Welcome to the first midweek Gulo Gulo roundup! Some weeks we will occupy this slot with non-hockey news, but as the NHL and NCAA regular seasons descend like peregrine (but not Bowling Green) falcons upon us, we will use it as an opportunity to whip around the landscape of the hockey world.
Wolverines-Lakers
We begin in Ann Arbor (of course), where the Wolverines are at the time of this writing just over 24 hours out from their regular season opener against Lake Superior State. The Children of Yost were in mid-season form for an exhibition showcase with Bowling Green last weekend, so expect an even more raucous environment for the opening of the games that count. Here are three stories to watch when the Lakers and Wolverines get together for a back-to-back set on Friday and Saturday:
Can it possibly look as easy as it did against Bowling Green last weekend?
As discussed in last weekend’s newsletter, the Wolverines skated circles around Bowling Green for a 7-1 victory, in which their only serious challenge came in overcoming their own desire to stickhandle incessantly at the offensive blue line. The Wolverines were not sharp (or at least not as sharp as they will need to be to accomplish their goals for the season), but they were overwhelming.
From the jump last Saturday, the Wolverines played a fast and straight ahead game to which the Falcons lacked a response. From the perspective of pace, I suspect this is more or less what Coach Pearson expects of his group every weekend, and they will likely turn to the same formula against Lake Superior State.
With that said, whether it is this weekend, next, or somewhere else down the line, the ease with which the Wolverines boat raced Bowling Green will dissipate eventually. We’ll find out this weekend if the Lakers can provide Michigan with its first serious test of the new year.
Getting a clearer sense of secondary scoring
To that end, it was Michigan’s top two lines (those centered by Matty Beniers and Thomas Bordeleau), along with the power play, who shouldered the offensive load against Bowling Green. Given the star caliber at the top end of Michigan’s lineup, the obvious begging question is: what can the depth players due to fill in the small gaps left behind. Michigan won’t need to ask too much of the bottom half of its roster, but as the season progresses, we here at Gulo Gulo are keen to learn more about which role players will emerge as essential to the Wolverine effort.
One Wolverine, outside the obvious ones, who caught my eye last weekend was forward Mark Estapa, who has quite a history of Kent Johnson-esque dangling.
Portillo watch
Again in the category of “Natural Follow Up Questions Upon Learning About Michigan’s Ridiculous Top End Talent),” we at Gulo Gulo want to keep our eyes on Erik Portillo this weekend. Will the sophomore Swede play both nights? If so, how will he hold up against that work load?
As we suggested in our season preview, Portillo is most likely to receive blame should the Wolverine season end in disappointment. It might be earned; it might be a scapegoating. Either way, his play intrigues. He was hardly tested in around fifty minutes of shutout hockey last weekend. We will see how that trend continues tomorrow night.
Hughes (and Pettersson)
Vancouver Canucks’ GM Jim Benning finally crossed off the two essential items on his offseason to-do list by resigning Wolverine alum Quinn Hughes and Michigan football enthusiast Elias Pettersson, both of whom had been Restricted Free Agents. Pettersson’s deal nets him $7.35 million a year for three more years, while Hughes will take home $7.85 million a season for six.
Both Hughes and Pettersson are highlight reel playmakers and appear to be pleasant away from the rink as well. Here’s to hoping they can get Jim Benning and his boneheaded UFA signings out of the picture ASAP, so they can begin competing for Stanley Cups.
Lehner
The most important hockey story of the week came out of Vegas, where goaltender Robin Lehner fired off a string of pointed tweets alleging widespread misconduct from NHL teams in their liberal dispensing of painkillers and sleeping pills. For a more detailed account of Lehner’s allegations, check out this from the incomparable Emily Kaplan of ESPN.
For the moment, let us leave it at the following: Robin Lehner spoke an uncomfortable truth in levying these allegations. For the moment, I see the more relevant problem not in identifying individual perpetrators but in acknowledging the structural problem.
Know that it is not a coincidence that Lehner’s critics had little ground to quibble with his accusations and instead complained about the manner in which they were offered. In other words, the powerful people threatened by his words wish he hadn’t chosen to offer them on the one platform he has to reach millions instantly.
Eichel
Lehner also discussed the predicament of former teammate Jack Eichel, whose dissatisfaction with the Buffalo Sabres along with those Sabres’ incompetence has been well documented. What Lehner forced into that conversation was another uncomfortable truth: the Sabres are not just playing hard ball to get the best possible return for their star forward; they are playing chicken with a person’s health and livelihood in a way that is genuinely sickening.
I love the way Steve Dangle describes it on Tuesday’s episode of his podcast beginning around the fifty-seven minute mark. In Steve’s words, “If it’s an ego play and you’re waiting for him to just get the surgery, then your leverage is his pain. The Sabres leverage over Jack Eichel is his suffering, and that’s wrong.”
Non-hockey Recommended Reading of the Week:
Meg Linehan’s extensive investigation into misconduct within the NWSL’s Washington Spirit for The Athletic. Certainly not a relaxing read for this week, but what that is a hugely important one for fans to dive into. I don’t want to editorialize too much here, because Linehan’s framing is impeccable, but, in brief, former North Carolina Courage coach Paul Riley has been credibly accused of widely inappropriate and abusive patterns of behavior toward his players. It should go without saying, but the incredible athletes in the NWSL deserve far better than this.