The International Ice Hockey Federation banned Flyers goaltender Ivan Fedotov from international competition. This ruling stems from the IIHF’s original statement from last summer on which of Fedotov’s contracts are valid: the one he signed with the Flyers or the KHL’s CSKA.
In the summer of 2022, Fedotov signed an entry-level contract with the Flyers to make the transition to North America. Fedotov was then arrested by the Russian military, where we spent all of the 2022-23 season at a Naval base in the Arctic Circle.
After leaving his mandatory military service, Fedotov signed with CSKA, causing a contract conflict in which the IIHF intervened and determined that the Flyers’ contract was valid over CSKA. After Fedotov continued to play in the KHL for CSKA, the IIHF imposed the following sanctions.
Fedotov was suspended for four months from September 1st to December 31st, 2023, and CSKA was banned from international transfers for one year.
The latest sanctions have been imposed after Fedotov’s transfer to Philadelphia has been deemed a violation of the IIHF’s International Transfer Regulations. CSKA has been given a 24-month transfer ban, which will start after the 12-month ban ends this August and run until August of 2026. Meanwhile, Fedotov has been given a six-month suspension from any club under the jurisdiction of the IIHF Member National Federation.
This will not affect his time in the NHL with Philadelphia; it will only be imposed if he transfers out. Fedotov has also been banned for three years from International Competitions, which include the Olympic Games and World Championship. The Russian Ice Hockey Federation has been fined one million Swiss Francs, which is roughly 1.1 million US Dollars.
As stated before, this ban will have no impact on Fedotov in the NHL; it will only bar him from international competition, which Russia is already banned from. After their invasion of Ukraine, Russia and Belarus have been banned from IIHF competitions. This most notably includes the World Junior Championship, which takes place in late December/early January, with U-2o players to showcase upcoming and recently selected draft picks.
Along with the World Championships, which is taking place right now in Chechia, consisting of NHL players who missed the playoffs and the rest of the world’s best whose seasons had already ended.
The biggest fallout of these sanctions could be the strained relationship between the KHL and NHL, which could make Russians more hesitant to leave for North America.
There have been discussions about Matvei Michkov and the chances that he could come to Philadelphia before his KHL contract ends in 2026.
On Tuesday night, the NHL hosted the Draft Lottery to finalize the first 16 picks in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, which will take place on June 28th and 29th from the Sphere in Las Vegas.
For the first time since 2010, no teams advanced their pre-lottery positions. The Flyers remained in the 12th spot, while the San Jose Sharks will pick first.
It is expected that the Sharks will select Macklin Celebrini with the 1st overall pick.
The 17-year-old Canadian forward is the top prospect of the draft, as he has spent one year with Boston University, recording 64 points in 38 games.
As there are several different sources with varying prospect rankings.
One thing that is known is that the Flyers will have a lot of leverage in the subsequent two drafts. As in both the 2024 and 2025 draft the Flyers currently have ten picks in each. This includes two first-round picks in next month’s draft. These are the previously mentioned 12th overall pick and the Florida Panthers’ first-round pick acquired from the Giroux-Tippett trade. As of right now, the earliest that pick could be is 24th if the Panthers were to be the first team eliminated in the second round. The latest would be the 32nd and final pick of the round if the Panthers were to win the Stanley Cup this year.
With twenty picks in the next two years, the Flyers have the leverage to trade these picks for current players. It has been reported that the Flyers are interested in signing a top-line defenseman, as well as the possibility of a top-line center. It has also been rumored that Russian prospect Matvei Michkov could be coming to North America sooner than expected. Michkov is signed to a KHL contract with SKA St. Petersburg until the end of the 2025-26 season.
This past season, Michkov was benched by SKA and loaned to Sochi, where he played 47 games, scoring 41 points. It was rumored that SKA and the Flyers were in talks about Michkov’s future, and a decision could be made by the end of June.
Lehigh Valley Phantoms in 2nd Round of AHL Calder Cup Playoffs
The Lehigh Valley Phantoms are facing elimination in the second round of the AHL Calder Cup Playoffs as they are down 2-0 to the Hershey Bears. The Bears won the first two games of the five-game series 2-1 and 5-1 in Hershey. Now, the Phantoms need to win the next three to knock off the defending champions to move onto the Atlantic Division Final.
Game three is Wednesday night in Allentown, starting at 7 pm. A potential game four would be Saturday night at home, with game five Sunday night in Hershey.
At the beginning of this past season, it was thought the Flyers would struggle.
They are a rebuilding team looking for a new direction under the leadership of newly appointed General Manager Danny Briere and President Keith Jones.
But after a strong middle of the season, the Flyers found themselves in a playoff spot for the majority of the season until it all fell apart in the last month of the season.
The Flyers do not have that many players who will become free agents on July 1st. The Flyers signed many of their pending free agents during the last month of the season, including Ivan Fedotov, Nick Seeler, Ryan Poehling, and Owen Tippett. Meanwhile, Denis Gurianov and Erik Johnson, who were picked up at the trade deadline as rentals, are in the last year of their contract and are not expected to return next season. Marc Stall is also likely to not re-sign for next season.
The biggest names left are Bobby Brink, Yegor Zamula, and Adam Ginnings, who are all restricted free agents and are expected to re-sign. Meanwhile, other minor league players like Adam Brooks, Tanner Laczynski, Will Zmolek, Mason Millman, and Victor Mete, who all spent the majority of last season with the Phantoms, will be free agents once July rolls around. One main question would be if goaltender Felix Sandstrom will re-sign as he is an unrestricted free agent in a messy goaltender room with Sam Ersson, Cal Petersen, Ivan Fedotov, Aleksei Kolosov, and Carsin Bjarnason (the last two recently signed their entry-level deal).
Defenseman Hunter McDonald and forward Massimo Rizzo have also signed entry-level contracts and will join the organization this upcoming season.
Rasmus Ristolainen
Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen has undergone surgery to repair a ruptured triceps tendon, which kept him out of the lineup for the last few games of the season. He will be fully recovered in three months, just in time for the start of the next season.
The Lehigh Valley Phantoms won their first-round matchup against the Wilks-Barre Scranton Penguins two games to none. In a five-game series, they will not face off against the defending Calder Cup Champion Hershey Bears.
Coming into this season, it was thought that the rebuilding Flyers would struggle.
Several internet personalities even predicted that the team would be last in the division.
After a strong middle of the season lasting from December to March, the Flyers were comfortably in a playoff spot until the bottom fell out in the last month of the season.
There are many questions as to what the team will look like next season, but one thing that is for sure is that the team is resilient.
Starting with the Cutter Gauthier trade, when a team’s top prospect demands a trade before ever playing a professional game, people start to question the team’s leadership. But if anything, this might have lit a fire in the Flyers, as this happened in January when the team was playing at its best. The addition of Jamie Drysdale was also valuable, as he slotted right into the number two defenseman spot right behind Travis Sanheim.
While the second headline was the departure of goaltender Carter Hart who is currently waiting trail on sexual assault charges. A team losing their top goaltender would be crushing, but with how good Sam Ersson was playing, he easily took over the starting role. And newcomer Ivan Fedotov will give the Flyers a solid, young goaltender tandem for the coming future.
But the biggest question for the Flyers is coaching. It is expected that head coach John Tortorella, as well as assistant coaches Rocky Thompson, Brad Shaw, and Darryl Williams, would all return next season. Questions were placed about Rocky Thompson as he works with the forwards and runs the power play, which finished with the league’s worst 12.2% scoring rate. Along with the baggage and coaching style that John Tortorella carries with him.
Several times this season, the Flyers lost less than a minute into overtime because Torts did not put their A Team out on the ice. Instead, he tried new combinations that ended up costing the Flyers a valuable point.
This would be a good strategy for a team well outside of a playoff spot trying to find team chemistry, but not for a team fighting for a playoff spot.
It is also believed that the benching of captain Sean Couturier threw off team chemistry and upset several players, which might have played into the Flyer’s late-season collapse.
The Flyers were on life support going into the final games of the season. An eight-game losing streak saw their playoff chances fall from 88% to 4% in 18 days.
The Oranges and Blacks needed a regulation win over Washington and a regulation loss for Detroit to have a chance to make the playoffs. But the Red Wings came back in dramatic fashion for the second night in a row to force overtime against the Canadiens off of a game-tying goal with 3 seconds left after a questionable icing call.
The Flyers, not knowing that they had already been eliminated, pulled the goalie in a tied game, which led to TJ Oshie’s game-winning empty net goal. That goal clinched the final playoff spot for the Capitals and eliminated the Flyers, Red Wings, and Penguins.
This season has seen many dramatic setbacks and opportunities for the Flyers.
Starting with prospect Cutter Gauthier demanding a trade out of Philly before he ever played a game for the organization. Our franchise goalie, Carter Hart, was arrested along with five other NHL players for sexual assault stemming from an incident back in 2018. To goaltender Ivan Fedotov, who missed all of last season serving involuntarily in the Russian military, being released early from his KHL contract to come to play in North America.
Other notable events this season include Sean Couturier being named captain of the team and then being benched along with other notable players this season like Cam Atkinson, Joel Farabee, Nick Deslauriers, Bobby Brink, and many more.
And who could forget about the five embarrassing losses to a team well outside of the playoff race that put the Flyers in the position of having to win their final three games to make the playoffs?
The Flyers have a lot to consider heading into this offseason regarding what the future of this club will look like.
The team continues its rebuild under the leadership of General Manager Danny Briere and President Keith Jones.
Describing what has happened to the Flyers over the past two weeks is hard.
On March 24th, the Flyers had an 88% chance of making the playoffs.
Since then, they have lost eight games in a row, six of which were against teams outside of a playoff position. Over this stretch, they have outscored 42 to 18 and have fallen to only a 6% chance of making the playoffs.
The new goalie combination of Ersson and Fedotov has also struggled over this period. But the main problem has been the shaky defense and ice-cold offense.
The Flyers were playing without half of their defensive starters before this drought. But the additions of Seeler and Drysdale have not helped the team like they should have, as Ristolainen will most likely miss the rest of the season. The forwards were without Captain Sean Couturier for two games with a shoulder injury.
Since nothing has worked over the past two weeks, Coach Tortorella has been forced to throw together different lineups every night, hoping that something would click. For some nights, it looked like the Flyers were fielding an AHL roster with players like Ginning, Attard, and Staal playing over Couturier, Atkinson, and Deslauriers. Ginning and Attard ended up being the only goal scorers for the Flyers on Saturday night in a 6-2 loss to Columbus. While Couturier, Atkinson, and Deslauriers have all been scratched multiple times this season due to lackluster performances while making up 18.4% of the team’s total cap space. Others like Konecny have not scored in six games, and Farabee snapped a ten-game goalless drought during garbage time of a 9-3 blowout loss to the Canadians.
The Flyers have three games left in the regular season to try and salvage what was once an exciting season. They are in action Thursday night at the New York Rangers, Saturday hosting the Devils, and Tuesday night hosting the Capitals.
The Flyers are two points out of the last Wild Card spot, which is currently held by the Capital, who have four games left in their season.
PHILADELPHIA — The NHL will not release its finding from a yearlong investigation into the alleged sexual assault of a woman by multiple players from the 2018 Canadian world junior hockey team until ongoing judicial proceedings have been completed by London, Ontario, police.
Commissioner Gary Bettman told reporters Friday that the NHL had concluded its investigatory process and was prepared to share information with the NHL Players’ Association when news came down last week that police in London — where the alleged assault took place in June 2018 — were charging five current or former NHL players with involvement in the case. Bettman said the NHL did not know ahead of time the police would be asking those players to surrender, nor would Bettman confirm the identities of the players in question, except to say it “appeared” they were no longer with their respective clubs.
Philadelphia Flyers goalie Carter Hart, New Jersey Devils forward Michael McLeod and defenseman Cal Foote, Calgary Flames forward Dillon Dube and former Ottawa Senators forward Alex Formenton (who has been playing in Switzerland) have all stepped away from their teams over the past week, and lawyers for each have released a public statement maintaining their client’s innocence and willingness to fight any charges.
The London police are scheduled to hold a news conference Monday providing more context on the matter.
Flyers goaltender Carter Hart (79) looks toward the bench during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh, N.C., Friday, Dec. 23, 2022.
(AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)
“There’s a serious judicial process that looks like it’s unfolding,” Bettman said Friday. “And we didn’t, while we were doing our investigation, want to interfere with what the London Police Service was doing. And we’re not going to do anything to interfere with or influence the judicial proceedings. We’re all going to have to see how that plays out.”
Bettman did acknowledge the four players under NHL contract will continue to be paid. Hart, McLeod, Foote and Dube will all be free agents after this season. Bettman said he would be “surprised” if any player returned to his team while the investigation was ongoing, but Bettman did not anticipate the players being suspended without pay regardless of what happens at Monday’s news conference.
“I don’t think that’s necessary at this stage. This is a complicated juris procedural matter,” Bettman said. “The fact that they’re away from their teams and not playing, I’m comfortable with. They’ve been paid the vast bulk of their salary for the year anyway. That’s not the concern. The concern is to get this right.”
As to whether the league would simply erase the existing deals, Bettman maintained that “in order to terminate a contract successfully, you need to be able to prove certain things” without elaborating further. Bettman also felt it “wasn’t appropriate” for him to critique how Hockey Canada — the sports’ governing body that oversees tournaments like the world juniors — originally handled its initial investigation into the matter.
Both Hockey Canada and the London police were informed of the alleged incident in June 2018. The woman’s then-stepfather reported she had been allegedly assaulted by multiple members of Canada’s 2018 world junior team — which was in town celebrating its gold medal win from that year’s tournament — following a Hockey Canada banquet in London the night before. No charges were ever filed, and the London police closed their investigation in February 2019. The woman filed a $3.55 million civil suit in April 2022 against Hockey Canada and eight players she alleged to be involved; Hockey Canada orchestrated weeks later an out-of-court settlement with the woman, details of which were never made public.
There were sparse references made by Bettman to what the NHL was able to accomplish in its own investigation of the alleged incident, including that the league interviewed every player on the team at some point, but the woman declined to speak to the NHL.
“This task [of investigating] was complex because of a variety of factors,” Bettman said. “Not the least of which was that our authority had limitations, the volume of information, the passage of time and the fact that other investigations were going on at the same time,” referencing Hockey Canada and the London police.
For now at least, the NHL and NHLPA appear committed to a holding pattern.
“This is [about] charges pending,” NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh said Friday. “It’s an investigation that will now enter the courts and I’m going to leave it there. These players are innocent before proven guilty. Obviously, the circumstances on the case are challenging and waiting to see how this plays out is really important.”
Walsh said after the court proceedings, “then you can have the conversation” about what might happen next with these players. The primary focus for all involved now is on handling the criminal proceedings ahead.
“I think those players are probably focused on themselves and their defense right now,” Walsh said. “I don’t think they’re focused on necessarily hockey, so I’ll leave it at that.”
“Sid is still doing Sid things,” another player told The Athletic. “There’s a lot of players where I go like, ‘Wow.’”
It’s always fun to hear NHL players’ astonishment at the game’s top players, and there was plenty of it in The Athletic’s player poll this season. Our NHL staff spent the first half of the season asking nearly 200 players:
Who’s the best player?
Who’s the best goalie?
Who are the most underrated and overrated players?
Who’s the player you’d most like to punch?
Best and worst refs?
Favorite jerseys?
Favorite and least favorite road cities?
We also asked about more nuanced topics like neck guards and gambling. Those results will be coming in stories over the next week.
For now, let’s jump in on the NHL’s great debates.
A bit closer than you’d expect? Probably. But for most, it’s still McDavid.
“There’s just nobody like him,” one player said of the Edmonton Oilers captain. “Nobody does what he does.”
“I don’t think there’s going to be a discussion about that for many years,” another said.
“It’s just everything,” another said. “He can do everything.”
So where does the debate creep in? For many players, the league’s best player in the pre-McDavid era may not be getting his due.
“If there was one game and everything was on the line? I’m going with Sid every time,” one player said of the Pittsburgh Penguins great.
“With Crosby … you’re almost concerned about everyone else because he’s going to find everyone else,” another said. “With McDavid, you’re just trying to catch up to him, and that’s the hardest thing to do. But they’re both great.”
And the MacKinnon-McDavid debate has taken a big step as MacKinnon got his ring and as he plows the Colorado Avalanche toward the playoffs:
“I’ll go with McDavid still, but MacKinnon’s definitely pushing him,” one player said.
“McDavid is the answer, but MacKinnon is right there,” another echoed. “Nobody else jumps onto the ice with a burst of speed like him.”
Among those who picked MacKinnon, competitiveness, explosiveness and winning were the keywords.
“He just brings all his teammates into the fight every night,” one player said. “To me, the most competitive star. And, obviously, he’s a winner.”
“He’s just so explosive,” another said. “Whenever he’s on the ice, something is going to happen.”
“He’s just a horse,” another added. “There’s not much you can do when he’s got the puck.”
And what of the league’s scoring leader, Kucherov, a two-time champion himself with the Tampa Bay Lightning?
“So good at so many things,” said one player who voted for him. “The kind of 200-foot player that doesn’t get enough credit.”
“He just doesn’t get a lot of hype being in Tampa, right?” another added. “He’s a quiet superstar, man. He’s spectacular.”
Justifications for other picks?
On Makar, MacKinnon’s defensive counterpart in Colorado: “As a defenseman, he’s on the ice more and has got the ability to control the game a little bit more.”
On Barkov, the captain of the reigning East champion Florida Panthers: “A true leader on the ice, and you can really look up to him.”
Some will say Vasilevskiy, who enters the All-Star break with a sub-.900 save percentage, hasn’t been the same after all the long Lightning playoff runs and his subsequent back surgery.
NHL players, though, still view him as the Mount Rushmore goalie they don’t want to see in the other net.
“He’s proven it over and over again,” one player said.
“Just a big-game guy,” another said.
“I have never seen a guy that big be that athletic and that competitive,” added another.
Hellebuyck, The Athletic’s prohibitive staff favorite to win the Vezina Trophy this season at the break, was another popular pick.
One Russian forward, who voted for Sorokin, first made sure that his name was being left off this story. “Don’t tell Shesterkin I said that,” he said.
Fleury, who this season played his 1,000th game and passed Patrick Roy for No. 2 all-time in wins, might have been the biggest surprise, receiving five votes. The beloved icon might be getting credit more for his career achievements and infectious smile than his play in net for the Minnesota Wild, as one player admitted.
“I know he’s not the best, but I like him the best,” he said. “He robbed me stacking the pads earlier in the year. He’s been so good for so long. I’m sticking with Flower.”
“He’s starting to get some credit now,” one player said. “But I think he still deserves more.”
There was debate as to whether a player of Barkov’s esteem can still be called underrated among some other players, though.
“(Barkov) is not underrated,” said one player, who voted for Rantanen. “He’s a marked man every night.”
“Everyone’s been saying Barkov for so long, but (he’s) not underrated,” another player agreed.
That player voted for Barkov’s teammate, Reinhart, who has 37 goals, second only to Matthews’ 40 in the NHL, and was another popular pick.
“He’s obviously scoring a lot this year, but he’s always kind of done all those things,” one player said.
Point, similarly playing alongside superstars in a nontraditional market (Tampa Bay), received the third-most votes.
“He doesn’t get a lot of attention, but he does everything, man,” one player said.
“He scored 50-something last year (51), and I don’t remember anyone talking about it,” another said. “He’s so fast, and he’s just the engine of that team.”
Keeping with the good-player, small-market theme, seven players pointed to the Winnipeg Jets’ Connor, quietly a point-per-game player each of the past two seasons.
“He’s so good at creating time and space,” one said. “Nobody really talks about him.”
“He doesn’t get much love,” another added. “He just scores every year.”
Other picks?
On Kaprizov, the Minnesota Wild’s star and engine: “He’s a superstar in my opinion, but no one really talks about him in that category of the top guys. He’s a beast.”
On classic underrated pick Slavin from the Carolina Hurricanes: “It’s kind of getting to the point where everyone’s talking about him and people are kind of noticing, but he’s so good. I’ll say him again, but it’s probably the last year. I still think he doesn’t get as much credit as he should.”
And on Charlie Coyle, a veteran stepping into big shoes in the Boston Bruins’ lineup and helping lead them to the East’s best record: “He replaced (Patrice) Bergeron really well. He wins faceoffs and does a lot of things for them.”
He’s the lacrosse-style goal king, was on the cover of EA Sports’ NHL 2023 and is popular with the kids, but can he lead a team to the playoffs?
NHLers still have some doubts about Zegras.
“A lot of hype around him, in terms of some of the cool goals and plays that he’s made,” one said. “I feel like that doesn’t translate to an everyday type of (player). He was on the cover of the NHL (game). There was a lot of hype, I’d say.
“Nothing against the guy. I just think that got hyped a lot instead of the play, consistently, night-in, night-out on the ice.”
Nurse, the second-leading vote-getter, meanwhile, was singled out more for his contract ($9.25 million average annual value) than for his on-ice value or hype.
