JohnnyDrama21

Claude Giroux is one of the best players in the game today, there is no doubt about that. On the other hand, Jakub Voracek is still an under-the-radar type of guy to most teams and fans in the league. Together they have formed one of the leagues best duos. However, it has been a struggle to find a good winger that fit on the Philadelphia Flyers top line with them. Scott Hartnell got most of those minutes last season, but even he was juggled around a bit. After trading Hartnell the identity of the Flyers lines had changed. No one was really sure who would go where, and that still seems to be the case with head coach Craig Berube already changing the lines between and even during games. Brayden Schenn has also been given a chance there at the start of these past two seasons. The natural center turned left-wing due to the Flyers logic has yet to gel anywhere. The constant yo-yoing his position hasn’t allowed any stability in the youngster’s development. Once again he was given less than a two game tryout as the top line left wing before being dropped back down to the second line. Enter Michael Raffl. The Austrian winger signed a one-year deal with the Flyers during he 2013 offseason and was re-signed for two more years this past March due to his performance. Prior to joining the Philadelphia organization, Raffl played for Leksands IF in the Swedish Hockey League, comparable to AHL level in North America. In his two seasons there, he scored 34 goals and 35 assists for 69 points in 88 games, with 46 of those points coming in the 2012-13 season in just 49 games. Raffl played just two games for the Phantoms, Philadelphia’s AHL club, and tallied three points in two games. Raffl also got a look during the 2014 Olympics, tallying 3 points in Austria’s 4 games. To read the rest of this article, head on over to 2PS. There are charts! Oooooh, charts.

Welcome to the “5 things” series here at Two Pad Stack! As we head toward the twilight days of summer, each team has some unanswered questions that need addressing before the season gets started. Luckily for you, the staff here at 2PS will bring those questions to light. Today we take a look at last seasons Presidents Trophy winners, the Boston Bruins. 1. Can Loui Eriksson step up to the 1st line? Let's put it this way, Eriksson was brought in to be a top 4 forward on this Boston Bruins team. Due to a slow start and various injuries that didn't happen, and Eriksson was pushed down to the 3rd line. But that demotion would prove to work wonders moving forward. After losing Iginla to Colorado, there's a huge gap to be filled on that top line alongside David Krejci and Milan Lucic. You don't replace 30 goals without some serious thought. But Loui Eriksson is a proven 30+ goal scorer, and his time in Dallas showed us his top line capabilities. Whilst playing on the 3rd line with Chris Kelly and fellow Sweed Carl Soderberg, Eriksson excelled. The chemistry was prefect between the 3, and now the only downside to Eriksson possibly getting bumbed up to that top line, is the dismantling of the 3rd line. With the confidence gained from the later half of last season, Eriksson could be excellent on the 1st line. However, if it doesn't go according to plan, it could be problematic for the Bruins, who despite having a great farm system, would result in a whole reshuffle of the forward lines. 2. Is Zdeno Chara still one of the leagues most dominant defenders? For the first time in a while, the last two seasons have shown us that the previous Norris Trophy winner might be losing a step or two. There's no point hiding away from the fact that Zdeno Chara is getting older, and in doing so is getting slower. Big Z, now 37, was guilty of getting burned by smaller, quicker opponents during not only the 2013 playoffs, but last seasons postseason also. He is no doubt still one of the leagues best Defenseman, with that size and reach, it's hard not to be. He also finished second in the Norris Trophy voting this season, so he's still doing something right. But the Bruins have a decision to make - do they let Chara run his years out in Boston, or do they attempt to trade their captain whilst he still has the ability of a Top 10 NHL Defenseman? 3. Can Boston's youth at the back end continue to be a success? Yes. The future for the likes of Torey Krug, Dougie Hamilton and Kevan Miller is brighter than ever. The Boston Bruins have done everything right in handling their young talent, from having the right amount of veteran guys surround their younger players, to letting them play and work out their own mistakes through increased ice time. Torey Krug and Dougie Hamilton could have break out years. If and when the Bruins look to ship off older guys, both of these young Defenseman could easily step in and become a top 2 option. Krug with his Erik Karlsson style of play, could in fact be the next Erik Karlsson. Kevan Miller on the other hand is a tough, physical Defenseman, who's progress isn't quite as far along as the pervious two mentioned, but has shown great promise. He may be the favourite out of the 3 to drop off, but Miller brings the club the ability to drop the gloves and slug it out with the leagues toughest players, something Krug and Hamilton don't have. The future is bright at the blue line. 4. Is the back-up Goaltending role an issue? From Anton Khudobin to Chad Johnson, the Bruins have had two pretty good backups in the past few seasons. Unable to keep hold of them, they both appear to be taking on starting rolls at their new respective hockey clubs. Now there's Niklas Svedberg and Malcolm Subban, two guys who haven't really proven a whole lot. So yes, the backup role is a bit of an issue. But it also creates opportunities for others to step up and prove their worth. As it stands it seems as if Svedberg will be the guy to back Tuukka Rask up this season, but the Bruins have invested a lot of time into making Malcolm Subban a success, and would like to have him with the team for the long haul. Handling him with kid gloves, the Black and Gold seem reluctant to chuck him straight into the deep end. 5. Is the window of opportunity still open for the Boston Bruins? The Bruins have been one of the NHL's strongest teams for quite a while now, with great team depth and coaching they will continue that feat for the foreseeable future. As long as the Eastern Conference remains the weaker of the two conferences, you can only see a top 3 finish for the Bruins each year. Not only that, they seem to be set up for quite a long time. The Bruins have a number of young, talented players waiting in the wings. If brought through successfully, they could keep Boston at the top of the pile. However, the idea of a speed threat still hasn't been addressed, and the Bruins have lost more than they have gained this offseason. So it appears as if they are already relying on their system to fill the gaps lost last year. Could it be too early? I guess we'll have to wait and see. Until the Bruins are able to get a complete team playoff performance, similar to their 2010-11 Cup winning year, then it seems they may fall at the final hurdle once again. Read more at Two Pad Stack.

Welcome to the “5 things” series here at Two Pad Stack! As we head toward the twilight days of summer, each team has some unanswered questions that need addressing before the season gets started. Luckily for you, the staff here at 2PS will bring those questions to light. Today, we take at the new and (sort of) improved Buffalo Sabres! 1. Will the Sabres be better in 2014/15? Yes and no. Will they improve on their NHL-worst 52 points and 157 goals for? It would be really, really difficult for them to do worse at either. Still, don’t expect them to be contending for anything other than the right to choose first overall in a stacked draft. Sure, they added by subtracted when they bought out Ville Leino. And yes, they added veteran scoring in Matt Moulson and Brian Gionta as well as solid defensive veterans Josh Gorges and Andrej Meszaros, but did they really get that much better? Moulson was a part of this team last season before being moved at the deadline and Gionta was brought in more for his leadership than his scoring abilities. Defensively, the team got older and steadier, but they didn’t add any difference-makers. In the end, the Sabres became much more competitive but they shouldn’t win many more games than the 21 they won last year. 2. Will anyone claim the starting job in net? Jhonas Enroth and Michal Neuvirth will share duties this season as they did to close out the 2013/14 campaign. Both stood on their head at times last year behind a porous defense, but neither is capable of stealing multiple games a la departed Sabres goalie Ryan Miller. Neuvirth is a bit bigger and has looked to be on the verge of breaking out in Washington for years before ending up in Buffalo. Enroth, meanwhile, keeps proving that he’s a solid NHL goaltender even if he’s never likely to be the #1 goalie the Sabres are looking for. Neuvirth battled injury issues at the end of last season. Look for Enroth to get the bulk of the starts because of injury concerns with Neuvirth. 3. Is Tyler Myers ready to be the #1 defenseman? Though he may never rediscover the offensive game that helped him win the Calder trophy back in 2009-10, Myers enjoyed his best season since his rookie campaign in 2013-14. For the past few years, he’s been heavily criticized because his level of play on the ice didn’t match his compensation. And yes, it’s always going to be difficult for Myers to justify his $5.5M cap hit without playing like one of the top defenders in the conference, but last year Myers was as close to justifying that as he’s been in years. He scored the most goals he’s had in one year since 2010-11, looked more confident moving the puck out of his zone and showed stronger defensive play. He’ll likely never be the physical force his size will allow him to be, but he’s showing he can still use his reach to be a very good defenseman. With Christian Ehrhoff out the door, it’s time for him to take the wheel and assert himself as the top defenseman in this group. That will go a long, long way in the rebuild effort. 4. Is anyone a threat to be moved this season? For the most part, the Sabres have moved out who they are going to move and kept who they are going to keep. The only candidates, realistically anyways, to be moved are Chris Stewart and Drew Stafford. Both are unrestricted free agents after this season, both make north of $4M and both are disappointing power forwards who can still score 25+ goals. Despite that label, both will have value come deadline time especially if they are playing well in a contract year. If the team can move them for more assets and to clear out space for some of the youngsters ready to make the jump next year, they will do so. Tyler Myers is likely the only other name that will come up with any consistency, as he did last year, but that’s just not realistic at this point. The Sabres are high on him and won’t give him up for anything less than a serious overpayment which no team in their right mind would do. His name will come up, but he’s not a threat to go anywhere. 5. Which, if any, prospects can we expect to see this year? Quite a few, actually. Second overall pick Sam Reinhart has inked his entry-level deal, so look for him in some capacity throughout the year. He’s got serious skills and it will be hard to keep him down in juniors. Wingers Joel Armia and Johan Larsson will likely be given opportunities to make the lineup out of camp as well. Armia is a Finnish power forward with a nose for the net while Larsson is a solid two-way forward. Neither will likely make it this season, but could be one of the first call-ups as the season goes on. Defensively, one of Chad Ruhwedel or Mark Pysyk is likely to grab a spot in the top six, but Rasmus Ristolainen will likely challenge as well. Nikikta Zadorov will get a look in camp, but expect him to end up back in juniors. Read more at Two Pad Stack.

