Tag Archives: #JoeBartnick

Bartnick: Same old, same old in Atlantic for 2025-26

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LOS ANGELES – The Atlantic Division once again hosts a two-time defending Stanley Cup Champion. It is once again a Florida franchise, the Florida Panthers. For years the Atlantic division was divided between the top 4 and the bottom 4. The top teams Florida, Tampa Bay,Toronto and Boston were the top teams. Detroit, Buffalo, Montreal and Ottawa were at the bottom. Every year we waited to see a bottom team to rise up and a top team to drop.

Last year was the year. Montreal and Ottawa rose and Boston fell.

This season the Atlantic is divided into 3 classes. The Stanley Cup contenders Florida, Tampa Bay and Toronto. The Middle class consists of Montreal ,Ottawa, Detroit and the Gavin McKenna lottery hopefuls Boston and Buffalo.

1. Florida Panthers – The 2 time defending Stanley Cup Champions Florida Panthers are returning almost the exact same team. Only replacing sixth defenseman Nate Schmidt with Petry and backup goalie Vitek Vanecek with Daniil Tarasov. They still have the best top 9 in the NHL led by their top center, captain and Selke winner Aleksander Barkov. Sam Reinhart, Carter Verhaeghe and Eeto Luostarian are lethal wingers. Centers Sam Bennett and Anton Lundell give the Big Cats the best center depth in the league. Florida’s heart and soul Matthew Tkachuk is out until 2026 but The Rat Brad Marchand will be there all year. The defense will have Seth Jones all year. The top pair of Gustav Forsling and Aaron Ekblad are second only to Cale Makar and Devon Toews in Colorado. Hall of Famer Sergei Bobrovsky is in net. Many say Florida knows they will make the playoffs and won’t try to win the division. Paul Maurice’s team is just too good not to win the division. Tampa and Toronto have holes. Florida has none.

2. Tampa Bay Lightning – The Tampa Bay Lightning have an incredible top line. Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point and Jake Guentzel may all be in the Hall of Fame one day. Tampa doesn’t have the depth in lines 2-4 they did in their Championship years despite Brandon Hagel, Anthony Cirelli and Nick Paul still being there. Yanni Gourde returning and Pontus Holmberg coming down from Toronto help but GM Patrice Brisebois will need to add at the deadline. Victor Hedman is playing at near peak Victor Hedman on the blueline. Ryan McDonagh and Erik Cernak have lost a step. Never count team with Andrei Vasilevskiy in net, Jon Copper behind the bench and a lethal power play out of Stanley Cup contention. The Bolts take too many nights off as a team to win a division.

3. Toronto Maple Leafs – The Toronto Maple finally broke up the Big 4. Auston Matthews, William Nylander and John Tavares remain. The Leafs will miss Mitch Marner’s 100 plus point in the regular season but not his disappearing act in the playoffs. Matthew Knies is ready tto be a star power forward. The rest of the forwards will play the rough Craig Berube style hockey but will they score enough? The defense is also built to play the way the head coach wants but the Leafs still do not have a  number one defenseman. The Dynamic duo in net Anthony Stolarz and Joseph Woll will be missing Woll to begin the season as he deals with a personal matter.

4. Montreal Canadiens – The Montreal Canadiens made the playoffs last seasonbecause the franchise never misses the playoffs 4 years in a row. The Habs have high expectations. Their top line of Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkofsky is talented enough to meet them. Russian scoring phenom Ivan Demidov will be with them all season. Hopefully former Swedish scoring phenom Partik Laine can stay healthy and be productive all season. Josh Anderson and Brendan Gallagher provide veteran grit. Calder trophy winning defenseman Lane Hutson will be joined by newly acquired  Noah Dobson. The pair gives Montreal a 1-2 on the right side of the blueline. Underrated Sam Montembeault is backed by the solid Kaapo Kakhonen in net. Head coach Martin St Louis will not let the Canadiens rest on last season’s accomplishments.

5. Ottawa Senators – The Ottawa Senators finally made the playoffs. The Canadien media has been waiting or begging for that to happen for years. Tim Stutzle is now a bona fide number 1 center. Brady Tkachuk is worthy of his last name. Drake Batherson, Fabian Zetterlund and Dylen Cozens give the Senators championship caliber top tier talent. The Senators depth unfortunately is not championship caliber. Chippy  doesn’t win playoff series. Jake Sanderson is outstanding. The rest of the blueline is adequate. Linus Ullmark is a good goaltender who needs consistency to be great.

