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32 Thoughts: The Podcast<\/p>\nWednesday night\u2019s 7-0 victory by the New York Yankees over the San Francisco Giants marked the beginning of the 2026 Major League Baseball season, and the campaign really gets underway on Thursday with Opening Day action across North America.<\/p>\n
As NHL circles debate major trophy races that are coming down to the wire, MLB pundits are flooding the Internet with predictions for who will earn the major hardware at the end of 162 games.<\/p>\n
Where\u2019s the overlap? The Cy Young, of course.<\/p>\n
Hockey has appropriated a couple prizes from other sports over the years, working the Cy Young and Green Jacket into stick-and-puck lexicon. In terms of the latter, every golfer wants to post, say, a minus-12 to win the Green Jacket at The Masters \u2014 another sports event that\u2019s just around the corner \u2014 but no NHLer wants to be the wink-wink Green Jacket \u201cwinner\u201d due to a league-worst plus\/minus.<\/p>\n
(Chicago Blackhawks rookie D-man Artyom Levshunov is your clubhouse leader at minus-36. Sorry, pal).<\/p>\n
32 Thoughts: The Podcast<\/p>\n
Hockey fans already know the name, but this is not the blog. From Sportsnet, 32 Thoughts: The Podcast with NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas is a weekly deep dive into the biggest news and interviews from the hockey world.<\/p>\n
Latest episode<\/a><\/p>\n The Cy Young doesn\u2019t necessary carry a negative connotation; it\u2019s just an acknowledgement of an atypical stat line. When you record more goals than assists \u2014 usually it\u2019s the other way around \u2014 your line can read like some variation on a magical pitching season of, say, 21-8.\u00a0<\/p>\n So, with big-league hurlers taking the bump across the Majors, we figured it\u2019d be fun to use this week\u2019s Power Raking to identify a Cy Young contender or two for each of the NHL\u2019s 32 teams.\u00a0<\/p>\n 1. Colorado Avalanche (47-13-10)\u00a0Brock Nelson \u2014 along with Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas \u2014 is one of three 30-goal guys on the Avs and his 32-26 line is a beauty. Third-liner Parker Kelly has doubled his previous career high for goals and sits at 16-11.\u00a0<\/p>\n 2. Dallas Stars (43-17-11)\u00a0Wyatt Johnston has hit the 40-goal barrier for the first time in his career. The Stars have a fantastic player in the 22-year-old who\u2019s gone 40-38 this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n 3. Buffalo Sabres (44-20-8)\u00a0Jason Zucker bagged a brace on Wednesday to bring his goal total up to 22 this year, giving him a 22-17 line.\u00a0<\/p>\n 4. Carolina Hurricanes (45-20-6)\u00a0Jordan Stall came into the league nearly 20 years ago flashing Cy Young chops with a 29-13 as an 18-year-old in Pittsburgh. The 37-year-old Canes captain is still at it, going 18-13 this year. Big fourth-liner Eric Robinson is 12-6.\u00a0<\/p>\n 5. Tampa Bay Lighting (44-21-5)\u00a0Pontus Holmberg has gone 11-11 in his first season with the Bolts.\u00a0<\/p>\n 6. Columbus Blue Jackets (38-22-11)\u00a0What an indispensable player tough guy Mathieu Olivier has become for the Jackets. He went 18-14 last season and is 15-11 this year, all while serving as the team\u2019s feared policeman. Big Russian winger Dmitri Voronkov is 17-15.\u00a0<\/p>\n 7. Minnesota Wild (40-20-12)\u00a0Vladimir Tarasenko (21-21) has been a nice fit with the Wild, while Ryan Hartman is also even at 16-16.\u00a0<\/p>\n 8. Montreal Canadiens<\/a> (39-21-10)\u00a0At 44-32, Cole Caufield has a real shot to become the Canadiens\u2019 first 50-goal man since Stephane Richer 35 years ago. The Habs have the makings of quite the rotation, with rookie Oliver Kapanen going 21-14 and veteran Josh Anderson at 13-9.\u00a0<\/p>\n 9. Ottawa Senators<\/a> (38-24-9)\u00a0Shane Pinto has 20-15 and 21-16 lines in the past, but sits at 19-20 this year. Warren Foegele is an impressive 5-1 in 10 outings since joining the Sens at the trade deadline.