You did it Toronto

 No, I'm not talking about winning the Cup, Lord knows that that would be a bridge too far, in terms of miraculous happenstances. The Leafs have finally produced a player that can be classified as a generational talent. Maybe he hasn't been around long enough for you to give him that level of plaudits, but certainly Auston Matthews is producing otherworldly numbers. 

Matthews scored his 65th goal against the Penguins lthis week, which drew level with Alexander Ovechkin for the post-lockout record that Ovie set in 2007-8. Matthews will own that record by the end o the season, probably by a few goals. It/s been a while since this much attention was deserved in Toronto.

Maybe it's because the Leafs have been such steady participants in the postseason over the last several years, but it doesn't seem like they are getting the notice of the media, at least in my decidedly American perspective. There are some mitigating circumstances, but they don't explain this perceived lack of attention.

Yes, the Leafs play in Canada, and that is the main reason anyone would expect for an athlete to skirt the attention of American media, but for what it's worth, ESPN has been at least better than NBC in covering the Canadian teams as well as those in America. Part of this is that Canadian teams are better now than they were 10 years ago, partially because of players like Matthews. 

And with that coverage, one player that gets the "you need to watch this!" treatment from John Buccigross and company is Connor McDavid, last year's leading goal scorer. McDavid has marks that would seem to make him have even less a profile in America, playing in a smaller Canadian market on team that is not historically as successful, and being Canadian, whereas Matthews is American.

At the beginning of the season, Matthews (or McDavid, for that matter) weren't among the 10 most popular jersey sales over the summer, though last year, Matthews was third behind McDavid and Ovechkin. I suspect a good run in the postseason will elevate Matthews standing as a North American athlete, but I can't explain why his star isn't a little bit brighter.

Not that any of this matters for the product on the ice. Matthews is everything the Leafs thought he would be, and probably even a bit more. Like Crosby in Pittsburgh or Gretzky in his multitude of stops, your team is never really going to be out of it if Auston Matthews is scoring goals for you. 

NHL.com is going streaking

 We are in the final throes of the regular season, and teams are clinching their spot in the playoffs and the NHL is celebrating their accomplishments. The Maple Leafs, despite all the consternation over their lack of success when they get there, have reached the postseason an impressive 8 seasons in a row.

A more successful team recently, the Lightning, somehow only marked their 7th post season in a row. It could surely be some balm for those Leaf fans troubled by success after the regular season, that they were so consistent, even more so than the steady Lightning.

And then there was a third team that is in a differetnt kind of streak. we don't need to talk about that. 

The Capitals will stay in DC

So it isn't the relocation speculation of the Coyotes or even the Jets, but the Washington Capitals (and the Wizards) had been in discussion to move out of the District into northern Virginia, which is a completely different cultural environment.

The Caps have played at Capital One Arena right downtown DC. I mean, it's right across the street from the National Portrait Gallery. It's a half hour walk to either the Capital Building or the White House. Many of the people that live in close proximity are often congressional functionaries and foreign dignitaries. 

Were they to move to northern Virginia, they would never be more than 5 miles from a HomeGoods. Residents are more long term, working perhaps more for the various departments of government, rather than in the fleeting capacity of Congress. Ironically, some of these residents may work for Capital One. 

It makes more sense for the Caps to want to be among the longer term residents of the region, the people that are probably Caps fans, and not taking their allegiances from their district near Detroit, or the national affiliation from the Central African Republic, or what have you.

Of course, one thing I can tell you about suburbs anywhere, be they in Northern Virginia or, for example, Glendale or Mesa, they don't really want stadiums or arenas built in their backyard. And most lawmakers would prefer getting zero blowback on getting an arena getting built, so how about a largely transient population in the Nation's Capital? 

Oh, that would put undue burden on the rest of the residents of the District that ARE long term residents but don't live downtown? That's fair. Maybe just stay at Capital One Arena. Everyone that doesn't own an NHL or NBA franchise wins. And they get to stay next to the Portrait Gallery, which is still kind of neat. 

