NHL Mailbag: Stanley Cup Final, offer sheet madness, NHL free agency

More Stanley Cup Questions

I liked your thread about champions needing to be lucky. Give me the five luckiest champions of the salary cap era.

Before I begin, let me just say all champions, regardless of sport, benefit from Lady Luck. Show me a champion and I’ll show you a team that had a lot of things go right for them. Hockey is a cruel, merciless game that relies a lot on bounces and other things teams can’t control.

1. 2005-06 Hurricanes (Needed seven games to beat the short-handed Buffalo Sabres and the Edmonton Oilers, even after the latter lost their starting goalie in the first game.)
2. 2010-11 Bruins (Tim Thomas had an incredible postseason and Peter Chiarelli actually won a championship. Also had the highest PDO of any champion.)
3. 2016-17 Penguins (Won the Stanley Cup without Kris Letang and they won this darn game which puts them in the top three.)
4. 2017-18 Capitals (Everyone forgets how the Columbus Blue Jackets were a goal post in Game 3 away from putting them down 3-0 in the series. So many things went right for them down the stretch.)
5. 2008-09 Penguins (Easy path to the Stanley Cup Final excluding the Capitals. Also, the Red Wings choked and Dan Bylsma, for the first and only time of his career, wasn’t an awful coach.)

For what it’s worth, the 2018-19 Blues might replace the 2008-09 Penguins in my top five if they win. Jordan Binnington’s been so darn terrific for them and goaltending tends to be a bit of a coin flip. The Bruins probably would too, especially since they got to face the seventh and eighth seeds in the East.

Worst Conn Smythe winner of the salary cap era? 

Without question, it’s Sidney Crosby in 2015-16. He had a decent postseason, but it certainly wasn’t up to his standards. Honestly, the Conn Smythe probably should have gone to Phil Kessel. He was their most consistent offensive force.

Plus, without Kessel, there’s no way the Penguins beat the Capitals despite Crosby and Malkin being virtually invisible the entire series. Also, Jonathan Toews was a fairly weak winner back in 2009-10.

Latest Trade Rumors

Why is everybody talking about Mitch Marner getting an offer sheet and not Brayden Point? 

Well, first of all, Marner’s agent and Marner’s dad are doing a heck of a job of getting Darren Dreger to be their mouthpiece. Mitch happens to play in Toronto, which is a ridiculous media market, so that helps too.

Though you’ve got to wonder why things are so quiet regarding Point. I believe he’s the guy teams should be looking at, not Marner. The Leafs probably have the cap space to match just about any sane offer sheet teams throw at Marner. However, the Lightning don’t.

Unless Tampa can quickly move on from Ryan Callahan and clear more salary, a $10 million AAV offer sheet is a number they simply can’t match. It’s at least plausible for the Leafs to match that. But not the Lightning, especially if they want Erik Karlsson.

I’m not sure how I feel about all of this if I’m Point. I’d at least be giving my agent the side-eye because there’s no reason he shouldn’t be talked about right now.

I know nobody signs offer sheets, but which teams could do it for a major player? 

For a team to sign an offer sheet in one of the top two tiers, three requirements need to be met.

1. They have their own draft picks
2. Cap space
3. Contender

Here are the teams I could see pulling it off. – Colorado Avalanche and Carolina Hurricanes. Honestly, that’s about it. And if they do pull one off, I don’t think it will be for a major guy like Point or Marner. Though I could see them offer sheeting Marner just to force the Leafs hand and then immediately sign Kasperi Kapanen or Andreas Johnsson to a lower one. That would make sense.

Where do Phil Kessel and Jason Zucker end up playing next season?

There’s a very good chance neither player is on the team they are currently on by the time Opening Night comes in October. Zucker’s more likely to be traded, simply because he doesn’t have any no-trade protection until July.

Kessel’s no-trade clause makes trading him far more complicated, especially if he does what he did in 2015 – put rivals and teams who can’t afford him on his list of teams he can be traded to. That said, the Penguins seem dead set on trading him, so it probably still happens.

Let’s get a bit zesty. Zucker will play for the New York Islanders and Kessel will join the Arizona Coyotes. Neither team gives up much to get them, yet look brilliant for doing so a year from now.

The Best Question Anyone Has Ever Asked Me

This is the best question anyone has ever asked me. I’m a huge fan of dogs, so I feel I am perfectly qualified to answer this. Here’s what my starting lineup would look like. Let’s assume each dog will skate as well as they run.

