JotCast | PHR Live Chat: 10/22/25

PHR Live Chat: 10/22/25

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Josh Erickson

1:55

Hi all, I'll start answering questions in five minutes!

2:00

Alright, let's get started!

Misa

2:00

Misa got his first NL point last night. Do you expect him to stay with SJ more than 9 games ?

Josh Erickson

2:03

I think the Sharks hope Michael Misa isn't putting up points in the Swiss National League anytime soon

. On a serious note, I wouldn't be overly confident in saying he'll stick with the club for the rest of the season. He's only played in three of six games. Even when San Jose was doing its load management/development plan thing with Will Smith last year, his usage wasn't this limited. Misa's also only barely topped 15 minutes in a game. It's also so difficult to justify sending him back to OHL Saginaw after a 62-goal, 134-point season. I'd call it 50/50 right now.

ljfranker

2:03

What's the latest on Samsonov is Hart is in Vegas now? Could Ottawa be a good fit with how Merilainen has played? Calgary? Why would they sign Hart with how good Schmid is playing?

Josh Erickson

2:05

There hasn't been anything tangible on Ilya Samsonov in months. I'm not sure what's up there. I agree, I imagine Ottawa and Calgary would be the best fits. With how well Devin Cooley has played in his start and relief appearance, though, I don't think the Flames are as eager to make a move as they were a few weeks ago. The Senators were unsatisfied enough with Merilainen to swap him with Søgaard, so I'd imagine there's more urgency there. On a related note, who had Linus Ullmark and Dustin Wolf being the two worst starters in the league three weeks in? Yeesh.

2:06

On VGK/Hart, both Hill and Schmid have been uninspiring. Neither has a positive GSAx or above-average save percentage so far this year. It makes sense that there's concern with how things have started. The good news, obviously, is they have absolutely no issue outscoring their problems so far.

Krak The Skye

2:06

Before the season, most expected Seattle to be big sellers at the deadline. Despite an insane number of injuries, they're currently in a playoff spot and already have a win over Vegas. So, what happens if they're still in it in a month or two? Do they try to add some middle-six scoring, or do they still look to sell some of those upcoming RFAs?

peanut-gallery

1

Josh Erickson

2:09

I wouldn't read much of anything into the Kraken's record. If you strip away the point total, the under-the-hood numbers really aren't that impressive. At 5v5, they're 28th in the league at controlling shot attempts, 30th in controlling scoring chances, and 31st in controlling high-danger chances. Their special teams, finishing, and goaltending have all been pedestrian. They're much closer to the team that's lost back-to-back games by three goals than the team that started the year 3-0-2.

2:11

All that is to say I don't think the plan has changed, nor should it. They still have excess they need to shed to make way for names like Berkly Catton and Jake O'Brien as they graduate. If they're already planning on letting at least a couple of Schwartz/Eberle/Marchment/Tolvanen walk, it makes no sense to keep them as own rentals unless there's a really dramatic change over the next month.

Ohtmann

2:11

Does a trade 1 for 1 of Othmann for either Chinakov or Reichel make sense for the teams involved ? The former still has waiver eligibility I believe while the last 2 don't.

Josh Erickson

2:13

You are correct, although Othmann is in his last season of waiver-exempt status. I'm sure that's something of a factor in why the Rangers are listening to offers on him. The simple truth is you're trading a non-established NHLer for an established one, and their ceilings/draft positions aren't all that different. I think the Rangers have to add value in either of those situations. I understand the market has been weak for Lukas Reichel (mid-round picks), but there's a reason the Blackhawks haven't accepted any of those offers yet.

MalkinsMustachio

2:15

Jarry for Grubauer and a second? Roll a 3 goalie rotation with Blommy, Mursy, and Arty?

Josh Erickson

2:18

If the Penguins were going to give Sergei Murashov NHL time this season, it would have happened on the opening night roster. He was excellent in the preseason. It's clear they're holding themselves back so as not to rush his development. In my opinion, it's the right move – even if he starts 50 games in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and posts a .940 SV% the rest of the way. Rushing goalies never works. He spent most of last season in the ECHL. Let him climb up the ladder step-by-step, and at least give him one year as WBS' starter before giving him any sort of extended NHL look.

I'm also not sure what universe the Kraken are attaching a pick to Grubauer to take Jarry's contract. Grubauer arguably has higher trade value with two years left on his deal, while Jarry has three. I understand Jarry has been strong out of the gate here, but there's gotta be a larger sample size before he gets meaningful trade value back.

Lee

2:20

A different kind of question; Gerard Gallant has had pretty good success coaching in the NHL but always for a short period. Now he is again out of the league but still coaching. Wondering what is the general underlying reason he remains outside of the NHL? Thanks for your weekly responses!

Josh Erickson

2:23

And thank you for the kind words! He's an interesting case study. The .576 career win percentage is intriguing. He's made the playoffs five times and made the Conference Finals twice. That's a resume most would/should be interested in. He's also demonstrated something of a history of not being able to get contending teams over the hump after a couple of years, and he's not exactly the type a rebuilder is looking for. That's probably your answer.

It is great to see the impact he's having on a Shanghai Dragons franchise that was pretty hapless under its previous name. What momentum they'll be taking back to China as they prepare to return home from St. Petersburg next year. They're 10-3-4 and are on track to make the KHL playoffs for the first time since their inaugural season as Kunlun Red Star back in 2016-17 (and they didn't even finish over .500 that year).

