32 Thoughts: Trade talk beginning to pick up across the league

Everyone enshrined into the Hockey Hall of Fame receives 50 tickets to distribute among family and friends. 

Two of Shea Weber’s seats will be occupied by his billets from WHL Kelowna. Barry and Ingrid (or “Ingy”) Davidson are in an epic 22-day run — witnessing the hulking defender’s induction after celebrating three 1,000th games: Luke Schenn, Tyler Myers and Mikael Backlund.

Twenty-five years ago, after three children moved out to begin their own life journeys, the Davidsons were spending a weekend on Okanagan Lake with Herman Elfring, WHL Lethbridge’s long-time president. They were asked if they’d be interested in hosting players. Both big hockey fans, they thought about it for a day, and said yes.

That night, they got a call from Bruce Hamilton, the Rockets’ owner since they moved to Kelowna in 1995. Their first full-time billet was Carsen Germyn, a terrific junior who played four NHL games in Calgary. Germyn was traded to Red Deer for the Rebels’ 2001-02 playoff run. Then came Nick Marach, a 20-year-old who finished his WHL career in Kelowna before attending the University of British Columbia.

Next season, Weber moved in.

“Shea’s mom (Tracy) came in for weekend games,” Ingrid Davidson said. “She came to check out our house. After the month of September, she knew he was OK.”

It began a lasting and powerful friendship. Tracy Weber, idolized by her son, died of cancer in August 2011. Two years later, at Weber’s wedding, Ingrid had the honour of the first dance with him.

Her job at the Interior Lumberman’s Benefit Group allowed time to come home and make pre-game meals. “Nobody complained about her cooking … impossible to do that, she’s great,” Barry said, laughing.

“Shea ate one particular thing the first half-year — spaghetti sauce with noodles,” she said. “But he said he started bringing it up during games.”

So Weber became a tuna casserole guy. 

He graduated to the NHL in 2005, with Schenn moving in. He loved Ingrid’s desserts, and the cookie jar was always full. As you’d expect, he was the most outgoing, while Weber was the quietest. But they didn’t overlap, much to Schenn’s chagrin.

“He was disappointed that Shea was gone,” Barry said. “He wanted to learn from him.”

At the end of the 2005-06 season, 16-year-old Myers arrived for the final nine games. The Davidsons hosted him with Schenn before he found a more permanent arrangement. Teammates have told stories about Myers’ father, Paul, and how he demanded his son keep excellent grades. 

“Tyler was the smartest, and he was taking advanced courses,” Barry said. ”At that time, Paul didn’t know that Tyler would make it, and he cared a lot about what happened to him. If his grades fell below 90, he’d say, ‘You go take his cellphone away.’ But it was always done with a good purpose.” 

In 2009, Backlund arrived mid-season, after winning a silver medal at the world juniors. 

“He was unique, how much he could eat, the biggest appetite,” Barry said, laughing. “They train differently in Sweden. His thighs were as big as his waist. He ate twice as much as Shea.”

They served him a dish he liked from Sweden: macaroni and hot dogs. He also grew to love red and white tortellini.

The boys didn’t just eat, they won. A lot. During that time, the Rockets — and the Davidsons — celebrated three WHL championships and the crowning achievement of it all, the 2004 Memorial Cup. 

The room the players lived in became the “Rocket Room.” All five names listed were in raised letters on the door, their jerseys are hung, clippings remain. But the friendships eclipse the memories.

“All of our boys were respectful of our home,” Ingrid said. “It was an honour and a treat to have them.”

“We treated them like sons, had certain expectations of them,” Barry added. “They never disappointed us. They came home from games, generally we didn’t talk hockey in the house. We didn’t coach. They were all serious about moving their careers ahead. Driven.”

They went to Weber’s wedding, Schenn’s wedding and even Backlund’s in Sweden. They are invited to be part of Backlund’s 1,000th game celebration. (Their daughter, Chelsea, lives in Calgary with her family, and has remained friendly with Backlund. She moved back home for a time while he was billeting.)

