"You know what," he said softly into a microphone, pausing for dramatic effect. "I'm not leavin'. I'm not leavin'." He continued, yelling now. "I'm not f-----' leaving!"

The audience, which included Colorado Avalanche teammates Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Mikko Rantanen, and others, erupted in celebration.

"The show goes on! This is my home! They're going to need a f-----' wreckin' ball to take me out of here!"

OK, to be clear, Landeskog didn't actually say any of those things in real life.

However, his big-head avatar did in an amusing "The Wolf of Wall Street" parody video posted to his Instagram account in late July. Landeskog drummed up the idea while Lee Blair of Altitude TV, the Avalanche's local television rights holder, took care of the production. "It's such a great scene in the movie, and there was no better time to post it," Landeskog told theScore earlier this week.

One day before posting the video and hours from the opening of free agency, the 28-year-old Stockholm native agreed to an eight-year, $56-million contract extension with the only NHL club he's known. "Gabe is the heart and soul of this team," Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic said in a press release announcing the deal, which will keep Landeskog in Denver until his mid-30s.

Drafted second overall in 2011, then named captain in the fall of 2012, Landeskog is entering his 11th NHL season and 10th with the "C." It's been a topsy-turvy decade within the Avs organization, a period characterized by extremes - high and low - that's also featured stretches of mediocrity.

So, why did Landeskog earn the captaincy so early into his career? How has he coped with the roller coaster? And what has he learned about leadership?

Be yourself

Landeskog was far from a mystery when he arrived in Denver for his first training camp. Not only had he developed into an NHL-ready power forward in the junior ranks as a member of the OHL's Kitchener Rangers, but he also was stunningly mature for his age.

At 16, he dug in and earned the highest mark in English class among the six or seven Rangers still in high school despite English being his second language. At 17, he was named captain - Kitchener's first of European descent - and the coaches felt it was a no-brainer.

The phrase "mature beyond his years" is used haphazardly in hockey circles, especially ahead of the NHL draft. With teenaged Landeskog, though, it was entirely accurate then and with the benefit of hindsight.

"He's a guy who's at the top end of the top end of those types of people," said Jeff Skinner, the Buffalo Sabres forward and one of Landeskog's teammates in Kitchener. "I think a lot of people - just in general, not even in sports - spend a bunch of time trying to figure out who they are. He seemed to have that figured out pretty early on."

That self-assuredness is a fundamental reason why the Avs felt comfortable giving Landeskog the "C" at the age of 19 years and 286 days, which, at the time, made him the youngest captain in NHL history. He was pulled into a meeting and informed of the decision by Milan Hejduk, the longtime Av who captained the squad in 2011-12, Landeskog's Calder Trophy-winning campaign. The news left Landeskog stunned, nervous, and humbled.

"Don't try to be anybody else. Just be yourself," Tony Landeskog, a former pro hockey player and captain in Sweden, told his son as the family processed the honor. "They chose you to be the captain for a reason. That's the only way to do this."

"For me," Landeskog said, "the most important thing was to just realize I wasn't going to be Joe Sakic or I wasn't going to be some of my childhood idols in Mats Sundin or Nicklas Lidstrom or (Henrik) Zetterberg or (Daniel) Alfredsson."

Landeskog's tenure began in awkward fashion thanks to the NHL lockout. He played 17 games in Sweden before returning to Denver for the shortened 2012-13 season, which turned out to be a nightmare for all involved. He accumulated just 17 points in 36 contests, and the Avs - who had relatively high expectations after overachieving the year prior - finished 29th out of 30 teams.

In one well-documented players-only meeting that season, Landeskog's voice shook as he addressed the group. He came to understand it's one thing to be 19 and playing a regular NHL shift, and it's another to carry the weight of a disappointing season around with you every day, wondering if this captaincy stuff is too much, too soon.

Defenseman Shane O'Brien, then 29, noticed Landeskog had stopped going out with the guys after being handed the captaincy. That didn't jibe with the veteran. "I said, 'You be you. You be Gabriel Landeskog. Just because they put that 'C' on your chest doesn't mean you have to turn into some kind of different person,'" O'Brien said. "But we were losing. He took it personally. It was a long year for Landy, and looking back now, it probably made him a better captain. For that year, though, for a 19-year-old, 20-year-old kid, I felt for Landy."

Landeskog regained his composure and sense of self in short order. The uptight start to his tenure as captain proved to be a blip on the radar. Today, he feels as though he has a much stronger grasp on the "be yourself" aspect of effective leadership.

"That's something that I constantly think about," he said of his dad's advice. "It's about just trying to get back to who I am and who I want to be. That's what we all try to do. People see right through you if you try to be someone or something you're not."

Do your job

Bill Belichick, the legendary no-nonsense head coach of the NFL's New England Patriots, has a wonderfully succinct mantra: Do your job.

While he didn't mention Belichick as an influence or idol, Landeskog definitely buys into the same mentality. Be a professional by taking care of yourself - on the ice and off it - before putting time and energy into helping others.

"It sounds like you're contradicting the whole captaincy thing, but you have to do your job," said Landeskog, who's appeared in a combined 736 regular-season and playoff games. "That's your No. 1 priority. And you have to do your job to the best of your ability. You have to be ready to play. You can't be asking other guys to be doing things that you aren't able to do or aren't willing to do. And that, for me, has been all about working hard and sticking to my style."

For Landeskog, "do your job" involves being the connective tissue on arguably the NHL's top forward trio. His linemates, MacKinnon and Rantanen, are the offensive catalysts, the pace-pushing creatives. Landeskog, while extremely skilled too, relishes in a two-way, blue-collar role - short passes off the half-wall, puck retrievals, a thorny presence in front of the opposition's net, occasional faceoff duty, the odd fight, and the like.

He's 6-foot-1, 215 pounds, and a rare forward who's both extremely versatile and very consistent. "The accountability is there," former Avs goalie Devan Dubnyk said. "Because if a guy like that is going to go out there and walk the walk, everyone else has to do the same thing."

Jared Bednar, Colorado's bench boss since 2016-17, added: "It's become clear over the last few years that it's about winning, not just about being a good team and getting into the playoffs. As our team has progressed, I think Landy's been the guy pushing that forward and really trying to hold our team to a new standard."

Bednar made those remarks in May, shortly after Landeskog led the Avs to a dominating four-game sweep over the St. Louis Blues. In Game 1, he recorded a Gordie Howe hat trick (goal, assist, fight) and finished the series with eight points. It was an example of how Landeskog's leadership is not just intellectual. He told reporters that a pre-series comment from Blues captain Ryan O'Reilly ("We're going to have some fun, we're going to beat them") provided him and the rest of the Avs with a little extra motivation.

Landeskog insists that setting standards is never a solitary pursuit.

"I've got a great group of guys in that locker room that help me out, whether that's Nate or (defenseman and longest-serving Av Erik Johnson) or Mikko or whoever it might be," he said proudly. "It's been a blast. We're all pulling the rope in the same direction."

Stay neutral

In contrast to his rowdy "The Wolf of Wall Street" avatar, Landeskog is not the rah-rah type. He's certainly not shy or quiet, or someone who leads solely by example, yet he isn't naturally as emotional or fiery as MacKinnon.

"When I was younger, I was trying to be more of a vocal guy, but I've realized as the years have gone along that that's not what it's all about," Landeskog said. "You don't have to be the loudest guy. It's a long season. It gets exhausting if that's not your personality."

Landeskog is a cerebral hockey player, and in his personal life, he's a bit of a bookworm. Mind you, as a father of two kids under 2 years old, quietly unwinding has become difficult of late. When he does have leisure time, like during the NHL's COVID-19 hiatus in 2020, he tends to read about leadership and culture in and out of sports. He's a fan of written work by John Wooden, the legendary college basketball coach, and loved "It Takes What It Takes" by Trevor Moawad, quarterback Russell Wilson's late mental conditioning coach.

"Whether things are going well or aren't going well, you always have to get back to neutral and you should stay objective in that way to remember the task at hand," Landeskog said when asked for a takeaway from Moawad's book. "That's not maybe so much about leadership, specifically, but I think it relates as far as how I behave and how I act around the room or during games or during a tough stretch or during a good stretch of the season. To try to stay neutral as best as I can. And that's easier said than done."

Landeskog seeks out others for guidance and knowledge, including athletes, business owners, CEOs, and his parents. It could be through a book, documentary, or in-depth conversation. "I think it's important to be open and not think you have all the answers yourself," he said.

Peter Wallen, Landeskog's agent and the CEO of Alterno Global Management, has always admired his client's ability to take a step back from the chaos. For instance, after the Avs hit rock bottom in 2016-17 with a putrid 48 points in 82 games, the rumor mill was in overdrive. It seemed inevitable that a member of the core - Landeskog, center Matt Duchene, somebody else - was getting shipped out of town.

"Gabe and I were talking about it and I asked him, 'Hey, do you want to get traded or do you want to stay?'" Wallen said. "He said, 'If Sakic thinks it's better for the Avalanche if they trade me, I get that and it's not a problem. But if I can choose, I'd rather stay and be part of the solution than getting traded.' That's where he is. He doesn't shy away from a challenge, at all."

Sakic opted to send Duchene to the Ottawa Senators, but the rest of the core has, with a few exceptions, stayed intact. That said, even though the Avs have taken off since that dreadful '16-17 season, finishing 17th, 17th, third, and first in the league standings, playoff success remains elusive. The club has been bounced in the second round three years in a row; Colorado is a Cup contender that hasn't broken through.

In the modern NHL, reaching the top of the mountain can be an excruciating pursuit - until it's not. Just look at the two-time defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning, who for a half-decade were Cup contenders in the lead-up to their first title in 2019-20.

So, what's Landeskog's message to the squad heading into 2021-22?

"We're going in looking to establish ourselves again," he said. "That's what this league is: You have to establish yourself every single year. Play well every single year and give yourself a chance to get into the dance. There's a lot of hockey that needs to be played before then and, for us, we want to continue to build. We know how crucial home-ice advantage is in the playoffs and it's something that we're going to continue working on."

Read the room

Psychology Today defines emotional intelligence as "the ability to identify and manage one's own emotions, as well as the emotions of others." The emotionally intelligent "are able to shift gears and lighten mood, both internally and externally."

Daniel Briere played more than 1,000 NHL games spread across five franchises. He's shared the ice with a ton of people, including Landeskog for a season in 2014-15. Landeskog, Briere says, fits the description above.

"People assume that being a captain is grabbing people by their throats and throwing them against the wall when they don't do their job. It doesn't work that way," said Briere, a co-captain in Buffalo for three seasons. "Maybe, I don't know, it worked like that in the '60s or '70s, but nowadays it doesn't work that way. Emotional intelligence is, I think, a key in being able to understand other players, to rally them to be together."

Briere knew in an instant that Landeskog had the "it" factor. Guess who was the first person to approach Briere, then 36, when he walked into Colorado's dressing room? "He came directly to me, shook my hand, looked me in the eye, and said, 'Danny, welcome to the Colorado Avalanche.' I was so impressed by that," Briere said, emphasizing it's both a small thing and a big thing for a captain to be so on point with the intangibles of the role. "I was so impressed that a 21- or 22-year-old at the time felt strong enough to get up in front of everybody and come and welcome somebody new to the team."

Lightning defenseman Fredrik Claesson says reading the room is in his childhood friend's DNA. "Honestly, it's kind of scary. He's a born leader." Within the team bubble, it can go deeper than that, too. Teammates of all ages watch a captain's body language, looking for cues on how to act. For the most part, it's subconscious and unnoticed, yet it happens every day.

"He just knew when to turn it on and turn it off," Ben Fanelli, a junior teammate and close friend, said of Landeskog's social instincts. "He just had this ability, and still does today, to show his loving side and enjoyment for life but can also dial it in and flip the switch and get into action mode. I think that's one of his many gifts."

Landeskog admitted he can feel uncomfortable talking about his captaincy. "Ultimately, I'm not the one that's judging my leadership." Well, MacKinnon, the Avs' superstar, has lauded Landeskog on multiple occasions for being the "perfect captain."

And, luckily for MacKinnon and the Avs, Landeskog isn't f-----' leavin', either.

John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer.

Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

A middle-aged man having lunch near the fireplace extends his hand to Trocheck and asks the Carolina Hurricanes forward how he's doing. He works in real estate here in the Raleigh-Durham area. Trocheck tells him he'll buy a home, no question, if he signs a long-term extension. Right now, in early September, with a season left on his deal, the Trocheck family is fine renting.

Trocheck takes a seat one table over. While scarfing down a quesadilla, waffle fries, and a beer, he gushes over head coach Rod Brind'Amour's impact on his experience so far in Carolina. In fact, he says, he's never played for a better coach. Brind'Amour and Trocheck hooked up for a round of golf the other day. They talked a little business - including the recent addition of young forward and potential future linemate Jesperi Kotkaniemi - but mostly chatted about non-hockey matters.

To Trocheck, Brind'Amour and the Hurricanes were just another rival and the laid-back Raleigh-Durham area was just another stopover as recently as 18 months ago. In the early going of trade deadline day last February, Florida Panthers general manager Dale Tallon called Trocheck to deliver the news that he'd been traded to Carolina for four lesser-known skaters. The GM and player met in the Panthers' Vegas hotel to discuss why Tallon had parted with the core piece. The conversation grew into a heart-to-heart.

