Risers and Fallers: Return To Play Ramblings

Seeing as the NHL has been out of commission for several weeks, it makes it tough for me to portend risers and fallers. So in lieu of a typical weekly piece, I will use this article to cover a myriad of hockey related topics as we enter the final weeks of regular season play. Next Wednesday I’ll return to a typical risers and fallers column as trends are re-established.

The 46 year wait is over. Team USA took the gold in men’s ice hockey this past Sunday for the first time since the Miracle on Ice in Lake Placid in 1980. On a shorter scale, the 16 year wait for revenge on Sidney Crosby’s golden goal was fulfilled. Canada was the better team in every way but the hockey gods were clearly on the side of my American compatriots. Congrats to Hilary Knight for a storybook ending to her Olympic career.

Things are probably only going to get drearier in Manhattan come the March 6th deadline for the Rangers. There are rumors Vladislav Gavrikov is not happy with how things have played out and may request a trade. Vincent Trocheck I imagine will be coveted by most any contender for his all around contributions coupled with a fantastic contract. Jonathan Quick clearly cannot handle starter duties at 40-years-old but could still be a serviceable backup for any team not on his 20-team no trade list. Fail for McKenna is in full swing but their track record of developing young forwards does not inspire hope.

The other team to watch for a sell-off of epic proportions will be the Vancouver Canucks. Evander Kane is certainly being made available but it’ll be a matter of if he’s actually coveted at this point in his career. Elias Pettersson could be wearing black and silver in Los Angeles as they scramble to alleviate the loss of Kevin Fiala coupled with Artemi Panarin’s arrival. Several solid depth pieces the likes of Teddy Blueger, Connor Garland, and Marcus Pettersson may find themselves donning new sweaters as well.

I liked what I saw from Gabriel Landeskog in Olympic play, posting four points in five games with 14 shots on goal. The tournament served as his return from a lower body injury suffered in early January. Prior to that he'd posted 15 points in his last 19 games played. So if he’s officially back to being a 60-70 point threat then the Avalanche are really going to be a problem for the rest of the league down the stretch.

Standings are still very tight in respective divisions so we’re going to see the likes of playoff hockey long before the actual postseason arrives. The Pacific is the most up for grabs, with ten points separating first and sixth. Minnesota and Dallas are within striking distance of Colorado atop the Central. Only nine points separate first and fifth in the Atlantic with the Metropolitan the one most likely to look the way it does as of this writing come regular season’s end.

Teams I expect to be most active as buyers at the deadline: Detroit Red Wings, Dallas Stars, Carolina Hurricanes, Los Angeles Kings, Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins, Edmonton Oilers.

Teams I expect to be most active as sellers: New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils, Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers, St. Louis Blues, Winnipeg Jets, Calgary Flames, Vancouver Canucks.

Let’s see if Jordan Binnington can carry over his excellent performance in the Olympics though I have my doubts. He is well documented for rising to the occasion on the international stage but has been atrocious for the Blues so far with an abysmal eight wins in 32 starts. Based on the fact I expect St. Louis to sell at the deadline I feel the trend will continue for porous play stateside.

Can Karel Vejmelka challenge for a 40-win campaign? He’s at 27 currently with 25 games left on Utah’s schedule. They currently occupy the first wild card spot, so barring injury, I expect he’ll play at the very least 20 of these remaining tilts. Logan Cooley looks set to return from injury tonight (add if available), boosting an already offensively potent squad significantly.

Good on Swedish men’s players speaking out against the questionable deployment choices made by head coach Sam Hallam. Countless times he sporadically used players the likes of Filip Forsberg, Jesper Bratt, and Rasmus Dahlin.That Dahlin did not see a single overtime shift in the loss to the United States is perplexing to say the least.

Players to consider adding in deeper leagues as games get underway again: Matt Duchene, Dylan Holloway, Bobby McMann, Anthony Mantha, Mason Marchment, Lawson Crouse, Jack Quinn, Oliver Kapanen, Sam Malinski, Charlie Lindgren, Kirby Dach, Shane Wright, Pavel Zacha, Alexis Lafreniere, Luke Evangelista, Egor Chinakhov, Lian Bichsel.