Here is the Sept. 6 edition of the weekly NHL.com mailbag, where we answer your questions asked on X. Send your questions to @drosennhl and tag it with #OvertheBoards.
Will the Rangers hang on to Alexis Lafreniere or move him? -- @jim_bornholdt
The Rangers signed Lafreniere to a two-year contract worth $2.325 million annually on Aug. 24. They're hoping the forward's production climbs this season and he becomes a bargain at that price next season. They didn't sign him to trade him right away. It's possible down the road he gets moved, but Lafreniere turns 22 on Oct. 11 and there is still a lot of growth in his game to come. It's worth finding out if he can take the next step. Though he isn't a No. 1 pick (2020 NHL Draft) that has turned into a generational player, his production has gone up in each of his three seasons, particularly the past two, which were full NHL seasons. He was a rookie in the COVID shortened 56-game 2020-21 season, when he had 21 points (12 goals, nine assists) in 56 games. He had 31 points (19 goals, 12 assists) in 79 games in 2021-22 and 39 points (16 goals, 23 assists) in 81 games last season.
I think Lafreniere can be a 25-goal, 50-point player this season if he's given a fair opportunity on the power play. That was a big problem for him last season. He was on the second unit, but that unit got maybe the last 30 seconds of most of the power play opportunities. Peter Laviolette, the Rangers new coach, has to give a better split and allow Lafreniere more of an opportunity to shine. In fact, I think he should be given a chance to play left wing on a line with center Mika Zibanejad at even strength. Chris Kreider typically plays there, but Kreider's dominant moments are on the power play and he will still be the netfront option on PP1. If Lafreniere is given a bigger role at 5-on-5 it should enhance his confidence and production will follow.
Most likely trade destinations for Mark Scheifele and Connor Hellebuyck? -- @amazingjr87
You assume the Winnipeg Jets will trade each of them, and I think you’re right. Each are in the last year of their current contract and in my opinion will be dealt before the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline. So, with that, my top three destinations for both players:
Scheifele: 1) Boston Bruins; 2) Carolina Hurricanes; 3) Minnesota Wild
The Bruins have an obvious need for a top-two center because Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci each retired. The projected rise in the NHL salary cap for next season will also allow Boston to re-sign the 30-year-old center, whose next contract should be in the neighborhood of 4-5 years. He has one year left on his current contract.
The Hurricanes could find the need for a No. 2 center before the trade deadline and Scheifele could be the rental option for them. It doesn't mean they would re-sign him, but acquiring Scheifele for a Stanley Cup run would be ideal for a team that has Sebastian Aho as its top center and could bump Jesperi Kotkaniemi to No. 3 and Jordan Staal to No. 4.
The Wild, like the Bruins, have a need for a top-two center. Their salary cap predicament is challenging because of the almost $15 million hit they will be taking this season and next season for the buyouts of forward Zach Parise and defenseman Ryan Suter. But with the cap expected to go up and the Wild in win-now mode, Scheifele could be a fit if the Jets are willing to move him inside the Central Division. Re-signing him could be a challenge.
Hellebuyck: 1) Los Angeles Kings; 2) New Jersey Devils; 3) Buffalo Sabres
The Kings have Cam Talbot and Pheonix Copley signed only through this season. They have high expectations but it's fair to wonder if Talbot and Copley can be the tandem that takes the Kings on a long playoff run. Hellebuyck, one of the top goalies in the League, could come in and immediately be the No. 1. The Kings will have a need for a top goalie after this season too and having the first opportunity to re-sign Hellebuyck is enticing.
The Devils are banking on Vitek Vanecek and Akira Schmid. If they feel they need an upgrade, they will not hesitate to acquire Hellebuyck as a rental.
The Sabres have Devon Levi, Eric Comrie and Ukka-Pekka Luukonen in net. The playoffs are the expectation this season in Buffalo. If those goalies aren't getting it done, they can't waste time because they will run out of it.
How much worse does it get before it gets better for the Sharks? -- @Meristematicsc
It's easy to speculate that the San Jose Sharks are going to go backwards because they no longer have defenseman Erik Karlsson, who was one of 11 players in the NHL last season with at least 100 points. Karlsson was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Aug. 6. Forward Timo Meier was traded to the New Jersey Devils on Feb. 26. So, yeah, it looks bad, but I wouldn't be shocked if the Sharks were a little better this season. They were 29th in the 32-team NHL with 60 points last season. They were last in wins (22) and home wins (eight). They were 25th in goals for (233) despite Karlsson's 102 points. He's gone, so they will have more of a by-committee approach, and there is a chance for some players to step up.