"We talked more about life than the trade," Trocheck says. He's now on the Old Chatham driving range, whistling between swings. A few minutes ago, as Trocheck walked across the parking lot connecting the clubhouse and range, a few teammates chirped him from their vehicles, wondering where he'd been for the past 30 minutes.

Trocheck, who, at the moment, is the only Hurricanes player with a membership at the club, hosted about a dozen of them for 18 holes and lunch but left the group to eat inside with a guest. It's abundantly clear by the way teammates interact with Trocheck that he's a cultural catalyst, a 5-foot-10, 183-pound bridge between up-and-comers and veterans.

On the ice, Trocheck is a top-six center for a squad that, despite a polarizing offseason, believes it's on the cusp of something special. The 28-year-old has appeared in just 19 playoff games since breaking into the league in 2014. He needs more.

"Winning's been everything since Day 1," Trocheck says. "Since I was 3 years old."

Around the Hurricanes organization, the names Tom, Don, and Rod are attached to every conversation relating to the on-ice product. There's no siloing between owner Tom Dundon, president and general manager Don Waddell, and Brind'Amour, the NHL's reigning coach of the year.

Dundon is so heavily involved in the day-to-day activity that he's drawn comparisons to the Dallas Cowboys' Jerry Jones. Waddell holds the final vote on trades, signings, and draft picks and also presides over the business arms of the Hurricanes and PNC Arena. Brind'Amour is the rare coach who both chats one-on-one with ownership on a regular basis and serves as a consultant to the GM on personnel decisions.

For a moment in the spring, it looked as if the trio might be on the verge of becoming a duo. But, following months of negotiations, Dundon and Brind'Amour came to terms on a deal to keep the face of the franchise behind the bench for three more years. From there, the Hurricanes got after it, turning over nine spots on the 23-man roster.

"That part is not ideal. I'll be honest with you; I didn't want to make any changes," Brind'Amour says during a lengthy interview at the Hurricanes' practice facility. "Why would we? We had the (third)-best record in the NHL. We lost to Tampa. Tampa's the best team in the league. We're knocking on the door. Part of the reason why we had so much success last year is, if you go back to a year ago, we had one change. One player."

In the next breath, Brind'Amour concedes that to expect little to no year-over-year changes would be foolish with the salary cap flattened by the pandemic. Key people are bound to move on, he says, referring to Dougie Hamilton, the Norris Trophy-caliber defenseman who, on the first day of free agency, inked a seven-year, $63-million contract with the New Jersey Devils.

Free-agent signee Tony DeAngelo and trade acquisition Ethan Bear are tasked with filling the Hamilton-sized hole on the right side. Waddell believes Carolina's revamped blue line, which also features incumbents Jaccob Slavin, Brett Pesce, and Brady Skjei, and newcomers Ian Cole and Brendan Smith, should be better defensively in 2021-22. But, the GM admits Hamilton's offensive punch will be difficult to replace.

If anybody is capable of moving the puck, joining the rush, or running a power play close to Hamilton's standards, it's DeAngelo. (He tied for fourth in points among NHL defensemen in 2019-20.) Conversely, if anybody is capable of disrupting a dressing room and dividing a fan base, it's DeAngelo. His past is checkered with incidents in which he harassed teammates and abused on-ice officials. The New York Rangers benched him for maturity issues and then, after a physical confrontation with a teammate, placed him on waivers for the purpose of buying out the remainder of his contract. On social media, DeAngelo has downplayed COVID-19's impact and fought with other users over hot-button political issues.

The Hurricanes say signing DeAngelo to a one-year, $1-million contract wasn't an impulsive decision. They did their homework. Brind'Amour had multiple probing conversations with DeAngelo and the team interviewed numerous ex-teammates and coaches, including David Quinn, Jesper Fast, and Skjei, all formerly of the Rangers.

According to Waddell, the main takeaway from the process was that DeAngelo has "learned his lesson" and is "remorseful" about his past. "He also knows that, hey, we have high standards here. I go to the contract. He's probably, what, a $4-million player? If we paid him $4 million, I couldn't say all of these things. We paid him $1 million. We said, 'Tony, you come in and prove to us. Forget about the playing side. That's going to take care of itself. But prove to us that you can be the person that this organization wants to move forward with. And if you do that, everything's going to work out fine.'"

Brind'Amour brings up an anecdote involving his wife. "She just kind of looked at me and said, 'Well, if you don't give him a chance - he's admitted to (indiscretions), things he's not proud of - who's going to give him an opportunity? Are you just going to throw him out and be over at (25) years old?' Well, that doesn't make a lot of sense either. To have a willingness to let people change or show that they've changed seems kind of easy."

Amazingly, DeAngelo wasn't the signing that attracted the most national attention during Carolina's hectic offseason. The late-August offer sheet to Kotkaniemi counts as the biggest splash, especially since Kotkaniemi's old team, the Montreal Canadiens, ultimately chose not to match the one-year, $6.1-million deal. (Mind you, the social media pettiness associated with the offer sheet - which we'll discuss later - certainly supercharged outside interest in the transaction.)

The Hurricanes also traded their Calder Trophy finalist, goalie Alex Nedeljkovic, in late July, and then replaced him and his veteran partners with two goalies with recent injury issues, Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta. That would normally be a spicy talking point coming into a season, but aside from the initial reactions to the additions and subtractions, the goaltending overhaul has largely flown under the radar. The DeAngelo and Kotkaniemi signings have commanded almost all of the oxygen.

Carolina's offseason has left many observers puzzled. Some are skeptical or cynical, or a combination of both. For example, the Hurricanes garnered the No. 1 spot on one publication's league-wide list of "most bizarre offseasons"; finished first with a 9.6 (out of 10) rating on an offseason "bizarro-meter ranking"; and inspired a frank question, "Did the Hurricanes outsmart themselves?"

Dundon, a Texas billionaire, became sole owner of the franchise this past June. He originally purchased a majority stake in the franchise in late 2017, which means the 2021-22 campaign will be Tom, Don, and Rod's fourth full season running the show. So far, the team has made the playoffs every year, winning four postseason series in total.

While Waddell says the upcoming 82-game slog will be the proving ground, the GM is confident they've built the "most talented" roster of the young but eventful Dundon era.

A day after his latest round at Old Chatham, Trocheck is sitting on a couch in his living room staring at the assembly instructions for a miniature hockey game. It's early afternoon and the work day - time in the gym and on the ice - has already wrapped.

Within arm's reach are Lennon, 10 months and sporting a stained shirt, and Leo, an inquisitive 3-year-old obsessed with hockey. Leo asks if he can place sticker logos of both the Hurricanes and Panthers on the plastic game. Dad allows it. Romeo, an overly friendly Goldendoodle, and Porter, a docile Golden Retriever, trot around the humans.

The Trocheck residence is simultaneously chaotic and quiet. This is life as a young dad.

"I love the friendship aspect of it," Trocheck says of fatherhood. "Leo's now my best friend. I can hang out with him." Of Lennon, he says she's "the most chill, happy baby on the planet." It's still a thrill for him to see her face light up when he comes home from the rink.

Trocheck and his wife, Hillary, met roughly a decade ago in a high school economics class in Saginaw, Michigan. Trocheck, who was born and raised in Pittsburgh, moved to Detroit at 12 to play in a more competitive minor hockey loop. He then spent his entire junior career with Michigan-based OHL teams in Saginaw and Plymouth. It wasn't until he turned pro that he left the state, splitting his rookie season between AHL San Antonio and NHL Florida, which drafted him in the third round, 64th overall, in 2011.

Trocheck, like every NHLer, will never forget his first big-league call-up in March 2014. Along with the delight of skating in the world's best league and sharing the ice with legends Roberto Luongo and Ed Jovanovski, he can vividly recall the presence of the late Jimmy Hayes; specifically, how Hayes, who was new to the team too, made him feel welcome.

"He was the first one to come knock on my door and ask me to go to dinner with the guys - like I had known him for 20 years," Trocheck says of Hayes, who died in August. (Trocheck was one of hundreds from the hockey community to attend Hayes' funeral in Boston.) "That always stuck out to me as something that made me feel more comfortable in my first few games," he adds. "It's tough for guys coming into the league. You're nervous, don't want to say too much, too little, and he made it a seamless transition."

Trocheck posted a solid 30 points in his first 70 NHL games. He leveled up in 2015-16, with 53 points in 76 contests, and has never looked back. He blossomed in Florida alongside franchise cornerstones Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau, and Aaron Ekblad. Team success was a problem, though, as the Panthers made the postseason only once during Trocheck's tenure. He played for five different head coaches in seven years.

Despite the lack of success, Trocheck looks back fondly on his Florida days. He could have done without the injuries - chiefly the broken right fibula he suffered in 2018. Trocheck and an opponent had been battling for position when his leg pretzeled. His chilling screams filled the arena as play came to a halt and a stretcher arrived.

At that exact moment, all Trocheck could think about was Alex Smith. The NFL quarterback had recently suffered such a severe injury, and doctors were considering amputating Smith's leg because of an infection. "I was just hoping it wasn't serious enough that I was going to be done for my career," Trocheck says. Luckily, tests showed he had no ligament or muscle damage. The surgeon inserted a plate and some screws. Otherwise, he would be alright.

Trocheck faced another setback in 2019, cracking his left tibia blocking a shot. Somehow, he still suited up in 55 contests for the Panthers prior to the trade deadline, recovering fully only when the NHL went on its COVID-19 hiatus. There's more: In the 2020-21 playoffs, he suffered a Grade 2 MCL sprain in Game 2 of the Hurricanes' second-round meeting with the Tampa Bay Lightning. By Trocheck's estimation, he was at 30% health when he returned to the lineup for the fifth and final game of the series.

Not requiring surgery on his knee, Trocheck rehabbed this summer and felt 100% prior to training camp. In camp, he's missed two practices due to a "middle-body" injury, though Brind'Amour has told reporters he should be all set for the season opener next Thursday. The center position was barely touched in the offseason, so his spot in the lineup is unchanged: Sebastian Aho remains the top guy, Trocheck is the 2C, Jordan Staal is 3C, and veteran Derek Stepan is the new 4C.

What makes Trocheck so effective as a center is how he's able to blend a low center of gravity and elite strength with speed, offensive instincts, and a pesty streak. He possesses the toolbox of a finesse player and the mentality of a grinder. The first thought to pop into Staal's head when Carolina acquired Trocheck was how much he hated playing against him. "Those are the guys that you want on your team, right?" Staal says.

Adds Brind'Amour: "The competitive nature of this group is really good and you have to have that. Troch is a ringleader in that. That's part of his deal."

Trocheck, who is mellow off the ice, admits to being some kind of a pest on it.

"Sure, I like to get under people's skin," he says on his back patio, as Hillary handles childcare duties inside. "It's just my competitive nature. I can't really hold it back."

The Philadelphia Flyers traded Brind'Amour to Carolina in 2000. It didn't take the future Hall of Famer long to spot the difference between a traditional and nontraditional market.

"I asked for directions to get to the arena here, and the people I asked didn't know what or where the arena was," Brind'Amour says. Over two-plus decades, though, he's watched the franchise - which arrived from Hartford in 1997 - come of age alongside the fan base. "Night and day would kind of be an understatement," he says.

Brind'Amour breaks it down: In the early years, before the salary cap was implemented in 2005, the Hurricanes "were doing the best" they could. Great, committed people. However, ownership lacked financial might, so the player payroll was low, staffing budget was tight, and facilities were subpar. Internal expectations were relatively low. (With arena construction delayed, the team actually played its first two seasons in a minor-league rink located 80 miles west of Raleigh.) In 2001-02, the Hurricanes finally broke through on the ice, making the Stanley Cup Final. The powerhouse Detroit Red Wings - whose payroll was essentially twice as large - disposed of them in five games.

The cap's introduction helped level the playing field with big-market teams for a while. Yet it became painfully obvious over time that teams spending to the upper limit would have a far greater chance of maintaining success than those who don't. According to CapFriendly, The Hurricanes were in the bottom three in cap spending for the three seasons before Dundon acquired controlling interest in the team from original owner Peter Karmanos.

Dundon increased spending the past two seasons and is projected to hit the upper limit in 2021-22. "Now, all of a sudden ...," Brind'Amour says before snapping his fingers. "That, to me, is the biggest thing. People talk about all of (these other factors), but at the end of the day, you've got to have the players. That's it. If you don't, you have no chance."

Dundon, a hockey outsider who made his money in subprime automobile lending, has brought a fresh outlook to the boardroom. North Carolina is a college basketball state. The ACC schools - Duke, North Carolina, NC State, and Wake Forest - dominate the sports landscape, and the Hurricanes won't change that anytime soon. What they can do is appeal to fans by developing a brand that prioritizes entertainment.

"We're in a market that we feel like we have to continue to sell the game. Not just on the ice, we have to sell it off the ice," Waddell says during a sit-down at PNC Arena. "We've put a lot of effort into and really ramped up our social team a few years ago."

Ah, yes, social media. The Storm Surge celebration doesn't become a phenomenon in 2018-19 without it going viral. The "Bunch of Jerks" nickname (and merchandise jackpot) doesn't persist if the Hurricanes don't embrace grumpy Don Cherry's commentary about the player-led Storm Surge. The David Ayres story of 2019-20 - remember him, the cuddly emergency backup goalie in Toronto? - isn't part of the NHL news cycle for a week straight if Carolina doesn't take full advantage of the moment.

