30 THOUGHTS<\/strong><\/p>\n1. Jarome Iginla told The Bleacher Report\u2019s Adrian Dater he will not approve any in-season trades for family reasons. He\u2019s got one more year on his contract, then what? Has Iginla, who will turn 39 next July, considered this might be it? \u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d he said Monday. \u201cI used to listen to guys like Nicklas Lidstrom say, \u2018I\u2019m going to take it one year at a time\u2019 and not believe them. \u2018They know what they\u2019re going to do,\u2019 I\u2019d say. But now that I\u2019m in their position, I get it. I feel good. But, we\u2019ve got three kids (ages 11, nine and seven). At some point, I’d like to do more with them. Right now, I don’t know though.\u201d Iginla added he and his family don\u2019t know yet where their permanent post-career home will be.<\/p>\n
2. Iginla said players were kidding Matt Duchene about the trade rumours. \u201cHe has to realize a lot of that is people guessing.\u201d Erik Johnson added, \u201cWe told him, \u2018Of course you\u2019d have a big game on Hockey Night in Canada.\u2019\u201d Duchene had three points in the 6-1 win over Montreal. GM Joe Sakic stoked fires by telling Dater there might be changes if the road trip went poorly, but wins over Philadelphia, Boston and the Canadiens cooled things. \u201cIt\u2019s not like we won those games with a lucky bounce,\u201d Iginla added. My sense is Sakic did test the market, asking what would happen if the Avalanche decided to make a move. That’s not uncommon, but we aren’t at Duchene Defcon 1.<\/p>\n
3. In researching the Duchene information, one thing became very clear: there are a lot of Tyson Barrie fans. The rise of aggregation sites is annoying, because some (not all) butcher reporting. I have zero evidence Barrie is on the trade block. I\u2019m sure Colorado would love to sign him. Before last season, the Avalanche offered him a four-year contract. He said no, deciding to take a bridge and bet on himself. His personal faith is being rewarded. Barrie is a restricted free agent next summer, with arbitration rights. He will do very well in that process, if it gets there. Colorado let Paul Stastny walk and traded Ryan O\u2019Reilly, because the Avalanche knew they weren’t giving the deal Buffalo did. I don\u2019t know what will happen with Barrie. But, if the choice is to trade, there will be no shortage of suitors.
\n4. Two other Avalanche targets to watch. It\u2019s not a secret they would like to add defencemen. Last year, they came very close to a Patrick Wiercioch deal with Ottawa. (I believe it was for Stefan Elliott and a third-round pick.) It fell apart around the trade deadline. When Wiercioch was a healthy scratch last week, I wondered if anything re-kindled, but it doesn’t sound like it. Also, another source indicated Colorado and Toronto spent time trying to put together a deal around O\u2019Reilly and Jake Gardiner. Obviously, it didn\u2019t happen and I\u2019m not sure, under Toronto\u2019s new regime, if there would be any kind of match.<\/p>\n
5. Nathan MacKinnon, on what he\u2019s learned after two full seasons? How to relax. \u201cIf I have a bad game, or a bad shift, there is time to make up for it.\u201d He pointed to his third NHL game, in Toronto. He made a terrible giveaway that led to a goal against, then set-up the winner for the Avalanche. \u201cBut you need to go through it a few times to understand.\u201d<\/p>\n
6. Finally on Colorado, good news on 10th overall pick Mikko Rantanen, sent down to AHL San Antonio. \u201cHe\u2019s having some dominant shifts down there,\u201d an opposing coach said. Also getting strong reviews? Anaheim\/San Diego\u2019s John Gibson: \u201cRidiculously good.\u201d<\/p>\n
7. Speaking of the Ducks, an opposing exec advised to back off the Cam Fowler rumours. \u201cLast year, possible. This year, not so much. He\u2019s one of their only guys playing well. They need him.\u201d<\/p>\n
8. As the GM meetings wrapped up last week in Toronto, several clubs (including Arizona, Calgary and Winnipeg) drove an hour west to see OHL Kitchener host Sarnia. Mike Richards is skating with the Rangers, and there were rumours one NHL team (none of the ones noted above) offered him a tryout. Minnesota was mentioned, but GM Chuck Fletcher said that was incorrect, as he declined several PTO opportunities. Richards\u2019 next court date is Dec. 8.<\/p>\n
9. Fletcher would not comment on this, but teams looking for defenders are curious to see when he feels two AHLers are ready for the next step. Many of you remember Mike Reilly, the hotly recruited college free agent. The other is Gustav Olofsson, whose 2014-15 was wiped out by a shoulder injury. Ideally, Minnesota would like to give these guys time, unless someone forces their hand by making a good offer for one of their NHL regulars. Once they are deemed ready, it\u2019s going to be a crowded, youthful blueline. There\u2019s not enough room for everyone. (As usual, no one quoted is used as an anonymous source.)<\/p>\n
10. Who is looking for defence? Ottawa for sure. Columbus, too. Yes, the Blue Jackets made a coaching change, but that hasn\u2019t stopped GM Jarmo Kekalainen from wanting to adjust his roster, too. Chicago\u2019s Trevor Daley could be had, but teams are careful about anyone with term. Daley\u2019s got one more season at $3.3 million. Thought he\u2019d score there, but it hasn\u2019t worked so far.<\/p>\n
