A quick mix of the things we gleaned from the week of hockey, serious and less so, and rolling four lines deep. Fewer big hits, more big outrage.
1. It’s not even December, and we’re already unveiling our 2024-25 All–Healthy Scratch Team — two full lines, two defence pairs, and two goaltenders who have been forced to sit and watch teammates play in games they had hoped to dress for.
As you can see by the names on our squad, a benching can foreshadow a trade, embarrass a star, drag out an improved performance, hint at a deeper issue, or simply offer a chance for a player’s mental or physical reset.
What all healthy scratches do, though, is spark conversation and strike nerves.
Kevin Fiala, LW: The Wild star vows to never use his iPad as his alarm clock again. Sleep in, miss a meeting, take a seat. Minnesota’s team rules apply to 30-goal guys, too.
Morgan Frost, C: Isn’t Frost, 25, supposed to be a building block of the Flyers’ core? Well, after just one goal, a dash-10 ranking, and an iffy relationship with the coach, we’re not so certain.
Matvei Michkov, RW: “It’s just part of the process,” according to John Tortorella. If the Philly phenom is to win the Calder, it won’t be with 82 games played.
Taylor Hall, LW: The one-time Hart Trophy winner said he was “surprised” by his sudden benching, and coach Luke Richardson admitted, perhaps, more communication was in order. Counterpoint: Two goals in 16 games? For a team craving offence? Maybe a wakeup call shouldn’t be so surprising.
Morgan Geekie, C: A 26-year-old centre scratched multiple times from a roster lacking centre depth has the hockey world wondering if Boston may use Geekie as a trade chip.
Daniel Sprong, RW: The analytics darling didn’t last long as an ill fit in Vancouver and, post-scratch, has returned to Seattle, where he peaked with 21 goals in 2022-23.
Mattias Samuelsson, D: The Sabres lefty signed a $30-million contract while still unproven. His early-season scratch didn’t come as a “complete shock.” He’s taking it as “just a kick in the butt.”
Jake Walman, D: You’d think the lowly Sharks would need every minute they can get from a capable blueliner like Walman. Ever had to pay for a massage when you skip the appointment?
Timothy Liljegren, D: In Toronto, the writing was on the press box wall — where Liljegren’s back was pressed during all but one Maple Leafs game in the Craig Berube era. Since getting dealt to San Jose, the righty is skating more than 19 minutes a night and getting power-play time.
Vincent Desharnais, D: The big Oiler-turned-Canuck got sat down early by Rick Tocchet and took it as a challenge. “If you care, you obviously get frustrated with it. I think I can play every game,” Desharnais said, undeterred. “I’ve been in this position too many times to lose focus.
Tristan Jarry, G: Tough look for a supposed No. 1 goalie raking in $5.375 million annually through 2027-28. A solid AHL reset gives hope that the Surrey, B.C., native can turn his .863 NHL save percentage around.
Ville Husso, G: Steve Yzerman’s intended goalie of the present (and future) has posted a hideous .811 save percentage in his two Red Wings starts and has now spent more time in Grand Rapids.
Honourable mentions: Shane Wright, Michael Bunting, Max Pacioretty, Bobby McMann, David Jiricek, Ty Emberson, Rutger McGroarty, Jesse Puljujarvi, Jeff Petry, Justin Holl, Matthew Poitras.
2. Jack Eichel knows a thing or two about seeking a second opinion.
“If Auston felt that going to Germany was his best chance of getting back as soon as possible and feeling as good as possible and helping their team, then I’m sure that’s why he’s over there,” the Golden Knights’ top centre said.
“He’s a smart guy. He’s got a lot of great resources. I’m pretty sure he knows what he’s doing. He’s a competitor, and he wants to be back out here playing, and he’s going to do whatever he can to get back on the ice.”
Eichel, you’ll recall, was the first NHLer to push for artificial disk replacement on his neck, a surgery his former employer, the Buffalo Sabres, did not want him to undergo. The conflict between player and team ultimately resulted in Eichel’s trade to Vegas.
“I can’t say whether that opened anyone’s eyes or influenced other people,” Eichel said. “I did what I felt I needed to do.”
Matthews was accompanied to Munich by Leafs medical director Dr. Noah Forman. But the star player is driving the decisions on his treatment here, with the club onboard.
“You have to express what you feel comfortable with and what you feel is the best treatment, whatever that might be,” Eichel went on. “I feel like guys are more open and, you know what, teams are more open to it, too. I think that’s an important part as well. I think teams are communicating well with players and giving them the chance to see the people they want to see. It goes both ways. It’s good that he’s been able to get the treatment he needs or wants.”
3. Team Canada head coach Jon Cooper and noted Lightning face-licker Brad Marchand have a rather interesting relationship.
How does Cooper expect his relationship with the divisional menace to change when they work together at the 4 Nations Face-Off?
