The NHL offseason served up countless headlines, from Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson's trade to veteran coach Mike Babcock's firing before training camp. What should we make of all the change? Here are 24 predictions for 2023-24 - some long shots, others totally realistic, lots in the middle.

1. Matthew Tkachuk turns top five into top six

The order is debatable beyond No. 1, but Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Auston Matthews, Cale Makar, and Leon Draisaitl are the consensus top five players on the planet. Tkachuk, already a top-10 guy, is more than capable of elevating his game to a level where he turns the top five into a top six by season's end. The Panthers' playoff run revealed the ultra-smart Tkachuk is on a steep upward trajectory - even after back-to-back seasons of 100-plus points and stellar defensive metrics. Last year's Hart Trophy finalist nod isn't the agitating, play-driving winger's ceiling. Winning the Hart is Tkachuk's ceiling, and it isn't out of the realm of possibility in 2023-24.

2. Sabres end historic drought

After 12 lost years, this is the season the Sabres snap the longest postseason drought in NHL history. It's the next logical step for a squad with the bones of a future Stanley Cup contender. I loved the trade-deadline bet on Jordan Greenway and the summer signings of Connor Clifton and Erik Johnson. Those three players add balance to an offense-focused group, while rookie goalie Devon Levi looks like the real deal. Last season was too early for Buffalo to throw a bunch of money around midseason, but it isn't early anymore, and the club happens to hold $8.8 million in cap space.

3. Connor Brown is league's best bargain

Excluding players on entry-level contracts, Buffalo's Tage Thompson had the lowest cost-per-point last season at $14,893 per point, according to CapFriendly. Brown's set up to steal the title from Thompson (whose salary is jumping from $1.4 million to $7.1 million) after landing with the Oilers on a one-year, $775,000 deal. An injury limited Brown to four games in 2022-23, but the 29-year-old is fully healthy and may land a spot on former OHL teammate McDavid's line. Brown, who recorded a career-high 43 points for Ottawa four seasons ago, is a poor man's Zach Hyman - relentless on the puck, tough around the net, a sharp hockey mind, and responsible defensively. Brown's biggest contender for "best bargain" is probably Blake Wheeler, who's making $800,000 for the Rangers after a Jets buyout.

4. Jeremy Swayman takes over Bruins' crease

Linus Ullmark enjoyed a season for the ages last year, posting a .938 save percentage and saving 38.1 goals above expected (per Evolving-Hockey) in 49 games en route to the Vezina Trophy. Compiling similar numbers will be nearly impossible, especially with elite stoppers Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci no longer lining up at center. Swayman, meanwhile, was on a starter's trajectory before Ullmark arrived in Boston. The 24-year-old American is fresh off a fine year himself and should be given every opportunity to surpass Ullmark as the go-to netminder in a 1A-1B setup. Ullmark trending downward while Swayman has more to prove sets the stage for a role shuffle.

5. UFA class (for once) lives up to the hype

There's a pattern to how we discuss the upcoming unrestricted free-agent class: we get excited about the quantity or quality (or both) in the fall, half the interesting names sign extensions, and by July 1, the hype is all but gone. Well, I think the 2024 UFA class will buck this trend. Players have strategically set themselves up for hefty paydays as the salary cap jumps from $83.5 million to $87.7 million in 2024-25 and $92.1 million in 2025-26. Steven Stamkos, Connor Hellebuyck, Elias Lindholm, Mark Scheifele, William Nylander, Jake Guentzel, and Brandon Montour headline the class. The second tier is strong, too, with Jonathan Marchessault, Sam Reinhart, Noah Hanifin, Tyler Bertuzzi, Teuvo Teravainen, and Brett Pesce leading the way.

6. Berube is first coach or GM fired

Technically, Mike Babcock already claimed this unwanted prize. But we're not going to count his firing forced resignation since it happened prior to Blue Jackets training camp. Berube, the league's fifth-longest tenured coach, is ostensibly on the hot seat in St. Louis. The good vibes generated by the Blues' magical 2018 Cup win are gone, and longtime general manager Doug Armstrong's next move may be to can the coach. In the past, Berube hasn't seen eye-to-eye with the club's star players, and the roster seems to be in transition in general. Of note: Ownership won't be on the hook for too much money if the Blues let Berube go soon. He reportedly makes $3.5 million a year and is under contract for one more season.

7. League-wide scoring steadies

The NHL's scoring rate increased in four of the past five seasons, with 2022-23's 6.4 goals per game counting as the highest average since 1993-94. I expect scoring averages to stabilize this season, but the rate will finish around 6.4 again because the NHL is cyclical, and coaches now have sufficient video and data on modern offenses. Led by the goaltenders, defenses are finally ready to push back in a discernible way. To be clear: I'm not predicting a notable dip in scoring, or the end of an entertaining, offense-first era. But it feels like the timing is right for the year-over-year climb in goals to cool off ever so slightly.

8. Quinton Byfield breaks through

Word out of Kings camp is Byfield's found his swagger. The 6-foot-5, 220-pound forward is competing with the confidence of a second overall pick and will likely spend the full season in the NHL for the first time. Now, here's what a breakout will look like for Byfield: about 15-20 goals (previous high of five) and 30-35 assists (previous high of 19) for around 50 points. The 21-year-old is especially effective when he's hard on the forecheck and firing shots off quickly, and he found promising chemistry with veteran studs Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe late last season.

9. Full steam ahead for next World Cup

Let's be optimistic about the future of international hockey for a moment. The plan right now is for NHLers to compete in a scaled-down World Cup of Hockey in February 2025, then participate in the 2026 Olympics. The World Cup won't be perfect - nothing beats the Olympics, and with Russia's status up in the air, the event won't be a traditional eight-team tournament. Nevertheless, it could be sensational. The 2016 World Cup is the lone time McDavid, MacKinnon, Matthews, and their Gen Z peers played in a best-on-best format - and even then, they were part of a gimmicky under-23 team. Here's to finalizing 2025 and getting back on the right path.

10. Vasilevskiy injury sinks Lightning

Tampa Bay received the biggest blow of the preseason last week: superstar Andrei Vasilevskiy is out for the first two months of the regular season after undergoing back surgery. Jonas Johansson, a 28-year-old journeyman who's appeared in 35 NHL games, is now atop the goaltending depth chart, which is wild (we thought Johansson backing up Vasilevskiy was suboptimal). Unless the Lightning get extremely creative, their options to bring in outside help are limited. They're up against the cap and barely have any draft capital to burn. The Atlantic Division remains highly competitive, so the Vasilevskiy injury, especially when mixed with depth depletion at forward, is a ruinous development. It'll sink their season.

11. Jets re-sign one pending UFA star, trade the other

Winnipeg's a bubble playoff team as currently constructed. If the Jets make it, nobody will be terribly surprised. Ditto if they don't. In other words, the club is in the league's mushy middle, which isn't ideal given 30-year-olds Scheifele and Hellebuyck are both pending UFAs. It'd be unwise for GM Kevin Cheveldayoff to sign both players to long-term extensions - not because they're unworthy of lengthy deals, but because the Jets need to fully turn the page. Buying out Wheeler and trading Pierre-Luc Dubois isn't a big enough change. I think Cheveldayoff should trade Scheifele and Hellebuyck midseason. What he'll probably do instead: try to sign both, find out one of them probably isn't interested, and be forced to make a trade.

12. Penguins return to playoffs, fall short of conference finals

Intrigue is high around the Penguins after new GM Kyle Dubas landed Norris winner Karlsson in the trade of the summer while also reeling in secondary scoring help (Reilly Smith), a defensively minded center (Lars Eller), and a useful defenseman (Ryan Graves). If the veteran-laden Pens can stay healthy, they should have no trouble securing an East playoff spot. However, even with Karlsson joining Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, and Co., Pittsburgh isn't a top-tier Metropolitan team. Getting past the Devils and Hurricanes will be a tall task.

13. Hischier wins first Selke of post-Bergeron world

Bergeron's retirement means he'll finally release his grip on the Selke Trophy. Nico Hischier, who finished second in voting last year, is the candidate to circle in pen. He's the chief defensive center on a Cup-contending team. He leads the Devils' top-five penalty kill. His metrics are tremendous across the board, from traditional to shot-based to tracking. The definition of the award focuses on a forward who "best excels in the defensive aspects of the game," but voters typically loop in two-way ability - and Hischier checks that box as well (80-point guy). A side prediction for the hell of it: Elias Pettersson and Roope Hintz will be Selke runners-up.

14. Blue Jackets' PP goes from bottom 10 to top 10

I refuse to believe the Blue Jackets' underwhelming 2022-23 power-play percentage - 18.3%, or 3 percentage points below the league average - will carry over. Not with new assistant coach and Hockey Hall of Famer Mark Recchi at the whiteboard. Not with Zach Werenski's quarterbacking ability, Patrik Laine's and Kirill Marchenko's booming shots, and Adam Fantilli and Johnny Gaudreau's zone entries and seam passes. There's a ton of untapped potential here, as only Gaudreau played 60 or more games last year (Fantilli was in college). I wouldn't bet on Columbus earning a postseason spot, but its power play - previously ranked 26th in the NHL - can crack the top 10.

15. Hurricanes win Presidents' Trophy

Carolina's floor has been quite high over Rod Brind'Amour's tenure. At worst, the Canes entered all five seasons as a playoff-caliber team and went on to either meet or exceed expectations. Now, after supplementing a well-built roster with Dmitry Orlov, Michael Bunting, and Tony DeAngelo, the club's ceiling is also quite high. The Hurricanes will pile up regular-season points because they're talented, deep, and play with structure. Then, if all goes to plan, they'll make noise in the playoffs. Carolina will be the kind of Cup favorite that won't sneak up on anybody.

16. Devils - not Oilers - lead NHL in goals

You already know I'm high on the Devils if you read my series slotting all 32 teams into tiers, and their goal-scoring depth is a huge reason why. From Jack Hughes (who quietly bagged 43 last year) to 30-goal guys Hischier and Jesper Bratt, to Tyler Toffoli, Timo Meier, Dawson Mercer, and Ondrej Palat, there's no shortage of proven finishers. Other weapons include rookie winger Alexander Holtz and bottom-six center Michael McLeod, as well as blue-liners Dougie Hamilton and Luke Hughes. In 2022-23, the Oilers torched the NHL for 325 tallies - 20 more than any other team. The Devils will be this year's Oilers.

17. William Nylander has huge year, walks in free agency

I don't have a crystal ball. I don't know if Nylander will re-sign with the Maple Leafs or head elsewhere next summer. But if the pending UFA sticks at center, feasts on inferior competition throughout the regular season, and impresses in the playoffs, he may price himself out of Toronto. Centers are typically paid more than wingers, so if Nylander can replicate his output from a year ago (40 goals, 47 assists), he'll be in line for a massive pay bump, perhaps in the neighborhood of $10 million annually over seven or eight years. Nylander says he wants to stay in Toronto, and the Leafs say they want him back, yet starting the year without an extension keeps the door wide open for him to leave. You have to wonder, too, if Nylander is content being the third-best forward on his team. Does he want to try being No. 1 or No. 2 on another squad?

18. Somebody scores 60

Scoring 60 goals in the NHL is an extremely rare feat. Well, it used to be, anyway. Three of the five 60-goal seasons this century have come in the past two years, with Matthews bagging 60 in 73 games in 2021-22 and David Pastrnak (61 in 82) and McDavid (64 in 82) reaching the milestone last season. I don't think the fun stops this year. To me, there are five legitimate threats to crack 60: Matthews, McDavid, Pastrnak, Draisaitl, and Mikko Rantanen. All of them are still in their 20s, in their primes, and one will blast off.

19. Harley, Lundkvist become Stars' answer

There aren't many franchises with more roster security than Dallas. GM Jim Nill has assembled a star-studded forward group to go along with a franchise goalie and franchise defenseman. The Stars' only glaring issue is blue-line depth beyond Miro Heiskanen. Jani Hakanpaa, Ryan Suter, Esa Lindell, Thomas Harley, and Nils Lundkvist are all NHL-caliber defensemen - which is fantastic - but where are the difference-makers? Veterans Suter, Hakanpaa, and Lindell are what they are at this point. So it's up to Harley, 22, and Lundkvist, 23, to level up. Harley was excellent in the playoffs and Lundkvist added 15 pounds of muscle over the offseason. Yeah, one will elevate.

20. Bedard leads Chicago in scoring, doesn't win Calder

We won't know for sure until we see him skate in regular-season games, but Connor Bedard looks like he may be the Blackhawks' best player. (That's equal parts a compliment to Bedard and an insult to the roster as constructed.) Despite little help, I'm betting Bedard finishes with a team-leading 70 points. He'll be nominated for the Calder Trophy but will lose out to a player with legitimate support. Someone in the field - Logan Cooley, Fantilli, Levi, Hughes, or Matthew Knies - will have a better case.

21. Macklin Celebrini goes wire to wire as top 2024 draft prospect

The 2024 draft class doesn't have a Bedard-type prospect, but Boston University center Macklin Celebrini is still worth tanking for. The 17-year-old from Vancouver has everything going for him: He's a dual threat on offense, he gives a damn about defense, he has size, and he's clutch. Celebrini has company, though, as part of a Big Three featuring goal-scoring American winger Cole Eiserman and playmaking Russian winger Ivan Demidov. There'll be plenty of debates about who should go first overall, but Celebrini's primed to go wire to wire as the class' premier prospect given his tools, size, and position.

