About a month ago, Minnesota Wild defenseman Matt Dumba was connected with a youth hockey player in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area. The main topic of conversation wasn't the local NHL team, skill development tips, or Dumba's career. It was about how the player had been accused recently of "stealing stuff" from his own teammates.

"It's because he's the Black kid on his team," Dumba told theScore.

"He's been called racial slurs during games, and by his own teammates. Like, this is insane. For people to turn their cheek and have a blind eye (to these incidents), it's just really frustrating to our group. We see it every day."

Dumba relayed that anecdote earlier this week to help explain why the Hockey Diversity Alliance, in partnership with Budweiser Canada, chose to center its new #TapeOutHate campaign on raw examples of overt racism.

On Saturday, the HDA and Budweiser released a two-minute video spot highlighting the real-world abuse that many NHLers of color face on a regular basis:

Warning: Video contains graphic/offensive content

After a short introduction, the video starts by highlighting the kind of racist messages received by the players on social media, including a slur aimed at Dumba, who is Filipino Canadian.

Dumba later asks Wayne Simmonds of the Toronto Maple Leafs if he'd consider enrolling his kids in hockey. Simmonds, who had a banana thrown at him in the middle of an NHL exhibition game in Ontario in 2011, replies: "If I knew she was gonna have to face the stuff I faced, probably not."

Uncensored and censored versions of the commercial, which was filmed in Toronto last August, have been posted and shared online. The commercial will also be shown on Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday when Simmonds' Leafs and Nazem Kadri's Colorado Avalanche meet in the broadcast's prime-time slot.

"We wanted to keep things as raw as possible," Kadri said in an interview. "Sometimes, for people to understand, they've gotta see (the vulgar language). I feel like if most people watch it and read those comments, they're going to be disgusted. ... For us, it's about us trying to create awareness and have people see things through a different lens and a different perspective."

The HDA was formed in June 2020 in the wake of George Floyd's murder by a Minneapolis police officer. Active players Dumba, Simmonds, Kadri, and Anthony Duclair, as well as ex-NHLers Akim Aliu, Trevor Daley, Chris Stewart, and Joel Ward, comprise the HDA's executive board. (Another founder, Evander Kane, has been on voluntary leave since last year.) The group's mission is "to eradicate systemic racism and intolerance in hockey."

The #TapeOutHate spot has been paired with HDA-themed hockey tape. The rolls of black tape (which are available for purchase online and, as of Jan. 22, at Canadian Tire stores) feature the words "RACISM HAS NO PLACE IN HOCKEY" in white lettering. Budweiser is funding the tape production by Renfrew Pro, with $1 from each purchased roll being donated to the HDA.

"The truth of the matter is that these are real stories," said Mike D'Agostini, a senior director of marketing at Budweiser. "These are real experiences that the players of the HDA experience - if not every day, then far too often. We felt like it was the right thing to do, to spread that message in the rawest form possible."

Over the years, at different levels of the sport, Dumba's been harassed in person and online. "Social media has become kind of a monster behind all of this," Dumba said. He has received hateful messages on Instagram and elsewhere - especially in the summer of 2020, after he delivered a speech condemning racism and then kneeled for the U.S. national anthem before a game in the NHL playoff bubble in Edmonton.

Dumba, 27, admits he feels numb to all the hate. "Which isn't right," he said.

"This is something that I've been dealing with for a long time," said Kadri, who's 31. "And for me to remember certain specific situations when I was 10, 11 years old - you know, this is 20 years ago - it must have had a pretty traumatic impact on me. It was definitely hurtful at the time, but, for myself, I think I had mental toughness to persevere. We're worried about the youth maybe not having that, this really affecting people long term."

The NHL is not involved in the #TapeOutHate campaign. After an initial partnership, the HDA broke off from the league in October 2020, saying the league was "focused on performative public relations efforts that seemed aimed at quickly moving past important conversations about race needed in the game."

Dumba said the NHL was "given several opportunities to be involved and participate and help spread this message," referring specifically to the #TapeOutHate campaign, "and they chose not to." He said the league is "scared to create real change and make real difference. At every turn." The blue-liner added: "It always has to be their idea or come from their people."

Asked about Dumba's remarks, a league spokesperson provided the following statement to theScore: "The NHL applauds our partner Budweiser and the Hockey Diversity Alliance for their efforts to promote diversity and inclusivity in the sport of hockey. This ongoing movement requires vision and commitment from every stakeholder in hockey. We welcome all who are using their voices and platforms to pursue these important goals and remain determined to continue to use ours and to do the work necessary to create real change."

Ultimately, both Dumba and Kadri said, the HDA would like to get on the same page as the league. In the meantime, the group is marching on.

"There's still racism in our game," Dumba said. "You see it, you hear these stories from these young kids, what they're going through. We've got to stay grinding on this and try tackling this all together."

John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).

Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

This NHL season has featured significant storyline after significant storyline.

Alex Ovechkin, Connor McDavid, and Leon Draisaitl have put up stunning point totals. A handful of organizations fired their managers and/or coaches. More than half of the league's teams have endured a COVID-19 outbreak. The Buffalo Sabres traded Jack Eichel, and he (finally) underwent surgery. Trevor Zegras pulled off the first "Michigan pass" and, in the process, managed to piss off a few old-school types. The NHL has bowed out of the 2022 Olympics. And so on ...

Nowhere above is there mention of Sidney Crosby, arguably the most important and best player in the salary-cap era. The lack of Crosby buzz can be partly attributed to him missing 12 games due to injury and protocol. Part of it is the 34-year-old's overall standing in the hockey universe right now - is he still a top-five player? Part of it is perhaps Crosby fatigue, considering the two-time MVP and three-time Stanley Cup winner's consistent greatness.

Whatever the reasoning, Crosby reminded us all of the kind of player he is on Wednesday night. After engaging in some pushing and hacking with Niko Mikkola in the second period, the bloodied captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins collected a goal and an assist (and first-star honors) in a 5-3 win over the St. Louis Blues. All game, he looked dialed in and in full control.

Crosby's long been known as the "superstar grinder" or "grinder at heart," a player whose generational talents (the vision, passing, hand-eye coordination, etc.) is matched by a willingness to win 50-50 puck battles and crash the net. Crosby may not be in his prime anymore, but he remains an impossibly complete player who refuses to back down from physical challenges.

Check out his goal against the Blues. It's vintage Crosby - gritty and skillful:

With Crosby on the ice, the Penguins outscored the Blues 3-0, controlled the run of play with a 27-16 advantage in shot attempts, and had the edge in scoring chances at 15-11 (per Natural Stat Trick). Keep in mind, the Blues are no pushover as the second-place team in a competitive Central Division.

Crosby "was in beast mode" Wednesday, Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan told reporters following the club's ninth straight victory. "He's the standard-bearer for the team," Sullivan added. "He raises the intensity level for our group. He establishes a certain expectation that flows through our bench, that everybody has the responsibility to play the game a certain way."

In his 17th season, Crosby has scooped up 24 points in 21 games (including two assists Thursday in the Pens' 10th straight win), a rate slightly below his career average. But Crosby's production could very well soar now that he and the Pens have found their groove. Exhibit A: Evan Rodrigues emerging as a legitimate offensive threat. Exhibit B: Kris Letang playing at a Norris Trophy-caliber level. Exhibit C: Both Jeff Carter and Evgeni Malkin, Crosby's longtime running mate in Pittsburgh, returning from injury sooner rather than later.

Crosby and the Pens are rolling. Look out.

Makar's 30-goal chase

There are two kinds of single-season milestone chasers in hockey.

The first is the player who's on an NBA Jam-level hot streak ("He's on fire!") but seems destined to come back to earth eventually, falling short of the milestone. The second is the player who's scorching hot and dominating the game in such a palpable way that a crash is possible but not likely.

Cale Makar fits into the second group as he eyes 30 goals for the Colorado Avalanche. Heading into a Saturday night tilt against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the superstar defenseman has 14 goals and 14 assists in 26 games, and the way he's sniping suggests he won't be cooling off anytime soon.

Makar's goal-of-the-season submission from the Avs' 4-3 overtime win Tuesday is a prime example of how pure talent is driving the march to 30:

A defenseman has scored 30-plus goals in a season just 17 times in history. The list of 30-goal scorers is a who's who of offensive D-men: Bobby Orr (five times), Paul Coffey (four), Denis Potvin (three), Mike Green, Kevin Hatcher, Doug Wilson, Phil Housley, and Ray Bourque.

A defenseman scoring 30 is remarkable, the equivalent of a forward putting up 65 tallies - something that's happened 24 times. The last blue-liner to score 30 was Green in 2008-09, while Ovechkin was the last to bag 65 in 2007-08.

Makar's on pace for 42 goals in 78 games (he missed four contests due to injury and COVID-19 protocol). The 5-foot-11, 187-pounder will still be in decent shape even if he cools off and his sky-high 19.2 shooting percentage dips to a sensible level. Makar needs to score 16 times in 52 games - or roughly once every third contest - to hit 30. His lethal weapon is a world-class wrist shot:

Notice how Makar almost exclusively unleashes his wrister in and around the slot area? His elite skating ability, coupled with excellent puck protection, allows him to waltz around the offensive zone and into a prime scoring spot.

The 23-year-old isn't dining out on power-play goals, either, as 11 of his 14 tallies have come at even strength. Again, this guy has earned his chance at scoring 30.

Hurricanes' Stoic rookie

The stats geeks at the league office recently compiled some end-of-year tidbits. Among them: 223 players made their NHL debut in 2021, the highest number of debuts in a calendar year in the league's 104-year history.

Top prospects aside, most of these first games came and went without much attention. Nevertheless, one caught my eye: Jack Drury in Carolina.

Drury scored on a fantastic individual effort on Dec. 16. He followed it up with another goal for the Hurricanes two days later before getting sent back to the AHL Chicago Wolves, where he's posted 16 points in 23 games this campaign.

Drury, 21, is an interesting cat. The 2018 second-rounder spent two years at Harvard University prior to winning a Swedish Hockey League title last season as a first-year pro. His dad Ted is a former NHLer, and his uncle Chris, an NHL star from 1998 to 2011, is the general manager of the New York Rangers.