Busy weekend and you couldn’t keep up with what the Pittsburgh Penguins were up to at the NHL draft? No problem. Here’s a breakdown of all the weekend’s important events, complete with some semi-arbitrary grading scale that I developed to save you some time on the details. The James Neal Trade: B- Make no mistake, the single most talented player to move in the deal is James Neal. He’s probably one of the top-10 pure snipers, and I would rank his release even higher: probably top-5 in the whole NHL. He’s also been a point per game player in 2 of his 3 complete seasons with the Penguins, thanks to his completely underrated passing ability. And he’s done all of that before even entering the historic “prime years” of his NHL career. He won’t have Evgeni Malkin feeding him with the Nashville Predators, but I still have to think that Neal projects as a guy capable of 35 goals and 70 points in a complete 82 game season. Further, you have to believe that a coach like Peter Laviolette is an almost perfect match for Neal: he’s tough enough to not put up with Neal’s behavioral crap, but offensively-minded, and capable of getting a lot from the existing pieces in Nashville. Despite that, the players the Penguins got in return have a lot to offer their new team too. Honestly, the only reason why I assigned this trade a somewhat lower grade is that you just get the sense that the Penguins left something on the table in order to make this move: they needed to get at least one extra pick out of the Nashville Predators, even if not the 11th overall. They could have gotten by with one of two second round picks that the Preds held, or if not even that, something in the future. They didn’t though, and as such the trade gets a good, not great grade. Coming back to the Penguins are Nick Spaling and Patric Hornqvist. So far, Spaling has been largely written off as the flotsam of the trade, but that’s a little bit premature. His possession numbers are, in a word, awful. But he also played in a system that favored playing without the puck, and with some other fairly pitiful possession players. Despite that, Spaling is a career 11% shooter with nearly 300 games played in the NHL. If you’re looking for a silver lining, his 13 goals match the output of Brandon Sutter (who led all non-top-6 forwards for the Penguins), and his 32 points actually surpass Sutter’s 26. Spaling is also noted for being a solid penalty killer and a bit of a bruising presence. Playing in a more offensively liberated system like new Pens coach Mike Johnston’s could hopefully see Spaling mature into a 15-goal, 35-point player, regardless of past possession performance. Spaling is also comfortable at any of the three forward positions, which could be a great boost to the Pens’ depth issues. I end my analysis of Spaling with an upper and a downer. The downer is this: Spaling is currently an RFA, and his previous contract saw him earn an AAV of $1.5 M. Certainly the Penguins will give him a qualifying offer, but I have to suspect that the Pens will have to give Spaling a decent raise in order to come to an agreement, since they can’t really command a loyalty discount. On the positive side though, to me, Spaling passes the eye test–you notice him on the ice, and I can’t really get past his productivity as a 3rd and 4th liner on an offensively anemic team, it’s for real. I don’t mean to say that Spaling is going to be the next Matt Cooke, but as a player, I think of lot of Pens fans would be happy to see another player with Cooke’s particular skill set (and without any disciplinary issues) on the roster again. Of course, ultimately, the return on the Neal trade really comes down to Patric Hornqvist. A lot of writers are selling themselves on the notion that Hornqvist’s productivity in Nashville is pretty close to Neal’s in Dallas, and that Hornqvist could become the same caliber of player when he, likely, takes Neal’s spot alongside Evgeni Malkin. I think that’s a little bit wishful. Hornqvist isn’t the passer that Neal is, and he scores his goals much differently: in traffic, in front of the net. And that’s the key to this trade. Hornqvist is the type of “grit and character” player the Penguins have been lacking. He’s been dubbed the heir apparent to Tomas Holmstrom as the league’s best gritty goal-scorer, he thrives in the hardest spots on the ice. So really, I don’t particularly care if he can become a point-per-game producer, or a 40-goal scorer, give me 30 gritty goals, 60 points overall, and do it all again in the playoffs, and this will wind up as a good trade for the Penguins. Drafting Kasperi Kapanen: A The other big story from Friday night surrounds the team’s first round selection: Kasperi Kapanen. To put it mildly, Kapanen was exactly the kind of player the Penguins needed to draft, and it was a shock to most that he was available to them with the 22nd pick in the draft. Pretty much universally regarded as the top European prospect in his draft class, and regarded by many as a top-10 talent, Kapanen joins Olli Maatta as Finnish players who took unanticipated draft day falls, before both having their falls ended by the Penguins with the 22nd pick. Kapanen is an explosive skater, immensely skilled with the puck, and more than capable of finishing his chances. Kapanen has also been praised for his ability to think the game. Kapanen is still just 17 years old, but has appeared in 60 games with KalPa of Finland’s top league, SM-liiga, where he played with his father, Sami Kapanen. Kapanen will need to work on bulking up and could certainly use more time playing hockey against top-flight competition (he was injured for parts of the 2013-14 hockey cycle, where he was expected to be part of Finland’s U-20 World Junior Hockey Championship squad, and which also kept him from playing more with KalPa). With all of that in mind, I put Kapanen at more than likely two years away from really joining the Penguins organization. Nonetheless, the best part of all that is simply that Kapanen, despite being relatively raw, possesses all of the intangibles, the things that he will need to improve can be coached: strength and conditioning, and general experience. GM Jim Rutherford made a definite statement with his first pick as GM of the Penguins: he did exactly what Ray Shero never would do, he drafted a forward, and a European at that. The only way this pick could have gone better is if the team had taken a more or less NHL-ready player, but that’s pretty much impossible picking in the last third of each round. The Rest of the Draft Class: C The Penguins did not have a second or third round pick this year, having previously given them up in the vain pursuit of the Stanley Cup over the last two seasons. Really, that is the only reason for my discontent with their remaining selections. As a team, the Penguins needed to find a way to get into the “middle” rounds to find useful pieces, and possibly shed some salary. They didn’t do it. What they did end up with were some later round players that still instill a new drafting philosophy. In the 4th round, the team took Sam Lafferty, a native of Hollidaysburg, PA, which makes him an almost local kid (another thing the Penguins under Shero were lambasted for, ignoring local players like Brandon Saad, John Gibson, Vince Trocheck, and JT Miller in recent drafts). Lafferty is a skilled, but undersized forward (6’, 175 lbs) who will certainly be on the long road to development. He has agreed to go to the USHL for the 2014-15 season, and then will begin a collegiate career at Brown University in 2015-16. The Penguins took yet another forward in the fifth round with Anthony Angello, a large 6’4”, 190 lbs. player most recently from the USHL. He will be enrolling at Cornell for this season. In the sixth round the Penguins selected Jaden Lindo of the Owen Sound Attack of the OHL. He stands 6’1”, 202 lbs., thus adding more size to the forward ranks. Both players have shown some penchant for scoring, but are perhaps more notable for their size. The team rounded out their draft class with Jeff Taylor, a freshman defender at 2014 NCAA champion Union College. Undersized (6’, 183) and not a prolific scorer, Taylor is still intriguing given that he was named an ECAC all-rookie team member, and certainly contributed on the ice to Union’s success. As evidenced above, the Penguins made a commitment to selecting forwards in this draft class. It could simply be that after spending a huge amount of picks on defensemen and goaltenders in recent drafts the team felt that those positions could be put on the backburner, or it could be that the top player available in each round mostly happened to be a forward. Nonetheless, I would like this run on forwards more if they had come earlier in the draft, for now it will be a long time before we find out if any of these picks will become NHL players. Updates on the Team’s Pending UFAs: B Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette provided an update on Rutherford’s plans for his team’s 11 pending UFAs, the answer is pretty simple: let them go. That’s basically it, each one is going to have the opportunity to talk to other teams at the start of free agency. That’s the good news when it comes to players like Brooks Orpik, Tanner Glass, Joe Vitale, and Taylor Pyatt–they aren’t players that need to come back, and now we know that they likely won’t. It’s not quite as good for players like Marcel Goc, Lee Stempniak, and Brian Gibbons who could ultimately form a functional bottom-6 with the team. This only further confirms that highly valuable players like Matt Niskanen and Jussi Jokinen are long gone from the Penguins organization. Moving beyond the players mentioned above should help the Penguins get younger, and with any luck they should be able to address their needs without paying out any silly contracts in free agency. This opens the doors for the team’s many young defensemen including Brian Dumoulin, Simon Despres, and Scott Harrington (to start) to earn their stripes in the NHL, and forward prospects like Jayson Megna and Adam Payerl to round out a better, more skilled, and more athletic bottom-6. Read more at Two Pad Stack.