22. Patrick Kane signs with Avalanche

One of the marquee names on the 2023 UFA market remains unsigned. Kane, recovering from offseason hip surgery, reportedly won't start talking to interested GMs for another few weeks. There are no obvious fits, given Kane probably prefers to join a highly competitive team and virtually every noteworthy club is capped out. Buffalo's believed to be in the hunt, while Carolina, Vegas, Toronto, Dallas, and Boston register as other potential landing spots. I predict he'll end up in Colorado. The Avalanche have a winning pedigree, Kane can fly under the radar due to market size and the star power already on the roster, and he can fill in for sidelined winger Gabriel Landeskog (before Landeskog "pulls a Kucherov" and returns for the playoffs). The Avs need to shed money to bring "Showtime" aboard, and I say they do it.

23. Ovi drops out of Rocket contention

This will be the year Alex Ovechkin noticeably slides down the goal-scoring leaderboard, but he'll still maintain a respectable pace in pursuit of Wayne Gretzky's all-time record (he starts the season 72 goals behind Gretzky's 894). No longer at the peak of his powers and coming off a 42-goal campaign, I think Ovechkin drops into the 35-40 range. He's unbelievable - trust me, I want him to snipe 50 - but Father Time comes for everybody, and the Capitals captain is 38 and in his 19th season. If Ovechkin reaches 40 goals, he'll have his sights set on passing Gretzky in 2024-25, the second-last year of his deal.

24. Oilers beat Hurricanes in Cup Final

This year's Cup-contending field is deep - a handful of teams in each conference have a realistic chance of making the final. But I predict Edmonton and Carolina survive the gauntlet of the first three rounds and meet for a rematch of the 2006 final, with the Oilers crowned champs this time around. Edmonton's roster isn't perfect, but GM Ken Holland made enough improvements to give McDavid and Draisaitl ample support - and we all know what Connor and Leon are capable of in high-pressure moments. It all comes together for Nos. 97 and 29 in 2023-24.

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

Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

HENDERSON, Nev. - Connor McDavid, a household name in the hockey world before he could legally drive, has been fielding questions of all kinds from reporters and fans over the past decade. He knows the routine.

Holding court with reporters Wednesday, a week before his ninth training camp with the Edmonton Oilers, McDavid highlighted one particular question.

"I come to this event all the time and everyone's like, 'When are you going to win? When are you going to win?'" a relaxed McDavid said at the annual player media tour hosted by the NHL and NHL Players' Association.

McDavid understands why people associate the Edmonton Oilers with the Stanley Cup, and why they wonder when's it all going to come together for this group, if ever. McDavid, who turns 27 in January, and Leon Draisaitl, who'll be 28 in late October, aren't kids anymore. The learning should be over.

At the same time, as Draisaitl put it, "We're not the only team trying to chase something here." In the parity-filled, 32-team NHL, it's a long, tough slog to the top of the mountain.

"We have a training camp that we have to get through," McDavid said. "We've gotta get off to a good start. And there's 82 full games before you even get back to the same position. This is a marathon, and it takes everybody. It takes a little bit of good fortune as well."

Not only are they in the primes of their careers, but Draisaitl's current deal has two seasons left and McDavid's is done in three. Both could re-sign, sure, but it's also possible this group has a limited window.

The most productive duo since Mario and Jagr has a combined four Hart, five Pearson, and six Art Ross trophies. Last year saw McDavid amass an absurd 64 goals and 153 points, while Draisaitl recorded "just" 52 goals and 128 points. They've both been dominant for stretches in the playoffs, too, leading the Oilers to a total of four series victories. Yet, they don't have any Stanley Cup Final appearances.

"We're at that stage where we all want to win, we're ready to win. And we're ready to do whatever it takes to win, more importantly," Draisaitl said, later noting how back-to-back losses to the eventual Cup champions (Colorado in 2022, Vegas in 2023) should be considered "invaluable" experiences.

General manager Ken Holland barely touched the roster in the offseason. Middle-six winger Connor Brown - McDavid, a former junior teammate, called him "tenacious, relentless on the puck" - was the club's biggest addition. All eyes will be on the team's defense, which is led by relatively new defenseman Mattias Ekholm, and the goaltending tandem of Stuart Skinner and Jack Campbell.

"We believe in them. They're two very capable goalies," McDavid said. "Skinny is a young guy who has a ceiling as high as he wants to make it, really. He's got all the tools. I really believe that he is going to be a great goalie in this league. And Soup: I feel like he's going to bounce back."

Hello, Atlantic Division gauntlet

Every year at this time, pundits and fans size up each conference and division. In those evaluations, there tends to be a clear divide between the haves and have-nots. For instance, the Central Division has two Cup contenders in Colorado and Dallas … and then six clearly inferior teams.

You can't say the same about the Atlantic, though. It's going to be a gauntlet.

All four 2022-23 playoff teams - Boston, Toronto, Tampa Bay, and Florida - are more than capable of punching a ticket to the postseason again. However, Ottawa, Detroit, and Buffalo are far enough along in their competitive cycles to believe a playoff berth is finally an attainable goal.

That's seven of eight teams (sorry, Montreal) vying for a maximum five spots.

"It's like hell," a laughing Red Wings center Dylan Larkin said.

"Biased, but I would say it's the best division right now," said Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk, who's coming off a Hart Trophy finalist nod and MVP-caliber performance during Florida's unexpected march to the Cup Final.

That magical 20-game run for Tkachuk featured 11 goals, four of them game-winners, and 24 points. To Matthew's proud younger brother Brady, the Senators' captain, this past spring "showed the hockey world what myself and the rest of my family already saw in Matthew - and that's a superstar."

The Tkachuks, 23 and 25, are both locked into long-term deals, so their on-ice rivalry is just beginning to heat up as Florida and Ottawa butt heads in the standings. South Florida embracing the Panthers' run helped fuel Brady's offseason. The power forward wants to see Ottawa go bananas.

The Sens have a burgeoning superstar of their own in Tim Stutzle. The German leads an offense that's suddenly deep, with Tkachuk, Drake Batherson, Claude Giroux, Josh Norris, and Vladimir Tarasenko up front, and Thomas Chabot and Jakob Chychrun pacing the back end.

"We got a taste of that in the playoff push in February, March, and April," Brady said of 2022-23, as Ottawa missed the playoff cut line by six points.

"When we were going through that, we were riding the highs and we were in the lows a little too long. But towards the end of it, we learned it's a new day the next day. You can't focus on anything else but the task at hand, whether it's being dialed in at practice or the game. We've learned and we're ready to show everybody what we've learned and we're ready for that next step."

Detroit and Buffalo are on a similar trajectory following a lean period. The Sabres' fan base, which has endured the NHL's longest playoff drought, is uniquely tortured. Sniper Tage Thompson was 13 when the club last made it.

"We were knocking on the door last year and missed the playoffs by a point," said Thompson, now 25 years old and chasing his first 50-goal season. "That left a bitter taste in all our mouths. Now we know what we're capable of.

"Anything short of making the playoffs is definitely a letdown."

Praising Patrice 'Mr. Perfect' Bergeron

There aren't many NHLers with a 100% approval rating among other players.

But Patrice Bergeron, who retired in late July after 19 glorious seasons with the Bruins, is undoubtedly on that very short list. Like retired goalie Henrik Lundqvist, Bergeron gives off Mr. Perfect vibes: a Hockey Hall of Fame-level talent who's described as a kind, genuine, universally respected person off the ice and just so happens to also have GQ cover-model looks.

"He's just perfect," Bruins teammate Charlie McAvoy said. "There's no such thing. It doesn't exist. But we can let it exist (for a moment)."

Bergeron's arguably the greatest two-way player of all time, having set a record for Selke Trophies. He claimed Nos. 5 and 6 in his final two seasons.

Rivals gush about his hockey IQ and defensive timing, three-zone chemistry with longtime linemates Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak, and nightly habit of dominating in the faceoff circle. The right-handed center, listed at 6-foot-1 and 196 pounds, finished with a 58.9% success rate on 22,447 draws.

"Every time we'd play Boston, my back was so sore from faceoffs. He's just so strong," Larkin said. The divisional foe later noted Bergeron "was never out of position. He always had Marchand and Pastrnak flying. And then he's just such a nice guy. He's a class act."

"I don't think I ever made him mad, but he'd be one of those guys where if you'd piss him off you'd want to apologize because he's so nice," Larkin said.

Bergeron's a first-ballot Hall of Famer, and he's probably deserving of another honor. "They might as well just rename the Selke," said Los Angeles Kings center Anze Kopitar, himself twice crowned the NHL's best defensive forward.

McAvoy put it simply: "Change the Selke Trophy to the Bergeron."

Parting shots

Smilin' Mario: The player media tour is a trip for rookie attendees. Players bop from station to station for promotional video shoots, social-media content creation, and sit-downs with reporters. There's a ton of smiling, which created a conundrum for San Jose Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro. "I'm in the process of trying to get it fixed," a grinning Ferraro said when asked about missing multiple front teeth. "I was supposed to have surgery last week, but I held it off. I wanted to make sure my face wasn't blowing up for the interviews." Ferraro isn't the first NHLer to lose a few then gain notoriety for the old-school look (see: Brent Burns, Drew Doughty). The repair work is more complicated than you'd think. "If you put the (replacement) teeth in and you get hit again, it can actually break your jaw," Ferraro said.

Friendly fire: The Red Wings are one of four teams off to Sweden in November as part of the NHL's Global Series. Naturally, Larkin was asked about the overseas trip. And, naturally, Larkin viewed the topic as an opening to take a friendly jab at not one but two groups of teammates. "I've played with a lot of Swedes. They're kind of like guys from Minnesota. They think (their home state/country is) the best place on Earth," the captain said with a laugh. I thought that was a clever line from the Michigan native. You can picture it: A Minnesotan yammering on to his teammates about pond hockey and cabins on the lake, and a Swede annoyingly pumping up beautiful Stockholm and the tradition of fika.

Hit piece: NHLers spend their downtime in different ways. Golf is a ubiquitous hobby. The league's dads are consumed by their kids' activities. Some, like Tampa Bay defenseman Mikhail Sergachev, love to read. Others, including the Golden Knights' William Carrier, love to fix things around the house. It's unlikely anyone has a more fitting hobby than Jacob Trouba, who this offseason literally delivered body checks to create art. The New York Rangers captain and open-ice hit aficionado recently shared a few of his art-of-hitting paintings and is considering auctioning off a piece for charity one day. "The fun part about it for me," Trouba said of his unique artistic process, "is that it can be one hit away from being done or it can be 15 hits away from being done."

Captain's comment: Defenseman Jake Sanderson's contract extension ($64 million over eight years starting in 2024-25) split people into two camps. Those who watch the Senators closely and are familiar with the nuances of Sanderson's game strongly believe the deal will prove to be team-friendly sooner rather than later. People who barely watch the Sens think it's an overpay for a guy with 77 career NHL games. "For the people that don't know," Tkachuk said with a straight face, "they'll know soon enough." That sounds like a warning, Tkachuk was told. Again serious, the captain replied, "Yeah, it is." Well, you can't accuse Tkachuk of not sticking up for his teammates - and boy does it seem like the Sens have a chip on their shoulder.

Takes, Thoughts, and Trends is theScore's biweekly hockey grab bag.

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

Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

This is part one of a two-part series ranking all 32 NHL teams by tiers for the 2023-24 season. Part 2, which addresses the top 16 teams, was published Wednesday.

Keep in mind this exercise is rolling out roughly 10 days before training camps open, and the tiers are based on personal projections for the 2023-24 season only, not the long-term trajectories of each franchise.

Worst of the worst (Tier 8)

In a league of their own - and not in a good way

San Jose Sharks

The Sharks, who recently traded Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson, will miss the playoffs for a fifth straight year. Heck, they're tracking toward a miserable 50 points and a minus-100 goal differential.

It seems harsh, but the bleakness comes after taking one look at the goaltending tandem (Kaapo Kahkonen and Mackenzie Blackwood) and a blue line devoid of top-pair talent.

The Sharks' fall from grace also sent Timo Meier and Brent Burns out of town - and the teardown is unfinished. For one, veteran forwards Kevin Labanc, Mike Hoffman, Anthony Duclair, Alexander Barabanov, and Oskar Lindblom all enter the season on expiring contracts.

General manager Mike Grier and head coach David Quinn have both been on the job for just over a year. There's zero pressure, internally or externally, to switch gears and skip steps in the rebuild.

Instead, one of the most competitive teams of the past quarter century set itself up to tank for the 2024 draft prize, Macklin Celebrini. The next generation of Sharks, led by 2021 and 2023 picks William Eklund and Will Smith, has potential. But the team lacks a franchise-altering prospect - someone like Celebrini.

Head barely above water (Tier 7)

Rebuilding with the inside track on prime draft-lottery odds

Anaheim Ducks

The hockey world didn't talk enough last season about how atrocious the Ducks were. They ranked 32nd in points, 32nd in goals against, 31st in goals for, 31st in power play percentage, 31st in penalty kill percentage, and - here's the kicker - allowed the most shots on goal per game ever.

