The Watching alot of Bubble Hockey Playoff Thoughts.....
1) Carter Hart is really good, and could be really good. Matt Murray was fabulous his first two playoff runs, a HOF career start. Then not so much. Craig Binnington was the toast of the NHL last year. He led the Blues to the Stanley Cup with a 16-10 record, 2.46 GAA and a .914 save %. This year? Binnington was 0-5, 4.72 GAA and an .851 save %. Jake Allen, Binnington's back up was 2-1, 1.89 GAA and .935% save %. Moral of the story? Goaltending is fickle. Unless you have a Marty Brodeur or Dom Hasek, or I guess Carey Price, you just aren't sure.
2) Oh by the way, Binnington's GAA and Save % last year when he won the cup was about the same as Matt Murray's numbers from these past two years. For whatever its worth.
3) Nathan MacKinnon is the best player in the world. Even moreso than Connor McDavid, he is just a dominant force out there, not only is he so fast, just a lethal shot and so big and strong.
4) We never really think of it, but with Matt Barzal, Antony Beauvillier, Josh Bailey, Brock Nelson, Jordan Eberle and Anders Lee, the Isles really have a good group of underrated forwards.
5) Speaking of, one of the most impressive players I have seen this playoffs is NYI defenseman Ryan Pulock.
6) Hey Penguin fans, guess who leads the playoffs in +/-??? Dallas Stars defenseman Jamie Oleksiak. He also has 3 goals and 5 points in 11 games. He would look better than a couple of Pens dmen...
7) Speaking of.......not Pens but Stars, I love Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes, and John Marino, who are three outstanding rookie Dmen in the NHL, but there is a new star brewing in Dallas in Miro Heskinanen who is second in scoring in the playoffs and on a record setting pace. Man, no wonder why the Finns had such an awesome World Jr team a few years ago.
8) Local boy JT Miller would have been the perfect 3rd line Center for the Penguins.
9) Former 3rd line Center Pens acquisition Derek Brassard has been benched and hasn't dressed for the Isles over the past couple of games. I don't think they miss him.
10) I love hockey, but I will admit that I watch the Pens and maybe some bigger games involving Pens rivals, but hadn't paid as much attention to other teams, especially the West, but I see all of this young talent, and I can watch it without bias, and some of these guys I don't know. But then I look them up and almost all of these guys have one thing in common. 1st Rd Draft Pick. The Jake Guentzel's and John Marino's of the world are great, but you cannot stay on top if you aren't bringing in 1st round talent eventually. The Pens haven't since 2008. Thats now 13 drafts. At some point you are going to have to pay the piper. And I am afraid that time is rapidly upon us. Not that I wouldn't trade the "chips all in" mentality, though some of the trades were foolish at best, egregious at worst, where we dumped 1st rd picks like they were empty beer cans.
11) The Lightening or Bruins also better win soon, because their trajectory will soon be going the way of the Pens, Hawks and Caps.
12) I like what Philly has done and what they have built. But their best offensive players are over 30 and they don't have young forwards who are necessarily natural scorers. So I am wondering if there is a ceiling on them, because now they won't have such high draft picks in the coming years.
13) The coming years will be real interesting. Mark Madden had an interesting column on the future and fate of the NHL today. This bubble thing has worked out and is great, but it is a one off. No way will the league operate like this again. The NHL gets almost 40% of its revenue from gate, compared to the NFL which is closer to 15%. The NFL can afford, make money without a fan in the stands. The NHL can't. So going forward, what is going to happen? A flat salary cap, at least the NHLPA and NHL have negotiated a long term deal. But free agency is going to flat. Matt Murray may not get as much as he would think not just because of performance, but there will not be a market. Teams aren't going to spend to the cap unless they have fans in the stands. We aren't really seeing the impact of the pandemic on the NHL and its future, until these playoffs close. Then, the league can't play until fans can come and watch.
