Sports
Jan 12, 2023

As the NHL’s teams reach the midpoint of the 2022-23 season, there are many proclamations to debate. The best and worst. The surprises and disappointments. Whether the Arizona Coyotes‘ Mullett Arena is a great place to watch a game or the greatest place to watch a game.

But there are two claims that aren’t up for debate. They exist beyond even our capacity for hot-takery. They are:

1. That the Boston Bruins are the best team in the NHL through the first half of the season. A 32-4-4 juggernaut that leads the league in team defense and is second in average offense. There’s the Bruins, and then there’s everyone else this season. Facts.

2. That Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers is the most dominant player in the NHL this season, with 34 goals and 43 assists in 42 games. He’s currently on pace to become only the sixth player in NHL history to hit 150 points in a season and the first to do so since Mario Lemieux in 1995-96. We can debate whether he’s the most valuable player to his team, but McDavid’s status as the league’s single most fundamental force can’t be denied.

That established, here are some other NHL awards and superlatives for the midpoint of the 2022-23 season:

Best team (not named the Boston Bruins): New Jersey Devils

There was an interesting Reddit thread a few years back that tracked the highest year-over-year points increases for every NHL team. The potential is there for a 40-point turnaround in the standings year-over-year, after New Jersey finished with 63 points last season. FiveThirtyEight tracks the Devils to a 99-point season. Money Puck tracks them to 104 points. A 40-point turnaround would rank in the top five, according to that thread.

(Somewhat incredibly, the Seattle Kraken could potentially eclipse the Devils’ turnaround. They had 60 points last season. Money Puck currently has them at a 102-point pace).

There are other contenders for team of the half-year. The Dallas Stars have overcome middle-of-the-pack even-strength metrics to continue that Peter DeBoer first-year magic, sitting atop the western conference. The Carolina Hurricanes and Toronto Maple Leafs are doing what they usually do in the regular season … before they hopefully don’t do what they usually do in the postseason.

But with apologies to those teams and to Marie Kondo: The Devils spark joy. Their speed, tenacity and personality — all embodied by one Jack Hughes, come to think of it — are what we want from an NHL contender in 2023.

There are teams with worse records than the Canucks this season (.463 points percentage through 40 games). The problem is that those teams are supposed to be bad while Vancouver re-signed Brock Boeser and J.T. Miller in an effort to be good.

The Canucks are not good. They are bad. Worst of all, they’re messy. No team has generated more off-ice drama than Vancouver this season, from the philosophical schism between president Jim Rutherford and coach Bruce Boudreau to Bo Horvat‘s cloudy future to J.T. Miller’s attitude to fans chanting “sell the team!” at owner Francesco Aquilini.

Most Valuable Player (not named Connor McDavid): Tage Thompson

I don’t know if I’ve had more fun following a game online than when the Buffalo Sabres center popped off for four goals in the first period against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Dec. 7, 2022, tying the NHL record for most goals by a single player in a period and becoming just the third player in NHL history to pull off the feat in the opening frame. Could he break Joe Malone’s 1920 record of seven goals in a game? Could he threaten Darryl Sittler’s record 10-point night from 1976? We were all riveted.

Thompson ended up doing neither, tapping out at five goals and an assist for the game. Another signal that the transformation was complete: The prospect the Sabres “settled for” in the 2018 Ryan O’Reilly trade with the St. Louis Blues was now a bonafide franchise centerpiece. A 6-foot-7 Mario-esque goal-scoring center who hasn’t gone more than two games without a point this season.

There’s about an 11% chance that the Sabres make the playoffs. If they do, Tage Thompson might be the only player that can seriously challenge McDavid for the Hart, with a stick-tap to both David Pastrnak and Jason Robertson.

There’s an argument to be made for Edmonton Oilers goalie Jack Campbell as the season’s least valuable player, whose performance is like hiring a plumber to fix a leaky pipe, and then not only is the pipe still leaking, but your living room is also inexplicably on fire.

