TSN’s Hockey Insiders on whether the Hockey Canada/IIHF jersey dispute will spill into the World Juniors, the struggling Sharks, the latest on Dylan Larkin and Simon Edvinsson, and if the Wild could be on Evgeni Malkin’s three-team trade list in January.
Gino Reda: The Women’s World Hockey Championship doesn’t actually begin until Friday, but the gloves have already come off. Here are the insiders: Chris Johnston, Pierre LeBrun, and Darren Dreger. Well, CJ, round one of the battle of the jerseys goes to the IIHF.
Chris Johnston: Yeah, and you might debate whether the sweaters that Team Canada and Team USA are being made to wear for that tournament are actually up to world championship quality.
Nevertheless, after months of back-and-forth with the federations, it is the IIHF that controls which sweaters are worn in the competition. On Thursday, for the very first time, the teams saw what they’ll be wearing; they’ll wear these starting Friday.
So not a lot of time to wrap your mind around it. Longtime Canadian national team player Blayre Turnbull tweeted, jaw on the floor when she saw this. Now, naturally, I think a lot of thoughts go to where does this go next? The next major tournament is the World Junior Championship next month in Alberta. At this point in time, we have to operate under the assumption these jerseys will be worn there as well. Of course, there is some time to resolve that, but a lot of people didn’t think it’d get to this point, and here we are.
Darren Dreger: Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Hockey Canada also announced an advisory group to assist Scott Salmond, who is the senior vice president of hockey operations for Hockey Canada. The group includes former general managers like Steve Yzerman and Doug Armstrong; Brad Treliving is involved, and Shane Doan will assist on the players’ side as well.
This isn’t a formed committee to help Salmond. This is in fact, a group of experienced individuals that he’ll be able to lean on in the hiring process of a general manager for the World Cup in 2028. Same candidates; we’re talking about Jim Nill, Kyle Dubas, Don Sweeney, and Julien BriseBois of the Tampa Bay Lightning. That’s been reported on, but there could be others as well. So these are merely support pieces added to assist in the big decisions looming.
Reda: Guys, we usually wait until U.S. Thanksgiving to talk about slow starts that could lead to shakeups, but can the Sharks really afford to wait too much longer before doing something, Pierre?
Pierre Lebrun: Well, I guess the players don’t think so. They held a players-only meeting after getting absolutely thumped by the rival Kings on Wednesday night. Captain Macklin Celebrini spoke postgame about the level of frustration that they have with the way they’re playing.
And listen, the Sharks are near the bottom in goals for, they’re near the bottom in goals against. It’s ugly. The team’s struggles have led to speculation about Ryan Warsofsky. But my understanding is that Sharks GM Mike Grier is not contemplating a coaching change at this stage. They just signed their head coach to a contract extension on Sep. 17th.
Listen, they obviously got to play better. There’s no question about that. But certainly internally, there’s also the sense that this is a young team that caught everyone by surprise last year, caught some teams off guard. That’s not happening this year. The weight of expectations, a young team learning how to win. Yeah, there are some growing pains right now. I think everyone has to take a deep breath and let this Sharks team find its way.
Reda: The Wings really threw Shawn Horcoff into a brutal, somewhat unfair situation in Detroit, handed him the Larkin and Edvinsson fiascos. So should we be the least bit surprised this is all taking some time, CJ?
Johnston: I do think it does help answer that question. Why is it taking so long? Why is Dylan Larkin at home and nothing’s materializing? There’s no real substantial update in terms of anything improving on that file this week. Why is Simon Edvinsson unsigned?
Let’s remember, Shawn Horcoff is the interim general manager of the Red Wings. And from speaking to some of the teams that have engaged with Detroit in trade talks, there is a feeling he’s got to hit a home run with these deals, that he’s auditioning for the full-time job.
That’s been brought up to me not as a point of criticism of Horcoff, but just the reality. This is why things are moving slowly. This is not a GM that’s been in that seat a long time. So, obviously he’s waiting for certain deals; they’re not on the table with the 10 teams Larkin has provided them at this point. And in the Edvinsson file, it’s probably going to take until that Dec. 1 signing deadline before there’s movement on that file.
Reda: Just in case there’s not already enough talent out there that could be on the move, you would suggest we should not forget Evgeni Malkin, Dregs?
Dreger: Only because the 40-year-old star has to submit a three-team trade list in January, Gino. Now look, we’ve speculated on the possibilities in Pittsburgh before the transition to a younger team. We know that is part of the plan for Kyle Dubas.
But what if the Penguins are struggling in January? This guy is still an impact player at 40 years of age. He’s on the top power play. He’s a 17-minute-per-game guy, and he can still put the puck in the net. What about joining a former teammate in Bill Guerin, the general manager of the Minnesota Wild? I know Guerin is interested, but only if the price is right and Malkin is ready to move at that point.
Reda: Hard to imagine Malkin wearing any jersey but a Pens jersey. They are the insiders. Chris Johnston, Pierre LeBrun, and Darren Dreger.