“He’s a hell of a player,” one player said. “I just think he makes the same as Makar, and that’s kind of crazy.”
Matthew Tkachuk and the Dallas Stars’ Robertson, both coming off 109-point seasons and playing for top teams, register as a bit of a surprise, tying for the third-most votes. The justification? Great players, but not ones who belong in the true top-top tier of NHLers.
On Tkachuk, one player said, “He got overrated in the playoffs last year. Everyone was talking about him being one of the best players in the world. I don’t see it. He’s a great player, but people talk about him like he’s top 10 in the world.”
And another on Robertson: “Sometimes you don’t really see him during the game and he finishes with three points. He still produces, but for me, he’s not like MacKinnon. He’s a game-changer, but not like these guys.”
“I’m sure everybody has said Marchand, right?” one player said. Actually, no! The Panthers’ Cousins seems to have stolen the “most-hated opponent” crown from the Bruins’ captain.
“Played against him a long time,” one player said of Cousins. “Always hated the guy.”
“He’s gonna get a lot of answers on this one,” another rightly predicted.
“I’m buddies with him and I’d still say him,” said a third.
Not that Marchand doesn’t still get some, um, love here, too.
“I love the guy, but it’s probably Marchand for sure,” one player said.
“I mean, Marchand’s always a good (player) you want to punch,” another said.
Other favorite least-favorites?
On the Stars’ Marchment: “I think he dives a little bit.”
On Washington Capitals’ big man Wilson: “He’s not a rat. I respect that. But I’d still like to punch him.”
And on the Buffalo Sabres’ Skinner: “He’s just annoying to play against.”
McCauley and Sutherland are icons of the reffing profession, and as is probably expected, they come in as the top two picks here.
For NHL players, the refs’ approachability and communication are key.
“He’ll talk to you if you get a penalty,” one player said of McCauley, an NHL ref since 2003. “He’ll tell you what you did wrong. He’s not one of those selfish guys who will try to take over a game. He’s one of the honest guys.”
“You can talk to him,” another agreed. “He’ll tell you what he saw on a call you didn’t like — reason with you. There’s more of a human element.”
McCauley’s on-ice flair also got compliments, with one player saying he’s “kinda funny,” another saying “he seems to have fun” and a third saying “I like the theatrics.”
On Sutherland, an NHL ref since 2000, players made a point of how proactive he’ll be in letting them know where the line is.
“He might even come up to me and say, ‘Hey, listen, you were borderline there. If you do that again, I might call you,’” one player said. “He’ll kind of give you a warning if it’s something he thinks is a little ticky-tacky.”
“He communicates the best,” another said. “I remember a few years back, he made a bad call. … We had him the next night, and he waited by our bus, so when (the player) came off the bus, he could tell him he screwed up that call and say he was sorry. Just the best communicator, and guys have a lot of respect for that.”
Other refs got similar kudos for communication, but the most common answer was summed up by one player who voted for McCauley: “He’s the only ref whose name I know.”
In the mid-1990s, refs stopped wearing names on their jerseys, and as a result, “I don’t know any of them,” one player said.
“God, I wish I knew their names,” another added.
“I don’t know enough of them (to answer),” another said. “I’d know them by face.”
The Athletic supports referees and didn’t want to give players this space to take individual potshots, so we’ll leave it at the numbers here, beyond pointing to a few interesting results/trends:
• St Pierre was the top choice despite having a long-term injury and now being out of the league.
• If McCauley and Sutherland got praised for their communication, the opposite was true for votes on worst ref, where commentary focused mainly on not giving players respect, being arrogant and being closed off to conversation.
• And, of course, the votes go with the calls. One player who voted for McCauley as the worst ref said it was nothing personal or about communication. It was just that “when I know he’s the ref, I (get called for a penalty) all the time.”
The Original Six may not have produced a Stanley Cup champion since 2015, but their jerseys still reign supreme, taking all of the top spots here.
“You’ve got to go Original Six,” one player said.
“To me, it was always between the Red Wings and the Blackhawks,” said another. “I think Chicago’s got the best.”
“I like Detroit’s,” another said. “All the Original Sixes are good, but that’s my favorite. It’s such a great logo.”
And on the New York Rangers, the third-place finisher, one player said: “Their home jersey is just so clean.”
If players weren’t going for the NHL’s original teams, it seems, they were going for the most recent ones.
Of the Seattle Kraken (first season 2021-22), one player said, “Those are pretty cool, man. The color scheme is something you’ve never seen before.”
And the previous expansion team, the Golden Knights (2017-18): “It’s different and unique.”
The vote focused on teams’ main home and away jerseys, but quite a few players also singled out teams’ alternate jerseys, none more than the Ducks’, which got six shout-outs.
One of four players who mentioned the Flames’ “Blasty” jerseys said, “I remember Iginla in the horse head.”
And speaking of recent jerseys, of the Seattle Kraken outdoor jersey, one player said, “I think that was the best jersey we’ve seen” and another simply, “Sick.”
Then, of course, there’s the Jersey jersey: “I love those. They’re just so funny and clean-looking.”
Of course. This one had to come down to Sin City and the City That Never Sleeps.
It’s not just the dining options and nightlife. It’s the arena experience, players said.
“Just the atmosphere,” one said of Vegas. “As soon as you get out for warmups, it’s a nightclub vibe. Everyone is just buzzing.”
“The energy in that building is crazy,” another said.
“The atmosphere is sick, the rink’s sick, the hotels are sick,” another added. “The whole trip to Vegas is unreal.”
On the other hand, as one player said, “You can never go wrong with New York.”
“Most places to walk around, most great restaurants you can find,” another said. “And obviously playing in Madison Square Garden is something special every time.”
“I love MSG,” a third agreed.
Other contenders?
On Chicago: “I love the anthem, and I think the city’s great. Good atmosphere. Not as big as New York, so I don’t feel like the walls are closing in on me if I’m there for a few days. I mean, I love New York, but it gets busy in a hurry. Chicago, I think it’s got everything: the arts, the sports, good restaurants. But it’s not as crowded as New York.”
On Sunrise/Ft. Lauderdale: “I love the weather and beaches.”
On Nashville: “I’m a big country music guy.”
On Dallas: “Great weather. Such a nice place to spend a day.”
And Tampa: “The fans are great” and, “It’s just loud, rowdy.”
Cold weather and not much to do around the arena …
It’s not just Winnipeg. That’s the theme with all of the top picks.
“It’s pathetic,” said a third. “It’s not The Show. Can’t take it seriously.”
Complaints elsewhere were a bit more specific, from the sad fan base in San Jose to the size of the dressing-room stalls in Washington to the “hotel we stay in” in Minneapolis/St. Paul. And of course, on Columbus:
“The cannon.”
(Top graphic by John Bradford / The Athletic, with photos from Mike Ehrmann, Jonathan Kozub and Michael Martin / Getty Images)
Beyond the often stereotyped rowdy behavior, there lies a community united by unparalleled love and loyalty for their teams.
The emotional connection runs deep, and the dedication of Philadelphia sports fans is legendary, spilling over into the world of betting and online gaming. As Philly sports enthusiasts embrace the thrill of live casino games, they find a new avenue to channel their passion. To discover the best live casino experiences in Pennsylvania for 2024, you can view more here.
The Unmistakable Characteristics of True Philadelphia Sports Fans
The city’s blue-collar attitude is a defining characteristic that has shaped the identity of its sports culture. Philadelphia is a town where hard work, grit, and determination are not just virtues; they are a way of life. This ethos extends seamlessly to the sports arena, where fans mirror the resilience of their beloved city. The dedication of Philadelphia sports enthusiasts is perhaps best exemplified by iconic figures like Brian Dawkins and Allen Iverson, whose tenacity and passion on the field resonated with the city’s spirit.
Brian Dawkins, a former safety for the Philadelphia Eagles, is remembered not just for his stellar performances but also for the raw emotion he brought to each game. His intensity and unwavering commitment mirrored the city’s own ethos, making him a beloved figure among fans.
Photo: Damir Kopezhanov/Unsplash
Similarly, Allen Iverson, a basketball icon who played for the Philadelphia 76ers, personified the city’s never-back-down attitude. His fearless approach and dedication to the game endeared him to the hearts of Philadelphia sports enthusiasts, forging an unbreakable bond between player and fans.
Philadelphia sports fans eagerly anticipate key events that showcase their teams’ prowess. The Eagles’ training camp is a hallowed ground where fans can catch a glimpse of their favorite players preparing for the upcoming season. The excitement in the air is palpable as fans watch with bated breath, hopeful for a successful campaign.
When the Flyers return to the ice, the city comes alive with the echoes of cheers reverberating through the streets. The fans’ passion for hockey is undeniable, and they rally behind their team with an energy that is infectious. The unity in the stands is a testament to the strong bond that connects the community through their shared love for the game.
As the Sixers pursue success on the basketball court, Philadelphia fans eagerly await news of free-agent signings. The anticipation and speculation around player acquisitions add to the excitement and build the foundation for the upcoming season. It’s a time when the entire city is buzzing with enthusiasm, fueled by the hope that the roster changes will bring about a championship-worthy team.
In Philadelphia, sports are not just a form of entertainment; they are a communal experience that binds the city together. The passionate and sometimes boisterous nature of Philadelphia sports fans is not merely a stereotype; it’s a reflection of the deep emotions and unwavering loyalty that define this remarkable community. Beyond the cheers and jeers, Philadelphia sports fans embody the heart and soul of a city that takes pride in its teams and stands by them through thick and thin.
What Other Nations Can Learn from Philadelphia Sports Fans
While the reputation of Philadelphia sports fans often precedes them, there’s much more to their fervor than meets the eye. Beneath the surface of their rowdy exterior lies a blueprint for sports fandom that other nations can learn from, enhancing the overall experience of supporting their teams.
Passion Knows No Bounds
Philadelphia sports fans exemplify an unmatched passion for their teams. Whether celebrating a victory or weathering a defeat, their dedication never wavers. Other nations can learn the importance of unwavering support, realizing that true fandom extends beyond the glory days and into the challenging times. Embracing the journey with resilience and enthusiasm strengthens the bond between fans and their teams.
Community Engagement
In Philadelphia, sports are not just a spectator sport but a communal experience. Fans gather in bars, homes, and stadiums, creating a sense of community that transcends individual differences.
Other nations can emulate this by fostering a sports culture that brings people together, emphasizing the shared joy and camaraderie that sports can provide. This collective experience enhances the emotional connection fans feel with their teams.
Identification with Players
Philadelphia sports fans identify not only with the success of their teams but also with the players who embody the city’s spirit. The connection with figures like Brian Dawkins and Allen Iverson goes beyond their athletic achievements; it’s rooted in shared values and a sense of belonging. Other nations can encourage a deeper connection between fans and athletes, emphasizing the personal stories and characteristics that resonate with the local community.
Anticipation and Hope
The anticipation surrounding key events, such as training camps and free-agent signings, creates a sense of hope and excitement that permeates the entire city. Other nations can learn the value of maintaining optimism and enthusiasm, even in the face of uncertainties.
The anticipation for upcoming seasons becomes a shared experience, fostering a positive outlook that enhances the overall enjoyment of sports.
Respect for Tradition
Philadelphia sports fans respect and celebrate the traditions of their teams. From the iconic Eagles’ fight song to the rituals associated with game day, these traditions create a sense of continuity and heritage. Other nations can appreciate the importance of preserving and honoring the traditions that make sports unique to their culture, reinforcing a sense of identity and continuity across generations.
In essence, the heart and soul of Philadelphia’s sports fans lie in their ability to turn sports into a unifying force, a source of pride, and a shared experience that goes beyond wins and losses.
Other nations aspiring to cultivate a rich sports culture can look to Philadelphia as a model, understanding that true fandom is a celebration of passion, community, and enduring loyalty.
Nikita Nesterenko had awakened from an afternoon nap on Monday when he received a cellphone notification. Nesterenko, a former Boston College forward now playing for the American Hockey League’s San Diego Gulls, saw the name of former college teammate Cutter Gauthier pop up in a post sent out by the Anaheim Ducks.
“Originally, I felt like they were just congratulating him on the world juniors or something,” Nesterenko said. “Something weird. Maybe some kind of connection. And then I saw they acquired him. I was like, ‘Wow, that’s crazy.’”
The Ducks had traded Jamie Drysdale, a defenseman they drafted with the No. 6 pick in 2020, and a 2025 second-round pick for Gauthier, the No. 5 pick in 2022. The deal sent shockwaves throughout the hockey world, leaving the Philadelphia Flyers disillusioned and enraging large swaths of their passionate fan base.
A near-sellout crowd at Wells Fargo Center embraced the 21-year-old Drysdale this week in his impressive Flyers debut. On the other hand, Gauthier emerged on Wednesday in two interviews to discuss the trade, though he didn’t provide specific answers about how things broke down with the Flyers. Gauthier said he received death threats via social media after reports emerged that he didn’t want to play for Philadelphia.
So, who is Gauthier? Is the 19-year-old prospect being unfairly maligned for wanting a say in his future? And are his skills good enough to justify all this controversy? Some people who have spent time with him, and have watched him closely, believe he’s not getting fair treatment in some circles.
“He’s got a good personality,” Nesterenko said. “He’s not afraid to speak his mind. People are seeing that.
“Obviously, the Flyers’ fan base and organization is going to be a little salty and pissed off that they didn’t get such a star player. Right away, when you’re kind of pissed off, your first instinct is to trash the kid and say that he’s entitled and he doesn’t want to be there. He’s a great kid.
“He made the decision for himself where he thinks he’s going to fit in better. Have a better development for his career and the future. The fact that people are pointing fingers saying he’s entitled and all this stuff, it’s just crazy to me because he was never like that at college. He just wants what’s best for the team. Just a great player and great kid off the ice.”
Craig Button, a TSN analyst and a former NHL executive, doesn’t like how the Flyers reacted in the trade’s aftermath, with pointed comments from team president Keith Jones and chairman CEO Dan Hilferty, who said on a Flyers-themed podcast: “It’s gonna be a rough ride here and he earned it. We’re Philadelphians and we want people who want to be here with us.”
To Button, the Flyers had some complicity in soiling Gauthier’s makeup.
“I’ve been around Cutter for a number of years,” he said. “I think Cutter is an elite player. I don’t know what happened. Does it really matter? The Philadelphia Flyers were able to make a trade. What amazes me is they were going to protect a kid by not saying anything until they traded him. Then they started a smear campaign.
“It’s a bunch of B.S. as far as I’m concerned. … At the end of it, take the high road. I don’t know if Cutter will ever have a comment on it or if he ever needs to comment on it. Bottom line is, I got all the time in the world for Cutter Gauthier. The Philadelphia Flyers recognized that he wasn’t going to play there, and they went and made a trade. Celebrate what you just did. You don’t have to smear the kid.
“It’s funny. I didn’t see anybody in the Philadelphia Flyers organization talking about Eric Lindros picking where he wanted to go. A bunch of garbage is what I think it is.”
Nesterenko played nine games with the Ducks last season after ending his BC career and is working to get back to Anaheim. He’s hoping to be teammates with Gauthier again and feels that, in Gauthier, the Ducks will have a player who will be known for much more than rejecting the team that drafted him.
“When he comes to Anaheim, he’s going to be great,” Nesterenko said. “He’s super competitive. He wants to win. That’s what we’re striving for. I’ve got nothing but good things to say about him, honestly.”
The first reaction of Boston College associate head coach Brendan Buckley, when he saw the reaction of others to the trade, was to think of Gauthier, who he knew had a lot going on, beyond the trade. The Eagles staff had given their six members of Team USA’s gold medal-winning world juniors squad some time off before returning to Chestnut Hill, Mass., to rejoin the team and restart their collegiate seasons. Some had returned to campus on Jan. 8. Others were still making their way back on Tuesday.
Cutter Gauthier has 29 goals in his 49 games with Boston College. (Michael Miller / ISI Photos/ Getty Images)
For his part, Buckley has “nothing but great things to say about him and what he has done for our program over the last two years.”
“He has been a great teammate, a great guy to coach, he’s competitive in practice, he pushes himself, he wants to get better, he wants the team to do well,” Buckley said. “Last year, we weren’t where we probably wanted to be, and then we had a nice class come in with some good talent and he helped them out and helped get them up to speed.”
He knows the Ducks are getting a good player, too.
“The first thing that comes to mind with Cutter is an elite release and shot,” Buckley said. “He can score from all over the ice and it gets off of his stick quickly. I think it surprises goalies, how quickly the puck can get to them. That semifinal goal on the power play at the world juniors was a great example of how he can just rip a puck and change a game. ”
Buckley said Gauthier has also worked hard to round out his game and prepare for the NHL over the last two seasons.
“He’s just a more mature player now and I think that just comes with being a little bit older and physically maturing, and then also playing in high-compete games, which he has always done the last two years for us,” Buckley said. “He has done a really good job. He works hard and he’s a fun guy to coach because he wants to get better every single day.”
Three years ago, when Gauthier was set to join USA Hockey’s national program, Nick Fohr, one of the coaches for the 2004 age group, remembers there being “a lot said about him.”
There weren’t specifics, but he remembers there being “a bit of a negative connotation from a standpoint of ‘he might be hard to deal with.’”
And so, naturally, he was a little interested in how Gauthier was going to be in their two years together with the team.
In the end, though, “the truth couldn’t have been further from that,” according to Fohr.
“Honestly, all of this stuff that was being said, none of it was true. None of it. He was awesome, and he was a great teammate. He worked his tail off, he was engaging, he had a great relationships with everybody, staff included. He was great. He did everything we asked him to do and he even wanted more.”
Gauthier was billed as one of the stars in his age group from the very start. “Everybody was talking about Cutter Gauthier,” Fohr said. But while he’d finish as that guy — a first-liner for the ’04 team — and would become the No. 5 pick, that’s not where Fohr and USA’s staff started him.
That included playing on the second power-play unit during his time at the program because he played the same spot as a bigger star, Logan Cooley. “It didn’t deter him from going about his business and doing his work and being good with it,” according to Fohr.
“It was a super talented team and he wasn’t played as the highlight guy. Logan Cooley was the highlighted player in the group. And he probably deserved to be on that top unit at times but he wasn’t. So he wasn’t handed everything, he wasn’t given everything, it wasn’t all about Cutter Gauthier. And he was awesome,” Fohr said.
“It wasn’t easy for him here and sometimes if you’re the guy when you come in and you stay the guy for two years like Cooley was, it’s easy for those guys, they never really face any adversity or have moments where they get frustrated and suddenly their true colors come out. And that wasn’t the case for Cutter. He had to work for the things he got and it wasn’t always easy for him. And by the end of it he’s on that line with (Cooley and Jimmy Snuggerud) and things are really, really good. I think it just shows his character, and how he worked, and his compete level.”
That hasn’t changed in Fohr’s time with Gauthier since he left the program, either. He coached him at the 2023 world juniors. Before the 2024 world juniors, when Gauthier was in Plymouth for selection camp, he made time to skate and practice with Fohr’s current U18 team.
“He was awesome with my current players, and there’s no ‘I’m better than anybody else’ type of attitude to him. He’s just a humble kid that just goes about his business and appreciates the things he gets,” Fohr said.
This week, as Fohr watched how all of this played out, he was reminded of players like Jimmy Vesey and Adam Fox, who also decided not to play for the teams that drafted them. On draft day, he remembers seeing Gauthier and his family at the hotel and them being “excited” about the Flyers.
“Things may have changed. … It happens a lot more than people realize. This just happened to be at a big moment with the world juniors and him being a high profile guy. It doesn’t make him a bad person by any means,” Fohr said.
“They’re kids. They’re still kids.”
Gauthier won’t play his first NHL game until he finishes his sophomore season with the Eagles, which could be a memorable one given that they are ranked No. 1 in the nation. It could come with the Ducks in April, as he confirmed that he intends to sign an entry-level contract with them. And there will be great anticipation for the forward, who can play center or on the wing and is, Button fervently believes, a “multi-dimensional threat” in the mold of Colorado Avalanche star Mikko Rantanen as an equally dangerous shooter and set-up man.
“We look at Cutter and think what a great shot and what a great goal scorer he is,” Button said. “He’s also a hell of a playmaker. And I think that’s what keeps opponents off balance when you’re playing against Cutter. He can beat you with a play, he can beat you with a shot. And he’s big. He can skate. He’s got confidence in his game.”
Button calls Gauthier “an elite, elite shooter” with pinpoint accuracy. That has helped him become BC’s top goal scorer over his two seasons, racking up 29 in his first 49 games with the Eagles. He had only two in the United States’ march to their sixth world juniors gold medal but had 10 assists to tie Czechia’s Jiri Kulich, a Sabres prospect, for the tournament scoring title.
Nesterenko played last season with Gauthier at BC and remembers him as a quiet kid at first that started to open up as he found his footing in NCAA competition. The two would flourish as linemates and while the Eagles had a subpar 14-16-6 record, Gauthier led them in goals (16) and points (37) as a freshman.
