OUTSIDER SPORTS BUZZ: NHL Weekly Report
Welcome into the first Outsider Sports Buzz, the NHL edition. Here we will break down the biggest news in the NHL over the course of the week and the Outsider Sports staff power rankings.
Credit for above image(s) to USA Today
Trade SZN
Vegas acquires Barbashev from St. Louis
The Golden Knights added some much-needed scoring depth prior to the NHL trade deadline, acquiring Ivan Barbashev from the St. Louis Blues. With the Golden Knights moving captain and one of the league’s best two-way threats in Mark Stone to Long Term Injured Reserve at the start of February. Barbashev had a career-high 60 points and 26 goals last season for the Blues, but has just 10 goals and projects to finish this season with just 40 points.
This move could be just what Vegas is missing without Stone. With Colorado strapped with injuries this season, the Western Conference appears to still be open. Although the Avalanche appear to be getting healthier, Vegas looks like the best team in the Pacific Division and that alone could carry them to the conference final.
Devils get their guy in Meier
Perhaps the biggest move of this season, New Jersey caught the biggest fish available in the Shark’s Timo Meier. This youthful group, which already ranks 5th in goals per games played, 5th in shots and 4th in shots allowed, adds a true superstar in Meier, who ranks 16th among NHL skaters in goals scored since the beginning of the 2021-22 season.
While bringing in Meier is a big move, New Jersey did still have to give up a bevy of assets to make this deal happen, including Fabian Zetterlund, who was making noise with the NHL club this season. Zetterlund was the only NHL player the Devils lost in this deal, making the price high, but worth it for another superstar to play with Jack Hughes and Nico Hischer.
Rangers add Kane
New York had a very busy trade deadline once again this season as they find themselves sitting in 3rd place in the Metropolitan Division but comfortably in a playoff spot. With a potential first-round series with their Hudson River Rivals, New Jersey, and the Rangers appear ready to try and make another run towards the Eastern Conference final.
After bringing in Tarasenko, New York said they weren’t done making moves and bringing in Kane seems like a no-brainer. Although he isn’t at his peak, he is still a world class player with three Stanley Cups and invaluable experience. And the cherry on top? The only needed to trade two picks, a 2nd and a 4th (the 2nd becomes a 1st if the Rangers reach the ECF this season). All of that seems in the realm of possibility for the Blue Shirts, and Kane might be ready to hoist his 4th cup.
Toronto Goes All IN
It is officially Stanley Cup or bust for the Maple Leafs. It started just under two weeks ago, when they brought in Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari from St. Louis. That would’ve been more than enough for most teams, but they brought in four more guys, three of them defenseman, to contribute to a playoff run.
After announcing that Jake Muzzin was done for the year, it looked like the Leafs would be in the market for a defenseman. What we didn’t expect was for them to bring in three of them. They brought in Sam Lafferty and Jake McCabe from Chicago on Monday. Lafferty, a fast, bottom-6 center that can kill penalties. He was a liability in the face-off circle last season, winning just 41.1 percent of his face-offs in 2021-22. It has been a much improved area for the young center this season, winning 52.2 percent of his draws and taking nearly 200 more face-offs this season compared to last. For McCabe, he is a strong defenseman that slots into Toronto’s top-4 and can certainly help them keep things clean in front of Ilya Samsonov and Matt Murray once he is healthy. Erik Gustafsson and Luke Schenn came over in a three-team trade with Washington and Vancouver on Tuesday. Both guys are expected to provide depth on an already improved blue line after the trade with Chicago.
This team already was exploding with talent before the middle of February. These additions make it clear for the Maple Leafs, the time is now. Auston Matthews’ future with Toronto is in question, so can they make their way out of the first round and keep the face of the biggest franchise of the NHL?
OUTSIDER SPORTS POWER RANKINGS
Finally, we reveal the debut of the Outsider Sports NHL Power Rankings. Members of the Outsider Sports Hockey Podcast Tom Leone and Mikey D along with myself each provided our top 10 teams in the NHL.
How did we rank them?
Where we ranked each team was based on how many points assigned to them, with first getting 10 points and 10th getting one. The team with the most points is ranked first. How we ranked each team is underneath our rankings.
1. Boston Bruins (30 points)
2. Carolina Hurricanes (27 points)
3. Toronto Maple Leafs (22 points)
4. New Jersey Devils (22 points)
5. Tampa Bay Lighting (19 points)
6. New York Rangers (15 points)
7. Colorado Avalanche (10 points)
8. Vegas Golden Knights (9 points)
9. Dallas Stars (8 points)
10. Los Angeles Kings (3 points)
How we ranked them individually:
Ben Mandell: Boston Bruins, Carolina Hurricanes, New Jersey Devils, Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers, Colorado Avalanche, Vegas Golden Knights, Dallas Stars, Los Angeles Kings
Tom Leone: Boston Bruins, Carolina Hurricanes, Toronto Maple Leafs, New Jersey Devils, Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Rangers, Dallas Stars, Colorado Avalanche, Vegas Golden Knights, Los Angeles Kings
Mikey D: Boston Bruins, Carolina Hurricanes, Toronto Maple Leafs, New Jersey Devils, Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Rangers, Vegas Golden Knights, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Los Angeles Kings