Konecny thriving as 'catalyst,' GMs to watch, and 5 other NHL items

Takes, Thoughts, and Trends is theScore's biweekly hockey grab bag.

When Travis Konecny heard back in June 2022 that John Tortorella was the new head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers, he reacted like anyone who didn't know the man but had seen his tense press conferences might.

"I was like, 'Here we go, this is gonna be a long couple of years,'" Konecny recalled in an interview earlier this month at All-Star Weekend in Toronto.

"But it couldn't be further from the truth," the forward quickly added. "First of all, if you're one of Torts' guys, he protects you. Because he loves his players. The other thing I found out early on is that as long as you're following the structure he teaches and demands that he has, he lets you play your game and he leaves you alone. As long as you're working hard, he's happy."

Almost two years into Tortorella's tenure, Konecny is definitely in the coach's good graces. The Flyers earlier this week named Sean Couturier team captain and Scott Laughton and Konecny his alternates. Konecny's in the middle of his finest season yet: he leads Flyers skaters in goals (26) and points (51) through 55 games, and paces the forward group in average ice time (19:49).

Mitchell Leff / Getty Images

The 29-19-7 Flyers are one of the top rush teams in the league, and no Flyer rushes the puck as often or effectively as Konecny. The 5-11 winger's 1.26 scoring chances off the rush per game ranks sixth in the NHL, according to Sportlogiq.

"He's really grown into the player he is over these last two years. I think he's really taken a big step forward," Couturier said of his "little brother."

A fearless competitor, Konecny's evolved into the rare player who can record a Gordie Howe hat trick (goal, assist, fight) and receive minimal fanfare, like he recently did against the Jets. It's basically expected. That's TK being TK, as his teammates and coaches say. He's always in the mix.

"The intensity he plays with - he's such a catalyst for us," center Morgan Frost said. "You don't always see your top goal-scorer getting into scrums after every other whistle, or chirping a lot. But he does and it makes an impact."

Jaylynn Nash / Getty Images

"He's by-example," Tortorella said of Konecny's leadership qualities. "He's got an engine on him that doesn't stop. He's made big plays at key times. He does everything for us. He's a penalty killer for us, now power-play (minutes). I'd hate to think where we'd be if we didn't have his energy in our lineup."

Philly may be missing a superstar (perhaps Russian Matvei Michkov, drafted seventh overall in 2023, is the long-term answer), but it seems like the club's ticked off several other boxes in the search for a fully formed nucleus. This season's been a real eye-opener.

Couturier: elite two-way center. Owen Tippett: game-breaking sniper. Frost and Joel Farabee: playmakers. Travis Sanheim, Jamie Drysdale, and Cam York: building-block defensemen. Samuel Ersson: (potential) starting goalie.

And, of course, Konecny: goal-scoring catalyst, rush-chance catalyst, energy catalyst. You can probably add "Torts catalyst" to the list.

3 GMs who'll shape trade market

All eyes are on Craig Conroy as March 8's trade deadline approaches.

Calgary's general manager could move three major pieces: starting goalie Jacob Markstrom, plus top-four blue-liners Noah Hanifin and Chris Tanev. This Flames' crossroads period has been well-documented.

As for other GMs to watch, three leap off the page.

Jeff Vinnick / Getty Images

Steve Yzerman will have several decisions to make on pending unrestricted free agents if Detroit's playoff positioning doesn't solidify soon. Forward David Perron and goalie James Reimer, both 35, could be useful depth for contenders. Bottom-six sniper Daniel Sprong and offensive defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere could help provide tertiary scoring elsewhere, too.

Then there's Patrick Kane, who the Red Wings signed to a one-year, $2.75-million contract in November. With 20 points in 22 games, Kane will likely be open to waiving his no-trade clause if Yzerman enters sell mode. Kane didn't come back to miss the playoffs.

Meanwhile, Flyers GM Daniel Briere is in an enviable spot - or unenviable, depending on how you look at it. The retool is ahead of schedule, but the roster remains under heavy construction. Defensemen Sean Walker and Nick Seeler, two pending UFAs who seemed destined to be flipped midseason, are playing well enough to warrant contract extensions. Laughton's situation is essentially the reverse: he's under contract through 2025-26 at a $3-million cap hit, but trade packages may be too hefty to pass up.

Despite the Flyers' success, Briere probably won't be a deadline buyer.

Gerry Thomas / Getty Images

Briere's Metropolitan Division counterpart, Tom Fitzgerald, on the other hand, may be motivated to swing for the fences. Fitzgerald's Devils are in desperate need of a goalie and reportedly tried to acquire Markstrom.

Prominent goalies rarely move midseason. But with John Gibson, Juuse Saros, Jake Allen, Elvis Merzlikins, and Marc-Andre Fleury also potentially available, Fitzgerald isn't necessarily boxed into a corner here. If he truly wants a goalie, he can likely pull off something spicy - even if he strikes out on Markstrom.

Hypothetical 2025 Team Europe roster

The 4 Nations Face-off will be in full swing at this time next year.

The in-season tournament pits four nations - Canada, Finland, Sweden, and the U.S. - against each other in a nine-day, seven-game event. Russia (geopolitical reasons), Czechia, Germany, and other hockey nations won't be participating in this slimmed-down, likely one-off international competition.

