Record-Setting Offense, Franchise Valuations, Mr. Brightside, and more!

It’s the Easter Monday version of Links, News, and Notes! If you celebrate, I hope you had a great Easter, and if you don’t, I hope you were able to enjoy some time off!

• Hasn’t it seemed like so many skaters are having career years, breakouts, or bouncebacks? That’s because the NHL has averaged 6.3 goals per game this season, which is the highest it’s been in 26 years:/

The highest-scoring weekend in NHL history concluded with 153 goals (102 Saturday, 51 Sunday) and boosted the goals-per-game rate to 6.3 on the season. It's been 26 years since a season ended with a scoring rate that high (6.3 G/GP in 1995-96).#NHLStats: https://t.co/Nx7m9gNV5o pic.twitter.com/4zz9ELx0yX

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) April 18, 2022

All the offense has been great, although we’ll probably have to season-adjust 2021-22 more than we have been.

• Take this with a grain of salt, but Nick Kypreos on “Kyper and Bourne” said that the Senators could eventually be sold for as much as $900M due to there being at least a half-dozen suitors. There’s no way an NHL team will be sold for less than $650M, which is what the Seattle Kraken were purchased for. Although Forbes estimates the Senators as being worth only $525M, that doesn’t take into account a potential bidding war and a future rink at LeBreton Flats. It’ll be fascinating to see what happens over the summer.
• I just love this picture of Tim Stützle so much that I can’t not include it:/

Submitted by too many people for me to tag them all pic.twitter.com/1Kpq2QgfaU

— Sens Pics That Go Hard (@hardpicsSens) April 17, 2022

• If you’re a fan of Mr. Brightside as well as one of Brady Tkachuk or Josh Norris, you’re going to want to see this...
• The NHL staff at The Athletic did a re-draft of the Seattle Kraken ($$) based on who they should’ve taken. Hindsight is always 20/20, but they could’ve definitely been better than they have been in their first season.
• Despite being an Original Six team, the Toronto Maple Leafs have never had a 50-win season, which I did not realize until yesterday. However, they finally broke that record, as they got their 50th win of the season against the New York Islanders. They have 106 points, which is also surprisingly a franchise record.
• 12 teams have clinched a playoff berth already, with all eight spots in the East being wrapped up. The race in the East had been over for weeks, if not months, which is strange considering how tight it normally is. However, the last three spots in the West are still up for grabs (with the Oilers essentially being a lock), as the Los Angeles Kings, Nashville Predators, Dallas Stars, Vegas Golden Knights, and Vancouver Canucks fighting for their lives. Vegas is three points back of Los Angeles with a game in hand (and six games left), and it would be incredibly hilarious to see them miss the playoffs after pushing all of their chips to the middle.
• Legendary Hall-of-Famer Mike Bossy passed away on Friday at the age of 65 due to lung cancer. Growing up, I always knew he was one of the best of all time, but I never realized that he had to retire at the young age of 30. He had an incredible 573 goals and 1126 points in just 752 games, which puts him 3rd all-time in points per game behind just Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky. Based on the countless memorials of him over the weekend, it’s clear that he was loved within the hockey community. RIP to a hockey legend.
• In exciting news for women’s hockey, the Professional Women’s Hockey Player Association (PWHPA) is expected to begin a newly structured 6-team league beginning in 2023. It’s unclear where the teams would be based, although they did say it would be a mix of Canadian and American cities, with the schedule being 32 games long. The article also mentions Jeff Marek’s report that the minimum salary would be $35k and the league average would be $55k, which is obviously a far cry from professional men’s players, but they have to start somewhere. Who knows what this will mean for the Premier Hockey Federation, because at some point, there needs to be one professional league for women in North America.
• Lastly, if you’re somehow a Sens fan in Vancouver like me, I will be at the game tomorrow as they face off against the Canucks! Come say hello during the warmups near the Senators bench. There are more of us here than you’d think!/