NHL superstar roundtable: Changing playoffs, next expansion teams and cheat meals

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The NHL All-Star Game brought together 44 of hockey’s greatest players, offering an ideal chance to gather their opinions on a variety of topics on and off the ice.

Here are 13 All-Stars on whether they’d change NHL rules or the Stanley Cup Playoff format; where they’d add the next expansion franchise; their favorite non-hockey athlete, cheat meals and other points of interest.

But first, we asked them to give some love to their own teammates.

Player on your own team who is underrated/underappreciated?

Josh Morrissey, Winnipeg Jets: I would say [Connor Hellebuyck], actually. I know he’s here [as an All Star] and has that recognition. But we’re not in the place we are without him every night. Especially as a defenseman, I appreciate how good he is and what he does for our team.

Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo Sabres: I would say Casey Mittelstadt is never getting any credit. He’s always doing the right things out there.

Mitch Marner, Toronto Maple Leafs: I don’t know if it’s underrated, but obviously 88 [William Nylander], just what he’s done this year has been awesome to be a part of. He’s made our team very successful. I don’t know if it’s undercover or anything, but Willy’s obviously done some great things for us.

Johnny Gaudreau, Columbus Blue Jackets: You’ve got Nick Blankenburg, Kent Johnson, Yegor Chinakhov; there’s Kirill Marchenko. I think they have the opportunity and the ability to be at [All-Star] weekends like this.

Should the NHL expand the playoff field?

Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche: I think keep it at 16 teams. You have to make it really hard to make it. I think 16 is a good number. Eight and eight.

Brock Nelson, New York Islanders: I like it the way it is. I don’t know how much more expanding it would bring to it, but I’m open-minded.

Andrei Svechnikov, Carolina Hurricanes: I think 16 is good. You gotta deserve the spot in the playoffs. That’s the reality.

Troy Terry, Anaheim Ducks: I think more, as a sports fan in general, watching the NBA format with the play-in game, it would be fun to watch [that way]. It does bring an extra round of excitement. It’s not a full seven-game series, but I think when they play one game in that elimination [format] in that little play-in game, I think it’s exciting.

Chandler Stephenson, Vegas Golden Knights: I think 16 is good. You’re pretty beat up and exhausted at the end of it. It’s a good sweet spot that they found.

Morrissey: That’s an interesting proposition. There’s an argument around how deep our league is now and all the parity. If you look at the teams just outside of the playoffs, there’s some teams that, if they got in, could challenge. You see that every year. It could be an option, for sure. But I think that’s out of my jurisdiction.

If the NHL expands again, what city deserves a team?

Nazem Kadri, Calgary Flames: Anywhere in Canada, really. Quebec is always intriguing to a lot of people, but I’d like to see it in a bigger town too, maybe like Houston. Expand the game and market the game in a big state.

Stephenson: That’s a tough one. I haven’t done a whole lot of traveling. I guess somewhere tropical. Just being [in South Florida], obviously a hockey team is here with this weather. And in Vegas, one of the things you love about it is the weather and how nice it is.

Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings: I’d love to see an NHL game in Mexico City, whether it’s a Global Series or whatever.

Terry: I went to Quebec City when I was a peewee. That was always a city I found really cool. I think there’s even a new rink there now. But regardless, just the city and the history and everything I found really cool.

Seth Jones, Chicago Blackhawks: I’ll stick with America. … Shoot, I don’t know. Somewhere warm weather I’d imagine. [Reporter: “Honolulu?”] Hawai’i? The travel would be insane. I was trying to make it more realistic.

Morrissey: It would be nice to see more teams in Canada. Quebec City has been wanting one for a while. I’ve heard Houston tossed around. When I played in the minors, Austin was a great city that’s growing like crazy too.

Nelson: I’d say Houston. I’m a big fan of Dallas, so let’s go with Houston.

Gaudreau: I got to play in Quebec at the [2016] World Cup of Hockey for an exhibition game. They had awesome fans, it was a great city to play in. So I think that’d be pretty cool.

Svechnikov: Good question. Anywhere in the United States. It’s a hard one, to be honest, because I only go where we’re playing against other teams.

Commissioner for a day: What rule do you change?

Marner: I think all the rules make a lot of sense. But if you wanted it to be a bit crazy, you could definitely do no offside and have it kind of free-flowing and people cheating a little more for offense and maybe get the games a little more offensive.

Jones: I would change the shootout. Extend the overtime. Make overtime 10 minutes, keep it 3-on-3. I think you’d see a lot of games end.

Nelson: I actually think extending overtime would be pretty cool.

Who’s a non-hockey athlete you love?

Kadri: LeBron [James] is up there. You talk about longevity, the guy is [almost] 40 years old and still putting up amazing numbers. As an athlete, I know how hard that is and I respect it. I just try to watch him as much as I can because he’s a living legend. The game is going to miss him when he’s gone.

Morrisey: I love watching Tiger Woods. In recent years, Rory McIlroy too. Steph Curry, I’m a big fan of his. I love sports in general, so you could probably go to any sport and I could have a favorite guy.

Dahlin: I like soccer. I like the World Cup. I like to see all the best guys. [Kylian Mbappé] is up there. He’s a lot of fun to watch. I don’t know if this guy is going to keep playing but [Zlatan Ibrahimovic], he’s top of my list.

Gaudreau: I like to watch the Eagles, I like to watch Jalen Hurts. Love to watch Joel Embiid and the Sixers. And then golfers. I got to play with Corey Conners [at an event] and it was just crazy to see how good he was.

Stephenson: I’d say either [Michael Jordan] or Tiger. I like golf. And ever since that “Last Dance” documentary came out on MJ, it was pretty spectacular what he did. Just kind of the dynasty that they had in Chicago.

Kevin Fiala, Los Angeles Kings: Roger Federer was always my idol. He’s not active anymore, but he’s always been the big icon for me.

Nelson: Probably Rafael Nadal. I’m big tennis guy. How hard he works. How hard he grinds. He goes out there and he competes and he never gives up on anything. It looks like he’s having a good time. Might have been the logo, too — big fan of the headband. As a lefty, he has a different style. Federer is an all-timer too, but I pull for Nadal.

Morrissey: Big golf fan, even though we don’t get the chance too often during the season in Winnipeg to hit the links and keep our game sharp. Loved Tiger over the years. Love Rory McIlroy. In the NBA, I’m a big Steph Curry fan. Those are the guys, I think.

What’s your go-to cheat meal?

Marner: This body can eat a lot of cheat meals, to be honest with you. It burns a lot of calories. I can eat a lot. So the go-to cheat meal is always a burger for me, [from] Five Guys or Burger Priest. A nice bacon cheeseburger always fills my spot.

Nelson: Chick-fil-A. Spicy chicken and some fries. Can’t pass up the waffle fries.

Fiala: There’s a lot I like in L.A. So many good Mexican restaurants. But I like In-n-Out, you know? I like to get it after games sometimes. Just a standard Double-Double [burger].

Morrissey: Well, you know it’s all about trying to get pucks in deep. But there are definitely times you can enjoy a cheat meal. [Laughs] I think the usual stuff. Some pizza. I also have a little bit of a sweet tooth, so I try to stay away from that before it gets the better of me. Not so much a candy guy as pastries and things like that.