NHL Season 2022-23 Preview Interview With Al Morganti| OnlineCasino.ca

Morganti tells us:

1. Tampa Bay has beaten the odds to get to three straight Stanley Cup Finals (winning two), but I can’t believe they will be there at the end this year.

2. Colorado is still the favorite, but the West is going to be wild once again and the price on the Avalanche is lopsided.

3. MVP Austin Matthews could well be the greatest US player ever — but if Toronto Maple Leafs don’t win this year, then they risk their star man quitting for a team who don’t choke.

4. Anaheim’s crop of talented youngsters could be the surprise team in the league this campaign, but don’t sleep on Vegas, who missed out on playoffs last season.

5. Florida’s trade could see Panthers once again dominant in the regular season. But can the Panthers get past Tampa to become kings of Florida, and the Eastern Conference?

Who is Al Morganti?

Morganti has been a stalwart of the NHL media scene for decades and has been honoured for his lifetime of service as one of the newest members of the Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2022.

Morganti has covered hockey for the Boston Globe, the Atlanta Constitution, and ESPN, and is currently part of the NBC Sports Philadelphia broadcasts, as well as a morning show host on WIP radio in Philadelphia.

But his expertise does not end on the ice: Morganti has also covered the Olympic Games, Wimbledon, and America’s Cup.

We caught up with Morganti for an exclusive 2022-23 NFL season preview.

You were recently elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame. Was this something you ever expected?

No, I never expected it. I guess when you get older, they give you stuff is the way I look at it. It is nice, because you get recognized by the people that you work with, so that was really cool. I get to see a lot of people that I met throughout the years. I know a lot of people that have been in, so I am really happy to join that group.

The NHL is designed to have different teams come through and do well. What can you say about what this Tampa Bay team has done in the salary cap era, with three straight conference titles and two Stanley Cups?

I don’t know how they can continue to do it. It is amazing in the salary cap age that they have managed to do it. I mean, goaltending, Stamkos, the team leaders continue to push, and you have to give the coach, Jon Cooper, a lot of credit for just getting them onboard all the time. They have done it through a pandemic and coming out of it.

I suspect that they will be one of the contenders at the end, but for the life of me, I can’t believe they will be able to do this again and get through the really tough waters in the East.

The Colorado Avalanche exited the playoffs early as a high seed in the two prior years, then finally broke through to win the Stanley Cup last season. Do you see them being able to sustain this run for a couple years?

It will be sustainable in terms of, they have a chance. The Stanley Cup is so difficult to win. We just mentioned Tampa to go back-to-back, and I know they lost a player, the goaltending switched up a lot, and you lose Nazem Kadri, but they signed their best people. They got Nathan McKinnon at a huge number, but it kept things in place.

I have to think they will come in as the odds-on favorite to win this thing again. But boy, having watched so many teams try to repeat, and with everything that has gone on out West, and who is getting better, I don’t know if I would think they are a lopsided favorite. But I certainly think they are the favorite.

Does the toll taken by all the extra playoff games in a long run make it hard to repeat?

You can see the wear and tear, and there are also international competitions when you are dealing with hockey, and your better players are also always involved in those. But I think more than that, I just think it is fortune: just the good fortune that you have to have in terms of being healthy at the right time. It is a game of attrition in terms of injury, so you need to be healthy at the right time.

That is why Tampa, you look at some of the long-term injuries they have had, but then have gotten them back for playoff runs, that has been a key to their success. The drive it takes, to go through an entire season, and then a really, really, long playoff trail to do it. When people talk about dynasties in the past, whether it is the Canadiens, Yankees or Celtics, I don’t even compare that to now. You had to go through one or two series, compared to four now, to get to a cup. That is what is most amazing. There is no way you could have those runs, even without free agency, with the number of playoff games you have to get through now. Even baseball, adding a wild card, it just adds so much to it.

When you look at the Eastern Conference, does it look pretty even across the board right now?

It is. I don’t think you are going to have what you had last year. A lot of the point totals were gathered because the bottom teams were just awful from the beginning of the year. I think that will be a difference in the East.