What I find truly unique about Drury is his fascination with the school of ancient philosophy called Stoicism. He's read "Meditations" - a collection of journal entries by Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius - several times and has practiced Stoicism since his mid-teens.

"The main principle is, control what you can control," Drury explained when I asked him about Stoicism in a 2018 interview. "So, focus on the things that are within your control, not what people on the outside are doing. It's about using your emotions in the right manner, about not overreacting to situations. It's about staying steady and grounded, especially in tough situations."

Also on Drury's bookshelf: "The Inner Game of Tennis," by Timothy Gallwey. Like Stoicism, Gallwey's book deals with mental performance, specifically "how to get out of your own way to let your best game emerge." Clearly, Drury is a deep thinker who values a clear, focused mind.

Drury mentioned in 2018 that he had never signed up for a social media account. He doesn't appear to have one in 2022. A member of Generation Z who's shunned social media!? Yep, this NHL newbie is an interesting cat.

Parting thoughts

Boudreau Canucks: Mr. Regular Season has done it again - albeit in a small sample size - as the Vancouver Canucks are 8-0-1 under Bruce Boudreau. Vancouver sits 12th in the Western Conference, three points out of the second wild-card spot. MoneyPuck.com gives the Canucks a 15.7% chance of making the playoffs. The next two weeks will be a major test. After a meeting with Ottawa on Saturday, Vancouver plays Florida, Tampa Bay, Carolina, Washington, Nashville, Florida again, St. Louis, and Edmonton.

Noah Dobson: One of the rare bright spots on Long Island this season, Dobson has tied his career high for points (14) in just 26 games. He even scored an overtime goal on New Year's Day (below). It's difficult for a defenseman to break out offensively on the stingy Islanders, but Dobson has always had the skill set. The 12th overall pick in 2018 is finally playing top-four minutes (20:23). And hey, Happy Birthday, Noah - he turned 22 on Friday.

Dallas Stars: What a seesaw 30 games for the 2020 Stanley Cup finalists. The Stars won four of their first 10 contests, six of which went into overtime. Then they lost two. Then they won nine of 10. Then they lost five straight. Recently, they've won three in a row. Naturally, Dallas' record is a middling 16-12-2.

Takes, Thoughts, and Trends is theScore's biweekly hockey grab bag.

John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).

Copyright © 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The NHL not going to the Beijing Olympics sucks. Flat-out sucks.

Sucks for young players like Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews, who are in their prime. Sucks for older players like Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin, whose careers are starting to wind down. Sucks for fans everywhere. Sucks for the NHL's image. Sucks for the sport, plain and simple.

But we've had a few days to dwell on it. Time to look ahead.

What the NHL and NHL players' association should be turning their collective attention to in the near future is the big picture. Because withdrawing from Beijing was a letdown in a series of letdowns. Hashing out a long-term international calendar is imperative to not only the growth of the sport but also to cultivating tradition beyond the Stanley Cup. And if that means prioritizing the World Cup of Hockey, so be it.

There needs to be a best-on-best international event and, as painful as it is to type this, it's become abundantly clear the Olympics aren't that event in the current climate. (Check back after commissioner Gary Bettman and PA executive director Donald Fehr have retired.) The league and PA can leave the door open for Winter Games participation while satisfying the international hockey itch by targeting non-Olympic years for the World Cup. How about starting a new era in 2023? A second event in 2025? Third in 2027?

Lock it in and get to work on making the World Cup standardized and meaningful. No Team North America. No Team Europe. Leave the gimmicks for All-Star Weekend. The World Cup should be eight of the best hockey countries competing for shiny medals and that strange-looking trophy.

It'll take a few cycles to build up momentum and tradition, of course. But if by 2027 the World Cup is the hockey event worldwide, well, everybody wins.

Doing it properly involves proper timing, too. September didn't quite work in 2016 - the tournament had serious preseason vibes. Try January or February, when the players are in fine form. Yep, it'll require shutting down the season for two or three weeks, but, again, you're investing in building a sustainable future of thrilling international hockey under the NHL/NHLPA banner.

Do it right and, eventually, the Olympics will just be the cherry on top.

Flames' Lindholm for Selke?

Elias Lindholm has received 15 votes for the Selke Trophy over his career - 14 in 2018-19 and one in 2019-20. None of those were for first place.

That may change by season's end.

Lindholm has been fantastic for Calgary through 28 games - a chief reason the Flames are fifth in the Western Conference in points percentage. He's been particularly effective on the defensive side of the puck, and if Selke ballots were due today, I might have the 27-year-old Swede in the No. 1 spot.

Everybody has their own process for evaluating a forward's defensive impact, so the strength of Lindholm's Selke candidacy is far from bulletproof, especially with so much of the season remaining. That said, he checks a lot of boxes.

The Flames are a juggernaut when Lindholm is on the ice at five-on-five. His on-ice goals for and expected goals for rates - 82.8% and 61.0%, respectively, according to Evolving Hockey - are elite. Looking strictly at defense, Calgary's five-on-five numbers with Lindholm are still fabulous - a mere five goals against in 389 minutes and a 2.0 xGA/60 rate.

Some forwards rank higher than Lindholm in certain on-ice metrics, but most of them play sheltered roles or bottom-six minutes against relatively weak competition. Lindholm is incredibly important to the Flames' entire operation; no-nonsense head coach Darryl Sutter leans on him for 20:15 of ice time a night, usually against the opposition's top talent.

Lindholm spends 2:15 a game playing shorthanded. It's not a deal-breaker for Selke consideration if a player doesn't see the ice in penalty-kill situations or while the opponent has its goalie pulled. But it's certainly a huge plus that Lindholm is a key member of the league's third-best penalty kill.

Also of note: Lindholm is solid in the faceoff circle with a 52.5% success rate. He's on the right side in penalty differential (plus-1). And he both steals pucks (20 takeaways) and eats pucks (16 blocked shots) on a regular basis. Anybody who's watched a Sutter-era Flames game knows each player benefits from Sutter's defensive structure and emphasis on responsible hockey. But Lindholm goes above and beyond with his consistent attention to detail.

On top of the defensive work, Lindholm's accumulated 11 goals and 16 assists for 27 points, just shy of a point per game. The definition of the award doesn't require the winner to be competent offensively, but I believe a good offense can be a good defense (and vice versa). In other words, while I don't automatically exclude defensive specialists from the Selke evaluation process, players who crush it in all three zones get bonus marks.

Four others with strong early season Selke cases (according to my personal parameters): four-time winner Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand in Boston, Anthony Cirelli in Tampa Bay, and Mark Stone in Vegas.

Paul Maurice, hockey savant

Plenty of digital ink has been spilled over Paul Maurice's resignation. And rightfully so - Maurice is well-respected as both a hockey coach and hockey philosopher. Plus, the timing of the resignation itself was notable.

Let's rewind for a moment ...

It's a decade ago. Rod Brind'Amour has recently transitioned into coaching after a highly successful playing career. Brind'Amour, then just a wide-eyed assistant in Carolina, walks into the coaches' room excited to tell Maurice, his boss, about a tiny detail he'd noticed in a practice or game. You know, something 99.9% of the population would never notice.

Maurice, who was in his second stint as the Hurricanes head coach, simply nods in response. "Damn," Brind'Amour thought to himself, "there's nothing this guy doesn't catch." This happened time and time again.

"There's a shit-ton going on in a game. I mean, so much," Brind'Amour told theScore during an interview in September, recalling the impression left by Maurice. "All the way down to every fine detail, there's a lot, and he doesn't miss any of it."

Back then, Brind'Amour figured this savant-level intelligence was typical of NHL head coaches. He became discouraged and started questioning himself. Was he smart enough to climb the ranks? Could he ever become a head guy?

"I was amazed," Brind'Amour said. "(Maurice) would have four assistant coaches talking to him as he was walking to the locker room, like down the hallway between periods. He'd go, 'What do we need to do? What's the adjustment?' And he'd have four different things thrown his way. 'We've got to do this, this, this, this.' As he's walking in, he'd go, 'OK.' Then he'd get to the front of the room and go, 'Duh, duh, duh, duh.' Everything at once."

Brind'Amour notes he's the opposite now that he's the boss in Carolina. The reigning Jack Adams Award winner needs to know ahead of time exactly what he's going to relay to his players between periods. And then Brind'Amour delivers it in a short burst.

"But he can just spit it all out and make sense of it clearly," he said of Maurice.

"Everybody plays basically the same way," Brind'Amour continued, talking generally about the influence of NHL coaches. "Honestly, there's such subtle differences. That's not where the differences lie. The differences lie in how coaches talk to players and get the most out of their players."

Ultimately, Maurice believed he was no longer able to get the most out of his Jets players. But that doesn't mean the hockey savant can't pull off the trick elsewhere. Maurice will be back soon. Count on it.

Don't sleep on Slovakia

Slovakia could easily lose three of four round-robin games at the world juniors in Alberta over the holidays. After all, they've been placed in a stacked Group B that also features the United States, Sweden, Russia, and Switzerland.

Regardless of the win-loss record, intrigue around the Slovaks will be exceptionally high. Slovakia is icing a handful of legitimate NHL prospects, including LA Kings pick Martin Chromiak and three projected 2022 first-rounders in Simon Nemec, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Filip Mesar.

Nemec, an all-situations right-handed defenseman, could potentially go in the top five next July. (Marian Gaborik, drafted third overall in 2000, is the country's highest NHL draft pick.) Scouts love Nemec's mobility and hockey sense. Named MVP at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in August, he's excelled in Slovakia's pro league this season, collecting 13 points in 22 games.

Up front, keep an eye out for the big-bodied Slafkovsky and speedy Mesar. Slafkovsky, a potential top-10 pick, is a playmaker who can really shoot the puck. He plays in Finland's Liiga. Mesar, who plays in Slovakia, is smaller in stature but possesses quick hands and feet, and a motor that doesn't quit.

Parting thoughts

Tank update: The 6-21-2 Arizona Coyotes are on pace for just 17 wins. GM Bill Armstrong is reportedly "gauging the market" on Jakob Chychrun. The star defenseman is worth a first-round pick and much more. Incredibly, Arizona already owns three first-rounders and five second-rounders in 2022.