6. Detroit Red Wings – The Detroit Red Wings have been waiting a long time to make a return to the playoffs. Unfortunately they will have to wait another year. Dylan Larkin, Lucas Raymond and Alex DeBrincat give the Red Wings formidable top tier scoring. Young Marco Kasper showed signs of becoming a top tier scorer. There is still gas in Hall of Famer Patrick Kane’s tank but not newly acquired James van Riemsdyck’s tank. The bottom 6 is the grittiest Detroit has had in a decade. Moe Seider a true number 1 defenseman. Simon Edvinsson has the makings of a top pair blueliner. The rest of the Wings backend is old and past their prime. Veteran John Gibson should stop Detroit’s disappointing carousel in net. There is a world in which Detroit makes the playoffs. Overly patient GM Steve Yzerman needs to make a couple bold moves as the Motor City residents are growing very impatient.

7. Boston Bruins – The Boston Bruins always made the playoffs because they played Bruins hockey. They always found a way to win. The players who perfected Bruins hockey Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Brad Marchand are all gone. David Pastrnak remains. Pasta is still in the handful of top wingers in the league. The rest of the forwards are 2nd liners at best on a playoff team. Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm are a great top defense pairt. Disappointing Nikita Zadorov needs a bounceback season. So does netminder Jeremy Swayman. Swayman never found his game after missing training camp due to a contract holdout. New head coach Marco Sturm has his work cut out for him.8. Buffalo Sabres – The Buffalo Sabres are the worst team in the Atlantic. Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch may put up good fantasy numbers but they will not be able to lead this group of forwards to relevance past Valentine’s Day. Rasmus Dahlin is an excellent defenseman. The rest of the blueline is overpaid and or on the trade block. Sabres goaltenders Ukko- Pekka Luukkkonen and Alex Lyon show flashes but are usually
siege. You gotta feel for head coach Lindy Ruff.

Bartnick has tons of thoughts

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Tons of Thoughts, I have a lot to say and type.The Mikko Rantanen Saga – I’m happy with my Dallas Stars winning the West
pre-season pick, eight years x 12 million is a great deal for Dallas. Rantanen is worth more and the cap is going up. In the long run Carolina getting 2 number 1s and Logan Stankhoven for Martin Necas and Jack Drury is a good deal. Stankoven is not as mercurial as Necas. Regular Season Rod Brind’Amour needs to stick to military presses and keep his mouth shut. Rantanen did Carolina a favor by telling them he wasn’t staying. Carolina’s management team was stupid to trade for Rantanen without agreeing to a contract first.
The big lesson in this is don’t play hard ball with HOFer and Cup winner Joe Sakic
The villain in all of this is Rantanen’s agent. The Avs are stronger now then they were at the beginning of the season.

Brock Nelson replacing Casey Middlestadt at number two center – Charlie Coyle is the perfect number 3 center miscast as top 6 in Boston. Can’t wait for Avs vs Stars round 1. Stars GM Jim Nill should be tried for larceny after signing Wyatt Johnston for 5 years 8.4 million

The Toronto Maple Leafs did not do nearly enough at the deadline compared to their Atlantic rivals in the Sunshine State Florida and Tampa Bay. Scott Laughton was
everyone’s 4th choice for centers. Brandon Carlo is fine but they need 3 more defensemen. It’s like Brad Treliving gave up when he couldn’t get Brayden Schenn and Colton Parayko from St Louis.

Boston gave the Captain, the legendary Brad Marchand to Florida for a measly 2nd round pick. The Rat and Matthew Tkachuk together is going to be chaos this spring.

The Tampa Bay Lightning bolstered their lineup with Yanni Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand. They have insane top end talent but needed depth. Seattle GM Ron Francis did a great job getting Michael Eyssimont and 2 1st rounders for Gourde and Bjorkstrand. I love Bolts GM Patrice Brisebios win now attitude.

I like how the Rangers acquired two defensemen this year, who actually play defense Carson Soucy and Will Borgen.

McJesus and Leon should be pissed. The Oilers did not do nearly enough. I’m a big Trent Frederic fan and Jake Walman is fine but they needed Seth Jones, Rickard
Rackell and those guys.

This may be the year the Kings finally beat the Oilers but only trading for Andrei Kuzmenko means they won’t win two rounds.

When is Detroit GM/Legend Steve Yzerman going to go for. The Motor City natives are restless. A Petr Mrazek encore and Craig Smith ?? I’d rather have Joe Veleno.

Another Buffalo Sabre mistake – Dylan Cozens for Josh Norris. Cozens isn’t Jack Eichel or Sam Reinhart but he’s not Jason Zucker either. BTW they signed Zucker for two more years.