TSN’s Bob McKenzie posted a series of tweets regarding the Colorado Avalanche’s Ryan O’Reilly earlier today. The implication that O’Reilly could be taken to a third-party salary arbitrator caused a bit of a ruckus in the Avalanche social media world. The ruckus intensified when McKenzie confirmed the rumour shortly thereafter. Here’s the lot tweets in a more convenient format: Lots of talk within NHL circles that COL has or will file “club-elected salary arbitration” on Ryan O’Reilly. If so, it will make waves. O’Reilly is set to become a restricted free agent. If COL wants to retain his rights, they must give him qualifying offer of $6.5M. Or they could negotiate a long-term deal. Or take him to club-elected arbitration. Latter is not unprecedented but it is highly unusual. If COL did or does file for club-elected arbritation, O’Reilly could choose a one- or two-year award after an arbritration hearing in late July. If arbitrator awarded O’Reilly less than the $6.5M he made this past season, the question is: how do you think O’Reilly would react to it? Bottom line: club-elected arb on O’Reilly would appear to add a whole new dynamic to relationship between player and COL. #itscomplicated Then news broke that the team has elected to take O’Reilly to arbitration after all. But is this news the catastrophe some are making it out to be? Does the move forecast another summer of bitter contract negotiations and fat Feaster offer sheets? Likely not. Ryan O’Reilly had a contentious negotiation with the Avalanche’s front office during the 2012-13 season, the last time he was a restricted free agent. The story is a familiar one to Avs fans: during the lockout, O’Reilly signed a two year agreement with Metallurg Magnitogorsk in the Russian KHL with an opt-out clause if he and the Avs could come to an agreement. Despite returning to North America, he held out on signing a deal with the Avs and missed the first month of the lockout-shortened season, then signed a hefty $10m offer sheet from the Calgary Flames. The Avalanche matched the offer, and O’Reilly resumed his place on the team. That two-year, ten million dollar contract has expired with the end of this season, and Avalanche fans were collectively dreading that the Ryan O’Reilly Salary Arbitration Situation was the Revenge of O’Reilly Contract Negotiations. But this move isn’t the crisis some fear it to be, nor does it necessarily mean negotiations between the two parties have gone nuclear. The first thing to clear up about salary arbitration initiated by the club is that negotiations can continue right up until the hearing date, and often agreements are made before then. This is not the Avalanche telling O’Reilly, “fine, we won’t make a qualifying offer, see you in court.” Secondly, it’s important to remember that while O’Reilly’s deal was two years for ten million, his contract was heavy on the second year. He made $6.5 million last season, and likely the Avs don’t want to make a qualifying offer to O’Reilly of that amount or more. Meanwhile, O’Reilly certainly wouldn’t want a pay cut after a career season. There is much debate as to whether or not O’Reilly is actually worth $6.5mil per season, and that is where the third-party arbitration will come in. There are two varieties of contract arbitration allowed under the NHL players’ collective bargaining agreement: club-elected and player-elected. The arbitration process allows both parties to make a case to a neutral third party who will determine an accurate salary for the player based on the following information: the player’s performance, the number of games he played, the number of games he missed due to injury/illness, the player’s history and length of service with both the team and the NHL, his overall contribution to the success of the team, and the player’s special qualities of “leadership or public appeal.” Interestingly enough, the arbiter can take into account the salary and performance of “comparable” players, but not if they were signed as unrestricted free agents. This is sensible as UFAs are often on the receiving end of inflated contracts due to the off-season free agent bidding war. By taking O’Reilly to a third party for arbitration, the Avalanche are hoping that a third party will agree on a suitable contract below the $6.5 million per season qualifying offer mark. If the team and O’Reilly can’t come to an agreement before the hearing, then the arbiter will deliver their verdict and the team is not allowed to decline the amount. O’Reilly will have the option to take a one- or two-year contract based on the arbiter’s figure. The number-juggling is all well and good here, but the primary motivation behind the move for the Avalanche is O’Reilly’s free agent status. O’Reilly is a restricted free agent presently, but if the Avs don’t make him a qualifying offer of at least $6.5 million dollars per season, he becomes an unrestricted free agent. That is what the team is trying to avoid. Essentially, this is not an ultimatum for O’Reilly’s camp. Nor is it an indication that the Avs intend to make him a laughably low offer to stave off a major cap hit. All this move indicates is that the Avalanche want to make an offer to O’Reilly below the $6.5 million per year threshold, and an arbitration hearing is the only way to accomplish that while retaining O’Reilly’s status as a restricted free agent. O’Reilly can still be offer-sheeted in a narrow window from July 1st to July 5th, which is a provision under the new players’ CBA that wasn’t previously allowed. This means if the Avalanche are absolutely unwilling to pony up the qualifying offer, they could still potentially lose him. But we knew that already. Teams could have made offers to O’Reilly as of July 1st regardless. The arbitration news changes nothing there, save for narrowing the window. All in all, this move was a bit of insurance on the Avalanche’s part. Unless we hear otherwise from a reputable source, it’s not wise to assume negotiations have gone to pot between the Avalanche and Ryan O’Reilly just yet. Read more at Two Pad Stack.

It’s almost time for the NHL Draft which means it’s everyone’s favorite season: trade speculation season! Like the build-up to the trade deadline, the lead-up to the NHL Draft is full of what-if’s, maybe’s and how-about-this’.\ One name is brought up seemingly ad nausem: Nail Yakupov. The first overall pick in the 2012 NHL Draft has become everyone’s favorite trade rumor over the last several months. He slumped his way to a mediocre sophomore year, dropping to 11 goals and 24 points, both less than his rookie year totals and in 15 less games to boot. Many feel as though the Oilers are desperate to make a change and that the young, enigmatic Russian could be on the move. That last sentence is hands down the most ridiculous statement being made these days and that’s including the group of Leafs fans who still think Dion Phaneuf could bring back a King’s ransom in trade. Think about it for a second: a team selected a player with the first overall pick in the draft and wants to trade him just two years later? Even Patrik Stefan got second and third chances longer than that. Yakupov is still just 20 years old. Can you realistically expect a 20-year-old to have figured out the NHL game and all of its complexities? It takes time and patience to let him develop and find his game through the ups and downs even though the downs might not be as fun as the ups. Remember, it was just two years ago that Yak was impressing the league with his passion and scoring prowess. In the lockout-shortened 2012/13 season, he played in all 48 of the team’s games, picking up 17 goals (best in the NHL among rookies) and 31 points (tied with Florida’s Jonathan Huberdeau for the rookie lead). When he wasn’t named a Calder Trophy finalist, many felt he had been unfairly snubbed. Sure, last year was bad. Yak struggled to find any consistency and looked to have lost a little confidence but what do you expect when your team is shuffling you around lines, you’re a healthy scratch at times and your fans are telling you that you’re a bum who should be traded? Again, he’s just a 20-year-old kid. He needs time to mature and develop into the player he will become. There’s also the fact that he didn’t get to finish out the last several Oilers games, losing the rest of his season to a fractured ankle in March. His potential is still through the roof – he has top-line skating and shooting abilities, the kind that don’t just grow on trees – and he’s already got the benefit of two seasons under his belt. Typically, young guys seem to find their stride either in year two or year three, so his breakout season could be just a few months away. There is the looming threat of a Russian defection, but that has yet to come from anyone other than Nail’s dad, Rail. His dad coaches Neftekhimik, the team Nail played for prior to joining the Oilers. Given the reputation of Russian players – Ilya Kovalchuk and Alex Radulov have certainly painted a generalized portrait of their brethren – it’s easy to understand why Yakupov would be such a threat to leave if things continue to go poorly. Despite all the bad times, the Yakupov’s potential is still through the roof. He’s still growing his game at 20-years-old and the Oilers need to be patient with him if they want to benefit. It would be a foolish move to abandon ship on a first overall pick this early in the game. The panic button may be right there, but surely GM Craigh MacTavish can’t be foolish enough to press it, can he? Read more at Two Pad Stack.