Tage Thompson: From the doghouse to top-line center, what a first 30 games it has been for the giant Buffalo Sabres forward. Thompson has already set career highs in goals (10) and points (18). He might be the most pleasant surprise of the season.

Milestone check: Joe Thornton is two games played away from 1,700, potentially on his way to passing Ron Francis (1,731) and Jaromir Jagr (1,733) for a spot in the top four all time. Sidney Crosby is 10 goals away from 500, a mark only 45 other players have reached. Marc-Andre Fleury is already in the top 15 all time in shutouts, but he's one away from 70.

Further down the career leaderboards, Claude Giroux is one assist away from 600. Nicklas Backstrom is 19 points away from 700. Braden Holtby is six wins away from 300.

Takes, Thoughts, and Trends is theScore's biweekly hockey grab bag.

John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).

Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Over to you, Mr. Rutherford.

On Thursday, Jim Rutherford - the trade-loving architect of three Stanley Cup-winning teams in the salary-cap era - was named the Vancouver Canucks' new president of hockey operations. The soon-to-be 73-year-old also holds the title of interim general manager while he searches for a permanent replacement for Jim Benning, who was fired Sunday.

Rutherford has yet to speak at length with the media, so it's unclear how he'll attack the search. There are a handful of paths he can take here, including:

• Hiring a former NHL GM
• Hiring a current assistant GM with close ties to Rutherford
• Hiring a current assistant GM with little-to-no ties to Rutherford
• Hiring from within the Canucks' front office
• Hiring an atypical GM candidate

The first option, which winks at the possibility of chasing recently fired Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin, would be counterproductive. Considering Rutherford and his new GM will be leading the hockey ops department in tandem, there should be a diversity of thought and background. Rutherford brings an old-school approach, institutional credibility, and a history of making bold decisions. The Canucks don't need another Rutherford.

As for convincing a familiar assistant GM currently employed elsewhere to come work for the Canucks … well, that's much more palatable. Rutherford's management tree includes several high-profile names, including the Buffalo Sabres' Jason Karmanos and the Seattle Kraken's Jason Botterill. Would the mix of familiarity and differing skill sets (Karmanos and Botterill, both in their 40s, are considered modern execs) make for a solid fit? Probably. Going this route would be relatively safe because Rutherford will know exactly what he's getting.

If you remove the familiarity aspect from the equation, Rutherford's talent pool expands. For instance, the Colorado Avalanche's Chris MacFarland, who's been on the rise for a number of years, is an interesting name. A capologist and scout with a strong belief in analytics, MacFarland could be the type of well-respected executive who's worth taking a chance on. Also, MacFarland presumably wouldn't be a "yes man," which is something Rutherford should want in this arrangement.

There are also a few notable internal candidates. One is interim AGM Ryan Johnson, who, like MacFarland, is on track to become an NHL GM someday. Rutherford could see Johnson as somebody who has the pulse of the club, can be mentored, and won't command a hefty salary from ownership, which is now paying two top hockey ops execs (Benning had handled both roles). Meanwhile, franchise icons and senior advisors Henrik and Daniel Sedin seem destined to become Canucks co-GMs down the road. Do you start the succession plan earlier than planned, or do you let them continue to learn the hockey ops ropes? Probably the latter.

Lastly, Rutherford, who's known for his shocking trades, could hire somebody out of left field, like super agent J.P. Barry or broadcaster Ray Ferraro. This is a highly unlikely scenario, and who knows if either of those guys, or their contemporaries, would even be interested. But, as Rutherford has shown over the years, expect the unexpected when he's in charge.

Lightning striking again

The two-time defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning are on fire, with a 5-0-0 start to December vaulting them into a three-way tie for the Atlantic Division's top spot.

On the surface, of course the Lightning are killing it. After all, over the past five-plus years, no team has accumulated as many regular-season points as Tampa Bay, and the club's enviable core of superstars remains intact.

That said, achieving this level of success through the first quarter of the campaign hasn't been easy, nor was it a foregone conclusion.

For starters, the capped-out squad entered the season with fewer impactful depth pieces. The Lightning lost, among others, all three members of the highly effective Barclay Goodrow-Yanni Gourde-Blake Coleman line. Tampa Bay has also been without the services of Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point for 23 and 10 games, respectively. Neither world-class player is replaceable. And, let's face it, the entire organization must be feeling at least slightly fatigued after competing in an NHL-high 200 total games since the start of 2019-20.

"I've gotta give them credit, they're finding ways to win," Lightning head coach Jon Cooper told reporters Tuesday after his players pulled out a 3-2 comeback victory over the Montreal Canadiens. Two nights later, the Lightning took down the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-3 while yet another invaluable piece, center Anthony Cirelli, was forced to watch from the press box due to injury.

Ten of Tampa Bay's 26 games have ended in overtime or a shootout. The Lightning have won six, giving them 16 of a possible 20 points in that scenario. Those kinds of early-season tests - and triumphs - are undoubtedly beneficial to a shorthanded group trying to become the first team in four decades to win three consecutive Stanley Cups.

So far, the Lightning's list of standout performers includes the usual suspects: Steven Stamkos up front (32 points, including 13 goals), Victor Hedman on defense (27 points, plus elite defending), and Andrei Vasilevskiy in goal (.927 save percentage). A second tier - namely forwards Ondrej Palat, Alex Killorn, and Corey Perry - has provided ample support, especially of late.

Perry, a former star who signed a two-year deal with Tampa Bay this past offseason, has found a niche as a bottom-six winger. He isn't the first player to be seamlessly folded into the team's winning culture.

"Everything he says makes sense," Cooper said Tuesday when asked about the 37-year-old's emerging voice in the dressing room. "There's no fluff to him. There's no BS."

It turns out there's been no BS, period, around the Lightning this season.

NHL's elite forward lines

We're at the point in the season where it's safe to drop the "it's early but … " caveat. Two months of on-ice action offers a big enough sample size.

Here we go: The Calgary Flames' top forward line of Elias Lindholm between Matthew Tkachuk and Johnny Gaudreau has been the NHL's best trio - by far.

In 324 five-on-five minutes, Tkachuk-Lindholm-Gaudreau has obliterated the opposition to the tune of a league-high plus-17 goal differential and an NHL-high goals-for rate of 87%. Territorially, the line is also a cut above the rest, with an expected goals-for rate of 66.9%, according to Evolving Hockey data.

In other words, the Calgary trio is dominating during the run of play and on the scoreboard, nailing down the process and enjoying the results.

Check out who's challenging them on the leaderboard:

You'll notice neither Connor McDavid nor Leon Draisaitl is mentioned above. Their lines don't stack up well here because these metrics exclude special-teams situations - where both players thrive - but include defensive play. It's no secret the Edmonton Oilers - not necessarily McDavid and Draisaitl, specifically - tend to give up plenty of shots, chances, and goals.

Bonus shoutout to the Anaheim Ducks' No. 1 line of Trevor Zegras between Sonny Milano and Rickard Rakell. The three of them have been on the ice together for only 119 five-on-five minutes this season, but they've churned out excellent numbers - 85.7 GF%, 68.8 xGF%, plus-10 goal differential.

Extra credit: Zegras and Milano hooked up Tuesday for an absurdly nice goal.

Wings prospect's off-ice detour

An oft-forgotten part of the transition to North America for players from places like Sweden is the task of getting from Point A to Point B in a foreign country.

I couldn't help but chuckle last month when Jonatan Berggren, a forward in the Detroit Red Wings organization, confirmed a humorous story about his introduction to life in the U.S. during a chat in Grand Rapids, Michigan. (I was there to report this feature about the Wings' extensive rebuild.)

Berggren, a 21-year-old from Uppsala, Sweden, was sent by the Wings to AHL Grand Rapids in early October after drawing into some NHL preseason action. Standard stuff; he wasn't projected to make the opening-day roster.

He and his girlfriend Tilde, who's also from Sweden, hopped in a rental car, Berggren punched the words "Grand Rapids" into the GPS system, and off they went. Two hours later, the couple arrived safely in Grand Rapids … Ohio, a farming town of roughly 1,000 people located 30 miles southwest of Toledo.

"In Sweden, we never have two places where the name is the same," Berggren said, smiling at the bungle, which made headlines back home. "I was thinking there was only one Grand Rapids in the U.S.A. But I was wrong."

For the record, Berggren and Tilde quickly realized the error, turned around, and had no issues finding the "real" Grand Rapids, which is two hours west of Detroit. Berggren's since settled in, posting 16 points in 20 AHL games.

Parting thoughts

Chris Kreider: The New York Rangers winger is at it again. After finishing with 20-10 in 50 games last season, Kreider is challenging for hockey's (totally pretend) Cy Young Award with a stat line of 17 goals and four assists (17-4). Others in the conversation: Andrew Mangiapane at 17-3 and Brandon Saad at 11-3.

Colorado Avalanche: The Avalanche, a popular preseason Cup pick, own a .652 points percentage through 23 games but rank 29th in goaltending. What gives? Well, they're scoring goals at the same rate as the 1995-96 Pittsburgh Penguins, a team with prime-time Mario Lemieux and peak Jaromir Jagr.

Jomboy: The internet personality Jomboy, best known for his MLB lip-reading videos, is now posting breakdowns of notable hockey moments. His blow-by-blow (bite-by-bite?) accounting of the Brendan Lemieux-Brady Tkachuk incident is must-consume content. Trust me.

Takes, Thoughts, and Trends is theScore's biweekly hockey grab bag.

John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).

Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Skates dig into the ice surface. A shot rings off the goalpost. Cursing fills the air after a shooter narrowly misses the net. A coach barks "Gap up! Gap up!" at a defenseman competing in a two-on-two drill.

In this hockey laboratory, there's one coach for every two-and-a-half players. The players' red hockey pants are emblazoned with the Detroit Red Wings' iconic winged wheel logo, but the Grand Rapids Griffins emblem on each helmet serves as a reminder of the present moment. This is the minor leagues.

"Up top, in the NHL, you're just worried about the final product," says Mike Knuble, the former NHL forward who's now an assistant coach for the Griffins. "Down here, it's more so about the process to create the product."

A variation of these sights and sounds can be seen and heard daily in AHL rinks across the continent, from San Diego to Laval, Quebec. All 32 NHL organizations are inherently invested in the development of their prospects - particularly in the AHL, where top affiliates compete not only for the league championship but also for the feeder league's highest graduation rate.

