32 Thoughts: NHL teams vote to decentralize the draft

• Noah Hanifin extension talks trending positive despite slow Flames start
• Will Edmonton stick with its new defensive system?
• What motivates Elias Pettersson

This is still developing, but, according to several sources, the vast majority of NHL teams voted to decentralize the draft.

Ballots were due Tuesday, and there clearly is desire to try a new format. Discussions on how to move forward will be at the GM meetings in November and Board of Governors in December.

As a reporter who likes everyone being together for a change, I’m disappointed with the news. But not surprised, as there was growing opposition to the status quo for several reasons. The draft being held on June 28-29 with free agency on July 1 was a major issue. Cost is another. Some teams felt their plans were being discovered because tables were too close and things were overheard.

Whatever the case, I hope the NHL finds a new and interesting way to make it exciting. The NBA now holds an annual convention with its summer league in July. I’d love a similar idea in conjunction with the draft. Coaching clinics, equipment manufacturers, hockey job fairs, fashion/style, music/parties, you name it. Paint a blank canvas.

The new format is scheduled to begin in 2025, with an opening for June if necessary. If this year’s draft is indeed held at The Sphere, I can see the possibility of one final 32-team extravaganza. Go out with a bang.

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30 THOUGHTS

1. After Calgary’s 3-1 loss to the Rangers, you could see the Flames trying to downplay Nikita Zadorov’s blunt commentary from the morning skate. Asked if it was concerning that some of the issues with their play were the same as last season, the hulking defender paused to consider his words and said, “Well last season was different…it was Darryl (Sutter). Now there’s no Darryl, so there’s no excuses. You know what I mean? You don’t like hard coaches, you don’t like soft coaches, you don’t like good coaches?…You play hard, you leave everything on the ice. That’s how simple it is.”

Zadorov is as blunt as it gets. If you ask him a question, you’re going to get an answer, whether you like it or not. And he’s not wrong, which, no doubt, the organization privately concedes. The concern here for the Flames is, now everyone is going to try and figure out who exactly Zadorov is talking about. That’s the headache Calgary doesn’t need.  

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2. Despite the rocky start, the Flames will continue closing an extension with Noah Hanifin. He turns 27 in January, still in the prime of his career. It makes sense, and it’s a major reversal from the summer, when Hanifin initially indicated he wouldn’t extend. (Another reminder people’s feelings can change over time.) The bigger question is how, if things don’t turn around, Calgary’s philosophy may adapt in some other free-agent situations. 

3. There’s still time to figure out who’s good and who appeals to Patrick Kane, but I do think Dallas will be a contender for his services. 

4. Edmonton really is struggling to keep leads, giving up five in the third period on Tuesday in losing 7-4 to Minnesota. The question becomes how patient they will be in sticking with their new box-and-one defensive zone coverage. Do you stay with what you think is important, or switch because of the difficult adaptation to it?

The new NHL Edge stats paint an interesting picture of the difference between Boston (entering Wednesday first in goals-against-per-game) and the Oilers (31st). The Bruins are below league average in defensive-zone time allowed (40.9 per cent), while Edmonton is above average (39.4). Some of that, obviously, is getting saves. Once again, Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman are among the top six in goals-saved-above-expected, while Jack Campbell and Stuart Skinner are 54th and 65th (per moneypuck).

Another factor however, is that at five-on-five, Edmonton is second-worst at slot shots allowed, fourth-worst at rebound chances and sixth-worst at forecheck chances. I don’t like to panic early and there’s lots of evaluation on what all of this means. But one of the questions becomes if you think it fits what you have.

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5. Cap is tight, rosters are short and organizations like to see what they have. That said, players who teams would like to move (or the players would like it): Joel Armia (Montreal), Conor Garland (Vancouver), Kevin Labanc (San Jose), Anthony Mantha (Washington), Andrew Peeke (Columbus).

6. Morgan Frost is a little different. Philadelphia just re-signed him, have invested a lot of time in him, and he was fourth in team scoring last season. But if he doesn’t play — just two appearances so far — something will have to give. 

7. Can’t help but think of Steven Stamkos when it comes to Leo Carlsson. During Stamkos’s rookie year of 2008-09, he played less than 10 minutes in three of his first four games and seven of the first 40. It was clear the Lightning didn’t think he was ready, but weren’t going to send him back to OHL Sarnia. When Rick Tocchet took over as head coach, he scratched Stamkos three times, with the purpose of using that time as a teaching/fitness tool. It wasn’t easy on the player, who eventually admitted it was a very good thing for him. (Tocchet also put Stamkos on a line with Martin St. Louis. You have to put scorers with creators.)