Forwards Tomas Hertl and Logan Couture will carry a lot of the offensive burden, but forward Anthony Duclair was a nice pickup in a trade from the Florida Panthers. He scored 31 goals in 74 games with the Panthers two seasons ago. He was limited to 20 games because of an injury last season, but he had 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in 20 Stanley Cup Playoff games. Duclair will make up for some of the production lost in the Karlsson trade. Forward Mike Hoffman will score goals if he's healthy. Forward Filip Zadina is a wild card. He's motivated to prove himself after failing to live up to the potential the Detroit Red Wings thought he had when they selected him with the No. 6 pick in the 2018 NHL Draft. He's only 23 and he's played in 190 games in the NHL. He will get a much bigger opportunity right off the bat in San Jose. If he can seize it, that's bonus offense for the Sharks. There will be opportunities for forwards William Eklund and Thomas Bordeleau to prove themselves. Eklund turns 21 on opening night (Oct. 12). Bordeleau is 21. They are the future.
The Sharks do not have a No. 1 defenseman. They arguably do not have a No. 2. Mario Ferraro is the closest they have to a top pair defenseman. Jan Rutta was a nice pickup and if healthy he can provide stable defensive play. The problem is the Sharks are going to have players like Ferraro and Rutta playing bigger minutes than they probably should. However, if San Jose can survive through the by-committee approach and the forwards commit to defending, the Sharks should be able to at least help goalies Kaapo Kahkonen and Mackenzie Blackwood. But the Sharks allowed 3.84 goals per game last season (30th in NHL) and unless Kahkonen and Blackwood provide some dominant goaltending, I don't see them keeping the puck out of the net at a better rate.
That said, would 25 wins and 65 points be out of the question? That's three more home wins than they had last season, when they had eight. It's reasonable. It can't get much worse.
What is Patrick Kane's timeline for a return to NHL game action? Are we talking the New Year or sooner than that? Tyler Seguin had hip surgery and it really affected his effectiveness. -- @mbbrennan
It could be earlier than New Year's Day. He had hip resurfacing surgery on June 1 and was given a recovery period of 4-6 months. Four months is unrealistic to get back to NHL play. That would be ready to go by Oct. 1. Kane has resumed skating, but he's not pushing himself yet. Six months, or somewhere between U.S. Thanksgiving and Jan. 1 is more realistic because Kane isn't pressured to return to a team right now. He's an unrestricted free agent and he knows there will be interest in him when he’s ready. He can take the next few months to get himself feeling 100 percent again and then focus on signing with a team.
I think we need to be careful comparing Kane's hip resurfacing surgery to what Seguin went through after the Dallas Stars reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2020. Seguin had right hip arthroscopy and labral repair surgery on Nov. 2, 2020. He tore his labrum completely off during the run to the 2020 Cup Final. Two years ago, in retelling the story to me, Seguin said, "I lost my whole quad (muscle)." He had nerve damage. He also had to have his right knee scoped because of a pre-pandemic injury that was exacerbated during the 2020 playoffs. He's still been a 50-point player the past three seasons. Kane's surgery was significant, especially for a 34-year-old professional athlete, but it seems he's on track and it doesn't appear his body went through the same trauma that Seguin's went through. We will see how Kane responds, but if he's pain-free he is going to be a playmaker and point producer.
Coming from the UK in October to see four games in four different arenas across five nights; Arizona at New Jersey, Buffalo at the Islanders, Arizona at the Rangers, Vancouver at Philadelphia. Which game should be the best and which arena is the most fun to visit? -- @albangatehomes
Sounds like an amazing trip and you're going to four quality arenas in Prudential Center, UBS Arena, Madison Square Garden and Wells Fargo Center. The best part about it is you're going to see the home opener in three of them. You will see the Devils’ second home game of the season, but the games at UBS Arena (Sabres-Islanders, Oct. 14), Madison Square Garden (Coyotes-Rangers, Oct. 16) and Wells Fargo Center (Canucks-Flyers, Oct. 17) are all home openers. It's special to see a home opener. You'll get an energetic crowd, the player and coach introductions, and you'll get to see the new bells and whistles that each team has to offer this season.
I'd have to say the most intriguing game is Sabres-Islanders because each have expectations to be playoff teams in the Eastern Conference this season. They could be battling it out for wild card spots and those two points will matter. The best arena of the four to see a game is Madison Square Garden. It's historic. There are few places like it. And when you walk out you're in the middle of Manhattan, New York City yours to explore.