For the Red Wings, a proud Original Six franchise, the significance is amplified.

Amid an extensive rebuild, Detroit hasn't made the postseason since 2015-16, the last hoorah in a 25-year playoff streak that produced four Stanley Cups. Over the past five-plus seasons, the Wings' points percentage ranks 31st in the NHL, ahead of only the expansion Seattle Kraken, who've played all of 23 games.

Even though super rookies Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider have provided a jolt of momentum in 2021-22, the rebuild under general manager Steve Yzerman - also known as the "Yzerplan" - remains far from complete.

Effective and efficient player development is how Detroit intends to advance past the pain of the rebuild and into the competitive stage of the cycle. Eventually, if all goes according to plan, the Wings will start contending for Cups again.

"Every guy you draft isn't going to turn out to be an NHL home-run player. But what you want to do is maximize each guy the best you can," Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill says. "It's something that's been important to our organization for a long time. It's become even more in focus here in the last few years."

With 5:45 left in the third period of the Wings' eighth game this season, ESPN's John Buccigross could barely contain his excitement on national TV.

"That's the craziest sequence I've ever seen!" Buccigross blurted out.

The Wings had just denied eight straight scoring attempts in a whirlwind shift against a then-undefeated Florida Panthers squad. Forwards Adam Erne and Robby Fabbri each blocked two attempts in fearless fashion. Defenseman Danny DeKeyser blocked another, and then, as he tried to fire the puck out of harm's way, watched his stick snap into two pieces. In the thick of the chaos, goalie Alex Nedeljkovic frantically turned aside the three other attempts.

The Shift - as some Wings fans came to call it - was stressful and exhilarating. The boisterous home crowd supplied an appropriate soundtrack, the volume seeming to rise a few decibels after every defensive stop. "Detroit is a blue-collar town," says Knuble, who was drafted by the Wings and played parts of two seasons with them from 1996-98. "They've always liked guys like that - the Darren McCartys, the Kris Drapers, the Kirk Maltbys."

A cynic might suggest The Shift was a single moment in a long, 82-game season, a blip on the radar in the middle of a deep rebuild. Besides, getting hemmed in one's zone for nearly a minute, no matter the degree of sacrifice, isn't exactly conducive to winning. (The Panthers went on to win the game 3-2 in overtime.)

Those inside the organization wouldn't disagree with the cynical viewpoint, but they believe The Shift is also tangible proof the 2021-22 Wings players care a great deal about each other and the team's record. Shot-blockers Erne and Fabbri instantly earned respect and admiration from fans and teammates, as well as players and coaches within the Wings' farm system.

"Stuff like that is infectious. It spreads like wildfire," Griffins head coach Ben Simon says. Grand Rapids' dressing room was buzzing about The Shift the following day, he adds. The coaches didn't bring it up; the players did.

If nothing else, The Shift is daydream material - a playoff-style sequence in an encouraging season. Through roughly a quarter of 2021-22, the Wings are 12-9-3 and occupy the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. For the first time in a while, promise is being turned into progress.

Yzerman, who captained Detroit to three Cups as a player, didn't set a firm timeline for the rebuild when he took over from Ken Holland in April 2019 - an approach that helps manage expectations both internally and externally. Yzerman's previous work as GM of the two-time defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning has armed him with additional credibility. Few teams have figured out how to assemble a sustainable winner in the salary-cap era quite like Tampa Bay, and now the Wings have one of the Lightning's masterminds.

Under both Holland and Yzerman, Detroit hasn't been shy about using the trade market to acquire draft capital. The team has selected a whopping 52 players since 2017, which is 17 more than the number normally allotted to teams over a five-year span. They've had horrible luck at the draft lottery, though, receiving a top-five pick only once (Raymond, fourth overall in 2020).

This dynamic - a boatload of picks but none at the very top of the draft - puts the onus on identifying hidden gems and then developing them into NHLers.

"At the end of the day, if you're going to be an organization that has success and wins Stanley Cups, there's gotta be some of those guys," Shawn Horcoff, the Wings' director of player development, says of unearthing future NHLers later in the first round and beyond. "Obviously you need your superstars, your high picks to turn out. But you have to find a way to draft and develop other players that eventually come into the league and become impact players."

At the moment, the Wings' core of young, full-time NHL stars (or, in some cases, potential future stars) features Raymond, Dylan Larkin, Tyler Bertuzzi, Jakub Vrana, and Filip Zadina at forward; Seider and Filip Hronek on defense; and Nedeljkovic in goal. Interestingly, only Raymond, Vrana, Seider, and Hronek are signed beyond next season, so there's a chance not all of the eight names listed above will be around to see the rebuilding process through.

The rebuild has already cast aside two first-round picks. Yzerman sent forward Anthony Mantha (2013, 20th overall) to Washington at last season's trade deadline for a package that included Vrana and picks. Defenseman Dennis Cholowski, the Wings' 20th overall pick in 2016, was left unprotected and selected in Seattle's expansion draft.

There are plenty of roster spots up for grabs. And once a player makes the big club, he can't rest on the accomplishment. "The minute you get stagnant or too pleased is the moment when you maybe take a step or two backwards," says 22-year-old depth forward Michael Rasmussen, another Holland-era first-rounder. Some of those NHL jobs are expected to be nabbed by blue-chip prospects, such as 2021 top picks Simon Edvinsson and Sebastian Cossa, and others by players acquired via free agency or trade.

The rest? Horcoff and the six-man player development group, in lockstep with the five-man AHL coaching staff headed by Simon, are tasked with guiding the organization's less-polished prospects into the conversation.

In 2015, Joe Veleno became the first player in QMJHL history to be granted "exceptional status," allowing him to enter the league at age 15. Three years later, the Wings scooped up the offensively gifted forward on Day 1 of the draft. A projected top-20 selection, Veleno fell into the club's lap at No. 30.

Veleno attended his first NHL training camp in September 2018, impressing in preseason action. He was trending in the right direction. After the Wings sent him back to the Drummondville Voltigeurs, however, he failed to dominate the QMJHL. He was in his own head, thinking junior was suddenly beneath him.

The big club noticed. Horcoff quickly booked a three-day trip to Drummondville for what Veleno now refers to as "the wake-up call." Horcoff diagnosed and dissected Veleno's on-ice issues while educating the youngster on proper nutrition and sleep habits. They went out for dinner one night and also spent time assessing the setup at Veleno's billet home.

One interaction from Horcoff's visit still resonates. Veleno remembers being greeted by multiple video screens and a bunch of detailed notes when he first walked into Horcoff's hotel room. "I was like, 'Oh god,'" Veleno says, laughing.

"We had a pretty big talk about what I can do better," Veleno adds. "He told me, 'If you want to play in the NHL, you've got to do this, this, and this. It's necessary. The next level, it's just so much different.'"

Even back then, when Veleno had a tendency to cut corners on defense, the Wings believed he could be groomed into a two-way NHL forward. There was no reason the skating ability, hockey IQ, and stick work that made Veleno a dangerous offensive player couldn't be applied to other parts of his game. Luckily for the Wings, he was coachable - a tireless worker who accepted criticism well.

Now 21, Veleno is much closer to a complete, 200-foot player. He turned pro with the Griffins in 2019-20 and spent most of last year with the Malmo Redhawks in Sweden while the AHL was shuttered because of COVID-19. In 2021-22, he's been called up to the Wings on two occasions. (He's currently on the roster but is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.) In nine total games, there have been glimpses of a future in which Veleno slots in as the team's regular second- or third-line center.

Based on the lofty expectations associated with the "exceptional status" label in junior - John Tavares, Connor McDavid, and Aaron Ekblad also earned that distinction - a projection as a top-nine NHL center is underwhelming. For a 30th overall pick, though, a top-nine center would be good value for the Wings and a meaningful role for Veleno.

"I just want to be the best version of myself and be the best player I know I can be," Veleno says. "I definitely know I have that potential to be great, and I've gotta try to figure it out by coming to work every day trying to be better."

Todd Krygier, the Griffins' forwards coach, has assured Veleno multiple times that he's already an NHL-caliber player. The yo-yo between Detroit and Grand Rapids is more or less rooted in one thing: Refining the areas of Veleno's game that will help him contribute every single night, regardless of how confident and dialed in he may feel with the puck on his stick.

"If you don't have your 'A' game, try to find and bring your best 'B' game," Veleno says, reciting one of the Wings' frequent talking points. Winning a defensive zone draw late in the game or backchecking while on a power play are two examples that would apply to Veleno and others trying to permanently bridge the gap between the AHL and NHL.

The Holland-era Wings gained a reputation as a franchise that kept its prospects in the AHL until they were "overripe." That term may not be thrown around in an official capacity within the organization in 2021, but the player development philosophy hasn't changed drastically under Yzerman.

"Dominate down here, marinate down here, and then when you're ready - even when you're over-ready - go up to Detroit. And when you go up, don't come back. That's our goal," Simon says. "Sometimes that happens and sometimes that doesn't happen. The NHL is a hard league."

In Grand Rapids, an AHL/NHL tweener like Veleno assumes a first-line role at even strength and a top-unit spot on both the power play and penalty kill. A revved-up workload and list of responsibilities can test a player physically and mentally, though concrete results rarely arrive overnight. "Part of development is learning by failing," Simon says. "How many times do you get back up?"

So many prospects don't make it to Veleno's stage in the development process because the jump from junior or college to the AHL presents its own set of unique challenges. For a brand-new pro, finding consistency can mean learning how to "become boring," as Simon puts it. "You have a good routine at and away from the rink. You stick with it. You do the little things right."

In his best-selling book "Atomic Habits," author James Clear argues that "you do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems." Simon, who's in his fourth season as the Griffins' bench boss, hasn't read Clear's book, but he subscribes to the exact same thought process: the AHL environment should be focused on habit formation and fine-tuning.

"You resort to your training level, you don't rise to the occasion," Simon says in his own parlance. "In practice, it's the coaching staff's job to make sure these guys are doing everything the right way. It's our job to make sure they're attentive to detail and they're ready when that call comes from the Wings."

