It's time for our weekly installment highlighting what's right and what's wrong with the NHL. For all the things there are to love about the NHL and its product, there's also plenty to hate and criticize.
With that in mind, let's hash it out together ... right here ... every single Wednesday.
Loving and/or hating something about the NHL at any given point throughout this season? Feel free to drop your praise/complaints in my email inbox.
Photo illustration by Pete Blackburn
What's right: Flame wearing retro jerseys
The Calgary Flames announced this week that they're going to wear their retro third jerseys as their home uniform throughout the playoffs. This is great news because the Flames' throwback is one of the best jerseys in hockey. It's not just a good decision; it's the only decision.
The Flames thirds are infinitely better their current primary home jerseys and they should wear them all the time. In fact, I'm willing to bet that they'll be upgraded to the full-time home look soon, especially if the Flames make a deep run this spring.
USATSI
Calgary is apparently going the retro route as a way to honor the 30th anniversary of the 1989 Stanley Cup-winning Flames squad, which wore the same jerseys. But let's be real: The real reason is simply that they're better. Getting the playoff jersey designation is typically the sign of a preferred look, so it seems fair to expect Calgary to make the change permanently at some point.
There are a few other teams that should follow Calgary's lead on this idea. Looking at you Ducks, Oilers and Capitals…
What's wrong: Bob Nicholson's finger-pointing
These days, it requires a hell of an effort to take away the "worst NHL suit" title from Eugene Melnyk, at least temporarily. Dallas Stars CEO Jim Lites gave it his best shot earlier this year with his "f---ing horses—t" comments, and this week Oilers president Bob Nicholson submitted his bid.
During a press tour this week, Nicholson somehow managed to lower the bar even further for the Oilers. At a town hall meeting with season ticket holders, Nicholson basically pinned the team's (inevitable) failure to make the playoffs on…Tobias Rieder?
Basically, Nicholson aired out Rieder while making the claim that the Oilers would be in a playoff spot had they scored "10 to 12 more goals."
Uh, okay.
Rieder is undoubtedly having a tough year, something that he'd be quick to tell you himself. Zero goals in 61 games (with just three breakaways, by the way) is not what he planned on contributing when he signed a one-year deal with Edmonton last summer.
But he's far from the sole reason that the Oilers are a trash can this year. And even if he was, he doesn't deserve to get thrown under the bus by Nicholson behind his back. Holding guys accountable is one thing; unnecessarily dragging them is another.
Understandably, Nicholson's comments pissed Rieder right off. The forward said he was "disappointed" and "offended" after getting singled out, but he eventually accepted an apology from Nicholson.
Re BobNicholson’s comments on Tobias Reider... Nicholson has reached out and apologized to #22 for the comments.
— John Shannon (@JSportsnet) March 21, 2019
Apology or no apology, the comments are an exceptionally pathetic look for the franchise. But I suppose it sort of gives you a glimpse at the bizarre logic that allowed Peter Chiarelli to run the team into the ground before he was fired earlier this year. Thinking that 12 extra goals will guarantee you a playoff spot when your general manager has surrounded the best player in the world with a bunch of stage props. Good stuff, I guess.
This should give Oilers fans plenty of confidence that Nicholson won't screw up the next GM hiring.
Your move, Melnyk.
What's right: John Tavares' debut season
Remember that John Tavares guy? Yeah, he's having a pretty solid debut season in Toronto.
Not only has he hit 40 goals for the first time in his career, but he's at 45 right now -- a total that puts him third in the league behind only Alex Ovechkin and Leon Draisaitl. He became the first Maple Leaf in 25 years (!) to hit the 45-goal marker in a season, doing so with the help of a four-goal outing -- the first of his career -- against the Panthers this week.
Tavares' goals total this year also sets a new mark for the most ever scored by a player in his first season after signing somewhere as a free agent. Marian Gaborik previously held that record with 42 goals in his first season with the Rangers in 2009-2010. It's worth noting that 36 of Tavares' goals have come at even-strength. He had 37 total last year.
Tavares has also tied his career-high point total (86) with five games left to go on the season. Something tells me he's probably going to have a new career high by this time next week.
So we know that Tavares has been a pretty damn good fit in Toronto with his arsenal of offensive abilities, and he's doing his best to live up that massive payday he pulled in last summer. But all eyes are going to be on Tavares and his impact for the Leafs in the postseason, where neither has had much success in recent history.
Tavares only has 24 playoff games to his resume through the first nine years of his career -- something that people seem to hold against him despite the fact that he played for some pretty bad teams during his tenure on Long Island. The Leafs haven't won a postseason series since 2004 and Toronto is destined for a first-round matchup with the Boston Bruins, a team they haven't defeated in a playoff series since 1958.
Does Tavares' fantastic first year in Toronto paint him as the savior that Leafs fans have been desperately looking for? Is he enough to help them cast off their demons and finally beat Boston in the playoffs?
We'll find out soon enough, I guess. No pressure, though!
What's wrong: Drew Doughty's whining
It appears that the effects of a long, difficult season are wearing on Drew Doughty. The Kings defenseman was a real crankypants this week and it led to some rather whiny quotes.
As the Kings were preparing to play the Calgary Flames, Doughty let it be known that he still doesn't respect Matthew Tkachuk, which makes sense considering the history the two share. As someone who enjoys animosity-fueled rivalries between players, I have no problem with Doughty going out of his way to blast Tkachuk, even if it comes off as him refusing to let old grudges die.
But the real head-scratcher came when a reporter asked Doughty for his thoughts on Mark Giordano's candidacy for Norris, which somehow led to Doughty absolutely shredding Brent Burns for his ability to defend in his own end.
"I watch the games. I watch how they play. I watch Brent Burns get beat 20 times a game. That's how I base it," Doughty said in regards to how he evaluates the position. "All you've got to do is watch one San Jose Sharks game and you'll see Brent Burns get beat three times a game – literally – and everyone has him up for the Norris. I just don't get it."
Burns may not be a true shutdown defenseman, but he still brings a massive impact to the blue line with his ability to generate offense and push play up ice from the back end -- a style of play that the NHL has been shifting toward over the past handful of years.
That's not to say that Giordano doesn't have more of a claim to the Norris this year than Burns. The latter currently leads all blue liners with 77 points, but Giordano is second with 72 and has been more reliable in his own end. They hold very similar shot shares at 5-on-5, but Giordano has an edge over Burns in 5-on-5 goal differential (59.7 percent for Giordano, 53.1 percent for Burns) and Giordano has nearly 100 more defensive zone starts at 5-on-5.
But Doughty's comments come off as a really weird and petty attack against a very good player in Burns. It just seems like sour grapes from one former Norris winner to another. Maybe some of it is rooted in jealousy, as Burns' Sharks at near the top of Western Conference this season while the Kings are the second-worst team in the league.
Of course, Doughty himself isn't having a great season in Los Angeles, which could also help explain why frustrations are piling up. He's currently sporting a career-worst shot share (46.6 percent) and goal share (41.8 percent) and it looks like he's going to fail to hit the 10-goal mark for the first time since 2014-2015. To be fair, he's certainly not getting a ton of help around him, but you could also argue he's not in the best position to be talking smack about other players right now.
In any case, it seems like Doughty may need to change his diaper and just try to survive until the end of the regular season. There are better days ahead, probably.
