Talking Hockey In Mid-July
from Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun,
- The eight-year deal worth $8.45-million per season signed Saturday by Dallas defenceman Miro Heiskanen is just the latest example of how much the Leafs overpaid for Mitch Marner at $10.9 million per season and how much the Sabres overpaid for Jack Eichel at $10 million a year. Heiskanen had 26 points in Dallas’ Stanley Cup run of 2020. Marner has 25 career playoff points. Eichel has none.
- I asked an NHL coach if he was surprised by how often the highly skilled Tampa Bay Lightning dump and chase the puck in their offensive structure. His answer surprised me: “Even the elite ‘possession’ teams are still dumping it in 60-70% of the time. It’s the reality of the NHL,” the coach texted.
- More than one NHL forward has told me: You don’t want to go into a corner with Shea Weber. Or stand around the Montreal net, for that matter. You can’t quantify what all that means in a hockey game, but you will see a difference when Weber is missing from the Montreal lineup next season.
- Zach Bogosian could become the first NHL player to change teams because of COVID-19 restrictions. Bogosian wants to return to an American-based team where his family won’t have to face the kind of restrictions it faced in his first season with the Leafs. But all that could change as Ontario opens up ever so slightly and the Blue Jays story certainly helps.
- For reasons not completely explained, the Leafs have virtually ignored drafting and developing goaltenders in the Brendan Shanahan era....
more on the last topic plus other hockey notes......
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