1. The player who fascinates me most when it comes to the Free Agent Frenzy is Mitch Marner for the pure and simple reason that no single player has received more ink than the former-to-be Maple Leaf.
2. It's clear that Connor McDavid – not Stan Bowman, not Kris Knoblauch, not Daryl Katz – is running the Oilers.
3. Either Bowman convinces the McDavid camp – mostly his agent Judd Muldaver of the L.A.-based Wasserman Agency – that the club can actually win a Stanley Cup, I see Connor waving bye-bye to Alberta.
4. Granted that Stan Bowman has a right to question his Stu Skinner-Cal Pickard goaltending. But if I'm Bowman, I'd get it in my head that Darnell Nurse and Evan Bouchard are the most overrated D pair in the NHL, if not the world.
5. This from Vic Morren at NHL Wraparound: "When left wing J.T. Peterka got dealt to Utah, my first thought was that – at some point – he'll join Eichel, O'Reilly, Reinhart, Montour, Rodrigues, Okposo and others to win a Cup elsewhere, but not in Buffalo."
6. A.J. Greer on the Panthers ability to stay so consistently good for so long: "We never stay comfortable."
7. Bill Zito on the key first player who set the Panthers tone: "It started with Patrick Hornqvist. He came in and he had that pedigree. Plus, he had the energy and the personality which was very much like Brad Marchand's."
8. Nate Schmidt on what impressed him most when becoming a Panther: "The franchise is a well-oiled machine."
9. Let's see how smart you are: which aspect of the Rangers needs the most work? The Maven says it's the Power Play which, by the way, never adjusted to attack what the opponent was giving. (Thank you, Hutch.)
10. Master Blaster Larry Hirsch writes from Tampa Bay, "Cats' coach Paul Maurice knew how many bullets he had in his holster!"
11. The Miami Herald's Jordan McPherson on why NHLers want to play for the Champs: "Everyone is treated equally. Jesper Boquist, Uvis Balinkis, Vitek Vanecek are all treated the same as Barkov, Tkachuk, Ekblad and Bob."
This Lecture Is Aimed At Rangers Fans Who Are Singing The Blues
<a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-rangers" target="_blank">Rangers</a> Fans, it's time for The Maven and You-All to have a heart-to-heart talk.
12. A good sign for next fall via Matthew Tkachuk: "There's a lot of hatred between us and Edmonton."
13. Heard from a Florida fan: "Canada may have invented hockey; but the Panthers re-invented it!"
14. Many-authored Rangers Historian and Maven Round Table Seer George Grimm offers his Rangers cure: "The Blueshirts need a coach with a psychologist's degree and a pair of big boots to kick them in the ass." Then, a pause and further thought:
15. "But they'll happily cash their checks at the nearest bank!"