ith only a few weeks left before the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, Edmonton Oilers GM Craig MacTavish is working against the clock to find a deal to move his first round pick. So when the Pittsburgh Penguins announced the hiring of GM Jim Rutherford, Oilers fans everywhere breathed a sigh of relief. The Oilers need a serious infusion of skill on defence to dig their way out of the bottom of the Western Conference and adding an established NHL quality defenceman is the fastest way to accomplish this. But any team with a defenceman of that high quality would never consider moving him without asking for a King’s ransom in return, right? Wrong. The Pittsburgh Penguins are desperate to find the space to resign pending UFA defenceman Matt Niskanen before July 1 when 29 other teams will be able to raise what will already be a very high asking price. But with over $55 Million in cap space being used by just 14 players, the Pens will need to shed a considerable amount of salary just to complete their full roster, let alone overpay to keep Niskanen. Given that Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby aren’t going anywhere, the next largest contract would be Kris Letang’s 8 year, $58 Million behemoth that is set to begin in the 2014-15 season. This season, Letang made headlines everywhere for all the wrong reasons after suffering a stroke in late January that was later linked to a whole in the wall of his heart. Amazingly, Letang was able to return to practice by mid-March and then to full game action soon after. But despite the fact he was making considerable improvements toward the end of his season, Letang failed to get all the way back to his usual standard of play before the Pens were eliminated in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Although medically Letang has been completely cleared, his trade value has taken a serious hit with questions of his longevity now overshadowing his abilities, and the Pens have no choice but to purge a significant amount of salary. This may very well be the Oilers only chance to get an NHL caliber defenceman without giving up a significant portion of their future assets. Considering the uncertainty surrounding Letang, it may not take much more than the Oilers first round pick(third overall), Nail Yakupov and the rights to Justin Schultz to complete the deal. This would fill the Oilers need for a star defenceman to balance their roster and would allow the Pens to stay cap compliant while having more leverage to resign Niskanen, and fill roster space with inexpensive NHL ready players. Yakupov has shown flashes of brilliance but has so far failed to live up to the hype of being a first overall draft pick, though he would undoubtedly benefit from the mentoring of fellow Russian Evgeni Malkin. And over the past two seasons, Schultz has demonstrated his ability to compete and contribute at the NHL level and has earned a raise from his current $925,000 base salary. But even factoring that raise, Schultz would not even come close to the $7.25 Million cap hit Letang will hold. However, that massive $58 Million contract also includes a modified no trade clause in which Letang can provide a list of 12 teams he cannot be traded to. Letang has been to the Stanley Cup Finals twice in Pittsburgh, having won in 2009, and has regularly been around the top of the NHL standings over his seven year career with the Pens. But the organization has suffered several mystifyingly bad playoff derailments in recent years and are currently in a state of limbo after the firing of GM Ray Shero and head coach Dan Bylsma following the conclusion of the 2014 season. Are the recent struggles and uncertainty enough for Letang to allow the Pens new GM to ship him to the NHL equivalent of Siberia? Will Letang welcome the opportunity to return to his home country and lead the revitalization of a historic franchise? Or will he refuse to waive his no trade clause to a team in the midst of a rebuild, opting for an established contender instead?

If you have ever cheered for or followed the Vancouver Canucks, you know that every single fan has an opinion on the direction of this team. Yes I know that this happens for almost every sporting team in existence.. but here in Vancouver, it is especially prominent. We are all #armchairgms and think we know what’s best for our boys in blue. On that note, let me explain what I would do if I were the GM of the Vancouver Canucks. (I can dream!) Before We Get Started.. The Canucks have already taken a step in the right direction by changing management. Bringing Trevor Linden and Jim Benning in were the right moves. I didn’t know much about Jim Benning prior to his name being thrown around as a possible candidate for the opening, but after reading up on his credentials, it seems like he is just the man we need to steer this ship off of its Mike Gillis suicide path. I hope he has plenty of buckets, because this boat is already halfway into the Pacific Ocean. The Coaching Staff To be honest, I (as well as everyone else) really thought Barry Trotz would have become the next coach for the Canucks. I’m not sure if he was the best fit for the type of brand of hockey that Canucks fans want to see, but hey, neither was John Tortorella. I would like to see San Jose coach Todd McLellan come to town, but who knows if he will be staying or leaving his current position. I am of the mindset that the Canucks need to bring in an already proven NHL coach, as our core is getting older and they need someone who has experience “reigniting the flames”. God knows they went out last year. Another option would be L.A. Kings assistant coach John Stevens, as he was in the running last year before the job was given to good old Torts. Finally, former Tampa Bay Lightning coach Guy Boucher could work, but please, no 1-3-1! My pick – John Stevens In the end, whomever they hire will have to not only be able to light a fire under the current (and hopefully new) players, but also give the fans the run-and-gun style of hockey that we are used to seeing. The Roster Now this is where it gets fun. It’s no secret that the Canucks absolutely need to get bigger and stronger. Having watched the playoffs this year, there is no doubt in my mind that the Canucks would have been squashed in the 1st round. They do not have the speed, the size, or the grit necessary to compete with the NHL’s elite teams. However, as most people know, anyone on the Canucks who would fetch a decent return in a trade has a no trade clause. This is a problem. The biggest name this offseason for the Canucks will be Ryan Kesler. Having not been traded at last years trade deadline, it was rumored that Kesler wanted out of town. If that were true, he would probably be the most willing to waive his NTC and would then be able to be moved. I think this is a bad idea, as Kesler is a rare breed of defensively minded forwards who can play effectively on both ends of the ice. I believe that if the Canucks were to move Kesler, they would spend their time trying to find a replacement, rather then addressing other glaring needs. If it were up to me, I would ship out Alex Edler and get what you can for him. I’ve never really like Edler, and I have a feeling he is really going to decline over the next couple seasons. Call it a hunch. He would also generate a good return, as he is a young defensemen who can log big minutes, just not in Vancouver! The list of pending free agents has some names that might help the Canucks next year. Now, putting the salary cap aside (and assuming the Canucks could free up cap space for the following players), I would love to see Jarome Iginla come to Vancouver. He played remarkably well in Boston last season, and even though he is 36 years old, to have that leadership along with his grit and willingness to play hard would be awesome for a team that has gone stagnant. Ryan Callahan would be a great fit in Vancouver, again for his hard work ethic and willingness to play in the dirty areas. (Notice a trend?) Matt Mouslon would fit in great alongside Kesler but I doubt he’s leaving Minnesota. As for goalies, I do not believe that the tandem of Eddie Lack and Jacob Markstrom are ready to share the load of a full NHL season. I think the Canucks needs to aggressively search for a veteran goaltender to help mentor Lack, and send Markstrom to the minors. Ryan Miller and Jonas Hiller are my top two choices, but they may be searching for a contract to end their career, whereas the Canucks would probably be looking for someone in the 1-2 year range. There are also Tim Thomas and Martin Brodeur, but something tells me Thomas would rather not play in Vancouver, and Brodeur will retire a New Jersey Devil. The Draft Because of the Canucks horrendous season, one bright spot is that they get the 6th overall pick in this years NHL Draft. While the Canucks should probably draft a defenseman, there are quite a few top tier forwards that should (and will) go in the top 10 this draft, and the Canucks need to nab one. Someone like Jake Virtanen of the Calgary Hitmen or Michael Dal Colle from Oshawa would fit nicely in the Canucks system, as they are both big wingers with a knack for offense. Of course, we could always be surprised and see the Canucks trade up to try and land either Sam Reinhart or Aaron Ekblad if they really wanted either of them (History of trading with Florida may work in our favor?). Ekblad, although a defenseman, is the best player coming out of this draft class, and someone that you can build a team around. In Closing There is a lot of work that needs to be done this off season in order for the Canucks to become contenders again. Jim Benning believes that it can be a quick turnaround, and it all starts with the draft and free agency. No matter what happens, it is going to be an interesting summer for Canucks fans. You can follow James on Twitter: @hashtagswag604 Check out more at Two Pad Stack.

