The Hockey Show - Episode 302

The Hockey Show, Canada's only campus-produced radio show that strictly talks hockey, thought about going over all the free agency madness today, but you've gone to every other site over the last few days to read about those opinions. We're just two goofs on the radio talking hockey, and we certainly have very little "Insider" information like a Dreger or a Friedman. Instead, we begin the Summer of Interviews on The Hockey Show as we welcome a vast number of people to the show who you should meet, get to know, pay attention to, and certainly support in all their ventures. Tonight, we kick this Summer of Interviews off with a player we met a couple of seasons ago!

Beans and I are honoured, privileged, humbled, and proud to welcome back a Canada West hockey alumna who has gone on to bigger and better things! We met Toni Ross on October 6, 2016 in Episode 211, and we are ecstatic to welcome her back after an impressive season with the Calgary Inferno last year! Toni has had a pile of things happen over the last couple of years, so we'll get caught up with her on life, hockey, nursing, and a pile of other info. She went to China with the Inferno, she had a very interesting New Year's Eve last year, and there were pretty big achievements on the ice that she hit! We'll learn all about those tonight on The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT!

"Hey, I know Toni! I wanna listen!" you say. Well, the easiest way is for you to download the UMFM app on your phone or tablet. It's literally the most convenient way to listen to any of UMFM's great shows any time of the day, so go get it! Just follow this link on your iDevice or this link for your Android device and get the UMFM app! It's never been easier to tune into The Hockey Show or UMFM! Download the UMFM app today, and don't miss any of our great programming or shows! Of course, you can do the radio thing at the 101.5 frequency on the FM dial and you can always listen online via the UMFM website as well!

If you prefer social media, we try to remain up-to-speed there! Email all show questions and comments to hockeyshow@umfm.com! Tweet me anytime with questions you may have by hitting me up at @TeebzHBIC on Twitter. You can also post some stuff to Facebook if you use the "Like" feature, and I always have crazy stuff posted there that doesn't make it to the blog or show.

Tonight, Beans and I talk with Toni Ross about the Inferno, her life, playing pro hockey against Olympians, and more only on The Hockey Show found exclusively on 101.5 UMFM, on the UMFM app, on the UMFM.com web stream!

PODCAST: July 5, 2018: Episode 302

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

It's Not Getting Better

If you're the man to the left, how do you sleep at night? Ottawa Senators General Manager Pierre Dorion has a number of issues that his office is dealing with, and none of them will result in anything good for the Ottawa Senators. His star defenceman and franchise player wants out, his number-one netminder wants out, his assistant GM has been charged with harassment in Buffalo over unwanted sexual advances, and he still needs to sign two major pieces of his team before the teams goes to arbitration. I wouldn't want to walk a mile in Dorion's shoes right now as the franchise's future literally sits on his shoulders.

We'll start with the Erik Karlsson saga that now reportedly has the defenceman wantong to go to one of three teams that includes Dallas, Tampa Bay, or Vegas. By allowing Karlsson to work out an extension deal with one of these teams, the Senators have all but limited their options in getting back the maximum return for Karlsson by shutting out the rest of the market. If Dorion sticks to his guns by asking for a top-flight roster player, a blue-chip rookie or drafted player, and multiple high draft picks, he'll get some decent return, but he's not going to be better off.

On top of that, if Dorion forces one of these teams to accept Bobby Ryan's contract to get out from under that albatross contract, Ottawa and whomever they are trading Karlsson to will most certainly need a third team involved to be able to make the money work for all the teams. What started out as an unhappy defenceman wanting out now has all sorts of moving parts involved, and that means there will be complications that Dorion has to address. If he's working on this, he's not working on other stuff. That other stuff includes...

... the restricted free agents known as Cody Cici and Mark Stone. These two players represent the future of the franchise, and both are heading towards arbitration. We've already seen Dorion and the Senators low-ball Erik Karlsson, so would they do the same to Stone and Cici?

Here's the problem. NHL arbitration rules state that the arbitrator must rule for one side or the other - the player or the team - within 48 hours of the case. If the team doesn't like the arbitrator's decision, the team has the right to decline the decision, making the player an unrestricted free agent. If the Senators cannot sign these two players before the arbitration case has been decided, would the team really decline the decisions? It would seem foolish, but it could happen. Let's hope Dorion can find a way to sign these players prior to their arbitration dates so the Senators have some hope this season. But there's still other stuff that includes...