“On the ice, he’s a gifted scorer,” said Nesterenko, who played three seasons at BC and signed with Anaheim after a trade with the Wild. “It’s not easy at this level to score a goal, so any time you can secure a guy like that with that scoring touch, it’s a huge plus. Off the ice, he’s a great kid. He means well. He’s got a great family. He was kind of shy coming into college. Was very to himself. Obviously, a lot of guys are shy when they come in. New team, new atmosphere. Once he kind of got to know all the guys – and I kind of brought him under my wing, teaching him a couple things – he got adjusted really quick.
“We had a lot of fun. We didn’t have the best team in terms of result. Obviously, they’re doing way better this year. But he was a big part of our team. We had a lot of fun. He’s a great kid.”
(Photo of Cutter Gauthier: Richard T Gagnon / Getty Images)
From the moment he was traded to the Anaheim Ducks on Monday, Cutter Gauthier has been pilloried in some circles, with social media-fueled attacks on his character after the Philadelphia Flyers effectively said good riddance to their former prize prospect.
Gauthier answered questions Wednesday about the stunning deal, which saw the Flyers trade the 19-year-old Boston College standout and recent United States world juniors gold medal winner to the Ducks for young defenseman Jamie Drysdale and a 2025 second-round draft pick.
The reaction to reports about Gauthier’s recent dealings with Philadelphia — or perhaps lack thereof — was so toxic that Gauthier said he received death threats via social media. Most of the questions Gauthier has faced have centered around one simple one: Why didn’t he want to play for the Flyers?
“That’s the question (that) kind of everyone’s wondering, and the biggest thing I can say right now is I have to keep it to myself, my family and my agent,” Gauthier said. “It’s been a long process in the past handful of months of dealing with this. I don’t think it’s the right time to kind of discuss it. There might be one day where I kind of get into details on what happened. Right now, I want to keep it to a private matter.”
During a 30-minute telephone call with local reporters, Gauthier said his head is “kind of spinning” in the two days since the trade, and emphasized he’s excited to join Anaheim after his college season ends. He also pointed to death threats in describing the visceral reactions he’s received.
“There’s been a lot of good and bad,” he said. “A 19-year-old kid getting a lot of death threats and a bunch of thousands and thousands of people reaching out and just saying some pretty poor things that I wouldn’t wish upon my worst enemy, it’s pretty tough to see, obviously. But it’s a business. With all the rumors spreading around that aren’t true, it’s kind of tough to go out and say one word or anything to kind of quiet those people.
“But, you know, people are going to have opinions. People are going to say things. I can’t tell them to have an opinion or not. It’s been definitely a little bit of a stressful situation (the) last 48 hours.”
Expanding on the threats he’s received, Gauthier said: “My (direct messages) right now and Instagram are kind of pretty crazy of what people are saying. There’s been thousands and thousands of messages. I’m still getting some five, 10 minutes ago. And it’s kind of cruel what people are saying.
“I didn’t really mean to put any harm into anyone. I just was looking at a situation, kind of I’d say a pigeon view from above. I thought it was best for me to make the decision I made. Obviously some people aren’t going to be happy with it. I’m not here to please everyone. I’m here to do what’s best for me and my future. I felt that’s what I did. Obviously, people aren’t going to be too happy with that. Yeah, some pretty cruel things that people are saying.”
While he understood the amount of interest that would follow in the aftermath of the trade, Gauthier admits it’s been tough for him to stay off his cell phone or social feeds. But there has been support amid the backlash.
“It’s kind of tough when it’s all right in your face right there,” he said. “You pull up Twitter and you see my name and every report of what’s going on and everyone having their own opinions. It’s kind of tough not to completely stay away from it.
“Like I said before, it’s a business. People are going to say things, especially in the situation we are in right now. It’s kind of tough knowing the real reason why and seeing people put all these false statements out there. Not being able to really express what really happened yet. It’s been kind of hard, but it’s also been good, too. A bunch of people have reached out to me.
“You can definitely see who your circle of friends are in situations like this. It’s definitely been good for the most part and obviously a handful of bad things from Flyers fans.”
In the time since the trade, Gauthier said he did go back and forth on whether to fully explain what went behind going from the Flyers’ No. 5 choice of the 2022 NHL Draft to requesting a trade from them last April after his freshman season with the Eagles concluded. He opted for the discretion of privacy.
“I’ve seen kind of all the rumors that are spreading right now,” he said. “It’s kind of just funny what people are saying at this moment. I don’t think I’ve seen one thing that’s been said that’s been spot on on the reason why this all transpired. People like to talk and people like to make things up and other people like to listen.”
Another aspect of the trade Gauthier sought to dispel is the notion that he didn’t want to play for Flyers coach John Tortorella. He said his interaction with him was positive.
“All those rumors saying I was scared of Torts, that’s not the case at all,” he said. “I’ve had many (tough) coaches throughout my whole life and I think that any coach I will play for would love to have me on their team. I want to do whatever it takes to win. If they’re a hard, yelling, screaming kind of coach, I’ll roll with the punches. I’m never going to disrespect or talk back to a coach. I’m going to give it my all every single shift. That was definitely not the reason why I didn’t want to play in Philly.
“I actually met Torts during dev camp two years back. I was super excited and thrilled to meet him. Obviously, being a big name in hockey and the coaching staff industry, I definitely was not against playing for him whatsoever.”
And while he stayed away from specifics about the Flyers and his dealings with them, Gauthier specifically took issue with St. Louis Blues forward Kevin Hayes being described as someone who influenced his desire to play elsewhere. Hayes, who played with the Flyers from 2020-23, is a former BC player who Gauthier has gotten to know well.
“I’ve kind of seen all the rumors going around about Kevin Hayes having his fingerprints on this,” Gauthier said. “I want to clarify that he has nothing to do with this whatsoever. He has absolutely nothing (to do with it). Some of the people who are kind of saying this stuff about his family and stuff like that, (it) is pretty gutless. He has zero fingerprints on this whatsoever.
“I haven’t spoken to him in a long time. I just wanted to clarify it. It’s not just his word against everyone else’s. I wanted to make sure that (it’s known) he was definitely not involved in this whatsoever. It’s kind of disrespectful to him and his name that he was being brought into this.”
The Ducks made the trade with the strong belief and knowledge that Gauthier would sign with them after he completes his sophomore season with the Eagles, who are the top-ranked team in college hockey. Gauthier said that is his plan and his NHL debut could still come if the Eagles were to play for the NCAA title, as Anaheim plays its season finale five days after the championship game. He said he’s been in touch with current Ducks forwards Troy Terry and Leo Carlsson.
But the prospect of him playing his first game in Philadelphia will have to wait as the Ducks already made their lone visit in October. Asked what he anticipates the first game at Wells Fargo Center will be like, Gauthier said “chaotic.”
“I got that (future) date circled on my calendar big time,” he continued. “I can’t wait to go out there and play my game in front of those fans and do my thing. I’m really looking forward to that game.”
Required reading
(Photo: Andy Lewis / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Seventeen years and more than 1,200 games ago, Andrew Cogliano remembers how difficult it was to traverse the state of California.
The Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks were three of the biggest, heaviest teams in the league. If you had to play all three in succession? Well, good luck. Not only were those teams willing to play a punishing brand of hockey, but they were all highly skilled and generally successful, too.
After a few years in Edmonton where he broke into the league, Cogliano was dealt to the Ducks as a free agent in the summer of 2011 and was part of a team that qualified for the playoffs in six straight seasons from 2012-13 through 2017-18. Those California road trips became regular intrastate battles. And they were vicious.
“My first couple years in Anaheim, physicality was one of the biggest things talked about in terms of game-planning,” Cogliano said. “We used to play L.A. and San Jose and have just wars in terms of physicality.”
There are several ways NHL teams can be physical. One of them, of course, is throwing devastating body checks that can have the effect of both separating the opponent from the puck and making him more trepidatious when he’s heading into a corner or stick-handling through the neutral zone with his head down.
No one denies that body checking is still an important part of today’s game, and can often be a key to success, particularly in the playoffs. But Cogliano admits that hitting, and the fear of being hit, has declined since he was a rookie or when he was in the thick of those California clashes. There’s less of an emphasis on that part of the game coming up as a kid and teenager through developmental leagues, he figures. And it’s noticeable when he’s on the ice, now as a veteran forward with the Colorado Avalanche.
“When kids are growing up now, they’re probably less talking about being physical and more about playing with the puck — skill and talent,” he said. “I just think that the (way the) league is now, there’s probably just more room out there.”
Winnipeg Jets defenseman Brenden Dillon, one of the more feared hitters in the league, agreed with Cogliano’s rationale.
“The new-age player, definitely there’s more emphasis on the skill and the stick-handling and the shooting than it is on the body contact,” Dillon said. “Guys that are coming into the league, there’s definitely less physical players.”
The result, according to former Blues and Flyers coach Craig Berube, is that young players today are less equipped to deal with the potential of getting run over by those who, like the 33-year-old Dillon, 12th in the league in hits since 2015-16, still adhere to the seek-and-destroy philosophy.
“One hundred percent,” Berube said in an interview prior to being fired in St. Louis. “There’s not big hits (in junior and minor leagues). It’s just the way hockey has been played and how they’ve been taught. They don’t have much awareness for that.”
John Tortorella touched a nerve throughout the NHL community following a collision in a Flyers-Devils game last month, when Garnet Hathaway was issued a five-minute major and game misconduct for plowing into Luke Hughes, temporarily sending the young defenseman to the dressing room for repairs.
The Flyers coach was upset that linesman Brandon Grillo blew the whistle too late on a potential icing (something confirmed by replays). He argued it wasn’t Hathaway’s fault; that he was simply finishing his check on the rookie in an attempt to gain possession.
The next day, after time to reflect, Tortorella mentioned he was thankful Hughes didn’t suffer any significant injury on the play. But he also used the opportunity from his news conference pulpit to offer some deeper thoughts on the state of hitting in today’s NHL.
“That’s a problem in our league right now. Our players in this league do not put enough emphasis on making sure you’re protecting yourself from hits like that — making sure you absorb hits like that,” he said.
“We’ve kind of tried to turn this league into a No Hit League. Now people aren’t ready to be hit. I think it’s a lost art in how you take hits. I do think looking at the clip, (Hughes) thinks it’s icing.
“There is nothing wrong with the play. It shouldn’t even have been a penalty. It screams to the athletes in our game, be prepared to be hit because big hits are allowed. Nowadays, I’m not so sure because everyone puts their arms up when there’s a big hit. It makes me sick what goes on in the league here on big hits. That’s part of the game.”
Tortorella’s description of the NHL as the “No Hit League” was at least slightly hyperbolic. There are still heavy, clean body checks that go unpenalized with no supplemental discipline (see Trouba, Jacob). But he was also somewhat prescient when it comes to the officiating, as there have since been a string of controversial hits resulting in varying and, many would argue, inconsistent degrees of discipline.
That’s part of the problem, according to Dillon.
“I think the discipline is not great at all. There’s so much grey area for it,” he said. “There’s no video to every team at the start of camp — what is a penalty, and what isn’t a penalty? What is a boarding, and what isn’t a boarding? You really don’t know from day to day what the refereeing is going to be like.”
His take on the Hathaway play, and his evaluation of how the Flyers as a team have remained surprisingly competitive, would be music to the Philadelphia coach’s ears.
“I don’t think that team is the most skilled when you look at it, but it seems like they play a very disciplined, physical brand of hockey, and you know what to expect,” Dillon said. “Garnet Hathaway is coming on the forecheck. You’re probably getting hit. You’re not excited to go back for that puck.”
Jeff O’Neill, an NHL veteran of 11 seasons who retired in 2007 and is now an analyst with TSN in Canada, said referees are much too quick to penalize the hitter rather than consider a player who might be putting himself in a vulnerable position. And, naturally, players don’t want to leave their team shorthanded, so why take the chance?
“It’s gotten to the point where it’s got a tinge of European World Championships, where if it’s a big, thunderous check, all of a sudden an arm seems to go up and it’s boarding somehow,” O’Neill said. “That Luke Hughes hit, I think, was an example — you put yourself in a goofy position like that and you get rocked. It’s not a penalty. It’s your fault.”
Jared Bednar, the Avalanche coach, also heard Tortorella’s comments, calling them “pretty accurate.”
“Just because the game isn’t as maybe physical as it used to be in some ways doesn’t mean that there’s still not going to be a physical play here and there,” Bednar said. “I think you have to be, as a player, prepared for it. You have to be equipped to be able to defend yourself in certain ways.”
Bednar illustrated a recent example. In a Dec. 5 Avalanche game against the Ducks, 22-year-old defenseman Bowen Byram was rocked by Anaheim’s Max Jones, a result of Byram having his head down while carrying the puck.
Both players played a role in the unfortunate result.
It was a “clean hit,” Bednar said, “because (Byram) holds onto the puck trying to make a play and he gets hit. Our guys took exception to it — which is fine, I’m glad they do — but I think Bo, in that instance, has to expect to be taking a hit if you’re going to hang on to it to try and make a skilled play that’s going to set up a scoring chance.”
The referees let that one go. But that’s not always the case.
It’s difficult to quantify whether there is more of a tendency to penalize hitters for clean checks nowadays — arguments about refereeing will present as long as there is a frozen rubber disc on ice — but players these days, particularly younger ones, are more apt to put themselves in positions that could be dangerous. That’s just the way they’ve been brought up.
“They’re going to just go in there and put themselves in vulnerable positions because they know they can,” Berube said. “There’s just not a lot of big contact anywhere anymore. There’s no fear or anything of getting hit in a position that you could get hurt.”
Referee Dave Jackson avoids a collision during the 2006 playoffs. (Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
That’s only made an official’s job more difficult, according to Dave Jackson, an NHL referee from 1989 to 2019 who is currently the rules analyst for ESPN. It’s particularly trying for officials who have been around both before and after the crackdown on certain types of hits.
“What made it tough on the referees was players turning their back when they go to get hit, and they get projected forward violently into the boards. As a referee, you have to decide how much of it was the guy making the hit, and how much of it was the player turning his back, and was it unavoidable. Was the guy already committed to the hit when the player turned his back? Back in the day, guys knew they were going to get hit when they were being followed into the boards, and they’d do everything they could to prevent that hit.”
And as younger officials join the league, they’re more on the lookout for illegal checks to the head and hits from behind, because, like the players, they’re used to that sort of thing not being permissible under any circumstances.
“For newer officials that come in they have basically their whole career had the illegal check to the head rule,” Jackson said. “I think it becomes more second nature to them to be able to immediately pick up on that the head was contacted (or if) the head was the primary point of contact. But, it’s never an easy call, and it happens in a microsecond.”
Of course, many of the changes in the NHL and developmental leagues were made in an attempt to reduce serious injuries to the head or spine. To hockey’s credit, those types of hits aren’t nearly as prevalent as they were a decade ago.
Dallas Stars coach Pete DeBoer came up through the junior ranks as a coach of the Detroit Whalers and Kitchener Rangers from 1995-96 through 2007-08. He observed “a time where there was multiple paralysis injuries for hits around and along the boards,” he said.
Then, in his second year as an NHL coach in 2009-10 with the Florida Panthers, he was on the bench when David Booth got creamed by the Flyers’ Mike Richards in open ice. The play — which would be viewed as a predatory hit to the head today — went unpenalized, and Richards was not suspended.
It was, at that moment, a legal play.
“The league made steps to legislate that out,” DeBoer said of the Richards hit. “I think they’ve looked at really dangerous situations where there can be significant injury, and tried to make penalties and put the emphasis on the person hitting to avoid those situations. … So, you’ve got a generation of kids growing up knowing that. Is your guard down a little bit? Sure, because those hits aren’t going on as much anymore. I think that’s a good thing.”
As a result, there’s less of an emphasis in today’s game from at least some coaches on their players finishing checks and throwing hits.
“I’d be lying if I said (otherwise),” DeBoer said. “The physicality in the game is always going to be a part of it, and it’s a great part of the game, but it’s definitely less. I remember coming into the league and coaches would expect 40 hits in a game, and track that as a stat as important as shots or scoring chances.”
Jeff O’Neill sports a black eye during the 2002 Eastern Conference final. O’Neill says officiating has played a role in the decline of hitting in the NHL. (Doug Pensinger / Getty Images / NHLI)
O’Neill remembers those days, too. He can recall sitting in meetings with an upset coach who would show the team “punishment videos” of players not finishing their hits when they had a chance.
“It was titled ‘the drive-by,’ which basically meant you didn’t care and you weren’t intense if you skated by a guy with the puck and didn’t hit him,” he said.
It’s a fine line for the league, of course, trying to protect the players while maintaining entertainment value. Fans still love big hits. If the rules are too stringent, the NHL risks worsening the overall product — while also potentially putting the likes of Dillon, Trouba or others who need to throw big hits to be effective, on the unemployment line.
For his part, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said Monday in Dallas that the state of hitting (or lack thereof) in the game today hasn’t set off any alarm bells in the league office.
“You have some views that say there’s not enough hitting, and others saying that there’s too much, or they don’t like a certain kind,” he said. “Which is why we tend to not overreact. We tend to look at what’s going on, look at the total body of work. … Sometimes you see these things in waves.”
He continued: “No two instances are identical. What looks like a hit from behind in the first instance may be shoulder-on-shoulder, may be a last-second turn. … We want to have the game safe. There’s no question about it. But we also want to be judicious as we tinker with the game because there’s always unintended consequences.”
Tortorella, though, strongly declared that he doesn’t like the current direction of the league. That he didn’t seem to get much pushback on his comments — from around the NHL, on social media or elsewhere — showed he’s not alone.
“I watch some games some nights and I think, this is not even interesting to me,” O’Neill said. “There’s no animosity. I don’t expect a line brawl, but it’s part of the lure of the sport. It’s a physical sport.”
The Athletic’s Saad Yousuf contributed to this article.
WENDAKE, Quebec — The line reaches across the lobby to the glass door entrance 15 minutes before warmups for a hockey game in a low-level pro league just north of Quebec City. We pay $12 a ticket at a table next to the Wendake Sports Complex pro shop, where a game-worn Black Jack No. 87 jersey carries the name of the league’s most famous player: BRASHEAR.
He is now almost 52 years old and we are here to see the famous fighter go another round.
Donald Brashear is the marquee attraction. He is the Wendake Black Jack captain. He appears in most of the team’s online promotions. Brashear is the only player who doesn’t wear a helmet during warmups. His bald head shimmers under the rafter lights. From the stands, he looks almost exactly as he did when he retired from the NHL 13 years ago. A salt-and-pepper beard and slight lines around his eyes are all that betray his age. He is 6-feet-3 but seems at least a foot taller than any other player. He is much broader through the shoulders, but trim through his frame — without the average-joe paunch that several of his counterparts carry as they weave through a pregame routine.
Brashear skates in swift strides, casually gliding then accelerating, dangling a puck with his stick, and flicking a light shot at the Black Jack goaltender. He smiles and laughs with teammates. He taps their shin pads with his stick. Brashear looks joyful — like a man, blessed with remarkable athleticism who is fortunate to still play the game he found safety and comfort in as a boy, escaping the turmoil of his childhood.
It’s the happiness Brashear described to me two years ago, when he told me that he’d started skating in a pro league for a few hundred bucks a game, right before the pandemic shut it down. Gliding on ice, all of the troubles that plagued him after his NHL career faded away: the substance abuse, the broken relationships, the anxiety attacks, the bankruptcy, the arrest. In the game, he was just a boy doing what he loved.
Brashear and I spoke for more than 10 hours over several weeks while I was working on a story about the trauma he endured as a boy, the mistakes he made and challenges he faced as an adult, and the peace he finally felt close to finding. He described his anxiety as an enforcer in the NHL, knowing that he was expected to fight the toughest players in the league if he wanted to keep his job. As a talented prospect with the Montreal Canadiens, he wanted to be known for his skill, but it was overshadowed when hockey found a better use for him.
Brashear hated to fight. It made him nervous. He despised what it made people think of him and what it made him think of himself. But what else was he to do? The crowds cheered his name, expecting to see men fall. Teams wanted to know that no one would mess with their stars. It was love for violence, money for blood.
Donald Brashear, in 2008 with the Capitals, squares off with San Jose’s Jody Shelley in front of an appreciative crowd. (Don Smith / NHLI via Getty Images)
Five rows of packed seats stretch across one length of the Wendake arena for the Saturday night game. Fans stand in whatever gaps can be found in the area above the top row. It’s a full house with a few hundred people. A line stretches to a folding table where patrons buy cans of Budweiser, vodka coolers, and mixed drinks in red Solo cups. A man at a mixing board next to two large speakers pumps out a dance remix of “Cotton Eye Joe.”
Black Jack plays Montagnards de Beaupré, a team from a village of 4,000 people about an hour east along the St. Lawrence River. They are rivals in the four-team Senior AA league that is just one of several pro loops across the province of Quebec.