The Ducks landed here for two reasons. First, it's reasonable to expect all three of the team's young leaders - Trevor Zegras, Mason McTavish, and Jamie Drysdale - will reach new heights. (We'll see if second overall pick Leo Carlsson sticks around for the full year.) Second, it's highly unlikely the Ducks perform worse defensively under rookie head coach Greg Cronin, who took over for Dallas Eakins.

Forward Alex Killorn and defenseman Radko Gudas count as notable offseason additions. The duo will help elevate the Ducks' floor, as will bounce-back years from wingers Ryan Strome and Jakob Silfverberg. Speaking of Silfverberg, the pending UFA could be a desirable midseason trade chip. The same goes for defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin and forward Adam Henrique.

Arizona Coyotes

Arizona's still very much in the brick-by-brick stage of the rebuild process. Its roster features a handful of longtime Coyotes (Clayton Keller, Lawson Crouse, etc.), a bunch of hired guns (Jason Zucker, Matt Dumba, etc.), and a few stud youngsters (Logan Cooley, Dylan Guenther, etc.).

As a group, the Coyotes aren't particularly dangerous offensively or scary defensively. Even if less heralded 20-somethings Matias Maccelli and Karel Vejmelka build on strong 2022-23 showings, the team won't be overly competitive in the Central Division. Think 80 points - about 15 from the playoff cutline, but still a nice bump from last year's 70 points.

While arena issues continue to dominate headlines, Cooley's arrival is a welcome distraction. A top-six center role awaits the 19-year-old highlight machine, and many believe he possesses the offensive firepower to challenge for the Calder Trophy.

Squint hard and you can see the light at the end of the tunnel for the NHL's laughingstock franchise.

Chicago Blackhawks

Bedard. Bedard. Bedard.

Everything the Blackhawks are doing right now revolves around making Connor Bedard's transition to the NHL as seamless as possible - while simultaneously keeping the roster substandard in order to increase draft lottery odds. It's a delicate balance but, at least on paper, general manager Kyle Davidson has threaded the needle so far. Case in point: savvy vets Corey Perry, Nick Foligno, and Taylor Hall were signed to short-term deals in the offseason, yet the gaping hole between the pipes went unaddressed.

Chicago already owns two first-round picks in both 2024 and 2025. The team's books are relatively clean, with $12.9 million available in cap space and only Seth Jones under contract past 2025-26. So, despite the infusion of a once-in-a-generation phenom, plus blue-chip prospects Lukas Reichel and Kevin Korchinski, the Blackhawks remain firmly in rebuild mode.

Philadelphia Flyers

Now that Keith Jones, Daniel Briere, and John Tortorella have settled in as president, general manager, and head coach, the Flyers organization appears to be embracing a show-me-whatcha-got phase.

Owen Tippett, Joel Farabee, Noah Cates, Morgan Frost, and Wade Allison are all between 23 and 25 years old and should be given ample opportunity to take the next step in their careers. Sean Couturier and Cam Atkinson, two former All-Stars coming off injuries, need to prove themselves all over again. Goalies Carter Hart and Cal Petersen fall into this category, too.

It was a smart long-term play to bid farewell to defensemen Ivan Provorov and Tony DeAngelo in the offseason. Still, there's no doubt Philadelphia's thinner on the back end year over year. Meanwhile, the biggest addition up front was Matvei Michkov, who won't be playing in North America for a few seasons.

That last sentence alone says a lot about the current state of the team.

Notch below playoffs (Tier 6)

2023-24 doesn't project to be a banner season, for various reasons

Columbus Blue Jackets

There's nowhere to go but up for the Blue Jackets. Last season's 59-point output was the byproduct of countless injuries and absences, underwhelming performances, and poor coaching.

Patrik Laine and Zach Werenski, who played a combined 68 games in 2022-23, are now healthy. The promising Alexandre Texier is returning to Columbus after dealing with an injury and taking a family-related leave of absence. Provorov and Damon Severson were added to the defense corps. Longtime head coach Mike Babcock is ready to redeem himself.

Adding to the intrigue: Third overall pick Adam Fantilli turned pro, and the University of Michigan product might find a season-long home on a line with star Johnny Gaudreau.

In short, there's a ton to be excited about in Columbus. That said, the positivity is countered by a deep Eastern Conference, unreliable goaltending, and special teams in dire need of an overhaul. A step forward, yes, but the playoffs are probably out of reach in Babcock's debut season.

Montreal Canadiens

In January 2022, Kent Hughes inherited a middling Canadiens roster with far too many onerous contracts from Marc Bergevin. The new general manager has done an admirable job of ridding the club of some poor deals. That middling roster, meanwhile, is still under construction.

That's not to say Montreal will be a walkover. They'll be competitive most nights and should definitely improve upon last year's 68 points. The question is, which players see the end of the rebuild? Who's a long-term core piece beyond Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, and a few others?

The Canadiens have made a habit of giving second chances to young players who aren't performing to their full potential elsewhere. Kirby Dach is the biggest success story to date, while Alex Newhook, fresh off signing a four-year extension, is the next developmental case study.

It'll be fascinating to see how the club's sophomores - Juraj Slafkovsky and Arber Xhekaj, for starters - fare under the tutelage of Martin St. Louis and his coaching staff.

Nashville Predators

The Predators are a difficult team to gauge at the moment.

On one hand, new general manager Barry Trotz made it known that the status quo will not be tolerated after Nashville's playoff streak ended at eight seasons. Matt Duchene and Ryan Johansen were jettisoned in the offseason while Stanley Cup winners Ryan O'Reilly and Luke Schenn were welcomed into the fold.

On the other hand, a team that boasts Filip Forsberg, Roman Josi, and Juuse Saros - three surefire NHL stars - won't bottom out anytime soon. Trotz may opt to cut deeper, triggering a full-fledged rebuild. Or he may attempt to retool around the stars.

Time will also tell if Andrew Brunette is an upgrade from John Hynes behind the bench, though young forwards Cody Glass, Juuso Parssinen, Phil Tomasino, and Luke Evangelista should benefit from a new voice. Elsewhere on the roster, pending unrestricted free agents Tyson Barrie, Thomas Novak, Yakov Trenin, Alexandre Carrier, and Kevin Lankinen are all potential trade bait.

Standings purgatory (Tier 5)

Legitimate chance at playoff spot, but stars must align

Boston Bruins

This is the least confident I feel about a team's slot. The Bruins compiled a record 135 points last season. How could I possibly place them in Tier 5 with the rest of the borderline playoff teams?

It comes down to center depth. With Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci gone, Charlie Coyle and Pavel Zacha are Boston's top-six centers. No offense to either player, but it's hard to envision a scenario in which they can replace the value lost by those retirements.

Also gone in the offseason: wingers Taylor Hall and Tyler Bertuzzi, and defensemen Dmitry Orlov and Connor Clifton. That's a ton of talent sucked out of the 2022-23 roster. And let's not gloss over the fact that goalie Linus Ullmark's chances of once again dominating the regular season are slim.

On a sunnier note, David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand, Charlie McAvoy, Hampus Lindholm, and Ullmark still make up a stellar core. The blue line, in general, remains a real strength. So Boston hasn't become irrelevant since we last saw them. They're just less relevant to the Cup conversation - for now, anyway.

Detroit Red Wings

The Red Wings went on a spending spree in the offseason, acquiring Alex DeBrincat and Jeff Petry via trade, and signing free agents J.T. Compher, Shayne Gostisbehere, and Justin Holl, among others. General manager Steve Yzerman was similarly busy in the summer of 2022.

All of this activity raised Detroit's floor. They are no longer the club trying to move on from the glory years of a 25-year playoff run.

The Red Wings still need at least two more offensive drivers, as the drop-off from catalysts Dylan Larkin and DeBrincat to Lucas Raymond, Compher, Andrew Copp, and David Perron is, frankly, too steep. Meanwhile, the efficacy of the blue line is still to be determined. Moritz Seider and Jake Walman should be terrific again, but none of the others - Gostisbehere, Petry, Holl, Ben Chiarot, and Olli Maatta - instill a ton of confidence. As for the tandem behind them, well, Ville Husso with James Reimer is fine but nothing special.

Detroit will continue to climb the standings but it likely won't be enough for the playoffs.

New York Islanders

The Islanders are, in a word, solid. Their floor is relatively high thanks to a stable of veteran skaters and high-end goaltending. But a lack of game-breaking talent keeps their ceiling relatively low.

This dynamic leaves the Isles somewhere in the middle of the league. It wouldn't be shocking if they earned a spot in the postseason. However, the depth of the East guarantees absolutely nothing.

What's interesting about New York: General manager Lou Lamoriello doubled down on his well-tenured group in the offseason, handing Ilya Sorokin, Scott Mayfield, and Pierre Engvall long-term extensions. The most loyal executive in the NHL wisely locked up Sorokin, one of the three best goalies on the planet. The commitment to Mayfield and Engvall is dicier, given their on-ice values and ages.

Last season, the Islanders finished 22nd in goals and 30th in power play percentage. It's critical Mathew Barzal and Bo Horvat, who's entering his first full season on Long Island, produce at first-line levels. Burgeoning star defenseman Noah Dobson must continue to level up.

Ottawa Senators

With Jake Sanderson re-signing last week, the Senators have five difference-making under-27 players locked up for five seasons or more at a combined $40.6-million cap hit. The upper limit is expected to rise significantly over the next few years, so Ottawa's in fantastic shape financially.

But those good vibes don't necessarily lead to massive gains in the standings.

I thought about slotting the Sens in the fourth tier, reserved for probable playoff teams. But, given the competition in the Atlantic Division, a ton needs to go Ottawa's way for them to break a six-year playoff drought, starting with the bet on Joonas Korpisalo in net.

Nevertheless, new owner Michael Andlauer made a shrewd investment. The Sens lineup is beginning to look formidable. The top half of the forward group, led by Tim Stutzle and Brady Tkachuk, is frightening, and the left side of the blue line, led by Sanderson and Thomas Chabot, is enviable.

St. Louis Blues

St. Louis is coming off a disappointing season, but things could get worse.

The main issue is a lack of high-end talent. Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou - forwards on matching contracts running through 2030-31 - have played elite hockey for stretches of their young careers. But neither seems destined for superstardom. The next candidate is 2023 first-rounder Dalibor Dvorsky, who's still a work in progress.

All of that said, this version of the Blues, who have a hard-driving coach in Craig Berube, could sneak into the playoffs because of their abundance of B-level players. Kevin Hayes, Brayden Schenn, Justin Faulk, and Torey Krug are all proud veterans who should have enough left in the tank to avoid a freefall in the standings.

If the season goes south early on in the year, though, general manager Doug Armstrong would be smart to embark on a more aggressive reshaping of the roster. Krug, Marco Scandella, Robert Bortuzzo, Jakub Vrana, Sammy Blais, and Oskar Sundqvist could all help playoff teams at the trade deadline.

Vancouver Canucks

In a perfect world, the Canucks find stability in 2023-24.

Right now, there are layers of instability surrounding the club, ranging from Elias Pettersson's contract extension to goalie Thatcher Demko's ability to bounce back from an injury-plagued year to the talent level and cohesiveness of a revamped blue line.

Vancouver won't win a division title. It won't lose 50 games, either. The roster, even after marginal upgrades in the offseason, is very much mid-level, beyond offensive catalyst J.T. Miller, captain and top defenseman Quinn Hughes, and Pettersson, who's a legitimate two-way superstar.

It wouldn't be a miracle if the Canucks earned a playoff spot for the first time since 2019-20. But there are more than a handful of teams in the West who look better on paper.

Washington Capitals

The 2022-23 trade deadline was a turning point for the Capitals, who were obvious sellers before the team missed the playoffs for just the second time in 16 years.

Fast forward and Spencer Carbery, not Peter Laviolette, is running the bench. Carbery's main objective is as straightforward as it is daunting: Get this team back in the postseason so Alex Ovechkin and his contemporaries - Nicklas Backstrom, John Carlson, and Tom Wilson, among others - can chase a second Stanley Cup before it's too late. The awkward thing is that, based on the average age of the core, it may already be too late.

If newcomer Max Pacioretty can stay healthy, if Evgeny Kuznetsov can rediscover his championship form from 2018, and if Anthony Mantha can finally reach his 30-goal potential, the Caps' offense should be in a pretty good spot. Their blue line and goaltending are both average.

Winnipeg Jets

The Jets won't challenge for the Central Division title, let alone the Stanley Cup. Nor will they challenge for favorable draft lottery odds. As currently constructed, they're in the Western Conference's murky middle, having only partially turned the page on an old core of players.

The conversation changes if Mark Scheifele and Connor Hellebuyck leave Winnipeg midseason. Depending on the return for the two pending unrestricted free agents, the Jets could shift toward either a lengthy rebuild or a quick-fix retool. Either way, the club will look and feel markedly different.

For what it's worth, I loved Kevin Cheveldayoff's work on the Pierre-Luc Dubois trade. The package of Gabe Vilardi, Rasmus Kupari, Alex Iafallo, and a second-round pick is more than enough for a guy who was unwilling to re-sign. Vilardi's trajectory is the key - can he blossom into a No. 1 center?

It'll also be fun to watch how blue-liner Josh Morrissey follows up his brilliant 2022-23 season.

