NHL 2023-2024 Season

[The Meal]

Another hockey season is upon us!

For those not paying attention in the off season, some of the bigger stories…
22-23 Norris Trophy (best defenseman) winner Erik Karlsson was moved to Pittsburgh in a three-way deal, as the Penguins recreate the hockey version of The Last Dance.
Boston loses their top two centers to retirement after shattering all regular season team records last year. Patrice Bergeron was a perennial Selke Trophy (best defensive forward) winner throughout his career.
Oft maligned but decorated head coach Mike Babcock gets hired to guide the Blue Jackets through their rebuild, but doesn’t make it to coaching even a single preseason game before getting let go due to some questionable get-to-know-you practices in meeting his new players. Reports are that he asked players to hand him their cell phones while he air timed their personal photos onto his office tv screen to foster introductory discussions.
Chicago drafts phenom Conner Bedard first overall, as he’s expected to shatter all expectations from 18-year old hockey players. His season opener against Sidney Crosby’s Penguins on Tuesday night is the can’t miss game on opening night.
The perennial Cup contending Tampa Bay Lightning head into the season hit by the injury bug as top playoff goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy is laid up until at least December in recovering from back surgery.
Heading into the season the salary cap went through one (hopefully) last year without big, pre-pandemic jump, forcing a lot of contenders to be creative with their roster construction. All signs point to big jumps returning next season.

Last year I thought I’d make preseason predictions as a sort of framework for ongoing league wide discussions as the season progressed, but once I got into it, it felt a bit pretentious (and one sided, as not a lot of conversation was actually generated). This time around I’ll just make some predictions and let them sit there (well, here) so I can laugh at how dumb I was when the season actually plays out.

Western Conference contenders are the defending Cup Champs in Vegas, Colorado, Dallas, Edmonton, and maybe Los Angeles (if you squint). Other teams could win the Cup (off-script wild card pick: Calgary!), but very few people are picking off-menu from these five teams. I like Dallas and Edmonton to be division champs, but the Avalanche to push past the Oilers in the Western Conference Final.

Out East it’s harder to differentiate a top tier. The Metro Division has three strong teams (Carolina, Newton Jersey, NY Rangers), a couple of hopefuls (Pittsburgh, NY Islanders), and three teams with dreams (Washington, Columbus, and Philadelphia). Anything is possible here — the expected 8th-place finishing Flyers are coached by John Tortorella who seems to always maximize his team in his second year at the helm. I don’t expect them in the post season, but I’m not Powerball-surprised if they push for a spot.

And I think the Atlantic Division is even crazier. Toronto has to be the near-consensus pick to win the regular season title, while five other teams have expectations to fill out the next playoff spots despite the musical chairs lack of seats for that group. Boston and Tampa have had off season woes mentioned above, Florida got pretty beat up in their overachieving Stanley Cup Final loss, and Ottawa and Buffalo are organizationally surging after just falling short last year. At the tail end of division expectations are Detroit solidly ahead of Montreal. The Wings overhauled their roster via free agency (1/3rd of their opening night roster are new to the team this offseason, with zero rookies making the team out of camp) and Montreal is probably hitting (or just coming up off) their post-Price nadir.

Here’s your invitation to roll some dice and beat my Eastern Conference predictions. I’ll put Toronto and Carolina as division winners, two wild card teams coming out of the Atlantic (sorry Penguins, Islanders, and Caps), and Buffalo’s combination of netminding uncertainty with defensive shortcomings to be the team without a chair. In the ECF I’ll take Carolina over Ottawa, disappointing an engaged nation of fans as two Canadian teams lose so close to making it to the Cup Final.

Congrats to the Colorado Avalanche for your second Cup in three years come late next June.

[Jolor]

From an Ottawa-centric perspective, Josh Norris, their #1 centre at the start of last year (and now #2 in the depth chart due to the emergence of Tim Stutzle) has yet to return to the lineup due to lingering injury. Their #3 (Shane Pinto) who arguably could push for the #2 spot, remains an unsigned RFA. The team's poor starts have doomed their seasons and a strong start this year was seen as a key to any playoff aspirations. The challenge is resigning Pinto is that, incredibly, the Sens are up against the salary cap, having locked in their core and signing Joonas Korpisalo and Vladimir Tarasenko as free agents in the off-season.

