The Flyers never replaced defenseman Matt Niskanen after his surprising retirement in Oct. 2020 and they suffered for it. Not just in the defensive end of the ice, but for losing someone who can move the puck too. Ellis is a much better version of that defenseman, and despite the fact he’s turning 31 next January, he’s a fantastic acquisition for the Flyers.
In a typical season, Ellis is good for over 23 minutes of ice time per game, over 30 points per season and helps his team at 5-on-5 and on the penalty kill. He’s going to be able to anchor whatever defensive pairing on which he plays. He’s coming off a rough season, but his previous three seasons saw him stealthily emerge as one of the NHL’s better defensemen, and an analytics darling, driving offensive play for the Predators.
Every trade made under a flat salary cap needs to be scrutinized financially, and Ellis gives the Flyers cost certainty through 2026-27 at $6.25 million against the salary cap. Granted, that takes him into his later 30s, but for now it’s a great defenseman at a great cap hit, and the Flyers are certainly looking at the now given the makeup of this roster.
The cost was potentially high. The Flyers liked Myers, 24, and Patrick still has a world of promise despite never coming close to fulfilling the lofty expectations of his second overall draft position in 2017. (But more on that in the Vegas section.)
“I don’t think we gave up on Nolan. We acquired one of the best defensemen in the National Hockey League,” said GM Chuck Fletcher on Saturday. “He’s what we need at this time.”
GM David Poile wanted to get younger. Myers and Glass makes him younger; and in Myers’ case bigger, as they add a 6-foot-5 defenseman to their back end.
He clearly wanted more cap flexibility and shipping out a contract he was tied to through 202627. In fact, Nashville trading away Ellis and Viktor Arvidsson, who went to the Los Angeles Kings earlier in the month, has cleared $10.5 million in cap space.
“We felt it was time for a change to our core this offseason,” said Poile.
One assumes the changes won’t end here.
Make no mistake: Ryan Ellis is an outstanding defenseman when healthy. There were times in recent memory when he was the hipster pick for best defenseman on the Predators, a team with a Norris Trophy winner in Roman Josi. But the Predators are clearly looking to reshape their roster after diminishing recent returns, acknowledging that they need to enter the next phase of the team after their contending window may have closed with the current core.
Financial flexibility and younger players are a good step forward — and getting Glass for Patrick is a nice bit of business, not only for the 22-year-old center’s potential, but because he’s exempt from the expansion draft.
The Golden Knights told us everything we needed to know about where Glass fit on their roster when he spent the entire playoffs in street clothes, even when the team was desperate for offense against the Montreal Canadiens — including on the power play. If that didn’t mean they were done with him, it certainly meant they would sacrifice him in a millisecond in the right trade.
And GM Kelly McCrimmon getting a chance to acquire a former second-overall pick from the Brandon Wheat Kings of the Western Hockey League — the junior team he owned — is clearly the right trade in the Knights’ eyes.
The grade here is mostly for who Nolan Patrick is, rather than what the Knights believe he can become. He has 70 points in 197 NHL games. He was a bottom-six forward for the Flyers after returning from a migraine disorder that kept him out from April 2019 through January 2021. His coach clearly didn’t give him a sporting chance to develop into a top-flight offensive center. His current general manager wasn’t there when the Flyers drafted him, and just shipped him out for a 30-year-old defenseman.
He’s a player in need of a fresh start. He’ll get one, potentially with Mark Stone on his right side. He’s a player in need of support from his team, and he’ll get that with McCrimmon at the helm.
Again, we can’t go too high here because Nolan Patrick is what Nolan Patrick is at this time, and there have been health concerns for him in his career. But there was a time when another No. 2 overall pick was traded from an Eastern Conference team to a Western Conference team, and soon found himself among the NHL’s All-Stars. Granted, Tyler Seguin had already had more offensive impact than has Patrick in his first three seasons. But it’s just a reminder what the right fit can do to unlock potential.
Last fall, Tennessee beat No. 3 Alabama, earned the No. 1 ranking for a fleeting moment, lost a close game to eventual national champion Georgia and came within a whisper of making the College Football Playoff for the first time.
Had it not been for the Nov. 19 loss at unranked South Carolina — an ugly 63-38 drubbing while playing without SEC Offensive Player of the Year Hendon Hooker — the Vols would have had a chance to make some history.
In 2023, they have that chance again.
Tennessee, USC and Penn State are strong candidates to become first-time playoff participants. They would extend a streak of first-time CFP schools, following Cincinnati and Michigan in 2021 and TCU in 2022.
While expectations are soaring at those programs, history isn’t on the side of newcomers. During the playoff’s nine seasons, only 14 programs have participated in a possible 36 semifinal slots. Seven have reached the playoff only once, while the other seven — Alabama (7), Clemson (6), Ohio State (5), Oklahoma (4), Georgia (3), Notre Dame (2) and Michigan (2) — have each had multiple semifinal appearances.
Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said he doesn’t talk to the team specifically about the CFP — just surviving an SEC schedule that includes both Alabama and Georgia is difficult enough.
“The outside noise and expectations are greater,” Heupel said. “That’s great for our fan base. At the end of the day, our work habits are gonna dictate what we can accomplish next fall. The thing that I’ve loved this offseason so far is that our sense of accountability to ourselves and to this program has been heightened. We have tangible evidence of that. It’s a group that’s been extremely mature, and for those reasons, we do have great expectations next year.”
While the Vols are looking for their first top-four finish, three other programs can prove they aren’t one-hit wonders and return to a semifinal for the second time. Florida State hasn’t been to the CFP since its inaugural season in 2014. LSU won the SEC West last year but hasn’t finished in the top four since winning the national title in 2019.
And yes, Washington was in the playoff. Remember? 2016?
Below, we take a look at reasons for optimism and concern as preparations begin this spring for three teams trying to make the playoff for the first time — and three trying to make a comeback.
Tim Kavanagh is a senior NHL editor for ESPN. He’s a native of upstate New York.
The Los Angeles Kings have been one of the NHL’s hottest teams recently, earning at least one point in each of their past 12 games (going 10-0-2 in that stretch), putting themselves two points and one regulation win behind the Western Conference-leading Vegas Golden Knights heading into tonight’s game against the Calgary Flames (9 p.m. ET, NHL Power Play on ESPN+). How likely are they to eclipse the Knights and earn the West’s No. 1 seed?
After tonight’s matchup, they’ll face the Edmonton Oilers twice, and the Knights, Seattle Kraken and Colorado Avalanche twice. They’ll also twice play the Vancouver Canucks — who are on a recent heater of their own, despite their spot in the standings — and close out the season against the lowly Anaheim Ducks.
It’s a tough schedule, but the Knights also face a tough path; they have two games apiece against the Minnesota Wild and Kraken, along with the game against L.A. and a showdown with the Dallas Stars, along with contests against the San Jose Sharks and Nashville Predators.
Money Puck gives Vegas the edge here, with a 61.0% chance to win the Pacific, compared with 31.7% for the Kings.
As we enter the final stretch of the regular season, it’s time to check all the playoff races — along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2023 NHL draft lottery.
Note: All times Eastern. All games not on ESPN, TNT or NHL Network are available via NHL Power Play, which is included in an ESPN+ subscription (local blackout restrictions apply).
Points: 56 Regulation wins: 13 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 8 Points pace: 62 Next game: @ SEA (Thursday) Playoff chances: 0% Tragic number: E
Points: 53 Regulation wins: 14 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 9 Points pace: 60 Next game: vs. WPG (Tuesday) Playoff chances: 0% Tragic number: E
Y — Clinched division; X — Clinched playoff berth; E — Eliminated from playoff contention
Race for the No. 1 pick
The NHL uses a draft lottery to determine the order of the first round, so the team that finishes in last place is not guaranteed the No. 1 selection. As of 2021, a team might move up a maximum of 10 spots if it wins the lottery, so only 11 teams are eligible for the draw for the No. 1 pick. Full details on the process can be found here. Sitting No. 1 on the draft board for this summer is Connor Bedard, who has been lauded as a generational talent.
Mets pitcher Max Scherzer was second on the overall list at $59.3 million. Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, who signed a nine-year, $360 million deal in December to remain in New York, took the third spot at $44.5 million.
Mets pitcher Justin Verlander ($43.3 million) and Ohtani’s Angels teammate Mike Trout ($39.5 million) rounded out the top five of Forbes’ list.
Ohtani is expected to make at least $35 million from endorsements, according to Forbes, up from $6 million in 2021 and $20 million in 2022. The magazine’s endorsement revenue estimates showed a substantial gap between the Japanese star and his peers. Judge, the American League MVP in 2022, was next on the list — in line to make $4.5 million in endorsements. Trout, a three-time AL MVP, was third with $4 million in endorsements.
In total, the 10 highest-paid players are expected to collect record earnings of $436 million, up from last year’s $377 million, according to Forbes.
Ohtani, the 2021 AL MVP, will be a free agent after this season and is widely expected to land one of the most lucrative contracts in baseball history. He led Japan to victory in the World Baseball Classic last week after striking out Trout to clinch the title.
Ohtani was the runner-up to Judge in the MVP voting last year after finishing with 34 home runs and 95 RBIs while posting a 2.33 ERA in 28 starts with a 15-9 record. He will be the Angels’ Opening Day starter Thursday against the Athletics.
Information from Reuters and The Associated Press was used in this report.