Greg Wyshynski Talks Canucks + NHL Rule Changes

Greg Wyshynski talks Pearson trade, EP40 potential this season, Montreal's future, Babcock and more. The guys discuss NHL rule changes they would like to see. Greg discusses a few NHL players favourite spots to eat on the road.

 

This podcast was produced by Josh Elliott-Wolfe & Elan Chark

 

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

Pearson Trade Reactions

Dan and Sat discuss the main takeaways from the Tanner Pearson trade and the addition of Casey DeSmith. Irfaan Gaffar joins the show and reacts to the Tanner Pearson trade. Irf talks about certain guys last chance, including Rathbone and Hoglander.

 

This podcast was produced by Josh Elliott-Wolfe.

 

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

Canucks trade Pearson to Canadiens for DeSmith

The Vancouver Canucks traded forward Tanner Pearson and a third-round pick to the Montreal Canadiens for goaltender Casey DeSmith on Tuesday.

Pearson was officially activated off long-term injured reserve on Monday, according to Cap Friendly, putting the Canucks over the NHL's $83.5-million threshold with training camp around the corner.

The 31-year-old is in the final season of his contract and set to earn $3.25 million. The Canucks aren't retaining any salary in the trade.

Pearson only appeared in 14 games in 2022-23, registering five points. The Canucks conceded after the season that the veteran's ailment wasn't handled properly.

Pearson played in parts of five seasons with the Canucks after stints with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Los Angeles Kings, with whom he won the Stanley Cup in 2014. He's racked up 272 points in 590 career games and could be an attractive rental at the 2024 trade deadline for teams seeking forward depth if the Canadiens aren't in the playoff race.

DeSmith was acquired by Montreal this offseason in the trade that sent Erik Karlsson to the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Canadiens already flipped the other main piece of that deal, Jeff Petry, to the Detroit Red Wings.

DeSmith appeared in 38 games last season and owned a .905 save percentage. He should slot in behind Thatcher Demko on Vancouver's depth chart this season.

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September 19 2023 – Patrick Johnston & Wally Buono

Matt and Blake discuss the report of the Canucks aggressively pursuing a trade in order to be cap-compliant for opening night. Do you trust Rutherdford/Allvin's cap management? Which players could possibly be moved out to create room? Will they submit a roster short of the 23-player limit? Other topics include the Canucks broadcast release and the hiring of Dave Tomlinson and Ray Ferraro as TV analysts; training camp storylines to watch for; the Caps big game Wednesday vs Houston and how they'll manage the lineup with a busy stretch of road games; and the Lions emerging from their all-time comeback victory over Ottawa, heading into Edmonton. Patrick Johnston joins to tell us about what he saw at the Jake Milford golf tournament that annually kicks off Canucks season. Patrick discusses Ilya Mikheyev, J.T. Miller, young players who could feature in the NHL this season, trade possibilities to get cap-compliant, and the new broadcast duo. Wally Buono joins to promote a Make-A-Wish Canada auction this week. The winning bidder gets to watch the Lions-Roughriders game in the stands with the former Lions coach/GM. Wally has never watched a game from the stands, only from the executive box and the sidelines, and tells us what this lucky winner has in store. Presented by Applewood Auto Group.

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Wild re-sign Addison to 1-year, $825K pact

The Minnesota Wild and Calen Addison have come to terms on an agreement just in time for training camp.

The club re-signed the restricted free-agent defenseman to a one-year, $825,000 contract, the team announced Tuesday.

Addison was Minnesota's last remaining RFA. He'll be an RFA again after the 2023-24 campaign and is under team control until 2027.

In 2022-23, his first full NHL season, the 23-year-old produced three goals and 26 assists while averaging 16:07 of ice time per game in 62 contests. His underlying numbers were stellar offensively - especially on the power play, where he tallied 18 of his assists.

Evolving-Hockey

Addison is expected to quarterback the top power-play unit once again. At five-on-five, he'll battle with fellow youngster Brock Faber for top-four minutes on the right side of Minnesota's blue line behind captain Jared Spurgeon.

The Wild acquired Addison from the Penguins in a 2020 trade that sent Jason Zucker to Pittsburgh. The Pens selected Addison 53rd overall in the 2018 NHL Draft.