In a more minor update, the team has a new owner who paid the Melnyk estate US$900M for 90% of the team and assets. The Sens are a US$1B franchise. Direct impact on any/all new valuations and potential incoming franchises (as further expansion rumours persist).

[gilraen]

I think I'll enjoy the Avalanche hockey more this year if I temper my expectations. They are about to enter a second season without their captain, and they have some holes in the D that they've yet to manage properly (although due to LTIR they now have the salary cap to grab someone from waivers).

Went ahead and resubscribed to The Athletic, I like their content, and they gave me a year for $20.

[Isgrimnur]

The NHL has banned Pride Tape, creating its own ‘Don’t Say Gay’ policy

The NHL’s decree that players and teams are no longer allowed to wear rainbow-colored Pride jerseys to celebrate the LGBTQ community was bad enough.

Now comes word that the league front office has sent all 32 teams a series of memos that include alleged “clarification” on this policy.

On top of this — and most egregious of all — Outsports has learned that the NHL has issued a league-wide ban of Pride Tape on the ice with the players during warm-ups, games and even practices. A league spokesperson has confirmed this change in policy with Outsports.

[Jaymann]

I hope somebody tries Pride Tape on a baseball bat. Even if just during batting practice.

[Zaxxon]

The NHL has banned Pride Tape, creating its own ‘Don’t Say Gay’ policy

The NHL’s decree that players and teams are no longer allowed to wear rainbow-colored Pride jerseys to celebrate the LGBTQ community was bad enough.

Now comes word that the league front office has sent all 32 teams a series of memos that include alleged “clarification” on this policy.

On top of this — and most egregious of all — Outsports has learned that the NHL has issued a league-wide ban of Pride Tape on the ice with the players during warm-ups, games and even practices. A league spokesperson has confirmed this change in policy with Outsports.

We really need an untouchable or two to just do it anyway. What's the NHL gonna do if Jesus Bedard decides to use pride tape? Crosby? MacKinnon?

I think I'll enjoy the Avalanche hockey more this year if I temper my expectations. They are about to enter a second season without their captain, and they have some holes in the D that they've yet to manage properly (although due to LTIR they now have the salary cap to grab someone from waivers).

Went ahead and resubscribed to The Athletic, I like their content, and they gave me a year for $20.

I'm excited that the Avs actually have some visibility in to Landeskog this year, and therefore have the LTIR cap flexibility associated with declaring him out for the entirety of the regular season. The lack of that flexibility was a major hindrance last season when literally half the team went down with injuries.

Also excited that there's reason to be excited in Chicago again. I'm not expecting the Hawks to be contenders, as the roster aside from Bedard is... light. But I'll be watching with something other than morbid disgust for the first time in several years.

[Isgrimnur]

ESPN's Barry Melrose retires after Parkinson's disease diagnosis

[Zaxxon]

The Blackhawks managed to come back against the Pens, and Bedard notched his first NHL (secondary) assist. The Blackhawks are alone atop the Central Division!

The NHL has banned Pride Tape, creating its own ‘Don’t Say Gay’ policy

The NHL’s decree that players and teams are no longer allowed to wear rainbow-colored Pride jerseys to celebrate the LGBTQ community was bad enough.

Now comes word that the league front office has sent all 32 teams a series of memos that include alleged “clarification” on this policy.

On top of this — and most egregious of all — Outsports has learned that the NHL has issued a league-wide ban of Pride Tape on the ice with the players during warm-ups, games and even practices. A league spokesperson has confirmed this change in policy with Outsports.

We really need an untouchable or two to just do it anyway. What's the NHL gonna do if Jesus Bedard decides to use pride tape? Crosby? MacKinnon?

More of this, please:

[Isgrimnur]

NPR

"I'll use the tape — if I have to buy it myself, I will," Philadelphia Flyers forward Scott Laughton said on Wednesday, discussing how he would mark his team's Pride Night.

"We will send Scott and his teammates all the free Pride Tape they want," Kristopher Wells, a co-founder of Pride Tape, said in response.
...
"It sucks," Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson said repeatedly when asked about the new prohibition.

"It's something that's close to my heart and something I would love to support. But it is what it is, and we've got to find other ways to support it," Andersson said. Of the drama that arose around rainbow-colored tape and jerseys, he added, "It's a sensitive subject for some people, I don't understand why, but it is."

"It's unfortunate," Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly said. He later added, "Whatever statement was made is fine, but as players, we're gonna continue to offer support and be allies. We want to be a part of this community."

