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All-Star Game goodbye for Jagr? Unpredictable Metro? And more thoughts |
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A quartet of random hockey thoughts as we move into the deep weeds of the off-season:
– After the first week of the NHL’s unrestricted free agency period, Jaromir Jagr is still looking for a contract. The 45-year-old legend may not get one – at least, one that comes close to the $4 million he earned in Florida last season – and he might decide to finish up his Hockey Hall of Fame career back in Europe or in the KHL.
But here’s an idea: what if, as a nod to what he’s brought to the sport and league over the course of his time on the ice, Jagr was allowed to play in the NHL all-star game? He could skate wearing any – or all – of the jerseys of the eight teams he’s played for in hockey’s ultimate league, and it could be a celebration of his 23 NHL seasons. Seeing as the all-star Game will be held in Tampa Bay this year, it would also give Panthers fans in particular a chance to say goodbye to an all-time great.
Sure, this isn’t something the league has done in previous all-star games, but it’s an outside-the-box honor for a truly unique force in hockey history. And it would add flavor and spectacle to an event that has often lacked for both.
– Kudos to the Edmonton Oilers for bringing in women’s hockey icon Hayley Wickenheiser as a guest coach for the organization’s development camp. Nobody knows the game better than Wickenheiser, who retired from active competition in January after winning four Olympic gold medals and seven IIHF World Championships. And the idea of hiring her, if only on a one-time basis at the moment, to share her expertise with young prospects is a progressive and savvy one by Oilers coach Todd McLellan.
Wickenheiser isn’t the only member of the women’s hockey community who has something to offer – Hockey Night In Canada analyst Cassie Campbell-Pascal, Hockey Canada dynamos Jennifer Botterill and Caroline Ouellette, and U.S.A. Hockey legends Cammi Granato and Angela Ruggiero, to name a few, could easily contribute valuable knowledge and the benefits of their experiences to up-and-coming players.
The more NHL teams that follow the Oilers’ lead, the better off both the men’s and women’s games will be.
– There will still be many more changes to come before training camp begins, but as things stand right now, the division I’m most fascinated by is the Metropolitan. The division-champion Capitals have been decimated by the salary cap; I’m not sold on the changes the Rangers or Flyers have made; the Blue Jackets have significantly altered their group; and the Islanders, Hurricanes and Devils all appear to be improved.
Of course, the Penguins have earned the right to be the big cheese in the division until further notice, but in an era where the grand majority of NHL franchises have a shot at the post-season under optimal circumstances, the Metro looks like it’s going to be the toughest to call.
– Meanwhile, in the Atlantic, I’m not sure I buy into some of the transactions Lightning GM Steve Yzerman has made this summer. Dealing away Jonathan Drouin brought back a terrific defensive prospect in 19-year-old Mikhail Sergachev, but Drouin’s 20 goals will be missed and it isn’t as if their defense has grown stronger in the short term. The signing of former Rangers blueliner Dan Girardi seems fraught with risk, and even after restricted free agents Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat sign new deals, it’s debatable whether this Bolts team is as strong as the one that missed the playoffs in 2016-17.
Granted, the injury bug went to town on the Bolts lineup last year and was in a large way responsible for Tampa Bay failing to qualify for the post-season, and it’s understandable why Yzerman had to reshuffle things to a degree: there was going to be a cap crunch sooner or later, and Drouin’s new, $5.5-million-per-season contract would’ve exacerbated their money problems.
However, replacing Drouin with 37-year-old Chris Kunitz is not an ideal swap, and in a division that has six of eight teams you could see making the playoffs – sorry, Buffalo fans, still not seeing that big a jump for the Sabres this year – the Lightning’s playoff hopes could come down to the wire once again.
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