Sebastian Aho's early-season struggles appear to be in the rearview.
After putting together an impressive rookie campaign that saw him tally 24 goals and 49 points in 82 games - finishing fifth in rookie scoring - the Carolina Hurricanes forward struggled out of the gate to begin the season.
He went goalless through the club's first 15 games, contributing just eight assists. He's been on a mission since mid-November, though, and has strung together a five-game point streak that's seen him tally five goals and 10 points.
The streak has seen Aho vault into second in team scoring with 18 points, just three back of Teuvo Teravainen.
The Hurricanes have gone 5-2-1 in their last eight games and sit within striking distance of the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. They can attribute their recent success largely to the improved play of their budding star.
The backup goaltender has been called upon to start the past three games in a row, with head coach Bruce Cassidy electing to give starter Tuukka Rask a bit of a break.
And Khudobin, who struggled mightily out of the gate last season, has rewarded Boston with wins in each of those three games.
His latest stellar performance came in a 3-2 shootout win over the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday, wherein he made 40 saves in regulation and overtime, and stopped 10 of 11 shootout attempts.
For the season, Khudobin has posted a record of 6-0-2 with a save percentage of .938, the latter stat ranking him near the top of the leaderboard. Meanwhile, Rask's record sits at 3-7-2 with a .897 save percentage.
Rask will likely regain a hold on the crease, but for now, Khudobin is Boston's man in net, and for good reason.
The contest would have been Weber's second in Nashville since being traded for Subban before last season, and the first time with both players in the lineup. Subban was injured during the Canadiens' lone trip to Nashville in 2016-17.
Weber was a late scratch Tuesday night against the Dallas Stars, a game the Canadiens dropped 3-1.
One quarter into the 2017-18 NHL season and the league appears to have achieved what it most desired: more goals.
Thanks to stricter penalty rules, among other factors, goal scoring has gone up 12.4 percent from last season, with the current average at 6.1 tallies per game.
It's the highest mark at this point of the calendar since the 2005-06 season, but for some, the league-wide upward trend hasn't yielded the same results. Here are five players proven to be statistical anomalies so far:
Brent Burns, Sharks
After his 29-goal, Norris Trophy-winning output from last season, it's flat-out dumbfounding that Burns hasn't been able to find the back of the net once in his first 19 games.
Burns is still shooting quite a bit (82 on goal so far), but hasn't been able to break through for a Sharks team that ranks dead last with 46 goals for.
Jonathan Drouin, Canadiens
Drouin, by no means, has not been the biggest of the Canadiens' problems at the quarter mark of a disastrous season, but his production leaves something to be desired in his first season with his hometown team.
In fairness, Drouin ranks second on the Habs with 13 points overall, but considering his trade counterpart, Mikhail Sergachev, has five goals and 14 points so far as a rookie, it's reasonable to expect a little more.
Alexander Wennberg, Blue Jackets
A 59-point contract year resulted in a fresh six-year, $29.4-million extension for Wennberg in the offseason, but he has yet to live up to the price tag.
Though Wennberg's missed the Blue Jackets' three most recent games due to injury, he has just one goal on the season and hasn't lit the lamp in his last 14 contests. That $4.9-million cap hit will be hard to justify for Columbus unless he starts to be much more productive.
Bryan Little, Jets
While the high-flying Jets have managed the sixth-most goals in the NHL, Little has been one of Winnipeg's few offensive disappointments with just two goals through his first 20 games.
Little is deployed on a talented second line, and can usually be counted on for about 20 goals per season when healthy, but he'll need a sharp turnaround to reach what's expected of him.
Sam Bennett, Flames
After signing a $3.9-million bridge deal in September, Bennett's miserable production at the quarter mark has shown the Flames may have dodged a bullet by avoiding anything long term.
Bennett started the season with a 15-game pointless drought, and has only mustered one goal and two assists since. If anyone doesn't believe there's more goals to go around this year, it's him.
In the midst of the Edmonton Oilers' horrible 2017-18 season, one can't help but wonder what the team would look like if general manager Peter Chiarelli never went through with some of his questionable decisions. To take this exercise to a whole other level: What would the Oilers look like if Chiarelli was never hired in the first place?
