Mailbag: Peaking too soon before playoffs; Devils goalies

Here is the March 15 edition of the mailbag, where we answer your questions asked on Twitter using #OvertheBoards.

Which playoff-bound teams have peaked too soon? -- @dak3
This feels like a loaded question, but I'll try answering it a different way than maybe you hoped. Every team wants to be playing its best heading into the playoffs and that might be a challenge for some that have been comfortably in postseason spots all season.
For example, the Bruins could lock up home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs and have nothing to play for standings-wise in the final week or two of the regular season. Will being within reach of the NHL records of 62 wins and 132 points be enough motivation to keep them sharp? Will they rest players to get them healthy before the postseason begins?
Boston needed 64 games to clinch a playoff berth. Of the eight teams since 1995-96 to clinch a playoff berth in 68 games or fewer, two won the Stanley Cup: the 1998-99 Dallas Stars (63 games) and the 2001-02 Detroit Red Wings (66 games). The 1995-96 Red Wings, who clinched in 59 games (fewest since 1995-96), were among the six teams from that group who didn't win the Cup, losing the Western Conference Final.
The 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning, who share the regular season wins record with the 1995-96 Red Wings, clinched a playoff berth in 68 games and lost in the first round of the playoffs, so clinching early guarantee little. Those teams that find a way to play their best leading into the playoffs often have the most success.
Tampa Bay, which won the Stanley Cup in 2020 and 2021 before losing to the Colorado Avalanche in the Stanley Cup Final last season, is trying to do that now. Securely in third in the Atlantic Division and seemingly locked into a first-round matchup with the second-place Toronto Maple Leafs, the Lightning were on a 2-5-2 slide before a 4-1 win at the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday. They have enough time left to find their best game, but the bigger question might be if playing 12 rounds of playoffs the past three seasons is catching up to them.
Given the success the New Jersey Devils have had in net with Akira Schmid lately, any idea what we could see if/when Mackenzie Blackwood is healthy again? -- @BenKraml21
Devils coach Lindy Ruff has avoided answering that question, saying, "We'll cross that bridge when it comes." Blackwood has resumed practicing and is working his way back from a lower-body injury that has sidelined him since Feb. 19, but coaches know not to commit to anything when it comes to players returning from injuries until they are healthy enough to play. There can be setbacks, or something else happens that impacts the decision or makes it unnecessary.
Schmid has been excellent for the Devils this season during the times he's been recalled from Utica of the American Hockey League. The 22-year-old rookie is 8-4-1 with a 1.91 goals-against average, .927 save percentage and one shutout in 14 games (11 starts), including 3-0-1 with a 1.34 GAA, .944 save percentage and one shutout in five games (four starts) during his latest call-up.
That might be enough for Schmid to remain with New Jersey for the rest of the season regardless of what happens with Blackwood, who is 8-5-2 with a 3.04 GAA and .900 save percentage in 17 games (16 starts). But Schmid is on emergency loan from Utica, which means he will have to be returned to the AHL if Blackwood is activated from injured reserve or the Devils will need to use one of their four post trade deadline call-ups to keep him on their roster. That would also mean carrying three goalies because Blackwood requires waivers to be sent down. That can be a burden as far as balancing playing and practice time, which is not the best situation for a young goalie like Schmid if it lasts more than a few days. Vitek Vanecek will continue to get the No. 1 goalie repetitions and Blackwood will need to play some games down the stretch to get ready if he's needed in the playoffs.
So, if the Devils reach the point when all three goalies are healthy, it might be best for Schmid to return at least temporarily to Utica, where he can play regularly. If something happens to Vanecek, he could still be called up to start ahead of Blackwood.

Now that Danny Briere has been appointed interim general manager for the Philadelphia Flyers, what does he need to do by the end of the year, in free agency, and by the start of next season to right the ship? -- @theashcity
The decision to fire Chuck Fletcher as GM and bring in Briere as the interim replacement appeared to be an acknowledgment by the Flyers that this isn't going to be a quick fix and a long-term rebuild is needed. So, you shouldn't expect Briere to do anything before the end of this season or during this offseason that will magically turn Philadelphia into a team that will qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs next season.
This offseason will be important, though, for establishing the rebuilding plan and taking its first steps. Briere said the Flyers are not going to strip down the organization completely and start over, like some other teams have done after hiring a new GM. He was a special assistant to Fletcher for more than a year and has been working in the Flyers front office since 2015, so he already has at least a general familiarity with their NHL players and prospects.
In the coming weeks, Briere will do a deeper dive into the personnel to determine who to keep for the future and prepare with the amateur scouting staff for the 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft on June 28-29. The Flyers will likely have a top-10 pick after selecting forward Cutter Gauthier at No. 5 in the 2022 NHL Draft.
There are already some young pieces on the NHL roster to build around, including goalie Carter Hart, 24, defenseman Cam York, 22, and forward Owen Tippett, 24. Maybe more young players can be added in trades prior to the draft, or the Flyers could make deals to acquire additional picks to select more prospects.
As for free agency, the timing probably isn't right for signing a big-name free agent to a long-term contract this offseason, but perhaps a few veterans can be signed short term. It can be helpful to have some veterans around to help guide the younger players. And players on one-year contracts can be turned into draft picks at the NHL Trade Deadline, which would further help the rebuild.
Briere said he'd view his time as interim GM as a sort of tryout with the hope of getting the job full time when the Flyers complete their search. Doing well in his tryout could set the Flyers on the right path.

Would you categorize the Washington Capitals' trade moves this year as "buyers" or "sellers?"-- @tommer100
The Capitals traded five veteran players on expiring contracts prior to the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline on March 3 -- defensemen Dmitry Orlov (Boston Bruins) and Erik Gustafsson (Toronto Maple Leafs) and forwards Garnet Hathaway (Bruins), Marcus Johansson (Minnesota Wild) and Lars Eller (Colorado Avalanche). The net return was defenseman Rasmus Sandin (from Maple Leafs), forward Craig Smith (Bruins), two third-round picks in the 2024 NHL Draft (from Bruins and Wild) and two second-round picks in the 2025 NHL Draft (from Bruins and Avalanche).
That, to me, qualifies as a team selling before the deadline. Although Sandin and Smith, who is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent after the season, can help the Capitals in their bid to stay alive in the playoff race, these moves were made for the future. But in this case, the future means next season.
The trade for Sandin exemplifies Washington's plan to retool on the fly with the hope of quickly returning to the playoffs next season. The Capitals took the first-round pick in the 2023 draft they received from the Bruins as part of the trade for Orlov and Hathaway and traded it to the Maple Leafs with Gustafsson for Sandin, a 23-year-old who could play in their top four on defense for several seasons to come.
Washington could use the other draft picks it acquired, or some of its own, to make more trades in the offseason for younger players with experience similar to Sandin, who was playing limited minutes on Toronto's third defense pair but was ready for a bigger role. The idea is to add skilled younger players who are NHL ready to fill in around the Capitals' older core, which includes Alex Ovechkin, 37, T.J. Oshie, 36, Nicklas Backstrom 35, Evgeny Kuznetsov, 30, and John Carlson, 33.
It's a difficult needle to thread and a long-term rebuild will probably come eventually, but the Capitals are hoping to put that off and make the most of the three seasons Ovechkin has left on his contract after this one.
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