... assistant GM Randy Lee's ongoing legal problems. Lee has been the man in the big chair for the Belleville Senators over the last season as well as assisting Pierre Dorion in his role. Lee, however, has been preparing a legal defence since being charged with harassment over unwanted sexual advances towards a 19 year-old male hotel employee in Buffalo. Needless to say, his role with the team has been put on hold since the charges were laid, and I'm not sure he'll have a job to return to at the conclusion of the trial.

According to Gary Dimmock of the Ottawa Citizen, the family of the Buffalo complainant is also considering a civil lawsuit against Lee and the Senators, so the hits just keep on coming for the Senators when it comes to Lee's misbehavior. With Lee's time being occupied by this legal issue, Dorion has been tasked with Lee's role in assembling Belleville, and there haven't been many signings to report to date.

If there's one bonus that the B-Sens got, it was the hiring of Troy Mann, the former Hershey Bears coach, to run the Belleville Senators' bench. Mann is an outstanding bench boss, and really seems to get the most out of his players when it comes to their development. If Dorion gets the most out of Mann, the Senators should see some of their baby Senators move up the ranks soon.

When one looks back at this list, Mann's hiring doesn't outweigh the negatives that have taken hold of the Ottawa Senators franchise. This entire organization is in dysfunction from top to bottom - Melnyk to players - and each problem affects every other problem. If Pierre Dorion can start making a few good things happen, maybe there's a sliver of hope in the nation's capital that the Senators can be a solid team again.

If he bungles any of these problems listed, though, this franchise may crumble under the weight of its own ineptitude just as the Republic of Rome under its senators crumbled at the end of its era.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Addition By Subtraction?

As much as I spoke about the pain of losing an impact player like Tavares yesterday, the Winnipeg Jets also went through a punch-to-the-gut on Sunday when it was announced that Paul Stastny had signed with the Vegas Golden Knights, the team that ended Winnipeg's playoff run this season, for three years and $19.5 million over that time. Stastny seemed to be a great fit between Patrik Laine and Nikolaj Ehlers on the Jets' second line. He had friends in Blake Wheeler and Dustin Byfuglien on the team who convinced him that Winnipeg was the place to be when he was traded at the trade deadline. In the end, however, Stastny took more money on a longer term from Vegas, and will now suit up in the Pacific Division next season.

The Jets needed to make cap room in order to sign Stastny, and they did that by somehow convincing Marc Bergevin and the Montreal Canadiens to take Joel Armia and Steve Mason off the Jets' hands which opened up about $5.5 million dollars in room. The Jets used what little space they had combined with the new space after the trade to pitch Stastny what sounded like two years and $6 million per season, but the 32 year-old went with term and an additional $750,000 in income tax-free money in Nevada instead of staying with the Jets where he arguably had one of his most productive quarters of any season in the NHL. When it comes to earning potential over a short career, I understand why Paul Stastny went with the money, but I'm not certain he'll see the Stanley Cup Final with Vegas over the next three seasons.

The Jets will now turn their sights on re-signing a number of key restricted free agents, and opening up that cap room could be a blessing in disguise for this team. Without the likes of Jacob Trouba, Connor Hellebuyck, Josh Morrissey, and Adam Lowry, this Jets team wouldn't have been on pace to be a 100-point team last season. Adding Stastny at the trade deadline made them better, but they were already a good team playing in a tough division and conference. Without the three players above, they wouldn't have been where they were nor would they have challenged Nashville for first-overall down the stretch.

Of the three restricted free agents listed above, Trouba and Hellebuyck are going to get paid. There's no doubt about that. Trouba accepted his role alongside Josh Morrissey and became one of the premier shutdown tandems in the NHL. He was often deployed against the opposition's best players night-in and night-out, and he and Morrissey were exceptional as one of the youngest shutdown pairings in the NHL. Asking a player of Trouba's calibre to dial down the offensive side of his game and play harder minutes against better opponents is a big ask, and Trouba succeeded with flying colours. With the extra cap space created by the Stastny vacancy, the Jets could sweeten the deal for Trouba a little as a way to show their appreciation.

The same goes for Hellebuyck as he certainly showed that his off-season commitment to becoming a better goaltender was well worth both the time and the effort. Hellebuyck broke the NHL record for wins by an American-born goalie, broke the Jets' record for wins in a season, and carried this team to the second-overall standing in the NHL, one point shy of the first-overall mark. Hellebuyck looked like the NHL goalie that had been predicted when he was drafted, and he certainly put the numbers up to prove it. While there is always the possibility of a regression, I doubt we'll see a major step back. He may not win 44 games next season, but 35 wins is completely achievable, and he should be paid as such. Barring injuries, Hellebuyk should be the de facto number-one goalie in Winnipeg for the foreseeable future. It's time to pay him as such.