Brian Burke, a former NHL and team executive who has advocated for hockey's inclusion of the LGBTQ+ community, called the new policy "a surprising and serious setback."

Luke Prokop, an openly gay hockey player who is a prospect in the Nashville Predators organization, said this summer that he was disappointed to see some teams cancel pride nights after players refused to participate.

[Zaxxon]

The Avs just extended Devon Toews for 7 years @ $7.25M AAV. Hell of a steal. Lucky that he really wanted to hang around in Colorado for the long haul.

[Zaxxon]

Enjoying both the Avs and Hawks starts so far.

In other news…

[Zaxxon]

Anyone excited about tonight's Frozen Frenzy?

Also:

[Isgrimnur]

Enjoying both the Avs and Hawks starts so far.

In other news…

It's the Coyotes. Doesn't someone have to see it for it to be an issue?

[Zaxxon]

It's the Coyotes. Doesn't someone have to see it for it to be an issue?

The truth--it burns.

[Zaxxon]

[The Meal]

I broke the NHL season into 10x 7-game sequences and 2x 6-game sequences (for a total of 82 games). Tonight is game 112 (which would end the first block), but I know tomorrow is a busy day, so I'm doing my Block 1 report a day early.

"NHL .500" occurs when a team has as many points earned as games played. It's a bit of a loaded term as the average game is worth north of 1 point due to points earned from overtime and shootout losses. Currently the league average game has been worth just under 1.1 points. I can remember seasons when this number approached 1.25 points (well before the resurgence in offense post-COVID). So I'm arbitrarily creating a "winning" condition for any team which has earned more points than games played+1 in any given block. To date that's eleven teams in the league, led by the defending champion VGK who've earned 14 points in 7 games played. (BOS and COL fell off the pace last night, with each team finally dropping a game.)

BLOCK 1 Regular Season (Hypothetical Playoff) winners (in order of my surprise, given preseason expectations):
MTL
VAN
PHI
DET
TBL
BOS
NYR
VGK
COL
DAL
TOR

Atlantic Division - 5
Metropolitan Division - 2
Central Division - 2
Pacific Division - 2

I'll clear everyone's ledgers and report back after (or around) 11/12/23 when we hit the 224 game mark. It's a really simplistic view of who's playing well (or playing cupcakes, Bruins) over any of the 12 identified blocks of the season. I doubt it would actually track with playoff performances, but we'll find out together!

[Isgrimnur]

Ex-NHL player Adam Johnson dies after being slashed by skate

Former NHL player Adam Johnson died after a "freak accident" during his English team's game Saturday. He was 29.

The Nottingham Panthers, who play in England's Elite Ice Hockey League, announced Sunday that the organization is "heartbroken at the news of Adam's passing."

Officials stopped the Panthers' game Saturday against the Sheffield Steelers after Johnson was involved in a collision on the ice during the second period. Johnson's throat was cut by a skate blade during the collision, according to the team.

Johnson received emergency treatment on the ice, and players eventually returned to the locker room after he was taken to Sheffield's Northern General Hospital. Nearly 8,000 fans at Sheffield's Utilita Arena were asked to leave the building because of what the Panthers announced as a "major medical emergency."

[The Meal]

I watched that (short) video once. And that will be my lifetime viewing of that event.

[RunningMn9]

I watched that (short) video once. And that will be my lifetime viewing of that event.

After watching the Clint Malarchuk video once, I wisely avoided watching this. I’m also surprised this doesn’t happen more often.

[Isgrimnur]

The poor guy wearing the skate is going to have a rough time of it going forward.

[The Meal]

From my Oct 27 post, I talked about the arbitrary "Blocks" I'm breaking the season into. Since that date, I've run my BLOCK2 numbers (the average team has played in 14 games). Again we have 11 teams qualify in this timeframe. (Points earned > Games Played +1)

Teams earning their first blockpoint:
LAK, ANA (!), PIT, WAS, CAR, and FLA

Teams on a roll earning their second consecutive blockpoint:
BOS, NYR, DAL, VGK, and VAN

My next checkpoint (teams averaging 21 games played) occurs on 11/28.

Big league news today is Edmonton's coach getting sacked. The Oilers were a sexy pick for winning the Cup by many media members this year. The team is 3-9-1, and their point total puts them in 31st place overall (they lost to Team 32, the Sharks, earlier this week).