Ducks GM Pat Verbeek was hired by Tampa Bay the following season, so he saw first-hand the aftermath. He’s made it very clear that, to start the year, Anaheim will be even more aggressive in sitting out Carlsson as he adapts to North America. Seeing Montreal’s Juraj Slafkovsky take physical punishment last season — and Toronto’s Roni Hirvonen take a massive hit during development camp — there’s such an adjustment to the NHL game for Europeans.

Verbeek’s idea is very intriguing, and you know other teams are watching. Key is to have the player and agent (Matt Keator) buying in, which is the case. One thing we’re learning about Verbeek: he commits to what he believes across the organization whether you like it or not. Head coach Greg Cronin did not like Trevor Zegras’s carelessness during Tuesday’s win over Columbus, and the talented forward did not play the final 25 minutes. 

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8. One executive joked that Verbeek is sitting Carlsson so he can offer a three-year, $1M extension two years from now. 

9. Can finally write a bit about Elias Pettersson now that our August interview from Stockholm went to air. It’s never the best idea to base everything on a 45-minute boat tour, but it is clear that he was most emotional when discussing winning. And, the very first goal he scored in the NHL made him realize how special it would be to do it in one of the league’s most passionate markets.

“It was a cool moment,” he said of that night. “The announcer (in-arena voice Al Murdoch) said my name and then the whole crowd started chanting ‘Pettersson.’ And I was like, ‘Well, this is real. This is cool. And I am getting chills.’”

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He won the Swedish League championship in 2018 with Vaxjo and craves duplicating that title in Vancouver.

“I dream of moments like that…The whole feeling of you’ve been with guys for eight months, grinding hard all summer and all season…Just the euphoria. Those are the things I play for. I just want to win. I’m a big Lionel Messi fan, obviously I want him to win the World Cup. To see what it meant to all of them. And I think if that ever happened to me, it would just be happy tears.”

So that’s what we’re looking at. Pettersson, who said during that conversation he hadn’t decided if his next contract would be short-term or long-term, wants to be in a position where he can win, and recognizes doing it in the Lower Mainland would be very special. “If everybody has one mindset and that is to win, I think that’s more than enough,” he added.

10. Pettersson on Rick Tocchet: “He wants the best for me. He wants me to be more vocal. He wants me to lead the team and just be the best version of myself. So he’s a guy I can go and talk to. He has no ego.”

There’s a reason Tocchet’s very popular in the hockey world, and Pettersson encapsulates it. “I play my best when I’m comfortable. Not stressed. Go out there and do all the things I practice.”

We had a good conversation about shyness. I’ve learned over my life that shyness is not a weakness, just the way some people are wired. And, too often, we mistake shyness (or reticence) to mean someone isn’t willing to compete or be, as he says, “the best version” of themselves. That’s not true, it’s just they don’t like to express themselves in words. Now, that may mean someone can’t be a captain, because being vocal — even if only in private — is part of that job, but it doesn’t mean you can’t lead in your own way.

“I’ve always been more of a shy person and talking in front of a group hasn’t been my thing,” Pettersson said. “I hated schoolwork presentations from class.” He brought up that English is his second language, which makes it more challenging. “It’s just always been with me to not mess up in front of a group. I don’t know if all the guys would just laugh, but it’s…one of those things that I have never been comfortable (with). But I’m trying, you know? I definitely think I can do better in that and it doesn’t have to be a lot.” Right place, right time.

11. One thing he’s changed is his training. He’s bulked up, eating 5,000 calories a day. On the boat, he brought his own meal: cabbage, raddish, shrimp, edamame and white rice. (There was a sauce too, but he wasn’t sure of the ingredients. Have you ever eaten like that before? “No,” but he has a new trainer and “got a few muscles. It’s almost like I got brainwashed and always want to eat (properly).”

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12. He wasn’t crazy discussing personal targets. “It’s very selfish just talking about me,” he said. “I want to be better every year and I want to become the best player I can be. I know my career’s not going to last forever, so I just want to make the most of it.”

That said, after toppling 100 points last season, he admitted 50 goals would be nice. Can you do it? “Yeah, I like to think so. Got to be a little more selfish sometimes. I’ve always been a pass-first player…(But) I hear a lot, I need to shoot more, so I’ll start listening to some people,” he laughed. Gotta hit those empty nets, Elias. (He missed two Tuesday night in Nashville.)

13. Finally, it’s very clear he values his relationships with Brock Boeser and Quinn Hughes, in particular. Pettersson’s golf handicap is down to 3.9 and “I always take money from Quinn.” He did admit Boeser is the trio’s best wakeboarder.