Brashear plays on the top line. He still has flashes of skill, putting up points in most games he plays. He lays a hard check on a player, picks up the puck and fires a pass that leads to a Black Jack goal. He yells triumphantly and embraces his teammates. Early in the second, he throws a check in the offensive zone and a row of guys leaning over a railing, holding red cups and beer cans, howl and holler.
Last winter, Charles Duchesne — a member of the Saint-Ambroise Flaming Chalets — punched Brashear without warning. Brashear later hunted him down and punched him back, leaving Duchesne bloodied. Brashear then punched another player as the referees tried to intervene and fans tossed trash on the ice. He was suspended for three games for the incident.
This fall he joined a second team, two hours away in Saguenay — the Jonquière Marquis, in the Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey (LNAH), another pro league that is known mostly for the regularity of its brawls. In Saguenay, a bell sounds when players square off to fight, as though they were in a boxing match.
In October, in his first game with Jonquière Marquis, Brashear fought 40-year-old Derek Parker — a player who once tallied 508 penalty minutes in his rookie season in the LNAH back in 2005. Parker inched toward Brashear with his fists up while Brashear waved his arms loosely in front of him waiting for Parker to make a move. When he did, Brashear struck him with his right hand. Parker bear hugged Brashear, holding him as tightly as possible while the linesman watched. Finally, Brashear broke his right fist free and punched Parker in the head, sending him to the ice. Parker covered his head with his hands and Brashear skated away as the home fans cheered and the linesman gave him a tap on the bum.
Brashear also fought in his first game of the season for Wendake. In November, he was suspended for two games with Jonquière Marquis after chasing a member of the Laval Petroliers and pummeling him while two linesmen tried in vain to pull him away.
On this Saturday night in December, Brashear lays a check on a Montagnards de Beaupré player that shakes the boards and thunders across the arena. An excited roar rises from the stands. Brashear finishes several more checks with the same force in the second period, anticipation for violence rising with each hit.
Near the end of the period, Brashear trips and falls hard to his knees after a whistle. He jumps to his feet quickly and glares at the Montagnards de Beaupré players. Some of those players are members of the Canadian military who play to make some extra cash. Several others work construction. One is a window salesman. They range in age from their early 20s to their early 40s. All of them have a history in the game, playing some degree of competitive hockey — junior, college, or minor pro — before getting day jobs and playing the game for hire, often on multiple teams.
They all back away.
“Nobody wants to have beef with that guy,” says Mathris, an 18-year-old who comes to the Black Jack games regularly with his friends.
Even the Donald Brashear glare is cause for concern. (Photo courtesy Yannick David)
During the second intermission, the group of teenagers discuss the probability of a fight happening before the end of the game.
“In the third period it will happen,” says Felix, also 18. “I’m sure.”
I spoke with Brashear occasionally after the story I wrote about him was published in February 2021. He didn’t have concerns about how his experiences were portrayed. I checked in every few months to see how he was doing. He always seemed well. He’d avoided drugs and alcohol. He was working at a golf course. He was thinking about other ways to make money, before collecting his NHL pension.
Then, last year, Brashear stopped responding. He was known to be reclusive at times. So I stopped reaching out.
When clips of his recent fights emerged online, I messaged him again to see how he was doing. He read my texts, but didn’t respond. When I left a voicemail and sent a text saying that I was coming to Quebec City to watch him play, he didn’t respond. Hours before the game, my last message was not acknowledged.
As the third period starts, the energy in the arena builds. A group of young men, holding Solo cups in a roped off “VIP” section next to the speaker, jeers the opposing team and shouts with every hard check and retaliatory slash. The score is something like 6-3 for the Black Jack, but I’m not watching for the goals.
Fans crowd around the glass on the ice level, below the stands. An ejected Black Jack player, wearing his Sherwood shoulder pads without a jersey, stands and cheers next to the fans, sipping a Bud Light.
With less than five minutes to go, blood drips from a wide gash above the eye of a Black Jack player. He took a hard right as he tried to grab hold of the Beaupré player pummeling him and fell to the ice. The fans cheer wildly, standing to try and improve their view of the action below.
Brashear rises from the bench as the teams jaw at each other. Cedric Verreault, a 41-year-old who played 14 seasons in the LNAH, stands beside him. He hasn’t played a minute all game. Goons, as the players refer to them, are hired by each team to be around for precisely this kind of thing. When tension escalates, those players step on the ice to settle any differences and give what many of the fans pay to see. In the past, Beaupré has hired guys for about $100 strictly to fight Brashear, I’m told. One sat through an entire game without tape on his stick. But on this night, none of the Montagnards are willing to endure that kind of beating.
The game ends. The score is 7-3 for Wendake. The speakers blast “Sweet Caroline” and everyone belts out their best karaoke rendition.
Down a hallway next to the lobby, loud music streams out of the locker room as players walk in and out in half their gear, sipping beers and chatting excitedly.
Some distant dream lives again.
“I love it. It’s not for the money,” says Michael Novosad, a 40-year-old Black Jack. He’s a business development manager who is in charge of sales for a hydraulics company. He played junior and Division I college hockey — and then 18 years in the LNAH.
“I just can’t quit.”
There is genuine passion for what exists here. Dozens of fans linger in the lobby, greeting friends and family members who played. Some kids seek autographs. These are community teams, with the gate money paying for the players they cheer. Across the province, the rink is where people come together to be entertained and to watch regular men star in the center ring of a traveling road show.
“It keeps the fans happy,” says Mikael Vallerand, the 26-year-old Beaupré player who fought in the final few minutes of the third. “That’s why they come.”
It’s why I came.
I felt the anticipation rising all game — wondering which hard check might lead to Brashear unleashing on whichever poor man had the outsized confidence to challenge him.
I came for violence. I came for my piece of the 51-year-old fighter who can’t quit. I came to ask him why.
Is this the childhood joy? Or another overtime shift plying a trade he hates?
Brashear showers quickly and dresses in jeans and a puffy winter jacket. He slips a black toque over his bald head. He carries his gear in an old Philadelphia Flyers hockey bag and moves swiftly through the lobby, where his girlfriend greets him. He hugs her. They walk out the glass doors.
I call from behind: “Donald.”
Brashear stops and turns as I catch up to him. He smiles and shakes my hand.
“May I ask you a few questions,” I say.
Brashear shakes his head.
“No questions,” he says calmly.
He turns and walks away in the bloodless winter night.
(Illustration: John Bradford / The Athletic. Photo: Courtesy Yannick David)
By Andy McCullough, Chad Jennings and Stephen J. Nesbitt
PHILADELPHIA — In the parking lots outside Citizens Bank Park, in the hours before the Phillies hosted the first game of the National League Championship Series, the people of the Delaware Valley communed. They tossed footballs as helicopters buzzed overhead. They chomped hoagies from Primo’s and Wawa. They sipped Bud Light and Miller Light, Coors Light and Coors Banquet, Yuengling and also Yuengling. The vibe felt more subdued than unhinged, a dynamic that would change as the first pitch drew closer.
“As soon as you enter the building, it’s like a switch goes off,” said Chris Edge, a 42-year-old from Marlton, N.J. “You hear it. You feel it. Everybody knows the assignment, at that point. Bring your energy. Bring your positivity.”
The switch flipped around 7:39 p.m. on Monday, as public-address announcer Dan Baker welcomed the Arizona Diamondbacks to a hail of boos. The noise only heightened as the speaker system blared Zombie Nation’s “Kernkraft 400.” It stayed lit as Kyle Schwarber and then Bryce Harper homered in the first inning of a 5-3 victory. And it never really stopped. Energy has long been a hallmark of the fan experience in Philadelphia.
Positivity is more of a newfangled concept.
This next paragraph will infuriate almost every Philadelphian who reads it. For decades, the city’s fans were defined by bad behavior, isolated incidents that became a collective blight on the populace. Philly fans, the shorthand went, were not just vicious and vulgar — they were dangerous. They pelted Santa Claus with snowballs. They chucked batteries at St. Louis Cardinals outfielder J.D. Drew. They cheered the injury of Dallas Cowboys wideout Michael Irvin. They booed Mike Schmidt and Allen Iverson and Donovan McNabb. They comported themselves with such rowdiness that Veterans Stadium, the former home of the Phillies and Eagles, featured a holding cell with a judge available to sentence unruly patrons.
But this paragraph will relieve almost every Philadelphian who has not yet chucked their phone into a wall. That reputation is changing, according to interviews with radio hosts, rock stars and regular folks, who described the emergence of a fanbase enlivened by the possibility of success rather than embittered by the inevitability of failure. These are kinder, gentler Philly fans – as far as that goes. “Don’t get it twisted out here,” said Eric Fink, a 34-year-old from Northeast Philadelphia. “We’re still the same crazy people. We’re just doing this a little bit differently.”
“My first comment on this piece is: it’s about damn time,” said Jack Fritz, a producer for local sports radio juggernaut 94.1 WIP. “It’s about damn time this whole thing got turned around.”
The result has been ravenous crowds at Citizens Bank Park and a rapturous embrace of a Phillies team that reached the World Series last season and is knocking on the door of another appearance this month. The Phillies have created a home-field advantage significant enough that opponents must plan for it. Before the NLCS, the Diamondbacks pumped artificial jeering during a workout at Chase Field. “The crowd noise at Chase was a little more treble than bass,” shrugged Zac Gallen, a south Jersey native and Arizona’s Game 1 starter. There was no way to replicate the symbiosis between this club and these people. “They love the crowd,” explained Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker, who grew up in the Montgomery County suburb of Norristown. “And the crowd loves them.”
Or, as outfielder Nick Castellanos put it in an on-field interview after the Phillies defeated the Braves: “I f— with Philly.”
The mutual admiration figures to be on display for as long as the Phillies keep winning this October. Larry Bowa signed with the Phillies in 1965. He won a World Series here in 1980. He managed the team for several years in the 2000s. His baseball life took him across the country and back. He insisted he had never seen a scene like this one.
“I’ve been with the Yankees when they played Boston,” Bowa said. “I’ve been with the Cubs when they played St. Louis. I’ve been with San Francisco when they played the Dodgers. Nothing compares to this. It’s off the charts.”
A Phillies fan receiving his red rally towel before Game 2. (Sarah Stier / Getty Images)
Thousands of red rally towels whipped in the air after Trea Turner’s third-inning double splashed into the outfield grass. Turner zipped into second with the speed and style that enticed owner John Middleton to extend the shortstop an 11-year, $300 million contract this past winter. Before the season, the Phillies positioned Turner as the crucial addition for another postseason push. As the year unfolded, Turner came to symbolize something larger about the club’s connection to its fans.
The first four months of Turner’s tenure did not go well. After a hitless night in Miami on Aug. 3, Turner was carting around a .673 OPS, a millstone almost as heavy as his contract. He interrupted a postgame session in the batting cage to speak with reporters. “Obviously,” Turner told them, “I’m the reason why we lost that game.” Turner stayed in the cage past midnight. By then, the video of his comments had circulated through social media.
The ensuing reaction offered a rejoinder to those still fixated on the incidents of the past, the ones that cemented the national reputation of the Philadelphia fan. A recitation of those moments elicits groans from the locals.
Throwing snowballs at Santa in 1968?
“That was the albatross around our neck that we could never get rid of,” said Glen Macnow, a longtime host on WIP. “We became the drunk, surly uncle that nobody wanted to be around. We could not escape it.”
Throwing batteries at Drew, who had spurned the Phillies in the 1997 draft, at a game in 1999?
“There were 40,000 people at the J.D. Drew game,” Macnow said. “Two batteries came down. That’s one battery per 20,000 fans.”
Cheering only a few months later when Irvin, a star for the hated Cowboys, suffered a career-ending spinal injury?
“Nobody knew initially how badly he was hurt,” Macnow said.
The endless repetition of these moments inspires defensiveness. When Braves fans hurled bottles onto the field during the National League Division Series, Phillies fans were quick to notice. “The first text I got,” said Devon Davis, a 36-year-old from Medford, N.J., “was like, ‘This is hilarious. I can’t wait for them to blame this on the Phillies crowd.’” (The Athletic invited similar haranguing after a recent story referenced the old tropes: snowballs and Santa, Drew and the batteries. “You might not be too far off with the battery one, because when I read your article, I really wish I had a battery to throw at all three of you guys,” said Kyle Pagan, a writer for the website Crossing Broad.)
“We would hear the stories about how everybody used to be,” Davis said. “To us, it was like a joke. Because we weren’t there for that.”
But they were there in April of last year, when third baseman Alec Bohm committed a pair of throwing errors in a game against the Mets. When Bohm completed a routine play later in the evening, the crowd responded with sarcastic cheering. The television cameras captured the displeasure of Bohm, a former first-round pick who had struggled in the majors. “I f—ing hate this place,” Bohm grumbled.
What happened next helps explain the synergy between the players and their partisans. Bohm acknowledged his frustration. “I said it,” he explained after the game. “Do I mean it? No.” The candor went a long way. A day later, Bohm received a different sort of ovation. The fans rose up to applaud his first at-bat.
“He just owned it,” Fink said. “The next day, the Phillies fans just came out and gave him a standing ovation, like, ‘Hell yeah.’ Just own it. Hey, there are some days that being here pisses us off, too.”
Fans taking photos with Citizens Bank Park’s version of the Liberty Bell before NLCS Game 1. (AP Photo / Matt Rourke)
So as Turner stumbled through his mid-season malaise, a reprise came to mind. After that game in Miami, a former sports writer named Mitch Rupert suggested the fans should support Turner as they did Bohm. “Pick the guy up,” Rupert wrote on X, “who knows how it might help.” Fritz, a 29-year-old from West Chester who produces WIP’s afternoon show, joined the chorus the next morning. Cheeks still ruddy after a four-mile run, he pulled out his phone and recorded a video exhorting fans to stand up for Turner.
“It can’t hurt,” Fritz says. “And what if it does work? And what if he goes out — it’s a good moment for the ballpark, a good moment for the city, you see the crowd rise up — and it turns into a little bit of a moment?”
The idea caught on. And so, when Turner came to the plate in the second inning that evening, the crowd rose to greet him. Castellanos waved a towel from the bench. The support touched Turner. It also may have ignited him. He hit .337 with 16 homers and 14 doubles in the 48 games after the ovation. He batted .500 in his first six postseason games as a Phillie, a stark contrast to his inglorious October history. “I don’t think I’d have it any other way than how it’s turned out,” Turner said after Game 4 against Atlanta.
Fritz was working the pregame show that afternoon when a man approached and introduced himself. Elliott Avent had coached Turner at North Carolina State. He wanted to thank Fritz, who, as Avent later put it, “rallied an incomparable sports city” around his former player.
“I was like, ‘Dude, you’re the head coach at NC State!’” Fritz said. “This whole thing has been frickin’ wild.”
GO DEEPER
The Phillies have owned October. They have that look again, but this feels different
Adam Granduciel harbored little affection for football when he moved from Massachusetts to Philadelphia in 2003. He found an apartment on Third Street and South Street in Society Hill, next door to a bar called O’Neals Pub. It did not take long for Granduciel to notice how the mood for each week depended on how the Eagles fared. He sensed the city was “moving in time with how their sports teams were doing,” he said.
“It’s football season: It’s getting cold, it’s getting rainy, it’s getting slushy,” Granduciel said. “And if the Eagles won on Sunday, then everyone was in the best mood, despite what we’re dealing with Monday morning.”
In time, while Granduciel was founding the Grammy-winning band The War on Drugs, he joined the city-wide frenzy. He carried his cordless phone to O’Neals so folks could reach him as he watched on Sundays. He traded high-fives on the El train on victorious Mondays. “It’s classic, but it just kind of brings you together with your neighbors and everything,” Granduciel said.
Dave Hartley, left, Adam Granduciel, center, and Charlie Hall, right, of The War on Drugs perform during 2015’s Radio 104.5 Summer Block Party in Philadelphia. (Owen Sweeney / Invision / AP)
Citizens Bank Park resides in the shadow of Lincoln Financial Field, the home of the Eagles. The football team still holds supremacy over the city’s sporting psyche. When the Eagles won their first Super Bowl in 2018 something shifted within the fanbase, several locals insisted. “Ever since then, I think that edge has kind of been taken off of it,” Fritz said. If the Birds could win it all, the thinking went, anything was possible. “I think people in this town,” Macnow said, “began to think: ‘It’s not inevitable that our teams are going to crush our hearts. It doesn’t have to be that way, so we don’t have to go to the stadium every night expecting the worst.’ That’s a huge change.”
The city’s devotion to the gridiron became apparent in Monday’s second inning. A pair of burly brothers appeared on the massive video screen above left field. It was Eagles center Jason Kelce and his brother, Travis, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end and likely future subject of a devastating torch song. The crowd went wild as Jason nursed his beer and Travis beamed. “I don’t think you can (overstate) how special this Eagles team is for the city,” said Charlie Hall, the drummer for The War on Drugs who released a Christmas album last year with Kelce and several Eagles linemen.
The Kelce brothers during Game 1. (Elsa / Getty Images)
Granduciel left Philadelphia for Los Angeles in 2016. One of his first purchases upon landing in California was an Eagles license plate frame for his car. When the Eagles played the Rams at SoFi Stadium earlier this month, Graduciel joined the legions of travelers in cargo shorts and Brian Dawkins jerseys. “It felt like a home game,” he said. On his way out of the stadium after the victory, Granduciel kept recording videos of Eagles fans hugging and chanting.
“It’s like a special little club,” Granduciel said. “You know?”
As the Phillies filtered onto the field on Monday afternoon, Eddie Romani stood before a pair of Serato turntables and a laptop tucked behind the home plate netting. Romani, also known as DJ N9ne, was in charge of the pregame ambience. The Phillies only introduced DJs to their ballpark experience a year ago. The average attendance jumped from 28,459 in 2022 to 38,157 this season.
“It’s been easy, because the stadium’s been full almost every game,” Romani said. “It’s not much work for me to get everyone entertained, when everybody here’s already ready for it, anyways.”
Romani started spinning before batting practice. He segued from Gorillaz into Bad Bunny as Turner, Bohm and the rest of the infielders scooped grounders. Romani keeps track of how the players react as he works. “You get tuned in on what they all like – without having a conversation with them,” he said. Romani packed up his gear as the game drew closer. But his evening was not over. He rode the elevator to his booth in section 210, down the right-field line, where he was tasked with keeping the crowd enlivened. The fans did not really require much encouragement.
“They’re here to party, man,” said Mark DiNardo, the team’s director of broadcasting and video services. “They’re here to have a good time.”
Added Fink, “We want a chance to party. And there’s one way we can do that — and that’s by winning.”
Phillies fans congregated before Game 1 of the NLCS. (Sarah Stier / Getty Images)
Early in Monday’s game, the sparks came from the bats of the Phillies. Schwarber demolished Gallen’s first pitch. Harper went yard two batters later. After Castellanos homered in the second, the ballpark elongated the syllables of Gallen’s name in a schoolyard taunt.
“Gal-len . . .”
“Gal-len . . .”
“Gal-len . . .”
The braying continued, intermittently, until Gallen departed after the fifth. The crowd only paused to holler the chorus of second baseman Bryson Stott’s walkup song, “A-O-K” by Tai Verdes, a nightly ritual. “You’ve got this stadium full of jabronis all singing, ‘It’s gonna be a-okay,’” Hall said. “It’s a beautiful thing.”
The atmosphere tensed, ever so slightly, after closer Craig Kimbrel walked a batter in the ninth. The tension released as Bohm and Stott turned a game-ending double play. The two-fer left the fans near Romani’s booth leaping and screaming, pumping fists and pounding backs. Many grabbed their phones to record themselves singing along to the team’s anthem, Calum Scott’s cover of “Dancing On My Own.” They belted the lyrics as they weaved out of the ballpark.
They had brought the energy. Only seven victories separated the Phillies from a championship. Of that, they could be positive.
(Top photo of Phillies fans and the Phanatic during Game 1: Photo by Elsa / Getty Images)
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Tony DeAngelo scored 1:10 into overtime to complete Philadelphia’s rally from two goals down in the third period as the Flyers beat the San Jose Sharks 4-3 on Thursday night.
The Flyers tied the game with 2:05 to play in regulation after pulling the goalie when Travis Konecny’s shot deflected off a San Jose defenseman and into the net for his second goal of the game.
Philadelphia won it when Ivan Provorov set up DeAngelo in transition for the tap-in goal.
Owen Tippett also scored for the Flyers in their first game of a three-game California swing. Samuel Ersson made 25 saves to earn his first win in his second career start.
Tomas Hertl scored twice for San Jose, and Erik Karlsson had two assists to become the fastest defenseman to 50 points in more than 30 years. Kevin Labanc also scored.
Karlsson assisted on the first goal by Hertl and Labanc’s goal to extend his points streak to 11 games and give him 50 points in San Jose’s 37th game of the season — the fastest for a defenseman since Al MacInnis did it in 35 games for Calgary in 1990-91.
