For those of you paying attention, I took some time off. The real world took over and I had to prioritize sleep over consistent writing. Things have started to calm down though, so I’m hoping to get back to a good schedule.

What I wanted to start with was something near and dear to the hearts of all NHL fans. Ted Lindsay passed at the age of 93, but left behind a legacy that could’ve spanned over 100. He was the perfect player for those mid-20th century Red Wings clubs, but his legacy off the ice is what will always live on. His ideas of unionizing led to the creation of the NHLPA and the growth in salaries and benefits towards all players.

Lindsay was truly a pioneer as he faced pressure and harassment from owners to stop his efforts, but just as he did on the ice, Lindsay refused to yield. Every hockey player owes Lindsay a debt of gratitude for his work. If you want to hear more stories, the newest episode of the 31 Thoughts Podcast had quite a few.

1. After Deadline Thoughts

I haven’t written a Five Thoughts since the trade deadline, although my colleague Michael Wade and I wrote twin pieces on the newest additions of Wayne Simmonds and Mikael Granlund. Let’s have a lightning round to determine the biggest winners and losers of deadline day.

Winners:

Lightning: Don’t worry, you didn’t miss anything. Tampa didn’t trade for anyone, but they didn’t have to. They’re so good already.

Bruins: Charlie Coyle has been a fine piece on a team that is starting to heat up at the right time. Losing Ryan Donato stings but it’s clear he wasn’t what the Bruins wanted or needed at the moment. Marcus Johansson is also a great second line winger… when he’s not injured. Let’s hope he recovers to 100% by playoff time.

Golden Knights: Mark Stone is a top 20 player in the NHL and has the highest Goals Above Replacement of any single player in the NHL, according to Evolving Wild. His work on both sides of the puck should put him in consideration for multiple awards every year. He was the biggest fish after Erik Karlsson went off the block, and Vegas should feel over the moon with what they got.

Jets: Kevin Hayes is a pretty good second line center who likes to dish more than shoot. If he and Laine can find even an ounce of chemistry, the West should be put on notice. Otherwise Nathan Beaulieu is a decent bottom pairing guy.

Losers:

Senators: I don’t care what you got back, just take the “L” for this year. I’m sorry, but not getting a first for Stone is inexcusable. Brannstrom is an awesome prospect but prospects burn out all the time. The Dzingel and Duchene returns were fine, but there was no fleecing as far as I’m concerned.

Blue Jackets: I hate calling them losers because I respect their decision to go all in. It just feels like they started to make trades just for the sake of making trades. Why would you need a player like Adam McQuaid? He’s bad. Like really bad. There’s a good chance Columbus loses Duchene, Panarin, and Bobrovsky this summer, where do you go from there?

Avalanche: Derrick Brassard? Really? Look at the standings, understand your chances, and then remember that you have the first round pick of the worst team in the league as well as your own first round pick in a lottery system. Why not double down now that your chances are bad and increase those odds at Jack Hughes or Kaapo Kakko?.

On the fence:

I’m not sure if these are winners or losers yet, only time will tell.

Predators: Losing Hartman for Wayne Simmonds was a lateral move, at best. In my opinion, Hartman brought more at five on five than Simmonds brings on the powerplay, but time will tell who won this trade. Otherwise giving up on Kevin Fiala at the spry young age of 22 is an interesting decision, but Mikael Granlund was a nice addition. He’s clearly still adjusting though so I won’t make a decision just yet.

Wild: Read the Predators paragraph above, please.

Maple Leafs: I really like Jake Muzzin so far, but the Leafs gave up a lot to get him and I’m not sure he’ll be enough.

2. The Black Aces

The NCAA tournament is almost here and that means that some of the best and brightest will leave college and attempt to make the transition to the NHL. Dante Fabbro is the big name among Nashville Predators’ fans, but many reports have been less than clear about his intentions.