End of the season rooting interests

 There is a wide Gulf between the best teams in the NHL and the next tier. There is a long standing observation over how difficult it is to sustain the success of a season in which you won the President's Trophy, and carrying that through to success n the Playoff. At this point, since the team with the most points doesn't ever win the Cup, I think we can be happy if a team from this upper echelon wins it. 

There are 11 teams with more than 88 points, and 0 teams with between 83 and 88 points. There is also a gap between 89 to 93 points, and there are 8 teams with 93 points or more. Let's hope, then, that one of these 8 teams can win the Cup, and render the entire, long winded regular season valid. If you are a fan of one of the other 24 franchises, this is probably going to be difficult. To help, I have come up with 1 reason to root for every one of the top 8 squads.

1: Bruins - Do you like consistency? Well, these Bruins, like Brad Marchand or David Pastrnak or Charlie McAvoy have all been a part of the Bruins organization since 1976

2: Panthers - Last year, I picked the Panthers to win the Stanley Cup, feeling their all in attitude was laudable. Now a year later, I would still feel pretty good about myself if they won it all, and don't you want me to feel good about myself?

3: Rangers - Henrik Lundqvist still has close ties with the Rangers. Maybe you could get his number if he knows you are cheering for them? Or maybe you are just a fan of bad nicknames, then you can cheer for the Breadman, Artemi Panarin.

4: Hurricanes - Brent Burns  is still around and generally kicking but. He's been growing a playoff beard since he was 19, and it would be great to see if he would shave upon winning it all.

5: Avalanche - This is purely an "I like Denver" play, because Denver is lovely. The Avs won it two seasons ago, and the town got a little high on themselves, but still, a lovely town.

6: Stars - This is a tough sell for a fan from Minnesota, given the history, and the fact that the Wild aren't going to be in the postseason either, but here goes. Jake Oettinger and I have some common acquaintances, so that's pretty neat. 

7: Jets - This is the team for nearly every Canadian outside of Vancouver.

8: Canucks - This is the team for fans inside of Vancouver, or people who remember their last trip to the Final and the chaos that ensued in the city. Be safe, Vancouver.

So there you go, maybe you can use that handy guide to find the right choice for you. Or you can be a traditional Flyers fan and root against everyone. 

I can tell you how it SHOULD go

 The beginning of trade season has seen one team in particular get very active very early. The Calgary Flames have taken advantage of talent on their roster, a somewhat underwhelming season and a market thirsting for talent infusions and executed a couple of big trades, sending Elias Lindholm to Vancouver and Chris Tanev to Dallas. Noah Hanifin is likely next, and who knows what else is to follow. 

Meanwhile, NHL.com states that the Minnesota Wild "might not [trade Marc-Andre Fleury] if the Wild believe they can make the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They're in the hunt...". Whether or not the Wild trade Fleury likely has more to do with whether or not Fleury wants to be moved. He's had a Hall of Fame career, is on his 4th team and is approaching 40. I can't imagine he's all that willing to be traded again, even to a cup contender, and the Wild are likely willing to let him have his way. 

But calling the Wild "in the hunt" is the really strange part of all this. The Flames, the team that has been jettisoning, and will continue to offload, their top talent, are a point ahead of the Wild, with two games in hand. This is, of course, made worse by the Wild dropping their two most recent games against two teams immediately ahead of them in the standings - the Predators and Blues (who are also, it should be said, ahead of and tied with the Flames, respectively).

The Flames are on a 5 game winning streak right now, and if the Predators weren't in the midst of an 8 game run, they would be right up against the final wild card spot. The Wild have been an uneven mess for most of the season. They haven't had any streaks, except for a brief minute after the all star break, where you thought that they would be making a run towards the postseason.