Here are a list of ground rules to make these projections fair, rather than picking and choosing the good and bad moves he's made:
Any player Chiarelli acquired via trade, free agency, or waivers will not be included
Draft picks made during the Chiarelli era will still be included
Players taken with draft picks traded away by Chiarelli will be included
Players Chiarelli traded away will be included
Buyouts will remain included
Players' current cap hits will be used
Chiarelli was hired by the Oilers on April 24, 2015. Here's a look at the Oilers if they essentially operated without a GM (excluding draft picks, re-signings) from that date forward (players in bold are not on the current Oilers roster):
In reality, a coach would probably split up Hall, McDavid, and Draisaitl, but the the possibility of that trio together likely has Oilers fans sick to their stomachs.
The second line is made up of three players not currently on the Oilers' roster. Eberle, of course, was traded for Strome. Yakupov, who is on pace for a career high in goals with the Avs, was dealt to the Blues for a third-round pick. Barzal, a potential rookie-of-the-year candidate, was the first-round draft pick used by the Isles in the trade that sent Griffin Reinhart to the Oilers. Yikes.
It's possible Schultz - who was moved to Pittsburgh for a third-round pick - never would have flourished as a player if he never left Edmonton, but nonetheless, a defenseman with his offensive capabilities (51 points last year) would certainly be helpful on the Oilers' back end. Davidson was dealt for David Desharnais a year ago, but is nothing more than a bottom-pairing blue-liner at best.
While he hasn't played great this season, trading for Cam Talbot is arguably Chiarelli's best move as Edmonton's GM. Without him, they have a gaping hole in the crease.
Needs and flexibility
(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)
Going three offseasons without making a trade or signing a free agent certainly leaves the alternate reality Oilers with many holes to fill. They could use a fourth-line center, depth on the wings, at least two defensemen, and a starting goaltender.
However, without signing Lucic to a seven-year, $42-million contract, Russell to a four-year, $16-million contract, and Sekera to a six-year, $33-million contract, the alternate reality Oilers have much more flexibility. With the roster listed above, they would currently have $27.59 million in cap space, compared to the $8.19 million in cap room the real Oilers have, per Cap Friendly.
Additionally, with Barzal in the fold and Draisaitl's ability to play center, the alternate reality Oilers could afford to trade Nugent-Hopkins and his $6-million cap hit to address the blue line, or the crease, and still have exceptional depth down the middle.
Building for the future
(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)
Both the current Oilers and the alternate reality Oilers will be in a bind next season when McDavid's $12.5-million cap hit kicks in. However, the alternate reality Oilers seem much better suited to handle it.
Here is a list of free agents for each version of the team after this season:
Current Oilers
Alternate Reality Oilers
Ryan Strome (RFA)
Anton Slepyshev (RFA)
Mark Letestu (UFA)
Nail Yakupov (RFA)
Patrick Maroon (UFA)
Iiro Pakarinen (RFA)
Mike Cammalleri (UFA)
Darnell Nurse (RFA)
Anton Slepyshev (RFA)
Brandon Davidson (RFA)
Drake Caggiula (RFA)
Laurent Brossoit (RFA)
Iiro Pakarinen (RFA)
Matthew Benning (RFA)
Darnell Nurse (RFA)
Yohann Auvitu (UFA)
Laurent Brossoit (RFA)
The current Oilers project to have $13 million in cap space next season with 14 players on the roster, and several RFAs due for pay raises.
The alternate reality Oilers project to have $20.65 million in cap space next season with 10 players on the roster, and a few less RFAs due for pay raises.
Both cap situations aren't pretty. The alternate reality Oilers may have to end up trading away both Nugent-Hopkins and Eberle to free up cap room, but with a stronger and younger core in place, they're better-suited to handle the inevitable cap crunch that comes with paying elite players like McDavid and Draisaitl top dollar.
Chiarelli handed out big contracts in free agency in an effort to improve the Oilers right away. It worked, as they made the playoffs a year ago, but as far as sustained success goes, the Oilers would be in a much better spot long term if he had shown more patience in building this team.
As the Montreal Canadiens continue to underperform, it's impossible not to look back at the P.K. Subban-for-Shea Weber trade as the most glaring of Marc Bergevin's ill-advised moves, and the one that precipitated the club's descent.
Subban will host the Canadiens for the first time Wednesday, when his Nashville Predators - winners of seven of their last 10 games - meet a Montreal squad that's lost four in a row and now has the NHL's fifth-worst record.
While it's not productive to fixate on the past, the matchup is yet another reminder of the controversial blockbuster and the fact that it's a major reason the Canadiens are where they are at the moment.
