Three games, or more telling, one loss into his tenure as captain, folks were openly questioning Connor McDavid's capacity as leader of the Edmonton Oilers. What lit this inevitable fuse, or presented the wedge with which some cannot wait to drive? The postponement of an off day to 48 hours after it was initially promised.
The impetus was simple. After a nightmarish performance versus a Buffalo Sabres team that limped into Edmonton on Sunday, the call was made to get the game tape out of the way, then work to shore up those deficiencies on the ice before repeating them Tuesday when another pair of points were on the line versus the Carolina Hurricanes.
Seems sensible enough.
What's dragged McDavid into it, and what has some questioning his authority, is conjecture. How exactly did this go down? And better, did McDavid, the youngest captain ever, have the courage to say no?
Talking about practice
So then let's go down that path. A livid Todd McLellan storms into the locker room, tears an absolute strip off his club (beginning and ending with Benoit Pouliot), and in that rage, tells them to cancel those trips to the pumpkin patch, demanding sweat in the morning. This scenario is possible, assuming that a smart, reasoned, aware, experienced hockey mind picked to work with young talent like McLellan would gleefully be willing to place his phenomenal talent under the microscope, prompting discussion online and on the radio about his authority in the room.
Maybe it went another way. Perhaps it was McDavid doing the screaming, and when he was through with the just concussed Jonas Gustavsson (sorry about that, Jonas), he marched into the coach's office and scratched down on the whiteboard the time he expects the pucks and cones to be on the ice in the morning.
Or, in the much more likely, far less rah-rah scenario which players and coach have since alluded to, there was a quiet, commonsensical discussion between members of the team who make these sorts of decisions. And off to the side, the many pros came to outweigh any potential cons. At the end of the chat, Milan Lucic, Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and coach McLellan turned to McDavid to make it official, and with an approving nod it was settled: practice Monday.
Losing to the Sabres on the third night of the regular season falls short of the "compelling circumstances" required to wipe out a mandated day carved onto the calendar at the beginning of the month, as detailed in the CBA. For this reason, Edmonton will almost certainly face some sort of sanction for the decision.
But spinning this in a way that questions McDavid's integrity, or suggests that McLellan was taking advantage of his star pupil, is both contrived and absurd. The superstar who didn't become the next best on the planet by racking up lieu days was presented an idea, chose the option with the betterment of his club in mind despite what inconveniences it may cause, received full backing from his teammates, and against the Hurricanes, had the antecedents of this saga (and potential sanctioning) justified by a win and a 3-1 record to start the season.
Sounds captain-like.
McDavid wasn't handpicked to head up a labor union. He was named Oilers captain for his immense talent that naturally commands respect. And second, because the habits that got him to another level as an individual, and his endless desire to be great, is the precise example that needs to be set inside a locker room that hasn't sniffed the postseason in more than a decade.
The Ten
10) Florida - The Lightning and Panthers have combined to take the maximum amount of points through three games after needing a shootout to decide their first meeting of the season.
9) Richard Panik - The winger who didn't belong in the Maple Leafs rebuild has a home in the Blackhawks' top six. Panik recorded his first career hat trick in a win over the Predators.
8) Thomas Vanek - Trending toward an exit from the league, Vanek has found new life in Detroit. He scored twice in the Red Wings' first game, and then racked up a trio of assists in the club's home opener.
7) Gary Bettman - There's no way he resisted reaching for the good bottle while watching Auston Matthews on NBCSN in prime time Saturday. Even with his persistence in the market, even he likely couldn't have ever envisioned his next star hailing from Scottsdale, Ariz.
6) Scoring defensemen - Scoring is up across the board, and hopefully it stays that way as more and more teams uncover ways to activate their blue liners. Erik Karlsson and Brent Burns are the model rovers, and are setting up for some scoring race. Each has at least one point in their four respective games, with Burns leading Karlsson (and the rest of the NHL) with eight points.
5) Rangers - Ten different goal scorers and a league-best 4.67 goals per game, the Rangers are off to a flying start. With an emphasis on tempo, and scorers littered throughout the lineup, this team looks capable of outscoring the flaws once again.
4) Al Montoya - Go ahead and invest in some furniture, Al. The well-traveled Montoya has been massive in Montreal with Carey Price out, making at least 30 saves in three straight games and taking five out of six possible points.
3) Marian Hossa - The 44th player in league history to reach the milestone, 500 goals is no small feat. What's also remarkable about Hossa was both his willingness and ability to transform himself into a dominant two-way player after his prime scoring seasons were over.
2) Maple Leafs - Based on a week, the next 100 years look promising. Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner have the look of genuine franchise players to build a championship team around.
1) The league - Positivity! With Matthews leading a spike in goals with four in his sensational debut, and McDavid the league's No. 1 star with six points in his first two games, it was a tremendous opening week for the suits.
More Takes
1) In Joe Colborne, the Avalanche may have the wisest free-agent acquisition. The versatile forward, who became the second player in Avalanche franchise history to debut with a hat trick, has 50-point potential (to go along with his steadying defensive prowess) in that talented top six. That's a bargain at $5 million over two years.