This offseason, the Hurricanes doubled down in the wake of the Kotkaniemi acquisition. The offer sheet was partly revenge for the Canadiens presenting an offer sheet to Aho two years ago, so, of course, there was a cheeky $20 signing bonus baked into Kotkamiemi's deal, a reference to Aho's jersey number. There was also a "people don't forget" tweet; reverse Uno card tweet; matching press release quote; and French-language signing announcement. It was obnoxiously passive-aggressive, and Dundon signed off on all of it. "There's a lot of decisions we can make and move on," Waddell says of Dundon chiming in. "Something this big, everybody was involved."

Two days before the Kotkaniemi offer sheet was tabled, the team announced an eight-year extension for star forward Andrei Svechnikov. Fans apparently responded positively to all of the buzz, with a team spokesman confirming 2021-22 will be the Hurricanes' best year for season-ticket sales since 2007. (Carolina won its only Cup in 2006.)

Brind'Amour, the captain of the '06 team, is one of the organization's prized assets. At the rink, he is the tone-setter not only with respect to Xs and Os, but also culture building and work ethic. (Famously, the 51-year-old stays in game shape, continuing to keep his "Rod the Bod" nickname relevant.) He seems to be universally adored by his players, too. "I wouldn't say there's been a lot of times where a coach has been make-or-break for a team I've played on," Trocheck says. "But I think Roddy really puts us over the edge."

A part of the appeal with Brind'Amour is that he's refreshingly authentic. There's absolutely no fluff. A multimillionaire several times over from his playing days, he drives an old GMC Sierra truck. And he'll drill cliches into his players' brains not because he feels that's what a coach should be doing, but because he really does swear by phrases like "Earn it" and "Win the day 1-0." Both are displayed prominently inside the team's practice facility.

"We were always an OK team, a good team, and we're now moving towards being the best," says Staal, a Hurricane since 2012. "That's the bar that we've raised here."

Trocheck is big on family. The black ink on his left arm is permanent proof.

Among a full sleeve of intricate tattoos are number sets for his parents' birthdates; music notes for his dad's saxophone- and piano-playing skills; haircut shears for the multiple hairdressers in his extended family; and grapevines for his Italian heritage.

The Hurricanes view themselves as a family, which helps explain, at least in part, why Trocheck has meshed so well. He's a dressing room DJ. He's slowly making a name for himself as a legitimately good singer on the karaoke mic. And over the past month, he's brokered club memberships between five eager teammates and Old Chatham.

Every player on Carolina's roster and staff is fully vaccinated, so the fast-approaching season should be as normal as possible in terms of being able to bond on the road. These interactions pay dividends, Trocheck says. One example: The 2015-16 Panthers' 12-game winning streak followed a trip to New York City and the annual rookie party. "Things like that, it brings people together," he says. "You get close with the guys. If it's not the same team that it was the year prior, those are times you get to know everybody, really."

The new-look Hurricanes will have plenty of mingling to do on and off the ice. They must come together in short order, too, with the Metropolitan Division boasting five other strong but imperfect teams in the New York Islanders, Washington Capitals, Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers, and Flyers. Carolina possesses one of the NHL's deepest forward groups and a formidable defense corps, even without Hamilton. The fate of the Hurricanes' season may rest on the shoulders of a high-risk, high-reward goalie tandem.

Trocheck, who's coming off an excellent season in which he tied his career high in points per game, has been lining up alongside Kotkaniemi and Teuvo Teravainen in preseason action. The trio might not stay together - preseason is for experimenting - yet Trocheck will nonetheless receive top-six minutes at even strength and a starring role on the power play. The pending free agent has an outside chance of making Team USA for the Beijing Olympics, as well.

"We're going to sit down at some point here and talk to (his representative) about a long-term deal," Waddell says. "He's a piece that, for multiple reasons, we'd like to keep around."

Trocheck loves it in North Carolina. He says the contract is not on his mind on the eve of the season, but he would consider signing long term. You can bet his coach is on board.

"He fits with what we expect out of a Carolina Hurricane," Brind'Amour says.

John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer.

Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Connor McDavid is, to put it mildly, an overachiever.

McDavid has either lived up to, exceeded, or completely obliterated lofty expectations at every level of hockey he's played. The extreme scenario unfolded most recently, with No. 97 smashing any reasonable expectations for what one NHL player might produce in a pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season.

The Edmonton Oilers captain recorded 105 points over 56 contests. That's 1.88 points per game, or the highest rate since Mario Lemieux's 2.30 in 1995-96. Amazingly, a whopping 83 of those 105 points were goals or primary assists. Leon Draisaitl, McDavid's teammate, finished second in the league in points with 84 total, which means McDavid, at just 24 years old, essentially lapped the field offensively. (McDavid rightfully received all 100 first-place votes for the Hart Trophy.)

That said, when we look back on McDavid's career decades from now, let's hope '20-21 is also remembered as the first campaign he showed tangible signs of improvement in the defensive end and faceoff circle. The stud center had his finest two-way season based not only on stats but also the eye test.

And guess what? Over the past few months, McDavid has doubled down on his commitment to draws and off-puck play in an attempt to master those areas.

"When the game gets tight, and in those moments that really matter, I think those are two things that you can really dial into and focus on," McDavid told theScore. "You're never going to get in trouble out there when you're playing well defensively, winning faceoffs, and focusing on the full, 200-foot game."

McDavid spoke over Zoom on Monday afternoon from the annual BioSteel training camp, which is being staged this week in Montreal for the first time. McDavid, a company ambassador, wore a black athletic shirt featuring the word "#CAMP" while sitting in front of a backdrop filled with BioSteel logos.

The four-day event offers McDavid a legitimate late-summer tune up and a golden opportunity to test what he's learned in private sessions. For a second straight year, McDavid's offseason program has involved on-ice work with ex-pros Keith and Will Acton, a father-son duo tapped to hone his draw-taking skills.

"Honestly, I think the biggest thing is paying attention to it," McDavid said when asked what led to a career-high 49.5 faceoff percentage in '20-21.

"It's kind of the forgotten part of the game when you first come (into the NHL). You think, 'Oh, it doesn't really matter,' and you lose your draw, you move on, and you get on with your shift. But I think as you get a little older in the league, you start to realize that these little details really matter. Just paying attention, digging in, really focusing on it, and really making it a part of your game, I think, is obviously Step 1. And then I think Step 2 is mastering some of those details. Those little things like timing, or some little tricks, or things that you can do in (to outsmart the opposition), it's obviously Step 2."

Seeing as McDavid still finished last season with a sub-50% success rate in the circle, there's plenty of room to grow there. Meanwhile, he earned career bests in several even-strength defensive metrics, including shot attempts against per 60 minutes and expected goals against per 60, after flashing better positioning, awareness, and support in the defensive third. Most importantly, he made it a habit to loop deeper in Edmonton's zone to stop on pucks - versus glide by - which is no small task for such a frenetic player.

"Skating's obviously been a strength of mine, ever since I was a little kid," he said. "I've always wanted to play the game on the move, and it's tough to get pucks that way, it's tough to help win battles for your D-men or your wingers. ... As a centerman, it's important to be in the middle of the ice. You're kind of the last line (of defense) if something breaks down along the wall."

As for what has given him that extra push to develop a well-rounded game, McDavid said, "a lot of it is seeing what other guys do when they're winning. You look at Sid (Crosby) and his game, he's won Cups. A guy like Brayden Point, he's won a couple of Cups, and the details that he has in his game (are impressive). Everything I do in my game is so ultimately I can win a Cup one day, and that's obviously the main focus, and that's what drives everything."

Oilers offseason

During his end-of-season press conference back in May, McDavid talked about having "another level I can get to." It's tempting to dismiss those words as something a megastar probably feels obliged to say in defeat. How might he reach new heights? What does "another level" mean, practically speaking?

"On the ice, I think I can be better defensively. I think there are still things that I can do offensively to allow myself to create more, score more goals," McDavid said. "And then, I think for me, off the ice, being a better leader, being a better teammate. All of those types of things are things that I can focus on and continue to make myself better and continue to make our team better."

Right, the team. The Oilers, who last season finished second in the one-off North Division thanks to a 35-19-2 record, were swept by the Winnipeg Jets in the opening round of the playoffs. Edmonton has made the postseason in three of McDavid's six campaigns, advancing to the second round just once, in 2016-17. Much like pal Auston Matthews and the Toronto Maple Leafs, McDavid and the Oilers have thus far failed to string together a meaningful run at the Stanley Cup.

General manager Ken Holland - or "Kenny," as McDavid calls him - has been one of the NHL's busiest executives this summer. Notables arriving for the '21-22 season include defensemen Duncan Keith ("I think he's going to do a lot for our group," McDavid said, "bring his winning ways to Edmonton") and Cody Ceci, as well as forwards Zach Hyman ("great addition, he works so hard and is so prepared"), Derek Ryan, and Warren Foegele. Notables leaving: blue-liners Adam Larsson and Ethan Bear, as well as forward Jujhar Khaira.

"Mainly, you've gotta see a push from everybody. It starts at the top," McDavid added. "I think me and (Draisaitl) have to take a step, and (Darnell Nurse) and those core guys have to take a step forward and be better. The same with the young guys. Everybody's got to push each other along and make each other better, and that's how we're going to build a winning team."

Are the Oilers, as currently constructed, good enough to challenge for a Cup?

"That's a long way down the road. We haven't even started training camp. We haven't even been face to face. So, I think that's a question for another day," the captain replied. "For us, I think we've got to focus on coming in and having a great camp, start building that chemistry and building that culture, and getting off to a good start, and we go from there. That's all we can really focus on. Let the chips fall where they may."

Olympic thoughts

Fact: McDavid, a generational talent, hasn't competed in a best-on-best international tournament since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. He was 19.

Now, there's light at the end of the tunnel, according to a weekend report via ESPN. NHLers may be heading to the 2022 Beijing Olympics after all, with sources suggesting to the network that "an agreement between NHL, NHLPA, IIHF, and Olympic Committee is close, just down to some final items."

"As any Canadian kid, your dream is to play in the NHL, and then your dream is to play for Team Canada at the Olympics," McDavid said of the latest development. "I think that's always how it is, and I'm no different."

McDavid called the 2016 World Cup - which saw him play alongside Matthews on the gimmicky but wildly popular 23-and-under Team North America squad - "a great experience" featuring "a great group of guys."

"But," he continued, "I mean, ultimately, I think there were a couple of guys - maybe even more than a couple of guys - that could have had the opportunity to play for their country and play in a best-on-best tournament. And, obviously, with not going to the Olympics, it's been a long time since we've been able to represent our country at a best-on-best tournament. So, my last time would have been a world juniors (in 2015), so it's been a long time, and I'm certainly looking forward to, I guess, having the ability to chase down a spot and hopefully make the team and represent my country at the Olympics."

Oh no, your spot is reserved on Team Canada. Don't worry.

John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer.

Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Have you had a chance to catch your breath? July was a doozy of a month in the NHL.

First came the Seattle expansion draft, next was the annual entry draft, then an epic opening day of free agency that generated more than 150 new contracts cumulatively worth more than $500 million. Oh, and throughout the month there was a steady stream of impact trades.

The offseason isn't done. There's lots to come from the league's 32 general managers ahead of opening night on Oct. 12. But right now, it's as good a time as any to reassess the landscape. So, with a strong emphasis on the 2021-22 season, here's a look at the state of each division following the madness:

Atlantic Division

Even after a crazy run of player movement, the Atlantic still features well-defined tiers. Let's start at the division's bottom and work our way to the top.

Buffalo's perpetual rebuild continues. They traded Sam Reinhart and Rasmus Ristolainen and watched Jake McCabe and Linus Ullmark sign elsewhere, and the incoming crop of players is nothing special. The offseason won't be complete until the Jack Eichel situation comes to a resolution, though the Sabres will struggle to compete on a nightly basis regardless of the return.

As for Detroit, the goalie tandem of Alex Nedeljkovic and Thomas Greiss should bail them out of a handful of games. But GM Steve Yzerman clearly isn't actively trying to win, as Pius Suter was the lone notable skater acquired in July. However, despite trade rumors surrounding Tyler Bertuzzi, the club locked him up for two more years.

Ottawa's slightly above the Buffalo-Detroit tier. With so much promise up front, from Brady Tkachuk and Josh Norris to Tim Stutzle, they should take a step forward. Yet contending for a playoff spot remains a dream.

Then there are the Canadiens, who experienced plenty of turnover while losing Phillip Danault, Tomas Tatar, and a few depth guys. Mike Hoffman, David Savard, Cedric Paquette, Mathieu Perreault, and Chris Wideman are all new to the team. Captain Shea Weber may be dealing with a career-ending injury, which is significant. The Habs are built for the playoffs, but they'll be fighting tooth and nail just to make the postseason.

The Panthers are a sleeping giant. Adding Reinhart is massive, as is locking up Carter Verhaeghe. Aaron Ekblad is healthy again, and Spencer Knight will provide stability in the crease. For the first time in a long time, Florida shouldn't be taken lightly, as the club looks primed to go head to head with the Maple Leafs for the third playoff position. Toronto, meanwhile, has made some good upside bets after letting Zach Hyman walk, bringing in Petr Mrazek, and acquiring Nick Ritchie, Ondrej Kase, David Kampf, and Michael Bunting.