And yes, Carey Price's latest injury has exposed the Canadiens' flaws and once again forced them to forge ahead without their star goaltender.
But nearly 17 months after the Subban-for-Weber trade, the swap still stands out as an inescapable factor in Montreal's downfall.
The Canadiens undoubtedly appreciate Weber's blistering slap shot, his ability to score goals, and his experience, but they're a slower team without Subban, who's producing at a higher per-game clip than Weber on the offensive end and providing the Predators with further defensive stability.
Nashville's previously steady blue line transformed into the NHL's best last season with the addition of Subban, who helped the Predators reach the Stanley Cup Final after the Canadiens were bounced out of the first round by the New York Rangers.
(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)
Now that the Canadiens' situation has only gotten worse more than a quarter of the way into the 2017-18 season, Montreal's recent slide only further underscores that they were the losers in the deal.
It not only hurt Montreal in both the short and long term (have a look at their respective contracts for evidence of the latter), but it was also the most blatant example of how Bergevin's misguided vision for retooling the roster only made it worse.
That strategy, namely valuing physicality and strength over speed and skill, is arguably the biggest reason why the Canadiens have taken a significant step backward, and the Subban-for-Weber move was the largest in a series of actions Bergevin took to mold the team in that way.
Weber is dealing with an injury and may not play Wednesday, but the game will be compelling regardless. It's a reminder that the Canadiens gave up on Subban, and that they're worse off in so doing.
The governing body of Canadian hockey is taking the KHL's threat seriously.
Hockey Canada CEO Tom Renney sent a letter to the KHL asking the league to allow its players to take part in the 2018 Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, the organization confirmed to CBC Sports.
The Czech, Finnish, and Swedish hockey federations co-signed the letter, Sportsnet's Chris Johnston reports.
Earlier this month, KHL president Dmitry Chernyshenko threatened to "respond accordingly" by prohibiting the league's players from going to the Olympics if the entire Russian delegation is barred from competing as punishment in the IOC's ongoing doping investigation regarding the 2016 Games in Sochi.
That decision will be made Dec. 5.
IIHF president Rene Fasel has said numerous times that the KHL is not allowed to prevent its players from participating in the Olympics, and that the international governing body would be forced to apply sanctions should the league not comply.
"(The) KHL, being a member of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation, has to follow the statutes and bylaws of the IIHF and they have to release foreign players and the national team players from other countries to play in the Olympics," Fasel reiterated to Russian news agency TASS on Monday.
An IOC ban on Russian athletes in Pyeongchang would affect athletes in many sports, while the KHL's threatened response could impact players from many countries.
It was another forgettable outing for Cam Talbot on Tuesday night.
The Edmonton Oilers netminder saw just 7:35 of ice time before head coach Todd McLellan yanked him from the game after Talbot conceded two goals on the first three St. Louis Blues shots he faced.
Talbot's season hasn't been as prolific as it was one year ago. His second season as Edmonton's true No. 1 goalie was everything fans could have hoped for. He played a league-high 73 games and matched Washington Capitals starter Braden Holtby with 42 wins.
He was the team's most valuable player not named Connor McDavid, rocking a .919 save percentage while allowing an average of just 2.39 goals per game. And he played a monumental role in helping the Oilers reach the playoffs for the first time in 11 years.
Now in his third season as the team's go-to shot-stopper, Talbot has failed to replicate last season's success through the first 19 games of the 2018 campaign.
(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)
With Tuesday's game in the books, Talbot now sits with a .900 save percentage and a 3.19 goals against average - the 27th- and 28th-best marks, respectively, among the 33 goalies to play at least 10 games this season. Those numbers are simply not good enough for a team once expected to challenge for the Stanley Cup this season.
And at this point, the playoffs appear to be a pipe dream for the Oilers.
The club has been a disaster early on. Edmonton sits tied for the third-worst record in the league and is riding the 29th-best offense, averaging just 2.38 goals per game. But to their credit, the Oilers are allowing the fifth-fewest shots against per game and are firing the eighth-most, so they've done a good job at keeping the action in their opponent's end.
The problem has been the production up front, or lack thereof. Through 21 games, only six players have managed more than three goals.
Without the Oilers scoring on a regular basis, Talbot will need to get his play back on track for this team to win. The club has made it quite clear they don't have a ton of faith in Laurent Brossoit - at least not yet anyway - as Talbot has played in 90 percent of the Oilers' games this season, so they may be prepared to stick with the 30-year-old regardless of the results.
