Combining his own perspective with what he’s heard from people in and around the sport, Senior NHL Writer John Matisz breaks down the hot topics sweeping across the hockey landscape.
SZN Tanking: Evaluating Dismal Teams
Parity was a determining element of the first half of 2025-2026. The vast majority of teams were within reach of a playoff spot until November.
Then, in mid-December, Vancouver sent superstar Quinn Hughes to Minnesota in a seismic trade that changed the trajectory of two franchises.
The Canucks began to sink to the bottom of the standings. Others followed before the March 6 trade deadline. And now, a week later and with about 20% of the season remaining, the tanking competition is officially underway. The Maple Leafs, Devils and Rangers of the Eastern Conference are miserable viewing experiences. The futility of the West concerns four teams: the Jets, the Blackhawks, the Flames and the last-place Canucks. The Blues will surely join him soon.
Finishing with a bottom-three record is key. The 32nd ranked team receives 25.1% chance of having landed the No. 1 pick and is assured of being among the top three. The 31st and 30th teams are guaranteed the top four and five picks, respectively.
The strength of the schedule is extremely important. Among the teams with the 10 lowest scoring percentages as of Saturday morning, St. Louis, Nashville and Seattle are expected to face the weakest competition, according to Tankathon.
Here are the projected point totals of these 10 teams in bad shape, from MoneyPuck:
| Team | Points % | Remaining games | Projected Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canucks | .369 | 17 | 63.9 |
| Flames | .454 | 17 | 75.9 |
| Black hawks | .469 | 17 | 77.4 |
| Blues | .485 | 16 | 80.2 |
| Rangers | .477 | 17 | 80.2 |
| Jets | .484 | 18 | 81.0 |
| maple leaves | .508 | 16 | 82.1 |
| Devils | .508 | 17 | 84.3 |
| Predators | .515 | 17 | 85.3 |
| Kraken | .523 | 18 | 85.7 |
My prediction: The Canucks win the draft lottery (huge lead right now) and have a hard time choosing between top prospects Ivar Stenberg, Gavin McKenna and Keaton Verhoeff. St. Louis and Calgary, two big deadline sellers in desperate need of high-end talent, find themselves among the top three picks.
Gudas’ suspension is indeed ‘laughable’
Auston Matthews will miss the Maple Leafs’ remaining 16 games with a grade 3 MCL tear and quad contusion. Radko Gudas, the Ducks captain who injured Matthews with a careless hit to the knee Thursday, will miss five games.
This is Gudas’ fifth career suspension, totaling 26 games. In addition to the hit itself, injury history and severity should play a significant role in determining the length of the suspension. The NHL’s Department of Player Safety downplayed both.
“In light of the obvious seriousness of the game, I am disappointed and shocked that the league would allow such a move,” Matthews’ longtime agent, Judd Moldaver, said in a strongly worded statement to theScore and other media outlets.
“One telephone hearing and five games is laughable and absurd. While the process is set out in our CBA, the fact that this is the discipline is reckless and ridiculous. This decision results in a further loss of confidence in the disciplinary process for all players. Players and fans deserve better. Player Safety should be suspended.”
I more or less agree with Moldaver’s sentiments here. I think Gudas should have been suspended for at least 10 games. Five doesn’t send a strong enough message to a player who clearly hasn’t learned his lesson.
Luke ‘Scoops’ Schenn is moving again
When Luke Schenn was traded to Buffalo last Friday, my first thought had nothing to do with the 36-year-old defenseman’s place on the Sabres’ depth chart. Instead, I wondered how Schenn, one of the most connected and curious players in the league, knew about his own deal.
Schenn, who after making his Sabers debut on Thursday has now suited up for 10 different franchises in 18 seasons, is a popular teammate. A steakhouse enthusiast, he is known for hosting large group dinners on the road.
He has two nicknames: “Schenner” and “Scoops”. The latter developed over time, as his teammates realized that Schenn was always listening.
“Every day he has something new for me, where he’s talked to someone from the league or something,” former Predators teammate Ryan O’Reilly told me last season. “He’ll look at me, raise his eyebrows, smile and say, ‘Hey, guess what?’