[Zaxxon]

Saturday’s Avalanche game was a laugher, but it was also my daughter’s birthday party. I managed to arrange for her group to take in warmups from the Avs bench, and somebody decided to make that even more special for them all…

[McNutt]

I'm seeing stories pop up that Matt Petgrave has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter in the death of Adam Johnson.

I haven't seen the video, but did it even remotely look intentional?

[Isgrimnur]

It did not.

[The Meal]

Zax, that's amazing. I bet the whole family made some great memories.

Today's the day for my third check-in for what I've been thinking of as my consistency index. With 326 games played so far, teams have averaged about 21 games in their season, which makes for three seven-game (playoff-like) blocks. I credit a team a point for each of these (totally arbitrary, but defined at the start of the season, so not cherry-picked) blocks if they have more points earned than one-more than their number of games played. For instance during Block 3, Minnesota has played 5 games but only earned 2 points, so they don't even come close to earning credit for this block (and in fact, they lost their coach yesterday due to this unexpectedly terrible stretch in their season -- Dean Evason won't be out of work for long unless he wants to, however).

As in each of Block 1 and Block 2, exactly 11 teams earned points during Block 3. New to the "block party" are CGY, NSH, WPG, and NYI. It's certainly not too late (326 GP is 25% of the season completed) for teams to storm back into the playoff discussion. In fact, of these four teams, WPG would currently get the Cen-3 playoff spot, should the season end today (spoiler alert: it won't). No teams without any block points would earn a spot in today's season-ending playoffs.

Six teams have earned their second block point: LAK, COL, PHI, TBL, DET, and FLA. Each of these teams would also be in today's hypothetical playoffs. Philly is the team that has stayed surprisingly resolute so far this year, a hallmark of Torts's second year behind the bench. Do I expect them to be in the April 2024 playoffs? I do not. But it's fun seeing them capitalize on their great start in ways teams like the Penguins, Canadiens, and Ducks haven't been able to do.

And finally there's only one team in the league which has earned all three possible block points. Folks paying attention to the season already are aware that the NYR are standing tall consistently in ways that teams like Vegas and the Bruins only wish they were. Before the season a part of me seriously considered the Rangers to be a sleeper in the Metro, in the mix with everyone's twin darlings of the Hurricanes and Devils (1 block point out of six possible for those two squads), but what held me back was New York's backup netminder of Jonathan Quick. JQ looked like Father Time had finally stopped in for a visit these past years, and G2 is such an important position for a team making a playoff push, I rationally couldn't get on board. Well Quick has a 6-0-1 record this year and is a huge reason why the Rags are the cream of the league right now. Just goes to show that goaltending is such a mystical position to predict year-after-year.

Finishing on a low-light, there are a few teams with zero block points who are really laying an egg this season compared to preseason anticipation. the Devils are the obvious choice here (in each of the first two Blocks they had exactly one more point earned than games played, which is the most points you could get without earning a block point, this last Block they earned 4 points in 6 GP), but there's so much talent that I don't think you can write them off for the last 3/4ths of the season. Still youth has a way of sputtering for longer than you'd like, so chalk this up to we'll see... Edmonton also falls into this category, but a coaching change seems to coincide with the team coming around. They earned 8 points in 7 GP this last Block (so one point short of getting their first block point). They have the advantage of playing in the Western Conference where... checks math... the current wild card positions have a .575 and .500 points percentages. Will 83 points get you a playoff spot in the WC at the end of the season? The bar probably won't be that low. (But maybe!) Quick shout outs to Minnesota and Seattle as still throwing goose eggs on the block points. But I want to close with two Atlantic Division prognostication darlings: Buffalo and Ottawa. The Senators have had a fair few distractions this year, and they are the youngest team in the league (weighted by time-on-ice). I still think this is a team I would still "buy" for their futures (but not for '23-'24). The Sabres, however, do still have a chance (their points percentage would be WC2 in the Western Conference!). There were always going to be a handful of teams bummed out about missing from the Atlantic Division, and there is some bunching in the standings if top and bottom teams start accordion-ing. I didn't like Buffalo to make the post-season when I predicted the finish ahead of the start, but I certainly didn't have them down in the Montreal neighborhood in the standings.

I'm having fun with these consistency measures. We hit the 28 GP mark for the average team on 14 December, so I'll check back in then.

[Zaxxon]

I appreciate reading these updates!