That leaves a top tier of Boston and Tampa Bay, the back-to-back champs.

The cap-strapped Lightning are down Tyler Johnson, Yanni Gourde, Blake Coleman, Barclay Goodrow, and Savard. Yet they scooped up inexpensive veterans Zach Bogosian, Corey Perry, and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare. Is the current roster worse on paper than last year's juggernaut? Absolutely. Should they be downgraded to Cup pretenders from contenders? Nope, not with that star-studded core. Going on a deep run is still doable, it'll just be more difficult to pull off with key support players gone.

The Bruins aren't easy to get a handle on right now because David Krejci just left for Europe and Tuukka Rask, who's set to miss a chunk of this coming season, is unsigned. At the end of the day, Boston's elite No. 1 forward line is intact, Taylor Hall's back for his first full season in Boston, the recently signed Ullmark is a smart bet between the pipes, the ever-improving Charlie McAvoy is leading a defense corps that'll continue to include Mike Reilly, and the rest of the lineup is filled with enough depth to push Tampa.

Metropolitan Division

The Metropolitan has long been a tricky division to project because it's typically home to a bunch of good-but-not-great squads. And what's transpired of late has done little to clear up the convolution.

Let's begin with Carolina, since the Hurricanes have arguably the highest ceiling among the eight Metro teams. "Ceiling" is the operative word here, as the new goalie duo of Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta carries a wide range of outcomes. On the blue line, Dougie Hamilton's departure is a serious stinger, though freshly signed Ian Cole, Ethan Bear, and Tony DeAngelo (we're talking strictly on-ice performance) should help mitigate the loss. Keep in mind that both Andrei Svechnikov and Martin Necas will no doubt level up in 2021-22, and Vincent Trocheck is back to full health.

Pittsburgh's netminding situation is also a giant question mark. Overall, GM Ron Hextall's offseason series of moves - for instance, losing Brandon Tavev through the expansion draft before acquiring Danton Heinen in free agency - are essentially a wash. As currently constructed, the Penguins will once again rely on the trio of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang to dictate their trajectory.

Speaking of aging cores, Washington has experienced even less turnover. Sure, it's fantastic that Alex Ovechkin is back for another five years. But otherwise, the Capitals have added nobody of significance after trading away Brenden Dillon for cap reasons. But it feels premature to judge Washington's offseason with a possible Evgeny Kuznetsov trade still to come.

The Islanders, who saw Jordan Eberle get snatched up in the expansion draft, have been pretty quiet and, according to reports, they will return basically the same roster for 2021-22. It's safe to say the well-structured, disciplined squad will find a way into the playoffs, whether it's a top-three spot or wild card.

From there, the division gets dicey. Philadelphia went nuts in July in an effort to rejig its blue line. Incoming: Ryan Ellis, Keith Yandle, Ristolainen. Outgoing: Shayne Gostisbehere, Philippe Myers, Robert Hagg. Meanwhile, up front, Cam Atkinson is in while Nolan Patrick and Jakub Voracek are out. Between the pipes, Martin Jones is Carter Hart's new backup. If the Flyers improved after all of this wheeling and dealing, which is debatable, the improvement isn't humongous. The Jones signing is curious given his awful recent results and the fact Hart himself had a rough 2020-21 season.

Philadelphia is a wild card. They're on approximately the same level as the middle-of-the-road Rangers with respect to competing this coming season. New York, for what it's worth, has decided to go all-in on toughness, clearly responding to last year's Tom Wilson incident. The Barclay Goodrow signing is the only impactful transaction from a winning games point of view, suggesting the Rangers won't take a huge step in what will be the fourth full season of their rebuild.

Rounding out the Metro are New Jersey and Columbus. Both made sizeable splashes in July, namely the Devils reeling in Hamilton on a long-term deal and the Blue Jackets trading Seth Jones. In the short term, New Jersey's still marinating, with at least one more year to go before a legit playoff push, whereas Columbus is on track to fully bottom out this coming season.

Central Division

The Central's offseason has more or less mirrored what's unfolded across the entire league. A serious contender has been forced to part with key pieces through expansion, free agency, and/or trade; some middle-of-the-pack teams have gained ground on contenders by being aggressive; others have stayed stagnant by being conservative; a lottery team has gotten even worse by selling assets.

Let's first touch on the contender, Colorado. The Avalanche entered July with arguably a top-three roster on paper. The depth chart is now missing defensemen Ryan Graves and Conor Timmins, as well as forwards Joonas Donskoi, Brandon Saad, and Bellemare. In net, the Avs couldn't afford Philipp Grubauer, so Darcy Kuemper is the club's new starter, which is fine. These changes were required in order to re-sign Cale Makar and Gabriel Landeskog, and yet through it all, Colorado remains the toast of the division. Remember, Alex Newhook and Bowen Byram are ready for larger NHL roles.

Chicago is one of the aforementioned aggressors. GM Stan Bowman has practically transformed his roster, adding Seth Jones, Marc-Andre Fleury, Jake McCabe, Tyler Johnson, and Caleb Jones, while subtracting Duncan Keith, Adam Boqvist, Pius Suter, and Nikita Zadorov, among others. Bowman is gambling from a long-term perspective, but the Hawks are undeniably better in the short term. Focusing strictly on 2021-22, Chicago should contend for a playoff spot if Fleury reports. If he doesn't, backups Kevin Lankinen and Collin Delia will be under immense pressure to perform.

Meanwhile, Winnipeg pounced on vulnerable teams to acquire Dillon and Nate Schmidt and upgrade its thin defense corps. Those two trades offset losing forward Mason Appleton in the expansion draft. The Jets are far from a perfectly built team. However, heading into August they have a solid blue line to go along with a vaunted top-six forward crew and an all-world goalie. There's absolutely no reason why Winnipeg shouldn't be playoff bound.

St. Louis, Dallas, and Minnesota are three other teams that will be jockeying for positioning in the crowded Central. None of them struck out or struck gold during the July madness. Take St. Louis: they added Saad and Pavel Buchnevich while subtracting Hoffman, Vince Dunn, Jaden Schwartz, Sammy Blais, and Tyler Bozak. Of course, the Blues could still receive a hefty return for the disgruntled Vladimir Tarasenko.

Nashville, on the other hand, finds itself in a predicament. A retool is underway, and it’s obvious GM David Poile has big-money players the rest of the NHL isn’t particularly interested in. For example, instead of expansion bait Ryan Johansen and Matt Duchene leaving town, it's Calle Jarnkork, Viktor Arvidsson, and Ellis. On the ice, things could go south quick for the Predators. The roster is in no man’s land.

Finally, the Coyotes. We're witnessing a masterful tank job here, with the likes of Conor Garland, Bunting, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Alex Goligoski, Jordan Oesterle, Aiden Hill, Kuemper, and Raanta all leaving Arizona recently. In return, the club acquired a few bad contracts and a boatload of draft picks.

Pacific Division

There's an uneasiness about the Pacific, which is why it's the last division listed. There are two teams, Vegas and Anaheim, who could conceivably land Eichel, and Seattle, who by nature will remain dangerous until opening night.

Interestingly, the Golden Knights announced Friday afternoon that forward Alex Tuch is expected to miss six months to recover from shoulder surgery. This development opens up cap space and no contender needs a superstar center like Eichel quite like the notoriously aggressive Golden Knights. So far, aside from trading Fleury, they've been uncharacteristically tame.

As for Anaheim, the Ducks have been linked to Eichel for a while now, and since the team is a rebuilding squad with plenty of cap space, it can wait out any other suitors. The fit doesn't seem to be there for the Kraken, but it would be foolish to completely dismiss the expansion team without a true No. 1 center on its roster.

If the season were to start today, Seattle's roster is good enough to secure a playoff berth in the Pacific - the NHL's most top-heavy division. There's a gulf between Vegas and Edmonton and teams like Calgary, Vancouver, and Seattle. Heck, if you account for growth within Los Angeles' excellent prospect pool and if its offseason pickups pay dividends, the club probably deserves to be thrown into the middle class too. It's not a crazy thought.

The Kings acquired one of the best defensive centers in the game with Danault and a winger in dire need of a change of scenery in Arvidsson. Up north in Edmonton, the Oilers added versatility and depth to its forward group by bringing in Hyman, Derek Ryan, and Warren Foegele to help out Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Then again, Edmonton made some curious moves on the back, namely the Keith trade, which may undo some progress.

The Canucks will be in the mix. GM Jim Benning took on Ekman-Larsson's onerous contract but, hey, he's getting a second-pairing defenseman in that trade, as well as Garland, who had been hidden in Arizona for too long. Other moves, like picking up Jason Dickson and Jaroslav Halak, are applaudable. Again, in the short term, Vancouver is better. The future will be awkward.

Past the vast middle class are the Ducks and Sharks. Anaheim re-signed captain Ryan Getzlaf and San Jose signed a few veterans to fair contracts. Realistically, both teams are in a race for the basement. Anaheim has the lead.

John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer.

Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Quick-hit analysis of important NHL signings and trades completed July 28.

Signing: Ducks sign forward Ryan Getzlaf to one-year deal
Analysis: After flirting with the idea of playing for another NHL club, the longtime Ducks captain decided to stay put. Getzlaf's new contract carries a $4.5-million cap hit, topping up the eight-year extension he inked back in 2013. At 36, he's not the player he used to be, yet at that price tag, and with a group of youngsters to mentor in Anaheim, the deal makes sense for both player and team. It's low-risk and high-reward, and there's a decent chance the Saskatchewan native gets flipped for future assets at the 2021-22 trade deadline. Everybody wins. To date, Getzlaf has accumulated 279 goals and 703 assists for 982 points in a franchise-record 1,011 games.

Signing: Canucks sign goalie Jaroslav Halak to one-year deal
Analysis: Not a bad piece of business from Canucks general manager Jim Benning. He was looking for a stable No. 2 behind starter Thatcher Demko and he found one in Halak, who of late has carved out a niche for himself despite being on the back nine of his career. Now, last year didn't go wonderfully for Halak behind Tuukka Rask in Boston, and it clearly hurt his stock on a crowded goalie market, bringing his cap hit down to $1.5 million. Still, his extensive track record speaks for itself. Meanwhile, Braden Holtby, whom the Canucks bought out on Wednesday, signed a one-year deal with the Stars.

Signing: Sharks sign forward Nick Bonino to two-year deal
Analysis: A quick look at San Jose's depth chart makes it easy to connect the dots here: The club needs centers beyond Logan Couture and Tomas Hertl, and Bonino should slot in at 3C. The 33-year-old is a two-way pivot, a rare commodity in this particular UFA class. He's going to earn $2.05 million a year - a fair rate for a guy who's won two Cups but is ultimately a support player, even on a lowly team like the Sharks.

Signing: Devils sign defenseman Dougie Hamilton to seven-year deal
Analysis: This is a grand slam for New Jersey GM Tom Fitzgerald. Hamilton, whose massive deal carries a $9-million cap hit, is an elite, top-tier defenseman who should be in the Norris Trophy conversation for the foreseeable future. Throw him into the mix with centers Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier, premier forward prospect Alexander Holtz, 24-year-old starting goalie Mackenzie Blackwood, and up-and-coming defensemen Ty Smith and Luke Hughes, and you've got the makings of a tantalizing core. Hamilton, 28, tilts the ice during even-strength action, and he can quarterback the top unit of a power play. He had the pick of the litter as the 2021 UFA class' headliner, and he chose the upstart Devils. It's his fourth NHL team after stops in Boston, Calgary, and Carolina.

Signing: Red Wings sign forward Pius Suter to two-year deal
Analysis: Landing in Detroit raises questions about how Suter will look without Patrick Kane. With the Blackhawks this past season, Suter put up 14 goals and 13 assists in 55 games as a rookie while riding shotgun to Kane. He's a 25-year-old late bloomer who played professionally in Switzerland for six years before coming over to North America. Suter will be paid $3.25 million a year on his new contract, a hefty raise from $925,000. The Wings sure could use his scoring touch.

Signing: Canadiens sign forward Mike Hoffman to three-year deal
Analysis: Hoffman's basically a one-dimensional player, but the one thing he does extremely well is score goals. That makes him valuable to all 32 teams and especially a goal-starved squad like Montreal. The Canadiens overcommitted on term here, no doubt. As we've seen elsewhere today, though, players are clearly looking for stability, so interested GMs are forced to pony up or miss out. Hoffman, who'll make $4.5 million per season, is sneakily tied for 38th among all NHLers in goals since 2012-13. He has a terrifying wrist shot and could be a nice fit alongside pivot Jesperi Kotkaniemi.

Signing: Lightning re-sign forward Brayden Point to eight-year deal
Analysis: After this extension, Point is under Lightning control until 2030, and, as strange it may sound, that's awesome, even at a $9.5-million cap hit. Point, who's in his prime right now, should be well worth the monetary commitment of this deal, which mirrors teammate Nikita Kucherov's 2018 contract in term and money. Point does it all: scores clutch goals, can assume the shutdown center role, performs an integral role on a deadly power play - the list goes on. The 2014 third-rounder was an essential contributor to Tampa Bay's back-to-back championships and will be counted on to reach even greater heights. Bolts fans are smiling extra big today.