Canadian Media trash Kyle Dubas all you want but this season he’s done a very good job in Pittsburgh. Why would he trade Rickard Rackell. He’s a 30-goal scorer making 5 million a year for the next two years. As soon as you trade Rackell you’re looking for a player like him. Rackell already has chemistry with Sid and Geno. Dubas turned Micheal Bunting, who’s never been a winning player into Tommy Novak.

He fleeced his old team Toronto. Connor Dewars and Conor Timmins stepped right into the Penguins line up. He gave Toronto a measly 5th round pick. He pulled Vlad Kolyachonok off waivers from Utah and

Vlad is now paired with Kris Letang. Dubas followed the worst GM in Penguins history Ron1 Hextall. The post Sid /Geno era Penguins are headed in the right direction. Franchises that tear it all down take generations to recover. You must keep a few pillars up.I can’t get enough of Alexander Ovechkin. The NHL needs to capitalize on this amazing man and achievement.

Macklin Celebrini is the real deal.

The 4 Nations was exhilarating hockey but the NHL should
not take 2 weeks off. Take one week off and have the US vs Canada best of three.
Tuesday- Sky Dome Toronto
Thursday- Jerry’s World Dallas
Saturday ( if needed) US Bank Stadium Minneapolis.
Finland vs Sweden and Russia vs whatever they call
Jagrland now can play in Europe on Wednesday.

They BETTER let Russia play in the Olympics.

Bartnick’s Christmas Wished for the NHL

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Here’s a list of what every NHL team needs under their tree.

Penguins- A trading partner (fool) to take Ryan Graves off their hands and a complete reconciliation with their deity Mario Lemieux

Philly – Coal, their always on Santa’s naughty list Rangers- A Captain

Islanders- A gold watch to give to Lou Lamoriello for his retirement

Devils- Tin Foil Hats for all the UFO/Drone conspiracy theories in NJ

Capitals – More TV cameras to follow Ovechkin 24/7 during his journey to break goal scoring record

Hurricanes- Protein powder for Rod Brind’Amour workouts Blue Jackets- Home Depot Gift Certificate so they can do repairs on their building

Panthers- Adderall, so they have the energy to go to the Final three years in a row

Lightning- The draft picks they gave away to get Tanner Jeannot

Canadiens – Wire Cutters to cut the chords on Patrik Laine’s XBOX and Playstation

Red Wings- Sergei Fedorov jersey to hang in the rafter Maple Leafs- Bubble wrap for their goalies and a Concord jet to fly Auston Matthews back and forth to Europe

Senators- Cold water to dampen unrealistic expectations from some fans and media

Bruins – Mute button for GM Cam Neely

Sabres- A freakin WIN !!!!!

Ducks- Heated seats for the coldest arena in the NHL and 8pm starts

Kings – Italian Heritage Night

Flames- Workers to build the new building faster

Oilers- Cash, to pay McDavid

Canucks- Peace treaty between Elias Pettersson and JT Miller

Kraken- Kaapo Kakko playing up to his #2 overall pick potential

Sharks- BART passes to take the train to San Francisco their eventual new home

Golden Knights- Fake Mark Stone injury so they can put him on LTIR and load up at the deadline

Predators- Tickets for the Sphere

Jets- Playoff series win

Blues- More hangers so they can retire more numbers BlackHawks- A power forward to play with Connor Bedard Avalanche- A bag of clean pee for Val Nichushkin

Stars- Lifts for Casey DeSmith

Use CodePHN15 We’re getting Bartnick a Rangers chair as he didn’t get anything for them ijn his wish list.

Wild- Ring cameras to see all of Marc- Andre Fleury’s practical jokes

Utah- Odoul’s beer tap pull handles they can put on real beer kegs and fool the Mormons

Bartnick’s musings on the first weeks of the NHL season

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It’s Daylight Savings Time. Halloween is over. Darkness is upon us. The light you see is from my television watching. I’m watching a ton of hockey, as usual. ESPN Multicast is amazing. It saves wear n tear on the remote. Here are some things I’ve noticed between nauseating election ads.

Pittsburgh is near the bottom of the Eastern Conference because of their awful defense. The two headed monster of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin and the rest forwards have by and large have played better than expected with a few exceptions. Goaltenders Alex Nedeljkovic and Joel Blomqvist have been adequate under siege. Goalie Tristan Jarry before his demotion was even worse than the defense.

After a slow start Alexander Ovechkin is red hot. He may catch Wayne Gretzky this season after all.

Alexis Lafreniere may not be Crosby, Ovechkin or Connor McDavid but he has become a first line winger on a Stanley Cup contender.

I have defended Jacob Trouba over the years but his hit on Justin Barron was inexcusable. It was a predatory head shot on a kid in a game that was decided.