“Before a coach gets fired — before (the news is) made public, anyway — Schenner will know one way or another, and he’ll be the first to tell the boys,” O’Reilly added. “Same with trades: He’ll say, ‘Hey, I hear a rumor that this guy is going here or there.’ It’s quite funny. He knows so many people in so many different roles because he’s been in the league so long. »
Insider Schenn caught Filip Forsberg off guard on July 1, 2024, with a text message regarding the signing of Lightning captain Steven Stamkos to Nashville.
“Schenner loves networking. He loves a good dinner and a good hot stove,” said Forsberg, his teammate of two years. “He’s just a great human being. Everyone wants to be around him and he really gets to know people.”
Every GM is looking for the next Graf
NHL teams are starting to sign American college free agents – it’s that time of year. Collin Graf is one of the biggest NCAA success stories of the decade.
Graf, who signed with the Sharks in April 2024 after one year at Union College and two at Quinnipiac University, established himself as a top-nine winger in his first full NHL season. The undrafted 23-year-old has accumulated 17 goals and 36 points in 62 games while moving up and down the lineup at five-on-five. He also leads San Jose’s 15th-ranked shorthanded offense.
The Sharks need energetic, puck-catching forwards like Graf and the recently acquired (and extended) Kiefer Sherwood to make life easier for offensive drivers Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith and Michael Misa. General manager Mike Grier would be wise to offer Graf, a pending restricted free agent, a long-term extension.
Graf didn’t eliminate penalties in college, so the organization deserves props for giving the smart forward a defined role and allowing him to learn on the job.
“Last year during training camp when I went to the AHL, the coaching staff wanted me to work on the penalty kill. They really wanted me to add this tool to my toolbox,” Graf said in December. “Since then, it’s become a big part of me trying to make an impact every night in the NHL.”
The Sharks have allowed just 4.5 goals per 60 minutes with Graf on the ice shorthanded this season. That rate ranks seventh among 77 NHL forwards who have spent 100 minutes or more shorthanded.
No follow-up to “future considerations”
Twice on deadline day an NHL team acquired a legitimate NHL player – Nick Foligno in one case, Vinnie Hinostroza in the other – without shelling out for a player or draft pick. Both were exchanged for “future considerations”.
What do “future considerations” typically transform into in the future?
“Future considerations are zero. It’s nothing. Absolutely nothing,” an official with the Western Conference team told theScore.
The league needs to get back to both teams at a later date to ensure an asset has been or will be traded, right? No, the executive replied. One GM is essentially doing a favor for another, and there are no checks and balances.
Nevertheless, the executive continued, the league does not like the “future considerations” contained in trades involving salary maintenance. This distinction makes sense, as the idea of trading salary cap space for nothing would seem much worse on paper than trading a player for nothing.
“However, I don’t like his inconsistency,” the executive concluded.
Seven transactions involving “future considerations” have taken place since the Stanley Cup was awarded last June. The Wild were part of three – buying twice, selling once – while the Mammoth and Blackhawks had two each.
Will the NHL ever get rid of the trapeze?
Reader Peter G. recently asked about puck-handling goalies:
Do you think the NHL will ever get rid of the trapeze behind the net? I would like to see goalies handle the puck everywhere. I think it’s a lost art form. I talk about it after watching international matches (no trapeze).
The NHL won’t be eliminating the trapezoid-shaped area behind the net anytime soon (probably ever). Introduced following the 2004-05 lockout to facilitate offense, the zone continues to serve this purpose in 2025-2026.
Additionally, puck handling, while less chaotic and flashy today than in previous eras, is not a lost art form, according to former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton. “I think it’s a controlled art form,” he said. “There’s still a lot of value in handling the puck behind the net. You’re just in a confined space. And there’s also a lot of plays to be made over the goal line if the other team shoots it.”
Puck handling was one of Hutton’s greatest strengths during a 234-game career between 2013 and 2021, so much so that he would use that skill as a bargaining chip in contract negotiations.
As Hutton explains, if a goalie handles the puck gently and with intent, the trapezius tends to encourage quicker, craftier touches while reducing much of the risk. “You rarely get stuck in no-man’s land now,” he said.
It’s the nuanced aspect of goaltenders trying to move the puck deep in their own zone – sometimes the risk isn’t worth the reward. “Good puck handling only makes a difference if you’re not marked,” Hutton says.
What do you want to know, hockey fans?
There are three ways to submit a question for future editions of the NHL Inbox.