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Blackhawks won’t have captain this season

The Chicago Blackhawks won't have anyone wearing the "C" in the upcoming campaign, general manager Kyle Davidson said Tuesday, according to NBC Sports Chicago's Charlie Roumeliotis.

The club will instead use three yet-to-be-named alternate captains to complete the leadership group, the GM added.

Jonathan Toews was the Blackhawks' captain for 14 seasons, but they chose not to re-sign him in April when he was on the verge of unrestricted free agency. Last month, the still unsigned 35-year-old said he's not retiring but will be taking time away from the game in 2023-24.

The Blackhawks also went without a captain during the abbreviated 2021 campaign, which Toews missed in its entirety due to chronic immune response syndrome and long COVID symptoms.

Chicago defenseman Seth Jones said last week he's always wanted to be a captain and that "it would be pretty special" to earn the opportunity with the Blackhawks. The 29-year-old cited his experience learning from veterans like Shea Weber, Blackhawks offseason acquisition Nick Foligno, and Toews himself.

However, it's fairly common for rebuilding teams to go without a captain. Chicago tied for the NHL's second-worst record last season and is expected to be among the league's bottom-feeders in 2023-24 despite landing uber-prospect Connor Bedard with the No. 1 overall pick in June's draft.

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Blues name Schenn 24th captain in team history

The St. Louis Blues announced veteran forward Brayden Schenn as the 24th captain in franchise history Tuesday.

Ryan O'Reilly last wore the "C" for the Blues until he was dealt to the Toronto Maple Leafs ahead of the 2023 trade deadline.

Schenn is entering his seventh season with St. Louis after he was acquired in a trade from the Philadelphia Flyers in 2017. Considered a heart-and-soul player, Schenn has remained productive into his 30s, recording 21 goals and 44 assists in 82 games last season. He also still possesses that trademark grit as he racked up 140 hits.

The 32-year-old was part of St. Louis' Stanley Cup triumph in 2019, recording five goals and seven helpers in 26 postseason contests.

"I don’t think it has set in yet, to be honest," Schenn said. "The history of this franchise, the great captains they've had, and now getting your own name added to that extraordinary list, it's a huge honor that I'm thankful for. I'm excited for the opportunity and the challenge this will bring."

Seven Blues captains have been inducted into the Hall of Fame: Al Arbour, Bernie Federko, Scott Stevens, Brett Hull, Wayne Gretzky, Chris Pronger, and Al MacInnis.

Schenn has five years remaining on his contract with a $6.5-million cap hit. His full no-trade clause becomes a 15-team no-trade list in 2025. If he stays with the Blues and wears the "C" for the remainder of his deal, he'll be the team's longest-tenured captain since David Backes' five-year run from 2011-16. Alex Pietrangelo was captain for four years afterward, while O'Reilly held the role for three campaigns.

"Schenn is a leader," Blues head coach Craig Berube said. "He's an experienced player, he's done a lot of really good things in St. Louis, and he's been part of a winning team. He shows leadership on and off the ice on a daily basis and he's worked hard since Day 1 when he got here."

Forward Robert Thomas and defensemen Colton Parayko and Justin Faulk will serve as assistant captains to round out the club's leadership group for 2023-24.

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Fantasy: 5 NHL bounce-back candidates

The following five players are coming off down years, but for a variety of reasons, we believe they're poised to bounce back in 2023-24 and provide value relative to their average draft position in fantasy hockey.

Auston Matthews, C, Maple Leafs

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You know a player is talented when a 40-goal, 85-point season is considered a down year, but Matthews is capable of so much more. And he's shown it, too.

Matthews led the league in goals with 41 in 52 games in 2020-21 and 60 in 73 contests in his Hart Trophy-winning campaign in 2021-22. There are multiple factors that suggest Matthews could return to his prior form.

For starters, he played through a hand injury for most of the season, which he admitted in March bothered him. Matthews was still generating offense at a high clip, as he led the league with 1.34 individual expected goals per 60 minutes at five-on-five. It's also the highest mark of his career.

But Matthews' wrister wasn't quite as lethal with his ailing hand, as he shot a career-low 12.2%. For comparison, he shot 17.7% in the two seasons prior and owned a career 16.4% mark entering the campaign.

It remains to be seen whether Toronto will be a better team in 2023-24, but the additions of Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi, and John Klingberg, plus a full season of rookie Matthew Knies, should result in a more dangerous offensive club.