Kaapo Kahkonen made 22 saves and is winless in his last four starts since shutting out Montreal on Nov. 29.
The teams traded goals within a 47-second span midway through the first period, with Karlsson setting up Hertl in the slot to open the scoring for San Jose.
Karlsson is now one game shy of the franchise record 12-game point streak held by Rob Gaudreau (1992-93) and Jonathan Cheechoo (2005-06).
The Flyers answered quickly when Konecny deflected a point shot from DeAngelo for his 16th goal after Philadelphia won an offensive zone faceoff.
Hertl got the lead back for San Jose in the second when he took a pass on the power play from Timo Meier and redirected it for his 13th goal of the season.
Labanc provided some insurance with his goal early in the third before Tippett answered for the Flyers.
INJURY REPORT
Flyers goalie Carter Hart made the trip after being placed on IR with a concussion. He is expected to play later on the road trip.
Sharks defenseman Matt Benning was scratched after blocking a shot with his skate while killing a penalty on Tuesday night. Radim Simek returned to the lineup after being a healthy scratch the past two games.
UP NEXT
Flyers: Visit Los Angeles on Saturday.
Sharks: Visit Dallas on Saturday night.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports
TORONTO — Goals from Calle Jarnkrok and Mitchell Marner ignited the Toronto Maple Leafs late in the second period. They then survived a late-game scare to score a 4-3 win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday afternoon.
In their final outing before the Christmas break, the Maple Leafs (21-7-6) increased their victory string at Scotiabank Arena to six games and a perfect 5-0 in December.
Only the Boston Bruins, who were scheduled to play the Winnipeg Jets later Thursday, have a better home record at 17-0-2 to the Maple Leafs’ 13-2-3.
The Flyers (11-16-7) arrived in Toronto with the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference.
But after the Maple Leafs built a 4-1 advantage, Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee scored 83 seconds apart to make it a one-goal game with 6:36 left in the third period.
Farabee missed an open net a couple of shifts after his goal.
Toronto buzzed around the visitors before a matinee crowd of 18,908, but Flyers goalie Carter Hart stopped the first 23 shots he faced.
The 24th shot, a Jarnkrok redirect from a Marner shot, finally beat Hart with 3:10 left in the second period. Pierre Engvall, playing in his 200th career game, recorded the secondary assist on Jarnkrok’s goal.
Marner slid a shot underneath Hart’s right pad 2:47 later for Toronto’s second goal, 13 seconds into a power play.
Michael Bunting kept the good vibrations moving by completing a William Nylander to Auston Matthews passing play for a two-goal lead.
Nylander hit the 20-goal mark in the third period before Frost tucked in a wrist shot on the next shift.
The Maple Leafs outshot their opponents 34-19. Toronto backup Ilya Samsonov made 16 saves to Hart’s 30.
Hart was on a personal five-game win streak. He foiled Marner on a short-handed breakaway early in the opening period.
The Flyers then skated the other way and turned Hart’s momentum-making save into a power play goal from defenseman Tony DeAngelo on a slapshot from the high slot.
UP NEXT
Maple Leafs: Begin a three-game road trip against the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday.
Flyers: At Carolina on Friday night.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports
The NHL’s Reverse Retro jerseys were a sensation two years ago, creating significant sales and conversation among hockey fans. Adidas felt the pressure of creating a sequel to that blockbuster with its 2022-23 season retro sweaters.
“How many amazing remix combinations are out there?” said Dan Near, senior director at Adidas hockey. “We spent a lot of time debating about whether the franchise should evolve into something else or is this a sequel. We went with the latter.”
As with any sequel, there are a few differences from the original. The 32 new Reverse Retro jerseys feature more white sweaters than the 2020 collection. Please recall that because of the COVID pandemic, the 2020-21 season was played without interdivisional games. Now, Adidas hopes to see more retro vs. retro games, such as the Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Buffalo Sabres game on Nov. 2.
This line also features more embroidered and raised elements on the team logos, which is something that arrived when Adidas started making jerseys with 50% recycled materials.
Another big difference was the level of anticipation. Near said that Adidas is aware of all the speculation, mock-ups and social media scuttlebutt about this collection of jerseys.
“We’re excited about the speculation. I think if you look back at the first time we launched in 2020, it came out of nowhere. Nobody knew what it was,” Near said. “We didn’t announce it was coming back this time, but people seemed to know it was coming. The rampant speculation and energy is making this unique and exciting. We track it. We see what people are saying. Sometimes they’re right on the mark. Other times they’re on a completely different planet. Nothing is official until it’s official.”
But it wasn’t just the fans anticipating the next wave of Reverse Retro jerseys. The NHL teams were as well.
“There was plenty of meat on the bone to do this again,” Near said. “What made it unique the second time around is that you have the teams thinking ‘I want to win Reverse Retro.’”
Which ones were victorious? Here is our ranking of the 32 NHL Reverse Retro jerseys for the 2022-23 season. Keep in mind that we based this just on the jerseys themselves — some really cool elements will be revealed with the full uniform kits, but they didn’t factor in here.
What a concept: It’s only taken nearly 30 years, but a team that plays in South Florida finally has a jersey that’s evocative of South Florida.
This is a mix of the team’s stick-and-palm secondary logo that’s been with it since the 1990s and the light blue from the third jerseys it rocked in 2009. The rays of the sun are slightly raised to give the crest a 3D quality. The colors on the stripes pay homage to the Panthers’ current primary colors. The rest feels like you’re staring at a frozen blue Hawaiian through a pair of expensive sunglasses.
Sure, seeing the alternate logo makes one realize how close that hockey stick looks to a golf putter … but that’s also kind of thematic to the franchise, if we’re being honest.
It was inevitable that the Sharks eventually would honor their Bay Area ancestors with a Reverse Retro jersey. The California Golden Seals’ greatest legacy might be their aesthetics, including a turn to teal 17 years before the Sharks swam into the NHL.
These are essentially the Seals’ 1974 home jerseys with “Sharks” written on them instead, and they’re sublime: a little California love, a little Jackie Moon. That Seals team won 19 games. Given what we’ve seen from San Jose this season, perhaps it’s just dressing the part.
The Youppi! of Reverse Retro jerseys.
Montreal claims this is meant to honor its 1979 look, when it won its fourth Stanley Cup in a row. Adidas claims the light blue is “inspired by the city of Montreal colors.” But for the love of Tim Raines and Larry Walker, we know what’s up with these sweaters: It’s the Habs as the Montreal Expos, and we salute them like Andrés Galarraga admiring a home run.
The most remarkable thing about this Reverse Retro Kings jersey, which honors the 40th anniversary of the “Miracle on Manchester,” is that one swears that it has previously existed. But the crown logo in the 1980s was on either a gold or “Forum Blue” jersey.
This is the first time the iconic sweater has been executed in white, and it looks awesome. Bonus points for creating raised gems on the crown for a 3D look.
The Avalanche topped the 2020 rankings with their ode to the Quebec Nordiques. This year’s model could be seen as an homage to the NHL’s Colorado Rockies, but their logo inspiration was the same as this Retro jersey: the Colorado state flag.
Nothing is going to top the remixed Nords sweater. But this looks clean and sharp, and like other Avalanche alternate logos is an improvement over their primary one.
The Golden Knights had a Reverse Retro jersey last year inspired by the now-defunct Wranglers minor league franchise. This time, they’re inspired by a team that doesn’t exist.
This sweater “imagines what a Golden Knights third jersey might have looked like in 1995.” The font and numbering are inspired by vintage hotel signage on the Strip. Oh, and just to make sure you get the full Vegas ostentatiousness: There are hidden glow-in-the-dark stars incorporated in the crest that can be seen in the dark and under a black light.
“When you think about the glitz and glamour of Vegas, it requires a little ingenuity,” Near said.
The Blues chose poorly last season, resurrecting a nauseating jersey design and inexplicably making red the primary color. This time, they understood the assignment.
The Blues’ Reverse Retro is based on a 1966 prototype worn by the team’s ownership a year before the expansion franchise actually hit the ice, which is like giving an Oscar to a teaser trailer. Despite being their second most prominent color, this is the first primarily gold jersey the Blues have worn. It incorporates the light blue seen on their Winter Classic jerseys.
Sound the trumpets: These rule.
This is the most “meta” Reverse Retro jersey in the collection.
In 2020, the Coyotes honored their much-maligned 1998 thirds, which magnified the head of the “kachina jersey” logo, made green the primary color and ceded the waistline to “a painfully obvious desert landscape complete with cacti,” as the Five For Howling blog noted. Their first Reverse Retro jersey swapped the green for purple from the team’s crescent moon alternate logo, and it was one of the best of the lot.
Now they’ve gone Reverse Retro on their Reverse Retro, swapping out the green for sienna, marking “the first time this trending earth tone color has been worn by any NHL team,” according to Adidas. The million dollar question: Are these supposed to abstractly evoke Arizona State athletics colors or is this simply coincidental?
The Pooh bear has returned!
The Bruins wore this logo from 1995-2006 on a third sweater. The blog Stanley Cup of Chowder called it “the greatest jersey in Bruins history.” The Pooh bear was originally featured on a gold jersey. This time it’s a white background, all the better to see the kind eyes, parted hair and Marchand-esque smirk on the bear’s fuzzy mug. Put one on and snuggle up with a pot of honey.
“What’s the design I could do that could pay homage to the Oilers but also just be cool to look at?” he pondered. “Selling it to someone in Edmonton is preaching to the choir. How do I sell it to someone in Miami?”
We’re not sure how it played in Florida, but its initial run in Edmonton wasn’t unanimously beloved. But this version might be an improvement.
His “dynamic gear surrounding an oil drop” logo has been enhanced by being raised in some areas and with that splash of orange in the middle. Each spoke represents a different Oilers Stanley Cup championship, and sadly that hasn’t needed to be edited since it debuted in 2001.
The Islanders have slowly reclaimed the ill-fated legacy of the “Fishsticks” logo that reigned from 1995-97, selling gear with that logo and color scheme in their official store in recent years.
For the team’s 50th anniversary, Adidas has added “the most requested uniform” for its Reverse Retro series.
Here’s the thing: The slight modifications they’ve made to the logo — like the TRON-esque orange highlights and the current color scheme — tone down the kitsch and the charm. One could argue the original Fishsticks jersey’s Aquafresh palette and queasy waves are more in keeping with the Reverse Retro aesthetic.
There’s an interesting separation between Canucks fans and outsiders when it comes to this Reverse Retro jersey. It’s inspired by their Western Hockey League look that featured Johnny Canuck, only this one has raised embroidered gloves and suspenders.
But the Canucks Army blog notes that Vancouver fans (a) feel this look to too close to that of the Abbotsford Canucks, who also use Johnny Canuck, and (b) were hoping for a less predictable experiment like “a green and blue edition of the Flying Vee or Flying Skate jerseys.”
In 1995, the Capitals went from red, white and blue to blue, black and bronze. They had a black third jersey for 10 years during that fad, with the capitol dome logo seen on the shoulders of this Reverse Retro jersey.
Now they’ve turned the “Screaming Eagle” into another black alternate sweater, with some really nice tweaks to the formula. This jersey features metallic copper and “Capital Blue,” giving the whole thing a sleeker look.
You can’t improve on perfection, which is why the Red Wings’ first Reverse Retro attempt looked like a practice version of their iconic sweater. But give the Red Wings credit for taking a swing with version 2.0.
An homage to their 1991 NHL 75th anniversary jerseys, which were red and white, this bold red and black look is accented by a DETROIT wordmark inspired by the 1920s Detroit Cougars. For a young team developing its swagger, we’ll allow it.
This Ducks jersey is cool. It’s clean looking. It’s got the proper logo on the front. They’re going to slap “ZEGRAS” on the back of these and move racks of them.
But after much debate inside the ESPN fashion offices, we came to a consensus: If Anaheim is dipping back to the inaugural Mighty Ducks season and their Reverse Retro doesn’t have even a hint of jade or eggplant, then what are they even doing this for?
The Rangers finished No. 2 on the 2020 rankings by simply bringing back to the Liberty Head logo for the first time since around 2007. They went back to that well for this Reverse Retro jersey, slapping it on a royal blue jersey with red sleeves.
The whole thing honestly feels like one of those sweatshirts that costs $50 more than it should, and hangs untouched with its friends in some distant corner of the NHL Store.
ROBO PENGUIN! Memories of Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr and Petr Nedved come rushing back as we celebrate the majesty of this flightless fowl.
But we had to award some demerits for what could have been: This is the Penguins’ 1992-93 jersey flipped from white to black, leaving out some of the more audacious Robo Penguin gradient designs from the latter part of the decade. It’s a jersey that thinks the 1990s stopped with grunge, when “Bills, Bills, Bills” actually dropped in 1999.
The most interesting aspect of this Stars jersey, which is a homage to their inaugural season look back in 1993-94, is the dimensional embroidery on the crest to give the star a 3D quality.
Otherwise, the current “victory green” color integrated with this classic design makes for a fine looking sweater. But we’re now two Reverse Retro jerseys deep and the “Mooterus” has yet to return, so we really can’t go any higher than this for Dallas.
The Jets’ first Reverse Retro jersey was one of our favorites, but this one isn’t nearly as bold.
Winnipeg remixed the Jets 1.0 jersey from 1990 with the team’s current color palette, minus the red. A great sweater for Teemu Selanne completists but one that doesn’t come close to the streetwear grandeur of the previous Retro hit.
More debate inside the ESPN fashion offices on this one.
The Devils pay tribute to the Colorado Rockies 40 years after the team relocated from Denver to East Rutherford. It’s certainly a fun look, with the Rockies’ gold, red and navy accenting the jersey. But we’re a little disappointed that the color scheme only carries through to the logo via a blue circle around the “NJ,” when this could have been a fun opportunity to play around with that logo.
As it stands, this sorta looks like when a pro shop irons the right crest on the wrong jersey.
“Say kids, did you like the Minnesota North Stars-influenced Reverse Retro jersey? What if we told you that it’s now available in … green?”
Seriously, no points for creativity, but these remain pretty dope.
Inspired by Chicago’s 1938 uniforms and their 2019 Winter Classic gear, this Blackhawks jersey had the unfortunate timing of being immediately market-corrected by a similar — but much better executed — Red Wings Reverse Retro.
Sorry, but this just doesn’t work. The “goat head” logo loses its magic when stripped away from the red, black and silver color scheme that evoked images of Dominik Hasek saves and Miroslav Satan goals.
Outside of the nostalgic kick of having this logo back on a Buffalo sweater, applying the traditional Sabres colors to it feels slightly blasphemous.
What’s a nostalgic Kraken jersey? A Mark Giordano sweater?
Obviously lacking history, Seattle just decided to make a sea green jersey that makes it look like they’re wearing a cummerbund under their own logo. It’s not a bad looking sweater. It’s just not as audacious one might expect from a team nicknamed after a mythical sea creature. It’s a Reverse Retro with real “why don’t we make our mascot a troll doll?” energy.
Missed opportunity here. There was speculation that the Predators were going to put their 2001 third jersey logo on a navy jersey, which would have properly remixed their mustard stain sweater with a currently used color.
Alas, they went with gold, making this jersey practically redundant with their current ones.
It’s their current away jersey remixed into a red sweater, with two sets of hurricane warning flags on the shoulders.
Your mileage here is entirely dependent one how you feel about nicknames on jerseys instead of full nicknames.
Adidas says this is a remix of the jersey the Senators wore during their 2006-07 Stanley Cup Final run with “the current Ottawa color scheme and breakouts.”
Sure. It’s very much an Ottawa Senators jersey. But we’ll wait and see the full kit, as Adidas notes these Ottawa jerseys will be “presented in a powerful black head-to-toe visual including the helmet, pant and sock complimented by a thick super-sized player name and number system.”
The Blue Jackets got a little funky last time with a primary red jersey that sported their original logo. This is the first black jersey the Jackets will have worn, with blue sleeve accents that evoke their current third sweaters.
These FrankenJerseys are on the borderline of looking like a stitching accident, but in the end we like our jerseys like we like our steaks: black and blue. But maybe not as cold.
Toronto is honoring its 1962 Stanley Cup championship, remixing a primary white jersey into a primary blue jersey with white shoulder pads.
Have you ever seen a movie where one bad performance ruins the whole thing? The Flames have a cool black jersey, with an iconic logo and an eye-catching color scheme.
They also decided to bring back to truly bizarre “diagonal pedestal hem stripe” from their mid-1990s sweaters.
It just ruins the whole thing and makes it look like the Flames are wearing an achievement belt from a strip mall taekwondo academy.
“I don’t want my guys looking like a [expletive] crayon box. I don’t want them wearing a bunch of whozies and whats-its. Just make a Flyers jersey. Who cares?” — John Tortorella, maybe.
Nostalgia can be comforting. Nostalgia can be inspiring. But nostalgia can also cloud one’s judgement on what should or should not be mined from the past for the benefit of the present.
To that end: These Lightning jerseys should have remained buried under whatever landfill in which they were decomposing. Tampa Bay wore these jerseys from 1996-99, during a time when the NHL had its share of ghastly third jerseys. They had storm waves across the waist; lightning bolts on the sleeves, and in perhaps the single worst aesthetic touch for an NHL jersey in the last 30 years, “bold rain” flecked across the front of the sweater that looked like it was taken straight from an 8-bit video game.
Whatever Lightning player feigns excitement the most for these monstrosities should win the Lady Byng, full stop.
Dan Near of Adidas offers a brief rebuttal about this jersey: “There were some jerseys from that era that we presented and the teams weren’t excited about. There were others that the teams embraced right away. This isn’t a permanent choice. This is a celebration of a moment in time and the nostalgia about a team. Maybe we don’t have to take ourselves so seriously and bring something back that might have been polarizing but that in today’s day and age is very trend-right. I give a lot of acclaim to the Lightning for making a risk well worth taking.”
The Phillies have been one of the biggest surprise teams of the MLB postseason. They got into the playoffs then promptly swept the St. Louis Cardinals and then pummeled the reigning champion Atlanta Braves. Philadelphia has lost one game this postseason and is outscoring opponents by 3.5 runs in wins.
The winning continues in football. After beating the rival Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, the Philadelphia Eagles are the lone remaining undefeated team in the NFL. Quarterback Jalen Hurts is eighth in the league in passing and, according to ESPN Stats and Information research, he is the fourth-youngest quarterback to start 6-0. The Eagles are also the fifth team in the past 35 seasons to not trail in the second half of their first six games. Two of the prior five teams to do that won the Super Bowl.
And, in hockey, the Philadelphia Flyers have started the season 3-0. They most recently defeated the Eastern Conference champion Tampa Bay Lightning. Gritty, the Flyers’ mascot, has crowned the city as the best in sports.
Absent from all the winning is the Philadelphia 76ers. They lost to the Boston Celtics on Tuesday in their first game of the season. On the bright side, James Harden looked super cozy in his pregame attire, and the city’s MLS team — the Philadelphia Union — is atop the league standings.
We mentioned the Flames, but every team made changes this offseason. We’re here to help get you up to speed with intel on all 32 teams, including the key players who were added or subtracted, best- and worst-case scenarios, X factors and fantasy tips, plus bold predictions.
Our season preview is also the first edition of our ESPN power rankings for 2022-23, which provide the order in which these teams are presented. The rankings were formulated through votes from ESPN hockey broadcasters, analysts and reporters, and will appear weekly on ESPN.com.
Note: Thanks as always to CapFriendly for salary and contract data. Advanced stats are from Hockey Reference, Natural Stat Trick and Evolving Hockey. Kristen Shilton profiled the teams in the Eastern Conference, while Ryan S. Clark handled the Western Conference clubs. Fantasy outlook for each team is courtesy of Victoria Matiash and Sean Allen. Stanley Cup odds are courtesy Caesars Sportsbook.
Most fascinating player:Alex Newhook. Finding a new second-line center is arguably the most notable question facing the defending Stanley Cup champions. The belief is Newhook could be the person who replaces Kadri. Newhook has more than just replacing Kadri to contend with if he does get the second-line center role. He must also play a key role in finding continuity with a second line that returns Valeri Nichushkin as its senior member with Burakovsky and Kadri playing elsewhere.
Best case: Winning a second straight Stanley Cup. It’s no secret the Avs are in win-now mode and have many of the needed pieces to capture what would be the fourth Stanley Cup in franchise history.
Worst case: They cannot fill one of their roster needs internally and have to mortgage future assets to do so. They have around $2.6 million in available cap space. They have four picks in the 2023 draft, and another four in the 2024 draft. Yes, the Avs have their first-round picks for 2023, 2024 and 2025. So they could use those as capital. But there will come a point when they need their prospects to start filling those gaps that cannot always be outsourced.
X factor: What could the Avs look like with a fully healthy Bowen Byram? The playoffs offered a glimpse of that, with Byram registering nine points in 20 games while averaging a little less than 20 minutes per contest. A healthy Byram alongside Samuel Girard, Cale Makar and Devon Toews could give the Avs one of the most treacherous top-four defensive groups.