This phrase has been said a million times; not about the Kings but about the countless teams that don’t know they aren’t supposed to be good when they are shocking the world. The NHL sent out a memo TWICE to the LA Kings, pretty sure they didn’t check their inbox. Back in 2012, the Los Angeles Kings had 3 opportunities to not only make the playoffs but win the Pacific Division. They decided to blow 2 of them and their entire season came down to one game. Their record was inflated because of a slew of OT and shootout losses and yet, somehow, they found a way to sneak into the playoffs as the 8th seed in the West and go on to dominate the NHL Playoffs on their way to their first Stanley Cup Championship. Uggghhhh, I still hate that this is a fact and it might be happening again. Here’s a quick history lesson on how they shocked the hockey world: The 2012 Kings knocked off the President’s Trophy Canucks, St. Louis Blues and eventually an equally hot Phoenix Coyotes team in the Western Final. They lost 4 games TOTAL in the playoffs that year. Let that sink in. Those are vintage Oilers numbers. They took the New Jersey Devils in 6 and cemented their status as one of the best, if not the best team in NHL playoff history. FINAL: @NHLBlackhawks (2) – @LAKings (5) Recap: http://t.co/nMJNX8zBk0 LA leads series 3-1 #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/DHi8sJrfoN — NHL (@NHL) May 27, 2014 Fast forward to 2014 – - – - – - -> The Kings came into their series against the Chicago Blackhawks as the underdog. They weren’t supposed to make it out of this series alive, let alone be up 3-1 going into Game 5. There is a very real chance they beat the Hawks and set up the first half of a possible LA/NY Final. Gary Bettman has dreamed about this possibility his entire career as Commissioner. Of course, the Rangers would have to hold up their end of the bargain and put the Canadiens to rest. Another team this post season almost made their own history when the Columbus Blue Jackets decided to make a series of it against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Jackets had never won a playoff game but guess what folks, they decided to stun the Penguins twice early in the first round. The PITTS…BURGH….PENGUINS!!! Are we all reading this correctly? Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, James Neal and so on. No Rick Nash to steal the spotlight, the Jackets did it on their own merit this time. Did they not know they were supposed to lay down for Mr. Crosby and his friends? Apparently not. The memo never got to them. The series ended in 6 but not before the Jackets gave the Pens one last scare going down 4-0 early including a Malkin hat trick but they took the game down to the wire losing 4-3. Both the Jackets and Kings had no business winning but its the Kings who seem to really not be listening. I had the Rangers picked mid season as the Cup champs to somehow spite the Canucks for axing Alain Vigneault; furthering my belief the Nucks are stuck on Groundhog Day, the Bill Murray one, and suffer the same results year after year despite their efforts. The Rangers are hot right now and so are the Kings. It may be one amazing Stanley Cup this year and LA may even win it all again (PLEASE SPARE ME), but don’t bother sending them a memo; they probably won’t get it. Follow me on twitter @hankthetank10 and @always90four Read more awesome hockey articles at Two Pad Stack.

After five years of disappointing playoff failures, change has begun to come to the Pittsburgh Penguins, the team has already parted ways with GM Ray Shero, known as much for his spectacular feats of trade as for his complete dismantling of the Penguins ability to build depth through the draft. Head Coach Dan Bylsma remains in limbo with the squad until a new GM is hired, and the GM will have the opportunity to retain or remove Bylsma and his staff. For an epic, and non-sensationalist read on the strangeness of firing Shero but not Bylsma, check out this piece at thePensblog. Over the last several days (including an unexpected weekend respite) I have been outlining my 5-step action plan for fixing the Penguins while their biggest stars are still in the prime of their careers. The first step involves letting go of head coach Dan Bylsma, who really is a lame duck, even if he hasn’t been released officially. Step 2 focuses on James Neal. In cutting ties with the complacent old regime, Neal should be traded for whatever value he will fetch in light of his recent string of illegal, dangerous, and harmful play over the last two regular seasons. The third step considers the best course of action for the Penguins and Marc-Andre Fleury. Despite one of the better campaigns in his NHL career, Fleury may be a cap casualty for the cash-strapped Penguins. Today we turn our focus on the Penguins pending free agent class, and apply some very simple logic: move on. The Penguins have become a team that is afraid of failure, they have been faulted, especially lately, for trying to rely on experience as opposed to youth and talent, and in many ways, the team has paid the price (*cough* Rob Scuderi over any of the team’s many young, eminently talented defensemen *cough*). Rather than bore you with elaborate examples, what follows is a grade sheet, evaluating each potential free agent and whether or not the Penguins should consider bringing them back (while also factoring in the likelihood that they could come back). The grading rubric is as follows: A – absolutely must re-sign, team won’t be the same without them. B – should re-sign, the team can move on without the player, but they probably shouldn’t. C – meh, if they’ll take a huge hometown discount they could be worth a chance, but more than likely let them go. D – no need, other options are available. F – don’t even bother, mercenary who sucked up money that could have been used elsewhere. Restricted Free Agents The Penguins have a total of 5 restricted free agents across both the NHL and AHL. I don’t personally want to deal with every AHL player, especially if they are unlikely to factor into the NHL roster anytime soon, as such we will only consider three names: Brandon Sutter, Simon Despres, and Jayson Megna (and exclude Phillip Samuelsson and Bobby Farnham). Simon Despres: B+ The old regime’s folly gives the new regime an opportunity to add a 6’4”, 230 lbs. defenseman with a very good first pass and far above average skating ability to their NHL roster for probably a million dollars or less next season. Given everything that has transpired over Despres’ first three years of professional hockey, I don’t want to predict what he will yet accomplish in his career. I can say that unlike many recent high-round draft pick failures (including Angelo Esposito, Joe Morrow, Keven Veilleux, and Casey Pierro-Zabotel) who basically refused to accept coaching after failing to make it to the NHL as an everyday player early in their career, Despres has taken lessons to heart and has continued to evolve. Indeed, one complaint that some writers and fans had with Despres when he returned to the NHL in the middle of the 2013-14 season was that he seemed to have sacrificed some of his raw offensive ability to be a more responsible stay-at-home defenseman, which is exactly what Bylsma and his staff wanted. Jayson Megna: A People closer to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins have characterized Menga as being very similar to Pascal Dupuis, and after seeing him for an extended cup of coffee in the NHL, I think they’re right. Undrafted like Dupuis, and not much of a prolific scorer in his minor league career, like Dupuis, Megna seems to have every other tool that has helped to make Dupuis such an integral part of the Penguins organization: great speed, great defensive accountability, and great coachability. Megna may even be ahead of Dupuis in terms of stickhandling. There’s no reason to believe that Megna won’t break next training camp with the NHL team, and he should be in position to slot in on Brandon Sutter’s right-wing. A move that will instantly make the team’s third line more athletic and more skilled than it was in previous years. Brandon Sutter: A Sutter hasn’t been great in his two seasons in Pittsburgh, but overwhelmingly that seems to be related to the quality of his linemates, and little to do with Sutter himself. I promise you, the Penguins won’t find another player of his caliber for any less money than he will command in negotiations. Whether you want to consider his quality of competition or not, Sutter is a great defensive center, in his two full regular and postseasons with the Penguins, Sutter’s on-ice SV% has never been lower than 93%, and indeed that’s a trend that he carried with him from Carolina, suggesting that his ability to keep the puck out of the net isn’t just chance. Further, this postseason reinforced the notion that Sutter’s ability to score is also largely influenced by his linemates. Moving forward, Sutter should have an opportunity to play with reasonably skilled, very speedy, and eminently coachable linemates like Megna and Brian Gibbons. It could be wishful thinking but this unit has all the right pieces to be pretty damn good indeed. Unrestricted Free Agents The Penguins unrestricted free agent crop is not all that impressive with maybe three exceptions, as with before, almost all of the UFAs in Wilkes Barre will be omitted from this analysis. Deryk Engelland: B- Engelland is rated this high for two reasons: he’s a league minimum salary player, and there is this heavy feeling that the Penguins will name current interim GM Jason Botterill the team’s full-time GM (a very good move) and that ultimately he will vote to keep Dan Bylsma as coach for another year (a very bad move). If that’s the case, keeping Engelland around as a depth defenseman who knows Bylsma’s system makes sense, especially for what he would cost. Brian Gibbons: A By some technicality that I don’t want to bore you with, Brian Gibbons will actually be a UFA this offseason, although he never played a day in the NHL before this year and he’s only 25 years old. As such, the Penguins may need to pay some surprising money (like over $1 M per season) to keep Gibbons, but based on everything that co-owners Mario Lemeiux and Ron Burkle told Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Gibbons pretty much embodies the mindset for this team moving forward (except hopefully new management will find players that are taller). As alluded to above, Gibbons could make a great complementary piece with Sutter and Megna, and Gibbons’ exertion on the PK are enough to warrant bringing him back. Tanner Glass: F Adam Gretz wrote a great article debunking the myth that the Penguins failed this year because they had too much invested in their 5 most expensive contracts thus failing to leave enough cash to trickle down and find quality depth. Gretz continues that the flaw in the Penguins depth was offering stupidly expensive contracts to do-nothing players like Glass. Next. Marcel Goc: C+ Goc was acquired at the trade deadline to give the Penguins a legitimate 4th line center, a penalty killer, and to light a fire under Brandon Sutter. Despite missing most of the remainder of the regular season, Goc did all of that. He also showed a passion for dominating board play which has been missing in Pittsburgh since Matt Cooke and Jordan Staal departed. Goc is limited though, given that he managed 3 assists in a total of 21 games with the Penguins. Nonetheless, as the guidelines above dictate, if the price is right, why not bring the German back to man the fourth line. Jussi Jokinen: B Jokinen had a very good regular season and an exceptional postseason getting the chance to play with Evgeni Malkin and James Neal. His 57 regular season points put him in the top-60 league wide, and his 7 playoff goals have him second only to the reborn Marian Gaborik. Even more damning to Jokinen’s signability (at least by the Penguins) is that he continued to score his playoff goals after Evgeni Malkin was moved to Sidney Crosby’s wing and without much aid from Neal. As such, Jokinen will be too expensive for the Penguins to re-sign. Of course, if he leaves, the Penguins won’t really be able to replace him. It is the catch-22 of misappropriating money in the salary cap era, the team will lose Jokinen but they’ve still got Rob Scuderi. The only alternative is to trade Neal for draft picks and reallocate some money towards Jokinen, and then slide Bennett into Neal’s vacated spot. Matt Niskanen: B- Similar to Jokinen, Niskanen had a great regular season, and aside from some hiccups in the second round, a very good playoffs as well. Given his age (27), his position (D), and his outspoken leadership qualities, Niskanen is far more gone than Jokinen. In part, the Penguins hopefully shouldn’t need Niskanen given their surplus of defensive prospects, but it will still be difficult to replace Niskanen’s prowess as the triggerman on the team’s power play. Look for Niskanen to cash in on a deal worth 2.5 to 3 times what he currently makes in free agency, which is good for him. Brooks Orpik: C Make no mistake, the Penguins will miss Brooks Orpik, an outspoken leader and the team’s most tenured veteran. Nonetheless, Orpik has been in steady decline for the last several seasons and the team’s new management will do well to trust in their young defensive players and let Orpik go to free agency where he’ll likely get a hefty raise by a team founded on less intensive defensive systems. Taylor Pyatt: F Not even touching this one. Zach Sill: C Sill spent 20 games in the NHL and is best known over that stretch for not scoring a single point. For what it’s worth, he only managed 9 in 57 games in the AHL this season. Nonetheless, he could be worth bringing back, if just to see what else he can bring. Pretty much a no risk opportunity. Lee Stempniak: C+ I have already outlined the third line I would love to see the Penguins employ next season, but if the price were right, Stempniak could inject himself into that conversation. His greatest value could be as “Pascal Dupuis insurance,” in case Dupuis should not be ready for the start of next season or otherwise not able to be the player he formerly was. Joe Vitale: C It is a tired refrain, but if Joe Vitale had any kind of hockey sense, he would be an all-star. He has elite speed, decent size, and prolific faceoff winning ability. He also has a career shooting percentage of 2%, and more often than not, he never holds the puck long enough to even take a shot in the offensive zone. While the professional ranks are filled with worse options, there isn’t a strong compelling motivation for either Vitale or the Penguins to continue their relationship. Giving Vitale a fresh start and allowing the Penguins to kick the tires on Zach Sill and Adam Payerl seems in the best interest for everyone. Tomas Vokoun: D Make no mistake about it, Tomas Vokoun is going to retire, probably any day now. So there you have it. The Penguins should begin their rebuilding by cutting ties with the players who couldn’t quite get them back to the Stanley Cup. Letting go of potentially pricey contracts like those expected for Jokinen, Niskanen, and Orpik will mark the true start of this team’s transformation, a hard decision that other preeminent teams like the Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins have had to make for the past several seasons. In our conclusion, we will examine the state of the franchise and consider an ideological shift needed to get the Penguins back to the promised land. Read more great pieces on the Pens and all your favorite teams at Two Pad Stack.

