March Mailbag: How I watch hockey, playing styles, and building out future rosters

You had some great questions, I brought some good answers.

The mailbag is back and readers here asked some awesome questions on some wide-ranging topics.

I did my best to cover it all, and I’m happy to discuss anything more in the comments.

Again, thank you for reading.

This is a bit of a re-tread, but how do you watch the broadcast of a game? I never played sports growing up for various reasons, mostly health related, and I discovered a love of soccer and hockey later in life. I find if I just "follow the action" so to speak, things are entertaining as there is always something happening but I don't get a good sense of the play. Sometimes I try to focus on a single player, usually a forward, and I kinda get a sense of the play and strategies but I miss a lot of action. Soccer is different for me because the camera tends to be much further away and so its easier to see more of the context of the field. Hockey is just so much more zoomed in, which is a double edged sword because it is more exciting that way.

So how do you watch a game? (From Stoldney)

Soccer hockey are actually the two sports I watch most.

I cover hockey for a living, and I regrettably watch every Tottenham game — it hasn’t been a fun soccer season….

Anywho, here’s how I typically watch a game on a broadcast.

• I don’t watch live: I’ll start a game when it starts, but I usually end up three to four minutes behind by the midway point of the first period. I pause games often, whether it’s something interesting I noticed or something I want to see again. I don’t trust the broadcast will re-show me a certain pass on a replay or something like that, so I take it into my own hands.

• I’m effectively watching two different sports: Yes, I’m watching hockey, but I’m also watching the sport of goaltending. As a goalie nerd, I will take long stretches and watch the goalie, even when the puck isn’t nearby, to see how they track plays and stay involved. This is also one of the reasons I pause frequently, sometimes I’ll watch a play focused on the goalie and then re-wind to watch it develop at large.

• Focus on the spacing, not the puck itself: This is where hockey and soccer can be very similar. It’s not about where the puck or ball is, but where it’s going to be next. I like to watch how spaces develop, how players move, and then when you watch that way, the puck typically arrives.

• I listen to the broadcast of the team I know least: This isn’t a commentary on the broadcasters themselves, but if at all possible I don’t listen to a Dallas Stars or Detroit Red Wings broadcast. For me, I know those teams, I cover them regularly and I know tendencies and stories. I don’t always know the stories about the opponent or the day-to-day for say, the Vegas Golden Knights. So I’ll intentionally use a broadcast of a team I know less about to potentially learn more overall.

Hey Sean! Enjoyed your PWHL piece the other day - when you watch that league, are there any skills you notice which are more prominent/important to the game than they are among NHL players? (From Ben Wylie)

Thanks, Ben, first let me put that piece right here in case anyone missed it.

What the PWHL game in Detroit meant to my daughter and why representation matters

As far as the PWHL game itself, I had two key takeaways comparing it to an NHL game I watched earlier that day between the Detroit Red Wings and Vegas Golden Knights.

1. It was more European style, where puck possession and spacing on the perimeter are a key focus. There’s also better structure defensively, which makes sense with more of a possession-based game.

2. One of the big differences is how to play through contact. The PWHL has checking, but it’s slightly different rules than the NHL. In the NHL, players have to protect themselves a bit more from the second hit, while in the PWHL there’s a bit more time and space after an initial hit.

The other thing, which I think is important, is that the PWHL is loaded. With only six teams, it’s effectively the top 130 or so best players in the world spread between just six teams, so there is much less of a drop off in the lineup, like there is in the NHL where a first liner might be a top-20 player in the world and the fourth liner could in the 600s.

Now that McLellan has been in Detroit for 2.5 months, how would you rate his coaching job? Has this skid changed your opinion of him in Hockeytown? (From Davis Dunkleberger)

I think he’s done a fine job in certain areas.

The Red Wings are playing a style that better fits today’s NHL and their roster construction. They need to be more of a shot volume team, and they needed to become better on puck retrievals.

Defensively, Detroit has gotten better because players aren’t playing as timid as they were under Derek Lalonde.

McClellan also gets the benefit of certain young players growing into their own around the middle of the season, right before he took over.

One thing I will note, is the Red Wings are 4-8 since Andrew Copp was injured. When the Red Wings have lost players to injury, especially key players, they tend to crumble, and McLellan hasn’t been able to fix that yet.

This is one of the first seasons in a while that had extremely competitive playoff races for the Wild Card spots in both conferences. Who do you predict are the 8 playoff bound teams in each conference? (From Jason)

Here’s what I think the first round will look like:

Florida vs. Ottawa

Toronto vs. Tampa

Washington vs. Montreal

New Jersey vs. Carolina

Winnipeg vs. St. Louis

Dallas vs. Colorado

Vegas vs. Minnesota

Edmonton vs. Los Angeles

Why is Steve Levy #3 or #4 on hockey pop, he has always been excellent. They’re wasting his talent on the pregame/between periods show. (From JERRY GANTT)

I agree with you, one of my biggest problems with ESPN’s hockey coverage is I think much of the talent is miscast.

