Success is simple: Score on them and don’t get scored on
Like how success in baseball is all about pitching, pitching, pitching—in the world of the NHL it is goaltending, goaltending, goaltending. Certainly that has been the basis for the Toronto Maple Leafs’ surprising 6-1-0 start. Though Jonathan Bernier is establishing himself in the No. 1 spot, having two strong goaltenders pushing each other to perform certainly hasn’t hurt.
That said, I think the Leafs’ goaltending was unfairly maligned in the off-season, in a large part due to the epic Game Seven collapse in Boston. Good on James Reimer for matching newcomer Bernier almost skate for skate with his goaltending excellence. Same goes for Ben Scrivens who recorded a shutout in his first start in net for the Los Angeles Kings. Both played large roles in backstopping the team to the playoffs for the first time since the era of Ed Belfour and Curtis Joseph.
Another key for the Leafs that emerged almost out of nowhere last year—and has continued this year—has been the Buds’ ability score to as many goals as possible in the opportunities that are presented. Goals are a valuable commodity in today’s NHL, with the high calibre of goaltending and teams’ detailed attention to defense. Last year Joffrey Lupul scored at a 50-goal pace while Phil Kessel, James van Riemsdyk and Nazem Kadri all scored at a 35-goal clip. This season, Lupul and JVR are on pace for 55 goals, while new Leafs Dave Bolland and Mason Raymond, along with Tyler Bozak, are going at a 40-goal clip. Add in Kadri and Kessel contributions (each on a 25-goal pace, which could well improve) and David Clarkson’s when he joins the Leafs after serving a suspension, and suddenly the Leafs have as much scoring depth among their forwards as any team in the NHL.
As Pronger says goodbye, the Flyers already miss him
The Philadelphia Flyers are experiencing what was learned in St. Louis, Edmonton and Anaheim: You can’t lose a stud and All-Star like Chris Pronger on your blue line and expect the same regular season, and especially playoff, success. You can see the decline in the Flyers goals-against stats over the years, as Pronger’s injury troubles mounted. Philly went from consistently below the league average with Pronger playing at least 50 games, to consistently more than the NHL average when he missed most of (or all of) the season. Same goes for the playoffs: from reaching the Stanley Cup finals in 2010 to missing the post season altogether last season. It’s not all down to the big man from Dryden, Ont., of course, but the Flyers certainly have missed him.
As much as Philly needs him, concussions are bigger than the game, and though Pronger has experienced improvements in the quality of his day-to-day life, it unfortunately looks like his NHL playing days are over. “Chris is never going to play again,” says Flyers GM Paul Holmgren.
Anything but a slick start in Oil Country
Coincidentally, in three of Pronger’s four NHL stops (all except Anaheim), he played on teams that struggled with goaltending issues for a significant portion of his stay. Specifically, during his short stay in Edmonton (the 2005-2006 season), the Oilers addressed the problem by acquiring Dwayne Roloson from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for a first-round Entry Draft selection. That got the Oilers to the Stanley Cup final and just one game away from winning the whole thing. This is something that the Oilers should look seriously at doing again in 2013. Whether it is a trade for a big name like Ryan Miller, a waiver deal for Marty Biron or — yes, I’ll bring it up again — why not inquire about Ilya Bryzgalov?
It certainly has been a rocky start for new Oilers head coach Dallas Eakins. To his credit he is going to do it his way. And that has meant Nail Yakupov being a healthy scratch for two games. The tough-love approach with elite young players is like walking a coaching tightrope. Eakins walked that role adeptly with a young Nazem Kadri during their time together with the Toronto Marlies in the AHL. Now he’s attempting it with bigger stakes and on a bigger stage with Yakupov. The ultimate model to not imitate would be the brief pairing of Tampa Bay head coach Barry Melrose and then-rookie Steven Stamkos. An NHL coach has to help elite young players thrive in the NHL environment, not just show them who’s boss.
Two roads to Western success: Colorado and San Jose
Two teams off to excellent, undefeated starts in the Western Conference are the Colorado Avalanche and San Jose Sharks. Adrian Dater covers the Avalanche on a regular basis and he talks about the change in culture with the hiring of Joe Sakic and especially Patrick Roy. “The food tastes better, the air is fresher, the world is a happier place,” he kidded with me in a recent radio interview. The legacy of Pierre Lacroix remains one of overall success while at the helm of the Avalanche team. But his hanging on the past few years and, especially, his attempts to groom his son Eric for the top job didn’t play as well with regards to on-ice success and off-ice stability. The ability to draft early the past few drafts has helped on the ice, while changes in management and coaching have stabilized things off the ice and in the front office.
Meanwhile out on the coast, the Sharks long-term success on the ice has meant they never get the opportunity to pick in the top five or six to get that “next” great starting player in an NHL Draft. Lucky for them, their scouting staff has continued to rise to the challenge of drafting later. Add rookie goal-machine Tomas Hertl (17th overall in 2012) to a list that includes Charlie Coyle (28th overall in 2010), Tommy Wingels (177th in 2008), Logan Couture (9th overall in 2007), Justin Braun (201st overall in 2007), Jamie McGinn (36th overall in 2006), Devin Setoguchi (8th overall in 2005), Marc-Eduoard Vlasic (35th overall in 2005), Joe Pavelski (205th overall in 2003), Christian Ehrhoff (106th overall in 2001), Ryan Clowe (175h overall in 2001) and Douglas Murray (241st overall in 1999). Not a shabby list of diamonds found in the rough.