NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Good luck with that . ... Speaking of Hall, if there were a comeback player of the year award as proposed by the Professional Hockey Writers Association, he’d be first on my ballot. Not only is he on his way to reaching the playoffs for the first time in his career, but his 63 points are 10 more than he scored in 17 fewer games last season ...
Of all of Team Canada’s Olympic members who could get back into the NHL after the Olympics, the most likely is the head coach Willie Desjardins. He’d be a perfect fit in Seattle, which like Vegas, will have to come together immediately after the expansion draft (assuming they get a team in the first place). But I doubt he stays out of work that long.
LITTLE ICE TIME FOR DAHLIN
Hockey’s old-school way of thinking isn’t limited to Canadian coaches. Most scouts would have you believe that Rasmus Dahlin, who is the consensus No. 1 overall prospect heading into this summer’s draft, could be playing in the NHL this year. But, in a tournament without NHLers, the 17-year-old barely saw the ice for a Sweden team upset by Germany in the quarterfinals on Wednesday . ...
Mike Fisher is close to coming out of retirement and joining the Nashville Predators, but expect
Eeli Tolvanen to make the bigger impact. The 18-year-old, who was called the mini-Patrik Laine in his draft year, was Finland’s best forward at the Olympics. Word is that once his KHL season is over, Tolvanen will be making his NHL debut.
GENO HEALTHY AGAIN
Evgeni Malkin, who is ranked second in the league in goals (33) and points (70), is on pace for his fourth season of 95 or more points. He’s also three points away from his best season in six years. A big reason for that has been health. Malkin, absent from only four Pens games this season, hasn’t played 70 games since 2011-12 . ... It’s not just Aleksander Barkov’s Selke Trophyworthy season that has gone largely unnoticed in Florida. Aaron Ekblad ranks third among defencemen with 12 goals. A big reason for that is firstyear coach Bob Boughner, who had Ekblad watching how Brent Burns jumped into the offence. “I had the pleasure of coaching Burns for the last couple of years in San Jose and he’s got an unreal shot and he’s unreal offensively,” Boughner said. “I see a little of that in Aaron.” ... Look for St. Louis to be one of the more active teams at the deadline. The Blues, who picked up Nikita Soshnikov from the Leafs last week, are in danger of falling out of a playoff spot after losing four straight games (all to playoff-bound teams) and GM Doug Armstrong is believed to be looking seriously at Ottawa’s Mike Hoffman and Montreal’s Max Pacioretty . ... As long as they don’t want a contract lasting longer than two or three years, I’d be fine with Vancouver bringing back the Sedin twins ... The difference between Toronto’s and Edmonton’s rebuild is that the Oilers gave the kids the keys to the car, while the Leafs had quality vets in Nazem Kadri, van Riemsdyk and Patrick Marleau steering the team back to respectability.
CANUCKS MADE GOOD SIGNING
Olli Juolevi might not have liked it, because it took away a roster spot, but it was smart of the Canucks to re-sign Erik Gudbranson for three more years. It means the Canucks don’t have to rush their 2016 first-rounder into a roster spot. The term also means that, by the time Juolevi comes off his entry-level contract, Gudbranson will be off the books . ... The biggest difference in watching Edmonton play this season versus last involves team speed. While McDavid might be the fastest player in the NHL, the Oilers have some of the slowest forwards in Milan Lucic, Ryan Strome and Patrick Maroon. That needs to change ASAP and it begins by moving out Maroon at the deadline . ... It was at last month’s all-star game when Steven Stamkos said he and his Tampa Bay teammates had tried to convince Erik Karlsson to sign with the Lightning as a free agent. He added that he was joking. But it’s something to keep in mind heading into the trade deadline, and beyond. If nothing else, it would make the league’s most exciting team that much more exciting to watch.