Fantasy outlook: On the blue line, Makar is any fantasy team’s choice No. 1 defenseman, particularly in leagues that reward power-play points at a premium. Second only to Roman Josi in points accrued with the extra skater (34) in 2021-22, and average fantasy points/game in standard leagues (2.9), Makar stands nearly alone in a class of three blueliners as an indisputably legitimate first-round draft pick. His oft-underrated and overshadowed partner, Toews, holds sneaky appeal as a fantasy No. 3 or 4 defender.
Most fascinating player:Dylan Coghlan. Las Vegas traded Coghlan — a 24-year-old right-shot defenseman — to Carolina along with Max Pacioretty over the summer for basically nothing in return (except salary-cap space). Bold move. Now Coghlan has a chance to break through on the Hurricanes’ back end. Coghlan has yet to play a full 82-game schedule in his career, capping out at 59 (and 13 points) a season ago. But he has turned heads already in the preseason and has seen some power-play time. Could it be a perfect match between player and team? Given Coghlan’s age and the coveted role he fills, this blueliner might blossom into a real difference-maker for Carolina.
Best case: The Hurricanes harness all the young talent they’ve been growing for years and take the league by storm. Carolina’s core — led by Sebastian Aho — crackles with offensive chemistry, while free agent additions Paul Stastny and Ondrej Kase help stabilize the bottom six. Brent Burns proves there’s plenty left in his tank to anchor a blue line bursting with players in their prime, and Jake Gardiner — now cleared to return — is a viable option once more. Frederik Andersen stays healthy, and Carolina steamrollers its way up the standings to win the division and set up a successful postseason.
Worst case: Carolina is loaded down by expectations entering the season and stumbles at the start. Coach Rod Brind’Amour struggles to find the right forward combinations, and that slows the team’s offense. Andersen’s past injury issues return, and the Hurricanes’ goaltending goes back into flux. Integrating too many new pieces on the back end takes time, and the absence of DeAngelo is felt even with Burns in place. That all puts the Hurricanes on their heels and in a season-long battle to recover just to stay in the playoff picture.
X factor: Reaching Carolina’s ultimate goal requires the best out of all its players. Is this finally the time for Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Martin Necas to reveal theirs? Kotkaniemi has been unpredictable in the past, and now he’s starting on an eight-year contract worth almost $5 million per season. He’ll have a chance to be Carolina’s second-line center, too; can the Hurricanes rely on him to perform there? And what of Necas, a player with great potential who has been up and down in Carolina for too long? Now on a two-year bridge deal, will Necas prove his doubters wrong with a breakout season?
Fantasy outlook: The Hurricanes have taken a good thing and sprinkled in some veteran spice. Aho and Andrei Svechnikov — even on separate lines — will give you 2.0 fantasy points per game or better, with Teuvo Teravainen not far behind. Pacioretty will be there, too, once he’s healthy for the final push.
Bold prediction: The Hurricanes will make the Stanley Cup Final.
Last season: 49-27-6 (104 points), lost in Western Conference finals
Most fascinating player:Jack Campbell. Relying on the ability to simply outscore teams can go only so far. That strategy took the Oilers to the Western Conference finals last season, but consistent goal-suppression was an issue. This is why the Oilers signed Campbell to a five-year contract worth $5 million annually. The front office believes this could be the move that sees the Oilers go from conference finalists to potentially something more.
Best case: At least returning to the Western Conference finals. Winning the West would further heighten what is demanded while also showing what the Oilers are doing could be sustainable over the long haul. Is it possible this could be the year Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid get the Oilers to the Cup final for the first time since the 2005-06 season?
Worst case: Their defensive structure and goaltending struggle to connect, and the Oilers are eliminated within the first two rounds. Last year saw the Oilers make a significant jump from a team that was eliminated in the opening round in their previous two postseason campaigns to reaching the conference finals. They return several players and have added Campbell with the hope he can take them further. But there are no guarantees.
X factor: This will be an important season for Evan Bouchard. His 12 goals and 43 points in 81 games was a sign the Oilers have a young blueliner who can be trusted to play a big role. The fact that he continued that into the postseason by scoring nine points in 16 games while averaging a little more than 18 minutes per game was also another sign of progress. Another strong campaign could see Bouchard, who is an RFA at season’s end, get rewarded going forward.
Fantasy outlook: If Jack Campbell could survive the blistering spotlight in Toronto’s suffocating hockey market and manage to not only survive but thrive, he can make it anywhere. Last year’s healthy version of the 30-year-old did just that. Some argue Campbell is no Mike Smith. Agreed. He isn’t. The Leafs’ former No. 1 is a top-10 fantasy netminder.
Bold prediction: The Oilers will make the Stanley Cup Final.
Last season: 58-18-6 (122 points), lost in second round
Most fascinating player:Spencer Knight. The Panthers have high hopes for the goaltender they drafted 13th overall in 2019. Knight’s recent three-year, $13.5 million extension makes him one half of the NHL’s highest-paid goalie tandem (alongside Sergei Bobrovsky), a pair that eats up $14.5 million of Florida’s salary cap. Can Knight live up to that investment? After a sterling debut stretch for the Panthers in 2020-21 following the close of his sophomore season at Boston College, Knight struggled enough last season to be demoted to the AHL before rebounding with a resurgent finish with the big club (10-3-1, .921 SV%). Which Knight shows up to start this season? And can the Panthers rely on him to perform all the way through?
Best case: Florida is fueled by last season’s playoff disappointment to become an even better version than the team that won the Presidents’ Trophy in 2022. Matthew Tkachuk injects the Panthers’ offense with a perfect complement of grit and skill, there is defensive buy-in across the board and Bobrovsky and Knight settle into a successful rhythm between the pipes. The Panthers emerge more balanced than last season’s offense-fueled squad, and when the playoffs arrive, they are well positioned to tackle challenges on both sides of the puck (not to mention special teams).
Worst case: It was too big a risk for GM Billy Zito to trade his team’s leading scorer, Jonathan Huberdeau, to Calgary for Tkachuk. Huberdeau’s absence is felt immediately and proves difficult to overcome as Florida redefines its offense under new coach Paul Maurice. The Panthers encounter more injury issues with top stars, including Aleksander Barkov and Aaron Ekblad, which slows down their progress. The Atlantic ramps up faster than expected and Florida has a hard time keeping pace into the spring.
X factor: The Panthers lost top-pairing defenseman Mackenzie Weegar in the Huberdeau/Tkachuk trade. What does that mean for his former partner, Ekblad, and Florida’s top-four alignment? Will Ekblad find quick chemistry on a new pairing, or will that take time to develop? The Panthers scored their way through issues in the 2021-22 regular season, but that came back to bite them in the playoffs. Establishing a strong defense that supports Bobrovsky and Knight will be key for Florida to reach its ceiling.
Fantasy outlook: There are countless combinations you can pencil in for the Panthers — a product of having two superstar players who are good enough to carry a line single-handedly (Barkov and Tkachuk) and a sophomore on a path to be able to do the same one day (Anton Lundell).
Bold prediction: The Panthers will drop at least 20 points in the standings.
play
4:22
Matthew Tkachuk chats with Emily Kaplan about being traded to the Florida Panthers and now becoming a division rival of his brother Brady and the Ottawa Senators.
Last season: 52-24-6 (110 points), lost in Eastern Conference finals
Most fascinating player:Kaapo Kakko. It was the healthy scratch heard round the hockey world when Rangers coach Gerard Gallant tapped Dryden Hunt over Kakko in a do-or-die Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals against Tampa Bay last spring. New York lost that game, and Kakko’s RFA status muddied the waters on his future. He has since signed a two-year deal, and New York has high hopes Kakko develops quickly into a top-six stalwart. Is that in his sights this season? The 21-year-old is undeniably talented; with added consistency, Kakko could fly high — and fast — in New York.
Best case: New York proves its run to the conference finals last spring was no fluke with a hot start to 2022-23. The Rangers’ key offseason signee, Trocheck, locks into a center spot beside Artemi Panarin, who gets on pace for another career season. The team’s young risers — including Kakko and Alexis Lafreniere — show added growth, and Igor Shesterkin is better than ever. New York dominates its way to the top of the standings and another long playoff run.
Worst case: The Rangers have a youthful blue line, and that inexperience bleeds through early on. Gallant cycles through different combinations up front to maximize his emerging stars, and the chemistry doesn’t come. New York’s frustrations mount, and even stellar play from Shesterkin can’t get them through. The Rangers make the playoffs but are ousted in the first round.
X factor: How will New York handle its imbalance of left and right wingers? Copp and Vatrano leaving in free agency left the Rangers with few options on the right compared to left. Kakko is a true righty, and Lafreniere could conceivably swap to his off side. Is that too much to ask of him? Can Vitali Kravtsov take advantage of New York’s need and push his way into the top-nine group? The preseason should give Gallant time to tinker positionally. What he finds in the process will be key for New York’s offense.
Fantasy outlook: The big fantasy question surrounds some youngsters with very high upside who just haven’t clicked in the NHL yet. It’s doubtful there is enough ice time for all three of Lafreniere, Kakko and Kravtsov to take a leap forward, but there is room for one of them on the top line with Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad.
Most fascinating player:Matt Murray. GM Kyle Dubas let Jack Campbell walk in free agency to sign Murray, who underperformed for two years in Ottawa. Murray is a Stanley Cup champion, though, and was better in the second half last season with the Senators. What sort of performance can he offer a Leafs team desperate to take the next step? Murray will be under intense pressure out of the gate. How the veteran handles the heat, and gets Toronto off on the right foot, will prove whether Dubas was right — in his own contract year — to rely on Murray.
Best case: The Leafs ignite early on the offensive firepower of Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. Murray stays healthy and racks up a strong record alongside Ilya Samsonov, who enjoys a resurgent season of his own. Toronto remains healthy into the postseason, where it finally gets over the hump with a first-round victory.
Worst case: Preseason injuries to John Tavares and others along the blue line (Jake Muzzin, Timothy Liljegren) spell trouble for Toronto. Matthews gets off to a slow start, and the Leafs’ offense struggles accordingly, putting a dent in the team’s confidence. Murray is solid but can’t make up for the Leafs’ mounting deficiencies in front of him, and Detroit and Ottawa continue to rise around Toronto. They reach the playoffs as a wild-card team and lose again in the first round.
X factor: How will the Leafs’ top six shakeout? Matthews, Marner and Michael Bunting appear to be coach Sheldon Keefe’s choice as the club’s first line. Before Tavares’ training camp injury, he was anchoring the team’s second line with William Nylander and a rotating crop of wingers. Does Denis Malgin win that job? Will Alex Kerfoot end up on the wing again instead of center? What are newcomer Jarnkrok’s prospects there? Building chemistry will be key to Toronto’s long-term success offensively, and there still seems to be some moving parts Keefe and company will have to sift through.
Fantasy outlook: This season, Tavares and Nylander will be seeking a winger to complete their line. Candidates include Adam Gaudette, Jarnkrok, Malgin and Nicholas Robertson. In the end, expect one to emerge for your lineup.
Most fascinating player:Brandon Hagel. The Lightning didn’t get as much out of Hagel post-trade deadline last season as they might have expected (seven points in 22 games). Tampa needs that to change now that Anthony Cirelli is sidelined until December and Ondrej Palat is playing in New Jersey. Hagel can slot in at right or left wing and has the potential to be a 20-goal scorer. Where does that versatility take Tampa? Does it push Hagel to the Lightning top line and perhaps allow Steven Stamkos a return to center? If Hagel finds his footing, all of Tampa’s top six will benefit.
Best case: The Lightning push on from June’s Stanley Cup Final loss with an early-season surge. In the early absence of Cirelli, both Hagel and Nick Paul establish themselves in Tampa’s top-six rotation and coach Jon Cooper rolls his lines with ease. Mikhail Sergachev capably shoulders more blue-line responsibility to better complement Victor Hedman, and Andrei Vasilevskiy remains Vezina Trophy-worthy in net. Tampa high steps its way through the division to be playoff powerhouses again.
Worst case: GM Julien BriseBois didn’t make any major offseason additions to Tampa’s roster. Going without Cirelli early proves to be harder than anticipated, and all the hockey the Lightning have played the past three years starts catching up to them earlier in the regular season. Atlantic rivals in Florida, Detroit, Ottawa and even Toronto are bolstered by fresh faces (not to mention fresher legs). Tampa hits some injury setbacks to slip further behind the pack and can’t regain traction before the final playoff push.
X factor: How much will Tampa miss Palat and McDonagh? Both players were vital to the Lightning’s success. While Tampa has overcome the loss of other skaters in its past, has their luck run out in that respect? There is no clear-cut replacement for either player — it’ll either be by committee or require someone new to step up. It would be foolish to doubt Tampa’s ability to overcome those loses, but McDonagh and Palat were quite a presence on and off the ice for a long time.
Fantasy outlook: Victor Hedman can still push to be the top defenseman in the league, but Mikhail Sergachev is also primed to take a step forward. And, of course, Andrei Vasilevskiy is the ever-present linchpin that makes the whole machine function.
Bold prediction: Andrei Vasilevskiy, motivated by his countryman’s exploits with the Rangers, puts together another Vezina-winning season.
Last season: 50-21-11 (111 points), lost in second round
Stanley Cup odds: +1,800
Key players added: F Jonathan Huberdeau, F Nazem Kadri, F Sonny Milano, F Kevin Rooney, D MacKenzie Weegar
Most fascinating player:Nazem Kadri. Operating as a top-six center who can be trusted on a first-team power-play unit is exactly how the Avs used Kadri in recent seasons, and it’s likely how he will be used with the Flames. The intrigue is in how he will produce. Kadri reached the 50-point mark three times in Toronto, while averaging 0.64 points in his first two seasons in Denver. Last season, he set a new career high with 87 points, which shattered his previous high by 26 points. Could he do the same with the Flames?
Best case: The Flames find cohesion with their new additions and get beyond the second round. It starts with Kadri and Huberdeau filling the void left by Gaudreau and Tkachuk. The goal for the Flames is that Huberdeau, Kadri and Weegar can be players who create chances for themselves and others. Having that all work out could potentially result in a longer playoff run than last season.
Worst case: The Flames don’t receive the same level of goal-scoring as 2021-22 and are battling for a playoff spot to the end of the regular season. The Flames were sixth in goals last season, with five of the NHL’s seven most prolific teams in the West. If their scoring diminishes, they could be overtaken by one of the conference’s risers.
X factor: Getting Weegar gave the Flames a few options. He offers them another puck-moving defenseman who could potentially run their first-team power-play unit. Weegar’s arrival also means the Flames might be able to tap into their blue line again for secondary scoring. The Flames had five defenseman who finished with more than 25 points last season. Weegar, who scored a career-high 44 points in 2021-22, hypothetically makes that group more formidable.
Fantasy outlook:Jacob Markstrom is a top-five fantasy goaltender, however you slice it. In 2021-22, he started 63 games, won 37 of them (lost only 15) and pitched a .922 SV% and 2.22 GAA. Only one person wrapped last season with more total fantasy points than Calgary’s No. 1, and that guy won the Vezina Trophy.
Bold prediction: Huberdeau will outscore Gaudreau and Tkachuk.
Last season: 53-22-7 (113 points), lost in first round
Most fascinating player:Marco Rossi. Kirill Kaprizov might be the easy answer here. But a debate could also be had as to whether it is Matt Dumba, Marc-Andre Fleury or Ryan Hartman, among others. Our pick is Rossi. He was drafted ninth overall in 2020 with the expectation he could someday give the Wild another homegrown top-six forward. Could this be the season Rossi starts tapping into that promise?
Best case: Hartman improves on his breakout 2021-22, and the Wild don’t have to trade for more scoring help. He was part of the Wild’s contingent of players who did more than set new career highs. They shattered their previous accomplishments, and Hartman was one of the strongest examples. Having another 30-goal and 60-plus-point season — or better — while earning $1.7 million this season with one more year left on his contract would prove massive for Wild GM Bill Guerin when it comes to cap management.
Worst case: The Wild can’t score enough after trading Kevin Fiala. If the group featuring Joel Eriksson Ek, Frederick Gaudreau, Marcus Foligno, Mats Zuccarello and Hartman cannot match what they did last season — and the rise of Kaprizov, Rossi and Matt Boldy doesn’t make up for it — they might face an early playoff exit again.
X factor: Fleury combined for 56 starts between the Blackhawks and Wild last season. He could be asked to do that again this season. But no matter Fleury’s workload, the Wild will need to see what they have in 24-year-old Filip Gustavsson. Several teams rely on tandems, and the Wild are no different. The contrast is that Fleury played in more games last season than Gustavsson has in his NHL career (27 appearances).
Fantasy outlook: Superstar Kaprizov earned his fresh $9 million annual salary in scoring 47 goals on 289 shots, while pitching in another 61 assists. Entering the second season of his five-year deal should produce similar results. Kaprizov’s a standout and should be drafted in the first round.
Bold prediction: The Wild will add an impact forward early in the season.
Last season: 49-22-11 (109 points), lost in second round
Most fascinating player:Jordan Binnington. Husso is gone, and the belief is Greiss can play a role within the Blues’ tandem. Those factors, among the fact the Blues are Cup contenders, is what makes this such an alluring campaign for Binnington. He’s coming off back-to-back 18-win seasons, but the 2021-22 campaign saw him post a career-low 3.13 GAA and a .901 save percentage. Then, Binnington went 4-1 with a 1.72 GAA and a .949 save percentage in the postseason. Tapping into the consistency he showed in the playoffs could potentially be key toward him turning in the sort of performances that made him a 30-game winner a few years ago.
Best case: Binnington is sharp in the regular and postseason, and the Blues are a top contender. Winning the Cup amid the potential roster uncertainty could potentially soften the blow depending on what happens next summer. Ryan O’Reilly and Vladimir Tarasenko are both UFAs at the end of the season. The Blues are projected to have a little less than $16 million in available cap space next offseason. Granted, the Blues have already won a Cup with O’Reilly and Tarasenko. But those circumstances hypothetically heighten what is expected to be an important year for the franchise.
Worst case: The Blues have a quick playoff exit, then their big stars exit in the summer. It is possible this could be the last season O’Reilly and/or Tarasenko spend in St. Louis. Each stand to be among the most sought-after free agents should they hit the market. Plus, the Blues’ cap problems could become even more complicated if Ivan Barbashev, who will also be a UFA, has another strong season before needing a new deal.
X factor: Barbashev represents the chaos potentially facing Blues GM Doug Armstrong this season. O’Reilly and Tarasenko are legitimate top-six presences. O’Reilly is the two-way forward who can anchor a line, while a fully healthy Tarasenko is looking like one of the most dynamic wingers in the game again. Coming up with deals for them is one thing. Doing that for Barbashev is a harder one to predict. He had previously been a double-digit goal-scorer but burst through to score a career-high 26 goals and 60 points in 81 games in 2021-22. Another step up could lead to him requesting more than the $2.25 million he has made the past two seasons.
Fantasy outlook: Blossoming point-per-gamer Jordan Kyrou, who finished second only to Tarasenko in power-play production for St. Louis, is another forward to target before most fantasy drafts are through. On defense, Torey Krug brings it on the power play, Colton Parayko pitches in with the tougher heavy lifting (blocked shots), while Justin Faulk is appreciated as the full package.
Bold prediction: This is O’Reilly’s last season in St. Louis.
Last season: 46-25-11 (103 points), lost in first round
Most fascinating player:Rickard Rakell. The 29-year-old winger is an interesting study. Rakell was a rising star in Anaheim, posting back-to-back 30-goal seasons, until that production began to stall and the Ducks traded him to Pittsburgh last season. The Penguins signed Rakell to a six-year, $30 million extension. Now they need the veteran to be that offense-driving playmaker of his past. Coach Mike Sullivan can — and has — offered Rakell an opportunity to skate with Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel. The organization clearly believes Rakell has more to offer. Can he now deliver them another 30-goal campaign?
Best case: Pittsburgh got the band back together with new deals for Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang, and any notion of an impending rebuild is swiftly silenced. The Penguins’ concerns up front are unfounded, as Rakell, Jeff Carter, Kasperi Kapanen and Bryan Rust all show promising signs early. Pittsburgh’s core carries the team to another successful regular season and, with some health luck, the Penguins win their first playoff round in four years.
Worst case: Injury problems that Pittsburgh deals with in the preseason leak into October and affect the Penguins’ overall team building. The decision to rely on an aging nucleus turns questionable over concerns that the group has lost a step. Chemistry is slow to come on the wings and as Pittsburgh’s offense sputters so, too, does its confidence. The Penguins head to another first-round playoff loss and pensive offseason about the club’s future direction.
X factor: Pittsburgh has dealt with an inconsistent power play since losing special teams staples Patric Hornqvist and Phil Kessel. Last season, the Penguins finished 19th overall (20.2%) with the extra man, a low landing spot given the talent Pittsburgh has to deploy. The man advantage didn’t look improved early in preseason either, when the Penguins went 0-for-9 against Detroit and Sullivan admitted the team hadn’t really worked on it much at practice. Will special teams struggles come back to haunt Pittsburgh in the regular season, too? And how might it affect their long-term prospects in a tightly contested division?
