As much changes, Leafs feel the same
This column is simple; it’s about early returns. Ten days into the NHL season, do things look different or do they feel the same?
Let’s look at it through the eyes of a player about to face an opponent for the first time. Keep using the same two words to define your opponent: Are they different or are they the same?
Forget about everything else for a minute.
What you already know is different is this North (or Canadian) Division. You will only play six teams during the regular season. The schedule? It’s different. Multiple games against the same team are the norm. There are two, three, even four-game series played in as few as seven nights. The compression of the schedule is different, with 56 games jammed into 116 days. Games will be coming at you fast and furious.
Rivalries across the country are going to intensify, with teams playing each other nine or 10 times. That’s different and that’s going to be fun. And it’s going to be intense.
Travel is different. There are no border crossings and far fewer flights. You’ll be in hotels and cities for multiple nights, which is different.
Winning and losing streaks will be magnified greatly. You can feel that. There are already ebbs and flows of emotion surfacing, much earlier than they normally do. Everything just feels more pressing.
What is the same is the actual playing part. Once the puck drops, the games feel the same. That’s a good thing.
Montreal made potentially the loudest and highest volume of transactions over the off-season, and early returns look strong. They look very different. Starting with six games on the road, the Canadiens have points in their first five and have been highly entertaining. (You even like watching them play!) Tyler Toffoli has led the new guys at the offensive end, Josh Anderson and Joel Edmundson have brought a much needed element of size and experience, and will make both net fronts a no-fun zone. Nick Suzuki is rapidly on the rise as a star in this league, and Jake Allen could be the perfect partner
WINNIPEG—Nikolaj Ehlers hates to see Patrik Laine go, but is excited about what Pierre-Luc Dubois could bring to the Winnipeg Jets.
The Columbus Blue Jackets granted Dubois’ request for a trade Saturday, sending him and a 2022 third-round pick to Winnipeg for forwards Laine and Jack Roslovic. The Jets will also retain 26 per cent of Laine’s reported $7.5-million (U.S.) salary.
Dubois, 22, had a goal in five games after leading Columbus last year in points with 49. The 22-year-old native of SteAgathe-des-Monts, Que., had asked to be traded earlier this year.
The departure of Laine is difficult for Ehlers as the two had become good friends. But Ehlers said the move is the harsh reality of pro sports.
“This is obviously the tough side of the business,” Ehlers told reporters. “We’ve been brothers since day one so, yeah, this is not very fun, but ... it’s part of the business.
“Everyone knows he (Dubois) is a great player. He’s a big guy and he can skate, make plays and he’s a very smart player. It’s going to be fun to have him on the team and we’re excited for him to get here.”
Dubois had a solid 2018-19 campaign, registering a careerbest 27 goals and 61 points in 82 regular-season contests. He was the third player taken in the 2016 NHL draft, one pick after Laine.
Jets captain Blake Wheeler echoed Ehlers’ sentiments regarding the deal.
“I won’t lie, it’s kind of sad,” he said.
“Just rewind four years ago and the excitement when we drafted Patty and the steps our organization has taken the last four years and he was a big part of that.
“It’s disappointing to be having this conversation but it’s the nature of pro sports and for our organization we move forward.”
But Wheeler also likes the potential Dubois brings to Winnipeg.
“Certainly over the last couple of years he’s developed into a very dynamic powerful player down the middle,” he said. “That’s kind of how you build teams to have success.
“Definitely excited about what he brings to our team … an incredibly dynamic player that we just added to our team.”