But Klingberg’s my choice. He has 13 points in 31 games, which would be the worst offensive output of his career. He’s third from the bottom in the NHL with minus-7.7 goals above replacement. He signed a one-year, $7 million free-agent deal with Anaheim after no one gave him the contract he wanted in the offseason, and so the Ducks could do a classic “pump and dump” trade at the deadline. Thanks to this lemon in Orange County, his value is even lower now.

In October, Andreas Athanasiou scored a brilliant goal on a lead pass from Patrick Kane and breaking down a defenseman. Many believed it could be the highlight of the season. But in December, Brayden Point of the Tampa Bay Lightning hit the upgrade button: Taking a lead pass from Nikita Kucherov, breaking down two defensemen and finishing with a pinpoint backhand shot to where mama hides the cookies. Absolutely sick.

Coach of the (half) year: Rick Bowness

We all understand the impact Jim Montgomery has had on the Boston Bruins juggernaut. Lindy Ruff deserves a ton of credit for what the Devils have done, while Bruce Cassidy and Peter DeBoer have leveled up the Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars respectively. But my coach of the first half is Rick Bowness.

He was a 67-year-old consolation prize after the Jets’ courtship of Barry Trotz failed. He took over a team with a power imbalance towards a veteran core, and promptly stripped Blake Wheeler of the captaincy to send a message. They were a team that wasn’t getting enough scoring from the back end. Bowness promptly altered their system to foster Josh Morrissey‘s Norris-caliber 46-point first half. And the coach found defensive commitment from players that typically treated that part of the game with abject apathy.

Look, there’s no doubt that Connor Hellebuyck getting his mojo back has helped foster the Jets’ turnaround. Goalies make coaches look great. Linus Ullmark, Vitek Vanecek and Jake Oettinger made theirs look great, too. But nobody thought Rick Bowness was going to have this impact in Winnipeg after how things ended in Dallas. It’s one of the ultimate “the old guy’s still got it” story in the NHL this season.

Best jersey: Boston Bruins Winter Classic

You mocked “Meth Bear.” You preferred Pooh Bear or perhaps some variation of the “Spoked-B” instead of having something that looked like the demon from “Insidious” possessed a grizzly on the front of their outdoor game jerseys.

But the results speak for themselves: The Fenway Winter Classic set sales records for the NHL, which credited “Meth Bear” for the revenue surge. Your move, “Cocaine Bear.”

Worst jersey: Tampa Bay Lightning Reverse Retro

Having seen that monstrosity on the ice again, I’m even more comfortable with our Reverse Retro rankings that placed the Lightning’s 1997 throwbacks last overall. The flames on the arms, the waves on the waist, the 8-bit video game rain in the chest.

I’m literally embarrassed that adult professionals have to wear these things in public, and that’s coming from a guy who has a Chewbacca fleece hoodie.

Y’all forgot about Erik Karlsson, didn’t you? The 32-year-old defenseman was most recently known for having a grandiose contract with diminishing returns.

Now he has a grandiose contract while being on track to become the first 100-point defenseman in the NHL since Brian Leetch in 1991-92. He’s leading the Norris Trophy race, seeking a third trophy that would cement his Hall of Fame status, if it isn’t already cemented.

Does he play much defense? Not really, and that’s fine: He’s the NHL equivalent of every Al Pacino performance after 1992. Go somewhere else for nuance.

Many of us believed that the Detroit Red Wings defenseman would be among the Norris finalists this season after his dominating Calder Trophy win as a rookie — call it “The Cale Makar progression.”

Something’s gone wonky here: Seider has 17 points in 39 games, inflated by a four-point night against the Jets on Tuesday. He’s been an ineffective defender at 5-on-5 as well. There’s only so much you can blame on having to drag Ben Chiarot up and down the ice every night.

Best Seattle Kraken development: Martin Jones

Year 2 of the Kraken is what many of us hoped Year 1 would look like: a team contending for a playoff spot, with balanced scoring and underlying numbers that reinforce the team’s data-driven approach. But if the team didn’t get goaltending, not even the addition of 10 Matty Beniers would have mattered: The results would have been similar to last season’s doldrums.

Enter Martin Jones, who arrived from the Flyers as an unheralded free agent. He’s not going to win the Vezina Trophy, but he’s given the Kraken what they needed: Competent, above replacement level play and a goaltender that isn’t prone to give back a goal less than two minutes after Seattle scores one. A sneaky MVP performance.