2013-14 was a pretty good year for the Colorado Avalanche, all things considered. The team with the “Why not us?” mantra surprised the league by winning the Central Division and posting the third-best record in the entire league. Sure, the playoffs were a disappointment – they were upset in seven games by the Minnesota Wild – but overall, it was quite the accomplishment for a team that finished as the third-worst in the league the year before and new coach Patrick Roy seems to have something special on his hands in the Mile High City. Unfortunately for the Avs and their fans alike, they shouldn’t expect the 52-win, 112-point performance they got this season because the Avs are due to take a sizable step backwards. Before I get into all the less-than-positives, let me cover the things that are worth noting as positives going forward. First and foremost is the fact that they have a young, talented core. Gabriel Landeskog, Matt Duchene, Nathan MacKinnon, Tyson Barrie, Paul Stastny, Ryan O’Reilly, Semyon Varlamov and Erik Johnson are all developing into very, very good players (Stastny is the oldest of the group and isn’t likely to get much better, but he’s still as solid a #2 center as you could ask for). The Avalanche used those high draft picks to give themselves an exciting young talent nucleus that will carry them for many, many years. Secondly, all the credit in the world to Roy. The team seemed stunted under former coach Joe Sacco and the young talent struggled. There was an apparent feud between Sacco and Duchene. Since Roy has entered the fold, the team looks energized and united. Roy doesn’t try to mold them to his game plan, instead fitting his plans around the talent available and not restricting their style of play. Add in the fact that he’s as impassioned a coach as there is in the league and it’s easy to see why the players got behind his message this season and succeeded. Lastly, it’s worth noting that the Avalanche achieved their success this season after making minimal changes to a defense that was one of the worst in the league during 2012/13 and without the services of Alex Tanguay and PA Parenteau for the bulk of the year. Tanguay dealt with knee and hip injuries, playing in just 16 games while Parenteau dealt with a knee injury that kept him out of 27 games. Their offense was deep without those two; it’s hard to fathom where they would be with two more talents like that in the lineup helping out all the young offensive firepower. The Avs are deep offensively and this past season showcased that with those two injuries. All of that said, it’s clear the Avalanche overachieved and likely can’t repeat their performance of last season. There are more than a few reasons for this. The young core got better, but the Avalanche also got career-years from five skaters: O’Reilly, Landeskog, Duchene, Johnson and Barrie. They’re unlikely to get that kind of effort from that many players again next year, O’Reilly specifically. He’s a very good two-way player, but can you expect much more than 28 goals and 64 points out of him? Duchene certainly seems to have a higher ceiling, but what about Landeskog? If his ceiling isn’t 26 goals, 65 points how much higher can he go? Ditto for Johnson, who has become the Avs’ best defensive-defenseman while enjoying a career-best year offensively. Is it fair to expect him to continue adding to his totals? Speaking of career-years, the post child for that this year is Varlamov. He only set individual bests for games played (63), wins (41), shots against (2,013), minutes (3,640), save percentage (.927%) and his second-best GAA (2.41). Simply put, Varlamov was outstanding and earned a Vezina Trophy nomination for his troubles. He’s 26-years-old, so this could possibly be him hitting his stride and finally figuring it out, but the fact that he’s never come close to matching this kind of season is certainly something to think about. He can make a lot of doubters eat crow next year by proving he’s stepped into the elite and didn’t simply have an anomaly of a season. In close to relation to Varly’s performance are the shots-against totals for the Avalanche this year. They allowed 2,681 shots for an average of 32.7 shots per game – 25th in the league. Varlamov led the league in shots against and saves, yet still posted Vezina-quality numbers. He faced more than 200 shots more than “elite” goalies like Carey Price and Henrik Lundqvist and faced nearly 300 shots more than fellow Vezina nominee Ben Bishop. Maybe Varly is the type of goalie that thrives when facing more rubber because it allows him to get into a rhythm, but the simple fact is that the more pucks that reach the net, the higher the chances they go in. The Avalanche also led the league in wins when being outshot with a whopping 35 (they had 52 total). It’s hard to know just how valuable Varlamov was to the Avs this year, but those shot numbers are a pretty good indication. Turns out the Avs were also one of the more fortunate teams in the league this year. Their PDO (save percentage + shooting percentage) was the third-best in the entire league this season, for one. Even more telling is the fact that they had the best winning percentage in the league in one goal games. If that number goes even a little south, it could put them fighting for their playoff lives instead of fighting for division titles. The Avalanche were an astounding 28-4-8 in one goal games, racking up points in 36 of 40 games. On the surface, that seems absolutely incredible and it seems like a stat that’s hard to replicate on a yearly basis unless you’re an elite team and it’s hard to call the Avalanche that after one season. Giving up that many shots and getting that many career-best performances would certainly aid that number and I would expect their record in one goal games to worsen next season. Another thing worth noting: the Avalanche were the comeback kids. They were ninth in the league when trailing after one period, winning seven games (tied with five other teams). Even more incredible than that is that they were the second-best team in the league when trailing after two periods, winning eight times. Some would argue that this means nothing. “Heart”, they’ll say. And sure, other good teams finished ahead of Colorado (Anaheim, San Jose), but so did non-playoff teams (Islanders, Winnipeg, Vancouver). Still, it’s worth noting that Anaheim and Pittsburgh are the only “elite” teams that have finished in the top ten in this category the last two years. Perhaps the most telling stat – and this was touched on both leading into and during their series with the Wild – revolves around the Avs’ possession stats. Using Fenwick For Percentage – which measures shots on goal + missed shots for divided by the total Fenwick number for both teams – one can discern how much a team controls the puck. Your average team hovers around 50%; your top-end teams can get near or slightly above 55%. The Avalanche were 27th in the league at 46.8%, better only than Edmonton, Toronto and Buffalo; two of the three teams picking at the top of the draft. Only the Devils, Canucks, Senators and Predators finished in the top 15 in FF% and didn’t make the playoffs. Simply put: the Avalanche spent a lot of time either chasing the puck or having Varlamov stand on his head. This will all certainly be seen as an indictment against the Avalanche on my part. That I somehow hate them or underestimate them or something like that. Which couldn’t be further from the truth. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the Avs this year. They have a ton of exciting young talent and Varlamov took the Avs on his back for extended stretches. More importantly, hockey feels relevant again in Denver and that can’t be underestimated. But the simple fact of the matter is that if they continue to chase the puck more than possess it, allow far more shots than they create and depend on their goaltender to bail them out, a slide backwards will happen. They won’t likely be a bottom-three team as they were two years ago, but they absolutely will not be among the league’s elite teams. Read more at Two Pad Stack.