In an alternative universe, Sam Gagner is a Stanley Cup champion. He would have champagne-soaked memories with Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, the fellow first-rounders on those pre-McDavid Edmonton teams. The Oilers, after all, were the up-and-coming club a decade ago.

"It's interesting talking to those guys about it now - what they've learned, what I've learned," says Gagner, who's in his second full season in Detroit.

Individual struggles can easily weigh on young players, Gagner explains, and the pressure only mounts when a team playing in a demanding market decides the best course of action is to lean heavily on a handful of skilled youngsters. Without patience, a cap-era rebuild can spiral out of control.

"I don't think you can expect young players to come in and turn it around all on their own and in a short period of time. They need to be insulated by other good players. It takes a full roster to build out a successful team," Gagner says. He notes he's grateful for the Oilers experience; it's perspective.

Gagner, now 32 and playing on a one-year contract in his 15th NHL season, says he fully intends to stay in Detroit - assuming Yzerman's on board with an extension. A bottom-six forward who leads the team in shorthanded minutes, Gagner's pleased with the niche he's carved out within the Wings' lineup. Off the ice, he's embracing the mentor's role.

"There's 82 games in a season. In some 10-game segments, things are going to feel easy and in others it's going to feel really hard," he says when asked to share a pearl of wisdom. "You need to make sure you go about your business every day in the same way and keep the same mindset. Guys generally work really hard, regardless of the situation, but it's the mindset that tends to change when things don't go exactly the right way."

Gagner was drafted in 2007 and since then the amount of money and resources devoted to NHL player development has skyrocketed. Every franchise now has a specific arm of hockey operations dedicated solely to developing prospects. Also, video and statistical analysis have evolved significantly. The introduction of tracking devices has opened up a whole new world of biometric data. (Wings prospects can volunteer to have their heart rate and energy output, among other things, monitored.)

These investments lead to fully personalized development plans. The plans are only useful, of course, if players take ownership of their own trajectory.

"What do you guys think? How are you seeing it?" Krygier asks rhetorically. "If you're not giving them ownership, I don't think you're going to get the quality of results that you want. You want everybody to take ownership of their game and their situation. When they start to take ownership, they become better."

Blashill adds: "You can push players. You can help provide the right avenue for them to be successful and provide the right resources. But they have to have the inner drive."

In one-on-one video sessions, the Griffins staff will fire up clips of alumni turning a weakness into a strength so current players can relate to the material and advice being passed on by the coaches. For instance, Zadina has been used as a pseudo-template for crafty Swedish forward Jonatan Berggren.

Zadina, drafted sixth overall in 2018, wasn't shooting from dangerous areas of the ice in the early days of his North American career. The sniper had flourished on the perimeter back in the Czech Republic and in junior, but in the AHL and NHL a large portion of goals - 85%, according to Krygier - are scored in the slot and crease areas. Zadina adjusted his approach in time, supplementing his lethal shot with a hungry net-drive game.

Berggren, chosen 27 spots behind Zadina and three behind Veleno in 2018, says he likes to be an "entertainer player." The organization doesn't want to quash what made the 5-foot-11, 195-pound winger productive on the larger rinks in Europe. The Wings just want him to add versatility to his game by deploying his low center of gravity as a weapon.

"I need to have the courage to take my body to the net," Berggren says. "It will hurt, but sometimes you need to just get ugly goals, not the fancy plays."

There are two Calder Trophy front-runners to study, too. Despite being 19 and 20, Raymond and Seider are complete players who play a mature game.

"People see some of the fancy plays he makes," Blashill says of Raymond, the NHL leader in rookie goals (10) and points (22). "But he does it in a way that doesn't take on any unneeded risk. He'd be one of our lowest players in terms of scoring-chance minuses. He does it with very little risk, and I think that's critically important to becoming a winning team."

It's Friday afternoon, the day after Griffins practice, and Blashill is sitting inside a restaurant at Little Caesars Arena. It's at ice level, directly across from the Wings' dressing room. On game nights, fans in the restaurant can watch Detroit players pass within close view on the way to the ice.

The interactive bit might feel tacky elsewhere. In Hockeytown, it hits, because throughout the arena are reminders of the franchise's prestige - a statue depicting the legendary Ted Lindsay in the concourse, framed photos of other all-time Wings greats above each dressing-room stall, a gigantic banner showing Yzerman hoisting the Cup near one of the arena gates.

"Something I believe, and what's certainly been made clear to me by Steve Yzerman, is that we want to create a playing style that's going to win long term," Blashill says. "We want to teach our guys how to play winning hockey, so that when we do have the pieces in place to win, we're ready to win."

Blashill is talking about The Shift within the scope of the entire rebuild.

"We want to have lots of moments like that. They may not all go viral, but we'll see them," says Blashill, who was promoted from Griffins head coach to Wings head coach in 2015.

"We'll know when our sacrifice is to that level. That's the type of culture we're trying to rebuild here. That type of culture of sacrifice, when you'll do anything it takes to win a hockey game, and it doesn't matter if it's in October or April or May, it's the same type of sacrifice. Slowly but surely, we're building that."

Larkin, the captain at age 25 but already in his seventh season, is the heart and soul. Raymond and Seider are cornerstones. Others - from Hronek to Nedeljkovic - are key pieces, too. Veleno and a few of his peers are on their way to full-time duty. What's still to be determined are the timelines for each player and then the team as a whole. Detroit won't rebuild forever.

"Hopefully all of our young guys can be up there together one day," Veleno says. "I think it's sooner than later that it'll happen."

John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).

Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Friday marks 10 days since the law firm Jenner & Block released a report on its investigation into how the 2009-10 Chicago Blackhawks mishandled and covered up sexual misconduct allegations against ex-video coach Brad Aldrich.

In that time, Kyle Beach revealed himself as "John Doe" in an emotional interview with TSN; Blackhawks executives Stan Bowman and Al MacIsaac left the club; the NHL fined the Blackhawks $2 million; former Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville resigned from his job with the Florida Panthers; the NHL cleared former Blackhawks assistant GM Kevin Cheveldayoff of any responsibility on the matter; Aldrich's name was removed from the Stanley Cup; and the NHLPA announced it's conducting an internal investigation of its own handling of the matter.

This story and its various subplots aren't going away any time soon.

Here are seven key questions that remain unanswered:

1. What will the NHLPA's internal investigation reveal about executive director Donald Fehr's supposed inaction over the past 11 years? Fehr, based on Jenner & Block's investigation, appears to have known about the allegations against Aldrich around 2010 but failed to act. He could be forced to resign.

2. Will former Blackhawks president John McDonough accept blame for his poor leadership? McDonough is believed to be the highest-ranking member of the Blackhawks front office who knew about the allegations against Aldrich back in 2010. Bowman, for one, blamed McDonough in his statement. Yet McDonough hasn't spoken about the scandal in any public forum. It's unlikely he will until it's clear whether the Blackhawks plan to sue him.

3. Will we get an outcome from the investigation into Bill Peters? Two years ago, former players Akim Aliu and Michal Jordan accused Peters, the Blackhawks' AHL coach in 2009-10, of racist and abusive behavior. NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said earlier this week the investigation had concluded and the parties contacted. Aliu's lawyer stated that it's "news to me and not true."

4. Will the Blackhawks offer Beach a satisfactory settlement? All of this public scrutiny of the Blackhawks began in May when Beach and "John Doe 2" filed lawsuits against the team. Beach's lawyer and the Blackhawks' lawyers had a "respectful and cordial" meeting earlier this week, which is promising.

5. Will the NHL compensate "John Doe 2" in any way? Beach's lawyer, Susan Loggans, is also representing the former Michigan high school hockey player who had been assaulted by Aldrich following his Blackhawks tenure. When asked whether the NHL owed him any consideration this week, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman wouldn't commit to covering the same counseling costs the league had promised Beach.

6. Will an active NHL player finally admit to being aware of the allegations in 2010? There's been a divide among the responses to questions between active NHLers and retired or European-based players. The active players, such as Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, and Duncan Keith, have essentially claimed innocence, while Brent Sopel (retired) and Shawn Lalonde (Europe) are among those who have said that virtually everybody around the team at least vaguely knew about the allegations.

7. Will Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz and CEO Danny Wirtz ever fully explain themselves? Credit to the Wirtz family for not standing in the way of a thorough investigation and for making its findings public. However, unlike Bettman and Daly and others tangentially involved in this scandal, neither the owner nor the CEO have taken questions from the media. The Block & Jenner report found that the Wirtzes were not aware of the allegations but as the one at the top of the organizational hierarchy, their fans deserve to hear from them.

Unpacking Ovechkin's start

It's rare for Alex Ovechkin to shock us these days. We've watched him terrorize goalies for too long to consider most of what he does to be outlandish.

Yet Ovechkin, in his 17th NHL season and at the ripe age of 36 years old, is off to an attention-grabbing start to the season with 10 goals in 10 games. Which prompts the question: Is Ovi doing something different to maintain this incredible pace?

Checking on the Capitals sniper's shot profile is a good place to start ...

Ovechkin, with 4.8 shots on goal per game, is shooting for volume at a typical rate. He's getting roughly 57% of his shot attempts on target, a rate also comparable to his career average. His shooting percentage, on the other hand, has ballooned to 20.8% from his career average of 12.8%. This uptick suggests he may be benefiting from some puck luck to start the season.

Then again, maybe we should expect Ovechkin to score on a higher percentage of his shots this year (OK, maybe not 21%, but 15% is realistic). After all, he's starting 85.9% of his shifts in the offensive zone, a career high by a significant margin. If Ovechkin's line, with Evgeni Kuznetsov and Tom Wilson, is consistently starting in the O-zone, he will naturally exert his early-shift energy on trying to score a goal.

Ovechkin is not only getting a head start territorially, but he's also playing 21 minutes and 28 seconds a night, which stands as his highest average TOI since 2009-10. The increase is mostly from the power play, where Ovechkin's been hanging out in the Ovi Spot for roughly one additional minute per night.

So, to recap, the changes are subtle and some of what Ovechkin's doing is unsustainable. But one variable (deployment and ice time) is notable.

Regardless, Ovechkin has inched closer to Wayne Gretzky's all-time record for goals scored with this start. He's up to 740, so if he hits 50 in 2021-22, he'll be at 780 - or 114 behind The Great One. He's within striking distance.