The only thing I have to say is what I’ve been saying for the last few years, keep those expectations low. I love the option for players to get an education if hockey isn’t in their future, but it doesn’t always lead to the best development. For every Charlie McAvoy, there are dozens of guys that barely play two games.

If and when Fabbro gets here, maybe give him a full season to settle in. It’s not easy to make that leap.

3. Line Optimization

Here’s a thought, maybe put players in a spot where they’ll succeed? Kyle Turris isn’t some young buck that needs to be “taught a lesson”. When you put him on the fourth line, all you’re doing is making his life harder. He’s a decent player, give him the tools and he’ll pull himself out of whatever funk he’s in.

I still don’t love Turris, but using him like this is just wrong. A coach’s number one job should be to put his team in the best place to win. Is putting Turris on the fourth line the best way to win?

4. Powerplay Resurgence?

Would you look at that? The Predators scored two power play goals in an otherwise terrible game against the Ducks. Let’s talk about how they did it.

The first (viewable here) was from a pass across the slot to a shooter who took less than three full seconds to get his shot off. It was a wonderful pass from Granlund that showcased his sublime abilities. The pass went across the slot, known as a royal road pass. This forces the goalie to make a huge adjustment that often creates an opening. As you can see, Gibson doesn’t get over quick enough and Forsberg has plenty of space to shoot.

Now let’s talk about the second goal (viewable here) and where it comes from. Johansen gets the puck below the goal line and makes a pass to the mid area. In games past, that pass usually goes high to Subban or Josi who takes a low percentage shot from the point. Instead, the pass goes to the mid area, where Forsberg takes two seconds to regain his composure and then shoots. When the puck comes up to the hashmarks, Gibson skates up to address the shot, but in doing so, he over commits to the strong side. That allows Forsberg to pick his shot.

So, what did the Predators do that made them successful? They moved the puck around the ice and shot from high percentage areas. They don’t rely on Subban or Josi to take the shot, instead they rely on Johansen and Granlund’s passing ability as well as Forsberg’s shooting talent.

Maybe this is the dawn of a new era or maybe this was just a happy accident. We’ll know more as we gather a larger sample size. Thanks to u/vorin of reddit for the great hockey clips.

5. Words

I wanted to end these thoughts with something a little more serious. It’s a direction I don’t often go because I’m worried I’ll mess up or not do the subject justice. That said, I wanted to speak up on this because it’s something that scares me. I don’t like confrontation but I think this issue is important, and so I wanted to share my thoughts.

On Monday night, Morgan Reilly of the Toronto Maple Leafs was accused of using a homophobic slur on the ice. Since the incident, people were quick to jump on Reilly for this practice but the truth prevailed and the audio picked up multiple different voices.

This came as a great relief to me, as I just assumed the worst. Unfortunately that relief soon faded as I realized what this meant, it was more likely that a player used a slur rather than a common audio mistake. It shows how far we have left to go before we can truly say “hockey is for everyone”.

Growing up in a competitive locker room, these terrible and unkind words were thrown about how a valley girl says “like” or how a waitress uses “y’all”. They’re everywhere, and I mean everywhere.

I thought nothing of it when I was younger and, much to my chagrin, I participated. I now know better, but I still cringe when I think of how I may have made one of my dear friends feel when I said something like this.

This isn’t something that went away when the LGBTQ community threw their first parade or when Harvey Milk’s courageous story became a movie. This is something that happens far too often, and I feel terrible knowing that a member of the LGBTQ community couldn’t enjoy the same escape I do because of the way a player spoke.

How are kids supposed to learn better? Especially when their heroes are still using these outdated and terrible terms. It’s on us as a hockey community to stand up and speak out. That’s the only way this problem will finally disappear from our great sport.

I’m incredibly happy that Rielly didn’t use that vile phrase, and I’m thankful for how the Maple Leafs handled the event. I hope we can use this as a springboard towards making hockey for everyone.