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

Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

This is the second part of a two-part series ranking all 32 NHL teams by tiers for the 2023-24 season. Part 1, which addresses the bottom 16 teams, was published Tuesday.

Keep in mind this exercise is rolling out roughly 10 days before training camps open, and the tiers are based on personal projections for the 2023-24 season only, not the long-term trajectories of each franchise.

Moderately dangerous (Tier 4)

Probable playoff teams unlikely to go on a deep run

Buffalo Sabres

Of the three risers in the Atlantic Division - Buffalo, Ottawa, Detroit - the Sabres have the best chance to break through. The calculus on the playoffs is pretty simple: If Buffalo can repeat last year's offensive output and take a step forward on defense, the team should make it.

While the Sabres didn't lose any key forwards in the offseason, Jack Quinn, who showed flashes of brilliance as an NHL rookie, is sidelined with an injury for approximately half the year. Rookie Jiri Kulich should fill the void just fine.

Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power, Mattias Samuelsson, and newcomer Connor Clifton lead the blue line. How the skaters insulate goalies Devon Levi and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen - as well as the goalies' individual performances - will go a long way in determining the Sabres' fate.

Overall, everything's gone according to plan under general manager Kevyn Adams and coach Don Granato. They've started to reap the rewards of their slow-burn build. With fans getting antsy for postseason hockey, surely the team will deploy the $8.8 million in available cap space to upgrade the roster midseason.

Calgary Flames

Calgary is one of the most fascinating teams in the league and also one of the most difficult clubs to get a firm handle on.

Last year was such a perfect storm of roadblocks, headlined by horrible years from starting goalie Jacob Markstrom and highest-paid skater Jonathan Huberdeau, 17 overtime or shootout losses, and coach Darryl Sutter losing the room. So you have to take missing the playoffs with a grain of salt. Yet properly evaluating the team right now is just as hard: Top goal-scorer Tyler Toffoli was traded, Ryan Huska is moving from assistant to head coach, and the futures of Elias Lindholm, Mikael Backlund, and Noah Hanifin - all in the final years of their current contracts - are hanging in the balance.

The flip side: the chaos dies down, the players get into a groove, and next thing you know, the Flames are in the Pacific Division race. I think, at worst, a Western Conference wild-card spot is theirs if they want it.

Minnesota Wild

The Wild are in salary-cap hell, with the buyouts for Ryan Suter and Zach Parise eating up $14.7 million a year through 2024-25. They have enough talent to make the playoffs for the 11th time in 12 years but don't have a roster that screams "deep run." In other words, not much has changed.

The club's biggest strength is playing as a unit under bench boss Dean Evason. Beyond the amazing Kirill Kaprizov - who's arguably a top-10 NHL player - there's a serious lack of offensive punch. (Matt Boldy's trending in the right direction, and Marco Rossi may get there by season's end.)

A sturdy blue line and the goaltending tandem of Filip Gustavsson and Marc-Andre Fleury take some pressure off the score-by-committee approach.

Prediction: The Wild snag the third spot in the Central Division.

New York Rangers

Bowing out in the first round certainly wasn't the Rangers' plan after going all-in at the most recent trade deadline. Boy, does it feel like 2023-24 is an extra-important season.

General manager Chris Drury brought in Peter Laviolette, an intense coach who might wear on players over a long period but has a track record of getting results early on. Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, and Vincent Trocheck are all in their 30s. The veteran roster hasn't been overhauled; the biggest offseason shuffle is up front, with Blake Wheeler and Nick Bonino subbing in for Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko. Everybody's wondering if 2020 first overall pick Alexis Lafreniere will ever pop and, as usual, what's in store for Kaapo Kakko, now entering his fifth season.

Igor Shesterkin broke out as a world-class goalie in 2021-22 and then regressed last year. If the Rangers want to get past New Jersey and Carolina in the playoffs, Shesterkin can't be just OK. He needs to steal a game or two.

Seattle Kraken

The Kraken finished with 100 points last year. Let that sink in for a moment. After seemingly botching the expansion draft and missing the playoffs by 37 points in Year 1, Seattle hit triple digits in points as a second-year team.

Coach Dave Hakstol deserves a ton of credit. The Year 2 squad shot from the prime scoring areas far more often and also became a threat off the rush. The attacking approach, mixed with better injury and puck luck, enabled six forwards to record 20 goals, including Jared McCann's 40-snipe explosion.

Seattle didn't alter its roster a whole lot in the offseason, which is OK. I like how general manager Ron Francis is focused on building a sustainable winner.

If Philipp Grubauer and Chris Driedger can provide decent goaltending, Shane Wright can find his footing, and Matty Beniers doesn't slump as a sophomore, the Kraken are 100% a playoff team. However, a Cup isn't within reach - yet.

Tampa Bay Lightning

The Lightning accomplished the unthinkable from 2019-22: two Stanley Cup victories and a third Cup Final appearance in a flat salary cap world.

We began to see the impact of those long playoff runs last season. The roster looked less intimidating as the cap crunch forced another round of important depth pieces to be jettisoned. Meanwhile, the decorated core of Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman, Nikita Kucherov, Andrei Vasilevskiy, and Brayden Point collectively ran out of gas. Losing in the first round was predictable.

A real summer break will be hugely beneficial, but the team again failed to retain depth dudes like forwards Ross Colton, Alex Killorn, and Corey Perry.

Are the third and fourth forward lines and third defenseman pairing too thin? Can new backup goalie Jonas Johansson shoulder enough of the regular-season load to ensure Vasilevskiy is fresher come playoff time? Does Hedman bounce back in 2023-24 following a down season by the Swede's lofty standards?

The Bolts are undoubtedly still a playoff team. But there's so much up in the air.

Scary at full potential (Tier 3)

Cup win not out of question, though a lot must fall into place

Florida Panthers

The good news: the Panthers are icing roughly the same team as last year. Led by coach Paul Maurice and Hart Trophy finalist Matthew Tkachuk, the reigning Stanley Cup finalist from the East is skilled, hardened, and cohesive.

The bad news: Florida's icing roughly the same team that was the eighth seed going into the playoffs. Yes, a few notable changes to the lineup mean the squad that caught fire after barely squeaking into the postseason will be an underdog of sorts again. Complicating matters, stud defensemen Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour are both question marks to start the season thanks to offseason surgeries.

Who knows what kind of goaltending they'll get. For all of his brilliance in the 2023 playoffs, veteran starter Sergei Bobrovsky can be super inconsistent. Spencer Knight, the netminder of the future, missed a huge chunk of 2022-23 after entering the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program. The 22-year-old is back at the rink, which is fantastic, though expectations should be tempered.

The Panthers don't have a first-round pick in 2024 or 2025 or a second in 2024. That lack of draft capital could handcuff general manager Bill Zito's ability to improve the club ahead of the trade deadline.

Los Angeles Kings

It's safe to say the rebuild initiated by general manager Rob Blake, which led to last and second-last finishes in the Western Conference to end the 2010s, has accomplished half its mission. The Kings have dutifully become an annual playoff team again - but a Cup win has yet to materialize.

In fact, a playoff series win has yet to materialize since the Kings won the Cup in 2014. This season, then, is about taking a step forward in the postseason. Winning a round or two would be huge for LA, a club now boasting arguably the best one-through-four center depth in the league: Anze Kopitar, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Phillip Danault, and Blake Lizotte.

All 32 teams could really benefit from their prospects and young NHLers leveling up in 2023-24, but it's especially true for the Kings considering how important Quinton Byfield, Arthur Kaliyev, Alex Turcotte, Brandt Clarke, and Jordan Spence are to what they're all building toward.

Franchise pillars Kopitar and Drew Doughty start the season aged 36 and 33, respectively. Their clocks are ticking.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Realistically, the Penguins have two or three good years left of magic between Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang. The organization is highly motivated to throw caution to the wind to squeeze out every possible win and then start from scratch once Crosby retires.

Kyle Dubas was appropriately bold in his first offseason as hockey operations boss in Pittsburgh, reeling in Erik Karlsson and Ryan Graves for the blue line and Reilly Smith, Lars Eller, and Noel Acciari for the forward group. The 2023-24 roster is undeniably improved. Karlsson, who posted a ridiculous 101 points for a terrible San Jose team last season, will bring much-needed mobility while eating up enough minutes to give Letang a lighter load.

The Pens have an excellent coach and a top-10 roster. Their X-factors are the health of the Big Three - Malkin is 37, Crosby and Letang are 36 - and the performance of goalie Tristan Jarry.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Center Auston Matthews, fresh off signing a monster contract extension, will be hungry after scoring "only" 40 goals last year. Winger Mitch Marner will be chasing his first 100-point season (99 last year). Goalie Ilya Samsonov will be out to prove any remaining doubters wrong.

General manager Brad Treliving brought in a mixed bag of newcomers. The Tyler Bertuzzi and Max Domi signings were home runs. The John Klingberg and Ryan Reaves deals were questionable. If you add 20-year-old Matthew Knies to the newcomer list, just about the same amount of talent exited Toronto: Ryan O'Reilly, Luke Schenn, Michael Bunting, Justin Holl, and Acciari.

So, in a lot of ways, it's status quo in Leafs land.

As usual, the Leafs look dangerous on paper. They should be considered the favorite to finish first in the Atlantic.

As usual, nothing matters except playoff performance in the eighth season of Matthews-Marner.

Secondary Cup favorites (Tier 2)

Elite title-contending team with minor concerns

Dallas Stars

Dallas has basically everything you'd want in a contender.

A premier talent at forward (Jason Roberton), defense (Miro Heiskanen), and in goal (Jake Oettinger) - check. A mix of proven vets (like Joe Pavelski) and promising kids (such as Wyatt Johnston) throughout the lineup - check. Good coaching - check. Recent deep runs (including six-game losses in the 2023 conference final and 2020 Cup final) - check.

General manager Jim Nill signing Matt Duchene to a one-year, $3-million deal shortly after the 32-year-old's buyout is one of the offseason's sharpest moves. Otherwise, the Stars are returning a similar roster, which is, generally speaking, a positive but also brings us to Dallas' minor concern.

If Nils Lundkvist, 23, and Thomas Harley, 22, aren't the solution to a relatively thin blue line beyond the top pair, Nill will be forced to go shopping for a midseason upgrade or two.

Edmonton Oilers

Believe it or not, this is Year 9 of the Connor McDavid-Leon Draisaitl era. The greatest forward duo since Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr destroys the regular season with prolific production each year. They've often carried their teammates in the playoffs, too. But no Cup rings to date.

In fact, the Oilers haven't even made a Cup final with McDavid and Draisaitl, which means anything short of a conference final win in 2023-24 will disappoint. It took forever to get to such a place, but this group is fairly deep beyond the big dogs. I loved the no-risk Connor Brown signing in the offseason. Evan Bouchard is just scratching the surface as a top-pair defenseman. Mattias Ekholm, acquired prior to last year's trade deadline, is exactly what the blue line needed.

Expect the Oilers' historically effective power play to slow down, though only slightly. There's no reason why, with the same personnel, it can't continue to strike fear into penalty killers everywhere.

The minor concern for the Oilers is - yep - goaltending. The wild-card tandem of Stuart Skinner and Jack Campbell is really the only reason why the Oilers are slotted in Tier 2 versus Tier 1.

New Jersey Devils

Last year, the Devils announced themselves as legitimate with a franchise-high 112-point regular season. This year, they're primed to go on the first deep playoff run of Jack Hughes' career.

General manager Tom Fitzgerald has assembled a tantalizing top six: Hughes and Nico Hischier down the middle, with Toffoli, Timo Meier, Jesper Bratt, and Ondrej Palat or Dawson Mercer on the wings. The defensemen aren't too shabby, either, even after letting Graves and Damon Severson walk in free agency. Every night, it's Dougie Hamilton, Jonas Siegenthaler, John Marino, Colin Miller, Luke Hughes, and one of Simon Nemec, Brendan Smith, or Kevin Bahl.

"Potential" is the word for New Jersey. Potential division winner. Potential midseason acquisitions thanks to a wide-open contention window and assets to flip. Potential for greatness.

As is the growing trend across the league, the Devils are hoping an unheralded, low-salaried goaltending tandem can stand tall in the playoffs. That uncertainty keeps them in Tier 2 for now.

Primary Cup favorites (Tier 1)

Star-studded and deep - simply a cut above the rest

Carolina Hurricanes

The Hurricanes have made the playoffs in each of Rod Brind'Amour's five seasons behind the bench, advancing as far as the third round twice. Over that span, the club's clever front office has managed to ice Cup-contending teams while keeping future flexibility.

This year's squad might be the most talented of the Brind'Amour era. Brent Burns, Jaccob Slavin, Dmitry Orlov, and Brett Pesce lead the NHL's best blue line. Carolina's closest thing to a superstar, elite two-way center Sebastian Aho, is in his prime. Sniper Andrei Svechnikov is healthy and hungry. Early-20s forwards Martin Necas and Seth Jarvis have untapped potential. New winger Bunting should excel in Brind'Amour's forecheck-heavy system.

Versatile and deep, the Canes now need their goal-scorers to finish and for the three-headed goaltending crew of Frederik Andersen, Antti Raanta, and Pyotr Kochetkov to hold down the fort come playoff time. General manager Don Waddell has plenty of draft capital and some enticing prospects to package should Brind'Amour need some reinforcements ahead of the trade deadline.