Florida, it was going to catch up to them, to have to come back as much as they did. They scored a lot of goals, but that recipe doesn’t tend to work in the playoffs. I know they were a high-powered offense, and they could always get back into a game, but it is so much more difficult when you have a playoff series against a team night after night. It is way different winning a couple games against a team in the regular season and a series, when they can adjust. I think the trade that they made (for Matthew Tkachuk), they knew they had to change their chemistry a little bit in terms of postseason. If you look at it, it is amazing that they changed the coach, and now to go get a guy like Tkachuk, who is not going to have the same numbers probably, but is certainly going to have the grit to get through any playoff series.

Toronto has been so good in the regular season, but we know how they always do in the playoffs. At some point, will they break through and make a run? Could it be this year?

It could have been last year, or the year before. It is an alarming thing to watch, to see the level of talent that they have, and see what they do in the playoffs. It is just such a long time now. They do have talent, and they seem to have leadership abilities to a certain level. They have run up against some good teams, and they manage to score goals, but I wouldn’t even bet Canadian money on them. Just because of everything that has built up there.

There are certain teams: until the Boston Red Sox broke through that curse or whatever it was. You don’t want to believe those things. But I will tell you, in that media market that Toronto is, the fan reactions, the weight that goes on your shoulders as a Leafs player in that regular season into the playoffs is tremendous. But whoever is that coach that manages to get through it, you become legendary. I think they are going to be one of those teams near the top, and in any series, it is going to be tough to beat them. But it is one of those things, until they push through it — even if they are ahead 3-0 in a series — you are always thinking something is going to happen to them. To me, you have to win, because you have the whole Austin Matthews thing coming up. Is he going to want to stay there if it looks like it is never ever going to happen in Toronto?

Is Matthews going to be near the top of the awards again this season?

Yes, he will be there. Ultimately, he might be turning into the greatest American player ever. But we will see. He will certainly be one. His ability to do everything is just incredible when you watch them play. To come in and have those expectations on you does not seem to have bothered him. He is going to be one of the top three players in the league for the next decade to come. When you compare him to McDavid, to Makar on defense, he will be in that discussion for a long time to come, save injury. It is not the individual that is the problem there: it is coming to grips with everything that goes with being a Maple Leaf going into the playoffs.

You are around the Flyers a lot. Do you see them having a chance to improve this season?

The Flyers have some struggles coming in. They got John Tortorella as a coach, so you are hoping he brings out some more competitiveness, and more physical play. But they are already doomed again with injuries. Sean Couturier is their number one centerman, and is maybe gone for the year with a back problem after back surgery this summer. Ellis is going to start the season on long-term injury, and he might need surgery. The gods haven’t been good in terms of injuries for the Flyers.

What are your thoughts on the Metropolitan Division?

When you look at the division, I actually think, while they might not be the favorites, they might be the best value for who might be the last team standing, the Rangers could be the best team. They made great strides despite the fact that they did not have the best analytics numbers early on. But hockey defies that with a goaltender, and their goaltender, Igor Shesterkin, is terrific.

The fact that they could lose Henrik Lundqvist, one of the great goaltenders of his generation, but come up with not one but two goaltenders – Georgiev, who they traded to Colorado and Shesterkin – to have a defenseman like Fox who wanted to play there, and to have some of the young players that came through, along with some of the physical players that came in, I really, really, like the Rangers.

They blew their chance last year (Eastern Conference Finals) when they had the lead and couldn’t clamp down, but I think they gained tremendous experience through that, and their young players especially gained experience through that. Their goaltending is among the best in the league.

So, while you want to say there are a handful of favorites, if you look at that next level, and you had to surmise that non-lock type of team, I would say it is the Rangers.

How impressed have you been with some of the markets where the NHL has thrived?

I am surprised by Tampa, where it is not just that you have to win, though they are winning. But once Gretzky went to LA, it changed everything. We talk about Austin Matthews, he is a kid from Arizona. I see so many players now from California. Compared to other sports, it is an expensive sport to play. But once a family is involved, they become fans for life. That is why those programs the teams have for kids are so important. You have Dallas, which has programs for kids. But Dallas won a cup, and you have to have success. Carolina is another one.

When you look at it, because the game is so good live, once they come out you have your hook in, so to speak. So I am not surprised at that. I am surprised at Vegas. And they had to be good right off the bat: I wasn’t so convinced that was going to work. But I am not surprised that a team in Florida draws when they win. Carolina, those fans seem to have so much fun at those games. I give Gary Bettman a lot of credit for really increasing the footprint of this game.