“OK, I’ll give you a little story,” Cooper says.
A smile creeps as the coach thinks back to the 2018 NHL All-Star Game at Amalie Arena.
“My mother, who unfortunately recently passed, she was a huge Brad Marchand fan. And all she wanted to do was meet him,” Cooper shares.
“So, when we went back into the big (reception) room or wherever we were, I had to seek out Brad for my mom — and he couldn’t have been more of a gentleman. He took the best pictures with her. He was fired up because he was taller than her, so that was good for him.
“But ever since that day, what Brad did and how he went out of his way to make my mom’s night, I can’t thank him enough. And now that we both share that Mr. TNT award, we’re attached at the hip.”
(In 2023, Marchand won the inaugural Mr. TNT trophy, presented to the player or coach who brings the most personality to the broadcast. Cooper captured the honour in ’24.)
4. So, Gary Bettman says the NHL and the Players’ Association haven’t formally discussed jacking the salary cap beyond the max five per cent, to $92.5 million.
But Elliotte Friedman’s report of the upper limit potentially touching as high as $97 million this summer should have agents licking their chops and preaching patience to clients on expiring deals.
Elite members of the RFA and UFA class of 2025 would be wise to wait and let this play out.
The trend of players negotiating raises based on percentage of the cap is about to butt heads with general managers who try to install their internal salary ceilings.
Should Mikko Rantanen make more than Nathan MacKinnon in Colorado?
How big should Mitch Marner’s slice of the piece be compared to Matthews’ slice?
Luke Hughes can’t make more than brother Jack, can he?
Surely the Rangers’ Igor Shesterkin will become even more emboldened to push for a higher AAV than Artemi Panarin, won’t he?
And what about still-relevant veterans like Marchand, John Tavares, and Claude Giroux? Yeah, they’re keen to stay put, but maybe at less of a haircut than initially anticipated.
The players’ argument — and it’s a fair one — will be that the previous ceiling-setter’s contract was signed before this significant spike in inflation.
Yesterday’s price is not today’s price.
5. Quote of the Week.
“It just feels like the same crap all over again.” — Marcus Pettersson, following the Pittsburgh Penguins’ eighth blown multi-goal lead in 21 games
6. We now present a brief oral history behind the photo of Arizona native Matthew Knies and St. Louis native Joseph Woll sporting Chiefs jerseys in Buffalo Sunday, when the Bills ended Kansas City’s perfect season.
Woll: “Good times. We had to throw some Chiefs jerseys on because we were unable to get Bills sideline passes. The Chiefs were the only ones that gave us passes. So, if we’re going on their sideline, we have to support them, right? But I’m a free agent. I used to be a Rams fan, and I never became a Chiefs fan after the Rams left. Honestly, if there were two teams I’d cheer for, it probably be these two. I don’t have really preference over teams. I just cheer for players on my fantasy team. Stollie is No. 1 in our league. I took him down this week. That was a big win.”
Knies: “I’m not a fantasy football freak like some of these guys, but I watch it here and there. I like the Cardinals a lot. You probably saw the picture of us in Kansas City jerseys. But we weren’t allowed to go on the sidelines for the Bills because they said that they’re too close with the Sabres or something. [Well, the Pegulas own both teams. —ed.] I don’t know. Woller had the tickets figured out, and the Chiefs said we could go on their sideline and wear their jersey. So, might as well take this opportunity, and then it kinda blew up.”
Woll: “It was awesome. We had great seats. Crazy in there. (Highmark Stadium) is kind of in the middle of nowhere, but it gets so packed. Cool atmosphere with people tailgating. I didn’t realize, but people stand the whole game. Like, we stood the whole game. I was tired. We were joking that we needed treatment Monday. You feel worse than after playing a (hockey) game right now. On my feet for four hours, and then you shove yourself in a car for two.”
Knies: “Since I’ve been here for a year and a half, I might as well root for the Bills, but I’m more of a Cardinals fan, so doesn’t really matter to me who wins.”
Conor Timmins, also in attendance but proudly sporting Buffalo blue: “I told them they couldn’t sit with me if they were wearing those jerseys…. We got to cheer for the Bills here. Being this close geographically, you have to cheer for the Bills.”
7. Vegas head coach Bruce Cassidy texted Jim Montgomery in wake of the latter’s firing from the Bruins.
All Cassidy did after Boston spurned him is go win a Stanley Cup. Montgomery is a heckuva coach who leaves a flawed Bruins roster with a Jack Adams Award and a .715 points percentage. Whether it’s in St. Louis or Montreal or somewhere else, he’ll be back.
“Well, I’ve been there, I know that (feeling),” Cassidy said in Toronto Wednesday, the morning after his replacement got replaced. “We’re all friends. Listen, we sign up for a certain amount of credit and blame.
“He’s got a young family. That’s the part that’s always tough, I think, is on the kids. That’s where I feel sympathy for him and his family. His kids — that’s difficult on them.
