Here is the March 17 edition of the mailbag. Each week, an NHL.com writer will answer your questions asked using #OvertheBoards.
Could Mark Stone be considered as the best player in the NHL? — @creepindeath
This is a fascinating question, and one that has become more interesting with the Vegas Golden Knights forward continuing to tear it up. Though I’m not quite ready to anoint Stone as the best player in the NHL — there’s that Connor McDavid guy, after all, among others — he’s made a case.
Stone scored his sixth game-winning goal in a 2-1 win against the San Jose Sharks on Monday and has scored 33 points (10 goals, 23 assists) in 25 games. His average of 1.32 points per game is tied for sixth in the NHL with Winnipeg Jets forward Mark Scheifele and behind Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs (1.33); McDavid is first at 1.71 points per game. In an 82-game season, Stone’s points per game would put him on pace for 108, exceeding his previous NHL career high of 73 (33 goals, 40 assists) for the Ottawa Senators and Golden Knights in 2018-19. Add how Stone is one of the best defensive wings in the game and you have a recipe for a truly dynamic, 200-foot, all-around player who can make a case as the best in hockey.
I wrote about Stone last February and remember being struck by the fervor in people’s voices when they talk about him, about how hard he worked to fashion himself into any kind of NHL player, let alone one about whom this question could be asked. Even more, I was struck by the way Stone thinks about himself as a player, how well he recognized his weaknesses (including his skating) and not only worked to build them up and correct them, but also understood how to exploit his strengths. He told me then, “I don’t think there’s any guys in this league who play the way I play. I wish I could be Sidney Crosby. I wish I could be Connor McDavid. But ultimately, I can’t skate like Connor McDavid. I’m not as skilled as Sidney Crosby. But there are things that they see that I do that they wish they could do.”
I think there’s no question about that.
Video: SJS@VGK: Stone finishes off Paciorett’s drop pass
Thoughts on [Charlie] Coyle and [Craig] Smith to date? They aren’t scoring and Coyle isn’t shooting. — @PGaff71
There’s no question that this has been a problem for the Boston Bruins. I, like many, thought it was a great deal when the Bruins signed Craig Smith to a three-year, $9.3 million contract (annual average value of $3.1 million) Oct. 10. They were getting a forward who could help balance the team and increase its depth at a reasonable price.
Though I still believe in the deal, the hoped-for production out of an expected third line featuring Smith and Charlie Coyle hasn’t been there this season, especially with the Bruins deep into offensive futility of late. Smith has scored nine points (four goals, five assists) and Coyle has scored eight (five goals, three assists), and neither is enough for Boston to be as successful as it wants. Coach Bruce Cassidy continues to play around with the lines, separating the pair earlier this week and saying of Smith in particular, “It’s dried up on a lot of our guys, so I don’t think it’s just him. … And I think Charlie Coyle has struggled to create offense, to be perfectly honest with you, and that will usually affect the wingers. Just the way it is. Centers typically drive lines.”
Each player has a proven track record and needs to be better and more involved (Coyle is averaging 1.38 shots per game, down from an NHL career-high 2.07 last season.). I was thoroughly impressed with Coyle in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs and last regular season, when he seemed to play up to his immense potential, but it hasn’t been there this season, and we’re at the halfway mark.
A general NHL one please, Amalie. Do you think anything good has (or will) come out of the pandemic for the NHL? Thank you! — @ScandiZamboni
This has been a tough year, in so many ways, since last season was paused March 12, 2020 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus. We’ve seen more than half a million lives lost in the United States and more than 2.6 million across the world, tremendous financial hardship and shuttering of businesses across the country and the world. People have lost homes and loved ones and, sometimes, hockey, and the NHL feels so minimal in that scope. So I don’t want to lose sight of that.
That being said, I do think there are some lessons that the NHL has learned in the past year, and innovations that it’s undertaken and explored because of the difficulties that have occurred amid the pandemic. There has been a lot of support for the Major League Baseball-style schedule that the NHL put into place this season with teams playing miniseries against opponents. Playing consecutive games against the same opponent in the same arena can have multiple positives in terms of wear and tear on players, ramping up emotions and grudges, and financial and environmental impacts of fewer flights and less travel. Plus it’s fun to watch.
It’s been a necessity because of realigned divisions and travel restrictions for the United States-Canada border, but I think it’s something that players and fans would like to see continue. I also think back to a conversation I had with Stathletes’ Meghan Chayka not long after the pause last season, when she wondered if the pandemic and the alteration of the financial landscape could allow teams to approach things in new ways with new ideas and going outside the box. We’ve seen that already in some of the changes in revenue generation that the NHL has made, including selling rights to the names of the divisions. I think we could see different approaches to hiring as well with teams in some ways getting a chance to step back from day-to-day operations as they’ve needed (and been more willing) to accept ideas that they might once have brushed off. That could expand the pool that teams and decision-makers might look at, especially to people outside of the usual hockey world.
In your opinion, why don’t [Jonathan] Huberdeau and [Aleksander] Barkov get more recognition? They are 7th and 10th respectively in the points in the NHL. Moreover, why don’t fans and analysts take the Panthers serious? They are 2nd in points in the league. #OverTheBoards — @theashcity
I’m not sure. Part of it is simply that there aren’t as many media members covering the Florida Panthers as, say, the Toronto Maple Leafs. But I think that anyone serious about the NHL can see that there’s finally something building in Florida with the Panthers tied with the New York Islanders, Washington Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning for the most points in the NHL (42). The last time the Panthers were first in the NHL standings beyond the second game of a season was Dec. 28, 1996, so it’s been a while. The recognition is coming and will continue to come if they keep it up.
Joel Quenneville was first in NHL.com’s midseason Trophy Tracker for the Jack Adams Award, given annually to the coach of the year in the NHL. I think Aleksander Barkov (34 points; 12 goals, 22 assists) is going to get a long look for the Selke Trophy given to the forward who excels most in the defensive side of the game. Jonathan Huberdeau has also scored 34 points (10 goals, 24 assists) and could get some buzz for the Hart Trophy, awarded to the most valuable player in the NHL, by the end of the season.
The Panthers appear to be a legit Stanley Cup contender, so if you’re sleeping on them, it’s probably time to wake up.
Video: FLA@NSH: Huberdeau shows patience, beats Rinne