You make a list and check it twice, but if you don't have Chris Kreider on Team USA for the Four Nations (which most people don't), what the heck are you saying? Is it?
Of course, the only list that matters is the one handed out by Team USA (and Minnesota) GM Billy Guerin. He knew I was a sharp hockey mind for 30 years. Well, for the past 20 years or so.
I'm not going to debate which wingers are left out by naming Kreider to the team. That doesn't matter to me when we talk about the second-highest American-born goal scorer since the 2021-22 season, the American-born power play goal scorer for that period, and the American-born shorthanded goal scorer for the past three years. -Plus season.
Starting in the 2021-22 season, then-Rangers head coach Gerald Gallant gave Kreider his first penalty-kill assignment of his career, which began in the 2012 playoffs, and his immense productivity blossomed. Kreider scored 129 goals, ranking seventh and second in the NHL. That matches NHL leader Auston Matthews' 169 for the Yankees.
During that period, Kreider scored 52 power-play goals, ranking third in the NHL, and established himself as a net-front player. And his 10 shorthanded goals by No. 20 are the most in the league.
The 33-year-old from Boxford, Massachusetts, has represented his country in six different tournaments, appearing in two World Juniors and four World Championships. He is a leader and an elite goalscorer and there is no debate as to whether he belongs on this team or not.
Scribble this on your napkin.
American crider.
It's clearly insane to put a disproportionate weight on a team's season opener. But sometimes they can be symbolic.
And after the Red Wings' season-opening 6-3 loss to the Penguins in Detroit, 24 hours after Pittsburgh was used as a speed bag by the Rangers while Detroit was fresh, general manager Steve Yzerman announced Joel Quen. I just wonder if they're going to get Neville. On speed dial?
Of course, Yzerman is a sacred place in the Motor City. But so did New York's Willis Reed, who was fired as head coach by the Knicks. Same goes for Green Bay's Bart Starr, who was fired as head coach.
The Red Wings' fault lies with former GM Ken Holland and owner who prioritized extending their playoff streak to 25 years, a professional sports record, rather than taking a step back and reloading toward a championship. It's right next door.
They talked about 25 years in the same way that the Yankees sometimes talk about 32 straight years of baseball batting over .500.
However, the Red Wings have now missed the playoffs for eight consecutive seasons. The past five seasons have been under the watchful eye of Coach Yzerman, who took over in 2019-20.
Everyone loves Detroit head coach Derek Lalonde. But time waits for no one. Even if it's an icon like Yzerman. It's no surprise that the Red Wings get back on track quickly.
If it's not playoffs or eliminations, will Detroit, which will rely on Quenneville as a contender, be cleared by the NHL to return in July?
Would anyone be surprised if the Sabers were a train wreck with Lindy Ruff on the bench, just like the Devils were in three of his four seasons in New Jersey?
But Ruff did not hire himself. The dots can be linked to Pegula's ownership, which turned the franchise into an example of dysfunction through GM Kevin Adams (who happily shared drinks at a great old Toronto hangout called the Madison).
It should be impossible for them to miss the playoffs for 13 consecutive seasons. Well, except for the NFL Jets. It would be against the law for the club to miss the playoffs for 13 consecutive seasons with two first overall picks, two second overall picks and eight other top-10 picks.
But it was the Sabers, drafting Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power, and Dylan Cozens, while replacing two disgruntled veterans in Ryan O'Reilly and Jack Eichel with Tage Thompson and Alex Eichel. Despite acquiring Touch and Peyton Krebs, they haven't been able to build a tournament team. , both won the Cup with their new teams after escaping from Buffalo.
You've got Dan Bylsma behind the bench, Phil Housley behind the bench, Ralph Krueger behind the bench, Don Granato behind the bench, and now Ruff.
But on top of that, there's Pegula's ownership over this sideways franchise.
I wrote about how this appeared to be a continuation for the Rangers, but apparently this was meant to be a continuation for the Islanders, who can't wait to cough up a third-period lead.
In Thursday's season opener against minimalist-style Utah on UBS, Patrick Roy's group first waited 45 seconds before giving up a 3-2 lead with 7:37 left in the third period. Then, when the Islanders led 4-3 at 17:53, they didn't have the patience to wait more than 13 seconds and ultimately lost 5-4 in OT, allowing the tying goal.
Roy's Quebec Remparts conceded the fewest goals in the QMJHL in each of the finals with the legendary No. 33 coming off the bench two years later. That's not him. I'm sorry to say this, but it's the islanders' responsibility not to withdraw it.
Five of the last eight conference finalists, and eight of the last 16 over the past four years, are from the five tax-exempt states represented in the NHL.
The advantage these six teams have – the Panthers, Lightning, Stars, Golden Knights, Predators, and Kraken – is huge and is being exploited by every agent worth an actuary degree.
The league has no interest in resolving this imbalance. People say it's complicated. People say there is no evidence of a trend yet. The union has other concerns ahead of preliminary CBA negotiations, which are tentatively scheduled to begin after the calendar flips to 2025.
But the owners of the 26 teams who are disadvantaged by the system should insist that the NHL address the issue. These affect all contracts. And by extension, the fan base that pays the fare.
When will they demand justice?
When will they take on Gary Bettman?
what? Are you saying the Commissioner and Ninth Avenue will send two expansion teams within the next four years and split the $1.5 billion participation fee between the original 32 teams?
I don't care.
Justice depends on the owner.
