Avalanche stand at NHL summit

Time flies when you’re having fun. And somehow the first third of the NHL season is already in the rear-view mirror. How did that happen? Weren’t we just talking about training camp?

Take the Winnipeg Jets, for example. They’ll officially hit the end of the first period on their schedule — fittingly — at the end of the first period Saturday night in Edmonton (27 games and 20 minutes in the books).

There’s been no shortage of intriguing developments and compelling storylines so far. So here at Dump & Chase, we figured we’d compile a list of eight that have caught our eye:

AVALANCHE APPROACHING RECORD HEIGHTS

The numbers are downright staggering and, while the Colorado Avalanche had a 17-game point streak snapped earlier this week by the New York Islanders, they’ve suffered only two regulation losses through the opening third of the season.

Take a moment to soak that in, keeping in mind the Jets were 15-1 out of the gate last fall but were 19-8-0 through 27 games while the Avalanche are currently 19-2-6. All to say it’s been an incredible run for the team that’s leading the Central Division, Western Conference and the entire NHL right now.

The Avalanche are rolling on all cylinders and showcasing ample depth, but there have also been some downright impressive individual performances as well.

If the voting were held today, Nathan MacKinnon would be the runaway winner of the Hart Trophy, with his league-leading 22 goals and 46 points in 27 games. Cale Makar would secure another Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenceman, with nine goals and 33 points to sit third in team scoring while playing a sound game in his own zone.

Journeyman goalie Scott Wedgewood — despite a recent injury — would also have a case to be the Vezina Trophy winner through the opening third as well, putting together a record of 13-1-3 with a 2.07 goals-against average, .920 save percentage to go along with 11 goals saved above expected according to Money Puck, which leaves him ninth in the NHL in that category (just behind Connor Hellebuyck, who has 12.5 GSAE).

For all of the talk about secondary scoring (and the lack thereof for the Jets), the Avalanche had 12 players in double digits in points through 27 games while the Jets had six.

The scary thing for other teams in the Central — including the Jets — is that the Dallas Stars have been nearly as good, sitting only three points back, though Colorado holds a game in hand. Can the Avalanche eclipse the 2022-23 Boston Bruins team that finished the campaign at 65-12-5? That’s an awfully big ask, but for the sake of context, that Bruins team was 20-3 to open the season and 22-4-1 through 27 games so the pace is eerily similar.

PARITY PARTY

You know NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is loving this. Here we are in early December and even the league’s bottom-feeders are still just a hot streak away from being in a playoff spot.

Entering play on Friday night, the Vancouver Canucks were in the basement of the Western Conference but just six points out of the second wildcard spot with 55 games to play. The Buffalo Sabres were 16th in the East but just seven points from getting into the dance.

You can thank the so-called loser point for this. They’ve been doled out like Halloween candy so far this year, with Vegas leading the way (8 overtime or shootout losses in their first 26 games). Los Angeles (7), St. Louis (7), Colorado (6), Chicago (6), Seattle (6), Dallas (5), Pittsburgh (5), Minnesota (5), Columbus (5) and Edmonton (5) are among the leaders as well. Boston is the only team without one, while Winnipeg just got its first on Wednesday night against Montreal.

So many three-point games keep everyone close together. Want proof? How about the fact 15 of the 16 teams in the East at or above the NHL’s version of .500, while just four West teams have more regulation losses than wins.

This should ensure playoff races and positioning go right down to the wire.

WOE CANADA

Going into Friday’s action, only the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators were above the playoff line — meaning the five remaining teams north of the border would be on the outside looking in.

Granted, the Edmonton Oilers are tied in points with the two wild card teams in the Western Conference and the Jets are very much within striking distance. But for two teams with Stanley Cup aspirations, they’ve got work to do.

The Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks have been in a battle for last place overall and both teams have some valuable trade chips to move before the deadline, it’s a matter of how deep into the roster those clubs are willing to go.

The thought of someone like Gavin McKenna being available with an early pick in the 2026 NHL draft would have plenty of appeal in both of those markets to fill a centre void.

Shifting back to the Eastern Conference for a second, the poor start for the Toronto Maple Leafs have raised plenty of questions as well. Despite some struggles to advance past the first round of the playoffs, the Maple Leafs battling for last place in the Eastern Conference with the Buffalo Sabres isn’t something that many folks had on their off-season bingo card.

Now, there’s still a chance that four or even five of the seven Canadian teams find a way to figure it out during the final two-thirds here, but the early prospects of ending the Stanley Cup drought that dates back to 1993 isn’t looking especially good so far.

PAINFUL PRICE

One of the unfortunate side effects of returning to the Olympics has been a compressed NHL schedule which, not surprisingly, has led to a surge in injuries. It’s left teams around the league scrambling to fill out a 20-man roster on a nightly basis, often digging deep into the prospect pool and raiding the farm.

Here in Winnipeg, the Jets have deal with the likes of Hellebuyck, Adam Lowry, Dylan Samberg, Cole Perfetti, Neal Pionk, Morgan Barron and Haydn Fleury all missing time so far.

They have plenty of company in the pain department. Among the star power currently sidelined: Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov (Florida), Jack Hughes (New Jersey), Pierre-Luc Dubois (Washington), Patrik Laine and Kaiden Guhle (Montreal), Victor Hedman (Tampa Bay), Charlie McAvoy (Boston), Jaccob Slavin (Carolina), Tyler Seguin (Dallas), Adam Fox (New York Rangers), Rickard Rakell (Pittsburgh), Kyle Palmieri (New York Islanders) and Jaden Schwartz (Seattle).

