A quick mix of the things we gleaned from the week of hockey, serious and less so, and rolling four lines deep. No stranger to riding the pine.
1. Lost in the hullabaloo over his half-game benching of the future face of the Toronto Maple Leafs was how head coach Jim Hiller answered another question about his hockey team Thursday.
With fragile stabilizer Chris Tanev sidelined indefinitely, does Hiller believe the Leafs need to trade for a defenceman?
“Not my job, first of all,” Hiller replied. “And I think there’s always a lot of noise about something, so I’m not going to pay too much attention to it right now.”
What the coach did not say was some version of this: “No. We trust the blue line we have. We can outscore our problems and fix this internally.”
Hiller dipsy-doodled around a harsh reality, which is that — perhaps even with a speedy and sustained Tanev recovery — the Maple Leafs don’t roll out a strong and fast enough defence corps to win a playoff series, if they can get into one.
No doubt, Tanev’s absence is glaring. “He’s an elite shutdown defenceman, and he’s a leader in the locker room too,” said No. 1 goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, back to stopping pucks in a hairy environment. “So, it’s a big loss for us, definitely.”
Without him, Jake McCabe isn’t quite as effective. Darren Raddysh got leaned on for 27-plus minutes. And hard as they try, Troy Stecher, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Nick Blankenburg are being asked to do too much.
Internal solutions are imperfect. Marshall Rifai looked a tad shaky in his season debut. An AHL veteran like Dakota Mermis or Philippe Myers could pop up and eat a few minutes. We’d like to see Ben Danford get a peek before more drastic measures are taken.
But the truth is, Toronto went into this season playing its best six D-men and, outside of the winless Flyers (23), no Eastern Conference team has given up more goals 5-on-5 than Toronto’s 22. The Leafs have blown a lead in each of their five losses.
Hiller will, correctly, point out that the forwards need to take some ownership of that as well. But he’s working with literally the oldest blue line in hockey, and they’re getting toasted off the rush.
So… now what?
Proactive GM John Chayka has already cleared a roster spot just in case an intriguing defenceman hit waivers. That’s smart.
But a real hockey trade for one of the serviceable names that might be available — Zach Whitecloud? Rasmus Ristolainen? Carson Soucy? Brenden Dillon? Nick Perbix? — requires real assets.
A more likely difference-maker like RFA Simon Edvinsson or RFA Alexander Nikishin requires an even better package, plus tens of millions of dollars in contract commitment.
There are no easy answers. If there were, Chayka would’ve made his 10th Leafs trade already.
Outside of Raddysh, Chayka’s big off-season overhaul focused on forwards and a Hall of Fame goalie. Every team has a hole.
Toronto’s has come into full, troublesome view before the season is 10 games old.
The best strategy for now, with some easier opponents on the schedule, might be for the Leafs to outscore their issues and hang in the standings race until true sellers drop out.
2. Here is 2025’s No. 1 draft choice, Matthew Schaefer, talking about 2026’s No. 1 draft choice, Gavin McKenna, from a pre-season sit-down with Sportsnet features and the 32 Thoughts podcast:
“Gav’s a great player. You know, he’s so smooth, so silky. Great hands. Very high hockey IQ and a great guy too. So, I think he’ll be awesome. If I had to give him some advice? Just enjoy it. Be yourself. Have confidence when you come in. But just learn from all the older guys and your coaches, because they can teach you so many things, and I think that’s what helped me so much. A lot of the older guys took me under their wing, and I learned so much from them in my first year: how to take care of your body, the right things to do, and how to be a good leader. And really learn from all the older guys that are great leaders. So, do all that, but have fun with it too. Because you’re in the best league in the world.”
Saturday already marks the second meeting between the two most recent first overalls.
The NHL is increasingly a young man’s league, but I was struck by Schaefer’s appreciation for the Islanders vets.
And we’re seeing that with McKenna in Toronto, too. Just as Schaefer has shacked up with Matt Martin and his family, McKenna lives with John Tavares, has sleepovers at Auston Matthews’ place, and can be frequently seen chatting it up on the ice or walking to the bus with the Leafs captain. When McKenna’s benching caused a stir Thursday, Matthews was quick to state: “We’ve all got his back.”