Jon Buccigross is not a good play-by-play announcer in my view, but he’s tremendous as a studio host — him doing play-by-play for the Frozen Four always felt off to me — and Levy should be doing more play-by-play.

The ESPN broadcast, in my view, doesn’t do enough to actually add something to the game between periods. It’s always grand sweeping statements and basic narrative, whether you like the TNT panel or not, they at least do a good job discussing what’s happening on the ice.

Ron Francis openly talked about the Kraken using their acquired deadline draft picks to make trade acquisitions in the summer. Are there any players that jump out to you as Kaapo Kakko-esque buy-low candidates for the Kraken this summer? (From SebA)

It’s a good strategy for Seattle, which is effectively getting caught in a bit of the murky middle after making the playoffs in Year 2 of the franchise.

For Seattle, or any team, I think seeing what could be done to potentially pry Blake Coleman out of Calgary would be worthwhile. I know he’s 33, but I think stylistically he fits with what Seattle and his game isn’t aging poorly.

Not really a “buy-low,” but I think that’s someone Seattle should target — even if a difficult deal to make.

My Blues are playing well right now and fighting for a playoff spot. Earlier in the season the plan was for Jimmy Snuggerud to compete in the Frozen 4 and then join the Blues after. That said, if the team is still in the playoff hunt and playing well, does he immediately join the mix and bump a player who's been with the team most of the year? From a broader perspective, how do teams weigh the pros/cons of calling up a college, free agent, or junior prospect and throwing them into the NHL mix, especially if the playoffs are on the line? (From Josh M.)

Great question and it’s one that teams and GMs have to weigh the pros/cons of each year with players coming out of college.

For me, Jimmy Snuggerud is ready for the NHL and I think he would make the Blues slightly more potent offensively, either as a fourth-line option right away or maybe working his way up and moving Zac Bolduc to the other win on the third line.

You want team cohesiveness and chemistry, but you also want to play your best players. If a player, like Snuggerud, gives the Blues the best chance to win hockey games, that’s what the Blues will do.

If a team is in the playoff hunt, you do what you need to win. And for NHL coaches, whose job is to win to keep their jobs, they are often to go with certainty over an unknown.

What do you make of Ayrton Martino's game? He's so slight but is always in the right spot. I'd love to hear what you think about his potential. (From Ronnie Hughes)

Aryton Martino and Clarkson are playing this weekend in the ECAC semifinal.

If you are interested in watching that game, here’s my scouting report/notes on Martino, who may sign with the Stars once his NCAA Season is complete.

He’s small, listed at like 5-foot-10 and 165, so he has to manipulate space and understand timing. His routes are really good, he arrives at the right time, and I really like how he reads off teammates with 1-2 passing combinations. I’m not sure how well he’ll handle net-front battles at the next level, but that’s something he’ll have to prove in the AHL if he’s going to find a way to make it in the NHL.

Overall, I think he could be a solid bottom-six forward with some offensive pop in a system where a team rolls lines. A bit of a project with some of the other details, but he’s more important to the Stars future now after they traded away so many picks and Logan Stankoven.

Hey Sean, I love your work. Thanks for all you do. Thomas Harley has, I believe, 19 points (6G 13A) since Miro Heiskanen has been injured. Since then, he's played more minutes, has quarterbacked the 1st PP unit, had a Four Nations trip, and has looked, frankly, fantastic. Heiskanen is obviously an incredible, Norris deserving, number one defensman, but given Harley's incredible offense recently, do we see Miro bumped off PP1? Could we see Harley in a more enhanced role? How will this affect Harley's next contract? Miro has struggled a bit this year on the offensive side of things, but it appears Dallas has a franchise D Man in Heiskanen and an up and coming elite defenseman in Harley. (From Alek)

If there’s been a silver lining to the Heiskanen injury, it’s the fact Thomas Harley has taken the top power play spot and ran with it. Ideally, from a Stars perspective it forces the coaching staff to keep that power play hierarchy once Heiskanen is healthy.

For me, in the long run, I’d love to see Heiskanen and Harley together on the top pair. I don’t really fret as much about lefty-righty as others, to me them together is dynamic and dominant.

For Harley, keeping that top power play spot would be a huge development for his wallet and the next contract.

Tangential to the Miro questions - should the Stars be eliminated in a first round without Heiskanen, did Jim Nill err by failing to address the situation before the trade deadline? (From James R. Curry)

I don’t think so.

