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Good morning to everyone except for whoever decided there would be only one game tonight. Also, apologies in advance to you James Mirtle fans, as he’s off today. If you prefer your hockey takes to be insightful, well-researched, based on inside information and delivered by someone who’s roughly 8 feet tall, you’re out of luck. You get me instead.
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Last night was one of the busiest nights of the year, with 15 games on the slate. We saw an injury with potentially major Olympics implications. We had a fun shootout between the Mammoth and Hurricanes. We set a record for hat tricks in a month. And we saw the first matchup between the Canadiens and Nordiques in three decades.
And in Detroit, we saw some history …
That’s Patrick Kane picking up an assist on Ben Chiarot’s second-period goal to pass Mike Modano for the most NHL points by an American-born player. It’s a moment we’ve been waiting on for weeks, and point 1,375 happened in front of an appreciative Detroit crowd.
It also kind of happened twice, because Kane initially seemed to break the record with an assist in the first period. After the celebration died down, the Capitals successfully challenged the play for offsides, taking the Alex DeBrincat goal and the record off the board, at least for a while. (That makes you wonder how many points Modano might have lost if we had this stupid offside review when he played. As Sabres fans can tell you, the league was a little lax on the replay review back then. Especially when it came to the Stars.)
Next up for Kane? Maybe Brett Hull, who would appear to hold the actual record for points by an American player with 1,391. This one gets kind of weird, because Hull was born in Canada. But he represented Team USA in international play and was always considered American when he was playing. So, do we get another Kane record watch down the stretch, or is one enough? I’m not actually sure on this one. But for now, congratulations on an impressive record.
More on the Red Wings in a bit. But first …
If you listen closely, you can hear the sound of windows slamming shut around the league.
It’s happening in New York, where Rangers GM Chris Drury recently ran up the white flag with a sternly worded letter, just two years removed from a Presidents’ Trophy win. It sure seems to be happening in Toronto, although management hasn’t made any statements yet, preferring to stay in its typical “blink twice if you’re even paying attention” crouch. The Jets sure seem to be cooked. The Devils might be headed there, too.
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All of that led to a question from reader Andy, who wanted to know where the Leafs would rank among the best teams of the cap era to have never won the Cup. Good question, Andy, let’s dive into it.
First, we have to figure out what a “team” is. When you’re spanning multiple seasons, you run into a bit of a Ship of Theseus problem because players are constantly coming and going. There are only three Leafs left from the 2016-17 team that marked the start of the era; is that the same team? For our purposes, I think it can be, because it all feels like the same era. That’s admittedly subjective, but we’ll do our best.
That said, I’m not going to put the Leafs in the running for this list, because their era isn’t over … yet. It might be soon, but let’s not jump the gun. After all, the Capitals looked like their window had closed until 2018 happened. So, we’ll give the Leafs the benefit of the doubt, and do the same for other current teams that haven’t won yet, such as the Rod Brind’Amour-coached Hurricanes, GM Jim Nill’s Stars or the Connor McDavid-era Oilers.
Instead, let’s focus on eras that are clearly over. Here’s my list for the cap era’s five best teams that never won it all.
5. Buffalo Sabres (2005-2007): Yes, kids, there was a time when the Sabres were arguably the best team in the league for a few years. It was a short stretch, but for the first two seasons of the cap era, the Sabres were dominant. They went to the conference final both years and should have won one, if not both, with some better injury luck.
4. New York Rangers (2011-2015): In a four-year stretch at the height of the Henrik Lundqvist era, the Rangers played in the conference final three times and won a Presidents’ Trophy. They made the final in 2014, and though they lost in five to the Kings, three of those losses came in overtime. What went wrong? It’s not a satisfying answer, but I covered that series, and the Rangers just didn’t get the bounces.
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3. Ottawa Senators (2005-2008): This is another short window, but it would be longer if we went back before the cap to the Jacques Martin era that set the stage. You could call this the Pizza Line era, and it peaked with a disappointing showing in the 2007 final. It also ended bizarrely, with the 2007-08 team looking unbeatable during a 15-2-0 start only to stumble so badly in the second half that it fired the coach. The Sens have really never been close again, save for the magical 2017 run.
2. San Jose Sharks (2005-2019): You could call this the Joe Thornton era, and it’s by far the longest stretch on our list, lasting 14 seasons. The Sharks missed the playoffs only once over that stretch, while posting eight seasons of 100 points or more (and two more of exactly 99). They won 14 playoff rounds, went to the conference final four times, won a Presidents’ Trophy and went to the final in 2016 — basically everything but win a Cup.
1. Vancouver Canucks (2008-2013): This was the height of the Sedin twins/Roberto Luongo era under Alain Vigneault, which saw the Canucks win the Presidents’ Trophy twice in a row. But of course, it’s the 2011 squad that does the heavy lifting here, as that team dominated on its way to 117 points and a trip to the Stanley Cup Final, where it led the series 2-0 and 3-2 before it all fell apart.