Looking out to the Western Conference, is there a team that might step up this year after missing the playoffs?

It will be Vegas. Jack Eichel can have a season, after he moved there and had the surgery. They have muddled up their goaltending. George McPhee has done a tremendous job for all the success so early, but boy, do they move people in and out. I just think it was hard last year to get chemistry. But that team will be the one everyone will point toward.

I love Anaheim’s young energy. Trevor Zegras, the kids that they have, they could be a team that causes people problems. They are not mature enough at this point, but my lord, they have got some talent, and they can just get wheeling on you. I think you have to pay some attention to them.

Which teams are leading the way in the Western Conference besides Colorado?

It is tough out there. St. Louis is a solid team, and Chicago is going to be at the other end. Where is Patrick Kane going to end up at the end of the year? So there is all kinds of movement that could take place out there, and you are all chasing Colorado.

I don’t know if there is going to be a real surprise. But people could be surprised that Calgary could be better than they were last year, despite a couple of guys moving on. I really like the moves they made. The deals they made to bring in players were very good. Jonathan

Huberdeau can score some goals. MacKenzie Weeger I have always thought is an underrated defender, and a really terrific defenseman. I think they made some really great moves out there, because they were forced to. Some people will say they moved sideways a little bit, but there is going to be a determination there. But boy, when you have to try to knock off the kings in Colorado, it is going to be tough.

How tough is it going to be just getting out of the Western Conference?

Just ask Colorado what it takes to get through there. I thought St. Louis outplayed them one game, but it is tough for them to match up. They are a heavy team, and they are going to play a heavy game. But I wouldn’t be surprised if the Blues get reborn. They have a very good coach, Craig Berube. I think he will have them going.

It is so hard to judge early in hockey. You have moves that are made at the trade deadline and everything that goes on earlier. But coming in, you are absolutely right, the fight is going to take place, it is such a tangled web of very good teams. That is why it is so hard when you try to put odds on anything. It is almost impossible. It is such a bizarre sport to begin with in terms of putting any kind of odds on a game, nevermind a season, when you look at the weight that goes to a goaltender. Which goaltender is going to completely exceed expectations, and have you saying “Where did that come from? How did that happen?”

Which team is going to be the team that is going to shock everyone? I think Anaheim has a slight chance. But when you are just loaded in terms of talent at the top of the divisions, that is a hard, hard, mountain to climb out West.

How hard is it to win just one playoff series each year, let alone four to win a Stanley Cup?

All you have to do is ask the Leafs. They have had terrific teams and have not been able to punch through. You look at one of the great stories of a generation, the New York Rangers winning a Stanley Cup. Well, they were one game away from not getting through the Devils. It is what can happen in a playoff series: the bad call that goes against you, an injury that happens. That is why in this sport, when you go in, you want to be loaded up with defenseman – seven, eight, nine deep, just in case something happens.

And it has come to the point where you wonder now you have to have two good goaltenders, with the way the schedules go right now. You have to have guys willing to buy into the defensive end. That is why I mentioned that with Florida: you have to have guys that buy into the defense that will win a playoff series. If you look at Tampa, you look at all the big names they had, and you realize all the big names they had, a lot of times it is the third liner, it is those other guys – the depth guys – that played a big role in the end.

Part of that is the leadership in the team includes them in everything during the season. You can’t have a team that just has the stars – the top two line guys and the top defensemen – are sort of separate. You have to have everybody included in it to manage to go through. That is why the coaching job they did in Tampa was so terrific. And you have to have a general manager, and front office, that knows how to deal with the cap to get those people in.

Which teams would be your early picks to come out of the conferences right now and possibly win a Stanley Cup?

I will stick with the Rangers. I know it will not be the popular pick anywhere, but I was thoroughly impressed with what they did last year, and I don’t think they are satisfied at all. And I think that their goaltending is better than some people think to be able to get through it. So I like the Rangers there.

I do like Colorado, because it took them so long to get to the top, because they went through so much. In addition to winning it last year, I think a lot of what they went through previously in not being able to get through the first two rounds, that lesson will stay with them. Their topend guys, save Kadri, were able to stay there. I am a New England guy, and to see a defenseman that I have not seen in a long time like Cole Makar to come in and play like that, I wouldn’t be surprised if that is the Stanley Cup pairing.

But god, in this sport, to try to predict anything this far in advance, I have to say good luck to you.