Quick Hits: The Draft Day Edition
In Red Wings Land
NHL Mock Draft: Who gets selected after Alexis Lafreniere?
Sean Leahy has the Red Wings picking Cole Perfetti, which would be completely unsurprising to me.
I believe Yzerman values hockey IQ, and of those available, the most refined are Perfetti, Lucas Raymond, and Marco Rossi. Rossi falls short of the other two in terms of skill (although he is still awesome), while Perfetti has the edge in grit. Raymond’s offensive game is more well-rounded. In the end, I take Perfetti, as he seems to have fewer scenarios whereby he fails to live up to his potential and just as many where he ends up a 70-plus point first liner for the long haul.
Around the NHL
Dubnyk traded to Sharks by Wild
With the caveat that goalies can bounce back from bad years and Dubnyk has had some great seasons years ago, this seems like a questionable move at best.
Dubnyk was 12-15-2 with a 3.35 goals-against average and .890 save percentage in 30 games (28 starts) this season. The 34-year-old missed time in November and December when his wife, Jenn, was dealing with a medical situation, and he lost his job as Minnesota's No. 1 goalie toward the end of the season to Alex Stalock, who started all four games for the Wild in their loss to the Vancouver Canucks in the Stanley Cup Qualifiers.