We’re 50 games and a goalie fight into the season, and NHL insiders and reporters are starting to buzz about trades and the postseason. Trade rumors and front office discussions have thrust general managers into the spotlight.
The Buffalo Bandwagon
The Buffalo Sabres are in a playoff spot — and not just in a wild card position. As of Jan. 28, the Sabres ranked third in the Atlantic Division and fourth in the Eastern Conference. I can’t believe it either.
On Dec. 15, the Sabres were tied for dead-last in the Eastern Conference. Fans were firmly expecting the playoffs to yet again pass them by.
Then they fired GM Kevyn Adams, replacing him with the NHL’s first European-born GM, Jarmo Kekalainen.
Adams was behind some of Buffalo’s most controversial trades. He sent future Stanley Cup winner Sam Reinhart to Florida and shipped off Boston University alumni Jack Eichel to Vegas.
The Sabres started the Kekalainen era strong, rocketing to seventh in the standings behind a seven-game winning streak. Kekalainen made moves to strengthen the roster, signing forward Josh Doan to a seven-year, $48.65 million contract extension during the 23-year-old’s breakout season.
On track for a 100-point season, the Sabres have a shot to make the playoffs for the first time in 15 seasons.
As the Sabres make positive strides on paper, the team is finally fun to watch again. They are on fire offensively, notching four goals or more in six of their last seven games.
Between Doan’s breakout season and Zach Benson terrorizing teams across the league with his hard-nosed, vexing style of play — it’s hard not to root for these underdogs.
When asked about getting under other players’ skin, Benson embraced the villain role: “My goal is to get booed in 31 arenas,” he said.
Moreover — with goalie Alex Lyon becoming a reliable presence behind starter Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen — the Sabres are becoming a formidable squad with the right pieces to win.
In just over a month, the Sabres transformed from bottom-dwellers in the standings to a promising playoff contender thanks to their new management.
The Canucks’s Crashout
What goes up must come down.
Instead of rising from the bottom of the standings, the Vancouver Canucks have fallen further — now occupying 32nd place in the league with a measly 39 points.
With a points percentage of .368, Canucks GM Patrik Allvin should be feeling the heat — especially after dealing star defenseman and captain Quinn Hughes to the cup-contending Minnesota Wild last month.
Apparently, Hughes was the lone player holding the Canucks together. Since his trade in early December, the Canucks plummeted in the standings, along with any hopes for a postseason run. Allvin admitted the team is no longer focused on the playoffs and looks to transition into a rebuild.
As the worst team in the league with a 17-31-5 record, the Canucks have the best odds of landing the first pick in next year’s draft. Allvin emphasized in an interview with Chris Faber how important adding talent through this year’s draft is for the team’s future.
After publicly announcing the team’s strategy to rebuild through the draft, it’s possible crashing and burning isn’t an unfortunate side effect — it could’ve been the plan all along.
Tanking is intentionally fielding a poor roster to lose games in hopes of landing a better draft pick.
The controversial strategy’s presence in the NHL dates back to 1984, when the Pittsburgh Penguins allegedly lost games on purpose in an attempt to land the first overall pick. Tanking comes from GMs and coaches, a fact the 1983-84 Penguins coach Lou Angotti admitted to.
In 2015, the Sabres were accused of tanking for Connor McDavid. The so-called “race to the bottom” became an open-secret, with Sabres fans openly cheering on opposing teams hoping for a loss that propelled them towards landing the young Canadian star. They had no such luck.
While it is mere speculation that the Canucks are tanking, it would be in their best interest to do so. After all, who was the top pick the 1984 Penguins were so clearly tanking to choose? None other than future-Stanley Cup champ and franchise legend Mario Lemieux.
For a chance at a player of his caliber, I’d take the tank.
The Letter 2.0
Who else is rebuilding but the New York Rangers? Excuse me, that’s retooling, according to GM Chris Drury in a statement shared on Jan. 16.
It’s a tough year to be a Rangers fan. With a pitiful 6-13-4 home record, the Rangers have been a disaster during their centennial season.
After trading franchise player Chris Kreider and with stars Adam Fox and Igor Shesterkin battling injuries, Drury had tough choices to make with his remaining assets.
News leaked that Artemi Panarin would not be offered an extension after this season. Despite leading the Rangers’ offense for seven seasons, the forward’s $11.64 million cap hit did not align with Drury’s master plan.
Panarin has put up most of the Rangers’ meager offense this season, bringing 57 points to a lifeless front end. On the same day Panarin’s free agency leaked, the GM sent out a letter to Ranger fans — again.
For the second time in ten years, a Rangers GM penned a letter to the fans essentially saying, “We’re done, see you next season.” The letter stated the team would be making some roster changes in the coming weeks before the trade deadline — reinforcing many fans’ hypotheses that the Rangers would not commit to a full rebuild.
Fans took to social media to air their grievances, culminating in “fire Drury” chants erupting at Madison Square Garden.
It’s unclear who Drury is willing to trade to save himself, but it’s possible the Rangers’ roster will look drastically different by the trade deadline — for better or for worse.