\u00a0<\/p>\n 10. Boston Bruins (40-24-8)\u00a0Morgan Geekie has entered the Cy Young conversation in a big way in recent years, going 33-24 during a breakout campaign last season and following that up with a 34-28 this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n 11. Anaheim Ducks (40-27-4)\u00a0Cutter Gauthier is becoming everything the Ducks could have hoped for in his sophomore campaign, going 36-26 to lead the team in goals. First-year Duck Mikael Granlund is 16-15. Perennial Cy Young contender Chris Krieder has slightly flipped things this year, going 22-24. His past years include a 52-25 and last season\u2019s 22-8.\u00a0<\/p>\n 12. Pittsburgh Penguins (35-20-16)\u00a0Ben Kindel is 17-15 as the second-youngest regular in the NHL after Matthew Schaefer. The Pens can also throw Justin Brazeau (16-14), Connor Dewar (14-13) and in-season acquisition Egor Chinakov (14-12 in just 33 games) at you.\u00a0<\/p>\n 13. New York Islanders (40-27-5)\u00a0Bo Horvat has missed time due to injury, but \u2014 at 29-22 in 58 games \u2014 he\u2019s scoring at a 41-goal pace. Emil Heineman, acquired in the Noah Dobson deal with Montreal, has been a great addition, going 20-8 up front after netting 10 goals as a rookie last season.\u00a0<\/p>\n 14. Philadelphia Flyers (34-24-12)\u00a0Owen Tippett is 24-18 and could well record his third season of either 27 or 28 goals in the past four campaigns. Tyson Foerster is 10-3 in 21 outings.<\/p>\n 15. Detroit Red Wings (38-25-8)\u00a0Veteran James van Riemsdyk is 15-13 and captain Dylan Larkin is 29-27. The Wings need both guys \u2014 and everybody else \u2014 going down the stretch to jump back into a playoff spot.\u00a0<\/p>\n 16. Nashville Predators (34-28-9)\u00a0After all that trade talk, Steven Stamkos has scored more goals (27) than every player except Cole Caufield (28) since Dec. 11 and is 35-22 overall for a Nashville team that suddenly appears likely to make the playoffs. Filip Forsberg is 33-32.\u00a0<\/p>\n 17. Utah Mammoth (37-29-6)\u00a0Lawson Crouse is 20-18 for his fourth 20-goal campaign in The Show. JJ Peterka is 22-20 in his first season with the Mammoth, Michael Carcone is 14-13 and Kailer Yamamoto is 10-8.\u00a0<\/p>\n 18. Washington Capitals (35-28-9)\u00a0At 26-27, Alex Ovechkin could finish the year with more assists than goals for just the sixth time in his 21-season career. Anthony Beauvillier is 12-11.\u00a0<\/p>\n 19. Edmonton Oilers<\/a> (35-28-9)\u00a0Zach Hyman is 29-18 in 53 games, which means he\u2019s scoring at a 45-goal pace. Jack Roslovic has been a nice addition, posting a 19-12 and Vasily Podkolzin is 16-15.\u00a0<\/p>\n 20. New Jersey Devils (36-32-2)\u00a0Timo Meier is 20-15 during a disappointing year, while Cody Glass is 15-7 to establish a new career high in goals.\u00a0<\/p>\n 21. Florida Panthers (35-32-3)\u00a0Currently suspended A.J. Greer is 13-11 and probably in line for a decent payday as a potential UFA this summer.\u00a0<\/p>\n 22. Los Angeles Kings (28-25-18)\u00a0Alex Laferriere is 18-17 and Andrei Kuzmenko is 13-12.\u00a0<\/p>\n 23. Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a> (31-29-13)\u00a0A knee injury ended Auston Matthews\u2019 season, leaving him with a 27-26 line. Assuming full health, where would you set the over\/under for his goal total next year? 37.5? First-year Leaf Dakota Joshua is 10-6.<\/p>\n 24. Seattle Kraken (31-29-10)\u00a0Jared McCann, currently dinged-up, is 18-18 in 44 outings. That\u2019s a 34-goal pace in a full 82.\u00a0<\/p>\n 25. Winnipeg Jets<\/a> (30-29-12)\u00a0The closest thing the Jets have to Cy Young guy is Alex Iafallo at 12-14.\u00a0<\/p>\n 26. Vegas Golden Knights (32-26-14)\u00a0Pavel Dorofeyev busted out with a 35-17 season last year and he\u2019s one goal away from equalling that total, posting a 34-24 this season. What a fantastic, third-round find.\u00a0<\/p>\n 27. St. Louis Blues (29-30-11)\u00a0Jake Neighbours is 14-12 in 57 games. The Blues will be hoping the young winger looks more like a 25-30-goal guy again next year. Rookie Dalibor Dvorsky is 10-7 in 59 contests.\u00a0<\/p>\n