Total Eclipse of the Splash

 

We see athletes chomping on mouth guards all the time. They are kind of uncomfortable, so flipping them off your teeth and gnawing on them, but I am concerned that Mark Scheifele hasn't gotten out enough in Winnipeg. Despite being precariously close to North Dakota, the city has both a thriving indigenous AND immigrant community, suggesting that there are options for really good food around town (I've never been). If he were a little bit further south, though, I would say yes, absolutely, your mouthguard is probably more flavorful than anything you might eat in town. 

Total Eclipse of the Splash

 

Oooh, commemorative ticket! The next best thing to actual tickets! 

Zdeno Chara gets his Hall of Fame jacket

 

Total Eclipse of the Splash

 

It was a big deal when the Predators picked up Stamkos, but when did Sidney Crosby go to Nashville?

A Mammoth overreaction

 The season is still under a month old, and we are seeing some interesting things in he standings. If you are ESPN or TSN only, you might know that the Montreal Canadiens and Pittsburgh Penguins are off to hot starts. This is a bit unexpected, certainly, but even when bad, the Canadiens and Penguins aren't going to fall out of the limelight. Their return to relevance, at least to start the year, is known by all.

We start to get a little funky out west. It is strange to see the Kraken in the top three of the Pacific, but not altogether bothersome. After all, they sit below Golden Knights, who are the benchmark of teams that forned and were shot out of a cannon. It's still stranger, I would say, than seeing the Canadiens on top out east. 

The big winner for strangely strong starts in the traditional sense belongs to the Utah Mammoth. Yes, this is the first year of the Mammoth, but I just noted that it isn't strange any longer for new teams to ascend to the top of the heap right out of the gate. But this isn't just any new team. This is the rebrand of the Arizona Coyotes. 

The Mammoth aren't exactly full of ne players to the organization, either. The leading scorer of that last team in Arizona, Clayton Keller, is no the captain for the Mammoth. Karel Vejmelka, the goalie, was the back up at Mullet Arena. Now, he is between the pipes most nights in Salt Lake City. 

The team has reaped what was sowed in Arizona. They are young, and years of high draft picks are finally paying off for fans in a new market. This is the lesson in patience that has paid off for the Florida Panthers, who were terrible for so long , learned and embraced. Maybe the Utah Mammoth have always been on the long term plan.

Or maybe playing in the Phoenix suburbs is just that depressing, that even a move to play in Salt Lake City is an inspiration. If that's the case, it's a strategy that will be pretty hard to replicate. 

Total Eclipse of the Splash

 

The Jets are hosting the Kraken tonight in Winnipeg! Come see Mark Scheifele at his most milquetoast! Based on the photo choice of a player that the Jets have had on their payroll, it had to have been a choice to pick a photo to promote this game in which he looked, I don't know, anxious? Maybe he isn't worried about the Kraken (and who would be?) but rather about tomorrow's game against the Flames, which has been branded 90's night. 

The 90s, famously, weren't great for the Jets. 

My hockey nap is over, but hockey's nap is not.

 Oh, wow, hey guys, *yawn*, The offseason? Yeah, I assume my nap didn't fully encapsulate almost all of it, right? It did? Oh boy. Let's catch up then, shall we? What kinds of shifts should we expect this season in the NHL? After two consecutive Panthers - Oilers finals, surely things were shaken up a bit, ready to take advantage of Florida and Edmonton's fatigue?

Looks like not. I noted in my last post, verging on three months ago, that the NHL's increased salary cap had made it easier for teams to re-sign their own players, which, for at least this and maybe the next season, rendered the offseason a little on the slow side. There were trades, of course, with K'Andre Miller and Chris Kreider leaving New York, and Mitch Marner leaving Toronto. The balances of power in the NHL, however, remain unaltered. 

Of course, a couple big names didn't re-up with his old team, at least not yet. Kirill Kaprizov and Connor McDavid are still without extensions, though I have to believe they are reluctant to lock in their prices when they know the salary cap is likely to go up again next year. No slight to Minnesota and Edmonton, but those two are just looking to maximize their next contract. (ed. note: Kaprizov was extended mid writing! Life happens fast)

I listened to an interview with Paul Maurice, where he stated that he wasn't worried about the Panthers being tired, because everyone is tired by January. With rosters remaining as static as they are, the greatest turnover is through retirement or the draft, and the Panthers are young enough that their core isn't going to be retiring soon. Florida is probably a favorite again to hoist the Cup in 2026.

I'm back on Blogger after Barry Melrose Rocks was swallowed by a conglomerate that didn't care for my writing about how tough being a Russian in the NHL would be, and wondering about the safety of guys like Kaprizov returning to their homeland, and if they would be allowed back. There was a memorandum to stop talking about politics. Quibbles with painting player concern as "politics" aside, there is more news. Well, the same news. Russia is still at war. 

And now, like the end of last season, even the US and Canada are at odds, adding quite a bit of spice to the NHL season. How can one not talk about politics when talking about the NHL any longer? If any sport requires it, it's this one. Without any tangible impact from the current American administration on the League, we can at least say that cross border games will be extra spicy, in a way that certainly transcends typical hockey rivalries. 

We have a week to get ready for the NHL season. There aren't a many fresh storylines as we see, and the undertones to the season are the same undertones to our daily life in North America for the last several months. Enjoy the game, enjoy the season even if it isn't as much of a distraction as it usually is. I'm sure as hell going to try.