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Meet The New Guys 2023
Find out who landed where and what it means in our Meet The New Guys Issue. Inside, you'll see features on Connor Bedard, Erik Karlsson, P-L Dubois and many, many more. Plus, we look at the impact of the new Professional Women's Hockey League, and we remember Rodion Amirov, Rocky Wirtz and Brian O'Neill.
OLD BEGINNINGS
BARRY TROTZ IS back in Nashville, a place where he’s spent so much of his hockey career, doing what he’s really never done before. As a coach, he would have normally taken the summer off. But as a rookie GM, there’s been no time for that. Not with the draft and free agency to take care of, and daily meetings with amateur scouts and pro scouts taking up his time, all while working the phones and figuring out what kind of team he’s going to ice this season. “It’s pretty hectic,” he said. “It’s been a different rhythm than coaching. What I’ve found is that, as a coach, you’re married to the NHL schedule. As a manager, you’re married to the situation.” Of course, no one envisioned a situation where Trotz, 61,…
SERIOUS, BUT NOT TOO SERIOUS
IT’S EARLY AUGUST, THREE months after Matthew Schaefer was taken first overall in the OHL draft, and the soon-to-be 16-year-old is at home watching the Hlinka Gretzky Cup gold-medal game, rooting not just for Canada but for his friend, training partner and future Erie Otters teammate, Malcolm Spence. With seconds to go in overtime, Spence steals the puck and breaks up ice using his blazing speed to go 1-on-1 with the Czech netminder, cutting across the crease laterally and outwaiting the goalie before burying the winning goal, sending gloves into the air in celebration of victory. In February, it was Schaefer playing hero for Team Ontario at the Canada Winter Games. Starting the breakout in double overtime, then dashing through the middle of the ice, he received a pass in the neutral…
JERSEY HOUND
LANGLEY LORDS >1977-78 LOOK AT THIS ABSOLUTELY gorgeous sweater from 1977-78, courtesy of the B.C. Hockey Hall of Fame. The organization has a treasure trove of old BCHL jerseys, including this gem from the incredibly named Langley Lords (a.k.a. The Lords of Langley – true story). The lettering is awesome, especially given how rare it is to incorporate an Olde English font on a jersey, but everything is great here, from the overall logo to the color scheme. The Lords played in the BCJHL from 1973 to 1978, with alumni such as Barry Beck, Ryan Walter and Larry Playfair. They were never crowed champions, but the Lords always looked like kings on the ice.…
THE COUNTDOWN
WHEN NHL TEAMS SIGN top stars to long-term, big-money deals, they do so anticipating a rising upper limit will make those pacts take up proportionally less of the cap as time goes on. But with little cap growth since 2019-20, those plans have largely been scuppered, and teams with top-dollar stars have had to be creative to fill their rosters. But which teams spend the most on their top guys? And is it worth it? Three of the top five teams on this list (Tampa Bay, Colorado, Dallas) have combined for three Cups and five final appearances since 2020. But winning is expensive, and both the Bolts and Avs have players among their five top earners who got big raises after lifting the Cup. At the same time, THN’s predicted 2024…
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