NHL TEAMS GO RETRO AS THE MARKET OPENS
Grit more affordable than ability to score and GMs reluctant to pay for top stars
It's been a little more than two weeks since the Tampa Bay Lightning won the Stanley Cup, so my memory might be a little fuzzy.
But it was Zach Bogosian — and not Victor Hedman — who was named the MVP of the playoffs, right? And Barclay Goodrow and Pat Maroon finished ahead of Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point in scoring, correct? Forget speed and skill. It was grit and sandpaper that led Tampa Bay to a championship.
Is that true? That seems to be the perception based on the contracts that were handed out on the first day of NHL free agency.
From Montreal trading Max Domi to Columbus for Josh Anderson and then rewarding a power forward who has never scored 30 goals or 50 points in a single season with a seven-year contract worth US$38.5 million, to Ottawa acquiring Erik Gudbranson, Florida signing Radko Gudas and Nashville landing Mark Borowiecki, it's clear some teams believe you have to grind your way to a Stanley Cup.
Even Toronto Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas put away his speedover-size philosophy and went on a pursuit for pugnacity, signing Wayne Simmonds to a oneyear, US$1.5-million contract minutes after the market opened on Friday.
Meanwhile, Alex Pietrangelo, Taylor Hall and some of the other out-of-work superstars sat by their phones probably wondering whom they have to punch to get a job these days.
Welcome to 2020: the year when the NHL went retro.
As much as the league has become smaller and faster and staged fighting has become extinct, there's a place for what Simmonds referred to as “functional toughness.” Or, to put it bluntly, why overpay for Pietrangelo and Hall when you can get someone like Anderson or Gudbranson, who can not only play, but also “punch your head off.”
“We would like to become a harder team to play against,” said Dubas. “It's something that's very important to us as we grow and
augment our skill.”
The other reason is much simpler: grit is a more affordable skill set than goal scoring.
With the salary cap remaining flat, how many teams can afford Pietrangelo's salary demands? Or what Hall is asking for? Even Torey Krug has priced himself out of more than half the league.
Sure, Calgary found money in the couch cushions to sign goalie Jacob Markstrom and Vancouver cleared space and added goalie Braden Holtby. But with so much lost revenue because fans weren't allowed in the buildings due to the coronavirus, owners are so reluctant to pay the big bucks that Tampa Bay was forced to place Tyler Johnson and the remaining four years of his $5-million cap hit on waivers.
The Lightning found money to bring back Maroon and Luke Schenn, who combined for 10 goals and nine fights.
Simmonds, who had three fights last season, brings a similar skill set to a Leafs team that has plenty of players who can put the puck in the net, but not enough players who are willing to dig pucks out of the corners.
“It doesn't always have to be fighting,” said Simmonds. “Obviously, fighting is a part of my game and it always has been. But I think why the Leafs chose me is because of the way I play the game. I think I play the game the right way. I finish my checks, I battle hard on pucks and I never bail out. I'm always there for my teammates.”
If there was a difference
between the Lightning team that got swept in the first round a year ago and the one that won the Cup last month, it was that this year's team had Maroon, Barclay, Bogosian, Schenn and Blake Coleman.
None of those players ranked in the top 25 in playoff scoring. But Goodrow and Coleman ranked in the top five in hits. They made Tampa Bay tougher to play against.
The Leafs were so lacking in toughness that Jason Spezza was forced to drop the gloves against the Blue Jackets in the qualifying round. That's where Simmonds comes in.
“Anything happens to the boys,” Simmonds told Sportsnet, “I'll be the first to jump in.”