While Connor McDavid deserves to be the No. 1 player off the board in fantasy leagues, a healthy Matthews could easily finish as the second-ranked player. A return to 60 goals is very possible, and if he plays a full 82 games, there's a chance he could even flirt with 70.

Jonathan Huberdeau, LW, Flames

Jonathan Kozub / National Hockey League / Getty

It was evident early on that Huberdeau did not mesh with head coach Darryl Sutter during his first year with the Flames. A new voice behind the bench in Ryan Huska will be music to the ears of Huberdeau.

While Sutter's teams have been highly successful in the past, his system has a certain amount of rigidness to it that can make it difficult for free-flowing offensive players like Huberdeau to adapt. In 2023-24, the Flames are expected to play much more loosely, which could help Huberdeau find his form from 2021-22, when he racked up 115 points and led the league with 85 assists.

Reaching those totals again may be unlikely, but a return to a near point-per-game season should very much be in the cards after he was only able to muster together 15 goals and 40 assists last season. He's simply too talented to have another year like that. He'll also likely play far more under Huska than the 16:52 (his lowest ATOI since 2014-15) he averaged under Sutter.

Alex DeBrincat, LW/RW, Red Wings

G Fiume / Getty Images Sport / Getty

DeBrincat's lone season in Ottawa did not go as planned - both for the player and team. A two-time 40-goal scorer, he joined the Senators with monster expectations but managed just 27 goals and 66 points in 82 games.

Part of DeBrincat's down year was poor puck luck. His individual expected goals for per 60 minutes was 1.09, which tied the highest mark in his career and was identical to the prior season when he potted 41 goals. However, DeBrincat only converted on 10.3% of his shots - the second-lowest single-season mark of his career. He shot 17.2% in the two seasons prior and entered the campaign with a career clip of 15.5%.

DeBrincat should also be extra motivated playing for his hometown Red Wings, where he'll likely ride shotgun on the top line with Dylan Larkin. Detroit expects to make sizeable improvements in 2023-24 after a busy offseason which will only help DeBrincat's fantasy outlook.

John Klingberg, D, Maple Leafs

David Berding / Getty Images Sport / Getty

The Leafs' signing of Klingberg was met with plenty of skepticism - and rightly so considering he's arguably been the NHL's worst defensive defenseman over the last couple of seasons. But strictly from a fantasy perspective, the offensive-minded Klingberg could thrive with the Leafs.

Klingberg spent last season between the Anaheim Ducks and the Minnesota Wild, and it was a disaster. By registering 33 points in 67 contests, he produced the worst points-per-game mark of his nine-year NHL career.

But by joining the Leafs, Klingberg will get to play with the best offensive team of his career. And he won't be used in a depth role as he was in Minnesota considering he's making $4.125 million in Toronto.

Klingberg will likely start the season on the team's second power play, but if the top unit falters early, the first change would be Klingberg replacing Morgan Rielly. The Leafs showed a willingness to do this in past years with the much less proven Rasmus Sandin getting a crack with the first unit. If Klingberg is able to edge Rielly for PP1 duties, he could easily record 50-60 points - a robust output considering he'll likely go in the second half of most fantasy drafts.

Cam Talbot, G, Kings

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Talbot will be overlooked in many fantasy drafts because he's 36 years old and coming off a poor season with the Senators in which he posted an .898 save percentage in 36 games. But don't be surprised if he has one more good year left in the tank.

The veteran proved in the previous two years with the Minnesota Wild that if he has a strong defensive team in front of him, he can still thrive, as he posted a .913 save percentage across those two campaigns. And Talbot couldn't have winded up in a better spot than Los Angeles - an excellent defensive team that allowed the second-fewest expected goals against per 60 minutes at five-on-five last season.

He projects to share the crease with journeyman Pheonix Copley, but Talbot is the safer bet to be the more valuable fantasy goaltender of the two. It may be a near 50-50 split to start the season, but with his experience and pedigree, expect Talbot to get more starts as the season goes on. A .910 save percentage with 30 wins is very much in the cards.

Josh Wegman has been theScore's resident fantasy hockey expert since 2015. Find him on X @JoshWegman_.

(Analytics source: Natural Stat Trick)

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