2) Though Jonathan Marchessault looks pretty good at $750,000, too.
3) We'll soon sit around and wonder how the Rangers signed Chris Kreider to that contract. With an overwhelming blend of speed, strength, and scoring touch, Kreider is clearly the most dangerous forward in a talented top nine in New York, and a strong candidate to have a major breakout season.
4) This is nutty:
10 per cent of the NHL is eligible for the Calder this year.
5) Trading for a goaltender will only debilitate the Kings. It's just three games, and they're currently trotting out a replacement-level starter in goal, but Dean Lombardi has to consider Jonathan Quick's injury an opportunity to take a step back. With the right tweaks, this team can pull off a quick reboot; what they can't do is mortgage the house further for a replacement who can't match Quick's standard. Y'know, Ondrej Pavelec.
The New York Rangers will receive a boost to their blue line on Wednesday.
The Rangers will welcome Kevin Klein back to the lineup when they host the Detroit Red Wings, head coach Alain Vigneault announced. Klein missed the first three games of the regular season while battling back spasms.
The 31-year-old played in 69 games last season, contributing nine goals and 26 points.
Jim Byrnes ran into some technical difficulties while performing the U.S. and Canadian national anthems at Tuesday night's game between the St. Louis Blues and Vancouver Canucks. Fortunately, the crowd came to his rescue.
After Byrnes' microphone cut off, fans at Rogers Arena helped him finish "The Star-Spangled Banner" and then launched into "O Canada."
A much lighter Carey Price took to the ice with teammates Wednesday.
The Montreal Canadiens netminder practiced in full for the first time since being sidelined with a flu bug, which he said caused him to drop between seven and eight pounds, according to TSN's Amanda Stein.
The sickness forced Price to stay away from his family:
Was quarantined in the basement by his family so they wouldn't also get the flu. Said "thanks god for playoff baseball!"
While the team has yet confirm Thursday's starter, Price said he would like to play against the Arizona Coyotes, but it will depend how he feels.
"Carey had his best day today," head coach Michel Therrien said. "He looked really good out there ... He can't wait to play. I can't wait to see him play."
As for the Canadiens, while they surely miss the former Vezina Trophy winner between the pipes, the team's fared admirably with Al Montoya, going 2-0-1 to start the season.
Dean Lombardi's phone could start getting a little busier.
The Los Angeles Kings are already aware that goaltender Jonathan Quick will be out long term, but with a potential diagnosis coming on whether or not he will need surgery to repair a groin injury, worse news could be forthcoming.
The Kings lost a dreadful 6-3 contest to the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday, where relief netminder Jeff Zatkoff allowed five goals - many of them of the questionable variety - on just 16 shots through 40 minutes.
In turn, it looks as though the Kings could be forced to make a deal to find a goalie capable of keeping the team afloat in the Western Conference.
With only $1.5 million in cap space available, the team must be frugal in its search. Here are three potential candidates.
Karri Ramo
Ramo certainly wasn't a rock for the Calgary Flames last season. But he's proven capable of manning the crease full time in the past.
The 30-year-old is also a free agent, so the Kings won't have to worry about giving up a potential asset for what could be just a few months of service, and they should be able to dictate his asking price.
Ramo posted a modest .909 save percentage and a 2.63 goals-against average in 37 games last season. He's no stud, but could be worth the risk.
The Minnesota Wild netminder has sat in the backup position for the past handful of seasons, waiting for his moment to claim a starting position.
With Devan Dubnyk in the mix for the Wild, that seems unlikely, so a spot with the Kings could be a perfect fit for both parties. The 26-year-old played just 21 games last season, but posted a respectable .915 save percentage and a 2.43 goals-against average.
He comes in at a cool $1.55 million - good for the Kings' budget - and, at just 26 years of age, Kuemper has the potential to grow with the club if they choose to keep him long term.
The 28-year-old has a cap hit of $1.625 million and has more games under his belt than the two men above.
What could make a deal tough, however, is Neuvirth has provided great value to the Flyers over the past couple seasons, and it wouldn't be surprising if the club wanted to hold on to him.
Last season, Neuvirth bested teammate Steve Mason with a .924 save percentage and a 2.27 goals-against average. He also took over for Mason in the postseason, where he was nearly unbeatable with a shining .981 save percentage, while allowing just two goals in three games.
Neuvirth is off to a mediocre start to the year, but he is capable of taking on a starter role and would surely welcome as much given the opportunity.
Honorable Mentions
Scott Darling - The Blackhawks backup has posted solid numbers in relief for Corey Crawford when needed over the past few seasons.
Eddie Lack - He has had stints as a starter and over his career has played his best hockey as a member of the Western Conference.
A week of hockey is in the books. Yeah, time flies. Here's what we learned:
Goals are fun
Scoring is - to quote the inimitable poet Fat Joe - all the way up. And it makes the game a little bit more fun to watch.
