Gino Reda: It’s opening day of the NHL regular season. So will Marchenko play? Updates on Hellebuyck and Larkin, and get ready for an equipment crackdown of the league? What could that look like?
With the details, here’s our insider Darren Dreger. Dregs, Leaf fans are dying to know if Kirill Marchenko will make his debut tonight, if he can. But that’s a huge process, much like the huge process it took to get this deal done.
Darren Dreger: Yeah, the Toronto Maple Leafs likewise, eagerly awaiting the immigration process to clear Kirill Marchenko to play in the home opener against the Montreal Canadiens.
When you look back at this process, as you’ve described, it was a lengthy one between Don Waddell, the general manager of the Blue Jackets, and John Chayka of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Leafs have had an eye on Marchenko for quite some time. And it was always about Knies and Marchenko, but Waddell and the Blue Jackets had to get to a place where they felt that the time was right to move a valued player.
It’s not like Waddell and Columbus are simply waving the white towel here and saying “Our playoff aspirations are behind us.” Columbus needed a player, real players to make this deal work. And they certainly get that with Matthew Knies heading the package out of Toronto to Columbus.
But why did it take so long? It took until literally 3 o’clock Monday afternoon Eastern to close on this deal. And then you had the final touches on the extension [for] Marchenko [with] the Toronto Maple Leafs.
But look at the bigger parameters of this. It’s not just about making the money work for both clubs. It’s about the number of contracts with six players in play. That had to match, going out of Toronto and going into Columbus and vice versa.
You had the LTIR issues with Elvis Merzlikins. You had the tagging rule. You had all kinds of rules that had to be used to get this deal over the line. So credit to Chayka and Waddell for having the persistence to get this thing done.
Reda: You mentioned the immigration issues - is this just a matter of, as we record this right now, it’s not done yet, but it could be done at any moment, so we just wait and see?
Dreger: You wait and see. Look, we’ve all had immigration issues. None of us with the support of the Toronto Maple Leafs, I don’t think. So maybe there’s a string or two.
Not suggesting that’s what they’re going to do here, but my understanding is that process with Marchenko and immigration started early this morning around 9 a.m.
So there’s a chance that he’s in the lineup and the Maple Leafs are hoping, the fan base is hoping that it’s better than a chance and he will be in the lineup, but we should know that as the day unfolds.
Reda: All right, let’s move on to some other key issues. Fans in Winnipeg and Detroit have to be wondering how much longer they have to wait to see their big deal get done.
Let’s start with Connor Hellebuyck. What’s it going to take to get something done with him?
Dreger: Somebody’s going to have to step up. That’s the bottom line. And it has to be a club that either maybe unfortunately suffers an injury in a primary goaltending position or just goes, you know what, Connor Hellebuyck is too juicy of an upgrade for us not to pay a price that we don’t love, but a price that the Winnipeg Jets can live with.
I’m telling you right now, and I think I’ve been consistent in saying this all along, because the Jets have been willing to be patient, they’re not willing to just cave and say, “Okay, we will take a futures-driven return.” That’s not the reality for Winnipeg.
So they’re going to continue to be patient in this process, even though their star goaltender is on the sideline.
But as you get to this point, on the cusp of the opening night for the Winnipeg Jets, then it becomes real financially for Connor Hellebuyck, who’s set to lose around $38,000 and change per day under suspension if he doesn’t report or a deal isn’t made.
Winnipeg isn’t ready to buckle just yet, and they don’t feel like they have to. They’ve got confidence in Stuart Skinner. I’m sure we’re going to talk about Clay Stevenson, who they picked up on waivers.
It’s not a perfect world in Winnipeg, certainly not perfect for Connor Hellebuyck. But I think we can all understand why they need value in return for a star goalie.
Reda: Okay, so what’s the latest out of Detroit in terms of Dylan Larkin?
Dreger: Well, that waiting game continues as well. Different set of circumstances, that’s pretty clear, with Dylan Larkin reporting to camp and he’s set to go for the regular season.
It’s not a perfect case, but he’s a leader. He’s been a decorated leader for the Detroit Red Wings for some time.
It sounds quiet on the trade front. So all that is left is for Todd McCollum, the head coach of the Detroit Red Wings, to try and get everyone to buy in right out of the gate, right out of puck drop. And maybe something surfaces again.
Maybe there’s an injury with a club that Larkin is willing to waive [his no movement clause] to go to where that team says “Okay, we’ll give you this.”
And that’s enough for interim general manager Sean Horcoff and ownership in Detroit to make the deal happen. But that’s not where we’re at as we’re having this conversation this morning.
It’s not perfect, I keep saying that as we do this segment. But it’s the best of a bad situation with Larkin still in camp, willing to play and Horcoff continuing to kick tires and trying to [find] trade that makes sense.
Reda: Meanwhile, on the ice, as we mentioned, the regular season opens tonight. The league has reminded players of the equipment crackdown. What’s that going to look like? Are we going to just see a rash of penalties?
Dreger: I don’t think we’ll see a rash of penalties, but are we going to see some penalties for equipment violations? I think we will see some.
We’re talking about visors. We’re talking about the proper use of neck guards. We’re talking about the helmet rule. And we’re talking about the proper wearing of the sweater - the jersey, as they call it in the United States.
We saw that penalty called on Trevor Zegras from the Philadelphia Flyers. Look, he was warned a couple of times to untuck the sweater and he didn’t do that. And then, ultimately, he was called for a penalty.
People are wondering, “Well, why is the NHL cracking down on this now?”
Really it’s a combination of things, but primarily it is a safety issue. We can appreciate that with the visor rule again being in place since I believe 2013, 2014. Wear the visor properly. The helmet rule, wear it properly with the chin strap. The neck guard - isn’t it obvious? It has to be worn properly.
So those are the primary safety concerns, [and the league may be lenient] with the sweater, but there’s also some safety considerations that go along with a uniform look and how you wear the sweater over the pant properly. So we’ll see lots of warnings. We could see penalties.
Reda: Players are always looking to just push the envelope just a little bit for comfort’s sake and then the look as well.