Josh Morrissey was one of the premiere offensive defencemen in the WHL with Prince Albert, and his transformation into a shutdown defenceman has been extraordinary. As stated above with Trouba, asking Morrissey to forget about racking up points is a big ask, but it's another to ask him to stop the best players in the NHL from scoring at age 23. All Morrissey did was step his game up and become the Jets' best defensive player, and paired with Trouba to become as one of the youngest shutdown pairings in the NHL. With both Trouba and Morrissey potentially signed long-term, the Jets should have one of the best defensive pairings for years to come.

Adam Lowry is a good foot soldier for the Jets, and he deserves a little of that Stastny pie. Lowry looks a lot like Jordan Staal did with the Penguins - tall, rangy, forechecks like a demon, causes turnovers, and will notch you a dozen goals and 30 points per season. He may not have the talent that Staal does, but he makes up for it with the effort and doggedness in his pursuit of the puck and shutting down opposing forwards. Lowry won't earn the seven-year, double-digit million dollar contract, but he's shown he deserves more than his previous $1,125,000 contract. I would say $1.75 million per season over three years would be a nice increase for the checking forward, and he can continue to be a major part of the Jets' successes.

There will also be slight increases for both Brandon Tanev and Marko Dano up front while Tucker Poolman should see a little bump after last season's introduction to the NHL. These players will fill roles like they did last season, although Brandon Tanev's role could be expanded after he should some incredible hands and wheels in the playoffs. Needless to say, these players will be needed with the likes of Armia, Stastny, and Enstrom not returning, so there's a good future on the horizon with these young players.

Losing Stastny isn't fun when you consider how important he was in the playoffs for the Jets. He really energised the second line by going to the front of the net and getting sticks on pucks sent his way from Ehlers and Laine while completely disrupting the goaltenders of whom he stood in front. However, the long-term ramifications of keeping Stastny would have meant that GM Kevin Cheveldayoff probably would have lost some key young players that helped Winnipeg become the team they are, and I'm not sure that's something I'd want to sacrifice when it comes to Winnipeg being a Stanley Cup threat for years to come. While we'll miss Stastny, we'd certainly see bigger holes if one of Trouba, Morrissey, Hellebuyck, Mathieu Perreault, or a combination of these players had to be moved due to cap constraints.

As it stands now, the majority of the 113-point Winnipeg Jets will be back for a second chance at glory, and I'm quite happy that they'll get another shot at it.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Scorched Earth On Long Island

In a very un-Lou-like move, the New York Islanders didn't get their man. There had been some rumblings that John Tavares was looking elsewhere after he let the possibility of signing for eight years elapse at midnight on July 1, and it became reality around noon yesterday when John Tavares signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Lou Lamoriello's former team, rather than the New York Islanders, Lou Lamoriello's new team, for seven years and $77 million over that time. Suddenly, there isn't a lot of hope for the Islanders this season when you consider the guy who basically was the engine for that team walked with no compensation.

If you were on social media, you heard about the "boyhood dreams" and all the romanticism that poured out of Tavares at the Leafs press conference where they introduced him, but let's make no mistake that Toronto has a ton of upside that they have yet to realize. Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and others who will follow have yet to reach their peak, and are already a playoff team under head coach Mike Babcock. While Toronto has yet to win a round after falling to Washington and Boston in consecutive years, it's pretty clear that the Leafs are going to push for more than a comfortable third-place spot in the Atlantic Division with this signing. Tavares has the capability to push them higher while helping the kids realize some of that potential that they hold.

If you're in Toronto, you're loving this. If you're on Long Island, in Brooklyn, or where ever else the Islanders may play next season, you're in for a tough few years.

Your starting four centerman are any of Matthew Barzal, Anthony Beauvillier, Casey Cizikas, the recently-signed Valtteri Filppula, the recently-signed Leo Komarov, or possibly one of Brock Nelson or Jordan Eberle. In other words, it doesn't look all that great down the middle once you get past the youth movement of Barzal and Beauvillier. Even that tandem isn't going to send pings of fear through many teams at this stage. While the Islanders still have Anders Lee, Andrew Ladd, and Josh Bailey to help pitch in, there isn't much in the way of bonafide scorers on the Islanders' roster.

If you thought the Milbury era was tough, welcome to the Age of Lou.

That being said, Lou did rebuild the Maple Leafs in three years to the point where they could lure Tavares away from the Islanders. Lou has torn down and rebuilt the New Jersey Devils a number of times in his career. There is a distinct pattern of Lou ripping down the old guard's plan and injecting his own through scouting, college free agent signings, and smart-yet-underrated trades. He has already sent Shane Prince, Alan Quine, and Jaroslav Halak packing - all Garth Snow acquisitions - so he seems to be in the tear-down mode of his franchise rebuild already. If Lou worked on HGTV, he'd have a top-rated renovation show with his past successes in turning lame duck franchises into potential and realized winners.