Fantasy outlook: The Penguins enter what is essentially their 15th season with the same C1, C2 and D1 core. In 2008-09, Crosby, Malkin and Letang shared the power-play minutes with the likes of Petr Sykora and Miroslav Satan. Now, in 2022-23, they’ll be out there with Guentzel and Rust — which also feels like old hat.
Most fascinating player:Roope Hintz. A 25-year-old, 6-foot-3 winger who can score, create for himself and others. He can operate on the power play while also proving he can be trusted on the penalty kill. Breaking through to score 37 goals and 72 points last season only adds to the intrigue of what the Stars have with Hintz. It also happens to work out that Hintz is a pending RFA who could make the case for a significant pay bump from the $3.15 million he annually earns.
Best case: Peter DeBoer’s system results in more scoring and a postseason run. DeBoer has had lengthy playoff runs in his first season in charge at previous stops. Another trait those teams had was they could score. The Devils were 11th in goals, while the Golden Knights and Sharks finished in the top four. Creating and scoring goals is key for any team, but the Stars struggled with that last season. They finished the regular season with the fewest goals of any team that made the postseason.
Worst case: A lack of scoring prevents a return to the playoffs. Just look at what the teams that finished above the Stars in the Central had last season. The Avs had seven 20-goal scorers and 11 who finished in double figures. The Blues had nine 20-goal scorers and 10 who had more than 10 goals, while the Wild had six 20-goal scorers but 10 players who amassed more than 10 goals. The Stars had only four 20-goal scorers and seven players who reached the 10-goal mark.
X factor: Marchment’s production will be critical. He scored a career-high 18 goals and 47 points in 54 games while playing in a Panthers setup that saw multiple players set new personal bests. Marchment has the potential to give the Stars another scoring layer.
Fantasy outlook: Top heavy in the fantasy department, only the club’s leading trio neared and/or cleared the 2.0 fantasy-point mark in ESPN standard leagues. With Jason Robertson and his 41 goals leading the way, Roope Hintz and Joe Pavelski duly served as precious assets in contributing regularly at even strength and with the man advantage.
Bold prediction: The DeBoer Effect will carry the Stars to the playoffs.
Last season: 44-26-12 (100 points), lost in first round
Most fascinating player:Dylan Strome. The Capitals are without Nicklas Backstrom following his offseason hip surgery. In the meantime, newcomer Strome is expected to fill Backstrom’s role as Washington’s second-line center. It’s a high-profile spot for Strome, who made headlines in the summer as an RFA whom Chicago failed to qualify after a 22-goal season. Once the third overall pick by Arizona in 2015, Strome has struggled to reach the loftier expectations of his draft positioning. Now on a one-year, show-me deal with the Capitals, Strome has a chance to prove that, at 25 years old, his best years are still ahead.
Best case: Washington is in win-now mode, and it’s clear why when it bursts into an early-season point streak. Kuemper displays championship form in net that breeds confidence throughout the lineup, and the Capitals barely miss a beat without Backstrom and Tom Wilson. Alex Ovechkin stays on pace for another record-breaking scoring season, and Washington’s defensive depth stands tall as the club is once again playoff bound.
Worst case: The Capitals’ core shows its age with a slow start. Washington is too reliant on its top six to produce and doesn’t get similar contributions from lower down, making the team too one-dimensional to beat the better clubs around it. Kuemper is inconsistent playing behind an unfamiliar defense, and Washington starts missing the physical punch Wilson packed. The Capitals are a quick playoff out as their window for a Cup closes further.
X factor: Is Washington running out of championship opportunities? The Capitals are an older team in the Eastern Conference, stacked with players on expiring deals. There’s a now-or-never feel that creeps in. How will Washington handle that pressure to seize the moment when two of its most important players (for different reasons) are unavailable to start the year? Can Conor Sheary and Garnet Hathaway step up to fill the void? Will the Capitals get enough from their defense to make up for potentially less scoring up front? Washington is no stranger to high expectations; how it manages those in the face of adversity is the question mark.
Fantasy outlook: With no Backstrom and Wilson for quite some time, there are gaps open for Anthony Mantha and Strome to establish themselves as key parts of the offense with Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov.
Most fascinating player:David Pastrnak. The scoring winger enters an all-important contract season right as Boston faces several key early-season injuries — Brad Marchand, Charlie McAvoy and Matt Grzelcyk will all miss at least a month following offseason surgeries. How well the Bruins weather their storm will depend in large part on Pastrnak. He was the club’s second-leading scorer last season (40 goals, 77 points), and while discussions are underway on a new deal, nothing has been signed yet. Can Pastrnak punch up his asking price with a savior-like season?
Best case: Boston reaches Thanksgiving in playoff position, and holds on to it from there as reinforcements return to the lineup. The Atlantic will be more competitive than ever with the potential emergence of Detroit, Ottawa and even Buffalo. Surviving the season’s first six weeks with a solid position in the standings will set Boston up for a smoother road to the postseason. Where, as we know, anything is possible.
Worst case: The Bruins struggle without their top scorer (Marchand) and defenseman (McAvoy) while getting acclimated to a new system under fresh bench boss Jim Montgomery. Aging stars Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci have less in the tank than expected and Boston’s offense dwindles. By the time the Bruins get healthy and up to speed, they’ve lost crucial ground in the division, can’t catch up and fail to clinch a playoff spot for the first time since 2015-16.
X factor: How quickly will the Bruins take to Montgomery? He previously turned Dallas into more of a defense-first team, and Boston already has that framework after allowing the fewest even-strength shots against last season. Can Montgomery use that to Boston’s advantage if offense is harder to generate in October and November? How well the veteran coach can gain his team’s trust and find the right mix of personnel to cover for its deficiencies out of the gate will be critical.
Fantasy outlook: David Krejci returns from a season in Europe to center what will be a new top line featuring David Pastrnak and Taylor Hall, while Patrice Bergeron bides his time waiting for Brad Marchand to return to health. It means reduced expectations for Bergeron to start, but maybe we’ll get the best we’ve seen of Hall for some time.
Bold prediction: Jim Montgomery will be a Jack Adams finalist.
Key players lost: D Dylan Coghlan, F Evgenii Dadonov, F Mattias Janmark, F Max Pacioretty
Most fascinating player:Jack Eichel. Bruce Cassidy has maintained he will make adjustments during training camp. So far, he has kept Eichel on a line with Phil Kessel and Reilly Smith to create a combination that can score. Eichel is fully healthy. It also appears he could be playing with veteran wingers to form a trio that could be a constant threat.
Best case: The proposed approach of using Laurent Brossoit, Hill and Logan Thompson is one the Knights use en route to returning to the playoffs. Robin Lehner missing the 2022-23 season creates questions about whether the Golden Knights have enough in net. But those queries can eventually be quelled should Brossoit, Hill and Thompson provide the sort of performances that get the Knights back to the postseason.
Worst case: Not capitalizing on everything they have could result in another disappointing spring for the Golden Knights. They traded for Eichel last season to solidify their top six. They sneakily signed Kessel in free agency to add one more forward to a team that can already score in bunches. They hired a coach in Cassidy who knows how to get teams into the postseason. This is a team that carries expectations of not just making the playoffs, but going on the longest run possible.
X factor:Chandler Stephenson‘s production continues to rise with each season. Last year, it led to him having one of the more notable breakout campaigns of any player in the league. He went from 14 goals and 35 points over 51 games in 2020-21 to scoring 21 goals and 64 points in 79 games in 2022-23. That version of Stephenson is why Cassidy has him in a second-line role while pushing William Karlsson to the third line.
Fantasy outlook: As for that particular fresh fantasy forward pairing, prescient managers everywhere could be in for a real treat. Jack Eichel and Phil Kessel could combine for some jaw-dropping digits. While the former Sabres captain isn’t likely to survive many draft rounds unclaimed, his new ironman winger well might, in turn serving as one of this season’s more valuable sleepers.
Bold prediction: The goaltending is fine, and the Golden Knights return to the playoffs.
Last season: 45-30-7 (97 points), lost in first round
Most fascinating player:Matt Duchene. Never mind scoring a career high in goals and points that appeared to seemingly come out of nowhere given his prior seasons. Duchene scored more points last season (86) than he had in the previous three seasons combined (67). Another campaign like that, coupled with Ryan Johansen building on one of the strongest offensive seasons of his career, could make the Preds one of the NHL’s most intriguing teams.
Best case: Both Duchene and Johansen are able to build upon or maintain what they did in 2021-22. Having two top-six centers who can drive play would have big results for the Predators. The first being it gets them into the playoffs for an eighth straight season, with another being it advances them beyond the first round.
Worst case: A fifth straight opening-round playoff exit. The first round and the Predators are not exactly what one would consider “a good place.” They have won only five playoff games in the past four seasons and were swept in four by the eventual Cup-champion Avalanche last spring. Yet this is where it could all be philosophical: What is worse? Getting to the playoffs and losing in the first round or not making the postseason at all?
X factor: The Predators’ entire defensive setup. McDonagh’s arrival adds to a unit that already had Alexandre Carrier, Mattias Ekholm, Dante Fabbro and former Norris Trophy winner Roman Josi. It gives the Predators five defensemen who could be used interchangeably while providing another option who can offer assistance to Juuse Saros.
Fantasy outlook: Matt Duchene isn’t going to score 43 goals again this season. Not because last season’s shooting percentage of 18.9% will be too difficult to copycat (although it will be), or that there isn’t much to appreciate about a veteran finally finding his scoring groove in shrugging off the suffocating pall of unachievable expectation (because for sure there is), but because he has never even neared that mark before.
Most fascinating player:Noah Dobson. The Islanders’ got a breakout 51-point season from the right-handed defenseman in 2021-22. It earned the 22-year-old a three-year, $12 million contract with the club. At the same time, GM Lou Lamoriello publicly stated, “We have to see more with Noah,” and repeated the expectation for Dobson to show even more growth. What will that look like? Dobson’s trajectory could be toward superstardom on New York’s back end. But did Lamoriello’s hesitancy at going longer on a new deal hint that the organization has doubts about that happening? Watching how Dobson handles things from here will be fascinating.
Best case: The Islanders made almost zero changes to their roster from a season ago, and the familiarity pays off. New York has no building-related drama to halt its strong start, one that includes cementing a permanent top-line combination highlighted by Mathew Barzal. Dobson and Romanov prove to be a reliable second pairing to make life easier on Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov in net. Newbie coach Lane Lambert has no trouble transitioning to a head role, and the Islanders cruise into a postseason slot.
Worst case: New York comes out clumsy under Lambert’s eye. That lack of personnel turnover makes the Islanders’ attack predictable and stale. The club’s defensive buy-in is there, but without the offensive output to match, the Islanders can’t rack up enough wins to be a true contender through the season’s first half. New York doesn’t keep pace with other top teams in the Metro and eventually is too far behind to regain lost ground.
X factor: Lamoriello unseated a proven head coach in Barry Trotz to insert assistant Lambert behind the bench. It was a surprising move to say the least; how does it pay off for New York? Lambert has been in the organization and knows its players, yet the pressure will be on to pull the Islanders back into the postseason fight quickly. That will start with redefining — or reidentifying — who and what this team is at its core, and how the Islanders can wield that to success. It’s a tall task for any coach, especially one new to the role. How well Lambert does will in part dictate how far the Islanders can go.
Fantasy outlook: With Ryan Pulock established and Dobson emerging last season, it’s Romanov’s turn to translate his physical presence into fantasy points on this stalwart blue line. Meanwhile, Adam Pelech and Scott Mayfield do enough defensively to have low-end value in deeper leagues.
Most fascinating player:Kevin Fiala. Kings GM Rob Blake and the front office have used the build-from-within approach. They went into the free agent market in 2021 for Phillip Danault, and made a trade a year later to land Fiala. Danault’s first season saw him score 27 goals, which was more than what he had in the previous two seasons combined before coming to L.A. The belief with the Kings is that Fiala can follow suit by having the same sort of immediate impact Danault enjoyed in Year 1.
Best case:Drew Doughty continues what he was doing before getting injured last season, and the Kings take another step forward in the playoffs. Doughty had seven goals and 31 points over 39 games while logging more than 25 minutes per game. He was averaging 0.79 points and would have been on pace for a career-high 65 if he played a full 82-game schedule. A healthy Doughty adds another dimension to a rising franchise.
Worst case: The Kings don’t get what they need from their young players, and miss the playoffs. Being able to trust their young players was such a critical component of how the Kings returned to the postseason after a three-year hiatus. Mikey Anderson reached the 50-game mark for the second consecutive season. Tobias Bjornfot went from 33 games to 70, while Sean Durzi had 27 points in 64 games. Plus, Arthur Kaliyev had 14 goals and 27 points in 80 games for the club. The progression of those four along with Quinton Byfield and others could prove massive for the Kings’ short- and long-term plans.
X factor:Adrian Kempe went from a consistent double-digit scorer to suddenly scoring a career-high 35 goals and 54 points. Sure, the goals are what many will point toward when it comes to evaluating his importance. Don’t forget. Kempe logged another career high 115:06 in short-handed ice time last season. He offers the sort of versatility that gives the team a two-way winger who could be used in several scenarios.
Fantasy outlook: Fantasy fanatics are ready to fall for Fiala in L.A. After busting out for a career-high 33 goals and 52 assists this past campaign in Minnesota, Fiala is taking his speedy services to the West Coast. Alongside star center Anze Kopitar, the 26-year-old is capable of nearing, if not quite equaling, last season’s haul.
Most fascinating player:Jake Sanderson. Ottawa drafted the University of North Dakota product No. 5 overall in 2020, and Sanderson is finally graduating from the NCAA to NHL level. That could spell big things for a Senators blue line in desperate need of reinforcements. Sanderson had a great final season at North Dakota, scoring 26 points in 23 games, and has looked excellent in the NHL preseason. How soon will Sanderson be a top-four staple in Ottawa’s defense and start providing that group with some real stability?
Best case: Senators general manager Pierre Dorion added exciting talents in DeBrincat and Giroux to the roster this offseason. They immediately make Ottawa a higher-octane team that can challenge Atlantic Division rivals Toronto and Tampa Bay on the offensive end. Sanderson transitions successfully onto an improved backend anchored by Thomas Chabot. Talbot recovers fully from a rib injury in minimal time, and Anton Forsberg proves more than capable of carrying the load in his absence. If a few of those things go their way, the franchise could skate to its first playoff berth since 2016-17.
Worst case: Ottawa’s roster turnover proves complicated as new linemates aren’t clicking and coach D.J. Smith has to make heavy adjustments. Talbot’s absence looms large as Forsberg struggles to take command of the crease. That results in a slow start the Senators can’t find their way out of in the ultra-competitive Atlantic.
X factor: Ottawa didn’t get the goaltending it needed last season from Matt Murray — hence, the switch to Talbot. Only now, Talbot will miss up to seven weeks because of a fractured rib. Enter Forsberg. The 29-year-old outdueled Murray for Ottawa’s starter’s job last season, and earned a three-year, $8.25 million contract extension on the strength of his 22-17-4 record and .917 SV% in 2021-22. Can Forsberg keep Ottawa’s goaltending on the rails until Talbot returns? Or will it be the waiver claim Magnus Hellberg on whom the Sens are forced to rely?
Fantasy outlook: The Sens brought in sniper DeBrincat from the tanking Blackhawks and lured veteran captain Giroux from free agency to add to another rising star in Tim Stutzle for one helluva top six.
Check out the five best goals from last year as we prepare for the upcoming season.
Last season: 40-30-12 (92 points), missed playoffs
Stanley Cup odds: +5,000
Key players added: F Andrei Kuzmenko, F Curtis Lazar, F Ilya Mikheyev
Key players lost: F Alex Chiasson, G Jaroslav Halak, D Brad Hunt, F Nicolas Petan, F Brandon Sutter
Most fascinating player:Bo Horvat. Nearly everyone else considered to be a long-term piece within the Canucks’ core has an extension. The 31 goals he scored last season were a personal best, while the 52 points were tied for the third most of his career. The Canucks are going to have $14.6 million in cap space but must also make decisions on other players in need of a deal.
Best case: Hiring Bruce Boudreau led to a turnaround. The Canucks had the NHL’s sixth-best record while Boudreau was on the bench. They allowed the third-fewest goals in the NHL while having an attack that was above league average at 12th. To continue what Boudreau has established could result in the Canucks being in the discussion for at least a wild-card berth with the aim of returning to the postseason after missing the past two editions.
Worst case: Supplemental scoring is key, and not receiving that could significantly alter the Canucks’ postseason aspirations. They are hoping Mikheyev can either match or surpass the 21-goal season he had with the Leafs in 2021-22. Conor Garland broke through to have the best season of his career in the first year of his new contract. Tanner Pearson is another player who can score at least 15 goals a season. There is also the expectation that Nils Hoglander, Kuzmenko and Vasily Podkolzin must also be contributors.
X factor: Kuzmenko comes to the NHL after scoring 20 goals and 53 points in 45 games with SKA St. Petersburg in the KHL last season. He’s on a one-year deal before becoming a UFA at the end of the season. Kuzmenko appears to give the Canucks another top-nine forward, with the realization a strong campaign could give the front office another item to think about in addition to the Horvat contract.
Fantasy outlook: Center Elias Pettersson and winger Brock Boeser (out until late October) merit targeting in middle (Pettersson) to later (Boeser) rounds in most fantasy drafts. Bo Horvat provides extra fantasy pop in leagues that reward faceoff success. KHL export Kuzmenko — projected to compete in Vancouver’s top six — has wild-card appeal after potting 20 goals and 33 assists in 45 games with St. Petersburg last season.
Most fascinating player:Dominik Kubalik. The former 30-goal scorer coming off a down season (32 points in 78 games) wasn’t extended a qualifying offer from the rebuilding Blackhawks. But at 27, Kubalik could easily just be entering the prime of his career. Detroit will offer Kubalik more top-end linemate options to play with, and the impact he might have on the Red Wings’ offense could far exceed expectations — and make GM Steve Yzerman’s two-year, $5 million investment in Kubalik a real steal.
Best case: Yzerman made some noise in the offseason, acquiring the likes of Husso, Perron, Copp and Chiarot. Put them all together with Dylan Larkin, Tyler Bertuzzi, Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider, and the Red Wings are able to build on last season’s promise without slowing down in the second half. Instead, Detroit gets stronger down the stretch and pushes its way back into the playoff picture after a six-year absence and starts writing a new chapter of its storied history.
Worst case: Detroit’s many summertime changes included swapping longtime bench boss Jeff Blashill for first-time head coach Derek Lalonde. Managing all the Red Wings’ new faces would be tough for an incumbent who knows the team already; Lalonde has to get to know an entire team while implementing his inaugural NHL system. Chemistry takes time to build as the players figure out the new landscape, and Detroit stumbles hard early, hurting the team’s confidence in its ability to turn the corner.
X factor: The Red Wings’ defensive play ultimately failed them last season (even with the Calder Trophy-winning performance from Seider), and Detroit was last in the NHL in goals against (4.33) from late February onward. How much this group improves in that area, especially with a veteran addition like Chiarot around, will be a massive part of the Wings’ story this season. Assuming Seider avoids a sophomore slump, he’ll be the blue line’s top performer as Chiarot, Filip Hronek and Maatta provide stability. Oh, and those forwards will be challenged to step up their 200-foot games.
Fantasy outlook: Up front, Dylan Larkin and Tyler Bertuzzi are locks, but it’s not a sure thing that Lucas Raymond can take a step forward in his sophomore season and join them at the elite threshold of 2.0 fantasy points per game.
Bold prediction: Moritz Seider will be a Norris Trophy finalist.
Last season: 39-32-11 (89 points), missed playoffs
Key players lost: G Eric Comrie, F Zach Sanford, F Paul Stastny
Most fascinating player:Blake Wheeler. Rick Bowness’ decision to remove the captaincy from Wheeler has created a number of questions about what happens next. Namely, what does the leadership structure look like going forward? And is there a way for Wheeler to be involved even though it appears he might not wear a letter?
Best case: A somewhat chaotic preseason jolts the team back on track and into the playoff picture. All the talk about Wheeler, the team’s leadership dynamic, Pierre-Luc Dubois being a pending RFA and a new coach is a lot to start the season. But Bowness was hired to return the Jets to the postseason after they missed the playoffs for the first time in four years. A playoff berth would offer more confidence in the team’s vision going forward.
Worst case: None of what the front office has planned works. The Jets miss the playoffs for a second straight season. It could then lead to a discussion about where the franchise goes next, and whether there could be changes. A slew of players — including Connor Hellebuyck, Mark Scheifele and Wheeler — could hit the open market after the 2023-24 season
X factor:Cole Perfetti had his first foray into the NHL cut short after sustaining a back injury that led to him missing the Jets’ final 34 games. Yet he still had two goals and seven points in 18 games. The 20-year-old has stood out on the international stage representing Canada while also making an impact in the AHL. Is it possible that a fully healthy Perfetti does the same in 2022-23 over a full, 82-game season?