Mentorship is timeless.
“Older players are the best. I just love it. Like, they’re older players, but they act the same age as you in a way. You know what I mean? I’m super close with Marty, but I can go over to (Scott) Mayfield’s house or golf with all these guys. I mean, I’m 19, but hopefully I don't act like I’m 19,” Schaefer explained. “They want the best for you. It’s easy to fit in when they include you. They were buying dinners for me for the first year, and I'm like, ‘What a treat!’ They just look out for you so much, and when you can hang around older guys and they give you that respect, it’s pretty cool for me.
“I’m only 19, but I hang around with all these older guys that are letting me come into their circle, and they brought me in from Day 1. So, I love just being with the older guys, and it’s so fun. I always pick their brain. Hopefully, I can bring that young-kid energy to them and just chirp ’em and do all this nonsense stuff. They're probably sometimes like, ‘Schaef, that's enough.’ So, I love hanging out with the older guys. It's something I've always loved. That could be because my brother's nine-and-a-half years older than me, and I've always hung out with him and his older buddies.”
The unanimous Calder Trophy winner played all 82 games as a rookie, piling an impressive 59 points. He has yet to score, but his six assists through six games has Schaefer on pace for 84 points — as a teenager.
With Cale Makar’s $163.2-million windfall adjusting the pay scale for elite defencemen, Schaefer’s emergence couldn’t be timelier, financially speaking.
The Islanders can extend the face of their franchise as early as July 1.
“It was funny. Someone’s like, ‘Oh, did your phone blow up after that contract?’ I’m like, ‘No. No. It’s not my contract.’ But everyone talks about all contracts and stuff. I'm like, ‘That's a cool number, but I'm not the best at math. My dad's good at math, so you can ask him that stuff,’” Schaefer chuckled.
“The contract stuff, I don’t want to worry about that stuff. I mean, I had a good first year, but second year is going to be even harder. And it’s another year where I want to prove myself.”
3. Speaking of next contracts, no impending restricted free agent put up more points last season than San Jose’s Will Smith (59 in 69 games). He’s eligible to re-sign any day now.
And his captain, Macklin Celebrini — who raised the club’s internal cap — would like that very much.
“I think that goes without saying,” Celebrini told me. “Everyone in that room wants him to be Shark for as long as he wants to. I mean, I don’t really know where they’re at or what’s going on in that situation. Overall, it’s really up to him. But I think everyone would want him to stay in San Jose.”
Smith, 21, spends most of his shifts on Celebrini’s wing but has been occasionally used as a centre this month.
“He’s got a lot left to show. I don't think his points match who he really is,” Celebrini said. “He’s got a lot of a lot of space to show how great he is.”
Back to mentorship: Smith moved in with another Calder winner, Kraken star Matty Beniers, over the summer in Boston. The two forwards trained wherever they could grab ice — Boston University, South Shore, Harvard, Warrior — while mixing in rounds of golf and afternoons on the boat.
Those Massachusetts guys stay close. Noah Hanifin, Charlie McAvoy and Jack Eichel would skate with them, too.
“We started working out together a couple years ago, and (Smith) was looking for a roommate. I like living with people, and so we shared a room together, and then got tight,” Beniers said.
“Your family’s there and you have other hometown buddies, but they’re all doing nine-to-five. So it’s nice to have someone that you're with. You both wake up, you go to breakfast, you go work out, then you go skate, and maybe you're both going to sauna after, going to get treatment after. You have someone that you can kind of do your day with, and then you can go golf and enjoy it after.”
In Beniers’ mind, how much growth does Smith have as a player?
“Sky’s the limit,” Beniers beamed. “Especially in his situation. He’s a very elite player. The way he sees the ice, the way he can make plays, and he’s obviously with Mack as well. So, you know that’s going to be dangerous.”
