-Paul MacLean won the Jack Adams trophy as the NHL’s coach of the year, while Daniel Alfredsson won the Mark Messier award for leadership. Both wins are well-deserved and it’s a nice pat on the back from the hockey establishment.
–Travis Yost dives into team shooting percentage in the NHL in order to make some sense out of it. He believes the idea of shot quality is overrated, with the evidence illustrating that puck possession and goaltending are what’s really relevant to a team’s success.
-There has been a proliferation of mock drafts, but not many by anyone notable. NHL.com‘s latest (consisting of Adam Kimmelman, Mike G. Morreale, and Steven Hoffner) has the Sens picking: Max Domi (x2) or Kerby Rychel. Last year Kimmelman correctly predicted the Sens would take Cody Ceci in the first round.
–Dave Young wonders why there are so many UFA speculation stories surrounding the Sens and doesn’t hit on the most obvious reason: bloggers and journalists have to write about something and there’s just not that much news to report.
-Speaking of idle speculation, Mark Parisi imagines a world where Mika Zibanejad is trade bait for any top player on the St. Louis Blues. I have no idea why he believes the Blues have an interest in Mika (or the Sens in moving him), but for those who like to dream that dream, enjoy!
-More European free agents have come off the market, with Reto Suri signing with Tampa and Joacim Eriksson going to Vancouver.
-Nashville somehow turned Ottawa castaway Bobby Butler into an asset (T. J. Brennan). Neither Florida or Nashville have to sign their new players (both are RFA’s), but it would be odd to make the transaction without that intent.
This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)
eyeonthesens 