Worst Seattle Kraken development: Buoy

Just as “Avatar: The Way of Water” has sparked the imagination of millions about the unlimited appeal of undersea creatures, a team called the Kraken gave the world a land-based troll doll with Brian Burke’s hairstyle.

You know what else was designed specifically just to sell little kids a bunch of officially licensed toys? “The Phantom Menace,” and look what they got us. You can’t spell Buoy without “boooooooooo.”

Best moment: Alex Ovechkin passes Gordie Howe

Growing up as an NHL fan in the 1990s, you understood two things: That Gordie Howe was a mythical figure whose very name was synonymous with hockey; and that Wayne Gretzky was a supernatural scoring force, and hence the only player that would ever surpass Howe’s goal totals. Even as Alex Ovechkin was collecting Rocket Richard trophies like Pokémon, the notion he could exceed the former’s goal total while threatening the latter’s goal record seemed outlandish.

And yet, we’re here. Ovechkin scored No. 800 on the road. That he tied and passed Howe in Washington made this all the more special, as the player responsible for transforming the franchise and its fan base gave them another memory to cherish for all times — with more still on the horizon.

Best trend: Scoring climbs again

Last season, scoring jumped from to 3.14 goals per team per game, a massive increase from the 3.02 average we had in 2019-20. Roster turnover due to COVID absences — the NHL saw more goalies play last season than ever before — and other factors were cited, and questions lingered about whether offense would continue to trend as things normalized.

The answer: It has, to the tune of 3.18 goals per team per game, which would be the highest average since 1993-94. Power plays are clicking at their highest rate since 1989-90. Players like McDavid are chasing records. No lead is safe. The NHL is more fun than it’s been in 30 years. At least on the ice.

Worst trend: Trade stasis

There have been roughly six trades made since the start of the regular season. At this point, Ryan Reaves being sent from the New York Rangers to the Minnesota Wild for a fifth-round pick qualifies as a blockbuster.

Were it not for the Jack Eichel trade in Nov. 2021, this would have been two straight seasons in which the trade market was essentially shuttered for the first three months of the season. Part of that is the pandemic-impact flat salary cap. Part of that is the NHL’s forced parity that doesn’t truly separate the contenders from the pretenders for at least another month. Whatever the reasons, it’s gotten to the point where we’re not even getting good trade rumors anymore, let alone trades.

Finally, let’s look ahead three of the biggest storylines for the season’s second half:

1. The Connor Bedard effect

If the teams looking to … ahem, “increase their draft lottery odds”… weren’t already convinced that the 17-year-old was a generational talent, Canada’s win at world juniors probably clinched it. Some teams have spent the past year preparing for this moment. Others will likely join them in playing the lottery the moment their playoff hopes begin to fade.

Sidebar to the main story: Montreal (0.2% chance of making the playoffs) has not only its own first-round pick but also that of the disappointing Florida Panthers, thanks to the Ben Chiarot trade last season.

2. Next destinations for Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews

All eyes are on Chicago Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson and the franchise’s modern-day pillars.

Everyone expects Toews will be moved to a contender, but there’s a little more mystery surrounding Kane. He’s battling a lower-body injury. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman has theorized that Kane could be shut down for the rest of the season, sign a one-year extension with the Blackhawks to continue his pursuit of franchise records, and then potentially move on when he’s healthier.

Along with Bo Horvat and maybe Erik Karlsson, these are the names that will define the NHL trade deadline.

3. Can the Colorado Avalanche become the Colorado Avalanche again?

The defending Stanley Cup champions have a 61% chance of making the playoffs. Nathan MacKinnon has missed time. Players such as Gabriel Landeskog, Josh Manson, Valeri Nichushkin, Pavel Francouz and Bowen Byram are still missing due to injury.

If the Avalanche can get healthy and if they can make the postseason … well, they’re the Avalanche. We know what they can do, especially if they address their hole at second-line center. But those are two pesky “if’s” for a team many felt would be a sure thing to make the postseason.