Canada's goalie puzzle

According to reports, Carey Price, Marc-Andre Fleury, Darcy Kuemper, Jordan Binnington, Carter Hart, and Mackenzie Blackwood are the goalies on Hockey Canada's "long list" for the Olympics, which are just three months away.

Relative to other medal contenders - namely Russia and the U.S. - Canada lacks both star power and depth between the pipes. Heck, only four of their six options have appeared in an NHL game this season, with the Canadiens' Price in the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program (he's rejoining the team on Monday) and the Devils' Blackwood out with an injury.

Among the four active guys, there's a clear divide in performance in the early going. Small sample size alert, but Binnington (Blues) and Hart (Flyers) have significantly outplayed Fleury (Blackhawks) and Kuemper (Avalanche):

There's still time for Kuemper and Fleury - last year's Vezina Trophy winner - to rebound and earn a starting or backup role on Team Canada. Same goes for 2014 Olympic starter Price, assuming he gets in enough games before final Olympic rosters are due.

Right now, though, the three goalie spots are too difficult to project. Binnington and Hart, for how good they've been lately, simply haven't been consistent enough in their young careers to automatically warrant a spot.

Generally speaking, Team Canada GM Doug Armstrong must determine whether it's best to favor the hot hand or the proven veteran. Perhaps he plays it down the middle and mixes the hot hand with the vets.

Sizing up D-men contracts

Earlier this week, Adam Fox became the seventh defenseman since late July to sign a long-term deal with an average annual value of $9 million or higher.

This rush of contracts completely reset the market for elite D-men. It also makes it easier to compare these blue-liners (who are all 28 or under) in both serious and trivial ways. In the spirit of the latter, let's have a little fun by assigning a high school yearbook-style superlative to each new contract.

Cale Makar at 6 years, $9-million AAV: Most Likely To Cash In Big (Again). Already elite of the elite at 23. Deal takes him straight to unrestricted free agency.

Dougie Hamilton at 7 years x $9M: Most Likely To Look Overpaid in Years 6 and 7. Just the nature of aging curves. Will be 35 when the deal expires in 2028.

Darnell Nurse at 8 years x $9.3M: Most Likely To Play The Most Minutes. Workhorse quality to him and Oilers tend to rely heavily on its big-ticket stars.

Seth Jones at 8 years x $9.5M: Most Likely To Regret His Decision. Honestly, given the horrid start to Chicago's season, this superlative may already apply.

Charlie McAvoy at 8 years x $9.5M: Most Likely To Grow Into Fat AAV. Hefty price tag now but the dominant five-on-five player has Norris Trophy in the future.

Adam Fox at 7 years x $9.5M: Most Likely To Look Underpaid Sooner Than Later. Reigning Norris winner. Only 24. May win it again, perhaps this season.

Zach Werenski at 6 years x $9.6M: Most Likely To Remain Team's Highest Paid Player Throughout Term. Blue Jackets don't typically pony up in negotiations with stars and there are no obvious eight-digit paydays coming down the pike.

3 parting thoughts

Carolina Hurricanes: The Bunch of Jerks remain undefeated. On Saturday, Carolina has a chance to tie an NHL record for best start in NHL history. A win over the Panthers, who are 9-0-1 themselves, would improve their record to 10-0-0. The 1993-94 Maple Leafs and 2006-07 Sabres both came out of the gate with 10-game winning streaks. I say the 'Canes win at least 11 in a row.

Detroit Red Wings: Heading into Friday's games, Detroit Red Wings newbies Lucas Raymond (10 points) and Moritz Seider (nine points) sit first and second in rookie scoring. The last time teammates finished atop the leaderboard was way back in 2001-02, when the dynamic duo of Dany Heatley and Ilya Kovalchuk debuted for the Atlanta Thrashers. The future's bright in Detroit.

Arizona Coyotes: Based on how thoroughly GM Bill Armstrong has gutted an already-mediocre roster, we knew the Coyotes could be unwatchable this year. But we didn't imagine them recording one measly point through 10 games. The 0-9-1 squad has dug itself a hole so deep that the 2016-17 Avalanche (48 points in 82 games) suddenly look half decent.

Takes, Thoughts, and Trends is theScore's biweekly hockey grab bag.

John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).

Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The months-long soap opera starring Jack Eichel and the Buffalo Sabres has finally concluded.

The Sabres traded Eichel and a third-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft to the Vegas Golden Knights for forwards Alex Tuch and Peyton Krebs as well as a top-10-protected first-rounder in 2022 and a second-rounder in 2023.

The blockbuster swap signals the end of an era in Buffalo, while in Vegas, the front office hopes it's hit the jackpot (sorry) with another marquee acquisition.

Let's break down the trade from the perspectives of the three parties involved.

Eichel

Eichel is a gigantic winner here for two chief reasons.

Firstly, the 25-year-old center is getting his way after digging in his heels for almost six months. It was revealed in May that Eichel wanted to undergo artificial disc replacement surgery to repair a herniated disc in his neck. However, the Sabres refused to grant permission based on the advice of their doctors, suggesting the 2015 second overall pick have fusion surgery instead. Eichel never relented on his desired procedure - even switching agents during the standoff - and now Vegas will in fact let him do exactly what he wants.

Secondly, Eichel is joining a hockey team that actually wins games on a regular basis. The Sabres were horrible in the six seasons Eichel played, posting a league-worst .444 points percentage. Conversely, the Golden Knights became the most successful expansion franchise in North American pro sports history in 2017-18 and during the three-plus years since that incredible debut have refused to take their foot off the gas.

This season, the Golden Knights own a mediocre 4-5-0 record. The club has been dealing with injuries to key players - most notably Mark Stone, Max Pacioretty, and Tuch - and have now added another forward to the list. So it would be disingenuous to say Eichel is walking into an ideal situation where the sky's the limit on Day 1. In reality, the situation has very strong potential, and if 2021-22 ultimately ends up being a dud for Vegas, there's no need to panic. Eichel's contract, which carries an AAV of $10 million, runs through 2025-26.

The Golden Knights haven't broken up William Karlsson, Jonathan Marchessault, and Reilly Smith for an extended period of time since the team entered the league, so Stone and Pacioretty appear to be the obvious linemates for Eichel once all three are healed. Eichel, who was arguably a top-10 center before getting sidelined, has never played with wingers of Stone and Pacioretty's caliber. Given he's also in the prime of his career, there's no reason to believe Eichel won't flourish in Vegas.

That said, there is a little bit of uneasiness. When will Eichel return to action? Recovery time from artificial disc replacement surgery tends to be measured in multiple months, not weeks. If he undergoes the procedure in the immediate future (which is reportedly the plan) he'll be scheduled to return at some point in early 2022. He last played in March. How will he look after such a long layoff, with his peers so deep into the season?

Unrelated side plot: Eichel is now in the same division as Connor McDavid, the generational talent and draft buddy he's constantly stacked up against.

Golden Knights

Paul Stastny. Pacioretty. Stone. Robin Lehner. Alex Pietrangelo. Eichel.

The Golden Knights' front office, which is led by the one-two punch of president of hockey operations George McPhee and general manager Kelly McCrimmon, has reeled in its sixth big fish. Whether it's via trade or free agency, Sin City's team never settles for the minor move, and owner Bill Foley deserves props for consistently giving management the green light.

This deal could be the most impactful of the bunch considering the one quibble with Vegas' roster construction through its short history has been the absence of an elite center. Eichel, who for his career has averaged 0.95 points a game despite lackluster support, immediately addresses that need. His eventual arrival to the lineup will allow head coach Pete DeBoer to slide Karlsson and Chandler Stephenson into the 2C and 3C roles. If, like in the past, Vegas struggles to bag goals in the playoffs, it won't be management's fault.

Something very important to keep in mind moving forward: The Golden Knights are in a salary-cap bind after the trade. Once their roster is at full health, they'll be well over the $81.5-million upper limit since the Sabres didn't retain salary in the deal. (Tuch and Krebs make a combined $5.6 million.) In other words, a Golden Knights player, or players, of considerable value will likely be shipped out of town. Smith and his $5-million-a-year expiring contract jump off Vegas' CapFriendly page, but he isn't the only option.

Of course, bidding farewell to an asset or two would be par for the course for Vegas, an organization so aggressive in its pursuit for a Cup that trading picks and prospects (Nick Suzuki, Cody Glass, Erik Brannstrom, and Krebs) - to say nothing about outgoing veterans like Marc-Andre Fleury, Nate Schmidt, Stastny, and Tuch - has simply become part of the club's brand and identity.

Sabres

Look, it isn't a joyous day for the 5-3-1 Sabres and their loyal fan base.

Drafting Eichel in 2015 was supposed to be the start of something special. It turned into years of losing games and quality players, Eichel eventually getting stripped of his captaincy, and a decent yet unremarkable return from Vegas.

Tuch, who's 6-foot-4, can skate like the wind and can snipe. He's one of the NHL's most entertaining forwards and will undoubtedly be a fan favorite in Buffalo after he's recovered from an injury. Krebs, meanwhile, is still developing. The 20-year-old's ceiling is a two-way second-line center. If reached, that's an impactful piece. Still, neither Tuch nor Krebs will change the trajectory of the franchise and combined they likely won't bring as much value as Eichel.

The late first-round pick is obviously crucial to the trade's success or failure. The Sabres could conceivably hit a home run with it, especially since the 2022 draft class projects to be quite strong. Yet it's one lottery ticket, not two or three high-end picks. Netting two firsts, or a first and two seconds, would have greatly improved the overall package received by GM Kevyn Adams.

Where the return evolves from "unremarkable" to "decent" is in the context of the situation. It's difficult to criticize Adams too much considering Eichel's displeasure with the organization precedes his tenure as GM. When Adams was hired last June, he inherited a disgruntled captain whose last straw proved to be the disagreement over which surgery was best for his future. The Sabres could have allowed Eichel to have his preferred surgery, but they clearly didn't want to be pushed around (and, let's not forget, the NHL/NHLPA CBA gave them the final call). Once the dispute went public, Adams lost a significant chunk of his negotiating leverage with rival GMs.