Honorable mentions: I wasn’t sure if the 2023 Bruins should count as a different era from the 2013 championship. The P.K. Subban-era Predators have a strong case. The Canadiens had a stretch when Carey Price was at the height of his powers. And while they still had some key pieces from the 2007 Cup win, the Bruce Boudreau-era Ducks deserved more playoff success than they had.
📈 Thirty-two poems. Of varying quality. All the teams covered. The Power Rankings Guys wrote a haiku for every NHL team yet again.
🤕 Great stuff here from Jonas Siegel, who wonders why the Leafs went cheap on their sports science and injury prevention group. Brad Treliving responded directly here.
📊 In his 16 Stats column, Dom Luszczyszyn looks into the recent success of players such as Evan Bouchard, Cole Caufield and Nikita Kucherov.
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🔄 Harman Dayal and Chris Johnston have 10 under-the-radar trade candidates. (And if you missed it, be sure to check out our latest trade board.)
🩼 Pierre LeBrun’s latest rumblings column includes injury updates on Gabriel Landeskog and Brayden Point.
🦈 If it’s not enough that he might win MVP in only his second season, Macklin Celebrini also has an awesome nickname Steph Curry gave him.
🏠 Where does your favorite team’s home show up in our ranking of all 32 NHL arenas?
🎙️ On the Thursday edition of “The Athletic Hockey Show,” Hailey Salvian and Sean Gentille preview the Olympic women’s hockey tournament. On Friday, the Prospect Series crew talked about the prospects trade-deadline buyers could deal to bolster their Stanley Cup chances. Listen here.
Are you ready to live in a world where the Detroit Red Wings are a playoff team again?
It doesn’t look like you’ll have much choice, as the Wings are rolling towards their first postseason appearance in a decade. They’re battling the Lightning for top spot in the Atlantic Division and are far enough ahead of ninth place that it would take an epic late-season collapse for them to miss.
All of that feels like at least a mild surprise, given the rosiest projections for Detroit heading into the season seemed to involve a wild-card chase. So, I asked our Wings beat writer, Max Bultman, to stop by and help me understand what’s happening in Hockeytown.
Heading into last night’s game, the Red Wings were on pace for 105 points, which would be a huge improvement on last year’s 86. That’s despite the fact that they didn’t exactly overhaul the roster during the offseason. What’s changed?
“The biggest change happened midway through last season, when the Red Wings brought in Todd McLellan as head coach at Christmas. From that point on, they played at a 96-point pace — which wasn’t enough to salvage the season, but did show that the roster had more in it than many (including me) were acknowledging. That has continued this year, and the biggest difference I’ve noticed is the Red Wings’ resilience and mentality. They used to be prone to slumps and in-game collapses when things started to go awry.
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“Now, they haven’t gone consecutive games without a point in two months. Throw in a couple key offseason additions in James van Riemsdyk (their fourth-leading goal scorer) and John Gibson (who found his game at the start of December and has been lights-out since), some surprise rookies contributing, and that’s your recipe.”
Steve Yzerman was the returning hero when he first took the GM job in 2019, but his “Yzerplan” has come under some fire for its slow progress. Assuming the Red Wings don’t collapse and do make the playoffs for the first time in a decade, does that put an end to the criticism? How much of the credit for this year goes to the boss?
“For a time, it might end the criticism. But part of the trade-off for the level of patience Yzerman has asked for (and gotten) is high expectations for the payoff. He deserves a fair amount of credit for sticking to his guns in the face of pressure to speed this thing along. He stayed disciplined, and his way appears to be working. And this year, I think the city and fans would be ecstatic to end the nine-year playoff drought.
“That shine only lasts so long, though, and I think the pressure will shift fairly quickly to going on deep runs. This is a proud franchise with proud fans, and after nearly a decade enduring this rebuild, I think their appetites will quickly surpass just making the cut line. After that, it’ll be all about the Stanley Cup.”
The Atlantic is weird and the Red Wings should pull a winnable first-round matchup, but they certainly won’t be Stanley Cup favorites this year. What’s the path to get there? What’s the ceiling on this team, as currently constructed?
“That’s the big question. Right now, it’s hard for me to see them getting past the second round. But with the right additions (either this year or in the near future) there is a path to more. The key building block Detroit has going forward is its top defense pair of Moritz Seider and Simon Edvinsson. Seider is a Norris candidate, and Edvinsson has every tool as a mobile, 6-foot-6 stopper. Both are under 25. I think they need one more legit piece behind those two to slot the rest of the blue line correctly, and they have the assets to chase that.