4. Quote of the Week.
“You got to believe that performance tonight will embarrass them enough to stop this, right? Because if they’re not embarrassed by that, we don’t want them on the team. It’s as simple as that.” — Rick Bowness, throwing down the gauntlet after his Blue Jackets’ 7-3 loss to Florida
5. In the bowels of Denver’s Ball Arena is a wooden door. And on that door, in Avalanche burgundy and blue, hangs a BEWARE OF DOG sign.
We’re told this is the door to mascot Bernie the Saint Bernard’s dressing room. But we’d rather imagine Nathan MacKinnon pacing angrily in that tiny room in the minutes leading up to game time, gnawing raw sirloin and guzzling sweet-potato smoothies before the puck drops and the Nate Dogg is unleashed.
In Saturday’s thriller against the Maple Leafs — a game overflowing with No. 1 draft picks, all-stars and Olympians — MacKinnon rose to another level with his speed and intensity.
“Very explosive player. Watching him on the bench, it’s pretty crazy to see what he does and how fast he is, just the way he kinda controls the game,” McKenna observed. “A big motivator for me to try to be there one day.”
MacKinnon didn’t drop the gloves that night, but he did a few days prior (with L.A.’s Brandt Clarke) and since (with Dallas nemesis Roope Hintz).
We are seeing an incredibly visceral version of MacKinnon in the early going here.
Matthews, who put on a four-point show on the Dogg’s territory, admits he gets amped up extra for his twice-a-year head-to-head meetings against his fellow Hart winner.
“I think you have to. Or else you’re just going to spend the whole night in your own end, and they're going to get the merry-go-round going, and it's not fun,” Matthews said. “He’s one of the best in the world. It's always really tough challenge. I mean, he's a really hard guy to contain. He's explosive. He possesses so much power when he skates and when he moves, you got to have a bit of a group effort to kind of contain him — because he’s too good one-on-one.”
In terms of taming a dog like MacKinnon, Leafs veteran Jake McCabe compared the task to limiting the smooth-skating Jack Eichel: Best not to let them rev up in the first place.
“You really have to pay attention when they’re in their own end. From their own D-zone is almost where they’re most dangerous sometimes,” McCabe explained.
“It sounds silly, but when they build that speed and you don’t see it coming, they get that puck in the middle of the ice, it’s hard to close the gap.”
6. During a TV break, the Avalanche played a Jumbotron video in which the players respond to the question: Do you sleep with your socks on?
Overwhelmingly, the Avs skaters said definitively no. Because they’re not serial killers.
MacKinnon, however, paused and gave the idea some thought: “I have seen things where you should put them on at 3 a.m. I’m not going to get into all of the science right now.”
Not one to suffer fools, captain Gabriel Landeskog threw the whole premise out the window: “Don’t try to normalize wearing socks while you sleep.”
7. Whatever’s irking Dylan Larkin had no effect on buddy Alex DeBrincat, a pending UFA who reupped with the Red Wings for the maximum term and $91 million. The two spent nearly every summer day training together. They spoke about Larkin’s dissatisfaction early. But at some point, what’s left to say?
“Change is scary. You know, for a couple days, you’re like, ‘What’s going to happen? What’s going to happen?’ And then, as time passes, it’s like anything. I just gotta focus on myself and focus on my training,” DeBrincat said during the Player Media Tour.
“I mean, it was a dream of mine as a kid to play for the Red Wings and put on that jersey, and myself and everyone in that locker room takes pride in putting on that jersey, the history that comes with it, all the responsibility that comes with it. So, I think it’s been awesome for me. Obviously, I wish we’ve had a little bit more success and gone to the post-season and done something there. But we're still a young team and we're still moving towards that goal.”
Expensive as the Michigan-born sniper has become, interim GM Shawn Horcoff and the Detroit fan base needed a win, a lockup without drama.
Alex’s father, David, has been a die-hard Wings fan since birth, and that love is genetic. As Horcoff & Co. try to right this listing ship, having the commitment of someone who gets the importance of the team matters.
“It’s such a cool thing for my parents to be close to me. They get to watch me more than they ever have before, and they come to every game. It’s such a cool thing for them to see me play there and really be a part of the organization in their own way,” said DeBrincat, who believes in the Wheel more than you do. “We’re a lot closer than people give us credit for. We have a good team. We had a good team last year.