Signing: Maple Leafs sign goalie Petr Mrazek to three-year deal
Analysis: The Leafs and Canes ended up swapping goalies Wednesday and, at first glance, Toronto appears to have made out quite well. The goalie carousel was turning quickly and Mrazek, with his medium term and $3.8-million cap hit, is a sensible match for the Leafs. He's quite familiar with splitting the goaltending load fairly evenly and will likely continue to do so with Jack Campbell, who remains a relatively inexperienced NHL starter after breaking out last year. The question with Mrazek is how the 29-year-old might fare outside of Carolina's insulating defensive structure. Toronto cleaned up its act defensively in 2020-21, so that's encouraging for the Czech, but you just never know with fringe starters who are entering new environments.

Signings: Hurricanes sign defensemen Tony DeAngelo and Ian Cole to one-year deals
Analysis: What a contrast in these two signings as Carolina continues to turn over its blue-line personnel. The offensive-minded DeAngelo gets a second chance after the Rangers bought him out for getting into a physical altercation with a teammate and expressing extreme views on social media about COVID-19 and politics. That's a tough sell to the fan base. Then there's the defensive-minded Cole, who's known league-wide as one of the true "good guys" in the sport. That's an easy sell. If I was GM of the Hurricanes, I know I'd be signing one but not the other. In terms of money, DeAngelo, 25, is getting $1 million, while Cole, 32, is now a $2.9-million player.

Trade: Senators trade forward Evgenii Dadonov to the Golden Knights for defenseman Nick Holden and a third-round pick in 2022
Analysis: Dadonov, who has two years left on a contract paying him $5 million per season, drives play at even strength and has a bullet of a shot. He addresses a need for Vegas as a goal-scorer and could be a complementary piece within the club's top-six forward group. The package going to Ottawa isn't anything special - Holden is ultimately expendable and a third-round pick is a lottery ticket - so this is a win for the Golden Knights. Vegas is so determined to win a Cup with its current core that any roster upgrade that doesn't sacrifice significant future assets is probably worth the plunge. As for the Senators, moving on from Dadonov is no biggie as the rebuild continues.

Signing: Predators re-sign forward Mikael Granlund to four-year deal
Analysis: This is an odd signing for a franchise that's going through an identity crisis. What are the Predators accomplishing by locking up a middle-six winger at a $5-million cap hit while they retool? Put another way, GM David Poile's got too many hefty contracts on the books already, so why handcuff himself even more? Granlund had two 60-point seasons a few years ago, but his rate of production has declined since arriving in Nashville in 2019. He's receiving a raise from $3.75 million in 2020-21.

Signing: Kraken sign goalie Philipp Grubauer to six-year deal
Analysis: Move over, Chris Driedger, you're now 1B in Seattle. Yup, Grubauer immediately supplants him, though there's no doubt this will be a tandem setup. Based on how Seattle is currently built, the goalies should be well-supported defensively, which is promising for the goalies and also an excited fan base. Grubauer's contract, which carries a $5.9-million cap hit, is a gamble due to the term, as he'll turn 30 in November. Goalie performance is volatile, and while Grubauer finished third in Vezina Trophy voting in 2020-21, he still hasn't played more than 40 games in a single season. The transaction, as a whole, deserves a B- grade. The biggest takeaway? If it wasn't obvious before, Seattle definitely isn't tanking for high draft picks in its inaugural season. The Kraken want to win.

Signing: Kraken sign forward Jaden Schwartz to five-year deal
Analysis: Finally, Seattle has an offensive catalyst. GM Ron Francis hoarded defensive-minded forwards during the expansion draft, but in Schwartz, he brings in a proven producer who is also solid defensively. Schwartz, who spent a decade with the Blues and won a Stanley Cup in 2019, has a career points-per-game average of 0.69. There's a comfy spot for the 29-year-old left winger on the Kraken's top line and first-unit power play. The new contract doesn't have an outrageous cap hit, either, at a middle-class $5.5 million. There's also a chance Schwartz's totals will balloon as he takes on a larger role. This deal has little downside.

Signing: Kings sign forward Phillip Danault to six-year deal
Analysis: Anze Kopitar, Quinton Byfield, and Danault: How's that for a 1-2-3 punch down the middle for at least the next three years? Look out, Pacific Division - if not this year, then in 2022-23, especially when you factor in other blue-chip prospects who are ripening in the Kings' system. As for 28-year-old Danault, he's one of the best defensive centers in the league, as he showed this past postseason in battling offensive stars on Toronto, Winnipeg, and Vegas. The term on his new contract isn't ideal for Kings GM Rob Blake, but that's the reality of the situation when Danault is such a hot commodity, and the cap hit is still a reasonable $5.5 million. I really like this addition.

Signing: Blackhawks sign defenseman Jake McCabe to four-year deal
Analysis: Considering the Blackhawks are pushing hard to compete in 2021-22, this is a crafty acquisition by GM Stan Bowman. McCabe, who's just 27, has flown under the radar for years as a shutdown defenseman on the woeful Sabres, and the $4-million cap hit on his new contract is palatable. Will McCabe be matched with fellow import Seth Jones on the top pair? At minimum, it will be interesting to see how McCabe adjusts to a different playing environment. He is coming off surgery after tearing his ACL, so there's danger baked into Chicago's commitment. Then again, Bowman has been aggressive this offseason, and McCabe's situation is par for the course.

Signings: Hurricanes sign goalies Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta to two-year deals
Analysis: So this is why Hurricanes GM Don Waddell was OK with casually trading away Calder Trophy finalist Alex Nedeljkovic for a third-round pick. By adding Andersen and Raanta on multi-year deals (at cap hits of $4.5 million and $2 million, respectively), the Canes can call upon two goalies - similar to the outgoing James Reimer-Petr Mrazek tandem but with a higher ceiling. Both of the new deals carry risk; Andersen, 31, is coming off a down year filled with health concerns, and Raanta, 32, is seemingly always battling injuries. But both netminders have proven they can be above-average NHL starters. And that's really all Carolina should need as a club that tends to outduel the opposition in regards to shot attempts, shots on goal, and scoring chances.

Trade: Oilers trade defenseman Ethan Bear to the Hurricanes for forward Warren Foegele
Analysis: The first player-for-player trade of the day is a classic case of GMs exchanging depth players in their mid-20s to address glaring needs. For Carolina, that means adding to a defense corps that recently lost Jake Bean and is presumably losing UFA Dougie Hamilton soon. Meanwhile, Edmonton bolsters a forward group that has sorely lacked legitimate talent in its bottom six for the past few years. Bear will be a third-pairing defenseman for the Hurricanes and Foegele will be a third- or fourth-line winger and penalty killer for the Oilers. What's left to be determined is the cap-hit differential, since Bear is set to make $2 million on an expiring deal and Foegele is an RFA with arbitration rights. At any rate, this is a logical swap on all fronts.

Signing: Devils sign goalie Jonathan Bernier to a two-year deal
Analysis: This contract is for Bernier, of course, but also Mackenzie Blackwood, New Jersey's starter of the present and future. Bernier, who gets a nice piece of the pie at $4.125 million annually thanks to the club's abundance of cap space, will be a great mentor to Blackwood. It'll be fascinating to see how the team splits the workload with the Devils paying two NHL starters. (GM Tom Fitzgerald has quietly added value to his rebuilding squad this summer with this transaction, a well-received showing at the NHL draft, and the acquisition of defenseman Ryan Graves.)

Signing: Kraken sign forward Alexander Wennberg to a three-year deal
Analysis: This is a bit of a head-scratcher. The Kraken were careful to avoid bad-value contracts in the expansion draft, yet Wennberg at $4.5 million per year doesn't inspire a ton of confidence. The 6-foot-2 Swede has been traditionally deployed as a bottom-six center. He scored a career-high 17 goals in 56 games for the Panthers last season, but he did it on a career-high 20.7 shooting percentage, suggesting the jolt in production was a one-off. There's nothing wrong with the player, or the term, really - it's just the price tag that's iffy. Perhaps Seattle sees serious potential in giving Wennberg a bigger role?

Signing: Flyers sign defenseman Keith Yandle to a one-year deal
Analysis: Honestly, nothing to dislike here. The Flyers get a third-pairing defenseman who can help run a power-play unit for just $900,000. There's no long-term commitment, which is nice because Yandle is 35 and fresh off a performance-based buyout from the Panthers. He can be a liability defensively, so there's a not-insignificant risk of giving Yandle too much ice time. Something to watch for in the fall: Yandle has played 922 consecutive NHL games, which is 42 shy of Doug Jarvis' all-time record.

Signing: Canadiens sign defenseman David Savard to a four-year deal
Analysis: Montreal GM Marc Bergevin is doubling down on the club's identity by snagging Savard, a 6-foot-2, 230-pound defenseman. This past postseason, the Canadiens' top four featured nothing but giants in Shea Weber, Jeff Petry, Joel Edmundson, and Ben Chiarot. With Weber's NHL future in jeopardy, Savard, who's set to earn $3.5 million annually, provides insurance on the right side. The contract could be shorter and cheaper but it isn't a gross overpayment. Savard will be tasked with blocking shots and clearing bodies from the front of the net like he did last year for Columbus and Tampa Bay.

Signing: Blue Jackets re-sign forward Patrik Laine to a one-year deal
Analysis: This situation will be interesting to monitor. Laine, who scored only 10 goals in 45 games last year, accepted his qualifying offer from Columbus, giving him a $7.5-million paycheck and cap hit in 2021-22. Will the Finnish sniper jell with Jakub Voracek, the team's newly acquired playmaking center? Does he stay the entire season and put butts in seats for a poor squad, or will he be shipped out shortly after his goal-scoring returns to normal levels? There doesn't seem to be a long-term fit between Laine and Columbus. However, this extension certainly leaves the door open.

Signing: Flames sign forward Blake Coleman to a six-year deal
Analysis: Oh boy, this is bittersweet if you're a Flames fan. On one hand, Coleman is a goal-scoring winger who's reliable defensively. He's the perfect player to move up and down the lineup. You want him on your team. On the other hand, both the term and the $4.9-million cap hit of his new contract are scary. Coleman turns 30 in November, and the chances of his best days being ahead are slim. Is Calgary GM Brad Treliving rewarding Coleman for what he's done in the recent past - namely, being a key piece on the back-to-back champion Lightning? It sure looks like it. The deal stacks up from a market perspective, though, since Coleman's former linemate Barclay Goodrow recently received $3.6 million annually over six years from the Rangers. While Treliving is gambling here, there are worse gambles given Coleman's resume and utility within the Flames' forward group.

Signing: Hurricanes re-sign forward Jordan Martinook to a three-year deal
Analysis: There were rumors Martinook was looking forward to testing the free-agent market, so re-upping with the Hurricanes this early in the day counts as a minor surprise; minor, not major, since over the past few years he's been such an essential part of the culture in Carolina. Martinook, 29, is a rah-rah bottom-six winger who'll make $1.8 million annually on his new contract. He kills penalties, isn't afraid to issue a heavy hit on the forecheck, and, if necessary, will drop the gloves. With so much turnover on the Canes, inking a glue guy like Martinook to a reasonable deal is smart.

Signing: Stars sign defenseman Ryan Suter to a four-year deal
Analysis: The stink's fresh on Suter since he was bought out by the Wild just two weeks ago, but there's still plenty of good hockey left in the 36-year-old workhorse. Four years of good hockey? That's a stretch. But in the first half of Suter's new contract, which carries a manageable $3.65-million cap hit, he should be a strong second-pairing defenseman for Dallas. The club's blue line runs through Miro Heiskanen and John Klingberg, so Suter won't be counted on to rediscover his peak performance from when he was considered a top-10 player at the position. He's basically being asked to replace Jamie Oleksiak, who was selected and signed by the Kraken.

Signing: Oilers re-sign defenseman Tyson Barrie to a three-year deal
Analysis: This extension has serious "why not?" vibes. Barrie led all NHL defensemen in scoring in 2020-21 with 48 points in 56 games. He fits in well in Edmonton as a slick-skating D-man who can consistently distribute the puck to the team's fast, skilled forwards. There are questions about what Oilers management is doing with the blue-line corps, in general, but that's a separate conversation. Barrie gets a pay bump to $4.5 million from $3.75 million last year, and the term isn't onerous. It looks like the 30-year-old has found a home after signing with the Oilers last offseason following a poor stint in Toronto.

Signing: Oilers sign forward Zach Hyman to a seven-year deal
Analysis: Connor McDavid, meet your new puck retriever and defensive safety valve. For years, Hyman played a similar role in Toronto alongside superstar center Auston Matthews. There's no reason to believe he can't do the same for the Oilers. Hyman's home-run contract, which carries a $5.5-million cap hit, should be fine in the short term. It's dicey over the long term, however, given the Toronto native is already 29 years old and has dealt with significant injuries. That said, GM Ken Holland needs to start surrounding McDavid and former MVP Leon Draisaitl with better support on the wing, and this kind of commitment is the price. Hyman, a well-liked teammate, also has some scoring touch and is an effective penalty killer. Oilers fans should be pleased.

Trade: Blackhawks trade defenseman Nikita Zadorov to the Flames for a third-round draft pick in 2022
Analysis: Did Calgary just acquire its Mark Giordano replacement? Zadorov isn't the same caliber of defenseman as the former Flames captain; however, he is a left shot who can occupy a spot in the top four. Zadorov, 26, is a restricted free agent with arbitration rights, and after a flurry of roster moves, Chicago simply didn't have enough cap space to re-sign him. This is a praise-worthy pounce job by Treliving. A third-rounder isn't much to pay for a physical, 6-foot-6 blue-liner who should complement righty Rasmus Andersson on the second pair. Zadorov, for what it's worth, is coming off a one-year, $3.2-million deal. Calgary is the Russian's fourth NHL team.

