FIRST FAMILIES OF HOCKEY PRESENT DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES
Some days during the pandemic, you can't help but take a step back for some perspective.
If hockey can serve as the pulse of the nation, we woke up Friday to news about the first families of Canadian hockey: the sad death of Walter Gretzky and yet another coaching reincarnation of Darryl Sutter, who took over from the fired Geoff Ward behind the Calgary Flames bench.
Just in case the significance of the names might be lost on a younger generation, Gretzky was the Everyman Canadian Dad who became a legend in his own way, making all the right choices in guiding his phenom son Wayne into becoming the face of the sport for a generation or two. The apple didn't fall far from the tree.
As for those who get tied into knots contemplating the Sutter family tree (six brothers played in the NHL and four have gone on to become coaches and/or general managers), Darryl is the one who led the Los Angeles Kings to two Stanley Cup titles after previous coaching stints with the Chicago Blackhawks, San Jose Sharks and Calgary.
He's gruff but grounded, as befits the infamous farming family from Viking, Alta., where fights between the brothers toughened them up to take on the NHL.
Like Walter Gretzky, the Sutters are central figures in the Canadian hockey landscape, but can the now 62-year-old Darryl connect with today's players?
Now, please stay tuned for more questions and contemplations in a column focused on the NHL'S Canadian division.
THE PRESSURE COOKER: The Ward firing is another reminder of the heat the Canadian-based coaches are facing to make the playoffs. As a reminder, only four of the seven are going to make the post-season and when the hopes are so high, the bench bosses are always vulnerable.
Last week, it was Claude Julien in Montreal. Next week? Travis Green in Vancouver? The Canucks are 10-15-2 and have given up 91 goals in those 27 games.
The one twist here is that the Senators' DJ Smith could be the safest of them all, despite owning an 8-17-1 record and firmly in the bottom of the division.
All the bumps and bruises are painful — including another rough 7-3 loss to the Flames on Thursday — but for the Senators, this season isn't about making the playoffs.
Smith will be judged based on how the kids — from Tim Stuetzle to Drake Batherson to Josh Norris to Erik Brannstrom (and maybe soon Alex Formenton, Logan Brown, Shane Pinto, Jake Sanderson and Jacob Bernard-docker) — progress from prospects into front-line players.
As Thursday's ugly loss shows, there's plenty of work to be done here. Success doesn't come overnight. Just ask Green, whose lineup is full of high-end draft picks the Canucks have patiently tried to develop.
TURNING BACK THE CLOCK: On the topic of top picks, Stuetzle is the first Senators player to earn NHL rookie of the month honours since the late Ray Emery in 2006. An interesting tidbit here: Emery's former minor-league roommate, Jason Spezza, was the last Senators teenager to receive the kind of over-the-top attention that Stuetzle is now receiving. Spezza, now 37, has five goals and 10 assists for 15 points for the Toronto Maple Leafs, one ahead of the 19-year-old currently in Ottawa's lineup.
THE NORTHERN GOAL RUSH: Spezza, is of course, playing with the front-runners in the highest-scoring division in hockey. A little homework shows teams north of the border are scoring an average of 3.08 goals per game. In the Central, East and West Divisions, the average is 2.90.
For Canadian-based shooters, that's great news. Atop the NHL scoring race, five of the top 6 scorers are in the division, as are six of the top 10 defencemen. THE WIDE OPEN NETS: But what does that say about the goaltending? When the goals go up, the save percentages must go down.
The Senators became the first team to top the 100 goals-against mark Thursday as the struggles of Matt Murray and his .883 save percentage continue.
Murray allowed four goals on 11 shots against the Flames on Thursday and the Senators aren't going to win consistently until their netminding becomes solid.
The Flames can say the same as they await the return of the injured Jacob Markstrom.
In the four blowout games between Calgary and Ottawa so far the Senators and Flames have combined for 32 goals.
The exception is Winnipeg's Connor Hellebuyck who is keeping the Jets in a playoff spot thanks to his .915 save percentage.
In Canada, the story is about the goals being scored, something that the Gretzkys are all too familiar with from a few decades ago.