[Unagi]

I'm seeing stories pop up that Matt Petgrave has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter in the death of Adam Johnson.

I haven't seen the video, but did it even remotely look intentional?

Just to be fair, that's what 'manslaughter' is used for. Malice/intent not required.

[Isgrimnur]

Corey Perry and Connor Bedard's mom: Renowned Hawks journalists denies the rumor

The Hockey world got stuck in a wild theory regarding Corey Perry's sudden suspension from the Blackhawks.

Reports had been going around that during the Hawks' last mother's weekend, the veteran Corey Perry had gotten involved with the young star's mother.

A renowned journalist covering the Blackhawks, Charlie Roumeliotis, came up and confirmed that the reports were entirely made-up:

[The Meal]

Thanksgiving week, the Hawks announced Perry was away from the team for nebulous, personal reasons.

A Reddit thread was created, filled with obviously fake, humorous (?) hypotheses, including banging a teammate’s MILFy mom.

Someone took those jokes and recast the most salacious one as real while posting on X.

The lack of team info, and the general bonkers-ness of the alleged bonking was enough for folks to repost, with little consideration for its veracity. If a budding superstar was mentally harmed as a by-product, well who cares (he plays in Chicago, anyway, and they didn’t deserve such a gift-from-Gary, anyway).

Kyle From Chicago holds a press conference with the express purpose of saying “sorry, I can’t say anything (but it wasn’t that)” to the utter dismay of all listening. “You all disgust me.”

Fans give Chicago all the leeway they think that team deserves.

Media members slowly ascertain that the player did something naughty while hammered in Nashville earlier that trip.

Blackhawks PR not quite out in front of things, yet again.

[Zaxxon]

Blackhawks PR not quite out in front of things, yet again.

It's been disappointing, to say the least.

[gilraen]

Pittsburgh goalie scores empty-net goal. Makes it look so easy, you wonder why it doesn't happen more often.

[Hrdina]

Pittsburgh goalie scores empty-net goal. Makes it look so easy, you wonder why it doesn't happen more often.

Probably because nothing bad ever happens when your goalie clears the puck right up the middle.

[The Meal]

During a one-goal game! Ballsy!

[Isgrimnur]

[The Meal]

I appreciate reading these updates!

Thanks, Zax, I appreciate that. Let's do another one!

Some league stories since the last update: a coach lost his job, Patrick Kane found a team for the rest of this season, and San Jose inexplicably crawled off the bottom of the standings.

Tonight we hit the 448 game mark (on our way to 1312 total games this season), putting us at about 34% of the season behind our belts. Colloquially, it is said, general sports fans start paying attention once the college football season wraps up and the New Year's Winter Classic is played outdoors. So here's your sneak preview ahead of those folks getting engaged.

This time around we've got 14 of 32 teams earning a block point. Four teams (three in the west) have earned their first point: the aforementioned Sharks, the New Jersey Devils, and two teams experiencing the new-coach-bounce: Minnesota and Edmonton. (Will St. Louis be next? I kinda doubt it, but we'll see on 12/30.) This leaves only seven teams in the league who haven't tallied one of these arbitrary points, the best points-percentage among that group being the Coyotes (who, by points earned, are holding down WC2 in the West, at the moment).

We have five teams earning their second block point (of four possible): Nashville, Washington, NY Islanders, Winnipeg, and the Toronto Maple Leafs. This is an interesting group of teams compared to preseason predictions, as only the Leafs were a consensus pick to be playoff caliber. All five squads are currently in a "if the season ended today" playoff spot.

Similarly we've got five additions to the three block-point earner group: two from the Pacific, two from the Atlantic, and a single team from the Metro. Philly, Florida, Vancouver, Boston, and Las Vegas have all tallied another point in my (admittedly goofy) index.

For folks performing simple arithmetic, that means we're done adding teams, and that means that the Rangers failed to go four-for-four, dropping back into the peloton of teams at the top of these standings. Here's where we stand:

3 points: BOS, FLA, NYR, PHI, VGK, VAN
2 points: TOR, DET, TBL, NYI, WAS, COL, WIN, DAL, NSH, LAK
1 point: MTL, NJD, CAR, PIT, MIN, EDM, CAL, SJS, ANA
0 points: BUF, OTT, CLB, ARI, STL, CHI, SEA

Closing out the stories I teased at the top, St. Louis cut free Craig Berube in his fourth year with the team after his similar mid-season hiring led the team to a Cup-winning turn-around in 2019. Patrick Kane, finally (if his post-signing comments are to be believed) signed on the line with Detroit putting him at a career mid-way point for playing for each of the Original Six teams. And San Jose is playing some tough hockey with a relatively no-name group of players (though they are only the 9th youngest team, weighted by time-on-ice per player, with Buffalo and Montreal at one of that spectrum and Pittsburgh and Washington at the other — I'll let you figure out which end is which).

