What are the takeaways from the 2023 NHL playoffs? The two most obvious are 1) offensive depth (which makes Ian Mendes’ recent comment about not needing to add skilled players ridiculous, even if it probably reflects what the org thinks), 2) goaltending importance is declining. I think #1 is inarguable (and frankly, has always been the case), but with #2 none of the elite goaltenders in the league could drag their teams forward. It must make GMs wonder just how much cap space to invest in an elite ‘tender. Far better, it seems, to have a pair of decent goaltenders who can be rotated through as needed and easily discarded if they start to decline.
At a broader level, what I said not long ago still stands: this is the least interesting final four that I can recall (ratings vs last year were roughly half, cf). The NHL failed to reward new or casual fans with the dynamic talents or popular teams. This is a result of the league expanding in the wrong places as well as its long habit of not correcting erratic officiating (lauded by many, but a terrible approach if trying to expand the sport). Has the league learned anything from this? No. I don’t think Gary Bettman’s NHL has learned anything during his long tenure (ergo 26 years of the dead puck era–the current two-year change has only dragged it towards Original Six scoring, not like the league’s growth in popularity in the 70s and 80s).
New Sens ownership has arrived and created understandable excitement. Financial security and a push to win means Ottawa will be a cap team, but I’m unconvinced that Pierre Dorion is the right GM for that and I fear a splurge of mad spending and trades that leads to poor results (echoes of 2017-18, cf). Going over Dorion’s trade history (and here and here) is frightening (the Mark Stone trade is front and center right now). Back to the ownership: let us recall that, other than Montreal’s miracle run to the Cup, the Canadiens have largely been a mess (especially since 2015). Andlauer wasn’t the only owner, but it’s worth noting he doesn’t arrive with a pedigree of success.
The coverage of Andlauer has been interesting and I’m not sure what Ian Mendes was smoking when he wrote:
This is not the right time for a glitzy, Hollywood-style ownership group in Ottawa. It’s time for some adjectives better suited to this sleepy government town. Quiet. Calm. Stable.
What’s his rationale? He’s comparing Melnyk’s ownership to Ryan Reynolds and Snoop Dog–why? There’s no real argument provided to make that connection, nor is there an effort to look at Andlauer’s prior history with Montreal (this applies to Nichols as well, albeit his article is better for what it does cover). Mendes’ comment seems to be purely about maintaining access–it’s a lazy article and perhaps a consequences of what happened to the fan-friendly Mendes‘ career.
Cap Space
Speaking of Nichols, something he pointed out (as pointed out by others), if the Leafs buy out Matt Murray, they actually clear 1.3 million in Sens cap space. It would be an amusing result of the whole botched situation (one of many self-owns by Pierre Dorion, cf).
The Sens signed last year’s 3rd-round pick Oskar Pettersson to an ELC. I don’t know why they felt rushed to do so (he’s coming off a good year, but not a breakout year), but I suppose there’s no harm in doing so. I suspect this is laying the groundwork for roster moves (time will tell–certainly the two recently signed European FA’s, DR Nikolas Matinpalo and LW Jiri Smejkal, suggest adding depth in order to move current prospects–could the disaster that is Tyler Boucher be on the move?).
Speaking of criticism and change, TSN 1200 has been hit with cuts from Bell (as have plenty of other stations). The most serious loss is Shawn Simpson, who is the only person at the station I paid much attention to. It seems like the overall changes to format are fairly small, but the station has been on a long downward spiral. Is there an appetite for safe, team-friendly coverage? That’s unclear to me. If Ottawa becomes a contender, the station can survive with that approach.
This article was written by Peter Levi
eyeonthesens 