Colorado Avalanche

What initially jumps off the page about Colorado's roster is the immense star power. Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon are consensus top-five players. Mikko Rantanen sits in the 15-20 range.

Everything trickles down from the three cornerstones: the championship standards, the modern playing style preached by coach Jared Bednar, and the usage and deployment. And yet the Avalanche aren't even top-heavy. Their versatile second tier consists of Valeri Nichushkin, Ryan Johansen, and Artturi Lehkonen up front, Devon Toews and Bowen Byram on the back end, and Alexandar Georgiev between the pipes. (Gabriel Landeskog would normally be listed here, but a knee injury will keep the team captain on the shelf for the entire regular season.)

On paper, Dallas is Colorado's only competition in the Central. From there, with home-ice advantage through at least two rounds, the Avs can really do some damage - especially if general manager Chris MacFarland tinkers around the edges at the deadline or Landeskog returns.

Vegas Golden Knights

Aside from trading Reilly Smith for salary-cap relief, the defending Cup champions are running it back. So there's no need to overthink it: Vegas has a realistic shot at repeating.

The Golden Knights are well-coached, their blue line is gigantic and mobile, and, as we saw this past spring, the forward group is clutch. How does Jonathan Marchessault follow up his Conn Smythe Trophy-winning postseason? Is this the year No. 1 center Jack Eichel records 100 points? To what degree does the Nic Hague-Zach Whitecloud defense pairing dominate its inferior opponents? Those are all questions of privilege in an NHL system that can be unforgiving.

A less rosy question pertains to captain Mark Stone. Can his health hold up over the entire year?

Vegas gained a reputation for not sitting on its laurels even before winning the Cup. I highly doubt it will now. From Stone and Marchessault to Alex Pietrangelo and Alec Martinez, the roster is littered with grizzled veterans who embody the so-called killer instinct that's elusive to so many.

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

Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

We're officially in the holding-pattern stage of the offseason.

While the list of notable unrestricted free agents has dwindled over the past week, Vladimir Tarasenko, Patrick Kane, and Jonathan Toews remain unsigned. Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci will likely either return to the Boston Bruins or retire from the NHL. Meanwhile, Erik Karlsson, Connor Hellebuyck, Alex DeBrincat, and John Gibson are all entangled in daily trade speculation.

Let's take a look at Gibson's situation, the murkiest of the four listed above.

"There's a little uncertainty. I'm not sure what's going to happen," Gibson told the "Cam & Strick Podcast" in an interview released Tuesday, a day after his agent refuted a spicy report from Daily Faceoff insider Frank Seravalli.

"Whether I'm in Anaheim or somewhere else," Gibson added on the podcast, "I'm just worried about being ready to play. I want to have a good year."

Here's the bad news: Gibson is fresh off the worst season of his career. The Anaheim Ducks starter has a history of injuries, turns 30 next Friday, and his contract not only carries a $6.4-million cap hit through 2026-27 but also includes a 10-team no-trade clause.

Now, for some additional context: The Ducks were absolutely horrendous defensively this past season, allowing the most shots per game (39.1) in NHL history. And these shots weren't all from the point - Gibson faced the most inner-slot shots out of any goalie despite ranking 13th in total minutes played.

As for the attraction, well, it wasn't that long ago that Gibson was considered a borderline star. There's a decent chance the athletic 6-foot-2 netminder returns to form in a playing environment that doesn't exhaust him night after night. He's long been one of the more competitive, fiery goalies in the league.

Speculating here, but I see two obvious and two dark-horse destinations.

Obvious: New Jersey Devils

New Jersey's Vitek Vanecek-Akira Schmid duo is fine. But is it Stanley Cup-contender quality? The league has shifted toward cheaper tandems, so the Devils may not see a need to trade for Gibson. Then again, they have $5.6 million in cap space and just one player (restricted free agent Kevin Bahl) left to sign. They also have the picks and prospects to acquire a player of Gibson's caliber and have built up their roster to the point that a "win-now" move makes sense. If Anaheim wants a goalie in return, how about Vanecek?

Obvious: Buffalo Sabres

Devon Levi is the Sabres' goalie of the future. The youngster needs help next year, though, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Eric Comrie aren't great 1B options. The Sabres have $6.7 million in cap space, prospects galore, and too many NHL defensemen. So if they're serious about ending their historic playoff drought, they should, at the very least, consider acquiring Gibson (or Hellebuyck). The remaining years and money on the contract may be a deal breaker, but Buffalo otherwise feels like a realistic landing spot for Gibson.

Dark horse: Columbus Blue Jackets

Based on their moves this offseason, the Blue Jackets are desperate to move out of the NHL's basement. Can they make legitimate progress in the standings with a goalie tandem of Elvis Merzlikins and Daniil Tarasov? Doubtful. To make a deal work with Anaheim, the overpaid Merzlikins would likely be involved, which would require Columbus to fork over even more future assets. Translation: The Gibson-Columbus trade fit is far from perfect.

Dark horse: Los Angeles Kings

The Kings don't have the cap space to absorb Gibson's ticket, nor do they have contracts of their own that are imminently movable. The front office must get creative if it desires an upgrade in net. Let's face it: The duo of Pheonix Copley and Cam Talbot isn't exactly getting anybody excited. Gibson would be an interesting gamble.

Highest upside among young UFAs

The salary cap rising by only $1 million (again) has led to a few curious trends.

For instance, since July 1, only four UFAs have signed contracts with a new club for longer than four years - forwards J.T. Compher and Miles Wood, defenseman Ryan Graves, and goalie Joonas Korpisalo. Why? The 2023 UFA class lacked star talent, plus many players opted for short-term deals because they're eyeing a bigger payday when more money's available in a year or two.

Another trend: for a second straight summer, a sizeable group of young NHLers suddenly became UFAs after not receiving qualifying offers as RFAs.

Last year saw the likes of Dylan Strome, Dominik Kubalik, and Ilya Samsonov become UFAs overnight. This year's RFA-to-UFA crop can be divided into three buckets - those who re-signed with the team that didn't issue them a qualifying offer, those who signed elsewhere, and those who remain unsigned.

Michael McLeod has the highest upside among players who re-signed.

The Devils center took a step forward this past season and was one of the team's top playoff performers. Against the New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes, McLeod used his world-class skating and tenacity to attack from prime scoring areas. I strongly believe the 25-year-old is primed for a full breakout in 2023-24, perhaps grabbing the third-line pivot role. At worst, he'll live up to his one-year, $1.4 million deal by feasting on opposing fourth lines.

Daniel Sprong has the highest upside among players who signed elsewhere.

At one year, $2 million, Sprong's a perfect flier for the goal-deprived Detroit Red Wings. A threat off the rush at five-on-five and a secondary trigger man on the power play, he recorded 46 points in 66 games in 2022-23, despite skating for just 11:25 a night. His goals-for per 60 minutes rate (1.67) finished between Kirill Kaprizov's (1.70) and Jack Hughes' (1.66). That's damn good company - though Sprong's low usage as a member of the Seattle Kraken and his journeyman resume suggest coaches don't trust him in key situations. Maybe the 26-year-old finds a more permanent home in his fifth NHL city.

Ethan Bear has the highest upside among players who remain unsigned.

The right-handed defenseman, who didn't receive a qualifying offer from the Vancouver Canucks, recently underwent shoulder surgery and will be sidelined until around December. The injury's definitely affected Bear's stock, but is there an NHL team that doesn't need a depth option who can play both sides? Bear, 26, breaks the puck out well and is coming off a nice run with the Canucks, where he earned 18:32 a night. Perhaps he signs a one-year deal closer to training camp. Or maybe he's forced to wait until he's fully healthy.

What Ducks covet in draft-eligible D-men

Martin Madden was hired as Anaheim's director of amateur scouting in 2008 and promoted to assistant GM 12 years later. The McGill University engineering grad, who's based in Quebec City, oversees the Ducks' drafting.

Under Madden, the club has drafted and developed NHL-caliber defensemen at an incredibly high rate. It chose Justin Schultz and Jake Gardiner in 2008, Sami Vatanen in 2009, Cam Fowler in 2010, Josh Manson in 2011, Hampus Lindholm in 2012, Shea Theodore in 2013, Brandon Montour and Marcus Pettersson in 2014, Jacob Larsson in 2015, and Josh Mahura in 2016.

That's right. In every year from 2008 to 2016, at least one blue-liner selected by Anaheim has blossomed into an everyday NHLer (minimum 150 career games). And with post-2016 studs Jamie Drysale, Pavel Mintyukov, Tristan Luneau, Olen Zellweger, and Jackson LaCombe leading the next generation, it's looking like a handful of names will be added to the list soon enough.

But it's not just the quantity. Some of these defensemen were picked as late as 106th and 160th overall. What do the Ducks see that most other teams don't?

"It comes back to our core values in what we like in defensemen when they're young and what allows them to keep growing into the pro game," Madden told theScore at the conclusion of this year's draft in Nashville. (The Ducks didn't pick a blue-liner until 97th overall - Konnor Smith from the OHL.)

"So," Madden added with a laugh, "I'll let you figure that out …"

After some prodding, the executive elaborated a tad on those "core values."

"Hockey sense and mobility for a young defenseman are probably the two primary ingredients we look at."

Hockey sense and mobility? OK, so the Ducks aren't splitting the atom here. What's notable, though, is Anaheim's clear dedication to their core values.

If a team trims down its draft list to include only defensemen who have good hockey sense and good mobility, they're betting exclusively on a certain type. Based on Anaheim's track record under Madden, the bet's been pretty clever.

Parting shots

Tampa Bay Lightning: The flat salary cap continues to wreak havoc on the Lightning's once-enviable depth. Gone via free agency or trade: Alex Killorn, Ross Colton, Pat Maroon, Corey Perry, and Ian Cole. The replacements: Conor Sheary, Luke Glendening, Logan Brown, Josh Archibald, and Calvin de Haan. No offense to the new guys, but as a group they don't even come close to matching what's been lost. Tampa's star-caliber players will keep them very competitive in 2023-24. The pressure's more so on the second tier - think Tanner Jeannot and Nick Paul up front and Erik Cernak and Nick Perbix on the back end - to find another gear and compensate for the annual talent drain.

Favorite fits: I can't wait to see how Jonathan Drouin, Matt Duchene, and Dmitry Orlov fare this coming season. With Drouin and Colorado, this might be the former top prospect's last chance at establishing himself as an impact forward; yet there may not be a better place for him in the NHL than on old pal Nathan MacKinnon's club and, possibly, MacKinnon's wing. With Duchene and Dallas, I'm psyched to see how he blends into a versatile forward group; does Duchene line up at wing or center, and what kind of role does he assume on the power play? With Orlov and Carolina, the fascination lies in the possibilities with that stacked defense corps; specifically, how Orlov gets deployed alongside fellow top-pair guys Brent Burns and Jaccob Slavin, and, if he's not traded in the offseason, another dynamite player in Brett Pesce.

See ya soon: If this is your first time, eighth time, or 20th time reading "Takes, Thoughts, and Trends," thank you, thank you, thank you. I loved producing theScore's biweekly hockey grab bag throughout 2022-23 (the edition you're reading is No. 22 of the season) and I'm looking forward to churning out many more starting in September. If you have a comment, concern, question, or idea, please don't hesitate to reach out via email (john.matisz@thescore.com) or through Twitter (@MatiszJohn). Oh, and on my way out, a self-indulgent podcast recommendation for the offseason: Please try out "When Goalies Were Weird," a six-part narrative series about 1990s-era goalies that we released in late 2021. The content's still relevant, and I assure you it'll be a good companion while you mow the lawn or road-trip this summer. More info:

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The NHL's free-agent market opened July 1. Below, theScore's lead hockey writer John Matisz breaks down all the day's biggest moves that dropped before 5 p.m. ET.

Signings: Islanders re-sign G Ilya Sorokin (8 years), D Scott Mayfield (7 years), F Pierre Engvall (7 years)
Analysis: Mega extensions have become the norm on Long Island during Lou Lamoriello's tenure as GM. If you're part of the core, you're sticking around through your mid-30s. In the case of Sorokin, that's fantastic news for Isles fans. Most goalies in the modern NHL aren't worth $8.25 million annually, but Sorokin is an exception to the rule (note: his extension starts in 2024-25). In the case of Mayfield, 30, and Engvall, 27, the mega-extension trend is ... the opposite of fantastic. Mayfield at $2M over seven years, sure. Engvall at $1M over seven, OK, sure, whatever. But both of them earning significant more per year, with Mayfield at $3.5M and Envgall at $3M? No thanks. Yep, Lamoriello just created a future cap crunch.

Signing: Avalanche sign F Miles Wood to 6-year deal
Analysis: In isolation, six years for Wood is fine. In isolation, $2.5 million a year for Wood is fine. Put the term and AAV together, though, and it's a puzzling contract. There's a fit between the fourth-line winger and Colorado as far as pace and forechecking. For a depth player, Wood's reliable. But I don't quite get it. Perhaps the analytically driven Avs see untapped potential and want to get ahead of Wood's big breakout in coach Jared Bednar's system. Seems unlikely. But we'll see, I suppose.