Patrick Smith / Getty Images

This also means a multi-country All-Star team won't be competing - despite Germany's Leon Draisaitl pushing for the return of Team Europe, which lost to Canada in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey final.

What if Team Europe did return?

For fun, here's a 23-man Team Europe roster featuring players from the same countries that comprised the 2016 team (Germany, Switzerland, Slovakia, Norway, Latvia, and Slovenia). Hint: This squad wouldn't be a pushover.

Forwards

• Line 1: Tim Stutzle - Draisaitl - Nikolaj Ehlers
• Line 2: Kevin Fiala - Anze Kopitar - JJ Peterka
• Line 3: Juraj Slafkovsky - Nico Hischier - Oliver Bjorkstrand
• Line 4: Timo Meier - Marco Rossi - Mats Zuccarello
• Extra: Lars Eller

Defensemen

• Pair 1: Roman Josi - Moritz Seider
• Pair 2: J.J. Moser - Simon Nemec
• Pair 3: Jonas Siegenthaler - Erik Cernak
• Extra: Martin Fehervary

Goalies

• Starter: Elvis Merzlikins
• Backup: Frederik Andersen
• Extra: Philipp Grubauer

Lowry line's underrated impact

The Jets have lost six of 10, but they're still riding high overall with the third-best points percentage in the Western Conference.

Connor Hellebuyck's brilliance between the pipes, another stellar year for defenseman Josh Morrissey, and the entire team buying into Rick Bowness' defensive style are three obvious driving forces behind their 32-14-5 record.

Jonathan Kozub / Getty Images

Further down the list but no less important: an extremely valuable third line led by captain and center Adam Lowry. Lowry, Nino Niederreiter, and Mason Appleton - three imposing, two-way veteran forwards - tend to handle shutdown duties so the two top lines can focus on offense.

Lowry's line has logged 432 five-on-five minutes, which ranks eighth among any NHL trio. Its outscored the opposition 17-11 in those minutes, with a 22-16 edge in expected goals, according to Evolving-Hockey.

Those are good numbers against scrubs. Yet the line's 10 most-common opponents list is littered with stars: Alex DeBrincat, Jason Robertson, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews, and Mitch Marner.

"They really use their size to their advantage. All of them are bigger bodies. They're good at protecting the puck," Jets defenseman Neal Pionk said. "And then the chemistry that they've built is such a huge component: Appy and Lows have played together for three or four years now, and they've taken Nino in as their left winger. Their chemistry and their size are the biggest things."

Parting shots

Chase update: The hockey world is a better place when Alex Ovechkin is wiring pucks past goalies. The Capitals captain has turned it on after a miserable first half, potting a goal in each of his last six games. He's up to 836 for his career, or 58 behind Wayne Gretzky's record 894. Ovechkin's shooting and scoring rates have never been lower, at 3.47 shots and 0.29 goals per game. If he maintains that pace down the stretch, he'll finish with 274 shots and 23 goals in 79 games - lousy full-season numbers by his standards. However, if he can start next season 49 goals behind Gretzky, it won't take a Herculean effort to make history. Contractually, his runway is two years, minimum. Surely No. 8's good for another 50 goals before calling it quits.

Alex Ovechkin has scored in six straight games. He's got 17 points in his last 16 games. He's back! pic.twitter.com/jatWNwYFCG

- Grant Paulsen (@granthpaulsen) February 14, 2024

Bring it on: On-ice drama from the last week or so includes the Ridly Greig-Morgan Rielly empty-net fiasco; Jack Hughes flipping out on Viktor Arvidsson; and Nikita Zadorov impersonating Jake Walman's "Griddy" celebration. All three incidents have created significant discussion and debate. All three are kind of hilarious, too. The regular season is 1,312 games long - players and fans need drama to keep them engaged. It's unrealistic to expect a high level of entertainment in all 1,300. But as long as nobody's getting seriously injured, the hostility, chirping, and general crankiness should be welcomed. Especially at this time of year: the season's dog days.

Zadorov taunting Walman with the Griddy after a whistle is incredible lmao pic.twitter.com/ido7vje6Ly

- Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) February 16, 2024

Henrique-Avalanche fit: Expect a bidding war for Adam Henrique after the Elias Lindholm and Sean Monahan trades thinned the list of available rental forwards. If the Ducks retain a chunk of the pending unrestricted free agent's $5.825-million cap hit (there's no reason to believe they won't), Henrique could easily be flipped for a first-round draft pick, and that's a price worth paying for contending clubs, like Colorado. Henrique's a dependable all-situations forward capable of playing center or wing. He's positionally sound, strong at faceoffs, and a 15% career shooter. The Avalanche's depth has been shaky all year, and now top-six winger Valeri Nichushkin is away indefinitely while in the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program. Henrique can fill a hole for multiple teams (Bruins? Rangers?), yet the Avs seem to be the most logical landing spot. There could be a fit beyond this year, too, if all goes well.

Adam Henrique: underrated. Would be an interesting pickup for somebody, especially with retention. pic.twitter.com/byd0r8McU8

- JFresh (@JFreshHockey) February 9, 2023

John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).

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