Would it surprise anybody if the Anaheim Ducks made substantial offers to both Mitch Marner and John Tavares?
Ducks GM Pat Verbeek already shook up the hockey barking chain with the Chris Kreider deal, and nobody believes for a second Verbeek is close to done. This is a team that thinks it has a shot at the playoffs next season, and you can start to see how Verbeek is addressing the areas that will help the team get there.
The Ducks were dead last on the power play last season, firing at a paltry 11.8%, and part of the solution here is bringing in Kreider, one of the finest on the man advantage. Marner helps here too, as well as on the PK, so this is an easy one to see coming. Would the Ducks interest Marner? No doubt they’ll be better, but how much? Does he want to be on a team that is close to the playoffs or close to a Stanley Cup? Does playing for Joel Quenneville move the needle for Marner?
As for Tavares, it sounds like he’ll have several teams interested in his services. He’s a talented, productive veteran who plays a power position, and if the reports and whispers out there have weight, and I believe they do, then come July 1 look for the Ducks to be one of the many calls should he make it to market. Sounds like he has a lot of fans in Orange County.
Speaking of Tavares, his camp already received a gift from the Colorado Avalanche with the Brock Nelson three-year, $22.5 million deal, and there won’t be a shortage of teams calling about his services. We wonder about teams like the Utah Mammoth, who have a slew of young forwards who would benefit from having a thoroughly respected pro around the group.
One final note about the Ducks: if he still wants to play – he said so before the Final – what are the chances Corey Perry finishes his career where it started?
Panthers have spreadsheets to match their snarl
Some food for thought about a debate that’s long over.
As much as the Florida Panthers look and play like an old-school team, they are more driven by their analytics department than most people give them credit for. On the surface, the story about the Panthers is hard work, grit, tenacity, compete and, make no mistake, they are all that, but pull back a layer and what you notice is a sea of numbers that justify each decision Bill Zito makes. None of this is done frivolously.
I asked a manager last week which teams rely on their analytics department most when it comes to roster construction and how much importance they put on the department. Number one should be obvious – the Carolina Hurricanes. But coming in at number two were the Panthers, who have demonstrated the ability to find players whose potential hasn’t yet been actualized based on underlying numbers. Think about everyone from Gustav Forsling to Seth Jones, Sam Bennett to Carter Verhaeghe. Do you think these players were acquired either by trade or waivers or free agent signing just on gut feeling? Or ‘eye test’? Not a chance.
Could Rat head for Lone Star State?
If the Dallas Stars do end up moving Jason Robertson to recoup the capital they gave up in the Mikko Rantanen trade, what are the chances they try to bring in Brad Marchand to take that open roster spot? They did try to trade for Marchand at deadline, but it was never going to happen since the winger had decided on Florida. I don’t think Dallas revisiting their interest this offseason is out of the realm of possibility. Also, on Marchand – how many 37-year-old players get raises in today’s game? Marchand is about to, big time.
High praise for Marco’s methods
If you’re a Boston Bruins fan wondering what kind of coach Marco Sturm will be, I had a long talk last week with one of his former players with the Ontario Reign. The first thing out of his mouth – consistency. And for anyone who saw him on the ice, that is exactly the kind of player Sturm was: always giving an honest effort game in, game out. Sturm doesn’t expect excellence from every player every night, but he expects a consistent effort every night. He has a hard time understanding why players can’t hit that note day after day.
Sturm was also known to stay after practice on the ice to help certain players with individual skills no matter how tiny. Normally that’s an assistant coach’s role, but Sturm would often go the extra mile to get a player to another level of their game. Alex Turcotte and Samuel Helenius were two guys this former Reign player pointed to as being helped greatly by Sturm.
Asked about Sturm’s work with Quinton Byfield, the player said the coach gave him freedom and confidence, always making sure he knew Byfield was an NHL player.
The NHL’s sassiest, sneeziest sniper
Great text I got about Leon Draisaitl after he scored the overtime game winner in Game 4 of the Final from one of his former teammates with the Edmonton Oilers: “Admire 29’s ability to sneeze and score at the same time. The hand of God guides this man’s stick. And he’s so sassy doing it. The guy just sneezes a puck at the net. Everything on his banana blade just is a magnet to hell for goalies. He’s incredible.”
A magnet to hell for goalies. What a line.
Why lift on a full stomach at the Combine?
One of the smartest things I saw at the NHL Draft Combine the week before last was Brady Martin consistently going out of his way to compare his game with Sam Bennett and Tom Wilson. First off, he’s not wrong, but most importantly this guy knows how to stick a wet finger in the wind and read what every GM wants right now.
Sticking with the combine, I had a few people wonder about changing how combine week is done. As it stands now, the week starts with player interviews and some of the top prospects going out to dinners every night with different suitors all the while thinking and stressing about the actual combine later in the week. A few people I spoke with wondered if it would be a better alternative if this was flipped with the prospects getting put through their tests early in the week when they’re at their freshest (and not full of steak + lobster), then spend the rest of the week talking to teams in a more relaxed atmosphere.
Here’s one of the more interesting interview moments at the combine. One of the teams painted an interesting scenario for the prospects holding up a picture of a person sitting on a chair in the middle of a field and asking the player to make up a story around how this person found themselves in this situation. Think about how you would answer that….as a 17-year-old.
Rink Fries
With a Canadian team in the Stanley Cup final, I wish montage creator Tim Thompson was still involved in the broadcast…Just me or could you see Aaron Ekblad in a Mammoth uniform next season?…As I mentioned on Twitter Sunday night, expect the Niagara IceDogs to name former NHLer Krys Barch as their next head coach.
