The first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs is in full swing, with Game 5s taking center stage Monday night.
While we’re all looking forward to the rest of the playoffs, we thought we’d take a look at 2022-23 with Hall of Famer Brett Hull taking stock.
Hal sat with our partners in Betway from the inside to review the season.
Two teams featured Hull as the season ended.
“Seattle Kraken.” They didn’t make the playoffs their first year, but what they did to create the chemistry they had in their second year, with a number of expansion players and some recruiting picks, was impressive,” Hull said.
He added, “And demons, too.” “I don’t think anyone thinks they can do what they do. To have a head start, after a few games they were screaming to fire their coach, and then they had a 13-game winning streak.”
The Krakens take on the Colorado Avalanche, the defending Stanley Cup champions in the first round, the Devils take on their cross-river rivals, the New York Rangers.
The Kraken were competitive in their first year in the league, in 2021-22, but failed to make the post-season tournament.
“They did an amazing job,” Hull said of Seattle. “When you see what it takes to do that, you really have to tip your hat to the scouting staff so you can go outside and understand what kind of players these are. Some of them were regulars in the franchises they were with, but Seattle would have known if they had a chance, a little more playing time.” , playing with some of the best players, and what kind of players they are going to become.
“They’ve obviously made some great choices, like Vegas did a few years ago. To do that, find a good coach to bring them together and be patient, it’s an amazing feat.”
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Hull was asked what he thought of individual players in the NHL, and which one stood out the most.
“(Jason) Robertson on the Dallas Stars is having a year,” Hull said. “You can’t say enough about these two guys in Edmonton, (Leon) Drystell and (Connor) McDavid. It’s scary if they surround them with a bit more talent and some goalkeeping. Edmonton can return to its glory days with Gretzky, Messier and Grant Four.
“(David) Pasternak and the Boston Bruins are having a crazy year. And Thompson’s crown is in Buffalo. I think this is his fifth year after being traded from the St. Louis Blues, but you can tell what he’s doing now and his potential. The Buffalo Sabers are a team to be reckoned with for the future near”
It’s hard to review the season and not discuss the exploits of Alex Ovechkin and his chase for the scoring title.
“It’s really incredible,” Hull said. “You look at other sports and usually the consistency is when a guy scores 20 or 25 goals for six or seven seasons. Well, this guy’s been scoring 50 goals for 18 years. It’s unbelievable. He’s a marvel to watch. He never changes the way he plays.” It’s a monster out there.
“Nobody can shoot harder. But you still can’t stop him after all these years. He’s a natural freak and I really enjoyed watching him.”
The obvious question to betway The question is whether or not Hull believe Ovechkin can chase the goalscoring record.
“It’s unbelievable because I scored 741 myself and I don’t think I could have scored another. I thought that was as close as anyone could get to Gordie Howe with 801 and Wayne with 894,” Hull added. In all seriousness, 80 goals for him is two seasons, and he doesn’t have much life left in him. So, unless something happens, he seems unstoppable to take Wayne’s goal-scoring record, although that would be Wayne’s only record to be broken over the course of time. Absolutely because all the others are crazy.
The Dallas Stars are currently in their first round series with the Minnesota Wild, and Hull was asked about his thoughts on the Dallas roster.
Hull replied, “They are a strong team.” “They’ve had some injuries too, but they’ve got a great goal, they’ve got great players and they’ll be there until the end of the playoffs.”
Hull was also asked about the Detroit Red Wings, their troubles this season, and expectations going forward.
“They’re coming,” Hull said of the list.
“When you have to rebuild, it’s a tedious process and drafting is very important,” Hull added. “If you miss some draft picks, it might set you back a few years. They seem like they’ve been picked well, so it takes time for these guys to mature and then fill the roster around them. You can get good really fast. So, they’re on their way, I can see that.”
It’s no secret, Canadian teams have been without a Stanley Cup for years. Therefore, Hull was asked about his thoughts on the issues facing Canadian hockey franchises.
“Playing for a Canadian team is a double-edged sword. Hull started out as hockey’s bed of life, it’s the national sport, it’s everything there except the Blue Jays and Raptors.” Playing there is amazing, and you’ve almost become a household name. look at me [Auston] Matthews f [Mitch] Marner in Toronto and [Leon] Draisaitl f [Connor] McDavid in Edmonton. They’re all household names and have become very popular, but there’s also a lot of pressure on you to win for those Canadian teams.
“Looking at it from a team point of view, with the economy and the taxes and the weather, it’s hard to get super free agents to come and play for your team because of where they are. It’s great being part of a Canadian franchise, but there are also a lot of great teams in the US and many States that don’t charge state taxes. So that’s part of the problem, and that’s probably one of the reasons why there’s such a drought.”
Hull was asked what Canadian franchisees should do to make themselves more competitive with their competitors in the United States.
“They have to somehow be able to make it more financially convenient for the players to play there,” Hull said. “The cities, the people are great. Being part of a Canadian team, you are treated like gold. But I think it’s hard to attract free agents and it’s hard to keep people on multi-year contracts because they just want to play in their contracts and leave. This is the biggest problem.”
To close the sitout, Hull was asked about his prediction of the next Stanley Cup champion.
“It looks like it’s going to be very difficult to beat Boston in the East,” Hull said. “I think it’s anyone’s game out of the West. I’m going to count on Dallas to get to the Finals, and we’re going to play Boston-Dallas.”