Episode 42 of the Hockey Free For All Podcast 4-30-2023

Episode 42 of the Hockey Free For All Podcast Topics.

#1. House cleaning time for Coaches :  Head Coach Dallas Eakins is gone in Anaheim, Head Coach Brad Larsen is gone in Columbus, Head Coach Peter Laviolette is gone in Washington, The St. Louis Blues released all of their assistant coaches and retained only the head coach and Jeff Blashill was let go as coach of Detroit’s AHL club and in a really odd twist joined the Tampa Lightning Organization replacing Derek Lalonde as the Lightnings assistant coach, and here is the really odd part, that opportunity became available, because Derek Lalonde was hired away from Tampa as the new head coach of Detroit’s Grand Rapids AHL club.

#2. It’s also house cleaning for management from President to G.M.’s as well: It’s a clean sweep in Pittsburgh, where the penguins have said good to President Brian Burk, G.M. Ron Hextall and Assistant G.M. Chris Pryor Brad Treliving is out as G.M. in Calgary. However, when he was let go everyone under him from the assistant G.M. and most importantly the entire coaching staff should have been walked out the door at the exact same moment. Perhaps one could make an argument that Brad Traveling needed a change of scenery or was perhaps dealing with mild burn out, but Treviling navigated Matthew Tkachuk/Johnny Gaudreau Vs. Jonathan Huberdeau/Nazem Kadri situation as well as anyone could have.

#3. Bigger problems in Calgary are all coaching: With issues from lack of chemistry, to the wrong style system for them, to close minded people and ego. If Brad Trevling was a problem, he was very small part of it. The bigger problem starts with the head coach Darryl Sutter. The problem with Sutter is an exact carbon copy of what was wrong in Montreal under head coaches Bob Berry, Jacques Lamaire, Mario Tremblay, Alain Vigneault, Michel Therrien “Twice” Guy Carbonneau, Claude Julian “Twice” and Dominque Ducharme. Sutter like all of these Montreal coaches made the same 2 critical mistakes. They were close minded, and it was their way or the highway and they all would not play and cultivate young players, they wanted veteran players and nothing else. The game had passed all of them by, those coaching styles no longer work. Those coaches refused to change with the game, or the players, and that is Calgary’s exact problem now 100%.

#4. It’s just a guess on my part: But I’m betting there are likely more departures coming.

#5. Hat’s off to the Seattle Kracken: In just their 2nd season achieving a 100-point regular season and it would great to see Seattle take out the Colorado Avalanche.

#6. Toronto took out Tampa Because: Vasilevskiy had nothing left, he is completely burned out.

#7. Matheson’s outstanding first season with the Hab’s: It should not have been a surprise at all, there where many things that pointed to it being a highly successful match. What’s been the most fantastic of all, has been the watching all the nay sayers, supposed and self-appointed experts display on a world stage outright inaccuracy across the board of the trade, and daring to even question Jeff Gorton or Kent Hughes for pulling the trigger as everything they have touched has turn to gold. Montreal management clearly did their homework, clearly knew the player and his skill set, clearly new the value that the acquired player would have to the team, its roster, its locker room and the leadership group.

#8. What would you give up to draft Conner Bedard? I sure wouldn’t empty the team or even close for him.

#9. Only 4 players in the entire NHL: Leon Draisaitl, Mitch Marner, Conner McDavid and Cal Makar are the only 4 players in the entire NHL I would trade for with a significant cost.

#10. NHL Officiating has been absolutely horrendous: The player injuries that are resulting from the extremely poor officiating should be resulting in NHL officials losing their jobs.

#11. So much for prospects gaining playoff experience: The Laval’s 2022/2023 playoff lasted 2 games and they are done.

#12. Why are these experiments continuing: Atlanta and Arizona are complete wastes for an NHL team

13. Fantastic additions to the NHL: Las Vegas and Seattle have been outstanding additions to the NHL.
14. Instead of: Atlanta and Arizona how about relocating Arizona to Kansas City that already has an NHL size facility in place in with the sprint center, or in Quebec that already has an arena/facility ready to drop the puck in right now. As for trying Atlanta, how about completely untapped market how about these options Houston Texas and Portland Oregon? If the NHL is looking for another success like Las Vegas and Seattle, how about Salt Lake City Utah. I would revive Hartford Whalers franchise long before wasting more time on the Atlanta market again.