Morning Skate - Wednesday, August 25

Morning Skate - Final Foretelling & Mascot Trivia

August 25, 2021

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ON TAP: Thursday 4:00 PM MDT: USA vs Canada - IIHF Women's World Championships; NHL Network, TSN, RDS

Days until start of 2021-22 NHL Season: 48 days

Monday's Moon Shot

DEVASTATING NEWS: The hockey world is mourning the sudden loss of former NHL player Jimmy Hayes, who passed away unexpectedly at his home Monday morning. Hayes leaves behind his wife, two very young children, and countless family and friends — including his brother Kevin, who currently plays for the Flyers. Rest in peace, Jimmy.

GAME ON: The NHL announced its preseason schedule, which will run from Sep. 25-Oct. 9. The Kraken will play their first-ever NHL game on Sep. 25 vs. the Canucks.

Tuesday's Toe Drags

NORTH AMERICAN DOMINANCE: Canada stayed perfect at 3-0 after crushing Switzerland on Tuesday, outshooting the Swiss 63-12 in the process. Meanwhile, the United States not only remained unbeaten but has yet to allow a goal all tournament after a 6-0 win over ROC. Hilary Knight scored her 45th World Championship goal, making her the all-time scoring leader.

Trivia Tuesday

Do you know your NHL mascots?

  1. Who is the only NHL team to never have a mascot?

    1. Boston Bruins

    2. Toronto Maple Leafs

    3. New York Rangers

    4. Winnipeg Jets

  2. Which NHL franchise has two mascots?

    1. Florida Panthers

    2. Columbus Blue Jackets

    3. Tampa Bay Lightning

    4. Calgary Flames

  3. Which NHL mascot was originally a mascot for a baseball team and became the first league-switching mascot in major league sports history?

    1. Louie

    2. Youppi!

    3. Carlton the Bear

    4. Nordy

Answers can be found at the bottom of the email.

Cup or Crash: Predicting Your Favorite Team’s Season

Although there are certainly questions left to answer and loose ends to tie up, most of the roster-building is done for the NHL’s 32 front offices in preparation for the 2021-22 season, which is somehow just a month away. To get you set, we’ll be taking a quick look at where each team stands and what the chances are that this might be their season. Rather than commit to predicting how good each team will be, we figured we might as well look at both possible paths: good and bad.

As this is our last round, we hope you've had as much fun reading along as we had writing them. Just as every franchise deserves some semblance of hope at the dawn of a new season, every team just as equally deserves to be knocked down a peg or two!

Vancouver Canucks

Why Your Team Will SucceedThings can't possibly be any worse for Vancouver than they were last season, so there is that. And while the blockbuster trade for Conor Garland and Oliver Ekman-Larsson has its critics, both men should help improve the Canucks on the ice this season.

Why Your Team Will FlopCOVID or not, we can't just gloss over the fact that Vancouver finished dead last — yes, behind the Ottawa Senators — in the Scotia North Division, arguably the weakest of the four temporary 2020-21 divisions.

Vegas Golden Knights

Why Your Team Will SucceedVegas made some tweaks over the off-season and lost Marc-André Fleury, but they still return a loaded veteran roster to contend for the Cup.

Why Your Team Will FlopThat whole "loaded veteran roster" thing sounds impressive, but it hasn't prevented the Golden Knights from a string of playoff disappointments. And while shedding Fleury might have been the right move cap-wise, losing the reigning Vezina winner for a minor leaguer can't be anything other than a step backward on the ice.

Washington Capitals

Why Your Team Will SucceedThe 2018 Stanley Cup feels like forever ago, but Washington somehow still employs the top-eight scoring leaders from that team.

Why Your Team Will FlopIn case you've been comatose since 2018, let me catch you up on the Caps' playoff performance since then: first-round loss, first-round loss, first-round loss. Wasn't the Cup win supposed to prove these weren't the Capitals of old??

Winnipeg Jets

Why Your Team Will SucceedThe story of the last few years in the 'Peg has been a thin blue line that can't protect goaltender Connor Hellebuyck or balance out the club's potent offense. That appears to have been addressed this summer with the additions of Nate Schmidt and Brenden Dillon, coupled with not losing Dylan DeMelo in the expansion draft.

Why Your Team Will FlopAnother team left red in the face during the surprising Cup run by the Montreal Canadiens, the Jets are going to need plenty more than Schmidt and Dillon to show fans they're ready to seriously contend.

Trivia Answer

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