The surging Columbus Blue Jackets were a featured part of the discussion on this week's episode of the "NHL @TheRink" podcast presented by SKIP.
NHL.com columnist Nicholas J. Cotsonika, fresh from a trip to Columbus to report on the Blue Jackets, joined co-hosts Dan Rosen and Shawn P. Roarke to discuss what he saw, talked about and wrote about at Nationwide Arena this week.
Much of the discussion was focused on the Blue Jackets being arguably the best story in all of sports right now considering all they've overcome, most notably the death of Johnny Gaudreau on Aug. 29, and yet they were in a Stanley Cup Playoff spot as of Wednesday.
Cotsonika talked about the job coach Dean Evason has done, defenseman Zach Werenski's Hart Trophy candidacy, forward Kirill Marchenko's scoring prowess and how his overall game has developed, and if Columbus might end up as a buyer in advance of the NHL Trade Deadline on March 7.
The conversation then turned to the Detroit Red Wings, whose seven-game winning streak ended with a 6-3 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday.
Cotsonika, who is from the Detroit area and has covered the Red Wings for years, said he thinks they've been in the "honeymoon phase" with coach Todd McLellan, but they're coming out of it and the schedule gets hard from here. He questioned if the Red Wings are just experiencing the new coach bump, or if what they've accomplished under McLellan, going 7-2-0, is a sign of what's to come and sustainable.
Prior to talking with Cotsonika, Rosen and Roarke went around the League looking at some Trade Deadline chatter surrounding the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins, and why a lot of the teams near the bottom of the Eastern Conference playoff race could be buyers.
Rosen and Roarke focused the conversation after the interview on the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off and storylines they're following in advance of the tournament beginning Feb. 12. They talked about Canada's goalies, with Rosen wondering if Hockey Canada made a mistake not taking Logan Thompson of the Washington Capitals. They discussed the Finland-Sweden rivalry that will be on display when the two countries play against each other at Bell Centre in Montreal on Feb. 15 (1 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, SN, TVAS).
Roarke sarcastically talked about how it's Canada and everybody else in the tournament, but both he and Rosen see paths for Sweden and/or Finland to win it.
The "NHL @TheRink" podcast presented by SKIP is free and listeners can subscribe on all podcast platforms. It is also available on NHL.com/multimedia/podcasts and the NHL app.