Miro Heiskanen is close to irreplaceable, in my view he’s amongst the top-five defenders on the planet and there wasn’t any move that could effectively fill what he brings on a nightly basis.

I also look at the defenders that moved and their values, and I honestly don’t see where or how the Stars could have made that big swing and still got the trade done for Mikko Rantanen.

The Stars could have gotten marginally better on defense, as a fan of Jake Walman’s work, I would have looked to see if a deal was available similar to what Edmonton paid to get him — a conditional first-round pick — but it’s hard to fault Nill for a deadline, in my view, that effectively made the franchise stronger.

I can't help but think that Miro is always matched up against the top line of the opponent. In a 1st round series vs COL, assuming they start without Miro, do you put Harley or Esa against that top line and who should be their partners? ... I ask bc Smith-Dumba hasn't been ideal, but I wouldn't want to mismatch the other 2 pairings just to fit the ideal top pair. (From Timothy Schmidt)

If Heiskanen is not available for Game 1 of round 1, I would go with this for the Stars defense.

Harley-Lyubushkin

Lindell-Ceci

Bichsel-Dumba

I would then do my best to play the Lindell pair against the MacKinnon line. I know the speed will burn them at some point, but I also look at it from a slightly different point of view — I want Harley focusing on offense, not defense.

Hypothetically, is Seguin returning for one more chance at a Cup and LTIR retirement in the offseason? Two recent hip surgeries, can he continue his career pain free...the Rantanen trade and extension doesn't seem to fit Nill's normal MO and I can't wrap my head around "we'll just do the deal and figure out the cap later" (From Jeremy Gattis)

I don’t think Tyler Seguin is interested in that LTIR retirement.

From people I’ve spoken to, including brief conversation with Seguin himself, he’s full interested in playing out the end of his deal in Dallas and then potentially playing further on.

And the Rantanen trade is a move away from Nill’s past planning, but it also is something we are going to talk about quite a bit in the next question.

Sean, I don't want to get ahead of anything, as the playoffs are all that matter, but, always thinking ahead (like Jim Nill). Can you dive into the Stars salary cap situation as the team would enter next year? With the Mikko signing and Wyatt, can they afford to keep Granlund and Robo and basically everyone else, except the depth pieces. Will Benn and Duch come back at really reduced contracts? Duch has played two years at like $3 million and his production has been much greater. Will he and Benn be like Pav and take less money? How much room do they have? Thanks! I nearly forgot---make sure to lock Harley up soon! (From Bob Kargenian)

Great questions, Bob.

The Stars cap ledger with Rantanen and Johnston signed is fascinating, and it’s going to be a bit of tough, but possible work for Stars GM Jim Nill.

Let’s play the game of what I would do.

First, we have to clear out Matt Dumba’s contract.

So in this fantasy world I traded Dumba to the San Jose Sharks with a fifth-round pick sweetener. I’m not getting anything back, and I’m ok with that because the cap space is more valuable to me here.

That will give the space I need to effectively sign Duchene for close to $3.5 million on a one-year deal. I’m doing a one-year deal on purpose, because the following season he’ll be eligible for a 35+ contract, which will give us more cap flexibility the following season based on bonus structure.

I’m then signing Jamie Benn to a one-year deal with a base salary worth $1.5 million. Because Benn is now eligible for a 35+ deal with bonus structure, I’m going to build in $2 million in bonuses that are easy to hit (like the Stars did with Pavelski) and push some of that cap hit to future seasons, if needed.

I’m also signing Mavrik Bourque to a two-year bridge deal as an RFA worth $2 million per season. I’m also re-signing Nils Lundvkist at $1.25 million, I have faith that he’s going to recover from the injury and I’m encourage by what he did prior this season.

Now we get to the tough part of the business, for cap reasons we have to trade Sam Steel.

I know the Stars signed him to a two-year extension on Feb. 14, but that was also before they knew they were going be trading for Ranatanen. It’s a roster down grade for sure, but for cap purposes, my fourth line needs to consist of players all making under $1 million per season.

I then take that cap space from that trade and sign a defender in the $1 million range to provide depth, for this exercise I picked Jon Merrill. Someone who can play and push for playing time, but provides a little bit more stability than Brendan Smith.

All of that leaves me with this roster and roughly $185,000 in cap space. We are going to only carry 12 forwards and effectively use AHL call-ups to fill out the fourth line when needed.

And here is my cap picture for the next couple seasons.

It will leave me with some tough decisions in the summer of 2026 and Thomas Harley and Jason Robertson’s next contracts will greatly impact my future moves. But this is how I would attack the 2025-26 season.