Fantasy outlook: Top-15 fantasy forward Kyle Connor is a scoring machine and should be drafted as such in all goal-friendly leagues. Irrespective of linemates, the former Michigan Wolverine could tally 50 this season, plus 40 or so assists. As for who might line up next to Connor, rookie Cole Perfetti intrigues as a sleepy fantasy rookie with surging upside. The dynasty league gem will fall into a point-per-game pace at some point in his career, it’s only a matter of when.
Bold prediction: Rick Bowness vs. the Jets’ core is this season’s best drama.
Most fascinating player:Johnny Gaudreau. It was the free agent signing no one saw coming. Now all anyone wants to see is what Gaudreau can bring to Columbus. It’s easy to critique Gaudreau’s choice of landing spot given how many teams were (reportedly) interested in his services. And Gaudreau has said all the right things about why the Blue Jackets were ultimately the best fit for him off and on the ice. But the real talking gets done between the whistles, and Columbus adding a skater like Gaudreau should make them an immediate playoff contender. There’s a compelling first season (of a seven-year commitment) ahead here.
Best case: It’s a seamless transition for Gaudreau into Columbus, where he and Patrik Laine are perfectly paired on the team’s top line. Gudbranson brings punch the Blue Jackets have lacked in the past, and helps guide rookies like Nick Blankenberg to eventually do the same. A resurgent Elvis Merzlikins provides consistently strong netminding behind a team that’s dialed in on its defensive habits. The Blue Jackets ride the excitement of their turnaround back to the postseason.
Worst case: All the hype of Columbus’ offseason moves unexpectedly weighs on the team. Early bumps in the road lead to craters as Gaudreau and Laine struggle to find the right center on their line. Veterans Jakub Voracek and Gustav Nyquist have lost a step, and the Blue Jackets’ offense stalls. Columbus runs into injury issues on its blue line and in net to send GM Jarmo Kekäläinen reeling for replacements. Slowly, the regular season slips through the Blue Jackets’ fingers leading to another playoff absence.
X factor: Columbus was derailed in part last season by its defensive deficiencies. The Blue Jackets gave up the second-most shots against (35.2 per game) and allowed the fifth-most goals (3.62), which was hardly a winning combination. Kekäläinen has talked about being tougher — hence adding Gudbranson — but it’s also a mentality everyone must embrace. There was deserved excitement around Gaudreau making the team’s offense better. That won’t be the key to Columbus’ ultimate success, though, unless it’s coupled with improved play away from the puck, too.
Fantasy outlook: Who ends up securing the gig between Gaudreau and Laine? While it probably won’t impact either of them from a fantasy perspective, as they are good enough to be immune to the third member of the top line, this is a spot that could pay huge dividends for the pivot who plays there over the long term. Is it gritty Boone Jenner? Jack Roslovic, who has been play-tested but has underwhelmed so far? What about the youngsters Cole Sillinger or Kent Johnson?
Key players lost: C Pavel Zacha, D Ty Smith, D P.K. Subban
Most fascinating player:Nico Hischier. The Devils’ captain — and 2019 first overall pick — has been on a bewitching NHL journey. The 23-year-old has struggled to find his footing, has dealt with injury issues and then last season burst through with a career-high 21 goals and 60 points in 70 games. It should have set Hischier up for a great start to this regular season — until he was sidelined by an undisclosed ailment in training camp. Will that hurt his progress? Or just be a blip on the radar in what turns out to be an even better campaign than his last one? Hischier needs to be an integral part of any success New Jersey has. What can he do for an encore in these coming months?
Best case: The Devils have been patiently building a foundation of young talent, and it’s ready to challenge the league. Led by the dazzling Jack Hughes, a healthy Hischier and the veteran skill of Palat, New Jersey’s offense ignites and pairs with a rejuvenated blue line anchored by a returning Dougie Hamilton. Mackenzie Blackwood meshes perfectly with new partner Vitek Vanecek, and the Devils challenge for a wild-card spot.
Worst case: New Jersey brims with youthful energy but can’t turn that into wins in the early season. Those continued growing pains last into the winter, and the Devils get left behind by their Metropolitan competition. Past injury problems return, and the team’s confidence wanes. New Jersey falls out of the playoff race by the trade deadline and faces another offseason of questions.
X factor: Goaltending has been a major issue for New Jersey. Blackwood has been inconsistent — and often injured — in recent years, and the Devils finished 31st in save percentage a year ago while cycling through six different starters. Vanecek was brought in to remedy that, but he was also let go for nothing by Washington in the offseason after posting a .908 SV% last season. Is this the fresh start Vanecek and Blackwood need? New Jersey’s potential for success hinges largely on getting goaltending it has been lacking for lately.
Fantasy outlook: All the pieces are beginning to fall into place, and there might be enough here now to see some of the long-building stars truly shine. Jack Hughes is primed to put himself into the conversation as one of the league’s elite, with Hischier only a small step behind. Jesper Bratt‘s breakout will be allowed to continue with big minutes and key power-play time, while Palat is the veteran presence who can bring the whole offensive stew to a simmer.
Bold prediction: Hughes will play 80 games, eclipse 100 points
Last season: 31-37-14 (76 points), missed playoffs
Stanley Cup odds: +7,500
Key players added: D John Klingberg, D Dmitry Kulikov, F Ryan Strome, F Frank Vatrano
Most fascinating player:John Klingberg. A number of hypotheticals are in play when it comes to Klingberg. He’s on a one-year deal, and that creates options. If he and the Ducks are aligned on their collective future, then maybe there is a conversation about a contract extension. If that is not the case and the Ducks are out of contention by the All-Star break, there is a chance there is a Cup hopeful willing to give up a first-rounder in trade to get Klingberg. That would give the Ducks another asset they can add to a future led by Jamie Drysdale, Troy Terry and Trevor Zegras.
Best case: The Ducks can stay above .500 and potentially give the front office something to think about when it comes to their chances to claim a wild-card berth. Adam Henrique averaged a career high 0.72 points per game last season. They added a 20-goal scorer in Strome, along with a winger who can score 20 in Vatrano. Klingberg gives them a legitimate top-four puck-mover, in addition to what they already have on the blue line with Cam Fowler and Kevin Shattenkirk. And there are the potential gains Drysdale, Terry and Zegras could make in 2022-23 as well.
Worst case: Potentially losing Klingberg for nothing is one scenario. Another is they struggle to show progress beyond what they did last season. The Ducks entered February with a 23-16-9 record. It was the sixth-strongest mark in the Western Conference and created questions about whether the postseason was possible. Then, they lost five of their seven February games before losing 11 in a row in March. Figuring out how to avoid a similar fate could be one of the most notable challenges facing the Ducks this season.
X factor: The Ducks have something a lot of teams in the NHL covet — other than Drysdale, Terry and Zegras being on team-friendly contracts. The Ducks have a little more than $15.7 million in cap space. It’s the type of money that allows them to hold leverage in deals or offer cap-strapped teams some relief (with a pick or young player included for their trouble). But, this is also the kind of space they must use responsibly considering Drysdale, Terry and Zegras are all going to need new contracts next offseason. That said, the Ducks are projected to have a little more than $43 million in cap space next summer.
Fantasy outlook: Fantasy managers should be excited about what Trevor Zegras has in store for an encore. After potting 23 goals and 38 assists in his 75-game rookie campaign, and following the retirement of Ducks star Getzlaf, Zegras launches 2022-23 as the club’s top-line and power-play center. Competing consistently alongside last season’s points leader, Troy Terry, will translate in another jump in production.
Most fascinating player:Casey Mittelstadt. Healthy again after an injury-plagued 2021-22 season, where will he fit in Buffalo’s lineup? The versatile forward can play on the wing or at center, and coach Don Granato used training camp and preseason games to figure out where Mittelstadt will be at his best. The Sabres haven’t yet seen all that their former first-round pick (eighth overall in 2017) can offer. Or have they?
Best case: Buffalo explodes out of the gate with a consistent offense led by Jeff Skinner (coming off a 50-point season), Tage Thompson (fresh from a 38-goal campaign) and Alex Tuch (who had 30 goals last season). Comrie is the perfect complement in net to veteran Anderson, and the continued growth of Rasmus Dahlin stabilizes — and elevates — Buffalo’s blue line. The Sabres take advantage of their talent and end their pesky 11-year playoff drought.
Worst case: Buffalo general manager Kevyn Adams didn’t take any big swings in the offseason in order to prioritize getting prospects, such as JJ Peterka and Jack Quinn, playing time. The lack of turnover and new additions slows the Sabres down early as they try to establish an identity. The ultracompetitive Atlantic heats up without them and, despite past evidence of successful late-season pushes, the Sabres see their postseason drought hit Year 12.
X factor: Where would Buffalo have landed last season with better goaltending? As it was, the Sabres averaged the eighth-most goals against with 3.50. Anderson was hurt through much of the first half, and the Sabres cycled through a half dozen other netminders looking for a reliable replacement. Buffalo has (on paper) an improved tandem with Anderson and Comrie. If the Sabres get in a rhythm and avoid injuries, that should have a significant impact on Buffalo’s chances — not to mention the team’s overall confidence.
Fantasy outlook: From a team full of lottery tickets, it’s probably worth purchasing a couple for your fantasy portfolio. Tage Thompson’s breakout campaign was legit, Jeff Skinner still has more in the tank and Alex Tuch will play a heavy role in the offense.
Most fascinating player:Timo Meier. It has been reported the Sharks and Meier will talk about a new contract after the season. Meier is a pending RFA coming off a four-year deal that saw him earn $6 million annually. His 35 goals and 76 points last season were career highs, and it created the expectation he could have another big season.
Best case:Kevin Labanc is fully healthy, and returns to being the player who can reach double figures in goals. Rookies Thomas Bordeleau and William Eklund are able to make an impact at some point in the season. Meanwhile, free agent signings Kunin and Lindblom can help with the secondary scoring load. All of it adds up to the Sharks either staying in the wild-card race later than some might expect or improving upon what they did last season.
Worst case: Last season, they were 23 points out of the final playoff spot while having enough points to finish with a 3% chance at the first pick in the NHL draft only to have the 11th pick, which they later traded. It appears the Sharks could potentially be stuck again in that bizarre space between not being a playoff team while not being close to one that tries to rebuild with a top-three draft pick.
X factor: Say Erik Karlsson had played a full, 82-game schedule last season. He was averaging 0.70 points per game, which would have put him on pace for 57. That would have been the most points he has scored since joining the Sharks. Karlsson’s 10 goals last season were the most he scored since the 2016-17 season. His health and production will be a critical factor.
Fantasy outlook: Forwards Meier, Tomas Hertl, and Logan Couture round out an otherwise limited corps of Sharks with fantasy panache — led by Meier, who finished third behind only Auston Matthews and Alex Ovechkin in shots with 326 this past campaign.
Bold prediction: Karlsson will have his best season as a Shark.
Most fascinating player:Matty Beniers. Leaving the University of Michigan to score nine points in 10 games is how Beniers announced himself to the NHL’s newest market. Now? It is about seeing what the former No. 2 pick can do in an 82-game season. Beniers projects as a two-way, top-six center who could anchor a line. It appears the expectation in Seattle is he could be asked to operate in that role for a franchise that is seeking to rebound from what was a challenging inaugural campaign.
Best case: Everything new Kraken goaltending coach Steve Briere does with Philipp Grubauer and Martin Jones has results. The Kraken’s defensive structure is one that limits shots and forces teams to take those shots from distance. Yet, there was a disconnect with their goaltending. It led to the front office making a change and hiring Briere as the new goalie coach. Finding a way to get improvement from Grubauer, refine Jones and eventually reintroduce an injured Chris Driedger back into the fold is what lies ahead.
Worst case: None of the issues that plagued Grubauer last season get fixed. If that happens, it then raises more questions about the fact that the Kraken will have him under contract for four more years at $5.9 million per campaign. But the goaltending conversation goes beyond how Grubauer, Jones and eventually Driedger perform. The Kraken have committed $11.4 million toward goaltending, which accounts for nearly 14% of their cap.
X factor: Here is why signing Burakovsky and trading for Bjorkstrand were viewed as such critical moves. For one, the Kraken wanted to reinforce their top-six scoring options — and give themselves more choices. The Kraken finished last season with the fourth fewest goals in the league. They had five players who accounted for 45% of the goals. Getting Burakovsky and Bjorkstrand suddenly gives the Kraken two top-six wingers capable of scoring 20 goals, which in theory will lessen the scoring burden on the returning group.
Fantasy outlook: This time last year, there was concern about where the goals would come from in Seattle. In Year 2, that worry continues to linger. But there’s scoring hope on the approaching horizon, in the form of rookie center Beniers. In last spring’s brief taste of NHL competition, Beniers collected nine points in 10 games.
Most fascinating player:Juraj Slafkovsky. Montreal made the 6-foot-4 winger a surprising No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 draft. But will he also make the team’s roster out of training camp? There will be swirling curiosity around Slafkovsky’s transition to the NHL level on a Canadiens team deep with young forward talent desperate for growth opportunities. Montreal is still in rebuilding mode, so a nine-game stint to start the season isn’t out of the question for Slafkovsky.
Best case: The Canadiens use a strong camp and preseason to establish a top-nine mix of veteran performers and rising stars. New additions Dach and Dadonov add punch up front, top defenseman Joel Edmundson returns fully recovered from a lower-back injury to anchor the back end and Jake Allen improves on a 9-20-4 campaign. Martin St. Louis pushes the right buttons to help guide his club to a better-than-expected finish in the Eastern Conference.
Worst case: Montreal has had its share of injury troubles (with Edmundson and Nick Suzuki already) and if health continues to be an issue in 2022-23, that could snowball into some other issues. Working multiple 20-somethings into major lineup rolls is always difficult and if the team’s play suffers accordingly, a slow start could put the Canadiens on a bumpy path. If Montreal finds it’s lacking in veteran leadership and has trouble establishing an identity, a slide down the standings to another bottom-feeder finish could set their rebuild back.
X factor:Carey Price will start the season on long-term injured reserve and might not be able to dress at all in 2022-23. However, the veteran netminder is expected to stick around the dressing room as a sounding board for new captain Suzuki and the Canadiens’ other less-experienced players. How much of an impact can Price have as a purely off-ice presence? The Canadiens aren’t going to be contenders, but these years are crucial for laying the framework for what’s to come.
Fantasy outlook: The defense is so devoid of obvious offensive talent that youngsters like Justin Barron or Jordan Harris could find themselves quarterbacking a power play. But I don’t mind betting on David Savard either, as he’s a minute-munching veteran who has plugged power-play holes in the past.
Bold prediction: GM Kent Hughes will win the trade deadline.
Last season: 25-46-11 (61 points), missed playoffs
Most fascinating player:Tony DeAngelo. Philadelphia traded for DeAngelo from Carolina in July, immediately signed him to a two-year deal and has since popped him next to Ivan Provorov on the team’s top pairing. It’s a critical role for DeAngelo to fill on a Flyers’ team that projects to struggle for offense this season. Winning those lower-scoring affairs will require reliable performances from the blue line. Can DeAngelo deliver on that? The Hurricanes opted not to keep the 26-year-old right-shot defender, despite their own needs on the back end. Will DeAngelo prove Philadelphia was correct to give him a lucrative new deal and a new heft of responsibility?
Best case: Incoming coach John Tortorella pulls off a 180-degree turn with the Flyers’ culture. His hard-nosed approach translates into Philadelphia’s play, and it’s competitive out of the gate. Cam Atkinson and Kevin Hayes provide some offensive prowess, and the Flyers actually have some fun. Philadelphia narrowly misses the playoffs but lays a foundation of confidence and internal respect to build off.
Worst case: The Flyers’ missing pieces — namely Ryan Ellis and Sean Couturier — leave them vulnerable once more and unable to keep pace most nights through three periods. Tortorella’s bruising nature eventually grates on players who tune out his message. GM Chuck Fletcher has no choice but to trade any remaining assets at the deadline, and Philadelphia free falls to another bottom-place finish in the Metro.
X factor: Can Philadelphia actually get by on brotherly love? That sentiment has been a theme in the preseason, starting with Tortorella’s overhaul and translating into the “power of friendship” assistant coach Brad Shaw cited as a Flyers strength for the season. It’s hard to fathom Philadelphia being markedly better on the ice than last season, but what impact could enjoying the process of playing have on this group’s psyche?
Fantasy outlook: The defense is a bright spot, with Ivan Provorov able to achieve fantasy points through his defense and newcomer Tony DeAngelo expected to do the same through offense.
Most fascinating player:Jakob Chychrun. Building toward what they believe can be a better future is the current plan for the Coyotes. An argument could be made that Chychrun is part of that plan, but one could also argue it makes more sense to trade him. He has three years left on his deal carrying a $4.6 million AAV and is a top-four defenseman who can operate in several roles. It’s the type of cap figure the Coyotes can appreciate, because it gives them a productive player on a team-friendly cap hit. But his contract is also a major reason contending teams (who are tight against the cap) are so intrigued.
Best case: Finishing 32nd and having the strongest odds to win the lottery. The Coyotes have never won the draft lottery. In fact, the closest they have come is by getting the No. 3 pick, which happened last season en route to them selecting Logan Cooley. Executives throughout the league have pointed toward teams like the Avalanche, Lightning and Rangers, among others, as those who built through the draft. Getting the chance to draft the presumed No. 1 in Connor Bedard could play a significant role in their future plans.
Worst case: The Yotes play better than expected, and land outside of the top five in the draft order. Believe it or not, the Coyotes have had only five top-five picks since relocating from Winnipeg in 1996. The franchise has attempted to use mid-round picks to take the next step. As of now, the Coyotes appear to have a plan for long-term success, and getting more high-end talent in the 2023 draft is the next step. The alternative would be a step back.
X factor: Mullett Arena and what it offers as a new venue could ultimately be the answer. There is also a case to be made for Lawson Crouse. He went from a forward who could score between 10 and 15 goals per season to having a 20-goal season and 34 points in 65 games in 2021-22. It led to Crouse, who went 11th in the 2015 draft, signing a five-year extension worth $4.3 million annually. How he continues to build upon last season could give the Coyotes more optimism about their future.
Fantasy outlook: At the ripe old age of 24, forward Clayton Keller could finally hit the 30-goal mark this season while racking up another 40 or so assists. Linemate Nick Schmaltz has a supporting fantasy role to fill in most scoring leagues. The same goes for offensive defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, who amassed 51 points this past campaign, including 19 on the power play.
Bold prediction: The ASU experience turns the Coyotes into “faces.”
Last season: 28-42-12 (68 points), missed playoffs
Key players lost: F Alex Debrincat, F Kirby Dach, D Calvin De Haan, D Erik Gustafsson, F Dominik Kubalik, G Kevin Lankinen, F Dylan Strome
Most fascinating player:Patrick Kane. A number of scenarios could play out throughout this season when it comes to Kane and the Blackhawks. They are an organization going through a rebuild, and he’s a top-six forward who had one of the best individual campaigns of his career in 2021-22, with 96 points. Kane is also a 33-year-old who is in the final year of a $10.5 million AAV deal and will be a free agent next summer. Both Kane and Jonathan Toews are members of a pending UFA class who could either remain in Chicago or be moved in the event the front office wants to gain more assets for the future.
Best case: The Blackhawks maximize their resources to build toward their aforementioned future. They have nine picks in the 2023 draft. Two of them are first-round picks, while six are in the first three rounds. It is possible that moving on from some combination of Athanasiou, Domi, Kane and Toews could see them add to their haul for 2023 and/or future drafts. It is also possible at least one of those players re-signs with the team to give them one more player on the active roster who can aid in turning things around. And another best-case scenario is they win the 2023 draft lottery and the chance to select Connor Bedard.
Worst case: If they let any one of those pending UFAs leave without the Blackhawks getting assets back in a trade. So far, Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson has worked to get the type of pieces he feels can aid the organization in the future. Can he continue that trend throughout the 2022-23 season? And of course, another worst-case scenario is the Blackhawks finish at the bottom of the standings but don’t draw the No. 1 pick in the lottery.
X factor: What is this first season going to be like for Luke Richardson? He is a former assistant who is making the adjustment to head coach for the first time in his career. So, there’s that. He is also going to be coaching a team with a roster that appears to be in a state of flux given the Blackhawks are not expected to compete for a playoff spot. Furthermore, two of the best players in franchise history in Kane and Toews might or might not leave at some point in the regular season.
Fantasy outlook: Let’s look at Chicago’s blue line and Seth Jones, who averaged 2.2 fantasy points per game in ESPN’s standard scoring this past season. Then there’s the Hawks’ shot-blocking duo of Connor Murphy and Jake McCabe to consider in deeper leagues.
Bold prediction: The Blackhawks will win the NHL draft lottery.