@Hockey Junkie -- I'm a Sabres fan. Not kicking anyone.

Another year, another disappointing ending. Such is the life for the Pittsburgh Penguins these days. Every single year, the season begins with promise and Stanley Cup aspirations. And why wouldn’t they? After all, this is the team that houses stars like Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, James Neal and Marc-Andre Fleury. A team built through the draft, the Pens are loaded with star power but every year is the year they’ve found the right complimentary pieces to make another Cup run. So as the Penguins lick their wounds and head off to hit the links after a Game Seven elimination by the New York Rangers on Tuesday night, we begin another offseason telling ourselves that the Penguins will be back and that it’s only a matter of time before Geno and The Kid are back in the Finals. But when do we all start accepting that maybe these Penguins aren’t built to win a Cup? Maybe these Penguins teams are made to look nice and shiny in the regular season, only to be pummeled into submission in the playoffs? For a team with so much star power at the top, how do they keep failing? Where does it go wrong and what’s changed from the 2009 team that hoisted Lord Stanley’s chalice? Well, to be fair to the Penguins, part of it has to do with something that is out of their control. For one thing, the playoffs are a far different beast than the regular season. During the regular season, penalties seem to be called far more stringently. Teams don’t get away with the hooking, the clutching and the grabbing. In the playoffs, though? Referees are far more lenient and players can get away with a ton more. It’s part of this weird mantra of “let them play” which is fine if it’s borderline calls, but there are plenty of instances all across the playoffs where calls should be made and they are not for the sake of “letting them play”. Crosby, more than anyone else it seems, is the victim of this style of play. He has to fight through the extra muck, all the jabs and slashes, all the grabbing in order to get his offense in. Sure, he gets his shots in just like everyone else, but the playoffs can be downright suffocating to someone like Crosby who thrives on free space and being able to draw penalties. It’s hard to thrive when you’re constantly slogging through the mud. That isn’t the biggest problem the Penguins face in their quest for a Stanley Cup, however. The problem they haven’t dealt with is the fact that they just aren’t deep enough to make Cup runs like the Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins of the world. Think about it for a second: those teams get scoring from the very top of their roster to the very bottom. They’re deep defensively and have good-to-great goaltending. If Jonathan Toews or Patrice Bergeron isn’t scoring, the Andrew Shaws or Torey Krugs pick up the slack. Not to mention that both of those teams play fantastic team defense in front of goalies who come up big when they are asked to. The Penguins are simply too top-heavy to succeed in the playoffs. Crosby, Malkin and Neal look great on paper, but who is behind them to do the dirty work? Where are the bottom-six players that don’t get the recognition but play the quality defense, win the faceoffs and forecheck like crazy? With Crosby, Malkin, Neal, Chris Kunitz, Lee Stempniak and Jussi Jokinen as your top six, you’re in good shape. But after that, it gets sketchy at best. Brandon Sutter proved himself to be a solid third center as the year went on and Pascal Dupuis has been a mainstay for the Pens as a third-line winger, but what else is there? Beau Bennett has flashed potential, but he’s also had chronic wrist issues in his brief career. Tanner Glass and Chris Conner? Good AHL depth players, but not players who will help you win a Stanley Cup. This summer is going to be a test for the Pens as they have a few important pieces to keep in house. Sutter is due for a raise. Ditto for Matt Niskanen. Who gets re-signed out of the Jokinen/Stempniak/Marcel Goc group? How much will be left over to make actual improvements to the roster? How do they improve depth on the bottom six and on defense? Defense might be an easier problem to solve with Simon Despres and Derrick Pouliot ready to step in should the team not re-sign Niskanen and Brooks Orpik. But there isn’t much in the way of forward prospects coming down the pike. Unless they trade off a big piece like Malkin or Kris Letang, they’ll have to work a little cap magic to find that coveted depth that makes teams like Chicago and Boston legit contenders who find themselves in the finals year after year. Until then, it will be huge expectations and huge disappointment in the Steel City. Read more at Two Pad Stack.

The Florida Panthers are on the clock. That much we know. Who they’ll take with the first overall selection is still the unknown part, to all of us and probably the Panthers themselves. After all, there are three legitimate contenders for that top overall pick. There’s Sam Reinhart, thought for a time to be the consensus top pick in the draft. The 6’1” playmaker has elite hockey IQ and is already a leader with his CHL team, the Kootenay Ice, and the Canada U18 team. What about Aaron Ekblad, the hulking defenseman with the strong offensive game that has the potential to be someone’s franchise defender? Or Sam Bennett, the Kingston Frontenacs forward who has been compared in every aspect to his General Manager Doug Gilmour? The decision won’t be easy for the Panthers. They need a little bit (or a lot) of everything and really couldn’t go wrong with any of the three. But maybe their decision is just a little easier than we all realize. History says that choosing a forward is the way to go. Don’t believe me? Consider that since 1994, a defenseman has been chosen with the first pick just four times: Ed Jovanovski, Bryan Berard, Chris Phillips and Erik Johnson. Jovo is still going as a solid top-four defender, Berard had a nice little run but was ultimately hampered by injury, Phillips was a long-time solid defender and Johnson is the best defenseman the Colorado Avalanche have by a country mile. But if you re-did all of those drafts, arguably none of them would be the first picks again. Of the 14 forwards selected with the top pick since then (there were also two goalies: Rick DiPietro in 2000 and Marc-Andre Fleury in 2003), it’s been pretty much a slam-dunk that teams picking first got a pretty damn good player. Check out this lineup: Joe Thornton, Vincent Lecavalier, Ilya Kovalchuk, Rick Nash, Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Patrick Kane, Steven Stamkos, John Tavares, Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Nathan MacKinnon. The only busts or bust-like substances have been Patrik Stefan (1999) and Nail Yakupov (2012). That’s 12 “hits” in 14 drafts. Pretty good odds. Some of this is luck, but the general consensus is that when drafting a forward at the top of a given draft, you’re getting a player who can step in pretty much from day one and have an impact. The majority of that list had an impactful rookie year. The ones who didn’t were making a difference by year two or three. Defensemen, meanwhile, are harder to project. Not only that, but they are harder to develop. For every Seth Jones or Drew Doughty who makes an impact from day one, you get five rookie defensemen who struggle to make the transition and take at least a few years to become a reliable NHL defender if they ever pan out at all. This is also ignoring the fact that you can find pretty good defensemen later on in the draft. Erik Karlsson was a late first-round pick. Last year’s Norris winner, P.K. Subban, was a second-round pick. This year’s Norris Trophy candidates are Shea Weber, Duncan Keith and Zdeno Chara. Weber was the highest pick of all of them, taken 49th overall in 2003. Keith and Chara went 54th and 56th in their respective years. The lesson from this is that when it comes down to it, always take the forward with the first overall pick. You’re getting a surer shot and a more impactful player from the start. Which is fine and well, but still leaves the Panthers with the question of which Sam to take. Best of luck on that one, Mr. Tallon. At least the odds look pretty good that you won’t screw it up. Read more at Two Pad Stack.