Is there anything more John Totorella than healthy scratching Matvei Michkov after he’s named Rookie of the Month.

Martin Necas is playing like the best version of Martin Necas more consistently this year.

Jake Guentzal has fit in nicely on Tampa’s top line. The Snake has always been able to think the game with the best of them.

If any team looked like they were going to have Stanley Cup hangover it was the Florida Panthers.It did not happen. The Big Cats have been a dominant force this season. They’ve overcome off-season departures and early injuries to Sasha Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk.

Boston is a hard to figure out but at least they’re easier to watch since announcer Jack Edwards retired.

GM Barry Trotz did acquired a lot of pieces this summer in Nashville but he never got a top six center.

Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde called out Captain Dylan Larkin. Larkin responded with two goals. Good on Larkin. He’s Detroit’s leader and needs to contribute more offensively.

Winnipeg’s Kyle Connor is the Hart Trophy ( MVP)  winner as of November 4th.

Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov comes in second.

Why is Ross Colton blocking shots? Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar are incredible but can only do so much. Colton was on a heater and now he’s in the press box.

The Dallas Stars got swept in Finland by the Florida Panthers. Did Roope Hintz make the trip? I didn’t notice him.

Vegas is once again unbeatable at home. Did they lower the minimums at the blackjack tables?

Leon Draisaitl pulls a Evgeni Malkin when Connor McDavid is out.

Whether Quinton Byfield plays center or wing he should have scored a goal by now.

Goaltender Lukas Dostal is making this the year for the Ducks to finally trade John Gibson.

What happened to Elias Pettersson. Maybe he should not have signed in Vancouver.  

San Jose won three games in a row recently. They aren’t as bad on the ice as they are on paper. It’s a tribute to veterans like Tyler Toffoli and Mikael Granlund and their professionalism.

The commercial with all of the NHL young stars and Sidney Crosby is magnificent.

Bartnick previews the Pittsburgh Penguins

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For the first time in the Sidney Crosby era the Pittsburgh Penguins are predicted not to make the playoffs. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang have played together nineteen seasons. They have won three Stanley Cups. They made the playoffs their first seventeen years playing together but they have missed the past two seasons. They missed by only two points last season. If the Penguins want to make the playoffs this season they need to improve in a few key areas. They needed to improve their dismal powerplay. Their powerplay was filled with four Hall of Famers, the Big Three and Erik Karlsson yet finished thirtieth in the league.

The Penguins also need to improve their record in overtime and shootouts. Pittsburgh needs more consistent goaltending from Tristan Jarry. They also need to replace Jake Guentzel’s scoring. Former NHL Head Coach David Quinn was brought in to coach the powerplay. Guentzel’s production will hopefully be filled by committee. Jarry will either play to his potential or be replaced by capable backup Alex Nedeljkovic.

Forwards- Sidney Crosby while already on hockey’s Mt Rushmore is still a top five center in the NHL. Bryan Rust is Crosby’s trusted right wing. He’s the only Penguin besides the Big Three who played on last two Cup teams of 2016 and 2017. Drew O’Connor came into his own last season on Crosby’s left side after Guentzel was traded. Malkin is the second line center. While Geno is not near his Hall of Fame prime, he still shows flashes. Malkin puts up good numbers for a second line center. Critics harp on Malkin’s age but his play is sufficient for his contract. Malkin’s right winger Rickard Rakell has not lived up to his contract. Rakell is not a great fit on Malkin’s line but it’s the only spot for him. The pesky Michael Bunting is a perfect fit on Malkin’s line. Straight line players bring out the best in Malkin as opposed to floaters like Rakell. The bottom two lines look to provide more physicality than the Penguins have had in a long time. The also should score a few goals. The Penguins have had an embarrassing lack of scoring in their bottom six since the Cup teams. The third line center Lars Eller is a prototypical checking center. He can also provide some offense.  Left Wing Jesse Puljujarvi finally looks healthy. He may finally live up to his pedigree after an impressive camp. Rutger McGroarty also had an impressive camp. The highly touted prospect who came over from Winnipeg will start the season in Pittsburgh. The Penguins 4th line will consist of large men. Kevin Hayes, Noel Accairi and Cody Glass are big and capable of chipping in a few goals. Anthony Beauvillier and Valtteri Puustinen are extra forwards who have speed and decent hands.  Prospects Vasily Ponomarev and Ville Koivunen will start in the AHL but could see time with the NHL club before the holidays.