“I’m very optimistic about how the year is going to go and when we can get back in the playoffs and do something special there. We don’t have too many expectations this year, and I think that might be a good thing for us — to just go out there and not worry about anything and play hockey.”
8. Got a kick out of this fun fact from my boy Matt Larkin… but mostly just happy to stop watching Dodgers playoff baseball. It was giving me PTSD.
9. Connor Hellebuyck (.916 career save percentage) remains inactive as the Winnipeg Jets prepare to host the Heritage Classic, and yet 23 teams have a team save percentage of .895 or worse (as of Friday evening). Eleven teams have a save percentage below .880 (!), and most of them have playoff aspirations.
Goaltending matters.
Who gets desperate first? And how wary are GMs of a goalie, no matter how accomplished, who is drifting ever further behind the NHL’s moving train.
Jeremy Swayman was the last stud netminder who started late due to a stalemate, and his 2024-25 campaign was by far his worst (22-29-7, .3.11, .892). It was the only season Swayman missed the playoffs.
10. You can’t make the playoffs in the first month of the season, but you can miss them.
From feel-good story to October laughingstock, the Philadelphia Flyers have been booed off home ice, chirped online and are still desperately seeking their first win as they suit up for Game 10 against Ottawa Saturday.
Just how ugly is the worst start in Flyers’ history? Even the rebuilding, barebones Flames have a better goal differential than Philadelphia’s minus-22. Eight of their nine losses have come at the hands of conference rivals.
It’s not all Rick Tocchet’s fault, but it could be his problem.
Outside of the injured Ristolainen (UFA 2027), obvious trade candidates are scarce — unless GM Danny Briere deals a core player with term to jolt a comfy room.
“That's the business we’re in; it comes with the territory,” Tocchet acknowledged to reporters. “We owe the fans a better product on the ice, and we haven’t given it to them yet. When that doesn't happen, it’s on me. I’ve got to take the blame on that.”
Feels like a decade ago when jersey tucks were the gravest issue in Philly.
11. Now in his sixth season guiding behind the bench in Arizona-turned-Utah, André Tourigny has never been under so much pressure to succeed. The coach needs a new contract and, more importantly, needs to make sure the Mammoth (a summertime spender) take another step. For the first time in a long time, there are legitimate expectations with this previously woebegone franchise.
So far, so good. Utah dished Edmonton its first regulation L and sits atop the heavyweight Central Division — under Tourigny’s organized, roll-the-lines approach that has hints of Hurricane.
“We have a plan. But like Mike said: ‘Everybody has a plan till they get punched in the face.’ So, we need to be ready if that happens,” Tourigny told reporters Tuesday.
The coach was stressing the value of layers, of teammates supporting each other in the inevitable event of a busted play. In football, baseball and basketball, the play resets after a few seconds. There is a breath to reposition and rethink. Hockey demands instincts in a blink.
“You need to be in position to react when the game asks a question of you. There is a system. But at some point, there will be a breakdown. The game will ask you a question that is not in the playbook. You need to have the right answer,” Tourigny said.
“I don’t want our players to play with the mentality of: I cannot make a mistake. If you wake up in the morning and say, ‘Today, I’m not allowed to make one mistake,’ I’m not sure there’s a lot of human beings on this planet that can go through the day. You will make mistakes.
“Especially when you’re going against the best players in the world, in the best league in the world, with a stick in their hands, skates on their feet, and you put the game 100 miles per hour, there’s mistakes. So, your mindset and your system have to be built to allow mistakes.”
Loved hearing this philosophy from one of the NHL’s underrated teachers. Tourigny encourages his skaters to play with “creativity, energy, no fear” — while adhering to his structure.
“He’s an unbelievable coach with an unbelievable staff. They push you to be at your best every day, whether that’s practice or games,” Logan Cooley told me.
“He’s hard on us, and I think that’s a good thing. For us players, we want to be pushed. He allows us to make sure every rep in practice feels game-like. And I think when you have a coach pushing you like that, it allows us to be better players and will help us in the long run.”
12. Auston Matthews ran so Mike Evans could strut…