Signing: Red Wings re-sign forward Sam Gagner to a one-year deal
Analysis: A low-risk, low-reward transaction. Detroit brings back a veteran who put up 15 points in 42 games last season and is due to make $850,000. At this point in his career, Gagner is a fourth-line forward capable of helping out on the power play. He averaged 15:26 of ice time in 2020-21 and he brings some intangible benefits, as the soon-to-be 32-year-old has built a strong reputation as a mentor. This will be Gagner's third year with the Wings.

Signing: Golden Knights re-sign defenseman Alec Martinez to a three-year deal
Analysis: Tidy piece of business by Vegas, a team firmly in win-now mode. Martinez, who will earn $5.25 million per year through 2023-24 on the new contract, would have been a sought-after UFA defenseman if he had hit the market. Locking him up keeps Shea Theodore, Martinez's defensive partner and the club's top blue-liner, happy. Martinez, 34, has a fantastic shot, including a lethal one-timer that was on full display this past postseason. The former King was acquired by the Golden Knights in a 2020 trade with Los Angeles and has really hit his stride on a squad that values big, mobile D-men.

John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer.

Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Warning: The story contains reporting about allegations of sexual abuse that some readers may find upsetting.

Shortly before Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final last week, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman made his first public comments about the sexual assault allegations aimed at a former coach of one of the league's marquee teams, the Chicago Blackhawks.

"Let us see what the investigation reveals, and then we can figure out what comes next," Bettman said during a press conference dominated by questions relating to the scandal involving Brad Aldrich, a video coach on Chicago's 2010 Stanley Cup-winning staff.

"I think everyone is jumping too far, too fast. This is going to be handled appropriately and professionally, and done right," Bettman added, referring to the Blackhawks' "independent review," which is being conducted by the law firm Jenner & Block LLP.

But the review comes more than a decade after Aldrich was first accused of sexual assault by two Blackhawks players, something that was "an open secret" within the organization. Reporting by Chicago NPR station WBEZ, The Athletic, and TSN has revealed the ways in which the team failed in its approach to the situation at the time.

Now that the Blackhawks - and by extension the league - are involved in an investigation, there's an opportunity to address the past failures and put in place stringent and meaningful policies that could prevent or mitigate the next occurrence. If there were policies in effect within the Blackhawks or the NHL, they don't appear to have been followed. The team allowed Aldrich to move on to other jobs, including a volunteer position with a high school team in Michigan, where he was convicted of fourth-degree criminal sexual misconduct in 2013.

According to experts in the area of sexual assault policy and research, there is indeed a path for the NHL's investigation to be done correctly, starting with a thorough understanding of the facts and sharing those facts with the public. In interviews with theScore, the experts also said that institutions of all kinds - which would include the NHL, the Blackhawks, and all the league's other franchises - need to be proactive in fostering an environment in which allegations of sexual harassment or abuse are taken seriously and acted upon.

"From the institutional standpoint, you're never going to be able to guarantee that you prevent every incident from happening," said Scott Berkowitz, the president of the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN). "But you can prevent a lot of them, and you can make sure that if something does happen, you take it very, very seriously."

Elizabeth Jeglic, a professor of psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, whose research focuses largely on sexual violence prevention, noted that reporting abusive behavior must be "something that is important to the organization," and especially its leaders.

"This is reinforced through training, through the culture," Jeglic added, "and therefore, when ambiguous situations, or situations that may be indicative of abuse arise, people are reinforced and will come forward with reporting those things."

If the allegations are true, that certainly wasn't the case with the 2009-10 Blackhawks.

Aldrich, who was employed by the team from 2008-10, is accused of sexually assaulting two unidentified Blackhawks players during the 2009-10 season. In the playoffs, the players reported the assault to Paul Vincent, a skills coach who relayed the allegations to a group of key decision makers, namely former president John McDonough and current general manager Stan Bowman. Vincent says he urged the club to take action, but its leaders chose not to report the allegations to the police.

"I will stand up in court and say what happened," Vincent told TSN recently, backing allegations laid out in a lawsuit that was filed against the Blackhawks on May 7. "I know what the team did to cover this up and coming forward was the right thing to do."

The lawsuit, filed by one of the ex-players under the name "John Doe," claims Aldrich "turned on porn and began to masturbate in front of" the player without his consent; sent "inappropriate text messages"; and threatened to "physically, financially, and emotionally" injure the player if he "did not engage in sexual activity" with Aldrich.

The lawsuit also claims the Blackhawks were negligent because they failed to "establish, maintain, and carry out a continuing harassment program," and "take reasonable action within the organization to reduce the likelihood of future sexual harassment incidents by updating policies and communicatiing them to the workforce."

A former marketing official for the Blackhawks told TSN the allegations were an "open secret" within the organization, while former associate coach John Torchetti confirmed there was a meeting between Vincent and management. The Athletic talked with a player from the 2009-10 Blackhawks who said, "every single guy on the team knew."

Aldrich finished the season with the team, but left the Blackhawks at some point after the Cup parade. At the time, the team said he was pursuing other opportunities.

The allegations made in the lawsuit by the former Blackhawks player have not been tested in court.

In 2013, Aldrich was convicted of fourth-degree criminal sexual misconduct by a county court in northern Michigan. He was sentenced in 2014 to nine months in jail and five years' probation. Aldrich, who's 38 and believed to be living in Hancock, Michigan, is a registered sex offender in the state.

The teenaged player Aldrich assaulted at Houghton High School has filed a lawsuit against the Blackhawks, claiming the team provided positive references for Aldrich.

There are a total of seven known allegations against Aldrich in police records and court files, according to WBEZ, which was the first news organization to report on Aldrich's tenure with the Blackhawks. Aldrich has also worked for the men's hockey teams at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana and Miami University in Ohio. WBEZ reported Friday that Miami has confirmed there were two sexual assault claims against Aldrich during his time at the school in 2012.

Jeglic said that with perpetrators of sexual assault, there's often a "pattern of behavior across many situations."

"If there are no consequences and they are able to get away with it - which historically, in many institutions, they have - then the pattern of behavior continues, and we just see more victims," she said. "We saw that with the Catholic church. We saw that with (Jerry) Sandusky at Penn State. We saw that with (Larry) Nassar, the gymnastics doctor. There's potentially suspicion along the way, but if people don't formally report it, or they don't take those reports seriously, then the perpetrator just continues with the abuse."

The Sandusky case, in which the former college football coach was convincted in 2012 of 45 counts of sexual abuse, introduced the concept of sexual grooming to the general public, Jeglic said. Yet grooming isn't exclusive to victims.

Perpetrators try to "leverage their reputation, their relationships, and are able to test the boundaries of what is appropriate" in an effort to groom institutions too, said Laura Palumbo, communications director at the National Sexual Violence Resource Center.

So what can the NHL, the Blackhawks, and the league's other franchises learn? How can they be proactive in minimizing future abuse in the sport?

A good start would be implementing and enforcing protocols and procedures for how to appropriately handle an allegation. There must be training, structure, and steps to follow. Without structure, reporting is left to individual choice, which means those in leadership roles will weigh the pros and cons between taking action or looking the other way.

Doing the "right thing" as a leader may appear simple on the surface, but it can be extremely complicated if there's a lack of guidance from the institution and if its culture doesn't promote the proper actions.

"These are challenging situations and that's why we need good education, good employee training, good training of managers," said David Finkelhor, the director of Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire.

Managers should be prepared for situations in which they're blindsided by a shocking revelation, Finkelhor added, and they also should be coached on how to take responsibility, as difficult as it might be. "It may reflect negatively on you and there may be no way to avoid that," he said. "It's just that part of taking the mantle of leadership is that you can be tarnished by something you had nothing to do with. And your handling of it may not provide any great options, but you have to steer the ship off the shoals."

Hockey, like many entrenched institutions, is built on relationships and can develop old boys' networks. It might be tempting to dismiss an allegation if the accused is considered a well-respected member of the community.

"Because we are human we are subject to our own biases and stereotypes. That impacts how reporting is done," Jeglic said. "A better way to do it is to do training and to also have strict policies and procedures as to what has to be done in such situations."

From Berkowitz's perspective, it appears a number of typical motivating factors weren't enough to convince the leaders of the 2009-10 Blackhawks that Aldrich should be reported.

"Ideally, there's multiple sources of pressure to do the right thing," Berkowitz said. "There's personal conscience in knowing what's right. There's the desire to look out for and protect your friends and colleagues. And then there's risk-based reasons. Because not doing the right thing exposes you to both legal and reputational risk."

A 2018 study in the U.S. found 81% of women and 43% of men said they had experienced some form of sexual harassment and/or assault in their lifetime. But, according to a recent National Crime Victimization Survey, around 66% of people don't report the abuse and that number is believed to be higher among boys and men.

"There's many aspects of the male culture that make it more difficult," Finkelhor said. "There's the stigma of homosexuality. There's the idea that if you got victimized, and you weren't able to fight off the offender, that it's a failure of your masculinity, that you weren't able to defend yourself. The idea that men don't complain, men don't see themselves as victims. To portray yourself as a victim is sort of the abdication of an idea that men can kind of tough their way through things and they overcome."

All of these cultural barriers can be compounded by what's prioritized inside the organization. Winning trumps everything else inside the sports team bubble, and that single-mindedness can deter people from acting. "There is kind of an ethic, with sports in particular and maybe even the corporate world," Finkelhor said. "It's this idea that what we're doing is so important."

The NHL's other teams should be - and perhaps already are - viewing the Blackhawks' lack of action as a wake-up call. Berkowitz cited the recent announcement from Uber and Lyft that stated the ride-hailing companies had created a shared database of banned drivers kicked off their platforms due to complaints about sexual assault and other crimes.

"We often see that when something bad happens to one company in an industry there's suddenly a lot more interest from other companies in auditing how they approach (a major issue) and making sure that they fix any shortcomings before anything terrible happens and it becomes public," Berkowitz said.

Uber and Lyft are doing the opposite of what's called "passing the trash." An example of that would be when a school teacher abuses a student, resigns, gets a letter of recommendation, and then reappears in another district. The Michigan student's lawsuit against the Blackhawks essentially accuses the team of doing that.

Society as a whole is taking stronger interest in reshaping its institutions in ways that prioritize hard stances against racism, misogyny, and sexual abuse. Hockey can use this momentum to do better in this area, too. Silence and ignorance can no longer be tolerated.

"It is the easy route and it's been discovered by many people. But it doesn't protect society," Finkelhor said of passing the trash. "It doesn't protect others within the organization and it often doesn't do justice for the victims."

John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. You can follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) and contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).

Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Of course it was Ross Colton.

With 6:33 remaining in the second period Wednesday, Colton - the Tampa Bay Lightning's most under-the-radar player - redirected a perfectly placed pass into the back of the Montreal Canadiens' net. It turned out to be the lone goal in the fifth and final game of the 2021 Stanley Cup Final, leading to the juggernaut Lightning's second championship in 282 days.

Colton, a 2016 fourth-rounder with 30 games of NHL experience coming into the postseason, was both the unlikely and likely hero. The Lightning have been built to overwhelm opponents with their star power. Yet endless depth is the club's true competitive advantage. The bottom-six forwards, Patrick Maroon, Barclay Goodrow, Blake Coleman, and Tyler Johnson, scored the five goals prior to Colton's memorable marker. In total, 16 of the 20 skaters who dressed for Tampa Bay in the 2021 playoffs scored at least once.

It's no fluke, either. The Lightning have boasted an enviable stable of role and bit players for at least three years now, long before superstar Nikita Kucherov's league-approved injury timeline became such a hot-button topic.

A core group of seven players has grown alongside head coach Jon Cooper since the organization's 2015 Cup Final appearance, with management tinkering with the periphery pieces each season. Prior to last year's trade deadline, for instance, the highly effective Goodrow and Coleman came aboard. This past deadline, Tampa Bay acquired veteran defenseman David Savard, who recorded the primary assist on Colton's clinching goal.

Through it all, the Lightning have developed an almost clinical way of operating, where a player like Colton can slide into the lineup seamlessly. They've also learned how to adapt on a dime. In 23 playoff games over four rounds this year, they flashed some version of a run-and-gun style versus the Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes, as well as a more methodical, counter-attacking approach against the New York Islanders and Canadiens.

This Cup-winning squad will be remembered as the fully evolved version of the Lightning, a team that could beat opponents in so many ways.

"In 2015, we were the new kids on the block, this team that was young and so fun to watch," Cooper said during his celebratory press conference. "Then, we were labeled as the team that couldn't get it done. And now, we're throwing around the word dynasty. It's a huge wave of emotions."

"You win the Stanley Cup two years in a row, you deserve to go down in history," forward Steven Stamkos said. "No matter what happens from here on, this group will be etched together forever. That's pretty effing special."

This Cup victory has a different feel for Tampa Bay players and coaches than last season's. They weren't confined to a bubble throughout the playoffs, and on Wednesday, most were able to celebrate the accomplishment with family. Additionally, Stamkos, the team captain, got to compete, pitching in eight goals and 10 assists after an injury limited him to only five shifts last year.