There’s a term that gets thrown around in sports these days that has lost a bit of its meaning: franchise player. It’s overused and handed out more than it should be. Just what is a franchise player and who are the proud few in the NHL? What Defines A Franchise Player? Before we can figure out who the NHL’s franchise players are, we need to come to an understanding on just what a “Franchise” player is. To me, a franchise player encompasses the following: • A player a team can build around for at least five years. • One of the three best players at his position. • Perennial All-Star • Face of the franchise – the guy a team builds their marketing around. • Has to be considered a franchise player by just about every other team. That narrows the field pretty considerably before we even start. Before we get to the list, let’s take a look at those who were under consideration for “franchise” status before ultimately getting bumped down to the next tier: Ryan Getzlaf Patrice Bergeron Zdeno Chara Patrick Kane Duncan Keith Matt Duchene Nathan MacKinnon Jamie Benn Tyler Seguin Pavel Datsyuk Henrik Zetterberg Taylor Hall Anze Kopitar Jonathan Quick Ryan Suter PK Subban John Tavares Erik Karlsson Claude Giroux Alex Pietrangelo Victor Hedman Phil Kessel It was particularly tough leaving off Chara (dominating defensively, though on the back end of his career), Tavares (might be the fifth or sixth best center in the league) and Giroux (one of the best scorers in the game). The others really depend on who you ask and just how much they value that particular position. Taking all those names out, we are left with 9 names. Without further ado, your 9 franchise players: Jonathan Toews You can’t judge a player solely on stats and Toews is proof of that. Which is not to say that he’s bad offensive; quite the opposite. He’s a near point-per-game player and a consistent 25-plus goal scorer. Talented offensively as he may be, though he’s never likely to win a scoring title, he’s a threat to win the Selke Trophy for his defensive work every year. Toews’ most valuable trait is the fact that he plays some of the best defensive hockey among forwards in the game. His tireless effort in his own end and reliability in the faceoff circle are things you just won’t see on the score sheet, but are without a doubt huge factors in the success of the Blackhawks. His Selke and Conn Smythe trophies would certainly seem to point that out. Oh, he’s also considered the best captain in the league right now, a role he’s held since he was a 20-year-old during the 2008/09 season. Drew Doughty It shouldn’t be a surprise that Doughty has been such a success. After all, he was the second overall pick in the 2008 NHL Draft behind another player on our list. Since joining the Kings, Doughty has displayed an impressive offensive game – not counting the shortened 2012/13 season, he’s hit double-digits in goals every year but his rookie year – but has really become a defensive force in the last few seasons. He’s a smooth skater and an even better passer, but he’s shown a real penchant for making plays after bouncing off of checks. At 6’1”, 213 he isn’t the biggest guy in the world but he’s thick and sturdy; perfect for being the anchor of the defense. Though he’s yet to be recognized for his individual excellence (he wasn’t nominated for the Norris Trophy as top defenseman this year), he likely doesn’t care because all he does is win. He’s got a Stanley Cup, two Olympic gold medals and a World Junior Championship gold to show for his efforts. Not a bad consolation prize, right? Carey Price Of all the names on the list, this was the one that generated the most talk. Simply put, Price is one of the most talented goaltenders in the game and has consistently been a primary reason for any success enjoyed by the Canadiens. He’s caught a little bit of flack for his struggles in the playoffs – last year was particularly ugly; he left with an injury and was already posting a sub-.900 save percentage en route to a first round upset at the hands of the Ottawa Senators. But the fact of the matter is that it’s hard to find an elite goaltender and at 26-years-old, he’s still getting better. Price isn’t the best goalie in the game right now, but he’s put his name near the top of the list and the Canadiens would be in a vastly different place if he were stopping pucks elsewhere. Shea Weber He’s the highest-paid defenseman in the NHL for a reason, right? Without a doubt the face of the franchise in Nashville, Weber has made a case for being the game’s best defensemen over the last few years. Case in point? This year marks the third time he’s been nominated for the Norris Trophy as the league’s best defenseman, finishing as the runner-up in both 2010/11 and 2011/12. Weber has every requisite skill you could ask for: booming shot? Check. Precision passing? Check. A physical, mean streak? In spades. Throw in the fact that he’s the captain of the Preds and a consistent shoe-in for Team Canada in international competition and you have the complete package. He gets a little bit of grief for not elevating his team when the Preds were better, but he’s a minutes monster who plays in all situations and consistently challenges for the team scoring lead while playing the team’s best defense. Hard to ask more of a guy. Henrik Lundqvist Ah, the King of New York and the best goaltender on the planet today. Lunqvist once again finished in the top 10 of every relevant goaltending category, leading the Rangers back to the postseason. At 32-years-old, he’s the highest paid goaltender in the league but having a Vezina Trophy and four other nominations to his credit makes it awfully hard to question his paycheck. It also doesn’t hurt the Rangers promotional efforts to have Lundqvist in their corner. He’s not only the best in the world at his job, but he looks like he should be in GQ instead of being blasted by vulcanized rubber routinely. Oh, did I mention that this is all coming from the 205th overall pick in his draft year? Long live the King. Sidney Crosby The undisputed best player in the world, whether you like him or not (and many don’t). His offensive abilities are unmatched and he would likely have more than one scoring title and MVP trophy right now if it weren’t for injury issues the last few years. He seems to be over them, dominating the league to the tune of a league-leading 68 assists and 104 points to win the Art Ross Trophy (he’s also nominated for the Hart Trophy as MVP). He’s got his share of detractors and can sometimes play a bit of a murky game, but he’s the best player on the Penguins and the face of the entire NHL. His name is synonymous with the game and he backs it up seemingly every night. Recent playoff struggles aside, he’s well over a point per game for his career and has a Stanley Cup championship on his resume. No one in the game is as accomplished or as decorated as “The Kid” and at 26-years-old, he’s still got a long way to go. Evgeni Malkin It must be nice to be a Penguins fan these days. They get to watch two of the five best players in the world do their thing on a nightly basis. Malkin is an offensive dynamo, battling Crosby when he’s at his best, and has both an Art Ross and a Hart Trophy to show for his efforts so far. Despite all of his talents, he can be a frustration. Some feel like he isn’t giving maximum effort each night. It’s also possible to get under his skin and throw him off his game, but is there a player in the league that can say that isn’t true about them? When push comes to shove, like when Crosby was dealing with post-concussion issues, Malkin proves he’s among the best more often than not. He won his scoring title and MVP without Crosby, so it’s clear he can do what he wants when he wants regardless of who is in the lineup. Steven Stamkos The first overall pick in the 2008 draft, Stamkos has been pegged for great things since the day he entered the league and he has not disappointed. He’s just 24-years-old, but he may already be the most prolific goal-scorer going right now. He’s already had seasons of 51 and 60 goals, with another 45 goal effort thrown in the middle and potted 25 in just 37 games this season (he dealt with a leg injury that kept him out of the Olympics). He’s lightning quick (pun intended) with arguably the best release since Joe Sakic (and our final franchise player below). With Martin St. Louis gone, he’s now the undisputed face of the franchise in Tampa Bay as well as their captain. If anyone is going to challenge Crosby for scoring titles and title of “undisputed face of the league”, it’ll be Stamkos. Alex Ovechkin On the surface, this seems like a slam dunk. Once considered the 1B to Crosby’s 1A, he is still one of the more marketable figures in the game. He stars in national commercials pimping the NHL and still electrifies crowds with his bursts up the ice and highlight-reel goals. But once you get past the flashy numbers – and his goal-scoring totals are still quite flashy as he hit the 50-goal mark for the sixth time in his career – it gets a little concerning. His defense has never really been a strong point and as captain, he’s failed to lead the Capitals to any real success. He’s got all the individual accolades and hardware (three-time MVP) as well as the high profile, which is more than enough to keep him in the penthouse. If he could finally get over the hump and capture a championship, there would be nothing more to say. Read more at Two Pad Stack.