1. Defenseman Cale Makar has four points in six games and is still -9. Something is very wrong with the Avalanche. 2. Big name injuries continue. Washington’s T.J. Oshie is out week-to-week after suffering a lower body injury against Detroit. 3. Why isn’t anyone noticing that Calgary’s Elias Lindholm is tied for second in the league with seven goals? He has 26 goals in his past 62 games. 5. Plenty of speculation out there about the Blackhawks including a full roster rebuild to go along with their management rebuild.
6. Nashville rookie Phil Tomasino seems to get a quality scoring chance or two every game. 7. I always manage to underrate Darryl Sutter’s ability to get the most out of his teams. His old school tactics still seem to work. I saw them live recently and was impressed by how hard the Flames were to play against. That’s a hallmark of a Sutter team. 8. What happens after an NHL coach loses his job in a scandal?. Bill Peters is still coaching in the Kontinental Hockey League. 9. If the Blackhawks rebuild and trade Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, the Kane Sweepstakes will be bigger than the Jack Eichel Sweepstakes. 10. Defenseman Jakob Chychrun had a breakthrough season in 2020-21, and now he’s -10 with no points after six games. The competitive situation in Arizona is just sad. The Coyotes have given up 30 goals in six games.
11. If you want to appreciate how talented Detroit Red Wings youngsters Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider are, consider coach Jeff Blashill had them out with captain Dylan Larkin during a 3-on-3 overtime against Washington. They held onto the puck until they set-up Larkin for the game winner. In addition to boasting overflowing talent, the two rookies are very poised. 12. The Red Wings have another elite youngster coming in defenseman Simon Edvinsson. He has nine points in 15 games for Frolunda in the Swedish League. He’s compared to Rasmus Dahlin and Victor Hedman. 13. Zach Parise doesn’t have a point yet for the New York Islanders. He’s playing about 14 minutes per game. He is getting shots. 14. Heard Jeff Gorton’s name a few times in connection to the Chicago opening. 15. I always got along fine with John Tortorella no matter where he was coaching. He’s an honest man, never afraid to offer hot takes. I like him on television as well. He tells you what he’s really thinking.
16. Don’t think the Metropolitan will get five playoff qualifiers because the teams are so good they are going to beat each other. Their records won’t be good enough. 17. The Buffalo Sabres have a +8 goal-differential and the Tampa Bay Lightning are -6. That’s hard for my brain to accept. 18. Can’t believe I’m saying this: but the Lightning could use some goals. Trading for Phil Kessel is not a crazy idea. 19. New York Rangers’ Artemi Panarin is such a consistent scorer that it is very odd that he has one goal in seven games. New coach? New system? 20. The Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights are 24th and 26th in scoring right now. You can’t be contenders scoring less than 2.5 goals per game.
21. The Edmonton Oilers are giving up 37 shots per game. Their goaltending better stay strong. 22. The Islanders are looking for a defenseman, although GM Lou Lamoriello wants to watch his group for a while to see how strong it is 23. Jonas Korpisalo seems to be the player teams are looking at if they are uncomfortable with their netminding. That might be the Edmonton Oilers. 24. Already hearing Hampus Lindholm chatter. He will be a big name as we march toward the trade deadline. He seems like a Lamoriello type of player. 25. Depending upon how the Red Wings perform this season, Nick Leddy could be available for trade. He will be an unrestricted free agent.