Stamkos, the longest-tenured Lightning player as the first overall pick in the 2009 NHL Draft, said he was especially proud of the way Tampa Bay responded to losses over the past two runs. Amazingly, the Lightning strung together a flawless 15-0 record in games following a defeat.

Despite similar end results, Tampa Bay's motivation wasn't quite the same year-to-year. In the 2020 playoffs, the Lightning were on a redemption tour after the previous season's 62-win team was embarrassed by a first-round sweep to the Columbus Blue Jackets. This year, to borrow Cooper's phrase, there were "last day of school" vibes around the cap-strapped club.

With Kucherov shelved for all 56 regular-season games, Tampa Bay finished behind the Hurricanes and Panthers in the Central Division standings. And with a different playoff format and formidable opponents in their way, nothing was guaranteed to the Lightning.

"Once the playoffs started, we kind of pushed the (go) button," said longtime Bolt Victor Hedman.

The last two months have been all about seizing the moment.

"We know going forward, with the salary-cap world, that this might be the last game that this particular group plays together. I can't (overstate) how much that motivated us," Stamkos said. "We talked about it midway through the playoffs, we talked about it going into Game 5 of the Islanders series: 'Let's take advantage of this opportunity.' It's not very often you get this chance to play with a talented team like we did, and we just believed."

The Lightning join the 2015-16 and 2016-17 Pittsburgh Penguins as the only teams to repeat as champs in the salary-cap era. The franchise, founded in 1992, now has three NHL titles. Since 2018-19, Tampa Bay has maintained a league-high .709 points percentage in regular-season action.

Andrei Vasilevskiy, the Conn Smythe winner ahead of Kucherov (32 points) and Brayden Point (14 goals), is on top of the goaltending mountain. The 26-year-old Russian manned Tampa Bay's net every single minute of both Cup runs, posting save percentages of .927 and .937 in 25 and 23 contests, respectively.

"I can't believe how he shuts the door in the biggest games of his career," Cooper said of Vasilevskiy's five consecutive shutouts in series-clinching contests.

"If he played in a different market," Kucherov added about his countryman in a zany press conference, "he would win the Vezina every year."

Vasilevskiy was the ultimate safety valve for when things occasionally went awry this postseason, though you could say the same about Kucherov. Or Point. Or Hedman. Or Stamkos, or Ryan McDonagh, or Tyler Johnson. The list goes on and on, because not only do the Lightning have incredible depth at all positions, but their best players almost always rise to the occasion. On any given night, at least one impact player affects the game at a high level.

"I mean, it's just, it's stupid. You miss an entire season and you lead the playoffs by (nine points)," Coleman said of Kucherov's brilliance. "The guy is just a special, special player. Obviously, a big reason why we're here celebrating, a big part of this team. He's just on another level."

Years from now, when a handful of Lightning players, and probably Cooper, are enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame, we'll likely look back on this squad as the best collection of talent from the first 15 or so years of the cap era. Sure, there's a case to be made for the early 2010s Chicago Blackhawks and Los Angeles Kings, and the late 2010s Penguins, but no other team squeezed so much talent onto its payroll quite like Tampa Bay under the leadership of general manager Julien BriseBois and his predecessor, Steve Yzerman.

There are common threads among the vast majority of Lightning players, as well. They're intelligent, they're highly skilled, they skate well, and they're committed to taking care of the defensive side of the puck. This isn't a groundbreaking or unique approach, but there's no denying Tampa Bay drafts, develops, and acquires a specific kind of player. It's key to the club's culture, and the decision-makers rarely, if ever, stray from the plan. The Lightning's true edge, what really sets them apart, is being more than the sum of their parts.

Management has also done its best to keep the band together. It worked last offseason, in large part due to Kucherov's injury status. This time, it'll be borderline impossible to retain all 20 everyday skaters, though a three-peat isn't out of the question with the likes of Kucherov, Point, Hedman, Vasilevskiy, and a bunch of important role players all coming back.

For now, the achievement of back-to-back Cups is all that matters for these players - from a virtual unknown like Colton to the veteran captain.

"We won the Stanley Cup. We still have the Stanley Cup," Stamkos said.

"That's just amazing."

John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. You can follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) and contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).

Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

For the Montreal Canadiens and their fans, the aggregate score is ugly through two games of the Stanley Cup Final. It reads 8-2 for the Tampa Bay Lightning after the defending champs posted 5-1 and 3-1 wins on home ice.

Now, as the series shifts to Montreal for Game 3 (with only 3,500 fans allowed inside the Bell Centre), the Habs must respond with their finest hockey. There's hope it can happen, too, thanks to a strong Game 2.

"We feel like if we come with the same type of game and attitude we brought last night we'll be able to be on the right side of it," Montreal forward and 17-year veteran Eric Staal told reporters on Thursday. "Get some bounces, some looks. We've got to get to four (wins), so we'll start with the next one."

Here are some reasons for optimism - and pessimism - ahead of Game 3:

The optimistic view

Let's first unpack Staal's "on the right side of it" comment.

In Game 2, the Habs were the better team based on both the eye test and numbers. They controlled game flow while at times pressuring Tampa's puck carriers into a state of panic, leading to turnovers. Montreal outshot (43-23) and outchanced (35-25, according to Natural Stat Trick) the Lightning by wide margins.

It was a notable performance, even though the Habs lost. The Lightning are a juggernaut - an overwhelmingly talented, smart, and disciplined group who rarely allow the opposition to dictate the style of play. So flipping the script on the Lightning (in the Stanley Cup Final, no less) was a promising development for the Habs.

Montreal's assertiveness was most evident in the first 40 minutes, especially the second period. And if Tampa Bay forward Blake Coleman hadn't scored an unreal diving goal at 19:58 of the second, the score would have been 1-1 heading into the final frame. Game 2 was a toss-up for two-thirds of regulation, and the Habs - whose hands were on the steering wheel - seemed primed for a third-period breakout until the Coleman dagger.

Of course, moral victories mean squat at this point, and the reality is that Montreal is two losses away from the offseason. That said, Game 2 provided hope. The Habs now have a rough template for beating the Lightning, a benefit they didn't have following the first contest.

Moving forward, Montreal must flood Tampa Bay's slot and crease areas with as many bodies as possible. On Wednesday, the Habs generated enough initial scoring opportunities but not nearly enough second looks to solve Andrei Vasilevskiy - arguably the best goalie on the planet - more than once.

The return of head coach Dominique Ducharme, who's been self-isolating for 14 days due to a positive COVID-19 test, should boost morale within the club's bubble. The Bell Centre atmosphere, even if the building isn't close to full capacity, should do much of the same.

With home ice comes the last change, which means Ducharme returns just in time to hard-match shutdown center Phillip Danault against Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov. In the first two games, Tampa Bay bench boss Jon Cooper managed to, for the most part, keep Danault away from his two best forwards; about two-thirds of Danault's five-on-five minutes were spent facing off against the pesky third line of Yanni Gourde, Barclay Goodrow, and Coleman.

Danault, the 28-year-old pending unrestricted free agent, has been essential to the team's run. He's excelled all postseason in a role that focuses almost exclusively on the defensive side of the puck. If Ducharme can glue Danault's line to the Point line, then, perhaps, Montreal can unlock another gear.

Another storyline to monitor on Friday is the goal-scoring slumps of Brendan Gallagher and Tyler Toffoli, who haven't scored in their last 11 and six games, respectively. Given both are 30-goal scorers who've generated plenty of offense in this series (Toffoli is first among Habs forwards in expected goals, Gallagher is fifth), it's not a stretch to say at least one of them is due to pop off in Game 3.

Meanwhile, Montreal's special teams deserves some props. The penalty kill has done an admirable job limiting the Lightning's potent power play to one goal on six opportunities, while the Habs' power play has chipped in a goal of its own on five tries.

For what it's worth, Montreal was in a similar situation in the first round, trailing the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-0 before rallying back to win the series in seven. If this mixture of players - from the baby-faced youngsters to grey-haired vets - is truly special like many believe, they'll surely scratch and claw their way to at least one victory in the finals.

Forward Corey Perry put it all into perspective shortly after Game 2.

"You look at what happened in the first round, we were down 3-1," Perry said. "We stayed focused, stayed with our game plan, never changed, never did anything, and continued to push. It's no different now."

The pessimistic view

Cooper said after Game 2 that the "enemy has a vote" in the outcome of playoff games. He was referring to how well the Habs played relative to his own squad, but his point resonates ahead of Game 3 too.

Plain and simple, if on Friday the Lightning perform to their potential, or even at 95%, they'll win. They really are that deep at every position, that battle-tested in every way, and that well-coached by Cooper.

This dynamic puts the onus on the Habs to play near-perfect hockey for 60 minutes to snatch victory away from the Lightning. Montreal's puck management - which was atrocious in Game 1 and then improved but not perfect in Game 2 - has to be stellar. Turnovers must be minimized.

"They're opportunistic and it only takes them a couple of mistakes for them to score," Habs captain Shea Weber told reporters Wednesday night.

Though having last change should work to Montreal's advantage, scuttling Point and Kucherov's impact on the scoresheet is only the first step toward shutting down Tampa Bay's forwards. Coleman, Gourde, Anthony Cirelli, and Ondrej Palat all have at least one goal in this series. And Alex Killorn - who has 17 points in 19 games - could return to the lineup after missing Game 2.

The Lightning's relentless attack, which features an active defense corps led by 2020 Conn Smythe winner Victor Hedman, leaves Carey Price in a bind. As a technically sound netminder who's on a real heater this postseason, Price doesn't give up many "stoppable" goals. But when he does, like in Game 2 with Cirelli's bouncing point shot, it really hurts. That's in no way a criticism of Price, but rather an example of the slim margin of error.

Plus, even if the Habs do everything right and hit that "near-perfect" benchmark in all three zones, Vasilevskiy is there as the last line of defense. The 26-year-old has a .939 save percentage and four shutouts in 20 games.

It's tempting to be pessimistic, even after a promising Game 2.

John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. You can follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) and contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).

Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Tyler Seguin isn't your typical, cliche-dishing NHL player. Rather, the Dallas Stars veteran is a rare professional athlete who seldomly speaks in platitudes.

Yet, one cliche works perfectly for the 29-year-old at this stage of his life and career. It goes like this: You don't realize what you've got 'til it's gone.

"One-hundred percent. One-hundred percent. One-hundred percent," Seguin replied, seemingly nodding in agreement when theScore recited the bumper sticker-worthy saying over the phone.

Seguin, the second overall pick in the 2010 NHL Draft and a five-time 30-goal scorer, is comfortable attaching himself to the cliche because he's dressed for only three meaningful NHL games since last August. He misses competing.

A durable, point-producing forward since 2010-11, Seguin appeared in 741 of a possible 773 regular-season games in the first 10 seasons of his career. In 2020-21, however, he was sidelined for 53 of 56 contests to recover and rehabilitate after undergoing a hip arthroscopy and labral repair last November and a knee scope one month later. In all, it was a treacherous six-month rehab that involved Seguin having to painstakingly "rebuild" his right quad.

By the time Seguin returned to the lineup in May, the 23-19-14 Stars were well on their way to finishing fifth in the Central Division. Dallas failed to earn a playoff spot despite making the bubbled Stanley Cup Final the year prior.

With so much idle time on his couch, Seguin turned his attention to his off-ice pursuits. He became one of the first NHLers to sell personalized non-fungible tokens; modeled as a brand ambassador for a cologne named "Sexual Noir Pour Homme"; worked away at his Nine One lifestyle brand; and, most recently, launched a dog toy and treat company called The Chew Club.

In an interview on Tuesday, Seguin discussed the recovery process, business interests, a couple of ex-teammates, the 2022 Olympics, and much more.

(Note: The following conversation has been lightly edited for clarity.)

It was a crazy past season for you with the surgeries and rehab, then a brief return to action. What are you up to at this point in the offseason?

I'm in Dallas. Once our season ended, I took off, I don't know, probably six of seven days of training, and then I went right back at it as far as working out and rehabbing. I don't know if I would call what I'm doing today rehabbing or working out. It's kind of a hybrid. Here in Dallas, I'll do my rehab/working out while the other guys are doing a lower-body lift, and on the upper-body days and core days, I'm doing the same workouts as the rest of the guys. Things have been progressing really well. I'm really happy with where I'm at right now, and I still have to take advantage of the next few months off here before it's go time as far as continuously strength-building my quad and my hip post-surgery, but I love the progress, where I'm at. It's exciting times. I've gone on the ice a few times lately, and if I remember where I was the first few times I went on the ice before I came back for a few games, I'm light years ahead.

Do you think you'll be at full health, 100%, on opening night in October?

That's the plan. If not, I don't think I'm a month or two off from being 100% after that point. So, I'm just going to keep working and hope for the best.

Such a difficult year can really test an athlete, a person. How much has your perspective on hockey and life changed over the past year or so?

A lot. It's funny, I feel like you have interviews throughout your career where you say that, but I feel like this is the first time I can actually mean it when it comes to perspective on, like you said, hockey and life. Plus, tying in all of the COVID-19 stuff, and things going on in the world, and being injured. It's been some wild times, but I'm really happy with where I am - especially mentally after everything. I had some dark days and dark weeks of just being in that grind, not being able to do too much in the gym, just slow methodical things that taught me pretty valuable lessons. I've had many surgeries throughout my career - well, I haven't had many, but I've definitely had a few - but none as grueling as this, none where I had to then go back under the knife a month after a major surgery with some knee stuff. It's definitely a process that I'm going to look back on for years.