The 2009 championship was the end for their billet days, however. (Backlund, Schenn, Tyson Barrie and Jamie Benn remain in the NHL from that team.) They were retiring, bought a place in Arizona and were starting to travel more.

When I asked Ingrid how old she is, Barry responded, “85.” She started laughing, as Barry gave the correct answer, “73.” (He’s 74.) When I said my wife would kill me if I did that, she said, “We’ve been married 53 years. I’m used to it.”

But when Weber called to invite them to his induction, they were speechless.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Ingrid said.

She said that, of all the teenagers they billeted, Weber changed the most — even as he remains careful with what he says.

“I remember asking him one time (while he was in Nashville), ‘Would you ever think of coming back to Canada (to play)?’ He said, ‘Oh my God, no.’ He’s become much more confident in that particular way.“

Maybe he changed in some ways, but he never forgot how to show gratitude.

32 THOUGHTS

1. Talk has picked up, and will continue to do so. Some of the teams who preached patience are starting to run out of it. And you can see (and feel) the pressure ramping up on the coaches, too. 

2. One of the more active early-season general managers is Buffalo’s Kevyn Adams, but he’s made it clear he does not wish to subtract. He’s trying to add. 

3. You will not be surprised to hear Colorado is looking for forwards. Need to get through a miserable stretch where five of their top nine are out.

4. As mentioned Saturday, Montreal is looking for edge up front, but not at the expense of any young players/prospects it wishes to insert over the next two seasons.

5. Another update from last week: Utah’s Michael Carcone hasn’t played since Oct. 16, and that one’s growing some urgency to it.

6. There are a few teams looking for defencemen, but two who were available were just traded for each other — Timothy Liljegren and Matt Benning. Liljegren gets the fresh start he needed in San Jose. Benning was back in the Sharks lineup for their two wins after being scratched for four straight. Neither San Jose nor Toronto was afraid of the second season on each contract. Several teams looking for defence didn’t want term. 

7. Whenever Winnipeg thinks it has a chance, it adds. Watching the Jets' blazing 9-1 start, the one thing that stands out is the size of their defence. You have to be mobile, you have to be skilled, but you have to be big. The recent Stanley Cup champions had that in common: a long, agile, aggressive defence that always seemed to have a body, a stick, an arm or a leg in your way. A thicket for opposition to navigate. NHL heights and weights can be deceiving, but the Jets’ sizes — minus Dylan Samberg, Logan Stanley and Haydn Fleury — are the smallest since the 2018 Washington Capitals. That doesn’t mean you can’t win, but it certainly flies in the face of what’s recently worked.

8. The Connor McDavid timeline is as good as it gets for Edmonton, similar to Aleksander Barkov’s in Florida. Thankfully, neither injury was as bad as it looked. The Panthers went 5-2-1 without their captain — including wins over Boston, the Rangers and Vegas — reminding everyone the path to victory in the Atlantic still goes through the Elbo Room. 

9. The eye-test says that even with McDavid, the Oilers look slower than normal. It’s not just skating speed, but puck-moving. According to NHL Edge data, McDavid is 92nd percentile in skating speed, which actually seems low. (Part of me thinks he automatically should be adjusted to 99th, on principle. Or at least 97.) Even with him, Edmonton is below league average as a team. As the Oilers attempt to stabilize themselves, how will they quicken their pace without their fastest player?

11. The average NHL save percentage hasn’t been below .900 since 1995-96 (.898), but we were at .897 heading into Tuesday’s games. My theory is that players hiring skills coaches at younger ages have turned them into spectacular marksmen. Combine that with the thinning of goaltender equipment, and, for the first time in a long time, the skaters have surpassed the stoppers. Teammate Justin Bourne has a good article with his ideas here.

12. The NCAA's vote to open eligibility for CHL players will be held Nov. 7. Seismic changes are afoot. 

That's it for this week. More thoughts to come.