At the end of the day, the relationship between player and team was frayed beyond repair and Adams waited out the market long enough to fetch a decent return (and the Sabres aren't retaining salary). Decent, under these circumstances, which calls for a grade of B-. And now a new era begins in Buffalo.

John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).

Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Heading into Wednesday's slate of games, with two weeks of action wrapped up, four NHL clubs remain undefeated - the Edmonton Oilers (5-0-0), Florida Panthers (6-0-0), St. Louis Blues (5-0-0), and Carolina Hurricanes (5-0-0).

Naturally, almost everything is going right for these teams. After all, you don't just stumble into a lengthy season-opening winning streak in a league obsessed with parity. But we've tried to identify what's been unsurprising and what's been surprising about each blazing-hot start.

(Note: All advanced statistics collected from Evolving Hockey.)

Edmonton Oilers

Unsurprising: Connor McDavid is good at hockey. To start his sixth NHL season, McDavid leads the league in points with 13 in five games, which is a 213-point pace over 82 contests. (Maybe 150 isn't a pipe dream?) Meanwhile, super sidekick Leon Draisaitl isn't far behind with 11 points. McDavid, Draisaitl, and Zach Hyman, the new winger on McDavid's line, account for seven of the Oilers' league-leading eight power-play goals.

Hyman is fitting in perfectly with Edmonton, doing exactly the kinds of things he was doing in Toronto alongside Auston Matthews. On top of scoring, Hyman's regularly retrieving pucks, screening goalies, issuing body checks, and attending to his defensive responsibilities.

Surprising: A combination of blah goaltending and a lack of defensive depth had many pundits, myself included, questioning the Oilers' ceiling in 2021-22. Edmonton's final scores so far: 3-2, 5-2, 6-5, 5-1, 5-3.

Aside from the 6-5 game, the Oilers are holding down the fort defensively. Backup goalie Mikko Koskinen owns a .943 save percentage in 148 minutes, while starter Mike Smith (who's currently injured) has a .920 mark in 156. Darnell Nurse, who has a league-high average ice time of 27:37 a night, has steered the defense corps toward respectability. Originally paired with Tyson Barrie, Nurse is now dominating with Evan Bouchard. As for polarizing offseason acquisition Duncan Keith, well, he's been fine, which might be good enough from a 38-year-old.

Florida Panthers

Unsurprising: Last season, the Panthers finished tied for fourth in goals scored. It's been much of the same this year: They're tied for third in goals per game while outscoring the opposition 27-12. Florida plays an uptempo style, and so far, no other team is generating more five-on-five shot attempts per 60 minutes than the Panthers' 68.1.

As expected, a couple of recent additions up front are making a tangible impact, with Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett ranking first and second, respectively, among Panthers forwards in individual five-on-five shot attempts for. Together, they've chipped in 12 points. Also of note: Blue-liner Aaron Ekblad, shelved for most of 2020-21, has been terrific in his return. He and rising star MacKenzie Weegar make an elite top pairing.

Surprising: How real this dominance appears. The Panthers have defeated the Penguins, Islanders, Lightning, Avalanche, Flyers, and Coyotes, who are the only pushover in that group. Another significant positive: arguably the biggest question for this team - goaltending - has been more of an exclamation mark.

The much-maligned Sergei Bobrovsky, for one, has been nothing but steady, earning a quality start (when the goalie achieves at least the league's mean save percentage in a game) in each of his four starts, according to Hockey Reference. There's been no drop-off when 20-year-old Spencer Knight takes the net, either. The vet-rookie tandem has teamed up for a .937 save percentage.

St. Louis Blues

Unsurprising: There are two predictable developments with respect to the Blues. The first is David Perron once again producing at a high rate with little fanfare outside of St. Louis. The 33-year-old winger has accumulated six goals and two assists in five contests for a 1.60 points-per-game rate. Will he keep up that pace? Probably not. But he's in damn good shape to meet, or improve upon, his career average of 0.68 points per contest.

The second is the penalty kill stymying opposing power-play units, allowing only one goal on 16 opportunities for a league-leading 93.8% kill rate. In 2020-21, the Blues ranked 25th in penalty-kill percentage, but the results never seemed to align with the plethora of penalty-killing talent, namely Justin Faulk, Colton Parayko, and Ryan O'Reilly.

Surprising: The Blues have used 20 skaters thus far, and all 20 have recorded at least one point. That's impressive given that St. Louis' secondary players aren't world-beaters, at least on paper. The club's 26-and-under forwards (Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou, Pavel Buchnevich, Jake Neighbours, Klim Kostin, Ivan Barbashev) have all found success in the early going, contributing a combined nine goals and 12 primary assists.

The veterans aren't being left behind, though. Vladimir Tarasenko, fresh off an offseason trade request and scuttlebutt about his long-term health, has been excellent. The same goes for two-way wizard O'Reilly.

Carolina Hurricanes

Surprising: In the offseason, the Hurricanes turned over nine spots on their 23-man roster. It's typical (and understandable) for teams with such a high volume of changes to struggle out of the gate. So, Carolina's strong start, with so many new faces, is borderline shocking.

Frederik Andersen, who's manned the pipes every game so far, is headlining the fresh-faced standouts. The 6-foot-4 Dane currently boasts a .946 save percentage while sitting atop the NHL leaderboard in a couple of advanced goalie stats: goals saved above average and goals saved above expected. Forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi scored a goal against his former team, the Montreal Canadiens, last week. Defensemen Ethan Bear, Tony DeAngelo, and Ian Cole have looked solid in Dougie Hamilton's absence.

Unsurprising: Not to contradict the spirit of the above paragraphs, but even with the turnover, Carolina was primed to contend for the Metropolitan Division title. For a few years now, the franchise has been knocking on the door as a fringe Stanley Cup contender; it's not like Rod Brind'Amour, the club's wildly popular head coach, has changed his tactics.

The 2021-22 Hurricanes are still a team that dictates the flow of action most nights, ices a lethal power play, and employs a handful of game-breakers. One of those high-impact players, winger Andrei Svechnikov, is so far living up to his fat contract extension with five goals and four assists in five games. Captain Jordan Staal, more of a meat-and-potatoes kind of player at age 33, continues to post stellar underlying numbers, such as a 56.3% expected goals for percentage. Same old.

John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).

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The Chicago Blackhawks took a small measure of responsibility on Tuesday by backing a report that outlined how a group of senior team leaders appear to have valued a Stanley Cup run in 2010 over protecting a player who warned of a predator on their coaching staff.

Those who've followed the sexual assault scandal involving disgraced former Blackhawks video coach Brad Aldrich were probably already disgusted by the team's handling of the matter. The results of the independent investigation by the law firm Jenner & Block - revealed first on Tuesday through a press briefing by the team and then through the full report - confirmed a lot of what had become mostly common knowledge through the work of various media outlets.

Yet the findings managed to evoke an extra layer of disgust. It laid out how 11 years ago a group of seven men - some of whom continue to be highly influential in the hockey world - put their own interests ahead of the well-being of an employee who reported inappropriate sexual behavior by Aldrich. Their selfishness set off a chain of events that ultimately led to further abuse by Aldrich at subsequent jobs.

That group includes former Blackhawks team president John McDonough; Stan Bowman, who resigned on Tuesday as president of hockey operations and general manager; Al MacIsaac, the vice president of hockey operations who also left the club on Tuesday; former executive VP of business operations Jay Blunk; former mental skills coach James Gary; former assistant general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff, who's now GM of the Winnipeg Jets; and former head coach Joel Quenneville, now head coach of the Florida Panthers.

The months-long investigation, which drew from interviews with 139 witnesses, determined a sexual encounter between Aldrich and a Blackhawks minor-league player occurred shortly before the club won the 2010 Stanley Cup. (The player said the encounter wasn't consensual, which Aldrich disputes. The matter hasn't been heard in a court of law.)

McDonough, Bowman, MacIsaac, Blunk, Gary, Cheveldayoff, and Quenneville discussed the matter during a meeting following the Western Conference finals. However, for the next three weeks, nothing was done to address the situation. The team was chasing a championship, a pursuit that group deemed far more important than anything or anyone else.

"Bowman recalled that during the meeting, McDonough and Quenneville made comments about the challenge of getting to the Stanley Cup Final and a desire to focus on the team and the playoffs," the 107-page document notes.

During this period of inaction by the Blackhawks higher-ups, Aldrich continued to work for and travel with the team. He was in the presence of the player who made the complaint. And he then allegedly made an unwanted sexual advance toward a young intern following a night of celebration with members of the team, according to the report.

A few days after the Cup victory, Aldrich's alleged misconduct was finally brought to the attention of the team's human resources department. He resigned and received a severance package and playoff bonus. The team allowed his name to be engraved on the Cup, presented him with a ring, provided him with a personal day with the Cup, and invited him to attend a banner-raising ceremony. The report found that the lack of an investigation went against the team's written policy.

Three years later, Aldrich - having faced no repercussions for his actions in Chicago, despite the team having a sexual harassment policy - pleaded guilty to criminal sexual conduct with a minor while volunteering as a coach at a Michigan high school. There have been multiple allegations of further abuse at other stops in his travels.

Elizabeth Jeglic, a professor of psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, whose research focuses largely on sexual violence prevention, told theScore on Tuesday she isn't "entirely surprised" by the findings of the investigation.

Jeglic said the reaction of Blackhawks management after being told of the complaint against Aldrich was similar to that of the leadership at Penn State when Jerry Sandusky's behavior came to their attention: They "passed the buck." By letting Aldrich leave without an immediate investigation, he was free to abuse elsewhere.

"A lot of people knew and nobody said anything. The time frame is shorter here, and it involves adults versus children, but a lot of the same dynamics come into play," Jeglic said of similarities between the two cases.

"It shows where people's priorities lie and where their values are," she added. "I understand they're a sporting organization, but first and foremost you have to care about the people who belong to your organization. If you're not going to take these allegations seriously and follow your procedures seriously, you're sending a message that's (essentially saying), 'This isn't something that's important or a priority.'"

Bowman, who on Tuesday also stepped down as GM of the United States men's Olympic hockey team, issued a statement that more or less pinned the lack of an investigation on McDonough, whose tenure with the team ended in April 2020. Bowman also didn't take responsibility for his inaction or apologize to the player.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in his own statement that any of the disgraced Blackhawks executives wishing to re-enter the league must meet with him "in order to determine the appropriate conditions under which such new employment might take place." As for Cheveldayoff and Quenneville, Bettman added that he'll meet with each of them soon to "discuss their roles in the relevant events as detailed in the report."

