{"id":570197,"date":"2026-03-30T06:30:06","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T06:30:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/570197\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T06:30:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T06:30:06","slug":"zizing-em-up-deboer-cassidy-should-draw-strong-interest-to-fill-nhl-openings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/570197\/","title":{"rendered":"Zizing \u2018Em Up: DeBoer, Cassidy should draw strong interest to fill NHL openings"},"content":{"rendered":"

THE MCMANN PLAN<\/p>\n

While on the subject of free agents, is anyone making a better case to earn a big raise for themselves come the opening of the market on July 1 than Bobby McMann<\/a>?<\/p>\n

For that matter, has there been a more impactful pickup before the NHL Trade Deadline earlier this month than the 29-year-old forward, who was acquired by the Seattle Kraken from the Toronto Maple Leafs for a fourth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft and a conditional second-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft on March 6?<\/p>\n

Consider the numbers.<\/p>\n

After his two-point performance (one goal, one assist) in Seattle\u2019s 3-2 shootout loss at the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday, McMann has 11 points (seven goals, four assists) in eight games since the trade. Over an 82-game season, that torrid pace translates into 72 goals, 41 assists and 113 points.<\/p>\n

Those types of numbers are associated more with a guy named McDavid than McMann. As such, no one expects him to continue piling up points at this level.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, it\u2019s been impressive.<\/p>\n

In his time with the Kraken, he has directly chipped in on 42 percent (11-for-26) of Seattle\u2019s goals. The fact that Seattle is just 3-3-2 in his brief time there as part of the team\u2019s bid to reach the Stanley Cup Playoffs, despite his efforts, is more of a reflection of the team\u2019s lack of explosiveness.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re giving him plenty of opportunity,\u201d Kraken coach Lane Lambert said. \u201cHe\u2019s deserved it. He\u2019s earned it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he\u2019s fit in real nicely with (Kaapo) Kakko and Chandler Stephenson<\/a>. His speed is key. We see that on a nightly basis.\u201d<\/p>\n

McMann\u2019s addition has helped the offensively-challenged Kraken stay in the hunt for a playoff spot. They are two points behind the Nashville Predators for the second wild card in the Western Conference. They\u2019ve managed to stay in contention despite having just one player not named McMann who has more than 20 goals, that being Jordan Eberle<\/a>\u00a0with 23.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For McMann, who has 26 goals and 43 points this season, it\u2019s been a relatively seamless transition from Toronto to the left coast other than the visa issues that caused him to miss three games after the trade. One of the hardest aspects of the past month, he said, was repeatedly being asked about the possibility of being dealt before the trade actually happened, which he understands goes hand in hand with playing for a struggling team like the Maple Leafs at the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, that part’s definitely difficult, especially when you’re on a team where you’re not really sure which way it’s going to swing depending on how a few games go before the trade deadline,\u201d he said. \u201cBut, I mean, honestly, at the time, I was trying to focus on winning games there.<\/p>\n

\u201cI looked at it as if it comes, it comes. It did. And I’m excited for this opportunity here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Especially since the Kraken have done everything in their power to give him a chance to succeed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s been super helpful with this organization,\u201d he said. \u201cThey’ve thrown everything at me that I’ve asked for. They’ve been super helpful getting me in here. Lane has been super great getting me up to speed with systems, with how the guys are playing, where he wants me to fit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBut then also there’s just a lot of confidence bringing me in. They’re like, \u2018play your game, play how you want to and how you always do.\u2019 And that gives me a lot of confidence to kind of play how I want to, and play with confidence. Because when you’re doing that, you’re kind of at your best.\u201d<\/p>\n

That confidence was lacking in McMann when he finished the 2024-25 campaign on a 24-game goal drought (11 regular season, then 13 playoff). He certainly has a bit of his swagger back, although it\u2019s not based solely on statistics.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there’s times where you’re feeling really good about your game and you’re maybe not scoring as much,\u201d he said. \u201cSo, it’s not just necessarily the scoring. It\u2019s all parts of my game that I try and look at, whether I’m competing hard, being physical, playing with speed.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut yeah, definitely feeling good.\u201d<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s a good sign for him come the summer.<\/p>\n

McMann is in the final season of the two-year contract ($1.35 million average annual value) he signed with the Maple Leafs on March 13, 2024. In an upcoming free agent market that is thin, especially in terms of offensive players, he\u2019s playing himself into a potentially hefty salary increase.<\/p>\n

Whether that translates into a return to the Maple Leafs, Kraken or a new start with another franchise, well, that remains to be seen.<\/p>\n

Right now, he says, the only goal is helping the Kraken get into the postseason for the second time in franchise history.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"THE MCMANN PLAN While on the subject of free agents, is anyone making a better case to earn…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":570198,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[49,48,448,82],"class_list":["post-570197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570197","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=570197"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570197\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/570198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=570197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=570197"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=570197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}