Signings: Penguins re-sign G Tristan Jarry to 5-year extension, add D Ryan Graves (6 years), F Noel Acciari (3 years)
Analysis: Kyle Dubas wasn't interested in wading into free agency with short-term, low-AAV deals. No, the Penguins' new president of hockey operations went all-out with starting goalie Jarry ($5.375 million AAV), top-four blue-liner Graves ($4.5M), and depth winger Acciari ($2M). I'm fine with the Graves and Acciari contracts. They're fair. But the Jarry extension feels risky. It's not like the 28-year-old can't be an average NHL starter. He can be. The issue is the commitment, both in dollars and years, for, well, an average NHL starter. If things go south with Jarry, this deal will be difficult to offload. Making matters worse, Pittsburgh's No. 2 and 3 goalies - Casey DeSmith and Alex Nedeljkovic (the latter signed a one-year, $1.5-million deal Saturday) - don't represent the greatest Plan B for 2023-24, one of the final years of the Crosby-Malkin-Letang era.

Signing: Ducks sign F Alex Killorn to 4-year deal
Analysis: Another piece of the Lightning dynasty leaves, and boy did Killorn make the most of his exit, getting $6.25 million annually and plenty of term - another win for the two-time Cup champion. Meanwhile, Ducks GM Pat Verbeek seems to be taking a page from his old boss Steve Yzerman's playbook by handing out big dough to veterans (Killorn, Gudas) before his rebuilding team is ready to make the playoffs (Yzerman's Wings did something similar last offseason). Make no mistake, Anaheim's on the rise, but I wonder about the timeline here. This contract covers Killorn's 34-to-37-year-old seasons. Yes, he's coming off career highs in goals (27) and points (64), but he was playing with Steven Stamkos and Anthony Cirelli. Will this contract age poorly and end up jamming the Ducks' cap sheet?

Signing: Capitals sign F Max Pacioretty to 1-year deal
Analysis: Washington is substituting one winger coming off an injury-riddled season (Connor Brown) with another here. Pacioretty dressed in only five games last season due to multiple Achilles tears, so, like Brown, his stock was relatively low heading into Saturday. The reloading Capitals are a soft landing spot, though, and his $2-million AAV is accompanied by $2 million in potential bonuses. Translation: Patches will get paid, if he stays healthy. He'll be 35 in November but has been a virtual lock for 30 goals throughout his winding career, only missing the mark in seasons in which he plays fewer than 70 games.

Signing: Hurricanes sign F Michael Bunting to 3-year deal
Analysis: Carolina adores a certain player type, and that player type closely resembles Bunting, who'll have no trouble fitting into Rod Brind'Amour's north-south style. The Hurricanes have been busy on Day 1 of free agency, raising their ceiling a fair amount with the additions of a top-four defenseman (Orlov) and top-six winger (Bunting). Bunting, 28 in September, recorded 23 goals in back-to-back seasons to set himself up for his payday. This deal isn't a ripoff at $4.5M annually, but his playoff suspension for a headshot may have lost him a year or two of term and $1-$2 million annually.

Signings: Sabres add D Connor Clifton (3 years), D Erik Johnson (1 year)
Analysis: Buffalo GM Kevyn Adams supplemented his defense corps with a pair of veterans on July 1. The hit-happy Clifton, whose contract carries a $3.3 million AAV, should find a spot alongside Owen Power in the top four, which also features Rasmus Dahlin and Mattias Samuelsson. Johnson makes sense as a bottom-pair guy, though his cap hit ($3.25M) is an overpay even after accounting for the 35-year-old's dressing-room presence. Both newcomers are righties. The question moving forward: What happens to the other defensemen who are under contract or team control? That list includes Henri Jokiharju, Ilya Lyubushkin, Jacob Bryson, and Riley Stillman.

Signing: Stars sign F Matt Duchene to 1-year deal
Analysis: Dallas needed to add a finisher or two to its forward group and the speedy Duchene, who bagged 43 goals two years ago, satisfies that need. Assuming he slots in at his natural position, Duchene joins Roope Hintz, Wyatt Johnston, and Radek Faksa on the club's center depth chart - not too shabby. And coming off a buyout with surely some extra motivation, there should be no complaints about Duchene's $3 million AAV. Also of note: The single-year term gives both parties an out if things go sideways. Overall, an A+ signing by the Stars.

Signing: Senators sign G Joonas Korpisalo to 5-year deal
Analysis: Look, the term isn't pretty. Anything beyond three years for a non-star goalie is sketchy. But Ottawa sorely needed help between the pipes and given the weak class of UFA goalies, the club was bound to either overpay in AAV or overcommit with term. The positives: One, the $4 million AAV is fine. And two, last year Korpisalo outplayed his environment in both Columbus and Los Angeles, finishing with a total of 16 goals saved above expected over 39 games. The 29-year-old Finn and incumbent Anton Forsberg should form a decent tandem. Generally speaking, the Sens can't keep spinning their wheels in the Atlantic. They must push forward and be more aggressive in the pursuit of a playoff spot, and this move is a prime example of that line of thinking.

Signing: Hurricanes sign D Dmitry Orlov to 2-year deal
Analysis: Carolina lands the top blue-liner available on a contract that works well for both sides. The Hurricanes, who loathe long-term commitments, dip into their oodles of cap space to add an all-situations defenseman at a cap hit of $7.75 million. Orlov, who had all the leverage in the world coming into Saturday, joins a Cup-contending squad, and he'll be walking into free agency again in 2025, when there's more money in the system thanks to a rising cap. Orlov possesses a terrific skill set: excellent skating, very good puck skills, functional physicality. Early on Saturday, this is the biggest win-win of the day.

Signing: Ducks sign D Radko Gudas to 3-year deal
Analysis: On one hand, it's hard to argue with the rationale: Anaheim's blue line lacks a bruising type like Gudas. On the other hand, $4 million a season is a lot of money for a 33-year-old who should be playing bottom-pair minutes. The Ducks have plenty of cap space, so it's not the end of the world. But it's obvious they loved Gudas' postseason of open-ice hitting and net-front clearing and convinced themselves they wouldn't be outbid for his services. Gudas, who previously made $2.5 million annually, receives a sizeable raise.

Signing: Oilers sign F Connor Brown to 1-year deal
Analysis: Brown's cap hit will be only $775,000, but he can earn upwards of $3.225 million in potential bonuses. The 29-year-old found himself in a weird spot after an ACL injury limited him to only four games last season. This is fantastic value for Edmonton, whose roster was largely set coming into Saturday. Brown has an excellent reputation: he's a hard-working, responsible, middle-six winger loved by teammates. The Oilers are his fourth NHL team. A key factor: Brown and Connor McDavid played junior together.

Signings: Hurricanes re-sign G Frederik Andersen (2 years) and G Antti Raanta (1 year)
Analysis: By bringing back Andersen ($3.4 million annually) and Raanta ($1.5 million), the Hurricanes are once again rolling the dice in net. Sure, the three-goalie system - youngster Pyotr Kochetkov is under contract for four more years - worked last season, to some extent, but there's no way Carolina brass is feeling super comfortable right now. Andersen and Raanta both have long injury histories, which essentially leaves the fate of a Cup-contending team in Kochetkov's hands. In 2022-23, Andersen started 33 games, Raanta 26, and Kochetkov 23. Will we see a similar split next year? Not ideal.

Signings: Rangers add F Blake Wheeler, G Jonathan Quick on 1-year deals
Analysis: Wheeler and Quick are both past their primes - you know that, I know that, and the Rangers know that. However, there's very little downside to either deal. In Wheeler, New York is getting a high-end passer who can help its power play for only $800,000 (plus bonuses). In Quick, New York is getting a veteran, Cup-winning netminder to back-up superstar Igor Shesterkin for only $825,000 (plus bonuses). Put another way: The Rangers are paying peanuts for secondary scoring and mentorship. Very nice bet.

Signing: Predators sign F Ryan O'Reilly to 4-year contract
Analysis: What's left in O'Reilly's tank? That's what comes to mind as the 2019 Stanley Cup champion inks a deal that'll take him past his 36th birthday. While O'Reilly remains an effective two-way center deserving of his new $4.5 million cap hit, I'm a tad worried about the term here. Mind you, the security is presumably what sealed it for the Preds, with two of O'Reilly's former teams - Toronto and St. Louis - reportedly also interested in signing him. Still, I don't love committing four years to an ex-star who started to show signs of decline at times in 2022-23.

Signing: Predators sign D Luke Schenn to 3-year deal
Analysis: Barry Trotz continues to put his stamp on the Predators in the early days of his tenure as GM. This particular move, which comes on the heels of Trotz trading Ryan Johansen and buying out Matt Duchene, certainly lines up with Nashville's hurried timeline. The club is retooling versus rebuilding, and Schenn, 34 in November, is definitely a "win-now" type of defender. It's also easy to feel good for Schenn, who's getting a hefty payday ($2.75 million annually) following a strong postseason with Toronto. He previously signed four straight cheap short-term contracts.

Signing: Blue Jackets sign F Adam Fantilli to 3-year, entry-level deal
Analysis: Well, that was fast. Three days after Columbus picked Fantilli third overall in the draft, the center is turning pro. Fantilli, the Hobey Baker award winner this past season, had little left to prove at the NCAA level, and was said to be open to leaving the University of Michigan even before he landed in the Blue Jackets' lap Wednesday. The free-agent signing period is barely underway and this is already a huge day for small-market Columbus: Fantilli, the type of star-caliber pivot who's been elusive for the franchise, is officially in the fold, and Mike Babcock, a high-profile coach, is officially taking over behind the bench, having been unveiled to local reporters Saturday morning.

Signing: Sharks sign G Mackenzie Blackwood to 2-year deal
Analysis: Interesting play here from Mike Grier. The Sharks GM acquired Blackwood for a sixth-round pick earlier in the week, then in short order signed the goalie to a multi-year deal carrying a $2.35-million cap hit. Blackwood, 26, needed a change of scenery after going through several hellacious seasons of injury and poor performance in New Jersey; this is the previously highly touted netminder's golden chance at redemption. It's likely Blackwood and Kaapo Kahkonen split the goalie load in 2023-24. The rebuilding Sharks are essentially throwing darts at the board in hopes of finding a reliable goalie.

Signing: Maple Leafs sign F Ryan Reaves to 3-year deal
Analysis: My first thought when seeing this deal: Is this really how Toronto's going to allocate its limited cap space? For a team in desperate need of bottom-six offense, especially come playoff time, the 36-year-old Reaves isn't worth it at $1.35 million annually. I get the attraction, though: he's an energetic, intimidating fourth-liner with a big personality. And he can be an asset to a club like the Leafs, if the stars align. But at this price (league minimum would have been fine), for this term, and in this flat-cap world? Nope, not a fan.

Signing: Panthers sign D Oliver Ekman-Larsson to 1-year deal
Analysis: If Ekman-Larsson is Marc Staal's replacement on Florida's third pair - which appears to be the case - I'm giving Panthers general manager Bill Zito a thumbs-up here. Ekman-Larsson's stock is extremely low after being bought out by the Canucks, and, yes, the Swede has lost a step over the past few years. In a sheltered role on the left side, though, the soon-to-be 32-year-old puck-mover should have no issues living up to the $2.25-million cap hit.

Signing: Red Wings sign F Klim Kostin to 2-year deal
Analysis: Kostin's contract carries an average annual value of $2 million and he brings size and strength to the middle six of a team with aspirations of climbing the Atlantic Division standings next season. The last pick of the first round in 2017, Kostin hasn't popped offensively since breaking into the NHL in 2021-22. However, his 11 goals in 57 games last year shows he's not simply a physical presence. Detroit acquired the rights to Kostin and Kailer Yamamoto from Edmonton on Thursday in a salary dump for the Oilers. I like the deal for the Wings: the term is short and the cap hit's reasonable.

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

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NASHVILLE - The international man of mystery is a mystery no longer - and if first impressions are to be taken at face value, the Philadelphia Flyers are getting a wholly committed Matvei Michkov.

Following a year of questions about everything from his desire to play in North America to a supposedly hard-to-like personality, Michkov slid to seventh overall and into the Flyers' lap Wednesday during the first round of the NHL draft. It was the first selection by Philadelphia's new president-general manager duo of Keith Jones and Daniel Briere, and it's one that could make the executives who picked in the 2-6 range look awfully foolish in the coming years.

Michkov, who some talent evaluators have labeled a "hockey genius" for his exceptional offensive instincts, thoroughly impressed over a 10-minute session with reporters in the bowels of Bridgestone Arena. Flanked by two interpreters, the largely anonymous Russian said on multiple occasions, and in no uncertain terms, that he's committed to playing for Philly.

The sharp-shooting winger even noted the Flyers were atop his list of preferred destinations.

"My biggest wish and biggest expectation is that I want to come to Philadelphia and I want to help them win a Stanley Cup," Michkov said. "I know they've been waiting a long time for one. That's my goal (too), and that's why I'm coming."

Michkov's KHL contract with SKA St. Petersburg runs through the 2025-26 season. "But," he said, "I am hoping as soon as I can get out, I'm going to be coming."

Michkov, 18, met with Philly brass twice during 2022-23. Both interactions were extremely positive and made the youngster feel very comfortable. The organization, he said, is "smart" and "strong."

Briere, meanwhile, tried to trade into the top six of the draft because he was worried Michkov wouldn't be available at seven. The price was too steep, yet Briere still got his guy. "We don't have anybody like him in our organization," the GM said, spitting truth. Beyond 2022 first-rounder Cutter Gauthier, the Flyers previously lacked high-end talent.

