The NHL dropped the puck in its shortened 56-game season on Wednesday, and one thing became clear: The next 115 nights – which will cram into 863 games – will be doozies. The opening night brought us a little bit of everything: a banner without fans, one very dramatic puck drop, a fight, overtime, a staggering amount of ads and 37 combined goals.
Here are our main takeaways:
1. The Montreal Canadiens must be players in the North Division
By the Toronto Maple Leafs – the team everyone predicts to walk away from with the division – to overtime, the Habs made a statement. Don’t check out Montreal. There is a lot of fun about the low season of general manager Marc Bergevin. He added depth to every position, from goalkeeper (solid backup Jake Allen) to defense (Joel Edmundson, as well as the arrival of top prospectus Alexander Romanov, who looked great playing 10:49 PM in his debut) to attack (Tyler Toffoli was the great free agent, but Josh Anderson was the first to endear himself to the fans with a total effort, including two goals).
The timeline is clearly speeding up, especially with 20-year-old Jesperi Kotkaniemi and 21-year-old Nick Suzuki ready to contribute. A game like Wednesday shows the Canadiens swagger.
“We were the better team,” Anderson said afterwards.
Message received!
2. Things look different, but we will adapt
The NHL’s summer bubble taught us that empty hockey arenas translate well into a TV product. The lack of fans was never disturbing; the mesh covering the 100-level seats certainly helps, and broadcasts usually perfected the ambient sound. But a lot has also changed since the summer. The NHL has calculated its losses by disrupting its normal schedule, and Commissioner Gary Bettman said the league and its clubs will lose billions – not millions – to host even a 2021 season. (Gate revenues generated directly and indirectly from games represent about 50% of league revenues, and as of now, only the Coyotes, Panthers, and Stars plan to have fans, in limited capacity).
So the NHL is getting a bit more aggressive in its pursuit of revenue. For the first time, the league sold naming rights to the division names. You won’t often hear me refer to it as the MassMutual NHL East Division, but you will hear it on your broadcasts. A lot of. The competition had teams place advertisements on their helmets for the first time; however, they are so discreet that I didn’t notice (or mind) them much. Ads in the arena, however? Holy cow, it felt like an overload. Most notable were the advertisements circling the glass above the shelves. In Tampa, it was little Adidas logos. In Edmonton, the words “Rogers 5G” were printed over and over on the glass. It was a lot. But perspective: it keeps people working and keeps us busy.
3. It’s going to be a long season in Chicago
A game against the defending champions may not be the best barometer, but Wednesday’s 5-1 beating by the Lightning felt just as brutal as it was inevitable for the Blackhawks. Chicago went on from franchise legend Corey Crawford (the only player in team history to win multiple Stanley Cups) to an unproven trio. Game 1 starter Malcolm Subban had a few highlights worthy saves, but if this is the best defensive shot you can pull off, yikes.
The blue line, which leaked all last season, often left Subban high and dry. The Blackhawks had a hard time generating a front deck. No Crawford, Brandon Saad, Alex Nylander, Kirby Dach and Jonathan Toews – without inspiring replacements – is a problem. The Blackhawks finally admitted to what became abundantly clear through their transactions: They are under construction.
“We don’t have enough players, from top to bottom, to compete with the top teams,” GM Stan Bowman told me in October. “We have a lot of good players, we have a pretty good start to making a good team, but we still have a way to go, and I accept that.”
Chicago is using this season as an opportunity to give the young boys reruns. While it’s admirable to have a plan, you need to get in touch with Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith, who still give their all at a high level but just don’t have the support cast around them to visualize another championship soon .
4. Bring on the offense
It is a gradual trend in the NHL over the past five seasons, with goal averages slowly increasing (peaking at 3.02 goals per game / per team last season) and the average goalkeeper save rate declining (0.910 in 2019-20) . The first three Eastern Conference games alone gave us 24 goals (an average of four goals per team). A few goalkeepers I spoke to during the off-season – especially for teams that hadn’t played since March – said the long run without game situations would be challenging and might require a little adjustment. If you’re wondering how the lack of good preseason training camps and exhibits might manifest, expect some sloppy and wide-open games – to get the campaign started at least.