There are no guarantees in the NHL. Not after hoisting the Cup. Not after a strong or weak first half of a season. There’s still plenty of time to build on momentum, salvage seasons or rewrite narratives. And we can’t wait to see it.

Jersey Foul of the week

Here’s a Jersey Foul referencing a moment of infamy for Calgary Flames fans:

The Flames led the 2004 Stanley Cup Final, 3-2, over the Tampa Bay Lightning. The score in Game 6 was tied 2-2. The puck deflected off the foot of Calgary forward Martin Gelinas. Replays showed it crossed the line behind Tampa Bay goalie Nikolai Khabibulin. The Lightning won that game in double OT and then the Stanley Cup in Game 7. Even Gelinas agreed it was probably in. “It could have been the turning point,” he said after the game.

Video of the week

This video from the New York Rangers‘ game against the Minnesota Wild at MSG on Tuesday doesn’t do it justice. They put Swedish actor Alexander Skarsgard on the giant video screen, as they do whenever a major celebrity or Steve Schirripa from “The Sopranos” shows up to watch a game. When they did, Skarsgard leaned over and planted a smooch on legendary dresser and really good goalie Henrik Lundqvist. Then they put handsome actor Ryan Reynolds on the screen, and then he leaned over to smooch Lundqvist on his other cheek.

Moral of the story: Everyone wants to kiss Henrik Lundqvist. At least, that was our takeaway.

Winners and losers of the week

Winner: Pittsburgh Penguins‘ compassion

The team was headed back from playing in Arizona and decided to take a detour to Montreal to attend the wake of defenseman Kris Letang‘s father, Claude Fouquet. Just a lovely gesture for Letang, who left the team before the Winter Classic to grieve. “It shows that there are bigger things than hockey. Family is obviously No. 1. We all consider him family,” Bryan Rust said.

Loser: Anaheim Ducks‘ defense

Through 41 games, the Ducks were the only team in the NHL giving up more than four goals per game on average (4.07). Their expected goals per 60 minutes? Worst in the NHL at 3.85. They’re giving up around 17 high-danger shot attempts per 60 minutes, by far the worst in the league. Again, a loser with a caveat: If this embarrassment of a defensive effort results in a shiny new Connor Bedard in the draft, it’ll all have been worth it.

Winner: Nicklas Backstrom

I’ve covered Nick Backstrom since he was a rookie in Washington. To see him battle back from a form of hip surgery that has basically ended the careers of every player who has had it — outside of Ed Jovanovski, who played only 37 more games afterward — is really inspiring. He said “it meant the world” for him to return to the Capitals. I know Caps fans think the world of him, too.

Loser: Luc Tardif

The president of the International Ice Hockey Federation said banning Russia and having Canada win the 2023 world junior championship was “the best medicine for Canadian hockey and international hockey after this difficult year.” His comments were seen by many as minimizing Hockey Canada’s various scandals and investigations in 2022. It was the personification of “this ain’t it, chief.”

Winner: Jennifer Belechto

Belechto attended the New York Islanders‘ game against the Dallas Stars on Tuesday. Unbeknownst to her? She was the 1,000,000th fan to attend an Islanders home game at UBS Arena. Among the prizes she won: 1,000 Mega Millions tickets and free beer for a year.

Loser: The Islanders’ 1,000,001st fan

Sorry, all you got were two regulation goals combined and then a shootout loss.

Puck headlines

Watch The Drop

In 2016, I led a fan campaign to get John Scott, an enforcer for the Arizona Coyotes, voted into the NHL All-Star Game as a captain. It was a goof and a joke. He was pretty angry with me. But the fans kept voting for him. Eventually, his team and the NHL started pressuring him not to go … and that’s when John embraced the campaign. In the end, his presence gave the All-Star Game monster ratings and he won MVP honors, even as the NHL left his name off of the fan ballot.

On this week’s episode of The Drop, our ESPN YouTube streaming show, John Scott and I talked for the first time since 2016. About his emotions, the backroom dealings, how he currently feels about what happened — and the fact that Hugh Jackman might play him in a movie. It’s an incredible conversation. Enjoy!

This article was originally published by Espn.com. Read the original article here.

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