The soft-spoken Michkov praised his entire immediate family for influencing his career up to this point, and he specifically credited his late father Andrei with teaching him how to disguise his shot, which is considered elite.

Adding to the mystique of Michkov in the leadup to the draft was a lack of live viewings. Most NHL scouts and executives were limited to assessing Michkov and his Russian peers exclusively on video due to travel restrictions because of the war in Ukraine. Many teams had yet to meet the kid until earlier this week.

With so many enticing options at the top of the draft, passing on Michkov - the first overall pick in several recent draft classes, based on his current talent level and NHL ceiling - wasn't particularly hard for risk-averse teams. But that doesn't make the Flyers' decision to tap Michkov any less impressive, especially when coupled with a safe but smart pick at 22nd overall (defenseman Oliver Bonk from the OHL's London Knights).

As the questioning slowed and the scrum with reporters dissipated, Michkov uttered his first English words to North American media and, by extension, fans. "Thank you. Thank you very much," he said into the NHL-branded microphone before walking away.

If Michkov actually has no plans on playing in the NHL, he put on one heckuva acting performance in Nashville.

Loud winner: Blue Jackets

While the Flyers left Bridgestone with a potential game-changer, the Columbus Blue Jackets were the true winners Wednesday. That's saying something considering seven teams held more than one first-round pick.

After phenom Connor Bedard went first to Chicago and Anaheim chose Swedish center Leo Carlsson at No. 2, Columbus GM Jarmo Kekalainen didn't overthink it when picking Adam Fantilli.

Fantilli, a total-package center who was named the top player in college hockey this past season, might step into the Blue Jackets' lineup as early as this fall. There's little else for him to prove in the NCAA following 30 goals and 35 assists in 36 games against players in their early-to-mid 20s.

It's possible Carlsson ends up being the more impactful NHLer, but the smart money's on Fantilli, not Carlsson, reaching superstar status. Scouts rave about Fantilli's skill set - the shooting, the skating, the stickhandling - as well as his physical tools and strong character. In a word: stud.

It's ideal timing for Kekalainen, who acquired defensemen Ivan Provorov and Damon Severson via trade earlier this month and will introduce Mike Babcock as the club's new coach in a few days. Fantilli will face hurdles, as all young players do, but he's a polished prospect.

Kekalainen is 10 years into his tenure. The Blue Jackets have won a grand total of one playoff series over that period. It's clear he's uninterested in being a middling squad moving forward and views last season's woeful record (25-48-8-1) as an aberration. If the Finnish GM's track record tells us anything, he isn't done wheeling or dealing, either.

Translation: Continue to keep an eye on the Blue Jackets as free agency opens Saturday. They should be active, as usual.

Predators nab 'diet Cale Makar'

Pundits tend to traffic in superlatives around the draft. Sometimes, it gets out of hand. In Tanner Moldendyk's case, though, the hype surrounding his skating is legitimate. As FloHockey analyst Chris Peters puts it, he's a "diet Cale Makar."

"He doesn't have Makar's straight-line explosiveness," Peters said of Molendyk, the 24th overall pick to Nashville. "But he's got multiple avenues of mobility. His edge work is outstanding, and if he's on the offensive blue line, he can make some puck plays with his feet after standing still."

Molendyk, a defenseman for the WHL's Saskatoon Blades, studies elite NHL skaters Shea Theodore and Miro Heiskanen. The 5-foot-11, 181-pounder says he honed his stride as a kid by skating twice a day at the arena in tiny McBride, British Columbia. His quick feet allow him to keep a tight gap on attackers. He's also known for having an active stick and an edge to his defensive game.

The next step: Molendyk, who put up 45 points in 85 regular-season and playoff contests this past season, wants to "crack that seal" in his offensive game with an improved shot. He didn't score his first goal until his 21st game of 2022-23 - though his draft stock bounced back after a strong postseason.

While Peters believes Molendyk can blossom into a top-four NHL defenseman, it's no guarantee. "Does he think the game at a high enough level to maximize those athletic tools that he clearly has?" the analyst asked.

I love this pick for new Predators GM Barry Trotz. His pick at 12th overall - forward Matthew Wood - was relatively safe. He's banking on upside with Molendyk.

Player to watch: Dylan MacKinnon

Earlier this month at the scouting combine, MacKinnon grinned widely after being asked about his mullet. Was it new? Nope, he's been rocking it all year.

"I had a mustache earlier this week," MacKinnon said proudly. "But I figured I'd give that a trim before I started talking to NHL teams."

MacKinnon, who could go off the board Thursday as early as the third round, is a throwback defenseman. He works his ass off. He plays a simple, north-south game. He uses every inch and pound of his 6-foot-2, 190-pound frame to deliver thunderous body checks. He kills penalties. He fights if need be.

Unsurprisingly, the Halifax Mooseheads blue-liner models his game after the NHL's premier open-ice hitter, Jacob Trouba. "Very physical guy," MacKinnon said. "He isn't afraid to shed the mitts. I just absolutely love the way he plays."

MacKinnon's NHL ceiling is the bottom pair. But even in a limited role, he'd be a fan favorite. Don't believe me? Here he is on trash-talking in the QMJHL:

"I'm usually the one throwing them around. There were a couple (high-quality chirps) in the last series of the playoffs. They were all asking me what I do for my team. But none of them would fight me," MacKinnon said. "I told them I was a (younger player) and that I'd still fold them like a lawn chair. They got the memo. In that series, I think I was averaging like 10 pretty big hits a game. They all knew they weren't going to do anything about it."

Quiet winner: Devils

The salary cap is rising by only $1 million. The UFA crop is weak. The draft class is strong.

These variables suggested Wednesday would be a busy night of trades. In the end, though, there wasn't a single swap completed on the draft floor. How anticlimactic.

Hey, maybe it all comes down to the fact that New Jersey Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald ticked off the bulk of his offseason business prior to the opening pick. Even without a first-rounder, the Devils had themselves a draft week to remember by pulling off a pair of trades and re-signing a key free agent.

Coming in through a trade with the Calgary Flames: two-time 30-goal scorer Tyler Toffoli. Sticking around through an eight-year extension: three-time 30-goal scorer Timo Meier. Leaving: underperforming goalie Mackenzie Blackwood and middle-six forward Yegor Sharangovich. (There was a trade involving AHLers, too, as well as late-round picks that went in and out at different points, but you get the point.)

If you loop in Jesper Bratt's extension and Severson getting shipped to Columbus, Fitzgerald's been the league's most productive GM in a generally busy month of movement. Now, after allocating his cap space cleverly over the past three years, New Jersey's front office has locked in an enviable core.

Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Ondrej Palat, Bratt, Toffoli, and Meier - a dynamite top-six forward group - will combine to make $42.2 million in 2023-24, and all but Toffoli are signed through 2026-27. It's too early to pick Stanley Cup contenders for next season. But New Jersey, who lost to the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round in May, has certainly commanded my attention.

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

Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

It was Nov. 3, 2004, about two months into the NHL lockout, and forward Darby Hendrickson was taping his hockey stick before a game in Minsk, Belarus, almost 5,000 miles from home.

Hendrickson, a Minnesota native and veteran of nine NHL seasons, had been recruited by an old Minnesota Wild teammate to suit up for a Latvian side called Riga 2000. That teammate, local icon Sergei Zholtok, was now urging him to pay attention to how a local team was practicing.

At the glass, Zholtok gushed over how clubs from that region of the world ran practices. He and Hendrickson chatted for a while about the finer details of the sport they loved - as they often did. At one point, Zholtok turned to Hendrickson and said, "You're going to be a coach one day."

"We'll see," Hendrickson replied.

A few hours later, Zholtok was fighting for his life. The 31-year-old collapsed outside the Riga 2000 dressing room after pulling himself from the game during the third period. While players and coaches filed into the room, Hendrickson stayed by Zholtok's side in the hallway.

Zholtok had missed seven Wild games the year prior due to an irregular heartbeat diagnosis, but he'd been cleared to return to action. Hendrickson accompanied his teammate to the hospital during that first health scare.

Now, as someone retrieved Hendrickson's cell phone from the team bus so he could relay information from the Wild's team doctor, paramedics were trying to revive Zholtok with chest compressions.

Zholtok soon took his last breath. An autopsy revealed the father of two died of heart failure.

"You walk into the arena with your friend, but you don't walk out without him," Hendrickson recalled in a recent interview.

"It was devastating to lose him. It was really, really hard."

It turns out Zholtok was right about Hendrickson being coach material; he's been an assistant with the Wild since 2010. Nearly 19 years later, Hendrickson says he still thinks about his friend every day. Thursday will be an especially reflective moment: Hendrickson and his wife Dana's third of four kids, Beckett, is set to be picked by an NHL team sometime on Day 2 of the draft, which is being held in Nashville, the last NHL city Zholtok called home.

Beckett Hendrickson, born seven months and 21 days after Zholtok's death, has two middle names. One is George - a popular first name on Dana's side of the family. The other is Sergei - after his dad's late friend.

"You lose someone special to you, then you gain your son," Darby said. "There's definitely a connection between the two, with what happened over such a short period."

"It's an honor," Beckett said of the name, before adding: "You try to carry on the legacy."

Beckett's middle name isn't so much a tribute to Zholtok's 258 points in 588 games for the Wild, Predators, Boston Bruins, Ottawa Senators, Montreal Canadiens, and Edmonton Oilers. It honors the person who connected with his dad on a deep, personal level; somebody who truly loved his family, his friends, his country, and his sport; somebody who was seemingly always optimistic.

"Sergei was awesome," Darby said of the man teammates jokingly nicknamed the "Latvian Lover." "You talk to anyone who played with him and you'll find out quickly that everyone loved him. He had contagious energy. He wasn't selfish. He was a good teammate. So passionate."

Darby and Zholtok carpooled to and from the rink and gym during their three years together on the Wild. The stint overseas solidified rumors: Zholtok was a soccer-level celebrity in Latvia.

"My dad tells me about how much people looked up to Sergei in Latvia," Beckett said. "They'd be walking through the streets together and it was like he was the mayor. People are yelling, 'Sergei!' 'Sergei!'"

Beckett's middle name might come up in conversation if he's flashing a piece of ID at the doctor's office or airport. But that's about it. Over the years, though, he's heard stories about Zholtok. He walks past a framed white "Zholtok 33" Wild jersey in the basement of the family's home in Minnetonka, Minnesota. There was once a tribute at the family's property a few hours north, too.

The last time Zholtok visited the Hendrickson cabin, he forgot his wet underwear in the sauna - and they weren't moved for a decade. "'Why would you have a pair of Calvin Klein boxers right there?'" Darby said, imitating guests. "We'd say, 'Well, they're Sergei's.' We had fun with that."

Darby was a pallbearer at the funeral. He grieved alongside Zholtok's loved ones, including his wife, Anna, and the couple's boys, Edgar and Nikita, who were 14 and 4. The Hendricksons also helped the other family organize its finances. During those last days abroad in 2004, Darby felt a "great peace," and upon returning home, he kept leaning on his Christian faith and support from his own family.

"Maybe it's Sergei who tapped me on the shoulder and said, 'I'm glad you're here.' I really don't know," he said. "But there was just this weird, strange peace at the end of my time there."

Zholtok, a right-handed center with a bullet of a shot, remains a legend in the small but mighty hockey nation of Latvia. He's second all time in points and fourth in games played among the country's NHLers, according to the database Quant Hockey. The now-defunct Riga 2000 franchise, which claimed the Latvian Hockey League title in 2004-05, retired Zholtok's No. 33, while a Riga high school was posthumously named in his honor in 2005.

Both of Zholtok's kids are doing well, Darby says. He's always kept up with the family - "I'd want the same from him, so that's what I've tried to do" - and even attended Nikita's wedding in May. Darby hopes to one day return to Riga to visit Zholtok's gravesite with his wife and kids.

"The everyday love Sergei had for the game, you want Beckett to have part of that. If he does, he's got a chance to be very successful," Darby said of his son, a 6-foot-1 forward for the USHL's Sioux Falls Stampede who's committed to the University of Minnesota for the 2024-25 season.

Losing his friend and teammate was horrible. Seeing Zholtok go the way he did was traumatic. It's something that will stay with Darby - and by association, Beckett - for a very long time.

"Sergei left our world as Beckett was coming in," Darby said. "He will be honored forever."

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

Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

There's an awful lot of uncertainty surrounding the Ottawa Senators.

Questions swirl around the involvement level of new owner Michael Andlauer, the job security for head coach D.J. Smith, the trade market for winger Alex DeBrincat, the options between the pipes - and that's just the high-level stuff.

Something the Senators don't have to worry about? Jake Sanderson's ceiling.

The rookie defenseman wasn't named a finalist for the Calder Trophy, so he won't be at the NHL awards show Monday in Nashville. However, given the state of Sanderson's game - mature and well-rounded - you can bet he'll be invited to future awards gatherings as a contender for the Norris Trophy.

Seriously, don't be shocked if Sanderson's counting stats pop as a sophomore and by his third or fourth year he's being strongly considered for the Norris. The details of his three-zone game are already pretty polished. More NHL experience, a jump in points, and team success should vault him into the elite tier of defensemen who can impact the game in multiple ways.

