Co-hosts Dan Rosen and Shawn P. Roarke were joined by E.J. Hradek of NHL Network for the duration of the near hour-long episode of the weekly podcast that covered a lot of the topics surrounding the opening of training camps Wednesday.
Hradek picked the Los Angeles Kings as a dark horse team to watch in the Western Conference. Rosen said he's looking at the Vancouver Canucks for that role while Roarke chose the Chicago Blackhawks.
They also discussed the Dallas Stars' chances of getting back to the playoffs and the how their goaltending could play out with Braden Holtby joining Anton Khudobin, Jake Oettinger and Ben Bishop, who is working his way back after missing last season recovering from surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee.
The Stars (23-19-4), who reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2020, were fifth in the eight-team Discover Central Division last season, four points behind the fourth-place Nashville Predators; the top four teams in each division qualified for the playoffs.
The New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators and Philadelphia Flyers were among the dark horse teams to watch in the Eastern Conference that Rosen, Roarke and Hradek discussed.
They spent time going over the changes in Philadelphia and the impact those could have, especially on goalie Carter Hart, and talked extensively about who the next Rangers captain could be and if now is the right time to have a captain for the first time since New York traded defenseman Ryan McDonagh to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Feb. 26, 2018.
The "NHL @TheRink" podcast is free and listeners can subscribe on all podcast platforms. It is also available on
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