“Up front, they’ve gotten great play from Andrew Copp as their second-line center over the last two months, but in the long term they’ll need either Marco Kasper, Nate Danielson (both of whom were top-10 picks) or an outside add to shore them up down the middle. And with No. 1 center Dylan Larkin already 29, they’ll need that to happen fairly quickly to maximize their captain’s prime.
“And finally, they need the goaltending to be what it’s been. Gibson has been as good as any goalie in the league for the last two months, but we all know how fickle that position can be. They have a pair of top goalie prospects coming, too, so there are irons in the fire. But without a Connor McDavid or Nathan MacKinnon breaking games open, they’re a team that will likely need strong goaltending to make a run.”
Finally, how would you describe the mood among the Detroit fan base right now?
“I’d say most of the fan base is excited, but there is very much still an air of caution. The Red Wings have blown big cushions before, and the month of March has been their boogeyman in recent seasons. They went 4-10 in March last season, and 3-9-2 the year before that. In 2024, that led to them missing the playoffs on a tiebreaker. So, even the most bullish fans recognize the Red Wings aren’t out of the woods yet, especially in the competitive Atlantic Division.
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“Still, there is a sense that the mental makeup of this group is different, and they’ve certainly put themselves in a good spot so far. If they can get through the home stretch, I expect it’ll be a cathartic April around here.”
Since their last Cup in 2008, the Red Wings have had only one player hit the 40-goal mark in a season.
Can you name him?
(Hint: You won’t find him on any lists of the longest-serving Wings.)
Answer below.
Are there a lot of games tonight? No, there’s only one. But is it a game you’re going to want to watch? Also no.
📺 Blue Jackets @ Blackhawks
7 p.m. ET on NHL Network / Sportsnet / TVA
¯_(ツ)_/¯
Full NHL schedule here. Try streaming games like these for free on Fubo.
We believe that in hockey, as in life, there are no dumb questions. So, if you have something you’ve always wondered about the sport, ask away by emailing us at redlight@theathletic.com.
On Tuesday, you answered a question about pulling goalies right before the shootout. Here’s an even weirder one: Is there a rule against changing goalies on the fly? I don’t mean pulling the goalie, I mean having one guy leave and the other come on the ice instead.
I can’t imagine why a team would ever do it, but could they? — Kevin S.
I’ve got good news, and I’ve got great news.
The good news: There’s nothing in the rulebook that would prevent a team from changing goalies on the fly.
The great news: Believe it or not, it has actually happened.
Here’s the story. Back in 1991-92, the Penguins were the defending Stanley Cup champions. Stacked with talent and with Scotty Bowman behind the bench, they qualified for the playoffs with room to spare. In the season’s final game, they faced the first-place Rangers with nothing on the line. And apparently, Bowman was bored.
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With regular starting goalie Tom Barrasso taking the night off, Bowman decided he wanted both of his veteran backups, Ken Wregget and Wendell Young, to get some playing time. Instead of just having one replace the other at the 30-minute mark, like teams often do during the preseason, Bowman decided (or was persuaded by his players, in some tellings of the story) to alternate them every five minutes. Wregget started, but when the game’s first whistle blew at 5:17, Young came in. This kept up throughout the game. It was weird. But it would get weirder.
Later in the game, Rangers captain Mark Messier led a rush into the Penguins zone, where they failed to get a shot on Wregget. The puck went down to New York’s zone, where they regrouped for another attack, with Messier leading the way again. The Rangers got a good scoring chance out of it, but it was turned away by … Young, who’d swapped with Wregget while the puck was in the other end. The announcers almost missed it, although viewers may have picked up on Young’s different mask, or maybe the unusually excited crowd.
There’s a clip of the moment available on YouTube, although I’ll warn you that it looks like it was filmed on a potato. In case you’re wondering, the Rangers won 7-1, so it’s fair to say that the experiment wasn’t especially effective.
Will any NHL coach ever try it again? Probably not, because all of today’s coaches hate fun. But if it was good enough for the immortal Scotty Bowman, maybe somebody should give it a try.
To find the only Red Wing to score 40 goals since 2008, you have to go back to the very next season.
It’s Marián Hossa, who joined that 2008-09 squad and put up a line of 40 goals and 31 assists for 71 points in what would turn out to be his only season in Detroit.
Alex DeBrincat came close last year with 39 goals. Somewhat amazingly, nobody else has even gotten to 35. That includes Dylan Larkin, whose stunningly consistent output has yielded seasons of 33, 32, 32, 31 and 30.
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Sean McIndoe has been a senior NHL writer with The Athletic since 2018. He launched Down Goes Brown in 2008 and has been writing about hockey ever since, with stops including Grantland, Sportsnet and Vice Sports. His book, “The Down Goes Brown History of the NHL,” is available in book stores now. Follow Sean on Twitter @DownGoesBrown
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