Then you have others including Brady Tkachuk (Ottawa), Josh Norris (Buffalo), Mark Stone (Vegas), Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (Edmonton), Jamie Benn (Dallas) and Patrick Kane (Detroit) who are back now having missed substantial time.

Some of the ailments have been downright bizarre and actually can’t be blamed on the busy NHL calendar. Hughes, for example, severely cut his hand while out at a team dinner. Eetu Luostarinen of Florida and Alexey Toropchenko of St. Louis are both on the IR right now with burns suffered in home accidents.

Ouch.

THESE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT

Youth is most certainly being served in the NHL and the infusion of that enthusiasm has been impressive to watch.

Going into Friday’s action, three of the top-five point producers in the NHL are 19 or 20.

Macklin Celebrini of the San Jose Sharks had 40 points and was nipping at the heels of MacKinnon, while Connor Bedard of the Chicago Blackhawks sat alone in third with 39 points and Leo Carlsson of the Anaheim Ducks was tied with Jason Robertson of the Stars at 36.

Now this is also a reminder of the quality of player that is available near the top of the NHL draft for teams that bottom out and have a Top-5 pick, but don’t let them diminish what we’re seeing from the likes of Celebrini (first overall, 2024), Bedard (first overall, 2023) or Carlsson (second overall, 2023).

Sabres forward Zach Benson spent the summer with Bedard and Celebrini in Vancouver and saw their competitive nature up close.

“It’s impressive,” said Benson. “They’re honestly two of the most skilled guys I’ve ever been on the ice with. Playing against them is a challenge. Seeing the stuff they do in the summer is pretty incredible. No surprise that they’re breaking out this year.”

That breakout for Bedard and Celebrini has driven team success and has both players right in the mix for consideration for Canada’s Olympic team in Italy.

It’s hard to believe that we were talking about the merits of load management for Carlsson last season and now we’re talking about him anchoring the top line for a team battling for top spot in the Pacific Division and someone that will play an important role for Sweden at the upcoming Olympics.

NO SLOWING DOWN

It’s been said Father Time is undefeated. Apparently Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby didn’t get the memo. Three of the greatest players of this generation are still putting up huge numbers despite being 40, 39 and 38 respectively

How’s this for a fun coincidence — all three guys right now are tied in NHL scoring with 29 points, good for T-25th overall.

Crosby (18G, 11A), Ovechkin (14G, 15A) and Malkin (8G, 21A) are showing that age is just a number. And here’s another tasty little morsel: if the playoffs started today, Ovechkin’s Washington Capitals would be facing Crosby and Malkin’s Pittsburgh Penguins in the first (using point percentage as the gauge).

Sign. Us. Up.

Ovechkin will make his annual trip to Winnipeg to face the Jets next Saturday, while Pittsburgh has already come and gone this season.

OLYMPIC DRAMA

And here we thought the most gripping part of the NHL’s return to the biggest stage in sports was going to simply involve who makes the final rosters.

Turns out the race to complete the new hockey complex in Milan is now the big storyline. It was supposed to be done already, but unexpected delays have everyone on edge.

There is no Plan B, so this is quite the dramatic situation. Throw in the fact that the dimensions of the rink — assuming it’s ready to go by the start of February — are going to smaller-than-usual and this is quite the pickle.

We’re still betting this all gets done and everyone can soon go back to debating the merits of who went to Italy and who was left behind. The architects of Team Canada are holding meetings this weekend to pare down their internal list and really focus on the final spots up for grabs ahead of declaring the finished roster at the end of the month.

Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey remains a lock, while centre Mark Scheifele is certainly on the bubble. A terrific next couple weeks would certainly help his cause. On the U.S. side, Hellebuyck and Kyle Connor will be on the team, while Nino Niederreiter will lead the Swiss squad into battle.

SHRINKING UFA CLASS

The problem with projecting what future unrestricted free agent classes are going to look like is that the teams employing those high-end players don’t want them to hit the open market.

So while it’s still fun to look into the crystal ball and wonder what might be on the horizon, multiple NHL clubs ensured their best players were sticking around by handing out some big-ticket contracts.

That was evident when the Jets signed Connor to the richest deal in contract history, the Minnesota Wild made Kirill Kaprizov the highest paid player in NHL history and Jack Eichel signed up for eight more seasons with the Vegas Golden Knights.

Already erased from the noted class of 2026 are Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers, whose three-year extension already has tongues wagging about 2028 and where he might end up.

That’s not to suggest there isn’t still going to be a frenzy on July 1 of 2026, but most of the biggest ticket items have already been removed from the top shelf.

The other interesting thing about the upcoming free agent class is that many of them are north of 30 (and some of them well north), which could impact the term on the deals, even if the average annual value is still high.

That group includes Washington Capitals blue-liner John Carlson and New York Rangers winger Artemi Panarin.

Kiefer Sherwood (who turns 31 early in the new year) of the Vancouver Canucks is also a player of interest for many contenders, given his style of play and production.

Sherwood would certainly appeal to the Jets, especially if they felt they could ink him to an extension before July 1.

A trio of 29 year olds will also attract attention: Calgary Flames defenceman Rasmus Andersson, Sabres winger Alex Tuch and Utah Mammoth forward Nick Schmaltz.

Oilers forward Jack Roslovic (28) also figures to cash in after a strong start to his season — which includes 10 goals and 18 points in 23 games going into Saturday’s game with the Jets.

 

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