Had Lou kept Tavares, the sell of this franchise rebuild would have been the first task of which he would have had to convince Tavares. Tavares is 27 years-old, so another three years of a rebuild would have cost Tavares his prime years. Trying to convince a kid to give up three years of the best hockey-playing years of his life is a tough sell for any GM, and Lou simply couldn't convince Tavares that his plan was going to work. That happens with players who are seeing their windows of opportunity close, and I don't fault Tavares for that. Most of that should fall on the shoulders of Garth Snow, and that might be part of the reason that Snow was re-assigned within the franchise outside of the GM's office. Snow had opportunities to improve the franchise, and he simply could not or would not make moves that may have made the team better.

Like the Leafs a few years ago, Lamoriello now has a blank canvass to work with when it comes to building the Islanders his way. I don't expect any major signings to happen, I expect Lou to covet and use his cap space to acquire pieces that he wants even if it means taking a bad contract back, and I expect Lou to do what he does best in turning his scouting staff loose to find unsigned diamonds in the rough and overlooked junior and college players that he can use to rebuild Bridgeport with the expectation that they'll eventually contribute with the Islanders.

In other words, it's the Lamoriello Rebuild Show - Season One for the Islanders, and Lou is in destruction/raw materials mode right now.

For Islanders fans, the reality is that this is going to get worse before it gets better - the same message that Toronto fans were delivered. It won't be pretty, but expect a very nice lottery pick next season which Lou can use as the first semblance of a new foundation for the Islanders. Once that has happened, he does own Calgary's 2019 second-round pick, but the draft will be thin in 2019 for the Islanders with no second-, third-, or fourth-round picks of their own unless Lou can make deals to bring back picks.

Outside of Ryan Pulock who is still unsigned, all his defencemen are signed through 2021-22 at the earliest, so it will be trades to improve that bunch unless the CBA negotiations in 2020 present new opportunities. While I wouldn't exactly be overly comfortable with Johnny Boychuk, Nick Leddy, Thomas Hickey, Adam Pelech, and Scott Mayfield as the five men carrying this franchise on the blue line, there will be teams needing defencemen at some point and Lou won't be afraid to make a deal to improve his team if it means dealing away one of the five (or six) player above. With Sebastien Aho and Mitchell Vande Sompel playing solid minutes in Bridgeport, there might be opportunities for the kids if a trade is made.

Netminding has been a bottomless hole for the Islanders, and there appears to be no relief unless Christopher Gibson can turn a major corner. Kristers Gudlevskis looked good in Tampa Bay and Syracuse for a short time, but his numbers nosedived once he got to Bridgeport. He's still a very raw goalie whose time may be up at some point, but it appears that Gibson may be the future between the pipes over Gudlevskis as it stands.

Lou Lamoriello has a tough job ahead of him, but it starts by jettisoning pieces that don't fit the plan and that has already begun. Ownership has committed to the changes that Lou wants, and bringing in Stanley Cup-winning head coach Barry Trotz was a good first step in righting the ship. Mike Babcock was the first major acquisition for the Maple Leafs in their rebuild, and it appears Lou is following the same game plan. If he can duplicate the results and possibly even improve on them past where the Leafs' recent history has shown, losing Tavares might be the best thing that ever happened to the Islanders.

Right now, though, it hurts. It hurts bad.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Canada Day (Off)!

Today is always a great day on the calendar as Canada celebrates its independence, there's a ton of activity on the NHL free agent market, there are fireworks at some point in the evening, and it's usually a day spent with family for me. That means there will be some barbecuing happening, and that's a good time for all involved. I know a lot of you are probably expecting me to be following the John Tavares situation, the Paul Stastny signing, and all the other moves happening today, but this place will officially be closed for Canada Day.

I understand that the John Tavares signing could have major implication on who goes where today, but I have to admit that I need a day off. I have a very busy week next week that I now have to pack into four days instead of the usual five, and I want a day to recharge the ol' batteries. Today, being that it's a holiday, will be said day. I'll be back tomorrow with some examinations, so hold tight until then and enjoy the Sunday.

As a reminder, please be kind to pets and animals who may not enjoy the sounds of fireworks. Also remember that veterans who have gone through some tough times may not appreciate the sound of fireworks either. All it takes is a short conversation with neighbours to find out if pets or military veterans are ok with fireworks if you're planning on lighting up the sky tonight. Do you part and be repsectful.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!