14. Colby Armstrong asked Connor Bedard if there was anyone he compared himself to. “I watch a lot of hockey and try to pick apart guys’ games and learn from that,” Bedard replied. “Someone I’ve said is (Kirill Kaprizov). If I was to pick one, it would probably be him. But it’s a little hard to pick one guy.” Asked about it during their trip to Toronto, Kaprizov said he was flattered Bedard would say that, but added he understood why.

“The way (Bedard) opens his hips on breakouts and uses his hips when he shoots,” Kaprizov said is similar to what he does and there is video evidence here:

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It’s a reminder of how elite talents think the game; I don’t know how many would have recognized it like they did. Kaprizov’s advice for Bedard: “Play your game. There are going to be mistakes…turnovers. Play your game.”

15. For those of you who are “expanded playoff people” like me, I heard this year’s baseball playoffs were a bad omen for that idea. Three of the four teams who received a wild-card bye (Atlanta, Baltimore and Los Angeles) were upset once they resumed playing. (The other, Houston, lost Game 7 of the ALCS.) That’s exactly what the teams against adding teams to the NHL postseason wish to avoid, and wield it like a sledgehammer against the idea. Thank you to Carmen Ciardiello, who sent along a Fangraphs article proving that this year is an aberration and that, generally, the team with more rest wins about 70 per cent of the time in the first game back. 

16. The baseball playoffs are also the reason you won’t see the start of the NHL season moved back before Canadian Thanksgiving, as it used to be. The first week of October is wall-to-wall baseball so there’s not a fit.

17. Tuesday was not the NHL’s first 16-game day, but it was the first done in such a unique #frozenfrenzy manner on ESPN. It’s harder to do that in Canada with the regional rights, but it would be fun to schedule and try. Hopefully, that’s not the last time we will see it.  

18. Two early trends: after seven consecutive declining seasons of save percentages (one was flat), this year’s number is up slightly — from .904 to .905 (courtesy Hockey Reference). You know what else is up? Fighting. It’s been trending that way the past few years, 0.354 per game in 2018-19 to .509 in 2022-23. But there’s a big jump so far: 0.815. The days of the enforcer are over, so it seems counter-intuitive. Maybe it illustrates the pressure and intensity the moment the puck drops.

19. Two things can be true: Alex DeBrincat and Pierre-Luc Dubois are free to pick where they want to play. No problem. And fans from the teams they left are free to boo. That’s life in the big city. 

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20. A challenge for the great people of Ottawa: Tim Stutzle had a pair of Air Jordan 1 Travis Scott mocha shoes stolen from in front of his house. Very poor form, a felony that should be corrected tout-de-suite. Another injustice that must be fixed: head coach DJ Smith does not allow a clean pair of sneakers to be worn with a suit (although, admittedly, Smith has bigger concerns right now). Senators with a strong shoe game: Thomas Chabot, Drake Batherson and Erik Brannstrom. “He always buys the same shoes that I have,” Stutzle laughed. Worst shoe game: Brady Tkachuk. Stutzle didn’t even pause on that one, saying, “He just likes wearing Crocs every time.”

21. Stutzle had a good tale about Claude Giroux, a very demanding teammate. “He always says he gets bad anxiety when I turn back with the puck, to slow the game down a little bit. He kind of wants me to do it, too, but then he’s like, ‘Just give me the puck.’ He’s so crazy on the bench, it’s insane. Sometimes, if I do it and we score a goal it’s all fine. But if I do it and we don’t score, he comes to the bench, he’s like, ‘Hey, come on.’ I tell him I don’t want to just give the other team the puck, but he gets anxiety because he’s scared I’ll lose it. Then he has to backcheck.” Stutzle’s the Roastmaster General.

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22. Earlier this week, the NHLPA sent a memo clarifying agent rules for representing players and coaches/executives. Certified player agents are not allowed to do both, a declared conflict of interest. There was a situation last summer where Pittsburgh GM Kyle Dubas was represented by Wasserman’s Chris Armstrong, who does not rep players but works for a company that does (Roman Josi, Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid among them). Some agents were upset, saying that the rule originally was created to prevent this exact scenario, while others said that was not clearly stated, pointing out it is allowed in MLB, the NBA and the NFL. Whatever the case, that is now clarified, with agents told “these regulations also bar agents from being employed by agencies that provide such services.” 

23. Nashville’s Kiefer Sherwood recorded a Gordie Howe hat trick in 6:46 of the second period during Saturday’s 5-1 win over San Jose. Assist at 2:06, goal at 2:18, fight with Luke Kunin at 8:52. That has to be a record. 