Cheveldayoff previously denied knowing about Aldrich's misconduct in Chicago until "just prior" to the latter's departure from the team. Quenneville denied he knew anything until lawsuits filed by the Blackhawks player and by the Michigan high schooler were reported by media outlets earlier this year. Jenner & Block's findings contradict their assertions.

The league also punished the Blackhawks - a franchise worth an estimated $1 billion - with a $2-million fine, half of which will be "directed to fund local organizations in and around the Chicago community that provide counseling and training for, and support and assistance to, survivors of sexual and other forms of abuse."

Jenner & Block found both Blackhawks chairman Rocky Wirtz and CEO Danny Wirtz were unaware of Aldrich's misconduct until recently.

"I believe one of the beautiful parts of our game is the focus on team success over individual achievements and accolades," Danny Wirtz said Tuesday. "But that cannot come at the expense of individual safety and well-being. It is clear that in 2010, the executives of this organization put team performance above all else."

The player they failed, Wirtz added, "deserved better from the Blackhawks."

John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).

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It's less than two weeks into the season and Chicago is already underwater.

On Thursday night, the Blackhawks' record wilted to 0-4-1 following a 4-1 loss to the Vancouver Canucks. Through five games, they've been outscored 21-9. The gap widens if special teams are excluded, with the opposition outscoring Chicago 17-3 during five-on-five action. Yikes.

The heat is on fourth-year head coach Jeremy Colliton, and fingers are being pointed in all directions for not only the dreadful early-season record but also the process by which the Blackhawks arrived at this unsavory point.

It may all seem dramatic - there are 77 games to go - but, in reality, it's not. Chicago aggressively retooled this past offseason with the goal of returning to the playoffs and, really, none of the significant moves have panned out so far.

Not Marc-Andre Fleury, nor Tyler Johnson, nor Jake McCabe. Seth Jones certainly hasn't either.

Jones, a three-zone defenseman who finished fourth in Norris Trophy voting a few years ago, was acquired via trade from the Columbus Blue Jackets in July. Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman sent promising blue-liner Adam Boqvist, two first-round picks, and a second-rounder to Columbus in exchange for Jones, a lower first-round selection, and a sixth-rounder. Then Bowman turned around and handed Jones, now 27, an eight-year contract extension (which doesn't kick in until 2022-23) at $9.5 million annually.

The Jones trade-and-sign was mocked by many, especially the analytics-savvy, because of the quality of assets Bowman sent to Columbus after Jones flat-out stunk in 2020-21. Jones' loyalists rebutted with the fact that he'd been an all-star-level defenseman the previous four seasons, and the last 18 months of pandemic life haven't been easy on anybody. Naturally, intrigue and expectation levels were high coming into Jones' first year in Chicago.

Paired with veteran Calvin de Haan, Jones has been getting carved up too often through five games. It's true, Jones has flashed some brilliant play - especially in the club's overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils, where he was arguably the best player on the ice - but the overall body of work ain't pretty.

The underlying data suggests Jones isn't playing anywhere near his career-best right now. Yet five games is a tiny sample size, so it's more than possible Jones rebounds. Heck, he's earned the benefit of the doubt for at least a couple of months, seeing as in the past he's proven he can be a dominant NHL player.

So, unlike some, I'm not ready to give up on the 2013 fourth overall pick. My confidence in Jones has assuredly eroded, but adjusting to a new city and learning a new system can take time. He deserves a little breathing room here.

The tricky thing is that Jones' nightly influence - good or bad - is outsized on this Blackhawks team. Because he plays nearly 26 minutes a night between strength and the power play, and also tends to figure out a way to be heavily involved in the action every single shift - again, good or bad - Chicago will go as he goes. In other words, Jones is the Blackhawks' most important player.

To be clear, that's most important to righting the ship in 2021-22 and most important over the long term as the franchise attempts to win a fourth Stanley Cup this century. Oh boy, what a predicament Bowman has put himself in.

Are we witnessing a Kyrou breakout?

Shortly after the St. Louis Blues drafted forward Jordan Kyrou in 2016, Derian Hatcher, the ex-NHLer and Kyrou's junior coach, touched base with Blues general manager Doug Armstrong. He had valuable insight to pass along.

First, Hatcher expressed to Armstrong how shocked he was that Kyrou was still available to the Blues at No. 35. Hatcher strongly believed the dynamic star of the OHL's Sarnia Sting was a first-round talent. Then, Hatcher explained to Armstrong how much Kyrou, an elite skater whose speed actually increased with the puck on his stick, reminded him of an old teammate.

"Mike Modano was the same way," Hatcher, who played with the Hall of Famer for 11 seasons in Dallas, told theScore this week. "Mike was able to make plays at full speed, which not many people can do in the NHL."

If the early returns of the Blues' season are any indication, Kyrou may well live up to the Modano 2.0 label soon. The 23-year-old right-winger has been electric, accumulating seven points (two goals, five primary assists) in three games despite ranking eighth in ice time (13:53) among St. Louis forwards.

His starring moment came Monday in a 7-4 victory over the Arizona Coyotes:

Yes, the Coyotes are terrible. Yet only a certain caliber of player can make a highlight-reel tally look so effortless. Here, Kyrou is audacious enough to dangle multiple opponents, and he possesses the requisite patience and skill to execute.

This is technically Kyrou's fourth NHL season, though he split time between the AHL (63 games) and NHL (44) in the first two. Last year, he posted a respectable 35 points in 55 games before signing a two-year, $5.6-million extension. So far, in 2021-22, he's taken even-strength shifts with center Brayden Schenn and either Jake Neighbours or Pavel Buchnevich.

Overall, Hatcher is pleased with what he's seen from Kyrou since the 6-foot-1, 196-pounder left Sarnia to turn pro. However, he does have one criticism.

"Mentally," Hatcher said, "he still has to figure it out."

In which ways?

Daily attitude and preparation, the junior bench boss replied. Rounding out his game, Hatcher added, will also be key to Kyrou's growth. "Some guys don't realize how hard it's going to be on a daily basis," he said. "It takes time."

OK, we'll hold off on printing "Kyrou Breakout SZN" T-shirts. But for the Blues' sake, Kyrou reaching star status ASAP would be a boon. As one of the NHL's oldest squads, they're in desperate need of young difference-makers.

Early impressions of the Kraken

Necessary disclaimer: The Seattle Kraken, an expansion team that's played a grand total of five games, are obviously still very much figuring things out.

That said, here are a few first impressions of the 1-3-1 club.

Seattle's goaltending and defense corps may look solid, if not good, on paper. However, the Dave Hakstol-coached group has been overwhelmed while trying to defend rush chances. Another major issue: turnovers galore. Sure, well-paid starting goalie Philipp Grubauer hasn't held up his end of the bargain (-4.56 goals saved above average), but he's also received little help.

Apparently, the Kraken like to tussle. Surprisingly, Seattle leads the league in fighting majors (six), putting the club on pace for 98 fights over 82 games. The willingness to throw down so often is notable, although it's probably just early-season noise. Last year's co-leaders, the Ottawa Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning, finished with 23 fights in 56 games, or a 34-fight pace over 82.

On a positive note, the Kraken seem to be establishing an identity up front. There's some noticeable greasiness in the attack, and the majority of the team's 11 goals have been scored within a few feet of the goal line. Former Pittsburgh Penguins forward Brandon Tanev, for one, has been an animal around the crease.

Lundqvist taking to broadcast role

Hockey fans in the United States have been blessed with a number of different faces on national TV broadcasts. From Wayne Gretzky and Paul Bissonnette on TNT to Mark Messier and John Tortorella on ESPN, there's now some high-end influencers breaking down the game - a nice upgrade from the NBC days.

It's easy to understand why. The league's new TV partners have invested in their product and swung big on talent, especially in Gretzky's case.

All of this national buzz has overshadowed the debut of Henrik Lundqvist on MSG Networks. The 39-year-old future Hall of Famer - who retired from playing last month - found a comfy landing spot between old goalie partner Steve Valiquette and veteran host John Giannone on New York Rangers broadcasts.

There've been no hiccups in the chemistry department:

Lundqvist is as polished as you could reasonably expect from a rookie analyst. He's articulate, poised, willing to laugh at himself, and if we're being completely honest, it absolutely doesn't hurt that he's impossibly handsome.

"When I was playing, I was always interested in media," Lundqvist said on a recent conference call. "I've done a lot of different projects throughout my career, mostly overseas, but some stuff here in New York. It's a little bit of my creative side." The NHL's all-time wins leader among European goalies added that he expects to mostly dig into the player mindset for his on-air analyses.

3 parting thoughts

Why I love this sport: There was a flurry of feel-good stories during the first 10 days of action: Jonathan Drouin scoring in his return from personal leave; Brian Boyle scoring after missing the entire 2020-21 season due to health issues; LTIR mainstay Andrew Ladd competing again; the Columbus Blue Jackets winning 8-2 on Matiss Kivlenieks night; and the Minnesota Wild coming back to win 6-5 in overtime on Tom Kurvers night.

Evander Kane: The polar opposite of a feel-good story. On Monday, the NHL suspended Kane for 21 games for violating COVID-19 protocol, which, based on reports, centers around submitting a fake vaccination card. He also has myriad financial issues and recently has been investigated for various off-ice allegations, including gambling on NHL games. (The NHL found no evidence he had done so.) Watching from afar, the escalation of Kane's troubles has been perplexing and, mainly, sad.

NHLer sons: Ready to feel old? NHL Central Scouting released its "players to watch" for the 2022 class, which reminds me that those eligible for the upcoming draft were born in either late 2003 or 2004. The familiar names on the list add more shock value. Defenseman Josh Niedermayer (dad Scott), and forwards Marek Hejduk (Milan), Cole Knuble (Mike), Jakub Kopecky (Tomas), and Landon Sim (Jon) are some of the prospects who have NHLers for fathers.

Takes, Thoughts, and Trends is theScore's biweekly hockey grab bag.

John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).

Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.