To wrap up the Thanksgiving weekend, we asked you, the fans, to contribute to a mailbag. And with your help, we received enough questions to turn this into an article. This edition of the mailbag is broken down into three categories, and for each one, different writers from Hockey Hot Stove chimed in. So, let’s dive right in with the Philadelphia Flyers question about the team this season.
Flyers Adding Scoring?
Bill Meltzer: I don’t think they are in a rush to trade for a scoring forward. The same applies to a top center because of availability and cost. They did that with the Trevor Zegras trade. With Porter Martone coming next season and Alex Bump adding offense in the pipeline, their target might be a scoring defenseman instead (like Quinn Hughes).
Anthony Mingioni: I think the Flyers would like to pounce on the areas they need the most: A true top-six two-way center or a top-pair defenseman who can play all situations and has size. Both are difficult to get, and the Flyers must be willing to get uncomfortable to make a trade work, whether it’s trading Porter Martone or a first round pick for a star player.
Mike Fink: I see the Flyers playing the waiting game. If they are in a playoff position at the trade deadline, this front office will look to make an upgrade. The question is how big a splash they want to make and whether they want to part with the top prospects to make a deal work.
If the Flyers want to add a middle-six center, they might need to trade Denver Barkey or Nikita Grebenkin, two talented prospects but not the top two in the system, to make it happen. Otherwise, it’s hard to see this front office making a bold move even though this might be the season to do it.
General NHL Questions
Anthony: The Anaheim Ducks’ leap under Joel Quenneville is a surprise. They were expected to be better and a playoff team this season but with a 15-9-1 record, they are in first place in the Pacific Division and exceeding everyone’s expectations. The other surprise is the Tampa Bay Lightning, who have the best record in the Eastern Conference despite the injuries to notable players, including Victor Hedman and Ryan McDonagh.
Mike: There are two surprises this season (both of which, ironically, I looked at in last week’s column). The first is the youth movement. The young players are not only ready for the NHL, but they are also taking over the league. Connor Bedard, Leo Carlsson, and Macklin Celebrini are in the top five in points and dominating games at the forward position, while Matthew Schaefer already looks like a top-five defenseman in the NHL.
The other big thing is that the older players are still playing at a high level. Alexander Ovechkin, Brent Burns, Corey Perry, and multiple players in their 40s and nearing their 40s are playing well and proving that players these days can age gracefully (which will change how front offices operate).
Mike: Some scouts are starting to raise some concerns about Gavin McKenna’s play at Penn State. He’s been a good player with four goals and 14 assists in 16 games this season. However, he’s far from the game-changer many expected him to be when he came over from junior hockey to the college game. Two things come to his defense. One, the college game is where elite prospects struggle as the competition is tougher and the game is heavier, more so than junior hockey, which allows prospects to pile up the stats.
Two, McKenna still has time to impress scouts and have those big moments to secure that top pick spot. Ultimately, he’ll probably go number one. That said, it’s not a given as many assumed it would be heading into the season (in 2022, everyone assumed Shane Wright would go number one, and he fell to four, so the same thing might happen again in this draft).
Miscellaneous Hockey Questions
Sara from Teaneck: What is your favorite hockey moment you witnessed live at a game?
Anthony: Tie Domi was willing to fight anyone. And by anyone, that meant anyone, including fans. On March 29, 2001, Domi fought a fan who fell from the glass into the penalty box. There are plenty of stories of players jumping into the stands to fight the players but rarely does a player fight a fan. When one of hockey’s toughest players meant the Philly fans, it was pure chaos.
Ted Starkey: The red rally balloon. During the second period, a red balloon appeared floating above the ice. The refs subsequently popped the balloon and discarded it but the Washington Capitals scored shortly thereafter (with redheaded Cody Eakin tying the game), then Nicklas Backstrom scored in the third period, and the Capitals won the game 4-3 over the Phoenix Coyotes. The rally balloon is seen as a turning point in the season but it’s one of the more bizarre things to witness at a game.
Mike: The craziest goal I’ve ever seen stands out. The Hartford Wolf Pack had a delayed penalty and pulled their goaltender for an extra skater (as you’d expect). With a 1-0 lead and a chance to go up 2-0 against the Utica Comets, one of the skaters flipped the puck from the slot back to the point, assuming someone would be there for the shot on the net. Nobody was. The puck flew all the way down the ice from the offensive zone into the Wolf Pack net (they lost 2-1 in a shootout).
After the game, head coach Grant Potulny summed up the craziness of the goal best: “I’ve been in hockey a long time, and I’ve never seen a goal like that as a fan, as a coach, or as a player.”
Rebecca from New Jersey: What is the best promo or giveaway you’ve received at a game?
This question surprisingly got the most responses from the writers at Hockey Hot Stove. Ted Starkey noted how they gave out the Clappers or noisemakers that sounded like cicadas (which can explain why that was a one-time giveaway. Speaking of noise-making, the Hershey Bears gave out cowbells before Game 5 of the Calder Cup Playoffs against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (those were cool, although I couldn’t hear for a week).
A memorable one was the first giveaway the Flyers gave when they returned following the 2004-05 lockout, which was a Stanley Cup replica, albeit a much smaller and lighter version (Anthony and Bill still have the ones they got 20 years ago).
Anthony added that one of the best giveaways came this season. The Flyers have done an excellent job honoring and celebrating the life of the late Bernie Parent, the iconic goaltender who led the team to back-to-back Stanley Cup titles in the 1970s. Along with the touching tributes throughout the season, the fans were given black number 1 shoulder patches as one of the giveaways.
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