Some fans seem to believe pro athletes are immune to mental health struggles. Clearly, that's not true. What have you learned on that front?

Two things with athletes. One, we have amazing perks being a professional athlete. There are things in life that a regular person wouldn't be able to do that we get to do, and 95% of what other people get to see from our lives are those perks. The other side of athletes is that we're human beings, and we go through struggles, and we have things that happen away from the rink that people don't know about - off-ice stuff, family, friends, whatever. We're still human beings. But, definitely, when it comes to the injury side, it's really a whole different ball game that people won't quite understand. There's the physical side and the mental side of not being able to be around your teammates, which is something that your mind and body are so accustomed to. Being on plane rides, playing cards - you know, day-to-day stuff that a regular person wouldn't quite understand. And they might say, 'Well, who cares, it's not that big of a deal.' But it is to us. Especially the mental side of watching games, and being close or being in overtime or losing games in shootouts, just knowing there are different times in the games where you'd be helping your teammates and your brothers, but you can't. It's tough to get used to that, to get over it, and it's something that teaches you to appreciate the game. I obviously have always loved hockey, but I didn't actually know or get my eyes fully opened to how much I really do love this game and love this life until I got hurt this time. I really didn't appreciate what I had until it was gone.

Your old teammate Stephen Johns, who retired from the NHL earlier this month due to post-concussion symptoms, has turned a huge challenge into something positive and meaningful with his #MentalMiles trip across the U.S. What can you say about how Stephen's handled the transition?

I think it's awesome. I mean, that guy has been through so much. And the hardest part for him, when he was going through everything, was not getting a proper reading from somebody to say what exactly was wrong. They couldn't really figure it out. Imagine having to go to the rink every day and say you're not playing and telling your teammates you can't go in but not really being able to explain why. That must have been so hard for him. I've golfed with him a bunch since and talked to him a lot. With everything he's gone through, I'm incredibly proud of what he's doing today. He's going to make a difference with other people, and he's in good hands on the trip with Jeff Toates there too. He did our photos and media this year in Dallas. That's two good people on a trek through the United States. They're definitely making an impact.

Meanwhile, another ex-teammate, Corey Perry, is in his third Stanley Cup Final. What's behind Perry's renaissance, these consecutive strong postseasons in his mid-30s as a member of the Stars and Canadiens?

He's just one of those players, man, where you don't look at the age. You look at his resume. When he's in those situations, he finds a way to take it to the next level. There are just guys that have that capability. You look at a guy like Joe Pavelski, too. I mean, there's a lot of people this year who probably thought he was still 30 years old. I mean, these guys, they have that tick. They have that in them, and they're fun to be around, and it rubs off on you when you start to understand their psyche and their mental side and their preparation before games, especially since they're in the later stages of their careers. 'Worm' is just a heck of a player and a heck of a person. He definitely made us better, and he's a big reason why I think Montreal's where they are.

Gary Bettman expressed concern Monday about the Olympics' impact on the 2021-22 NHL season. The league wants to honor the MOU signed with the players' association, but there are outstanding issues with the IOC. As an NHLPA member and a player who will likely be considered for a spot on Team Canada, how crushing would it be if NHLers end up not participating in another Olympic Games?

(Sighs) I mean, it's been the same question for years and the same answer for years: The players obviously want to go. As a kid growing up, when you're sitting in your bedroom when you're nine or 14 or 15 years old, you're dreaming about winning the Stanley Cup and dreaming about representing your country. The Olympics is about representing your country on the world's biggest stage and with one's heart and soul. I would love to go there, and hopefully, it works out.

So what's the story behind creating The Chew Club?

It's been a passion project. Once COVID-19 hit and once I had injuries and even in the bubble, being in a hotel room a lot, sitting in rehab for months and months, I had a lot of time to think. To say today that it's a company is pretty incredible to me. I've always been a dog guy my whole life. We've always had a Lab in the family, and now I'm going into my 12th year in the league, and I've got three dogs at ages 11, seven, and four. Being in the NHL, you're always on the road, and I'd always notice that when I came back, especially early on in their lives, a belt would be eaten, and shoes would be eaten (laughs). So I always thought of having this structure in my life, where maybe every month there'd be a new toy or new dog treats. I was always busy and always looking for help with them. But I also have always loved them as my own children. That's where The Chew Club comes in. I think it's pretty awesome. If you get a monthly subscription, every month you get a new box with toys and treats. And, you know what, dogs get anxiety. They get depressed. They get bored. Us, as athletes, we give them misreadings where in the summer we're around every day for two to four months, then, all of a sudden, when it's the season, they see your suitcase every single week, and they get confused, and they get sad and anxious. The products are also healthy. That was a big thing for me as well. And another thing I love about what we do with our product is the smell. Toys and treats tend to have a certain smell. And these are all maple-smoked, so you won't smell much, and if you smell anything, it'll smell good, which will help their breath. We've had many different flavors, different types of toys, and it all got tested through my dogs. The ones they loved are what we've put into the first few boxes. It's Gerry, Marshall, and Cash approved.

It's interesting that you aren't just a spokesperson or ambassador. You're very much all-in on The Chew Club as a co-owner from the start.

Oh yeah, I'm all-in. I think it changes with everyone's career. When I was younger, in my first, maybe, I don't know, five or six or seven or maybe eight years in the league, I loved just comparing companies for endorsements and seeing the numbers that they give you to post this or that on social media. You go with the big companies, and you do that. But you also want to figure out what you want to do later in life. You realize hockey is going to end at some point. I think injuries open you up to that aspect as well, which is something you don't fully understand when you're a kid in the league and living your dream. So, a lot of my business now, I guess you could say, has been transferred from endorsements to equity, and then now, with this company, being an actual owner. I'm having a lot of fun with it, and I'm definitely wearing my heart on my sleeve with this one. So, hopefully, people like it.

Reading between the lines - and I swear I'm not trying to retire you here - you'll head right to the business world when you're done playing?

I've always wondered what I'd be doing next, and a big thing that's happened as of late, really, is that once COVID-19 hit, before I went into the bubble, I started learning a lot more about business. I found a lot of my days were spent in my office, studying different things and talking to different people. Now I have another property elsewhere. There's also networking and getting into the golf world. Business just seems to, I don't know, make me excited and make me happy, and I have a lot of fun with it. Now, with me having my own company, I'm trying to understand things, whether it's how to market something or figure out what makes this toy better than the next toy or what makes this treat healthier than the next treat. I find a lot of joy in that. That's why, for sure, when I'm done, I'll be doing something along these lines.

You mentioned the length of your career. Over the course of it, I feel like hockey culture has come a long way with respect to accepting different personalities, players who have outside interests. Would you agree?

I keep hoping that we continuously go on that path. I love some of the young kids coming in now with a lot more swag. I look back on even Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner in Toronto and how they came in, and they just had the swag and fashion. Of course, P.K. Subban's great at what P.K. does. I try to put my own spin on it, as well. I'm a guy with a lot of tattoos and a flair for personality. It may have gotten me in trouble early on in my career, in my first few years (laughs). But it's accepted a lot more now, which is great. You can speak your mind a little bit more versus doing the typical 'get pucks in deep' and 'roll four lines.' Typical cliche answers. So, it's exciting. Hopefully, with us going over to ESPN with the TV deal, we can continue to show that. I don't think we can get to the NBA's level, but hopefully, we can continue to stay on that path of being outspoken people who aren't going to be complete idiots but can at least show a little personality.

OK, one follow-up as I let you go. In general, what did you think of the new TV deal in the U.S., with ESPN and TNT coming aboard?

I loved it. I thought it was great. I think it was a great first step for our league, and now the players have to back it up with being able to be themselves and not fall too much into the typical structure of an old-school hockey player.

John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. You can follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) and contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).

Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Montreal Canadiens played arguably their best game of the postseason Tuesday - and their victory brought them one win from the Stanley Cup Final. Game 6 of the Canadiens' semifinal series against the Vegas Golden Knights goes Thursday night at the Bell Centre. Here are four key storylines to watch:

Mark Stone's response

Stone is one of those rare players coaches almost never have to worry about.

The 29-year-old winger positively impacts the run of play in all three zones. He's emotionally and physically engaged in the game. And, perhaps most importantly, he's ultra-consistent. For these reasons, Stone is the Golden Knights' captain and an annual Selke Trophy contender.

Yet this semifinal series has been taxing on Stone - Game 5, especially.

Stone uncharacteristically turned the puck over at the offensive blue line in Tuesday's affair, then barely backchecked as Montreal's Cole Caufield buried a pass from Corey Perry on a quick counterattack to make it 3-0 for the Habs. Stone, again uncharacteristically, whacked his stick on the boards and cursed to himself as he returned to the Vegas bench. It was only the second period.

He was clearly rattled and disgusted. Honestly, it's hard to blame him.

In 102 total minutes against Montreal, Stone has failed to register a point. He has just 12 shot attempts (six of which have missed the net or been blocked), four takeaways to two giveaways (a lackluster ratio for the takeaway king), and nine hits taken to six hits delivered. With Stone on the ice at five-on-five, the Golden Knights have owned 48% of the shot attempts (78-72), 31% of the expected goals (4.64-2.12), and 33% of the goals (4-2), according to Natural Stat Trick. None of those percentages are encouraging.

The Canadiens have basically rendered Stone, normally an extremely effective player at five-on-five, ineffective. A bounce-back Game 6 performance from him is essential if Vegas hopes to force a seventh contest.

Vegas' attack woes

Stone's lack of production wouldn't be so devastating if the rest of the Golden Knights' forwards weren't producing at similarly depressing rates.

Mattias Janmark scored a goal to put Vegas up 3-1 in an eventual 4-1 Game 1 victory, and Max Pacioretty scored the team's lone goal in a 4-1 Game 5 loss. Beyond those tallies - neither of which was crucial to the outcome of the game - it's been crickets. The Golden Knights have mustered just 11 goals in this series. Amazingly, nine have come from defensemen.

Naturally, frustration appears highest among the club's highest-paid forwards - Stone, Pacioretty, William Karlsson, Jonathan Marchessault, and Reilly Smith. The shift-by-shift output for all five hasn't been terrible (Smith, for one, has been fine), but it also hasn't been nearly good enough to win a series.

There seems to be a sharpness absent from Vegas' attack. Game 5, in particular, was littered with missed reads, missed passes, and missed nets.

Marchessault, the franchise leader in points, is a microcosm of the group's problems. The feisty winger has recorded a measly eight shots on goal through the first five games of the series despite notching 29 shot attempts. Of the 21 attempts that didn't count as a shot on goal, 11 were blocked, and 10 missed the net.

Insulation for Price

The catch in Vegas' quest to reignite the regular season's third-ranked offense is that Montreal has a say, too.

The Habs are a well-oiled machine, with four gigantic defensemen in Shea Weber, Jeff Petry, Joel Edmundson, and Ben Chiarot playing simple hockey. All series, they've clogged up the neutral zone, invaded passing and shooting lanes, and leaned on the opposition with physicality. Steely goalie Carey Price, meanwhile, has been standing on his head, building on his strong Conn Smythe Trophy case with a series save percentage of .929.

Stone, Marchessault, and the rest of the Golden Knights are facing the same issue that plagued the Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets: Not only is it incredibly difficult to penetrate the middle of the ice and get a clean shot on Price, but the 33-year-old is always in position and always in control of the rebound.

The Habs have built a fortress around their goalie, and their goalie is completely dialed in. Unless Vegas finds a way to create better offensive-zone puck movement and lure Montreal's blue-liners out of their rigid positioning, the Canadiens' plan will continue to work.

Suzuki-Caufield chemistry

Golden Knights goalie Robin Lehner told reporters after Game 4 that the scouting report on Caufield indicated he likes to either shoot high or aim for the five-hole on breakaways. How did the smiley 20-year-old rookie respond?

He scored a fast-break goal in Game 5 that was neither high nor low - nor, really, anywhere close to the five-hole. On the aforementioned odd-man rush precipitated by Stone's turnover, Caufield's shot cleanly beat Lehner's goaltending partner, Marc-Andre Fleury. It remains to be seen which netminder will be tasked with trying to stop Caufield in Game 6, but the scouting talk is almost certainly over with.

Caufield and center Nick Suzuki have been a breath of fresh air for Canadiens fans this postseason. Not because the fan base didn't expect chemistry between the club's brightest offensive stars, but because of what a Caufield-Suzuki tandem might unlock for the storied franchise in both the present and future.

The well-rounded nature of Caufield's game has been on full display against Vegas. He probably has a higher hockey IQ and playmaking ability than most anticipated. He also has a nonstop motor and takes care of his defensive responsibilities. Caufield's nose for the net and wicked shot were hyped long before his NHL debut, and he's delivered with a series-leading three goals so far.

Suzuki, a second-year pro, can shoot and pass at elite levels, and both are showing well in his series-high five points. The 21-year-old is cerebral and responsible, and Montreal's coaching staff has rewarded him with 19 minutes of ice time a night. Suzuki is the No. 1 center the Habs needed.

Together with veteran winger Tyler Toffoli, Caufield and Suzuki have been electric. It's gravy, in many ways, because of their respective ages and lack of NHL experience. Game 6 offers another opportunity to witness a special tandem build further on its baseline chemistry - for this run and the future.

John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. You can follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) and contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).

Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.