Take a small step backward, and you know what I see? I see a NHL that is very, very healthy.
It’s fewer than 10 games into the season, but it sure looks like the hype about picks Nos. 1 and 2 in the draft have proved to be correct. Connor McDavid (1) is much-watch television every night in Edmonton, to the point where all-time great Paul Coffey said, “You can see it in his eyes.” And Jack Eichel (2) is probably a more well-rounded player in Buffalo, with Maple Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf oddly poetic in saying, “I know he’s only 18, but Jack Eichel is far beyond his years.”
There is similar praise to be heaped on the young Duke, Anthony Duclair (3), playing alongside the guy he calls his “best friend,” Max Domi, out in the Arizona desert. (Even if the Rangers contained their old friend on Thursday.) There is the shocking talent of young Russian Artemi Panarin (4) in Chicago, and the intelligence of Dylan Larkin (5) in Detroit. Oh, and the Rangers have Oscar Lindberg (6), who finally made the team after a couple futile tries and put up four goals in his first three games (then slunk away with zero in the next five, but his talent is undeniable).
But the intriguing storylines don’t end with the young players — or always have happy endings. There is more drama in derision and falls from grace.
Just look to the Kings and and Darryl Sutter (7) for a sad and compelling narrative that will likely end in the two-time Stanley Cup champion coach losing his job. It is similarly plotted for the Bruins and Claude Julien (8), who is in the middle of a storm with the circling Boston media and the outspoken and opinionated president, Cam Neely (9). Those two teams have been at the top of the league for so long and both seem to be crashing hard.
Then there are those teetering Western behemoths — the Blackhawks (10) without Duncan Keith for two months, and the Ducks (11) off to such a slow start that some are nonsensically trying to sell a return of Randy Carlyle.
There are some familiar faces in new places out there, as well, with former Devils coach Peter DeBoer (12) finally getting the Sharks to play hard, and former Sharks coach Todd McClellan (13) leading McDavid and the Oilers. Hell, even Winnipeg looks legit, while Calgary and Johnny Gaudreau (14) — old man that he is now at 22 — are far better than their 1-5-0 getaway.
Then you come back east, and look no further than Columbus for the fireworks. Either things there change drastically for the now-0-8-0 Jackets after John Tortorella’s debut loss (15) Thursday or the old puck coach will explode. (And, really, a three-year deal for Torts, with the Canucks getting a compensatory second-round draft pick, plus the Blue Jackets paying some of his remaining Vancouver salary, after he was fired so ignominiously after a 2013-14 debacle? Columbus GM Jarmo Kekalainen knows this is John Tortorella, right?)
The Rangers (16) still are title contenders, and the Islanders (17) are playing well in their new digs in Brooklyn. There are the Penguins (18) with Sid, Malkin and Kessel, and the Flyers (19) just waiting to implode. The Capitals (20) made some terrific additions, but nothing they do matters until the playoffs — even as Alex Ovechkin lines up more Rocket Richard and Hart Trophies, as long as he can figure out his alarm clock.
There are the Canadiens (21) with the best tradition in the sport going out 7-0-0, with the Lightning right on their heels. Tampa Bay GM Steve Yzerman also delivers a daily reminder Steven Stamkos (22) is going to be an unrestricted free agent after this season, and if a deal looks to have hit an impenetrable roadblock, the trade waters will be filled with the richest chum in decades.
So all of that, and the league is readying for a $1 billion-plus windfall in expansion fees from Las Vegas (23) and Quebec City (24). Yeah, things are looking good for the NHL.
A couple of reminders
Turns out Cam Ward is still good. Now if only he could play for a team that mattered.
The Sedin Twins are not infallible.
Sometimes the plays of the year don’t have the predictable result.
Rinaldo is … learning?
Zac Rinaldo, perpetual head-hunter and borderline hockey player now with the Bruins, was not given any bit of supplemental discipline for his monster hit Wednesday on Flyers forward Sean Couturier. In another nice video explanation, the head of the Department of Player Safety, Stephane Quintal, made it very clear Rinaldo’s hit was better than some of his atrocities in the past.
You know, there haven’t been too many egregious mistakes made concerning bad hits this year. It doesn’t mean there aren’t more to come, but if Rinaldo can change, then you can change, we all can change.
Stay tuned …
… to see if the Canadiens ever lose again. With Carey Price playing like he is — and, holy cow, did you see that game the Rangers played up there last week? — then try to pick their next loss: at Sabres; home vs. Leafs; in Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary; home for Jets, Senators, Islanders and Bruins. That would take us to a game in Pittsburgh on Nov. 11 with the Habs at 16-0, the best start in league history (I just assume — someone at Elias might want to get a head start on that).
Parting shot
Always knew I liked Derek Dorsett. Now I know why — he’s got the heart of a figure skater.
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