24. Anaheim’s 19-year-old defenceman, Pavel Mintyukov, taken 10th overall in 2022, looks like the real deal. One of his first days in North America (he played in the OHL for Saginaw and Ottawa), he attended a Tampa Bay Lightning Stanley Cup party. Mintyukov refused to touch the trophy or take a photo with it. Love the attitude.

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25. Another good sign for growth of hockey in Seattle: the BCHL held its showcase at the team’s practice facility. Nice feather in the Kraken cap.

26. One of the fun nights on the NHL calendar is the Dallas Stars Hall of Fame. Sunday was the second edition, with players whose numbers are retired being automatic inductions. Last year recognized Derian Hatcher and Bob Gainey; this year it was Ed Belfour and Ken Hitchcock.

Hitchcock effusively praised Belfour: “When Eddie was here, the NHL was a goalie-dominated league. You had Patrick Roy, you had Mike Vernon, you had Martin Brodeur, Dominik Hasek, Curtis Joseph, Grant Fuhr and Eddie Belfour. When we got into playoffs, I felt in my heart Eddie was better than them all. I got sick of listening about Patrick Roy. So when we played a playoff series, I refused to call him by his name. I did it on purpose and he’s still pissed at me. I called him ‘The goalie.’ He didn’t like that at all, but I just felt in my heart that Eddie was better and he deserved similar or more accolades than a guy like Patrick Roy. And Eddie proved me right every time.”

Hitchcock added that not only was Belfour outstanding in winning the Cup in 1999, but also in getting them back to the final in 2000 (New Jersey beat them) when the Stars were out of gas. Belfour said the fans chanting, “Eddie’s better” when the Stars beat Roy and Colorado in the playoffs was his favourite.

27. Belfour initially left his notes in a different jacket, then talked for almost 20 minutes, which has to be a record. “There’s no secret in my mind to winning,” he said. “It’s whether you are committed and willing to sacrifice everything to be a winner is the difference. You train, you eat, you dream, you have faith for the mission of hoisting the Stanley Cup. What are you willing to do to be the best? This is what our 1999 Stanley Cup team had and brought to the rink every day.”

He added that on the first day of training camp, then-GM Gainey would tell anyone who wasn’t on board with that “or has a different agenda, please come see me after.” Continued Belfour: “I loved every word he said.” He credited his hometown of Carman, MB for seeding his enormous desire to win. He keeps a team photo taken after they lost a tournament championship game. “Everyone in the photo is pissed off at the world,” he said. “I carry that memory and hate-to-lose attitude in my soul today and will forever. It’s that attitude which has driven me to the successes in my career and led to this great honour I’m receiving tonight.” 

28. Hitchcock told a great story about enjoying an outdoor coffee in a suburb of the city one week after the Stars’ first game in Dallas. A woman parked near him. “She gets out of the car and she’s coming right for me. We lost the night before and I thought, ‘Oh, (bleep). Here we go.’ I’m going to have to answer to this woman…she jumps out of the car and says, ‘I want to talk to you right now. Get up I want to show you something.’ I figure she’s going to want her money back or whatever. She takes me around the car, she’s showing me her wheel wells. Then she says, ‘Now you need to get this car cleaned.’ I guess I looked like the owner or the manager of the White Glove Car Wash. That’s how big the game was and that’s how much she knew about it. I offered to clean her car for nothing, but she just drove away.”

He pointed out that in 1996, there were 125 kids playing minor hockey and 87 playing adult hockey in the area. Now there are 10,000 kids and 8,000 adults. But he added something else very interesting: “I was a very demanding, driven coach. And I’m very proud of that. The reason I drove and I demanded was I really believed. I believed that anything we could do, we could do special together. I really believed in my players. One of things as you get older as a coach, you start to reflect on your career. And one of the things for me that I missed out on was not saying ‘Thank you’ enough. And I’m here to do that today. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your sacrifice and your commitment towards the team and myself in general, but more important what you committed to winning. And I know it was hard…I thank you enough for what you did for me.” That was probably as much for today’s Stars as much as the ones who played for him. Saying “thank you” matters.

29. During Game 4 of the WNBA Finals, New York’s Sabrina Ionescu hit a three-pointer, then immediately vomited into a garbage can. Even though Ionescu said it was nerves and not the flu, I’m going to start calling this move “The Demko.” 

30. Wanted to send my best to Red Wings radio voice Ken Kal. He’s taking some time after getting a medical procedure following last Saturday’s win in Ottawa. Doesn’t call any attention to himself, simply does his job. (Note to self: try this approach.) Looking forward to his return.

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