“He did a great job there. He will land back on his feet. He has a great résumé. I don’t know where it will be. We all end up somewhere because someone got let go. That part we know and we’re aware of and we deal with just fine. It’s the family part that is always difficult.”
Cassidy spoke of how his children, like him, grew attached to New England and were reluctant to pack up. Now, they love Vegas.
“They’re resilient. They get to see some life experiences. Try telling a 12-year-old girl that she’s moving across the country, right? And that’s what Jim’s got to do with his kids at some point, I assume,” Cassidy said.
“Hey, if you could make them look into the future and see that they’re going to form new friendships and experiences (that’d be great). It’s just tough on them at that age.”
Down the hall, Leafs coach Craig Berube was also affected by the firing of Montgomery, who worked as a Blues assistant under Berube and did a superb job with the PK as he paid his dues before his next head job.
“It’s upsetting. I know Monty personally. We brought Monty into St. Louis to work with us for a couple years, and he was fantastic,” Berube said.
“I feel for coaches. It’s a tough business, it really is. This one’s more personal for me.”
8. As Alex Ovechkin puts his all-time goal chase on pause to heal his fractured fibula, it’s worth noting the work Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery invested over the off-season to help his captain topple Wayne Gretzky.
Recognizing Ovechkin’s powerful shot hasn’t wavered much, even at age 39, and that he would always get his cookies on the power-play flank, Carbery drilled down on ways to increase Ovechkin’s even-strength strikes.
“Because the hardest thing to do in the National Hockey League, I believe, is score five-on-five,” Carbery says. “Whether you’re Auston Matthews or Alex Ovechkin, it’s hard.”
First step: Find the optimal centreman.
With Nicklas Backstrom sidelined indefinitely and Evgeny Kuznetsov long gone, Carbery examined the analytics and discovered that even though Ovechkin and Dylan Strome hadn’t produced a ton of actual goals together, their expected goals suggested a dam about to burst.
Strome, who often golfs with Backstrom, did his part by chatting with Ovechkin’s all-time setup man about how to work with a unicorn.
Then Strome assisted on 12 of his winger’s league-leading 15 goals.
“So, part of that is the linemates, but also part of it is him moving his feet, reading the play quickly, and getting to a good F3 spot if he’s going to shoot it from the slot,” Carbery says.
But the most important element Carbery has worked with Ovechkin is his positioning for goals that don’t involve No. 8’s trademark one-timer. Convincing the distance shooter to drive the net, get to the paint more for tips and rebounds.
“Because if he hangs out right there for all of his five-on-five minutes, it’s really hard to score five-on-five from the faceoff circle,” Carbery goes on, excited by the topic.
“If you want to score goals, you got to get to the inside. And he’s done a nice job, as he’s gotten on his career, of mixing some of those goals in. He’s not going to score 20 there. But can he get eight or nine or 10?”
Carbery’s favourite clip to show Ovechkin is this one, from Washington’s regular-season finale in April — a game the Caps needed to win to make the playoffs:
“He didn’t even know it hit him,” Carbery says, proudly. “He just drove the net, stopped there, and next thing you know, puck’s in and it’s off his hand. And we’re up 1-0 in Game 82, the most important game of the year.”
9. In 25 games for KHL St. Petersburg, Kuznetsov has already scored more goals (nine) than he did in his 63-game final NHL season (eight), split between Washington and Carolina.
None prettier than this slice of ingenuity:
10. In light of J.T. Miller’s personal leave from the Canucks being connected to burnout, it’s interesting that player-turned-agent Drew Shore wrote the following post on that very topic this week.
Shore’s conclusion: “You have to find a way to fall in love with the daily grind, or else long-term success is impossible. This applies to sports and everything else in life.”
Worth a read…
11. Amid a discouraging start for both he and the Anaheim Ducks, Trevor Zegras had his best game of the season, putting up two assists and finishing a plus-2 in a win over the rebuilding Blackhawks.
For a gifted talent who was pushed early as a face not only of the franchise but of the league, Zegras has underwhelmed since signing his $17.25-million bridge deal after a testy contract standoff.
Leading up to that deal, he scored 23 goals in 2021-22 and again in 2022-23.
Last season Zegras battled injury and found the back of the net just six times in 31 games.
This season, the 23-year-old has scored but twice, finds himself on the second power-play unit, and is on pace for nine goals over 82 games.
Now the top-line playmaker has reportedly come out saying he hates the wing and wants to play centre.
Big yikes.
The Ducks aren’t going anywhere, but one must wonder if Zegras will be.
The forward’s contract runs through June of 2026, at which point he’ll have arbitration rights. Catch is, he’s hardly performing like a $5.75-million player.
12. If Jaden Schwartz finds himself on the next All–Healthy Scratch Team, you’ll know why.
