Dylan Larkin has a hard time sugar-coating it — last season sucked for him and the Detroit Red Wings. It’s tough to finish with a minus-122 goal differential and 23 fewer points than any other team. Larkin called it “embarrassing” to be on the first Red Wings team to finish dead last in the standings […]
Continue readingIn this exercise, we identified the best contracts on every team, the ones with which the player provides the most production per dollar. We also identified the worst — you know, the ones that drive both fans and general managers up the wall. Note: This list does not include any entry-level contracts (as they are […]
Continue reading(Especially during a championship celebration, it turns out …) Months later, we clearly don’t know enough about COVID-19 in aggregate, but professional sports leagues have learned plenty, using various methodologies to start, restart and complete their seasons. “At this point, we know how the virus is transmitted. We know how to create safe environments to […]
Continue readingMantha, 26, has played five seasons in the NHL — all with Detroit. He scored 16 goals with 22 assists last season, ranking third on the team with 38 points. That was despite playing only 43 games because of injuries. Mantha scored a career-high 25 goals in 2018-19. Detroit general manager Steve Yzerman said previously […]
Continue readingThe 1980 Team USA hockey “Miracle on Ice” is folklore. Cinderella teams are more compelling than No. 1 seeds in March Madness. Unless it’s part of a dynasty, hearing an absurdly talented team talk about how hard it is to win a championship is like hearing a billionaire complain about a dearth of island vacation […]
Continue readingThe word that typically defines free agency in the NHL is “uncertainty.” Players with expiring contracts enter a marketplace unsure of what their next deals will look like or where they’ll next call home. But in the 2020 free-agent frenzy, that uncertainty has reached previously unseen levels for players and teams. There’s a flat salary […]
Continue readingBelieve it or not, the 2020 NHL draft is finally here. After being delayed and rescheduled from June, all 217 picks over seven rounds will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday, starting with the New York Rangers atop the board. Whether you are a draft enthusiast who has followed this talented class all year or […]
Continue readingReady to contribute Alexis Lafreniere, LW, New York Rangers, Rimouski (QMJHL) Selected: 1 (surprise!), Draft board ranking: 1 Peters: “… Over the past 20 years, only two players 18 years old or younger had a points-per-game average higher than Lafreniere’s 2.15 this season: Sidney Crosby and Jonathan Drouin. Lafreniere thinks the game at a high […]
Continue readingThe past five years were a harsh education for this group. Their 2-0 victory to eliminate the Dallas Stars, capture the Stanley Cup and officially pop the NHL playoff bubble was their graduation. In order to raise the Stanley Cup, the Lightning had to lean how not to fumble it away. “Once you get to […]
Continue readingHowever you want to calculate it, the quarantined postseason ended on Monday with the Tampa Bay Lightning defeating the Dallas Stars in six games for hockey’s Holy Grail, ending the most remarkable quest for the Stanley Cup in the history of the NHL. That the season was restarted was amazing. That the season was completed […]
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