"A lot of the D-men coming up are more focused on offense than defense. Jake's different," DeBrincat told theScore prior to Ottawa's second-last game of the season, a 4-3 loss to Buffalo on April 13. "He's got that old-school mentality of protecting the front of our net before going on the attack."

The tracking data from Sportlogiq backs up DeBrincat's insight.

A total of 289 NHL defensemen, including 10 on Ottawa, logged 100 minutes in 2022-23. On a per-game basis, Sanderson finished first on the Sens and fifth in the league in blocked passes. He also ranked first on his team in puck-battle wins (21st in NHL) and blocked shots (10th), while ranking second in stick checks and outlet-pass completions, third in zone entries, and fourth in zone exits. Keep in mind the Sens' blue line isn't filled with a bunch of AHLers; Thomas Chabot, Jakob Chychrun, and Artem Zub are on the top two pairings.

So, the eye test and underlying numbers both suggest Sanderson's a high-end defender at 20 years old. Often trusted by Smith to shut down the other team's best line, he skated for 21:55 a night in all situations. Sanderson, an incredible skater and evasive puck mover, pitched in offensively, too, trailing only Owen Power for points by a first-year defenseman with 32 in 77 games.

"He thinks like an offensive guy when he's playing defense, if that makes sense," Sens winger Drake Batherson said. "It's a huge advantage for him and for us that he knows what the attacker will want to do offensively, and then he's one step ahead of them to defend it. Honestly, he's just a treat to watch."

"I can't even imagine what Jake's going to be like when he's 27," he added.

Sanderson recently switched his representation to super agent Pat Brisson of CAA Sports. The 6-foot-3, 195-pounder's entry-level contract expires after next season, which means he's eligible to sign an extension on July 1.

Now, that extension shouldn't be atop the to-do list for Sens general manager Pierre Dorion. There's too much uncertainty elsewhere. But the new deal shouldn't be far down the list, either. Assuming he avoids injury in Year 2, Sanderson's stock will only rise - and rise exponentially - moving forward.

One word to describe Bedard

Connor Bedard, the most hyped hockey prospect since Connor McDavid, will officially become a member of the Chicago Blackhawks next Wednesday. Bedard roasted the WHL for 71 goals and 72 assists in 57 regular season games in 2022-23, somehow exceeding the sky-high expectations for his draft year.

If I could use one word to describe Bedard at this moment between junior and pro, it'd be "alien." Both his shot and hockey sense are otherworldly.

At the scouting combine in early June, I asked 13 of Bedard's draft class peers to pick just one word to describe the next great Connor.

Leo Carlsson, forward: "Incredible."

Brayden Yager, forward: "Generational."

Jakub Dvorak, defenseman: "Unpredictable."

Tanner Molendyk, defenseman: "Special."

Andrew Cristall, forward: "Greatness."

Carson Bjarnason, goalie: "Humble."

Nate Danielson, forward: "Exceptional."

Gracyn Sawchyn, forward: "Dynamic."

Matteo Mann, defenseman: "Complete."

Zach Benson, forward: "Exceptional."

Larry Keenan, defenseman: "Impressive."

Caden Price, defenseman: "Exceptional. Elite. One of those, probably."

Jakub Stancl, forward: "Not human. Yeah, that's two words …" (Laughs)

Sizing up the 2023 goalie crop

Four goalies have been selected in the first round over the past four drafts.

Florida picked Spencer Knight at 13th overall in 2019, Nashville tapped Yaroslav Askarov at 11th in 2020, and Detroit and Minnesota picked up Sebastian Cossa and Jesper Wallstedt at 15th and 20th, respectively, in 2021.

There's a decent chance a goalie goes off the board in the first round this time around. Overall, though, 2023 lacks a true stud like the highly touted Askarov.

"It's a pretty average crop. It's not outstanding, and it's not poor," Washington Capitals assistant GM Ross Mahoney said Thursday on a conference call. (The longtime scout sprinkled in a bit of humor: "I'm sure some of them will prove me wrong in the future here.")

The scouting service HockeyProspect.com lists five goalies in the top 50 of its final ranking of the entire 2023 class. Michael Hrabal, a 6-foot-6 Czechia native playing in the USHL, comes in at 24th; Slovak Adam Gajan, who was eligible for last year's draft, is 35th. Italian Damian Clara and Americans Jacob Fowler and Trey Augustine are bunched in the mid-40s: 44th, 46th, and 48th.

"There's a beautiful blend of different talent at the position this season," reads a section in HockeyProspect.com's draft guide. Fowler and Augustine are "ultraefficient and technically proficient." Clara and Gajan are "freak athletes."

"What separates Hrabal is he has arguably the best blend of these qualities," the scouting service gushes. "His hockey sense isn't as high-end as Fowler's or Augustine's, and his athleticism isn't as high-end as Gajan's or Clara's, but (Hrabal) is the most well-rounded when you look at the total package."

To sum up industry consensus: Expect a run on goalies in the second round.

Parting shots

Hockey Hall of Fame: If I had to choose one or the other, I'd rather Curtis Joseph be inducted, not Mike Vernon. I'd also rather have two women's hockey players enshrined in November, not just Caroline Ouellette. It's insane that Alexander Mogilny remains on the outside looking in after not only stringing together a Hall of Fame-caliber career but also being a trailblazer for European players. However, none of these complaints compare to my No. 1 issue with the Hall: its lack of transparency. The secrecy surrounding the annual induction announcement taints the entire process. Transparency wouldn't eliminate criticism, of course, but at least the public would be better informed and thus move on to celebrating the inductees faster. In the current setup, we don't even know if Mogilny has ever been nominated. How foolish.

Combine hero: Caden Price, a strong-skating, left-handed defenseman for the Kelowna Rockets, puked out his breakfast prior to the fitness tests at the scouting combine in Buffalo in early June. "Little nervous, but I think I had some acid reflux. I couldn't keep it down," Price told me afterward. By the end of the day, the projected second-rounder's name was all over the high-achievers list released by Central Scouting. Among 100-plus combine participants, he finished with a top-20 score in seven different categories, most notably recording the fourth-highest vertical jump. Now that's an athlete!

Calgary Flames: A fascinating experiment is underway in Calgary. In trying to avoid a repeat of what happened last offseason with unrestricted free agent Johnny Gaudreau, new GM Craig Conroy is asking for commitments from the club's core pieces. Noah Hanifin and Tyler Toffoli have both expressed they don't plan on re-signing, while Elias Lindholm and Mikael Backlund are both "leaning towards" not re-signing, according to Daily Faceoff. All four are set to become UFAs in July 2024. On one hand, Conroy's gaining valuable intel on the Flames' future, and if he wants, the team can start shopping the players. On the other hand, it's almost as if Conroy's created problems for himself by being so proactive, giving not one but four players an out on their remaining time in Calgary. There's no guarantee any of them will be traded, and hey, maybe a couple ultimately re-sign. If it all works out wonderfully for Calgary in some form, Conroy could look like a genius. If it doesn't ... well.

Takes, Thoughts, and Trends is theScore's biweekly hockey grab bag.

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

Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

BUFFALO - After a whirlwind eight-hour day of interviewing with prospective employers, undergoing a balance test, and answering reporters' questions, Andrew Cristall is asked if he'd like to watch a few clips from his highlight reel.

"Oh yeah, for sure, absolutely," a grinning Cristall replies from his seat inside a Marriott hotel restaurant. It's June 1 and the NHL's annual scouting combine is well underway for Cristall and roughly 100 of his 2023 draft classmates.

Cristall's eager because he's an extrovert obsessed with the sport of hockey. Dissecting clips of his finest moments is right in his wheelhouse. Also, it's a short break from a week's worth of discussions about his flaws as a player.

The first clip begins with Cristall, an 18-year-old left-winger for the WHL's Kelowna Rockets, skating through the neutral zone with possession of the puck. Between him and the goalie is one defender, who he promptly turnstiles:

"His stick is close to the puck," Cristall says of the backpedaling defenseman, "and I know he's going to look to poke it soon. So, I push the puck out to my left side, then slap his stick a little bit to prevent him from getting it. I know from there he's going to cross over, which means I've got an opportunity to put the puck through his triangle, go in on a breakaway, and score."

That slap of the defender's stick, which is indiscernible on video, is a subtle yet brilliant move. It puts the defender on his heels and allows Cristall to waltz into the middle lane of the ice. The puck's in the back of the net seconds later.

The sequence showcases Cristall's trademark intelligence and creativity.

Rockets teammate Caden Price says Cristall's skill level and manipulation techniques are "absurd." Connor Bedard, the presumptive No. 1 pick and one of Cristall's closest friends, calls his former minor hockey teammate "probably the smartest hockey player I've gotten to play with." Cristall puts it succinctly: "I make reads some other guys can't."

The sequence is also the kind of highlight that could split a room of hockey people. Critics might scoff at it, insisting Cristall is simply feasting on inferior competition and that he'll never replicate such a flashy sequence in the pros. Supporters might argue that Cristall can translate his skill set to the NHL, outsmart pros, and repair his biggest weaknesses.

Unlike the majority of potential first-round picks, there's a lack of consensus with Cristall, both behind closed doors among scouts and in the public discourse. Arguably 2023's most divisive prospect, he's ranked 13th, 24th, 25th, 35th, and 68th by some of the most popular NHL draft analysts. Is Cristall worthy of a top-15 pick? Or is he a Day 2 selection?

Let's stick with the strengths for a moment.

Cristall's puck skills are exceptional. His craftiness in tight quarters, a byproduct of running through countless small-area drills as a young player in Vancouver, makes him difficult to contain. Armed with both a hard, accurate shot and seam-finding passing chops, he's a dual threat in the offensive zone.

"If the pass is there, I'm 100% going to make that pass to create a goal. Whatever the best option, that's the option I'm going to choose," says Cristall, who finished sixth in the WHL with 95 points (39 goals, 56 assists) despite missing 14 games in the middle of the season due to a quad injury.

Cristall grew up adoring legendary Canucks forwards Henrik and Daniel Sedin. Nowadays, he models his game after Mitch Marner, the magician-like winger for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Cristall's attracted to Marner's evasiveness and patience with the puck - how he's capable of controlling the pace of the game.

Then there are Cristall's many "Michigan" attempts, which are less Marner and more Trevor Zegras of the Anaheim Ducks. The behind-the-net, lacrosse-style scoring play combines Cristall's hands, creativity, and swagger.

"I've never seen a player try the 'Michigan' more often than him. Realistically, it drives our ownership mental," Rockets head coach Kris Mallette says with a laugh. "But it's the new way. You look at Zegras, you look at other young guys, it's just what they do. Some of the stuff he does in practice - calling his shot, then going in on the goalie and making it look easy - is impressive. He works hard, challenges himself to be better, and is a fun guy to be around."

OK, onto the weaknesses: Cristall is small (5-foot-9.5, 175 pounds), and his skating is considered average for a major-junior player. He'll put up points and get you out of your seat with some puck wizardry, sure, but small forwards who don't skate well and aren't known for their compete level rarely blossom into longtime NHLers. At least that's how the thinking goes in some circles.

"For smaller players without high-end skating ability, you'll have a really hard time finding a spot in the top six of a forward group," says Chris Peters, who covers the prospect world for FloHockey. "The most common thing I hear about Cristall from people working for teams is that if you draft him, you're getting a one-way player, a guy who fits into very few options in your lineup."

Peters adds that Cristall could theoretically evolve into a more complete player by focusing on his defense. However, nobody's currently projecting him to be a shutdown forward, and bigger, more athletic players usually fill that role. "That's the other thing teams will consider with Cristall: Where does he go from here? What's his trajectory? How long will he take to develop?"

Still, Peters is at least a half-believer, as evidenced by Cristall landing 24th on FloHockey's final ranking of all 2023 prospects. It's impossible to ignore the gaudy offensive tools and the points he accumulated on a relatively weak Kelowna squad. "Real boom-bust potential with drafting a player like Cristall this high, but the hockey sense wins the day here for me," Peters wrote.

"Do I want to miss on this?" Mallette, the Rockets coach, says of the potential downside of passing on Cristall in next Wednesday's first round. "You don't want to be that team that two, three years down the road is missing out on a very, very special player. So that's what's intriguing but also what's scary, right? Because you never know with young hockey players. It's the unknown."

To Cristall's credit, he's doing what he can to make it less of an unknown.

On top of bulking up through strength training, Cristall's worked with skating coach Barb Aidelbaum multiple times a week since his season ended in late April. Cristall notes that he needs to be more on his toes than his heels when he's skating. With better mechanics and a stronger lower body, his stride should start generating extra power. He's doing this work in concert with physiotherapy, with the off-ice treatment aiming to bring greater fluidity to his movements and, in turn, lengthen his stride on the ice.

Those close to Cristall praise him for being an optimistic, competitive person.

"If you have a plan, you can come to a solution," he says of his mindset.

Cristall was told he wouldn't be effective once he was old enough for body-checking hockey because of his size - yet he was and exploded offensively. He was told he wouldn't play junior hockey because of his size and skating - yet he did and exploded offensively. Now, he's being told he might not play in the NHL.

"It's something I use to motivate myself," Cristall says from his Marriott seat, long day over. "I want to prove people wrong and prove myself right."

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

Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.