jets owner has very deep pockets and full trust in Chevy to do what he thinks is right.  I will be doing a mock trade in my next article, and you can catch my video and live stream content here   2w

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