Oh, and it was announced, but won't be implemented for the next few seasons, that the Caps are moving out of DC to Alexandria, VA. Are they going to where their fans are, or does Leonsis just see bigger dollar signs?

After some cement in the standings for the last few post-pandemic years, it's nice to see some topsy-turvy injected in our expectations this year. It's tough for me to let go of some of my preseason expectations, but we are seeing some of the disappointments making their moves (NJD, EDM) this time around. Will unexpected playoff-spot holders (PHI, VAN) be able to hold these charging-teams out by the end of the season? We'll know by April!

[The Meal]

Once is an observation. Twice becomes a trend.

Last time around, "Block 4", I noted an increase in the number of teams earning their Block Point (i.e., the number of standings points earned since the last update is more than 1 point above the number of games played). For each of the first 3 Blocks, there were 11 teams earning this point. In Block 4, the number rose to 14. Last night's games concluded Block 5, and this time around it's exactly half the league, with 16 teams qualifying. In most sports leagues (and to a very large extent the NHL) this would mean that these extra teams are earning points by beating up on the other half of the league, but hockey has a non-equal number of points doled out for any given contest — games which extend past regulation time see 3 standings points awarded, while games which conclude at 60 minutes only see two points awarded. (The league loves this, as it has the effect of making teams look competitive for playoff positions late in the season, despite the obstacles to overcome being larger than they appear. This is a side conversation, and one NHL fans have had many times.)

So far this season, with 554 games played (42.2% of the full schedule), teams have earned approximately 1.109 points per game (11% higher than nominal). This is a slight increase compared to where we were at the end of Block 4 (34.0% of the season and 1.102 PPG). As teams get sorted into buckets of "going-to-miss", "definitely-going-to-get-in", and the largest bucket of "it's-yet-to-be-determined", there's more incentive for a larger number of teams to play it safe near the end of a tied regulation game, so that they can lock up the guaranteed point and play for the possibility of an extra point in the overtime and shootout. Expect the 1.109 PPG to go up as we approach April.

I'll spell out the individual 16 teams in a moment, but let's look at where we stand for overall Block Points by division, to date. Teams in three of the divisions have a combined total of 15 Block Points earned, while the fourth division has teams earning a total of 18 Block Points. One division is comprised of all 8 teams which have earned at least one Block Point, two of the other three have one team putting up a goose egg, and the final division has two teams which haven't (yet?) earned a Block Point. Could you guess these stand-out divisions? (Without running the numbers I'd have only been able to correctly guess that last division with two teams having 0 BP's -- the Atlantic's Ottawa and Buffalo are both teams that have been struggling to get off the proverbial schnied so far this year.)

The "powerhouse" division for block points is also in the Eastern Conference, but it's the less-heralded Metro. Two teams have earned 4 out of 5 possible BPs (the Rangers, of course, and also the Flyers?!?!!). Five other teams have two BPs each, leaving the Blue Jackets as one of the goose-egg teams. (And now I've identified the three teams in the East with 0 BPs, can you guess the single team in the West still stuck at zero?)

The Western Conference division with 8 teams putting up at least 1 BP is the Pacific (so that means it's not CGY, ANA, or SJS still stuck at zero — guess again!). Vancouver is out in front at 4, the medieval teams (Knights and Kings) have 3 BPs each, and the other five teams have a single BP. (Yes, even the Oilers are stuck at one.)

The Central Division shows three teams each with 3 BPs (Colorado, Dallas, and Winnipeg), two teams at 2 (Nashville, and the Wild), and two teams with 1 (Arizona and St. Louis). That leaves the Chicago Bedards as the final team with 0 Block Points earned this season. I've mostly just caught highlights of their games, but it sure looks like 18-year-old phenom Connor Bedard is the real deal this season. Black Hawk fans have every reason to be getting excited. ( )

Finally the Atlantic Division. It's a bit of a smear with three teams at 3 BPs (Boston, Florida, Tampa Bay), and three Original 6 teams at 2 BPs (TOR, DET, MTL).