11. At the start of the season, as Joel Edmundson and Colton Parayko made St. Louis, the thought was Carl Gunnarsson would be the defenceman to go in a trade if the Blues had excess. Parayko\u2019s been such a revelation that suddenly the Blues are flush with right-handed shots. There\u2019s Alex Pietrangelo (an average of 27:05 in all 18 games), Parayko (19:42 in 18), Kevin Shattenkirk (20:03 per night, although he missed 10 games with injury) and Robert Bortuzzo (12:52 in 10). Teams always need extra. But, suddenly, the Blues have real flexibility.<\/p>\n
12. One coach wondered if GM Steve Yzerman is looking for another right-shot blueliner. Tampa has the terrific Anton Stralman shooting that way, as does Andrej Sustr. The organization is on record as saying it wants to manage Stralman\u2019s minutes. Since the start of the 2013-14 season, Stralman\u2019s played in 292 of a possible 295 games, including playoffs. That\u2019s tied for the most of any player in that span \u2014 with Niklas Hjalmarsson and Marcus Kruger. At times, he\u2019s looked tired, not that anyone can blame him.<\/p>\n
13. Tampa Bay led the NHL with 262 goals in 2014-15, one more than Dallas. This season, they are on pace for 189, which would place the Lightning 23rd. Going through the NHL Guide and Record Book, I can\u2019t find a team that dropped farther from first place the following season. Took an informal poll from three teams who have faced them this year. All of them said some variation of, \u201cThe Lightning are way too good for this to continue.\u201d But there were some constructive critiques: \u201cNot enough junk to the net\u2026Too fine with their shots, not creating enough second chances.\u201d And: \u201cOverpassing\u2026need to learn to get their noses dirtier to score.\u201d<\/p>\n
14. The NHL\u2019s Player Safety Department met with several repeat offenders in an attempt to reign them in. One was Zac Rinaldo, who escaped suspension a week earlier for hitting Sean Couturier, much to the department\u2019s chagrin. While in Arizona during camp, Chris Pronger spoke with Steve Downie and John Scott. New Jersey\u2019s Jordin Tootoo was offered the opportunity after being fined for a dangerous trip. Now on the radar? Washington\u2019s Tom Wilson. Several teams have complained about his hits. As of yet, no meeting. But it\u2019s been requested.
\n15. Things you don\u2019t see every day: Both Erik Karlsson and PK Subban played every second of their team\u2019s power play time Monday night \u2014 3:54 for the former and a full 8:00 for the latter. In previous games, both were lower. Karlsson was at 3:11 (of 5:00) Saturday against the Rangers, while Subban saw 5:48 (of 8:00) versus Colorado.<\/p>\n
16. The Canucks dressed five players on entry-level contracts against the Canadiens \u2014 Bo Horvat, Ben Hutton, Jared McCann, Hunter Shinkaruk and Jake Virtanen. Seriously, who saw that coming? It\u2019s not as if these players are just filling out roster spots, either. Vancouver made changes to its scouting department last summer, but those who are gone did not leave the cupboard bare. GM Jim Benning has a good eye, too. In 2014, he grabbed Russian defenceman Nikita Tryamkin 66th overall. \u201cI was like, \u2018Who?\u2019\u201d one North American-based scout laughed last week. \u201cNow, I\u2019ve seen him. He\u2019s going to be a player.\u201d The team hopes he joins AHL Utica after the KHL season. The most fascinating thing to watch will be which veterans stay. There\u2019s zero interest in ever moving the Sedins; the hope is they retire as Canucks. Word is the club plans to reach out to its potential UFAs in the new year to gauge things. And, it sure sounds like the organization believes Jacob Markstrom is a future number one.<\/p>\n
17. After seeing Daniel Sedin miss zero shifts in Montreal after getting his face sliced with a stick, can we end this idiotic discussion the Sedins aren\u2019t tough?
\n18. One of the things I like to ask young players is who did you go up against that made you realize, \u201cHoly $%&@, I have some work to do here?\u201d Hutton said Evgeni Malkin. \u201cThe coaches are always reminding me about gap. Malkin came at me with the puck, and I let him have too much room. Next thing I knew, he was going by me. Luckily (Matt Bartkowski) came to help. When I got back to the bench, the coaches just said, \u2018Gap,\u2019\u201d he laughed. McCann named Jason Spezza. \u201cI went to take the puck from him. He\u2019s strong, he\u2019s got that long reach and long stick. Didn’t work.\u201d<\/p>\n
19. Last season, Willie Desjardins mentioned the combination special teams stat as something he closely monitors. (That\u2019s adding your power play and penalty-killing percentages together.) Vancouver\u2019s total in 2014-15 was 105, third in the NHL behind Washington (106.5) and St. Louis (106). So far on the 1-3-2 road trip, it is 85.6. That\u2019s an ugly stretch, as the lowest 2015-16 overall number is Philadelphia\u2019s 90.5. The Canucks have 11 power play goals, but have allowed four with the man advantage. That plus-7 total is the lowest for any team that\u2019s reached double-figures in power play scores. That may be why they tried Jannik Hansen over Radim Vrbata on the top unit. His speed can chase down mistakes.
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