Defensemen- Kris Letang was having one of the best seasons of his Hall of Fame career until the last six weeks of the season when he played the worst hockey of his career. Erik Karlsson was okay, but definitely not what the Penguins hoped for when the traded for the reigning Norris Trophy winner with a ten-million-dollar contract. Marcus Pettersson is the Penguins best defensive defensemen. After the Penguins top three defensemen there more questions than answers. Ryan Graves was awful last year and has looked just as bad in camp. Graves has a huge contract but may not be one of the ten best defensemen in the organization. Matt Grzelcyk was acquired over the summer. Grzelcyk needs to play better they he did last year in Boston. Jack St. Ivany will start the season in the top six. He was impressive at the end of last season. He gave the Penguins some much needed grit on the blueline. Ryan Shea also played well at the end of last season. Shea was steady but not as impactful as St. Ivany. Sebastian Aho will provide depth after an underwhelming camp. Harrison Brunicke had the best camp of any defensemen but is only eighteen. He was sent back to his junior team. Owen Pickering also looked good in camp but will start the season in Wilkes Barre.

Goaltending – Tristan Jarry is a two-time All-Star who lost his job at the end of last season to journeyman Alex Nedeljkovic. Ned starts the campaign on the IR so Jarry has a few weeks to prove he’s the Penguins franchise goalie again. The Penguin organization has good depth in net.   Joel Blomqvist will start the season backing up Jarry.

Sharks goalie Aaron Dell stops a shot by Sidney Crosby (87) – Photo by Jack Lima

Outlook – The Penguins have a tough October. Their first three games are against the Rangers, Red Wings and Leafs. They also have their Western Canada trip before Halloween. A good start is essential for this team which has faded due to age the last few seasons. A better powerplay, consistent goaltending and tertiary scoring are also needed if the Penguins are going to make the playoffs in a very mediocre Metropolitan Division. It would hard for Penguins Czar/GM Kyle Dubas to keep two- time Cup winner Head Coach Mike Sullivan after another disappointing season.

 

Dahlin named Sabres captain, replaces Okposo

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Rasmus Dahlin was named captain of the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday.

The 24-year-old defenseman replaces Kyle Okposo, who was captain for the past two seasons prior to being traded to the Florida Panthers on March 8.

“He does everything right, first and foremost,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said of Dahlin on the team’s website. “His on-ice action has been incredible, and I think he’s a guy that leads in every category, from the way he prepares himself to the way he plays and the fact that he’s a guy who cares about winning hockey games.”

Dahlin signed an eight-year, $88 million contract with the Sabres Oct. 9. 2023, that begins this season.

“It’s been a joy through these opening weeks of training camp to see Lindy experience firsthand what so many of us in our organization have felt when it comes to Rasmus Dahlin’s work ethic, competitive drive, and devotion to the Buffalo Sabres,” Buffalo general manager Kevyn Adams said.

“Rasmus sets the tone for our team each and every day with how he prepares and competes. He is respected by his teammates and coaches, both for his actions at the rink and his commitment to our Western New York community.

“We are so proud to have a player and person of Rasmus’ caliber wear the ‘C’ and lead our team into the future.”

The No. 1 pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, Dahlin was the first Sweden-born player to be selected first overall since Mats Sundin by the Quebec Nordiques in 1989. He had 44 points (nine goals, 35 assists) in 82 games his first season and was a finalist for the Calder Trophy, voted as NHL rookie of the year.

He had 59 points (20 goals, 39 assists) in 81 games last season and averaged 25:25 of ice time per game, fifth in the League.

Dahlin leads Buffalo in games (436), assists (226), points (292), power-play points (123), hits (670) and blocked shots (539) since entering the NHL six seasons ago and has 66 goals in that span. That includes an NHL career-high 20 last season, which tied for third among all defensemen.

Dahlin, who has been an alternate captain each of the past two seasons, is the first defenseman to be Sabres captain since Craig Rivet from 2008-11.

Buffalo named four players to be alternate captains on a rotating basis: forward Alex Tuch, centers Dylan Cozens and Tage Thompson and defenseman Mattias Samuelsson.

“First and foremost, that guy is a gamechanger each and every night,” Tuch said of Dahlin. “His consistency on the compete factor has been incredible ever since I got into town, and I’ve seen it grow and just blossom into the players that he’s become. He’s an incredible player, but he’s also an incredible individual.

“To be able to go along into battle beside him has been a great honor, honestly, ever since I got in. And he’s raised my level of compete and he’s made me want to be a better player, and that’s what he does to each and every guy.”

The Sabres, who have not qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2011, open the regular season against the New Jersey Devils in Prague as part of the 2024 NHL Global Series Czechia presented by Fastenal on Oct. 4-5.

There are two teams in the NHL without a captain: the Seattle Kraken and the Utah Hockey Club.