I'm an advocate for teams always making every effort to reach the postseason. Anything can happen when you get there, especially in this era when the first couple of rounds may be against a rival to help you get your blood boiling, but I also understand the Flames desire to cash in where they are able. The players they are trading away aren't going to be on the roster next year, and they are only at the periphery of the postseason conversation. Surely, they could make it, but also if they don't they would have lost Tanev and Lindholm for nothing.

A bigger gulf between the Flames and Wild isn't the attitude for the postseason. Minnesota just doesn't have the high end tradeable assets that Calgary does. Outside of Fleury, the Wild's other players on expiring deals are names like Connor Dewar and Brandon Duhaime, which will not attract the same kind of attention. 

From a strict performance standpoint, it should be the Wild and not the Flames selling off pieces already. In the end, we might not see the Wild do much of anything while Calgary remains active, because things aren't solely determined by performance. 

Nobody is ready for the trade deadline

The trade deadline is coming up six long days from now. It seems like The Athletic has been sending me updates on potential deadline targets for the last two months, and we still have an arduous week to wait for the deals to start flying.

Of course, some deals, like Chris Tanev's, Sean Monahan's and Elias Lindholm's have already been executed, but the real party will come on Friday. And not Friday morning, everything will start around lunch time and conclude with a mad dash for the closing bell.

This is just how hockey is as an organization. All of the big pivotal moments are frantic and over before you realize they have started. The offseason has nothing until the beginning of July and then FREE AGENCY and then we wait until the season starts. There are some meandering transaction stories and then for three brilliant hours, we have 25 trades involving every team in the league. Once in a while, a team will sit out completely, but that's typically because they overslept.

The Flames are very clearly tearing things down. There are other teams out of contention that won't have the right pieces to have a fire sale, but I would watch the Minnesota Wild as a payroll pressed team rapidly falling out of contention as an active player on Friday. The Islanders also rank high on my list of teams to watch for wrong reasons this week.

On a more positive front, I think teams that are in position thanks to a very hot stretch may want to reinforce their roster before they slip back to mediocrity. That would point me to look at more things to come from Winnipeg, but also the Nashville Predators. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Rangers take a swing as well. In either direction, many teams will have to determine their course of action based on how just these next couple of days go. 

But then again, everyone is going to be making a move. There is a chance with any roster shuffle that it might end up being the type of move that brings in a beloved third liner for many years to come, or a player that develops into a better skater than the one given up in trade. It's a wild ride, and none of it will be predictable. 

Alexander Ovechkin is still the main show in town

 Even after all these years, Russian superstar Alexander Ovechkin is still the leading scorer with the Washington Capitals. The offense flows through him, and
given the state of other sports in the DC area, it's not too far a stretch to say he is the biggest athlete going in the nation's capital right now.

Of course, just like the rest of DC teams, the Caps are not in playoff position right now. They are 9th in the East, but 5 points out of the second wild card spot, It's a far cry from the halcyon days of the Capitals, who have watched the rest of the Southeast pass them by. 

It's not hard to see that things are off with the Caps. Yes, Alexander Ovechkin is still the leading scorer for Washington, but were he on, say, the Minnesota Wild, in about the same position out West, Ovechkin would be #5 in points. Ovi is still leading the Capitals, but instead of a pronouncement of his extensive talent, it is more of a condemnation of the rest of the team.

Decent goaltending and a solid backline are keeping the Caps in the hunt, even as their offense runs through a 38 year old on the downside of his career. In fact, they are close enough with few enough teams ahead of them that they might take a swing at the deadline to get them back in.

And well they should. For most teams, most players, I would say Ovechkin himself should be on his way out of town, but not someone who has spent nearly 20 years associated with the organization. Not the greatest player ever in the organization. The Caps are simply better off giving Ovechkin a send off, rather than trying start building for next year, with or without Ovechkin.

Sometimes building a team back is the right move, but Alexander Ovechkin is the best thing Washington has going on the sports scene. Let him keep doing that through the rest of the year.