Left Wing

I’ve got to go with a greyhound. If you’ve ever seen a greyhound, you’d understand why they are the perfect wing. First of all, greyhounds are lightning fast and quick. They accelerate fast and are difficult to chase around. Nobody’s winning a race against a greyhound.

Secondly, as any center will tell you, wings tend to have one thing on their mind – offense. Their attention span is shorter than Johnny Gaudreau. Greyhounds have an equally short attention span. Sounds like the perfect wing to me!

Center

Give me a German Shepherd. They are extremely intelligent, which makes them a perfect leader down the middle. While German Shepherds aren’t quite as fast as greyhounds, they can at least hang with them. German Shepherds are strong and very athletic. They’re well-balanced athletes.

Right Wing

Labrador retrievers are the Swiss Army knife of dogs. They can do just about anything. Labs are fast, strong, and agile. But their best quality? Fetching things. Somebody needs to do the dirty work and fetch the puck along the boards. Labs are perfect for this role.

Left Defense

Somebody needs to make sure nobody tries anything dumb on the ice. Sounds like a job for a pitbull. Pitbulls (who are extremely intelligent and loving creatures) are strong, athletic, and fast. They also have the tenacity necessary to assert themselves, protect their teammates, and get the puck back.

Right Defense

To be a defenseman, you’ve got to be able to log heavy minutes. Vizla, a Hungarian dog breed, have a ton of energy. They’re also one of the fastest and strongest dogs in the world, so they can keep up with just about any breed. Most importantly, Vizla have the “unlimited energy” cheat code figured out.

Goaltender

Every great goaltender is a little bit nuts (Martin Brodeur is the exception to this rule). You’ve got to be a bit weird to willingly allow people to hurl a hardened piece of rubber at you. Samoyeds are weird and athletic, so they were born to be a goaltender.

Coach

I’d go with a border collie. They’re herding dogs, so they’re used to not putting up with anyone’s crap. My coach is going to have to deal with a greyhound who just wants to run, a lab who probably wants to say hi to all of his opponents, and a bunch of creatures whose primary objective is to sniff butts. A border collie is perfect for keeping everyone in line.

Free Agency

Which RFA signs for the most total money this summer? 

Brayden Point won’t because he’ll either sign a bridge deal or a hilariously cheap long-term deal (most likely the former). Sebastian Aho’s a strong contender, as he’s the best center of all of the RFAs and it’s not particularly close. But keep in mind the Carolina Hurricanes are mighty good at signing their best players long-term at a reasonable price.

It’s going to ultimately come down to three guys – Matthew Tkachuk, Mikko Rantanen, and Mitch Marner. This is going to be a huge game of chicken, as in each case, both the team and the player want the other to sign a deal so they have an immediate comparable deal.

Tkachuk’s team (the Calgary Flames) have the worst cap scenario by a country mile. So even though he could be a nice offer sheet candidate, we can rule him out. This leaves Marner and Rantanen. The former is going to get a higher annual cap hit, but I’m not convinced he’ll sign for eight (or even seven) years.

I’ll go with Rantanen, who is likely going to get an eight-year deal. But it wouldn’t shock me if Marner or Aho wind up besting his deal.

If Joe Pavelski doesn’t re-sign with the Sharks, where could you see him playing?

Great question. If Pavelski leaves the Sharks, he’s probably leaving from a Stanley Cup contender. He’s from Wisconsin, so that eliminates the “home town team” option unless he feels like playing a different sport.

Pavelski would make sense for the Carolina Hurricanes if Justin Williams doesn’t return. He could immediately step into the captaincy. However, the Hurricanes rarely spend in free agency. But then again, owner Thomas Dundon has already proven he’s not like the old regime.

Keep an eye on the New York Islanders as well. Re-signing Brock Nelson takes them out of the running for Kevin Hayes and Matt Duchene. However, I don’t think it would disqualify them from adding Pavelski. His playing style is one that head coach Barry Trotz and general manager Lou Lamoriello value quite highly. The Islanders need goals and Pavelski’s one of the best scorers in the free agent market.

Ultimately, I think Pavelski stays in San Jose. But he’ll be one of the most fascinating names available if he hits the open market.

Where will Artemi Panarin sign? 

This is purely speculation, but my gut feeling is Panarin will sign an eight-year deal with the Florida Panthers. The sign-and-trade hasn’t been used since 2005 and it has never been used to get someone an eight-year deal. But Panarin probably wants an eight-year deal, and the only way that’s happening is with a sign-and-trade.