5. Being the favorite isn’t easy
I remember speaking to Nathan MacKinnon prior to last season, and he said it was the first time in his Colorado Avalanche career that he felt like his team could actually win. The ante is up this year, thanks to MacKinnon who constantly plays as an MVP and GM Joe Sakic who constantly makes smart moves to make this team stronger. Colorado opened this season as the Stanley Cup favorite in Las Vegas. But it was a slow start for the Avs in their opener. They were too sloppy with the puck, which you can’t afford against the big, tough St. Louis Blues. I was looking forward to seeing Gabriel Landeskog, Nazem Kadri and Brandon Saad’s line but they didn’t look good and it wasn’t long before coach Jared Bednar started mixing his lines. Colorado’s typically well-functioning attack had a hard time generating much pressure. Credit St. Louis for strong team play. And yes, it’s only Game 1. But the bullseye is now squarely on Colorado, and it will bring out the best of every team every night.
On Wednesday, Patrick fitted in his first NHL game in 652 days. (And you thought 2020 was long!) Then he scored in the first period, on the power play (Philadelphia’s Achilles heel in the summer bubble). The # 2 pick of the 2019 design missed the whole of last season with a debilitating migraine disorder. It was a dragging storyline for Philly all season; GM Chuck Fletcher said last January that Patrick was making progress and the Flyers were optimistic he could join for a playoff push. Philly hit a stock of depth centers on last year’s trade deadline to compensate for this, but now they are in much better shape, with Patrick manning the third line behind Sean Couturier and Kevin Hayes.
Meanwhile, Lindblom played for the first time since his cancer diagnosis in December 2019. Lindblom, who was having a breakout season at the time of his diagnosis, finished his last chemotherapy treatment in July.
“He’s a boy when you see him in the locker room, you want to compete with him,” said Hayes. ‘He’s a warrior. He didn’t seem out of place. ‘
Even sweeter, The Flyers’ fifth goal, originally attributed to Travis Konecny, was awarded to Lindblom hours after the game.
The Flyers’ attack broke out with six goals – including three in a row to close the third – to beat the rival Pittsburgh Penguins in their opener, showing why many people in hockey expect the Flyers to compete this year. This game really bent Philly’s draft. I buy the Cup hype in this team.
7. A few young players to watch for the rest of the season
Nils Hoglander, the breakout star of Canucks training camp, becomes the latest Swedish obsession in Vancouver. Without much competition behind him on the right wing, Hoglander was able to stay in the top six for a while. A goal in Hoglander’s first game means his hype will grow, at the speed of the Canadian media. Ditto for Alexander Romanov, who, as previously mentioned, will play a major role in Montreal and will only leave Shea Weber behind in the Ice Age on Wednesday. The defender played with a lot of confidence, and have you seen this piece pass?
That acclaimed prospect system that the Flyers have built? It’s now fully realized, with 2018 first-rounder Joel Farabee shining with one goal and three assists. 20-year-old Farabee looks like he is about to take a big step forward. And it will be good to see the Oilers’ Kailer Yamamoto play a full season after scoring 11 goals in 27 games last season (and one in the game against the Canucks on Wednesday). Looks like the top power game, and on Leon Draisaitl’s wing, will only improve Yamamoto’s stock.
Jordan Kyrou buzzed into the Blues opener, and he could be a reliable depth-scoring opportunity. He said he gained 10 pounds this summer, but it doesn’t look like it compromised his speed.
And I’m not sure how many rookie defender Cal Foote will play at Tampa Bay, but consider me intrigued. Coach Jon Cooper protected Foote’s minutes in his NHL debut against Chicago (he logged just 10:47 AM) because he certainly showed some jitters in the first game, but Foote has promise. We’ll see if he gets back to the taxi crew once the Lightning breaks their salary limit.
The 23-year-old American skater had the chance to be the first player in NHL history to score in five consecutive season openers. The first four took place in Matthews’ first four NHL seasons. It didn’t happen for him against the Habs on Wednesday, although he did hit a crossbar in the third. I still predict that this season Matthews will chase Alex Ovechkin for the scoring crown; he will just have to overtake more.