Through 48 games, teams are averaging 3.18 goals a night. The last time we hit three - and the only time in the last 20 years - was in 2005-06, coming out of the lockout, when everyone and their mother was on the power play.
It won't last. Goaltenders are at .900 (save percentage) and 2.96 (goals-against average). They're better than that. They're too good, in fact. So enjoy the offense while it's here.
Hockey is booming in Florida
Florida: Hockey hotbed.
This isn't so much a surprise after the Panthers won the Atlantic and the Tampa Bay Lightning were again Eastern finalists, but neither team's lost in regulation through six games, and Tuesday night's in-state affair between the rivals was a back-and-forth thriller.
These are the halcyon days of hockey in the Sunshine State. Enjoy them, too.
Another 19-year-old, Auston Matthews, you may have heard of him, is tied for the league lead in goals. And two more kids have four points: Jonathan Drouin (21) and Travis Konecny (19).
Montreal's got a backup
Al Montoya's already reached 14.2 percent of Mike Condon's 2015-16 win total - in three games.
With all due respect to Mr. Condon, he was very bad last season. He started a whopping 51 games for the Montreal Canadiens in relief of Carey Price and played an integral role in the Habs' collapse. A .903 save percentage isn't NHL-caliber goaltending. Not even close.
Montoya is 2-0-1 with a marvelous .962 save percentage while Price gets over the flu, and the 31-year-old veteran's only loss came in the glorified skills competition.
Montreal's five goals against through three games is second-best in the East and tied for second in the league. A small sample, no doubt, but at $950,000 for one year, Montoya's contract is looking awfully good early on.
The San Jose Sharks defenseman - and one of the league's brightest personalities - is atop the scoring race after one week with three goals and five assists. And he keeps getting better.
Season
GP
Points
2013-14
69
48
2014-15
82
60
2015-16
82
75
2016-17
4
8
Burns is a character, and the NHL needs to tap into his marketability more. As otherworldly as guys like McDavid and Sidney Crosby are on the ice, they're as boring off the ice.
Burns is a superstar. Forget about the face of the league, the 31-year-old should be the beard of the league.
Approaching unrestricted free agency, this is for certain: Burns is about to become monumentally wealthy.
The hockey world loves to hype a great rivalry, even when there's really no justification for it.
These days, it seems as though individual players are pitted against one another based simply on their draft years and at which point in the proceedings their names are called, with inevitable tales of antagonism beginning weeks or months prior to the selection process.
Think back to Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin (2004 and 2005), Taylor Hall vs. Tyler Seguin (2010), Connor McDavid vs. Jack Eichel (2015). Based on a limited definition of "rivalry" as "a competition for the same objective or for superiority in the same field," the pairings of these players - highly touted top draft picks who concurrently entered the NHL - as instant rivals seems justified, if not downright savvy from a marketing perspective.
Who will rack up the most points, and who will lead their teams to glory first?
Crosby and Ovechkin fit the billing by virtue of the bevy of awards and accolades earned respectively over the past decade, as well as a pair of playoff meetings en route to two Stanley Cup wins for Crosby's Penguins. That Crosby and Ovechkin were drafted by Eastern Conference clubs and therefore see each other with regularity also certainly helped the matter.
But Taylor-Tyler and McDavid-Eichel? There's not much to speak of there, quite frankly, with rivalry talk peaking on draft day, for the time being at least.
Which brings us to Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine, the next great "rivals" based solely on being selected first and second overall at the 2016 draft.
Except they're not.
Not really, and not yet, at least.
Sure, the outspoken Laine sparked a potential fire by arguing the Toronto Maple Leafs - who owned the No. 1 pick this past June - had a tough decision to make, saying, "He's (Matthews) better than me at some stuff and I'm better than him at some things."
In the end, it was really no decision at all, with Matthews - the longtime consensus top pick - being snagged by Toronto, and Laine going to the Winnipeg Jets in the No. 2 spot.
It's in those two Canadian cities, on teams in separate conferences, where the two have kicked off their careers - and in Matthews' case, in spectacular fashion.
Laine responded to Matthews' four-goal debut with one goal of his own in three games, but his comments off the ice said more about how he's approaching the first meeting between the two at the NHL level.
"He's playing his game and his career," Laine said of Matthews' debut, according to Mike Morreale of NHL.com. "I don't want to match my game to his. He can score 20 goals in a game, I don't care. It's good for him. I'm just going to help my team to win with my things."
And that's how it should be: two young, likely great players, both forging their own paths while aiming to help their teams win.
Really, it's only two points that will be on the line when the Maple Leafs visit the Jets on Wednesday. While the MTS Centre will serve as the setting for what could be the first chapter of the next great individual rivalry in hockey, one regular-season game, much less one draft, isn't enough to determine that.
Should Matthews and Laine go goal for goal and point for point in this season's rookie scoring race, then maybe we can talk. Ideally, they'll lead their teams to glory at some point down the road, and, even better, battle it out in a Stanley Cup Final one day to really cement the thing.
Until then, let's resist the temptation to compare these two young talents ad nauseam, and rather appreciate, in Laine's words, the "things" they bring to the game.