Monty

2:23

Blues need an elite top line that really shows up. Could Holloway-Thomas-Kyrou work? The second line would be Neighbours-Suter-Buchnevich. Joseph-Schenn-Snuggerud on the third line. The 4th line would use Walker-Sundqvist-Toropchenko. I don't see Bjugstad doing much for the team right now. I like the signing for a 3C role until they signed Suter and now he seems expendable in my opinion.

Josh Erickson

2:25

Promoting Holloway is a really interesting proposition right now. The back-end numbers are there (kinda). The boxcar is atrocious. One goal, no assists, a -5 in six games. Is he the kind of player you bump up to play alongside Thomas to help him get going, or do you argue that he should be doing more heavy lifting – especially in a contract year – and say he's not deserving of the promotion? I would lean toward the latter.

Dodgersin5

2:26

Will Ryan Leonard score 25 goals this year?

Josh Erickson

2:27

It's totally feasible. At the rate he's getting shots on goal so far, he'd need to end the year with a 7.5% finishing rate (and stay healthy). Neither of those seems like a significant obstacle. That's pretty impressive for only averaging 12:21 of ice time per game!

BluesClues

2:28

Carbo has 11 goals 15 points in 8 games with BBA in the Q. Do the Blues utilize him as a LW or RW based on depth?

Josh Erickson

2:30

Neighbours and Snuggerud can play both wings. I would imagine they try Carbonneau on both wings as well, but if he's drastically more impactful on the right than the left, they can shift Neighbours back over to his natural LW slot. But I would bank on RW for Justin Carbonneau.

TheBoot

2:31

Brazeau really showing up this season. Does he stay in a top-6 roll?

Josh Erickson

2:33

I mean, how can you justify taking him out of one right now?? Holy moly. I regret to inform everyone, however, that he will not finish the year with a 35.7 shooting percentage. Still, it's not as if any of the Penguins' bottom six forwards have played well enough so far to really challenge for his RW2 job. That may change when Rutger McGroarty is healthy, but Anthony Mantha is also an option to bounce down to third-line minutes (although he's been great as well).

Jaxteller

2:34

So how much longer until Alex Vlasic's deal gets the award for best value amongst D contracts (non ELC category)?

Josh Erickson

2:39

It's a good deal. But when there are similar, slightly more expensive ones out there for players with semi-similar usage (Kaiden Guhle in Montreal, for example), I'm not inclined to put Vlasic's deal in its own category. He's a good player, but I caution against falling into good-player-on-bad-team syndrome. I don't think he's even been close to being Chicago's best defenseman in the early going this year – that's been Wyatt Kaiser, far and away.

gmm8811

2:39

Wondering if NIL money is going to be a factor in college hockey? I haven't really heard of being used yet? How do you see it play out?

Josh Erickson

2:41

It was a gigantic factor in Gavin McKenna's commitment to Penn State. The package he received as part of that commitment was in the $700,000 range, I believe. His performance this season is going to be a huge litmus test for how high-end 17/18-year-old prospects making the jump weigh financial offerings vs. true best perceived place for development moving forward.

DStars

2:42

Are the wings for real or are they just on a hot steak right now?

Josh Erickson

2:46

They're not top-of-the-conference for real, but playoffs – potentially even a divisional berth – should be a legitimate expectation now, not just a hope. The leaf looks like it's been turned here under Todd McLellan. Yeah, they're on a bit of a hot streak with their finishing, and I doubt Cam Talbot keeps a .932 up for the year, but their possession play has made a huge heel turn from the past several years. It's kinda crazy what having competent defensive depth can do. I know the attention is on their top line, but the unsung hero is that Johansson/Bernard-Docker third pairing. Great possession numbers.

They definitely need more scoring chance generation from their middle six, though, if they want to make any real noise in the playoffs.

Avs

2:47

Could Jared Bednar be fired if the Avs continue downspiraling

Josh Erickson

2:48

I just want to make sure you're aware that the Avalanche have the best record in the league at 5-0-2, as well as a league-high +10 goal differential, and aren't stuck in the wrong reality.

TheBoot

2:49

Binner looked great last night with his glove. If the Blues can fix their inconsistency struggles before December and January, does he get Vezina consideration?

Josh Erickson

2:50

He's gotta put it together more consistently. Not saying Binnington's been a problem for the Blues thus far, but he hasn't been a driver of success, either. With a .894 SV% on the year and -0.2 GSAx, he's just kind of "back there." He's not at all in that conversation right now, and it's something of an uphill battle as he hasn't received a Vezina vote since 2019-20.

Medic Mike

2:51

Blackhawks have been close to winning every game so far. Is this false hope or can I actually get my hopes up?

Josh Erickson

2:53

Staying significantly above .500 is definitely false hope. Their possession numbers aren't league-worst, but they're still in the bottom 10. The good news is that Spencer Knight has been the single biggest contributor to their early-season success by a rather wide margin. This time last year, goaltending was the only real question mark in Chicago's rebuild (aside from first-line help for Bedard). I'd argue he's the hottest goalie in the Western Conference right now.

Bruins

2:53

With this 5 game losing streak what is going wrong?

Josh Erickson

2:55

The Bruins have gotten what they wanted to get out of hiring Marco Sturm. They're a much more wide-open team. Unfortunately, that's at the expense of keeping their heads above water defensively. The average team is allowing seven high-danger chances per game at 5-on-5 on this season. The Bruins are allowing 9.125. There's your answer.

Swayman has also cooled down a bit after his first couple of outings.

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