Three teams are setting the pace at 4 Block Points so far this year (VAN, NYR, PHI), and eight have 3 BPs (VGK, LAK, COL, DAL, WIN, BOS, FLA, TBL). If I were to pick the eleven most dangerous teams in the league I'm pretty sure I'd have found a spot for TOR, CAR, NJD, and EDM, but the Block Points analysis puts a spotlight not just on who's overperforming but also who's not as consistent as you may have anticipated.

The teams earning BPs during Block 5: (TBL, MTL, NYR, PHI, NJD, WAS, PIT, VAN, LAK, SEA, and six teams in the Central: COL, DAL, WIN, ARI, MIN, STL -- NSH missed by 2 standings points, and CHI missed by 4).

The BLOCK 6 check-in is in 16 days, which means teams continue the December pace of just about a game every-other night (each Block is set up for teams to average 7 games as pseudo playoff-contests that only OOers know about).

[The Meal]

A little bit of a different update now that we're at the mid-point of the season (51.1% completed); Block 6 additions are in purple:


A couple of notable Metro teams (NYR, PHI) fail to chalk up a fifth Block Point, leaving Vancouver to lead the pack for my totally made-up consistency index this year.

Our Block 7 check-in isn't until 2/6, with the upcoming All-Star break slowing down the pace of games.

[The Meal]

I'm a day behind where I intended this to be, sorry (...in a Canadian accent). I'm also up against it, timewise, so just the facts.

60.2% of the season completed. New Block Points by Division:

SJS, EDM, VGK, VAN (Sharks are up to 2 block points! Vancouver has 6 of a possible 7)
STL, DAL (Blues are also up to 2 block points)
-no teams from the Metropolitan Division-
OTT, DET, TBL, FLA, and BOS (Ottawa is off the schnied! Buffalo, Columbus, and Chicago are the remaining teams with 0 block points)

If the Metro keeps doing what they're doing, collectively, both Eastern Conference wildcards will come from the Atlantic. The top 3 Atlantic teams (BOS, FLA, TBL) are only one Block Point behind the overall league leader (VAN), and then there are seven teams with 4 each.

[The Meal]

I knew I was going to have all-day to put this together (I wrangled MHS through a colonoscopy this morning, so nice timing on the Dave Barry piece yesterday, Unagi). On this 44th anniversary of the Miracle on Ice, here's my eighth block analysis. Recall that I put arbitrary (but fixed ahead of time) blocks of the season where teams average 7 games played, then I identify those teams who have earned at least two more points than games played over that period. In my head this corresponds to a team winning a hypothetical best-of-seven series over that part of their schedule. After I had done this a few times I decided this is more of a analysis of teams' consistency than anything else. And with that said, onto the list of teams...

Through the first seven blocks, we averaged 12.4 teams earning a block point (BP) each period (ranging from 11 to 16). This time around we have 9 (two from each division with one additional team in the much-maligned Metropolitan Division). The end of the eighth block is the 67.7% point of total games played this season. Block 12 concludes on April 18, 2024 which is the last day of the regular season.

Starting in the West, here are the nine teams adding to their personal BPs:
LAK, EDM, MIN, WIN, PHI, CAR, NYR, TOR, and FLA.

In terms of season totals we're looking at:

ZERO:
CHI, CLB, BUF

ONE:
OTT, ARI, ANA

TWO:
SJS, SEA, CGY, STL, WAS, NYI, NJD, MTL

THREE:
TOR, PIT, NSH, MIN

FOUR:
LAK, EDM, VGK, COL, DAL, CAR, DET

FIVE:
BOS, TBL, NYR, PHI, WIN

SIX:
VAN, FLA

Zero teams each for seven and eight. I'll be back with Block 9 on (or after, as I'm actually attending a game in Vegas on 3/8 not returning to my spreadsheet until later on the week which follows) March 8.

[gilraen]

NHL trade deadline is Friday but the major moves started yesterday, with some very interesting trades on the books. Colorado Avalanche (at least on paper) made a couple of killer trades, getting Sean Walker (D) from Philly and Casey Mittelstadt (C) from Buffalo Sabres. Can't wait to see how these guys play with the team. Although even before they get here, last night's ass-kicking of Detroit Red Wings (sorry, Meal!) was one of the best Avs' performances in months.