A quick mix of the things we gleaned from the week of hockey, serious and less so, and rolling four lines deep. Composed by an unconscious brain.<\/p>\n
1. Morgan Rielly<\/a>, who played his best hockey under Mike Babcock, considers the question.\u00a0<\/p>\n Is he surprised that he\u2019ll be looking across at his former coach Saturday night in Edmonton?<\/p>\n \u201cWas I surprised? I think I was a little bit surprised,\u201d Rielly replies. \u201cBut, you know, I talked to a couple of those guys that I know over there, and they wanted to bring him in. And so, that’s what they did.\u201d<\/p>\n To the tune of a sparkling 8-1-1 start and Connor McDavid<\/a>\u2019s most spectacular and busiest (average time on ice: 23:46!) October yet.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was passionate about trying to make guys better, make the team better. That\u2019s the one thing that comes to mind when I think of it,\u201d Rielly says of his four-plus seasons under Babcock. \u201cI\u2019d be lying if I said I keep track of everything that\u2019s going on out there. But he’s a good coach, so pretty sure they’re doing just fine.\u201d<\/p>\n Much like the 20-goal, 72-point 2018-19 Rielly, Oilers top defenceman Evan Bouchard is also tracking his greatest campaign under Babcock, a coach handpicked by Edmonton\u2019s leadership group. And Edmonton is targeting its first regular-season divisional crown in the McDavid-Draisaitl era.<\/p>\n Saturday’s showdown between the Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a> (7 p.m. ET \/ 4 p.m. PT, Sportsnet, Sportsnet+) features two clubs feeling pretty good about themselves.<\/p>\n There\u2019s Toronto\u2019s two-way No. 1 centre, a rejuvenated Auston Matthews<\/a>, who was taught defensive responsibility by Babcock so long ago that an active Henrik Zetterberg (nine years retired) was a prime model on their video sessions.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was a home run when we won (the lottery) and got him,\u201d Babcock remembers. \u201cMatty, it\u2019s always great to see his progression in the league and how good a player he is.\u201d<\/p>\n There\u2019s Rielly and William Nylander.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I always remember about (Nylander) is he\u2019d have a kids thing or whatever, and he\u2019d be the guy out there for hours playing with all the kids and doing all the stuff,\u201d Babcock says. \u201cHe\u2019s a great, great person.\u201d<\/p>\n And there\u2019s new Leafs head coach Jim Hiller, who served as Babcock\u2019s assistant in the Core Four\u2019s hope years.<\/p>\n \u201cBabs gave me my chance. Pulled me out of junior when others may not have,\u201d Hiller told reporters before flying west Friday. \u201cHe\u2019s got a lot of passion for the game.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n But mostly there is the idea of what could have been for the Maple Leafs in the late 2010s and what McDavid and Zach Hyman & Co. believe might still be in store for them come spring.<\/p>\n \u201cWe lost in the first round, I think, three times when I was there,\u201d Babcock said. \u201cBut I also know what we had, and we had kids. I\u2019m proud of my time there. I loved my time there.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s about 100 years ago, right? Even The Beatles broke up, so you get on with it.\u201d<\/p>\n Echoes of Babcock\u2019s past ring loud.\u00a0<\/p>\n Torontonians get a kick out of hearing him play the hits in press conferences two hours delayed: work zone versus fun zone, day-to-day means 10 days, the only opinions that matter come from people whose knees touch your kitchen table\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n But the Maple Leafs, too, have long gotten on with it. They have won three straight under a Babcock prot\u00e9g\u00e9 and begin their road trip feeling good about themselves.<\/p>\n Matthews, taking lessons from Zetterberg, is willing to sacrifice some offence Saturday if it means shutting down Babcock\u2019s new prized pupil.<\/p>\n \u201cThe two best players in the world going against each other. All-Canadian matchup. It’s one of the reasons why you play the game,\u201d says Oiler-turned-Leaf Troy Stecher. \u201cIt’s going to be a fun one for me, too. Going back to Edmonton, I\u2019m excited. A lot of emotions there.\u201d<\/p>\n More than will be articulated.<\/p>\n 2. McDavid is on the ridiculous (and the unsustainable?) pace of 260 points in a single season.<\/p>\n Only one man has broken the 200-point barrier.\u00a0<\/p>\n He did it four times and wore the same uniform, topping out at 215 points 41 seasons ago, when broken hockey sticks became kindling and goalies preferred to stand, thank you very much.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s just one guy that can do it,\u201d Celebrini replied. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t be surprised.\u201d<\/p>\n 3. If Connor Hellebuyck<\/a> was deserving of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, then Kevin Cheveldayoff deserves the Prime Minister\u2019s Medal of Patience.<\/p>\n The Jets general manager likely lost the trade (provided 12th-overall pick Alexander Command, the best piece headed to Manitoba, doesn\u2019t win a Hart) by shedding the best player in the deal, but he recouped a decent haul for a disgruntled goalie that had no intention of suiting up and that he needed to start paying.<\/p>\n Cheveldayoff also rid his dressing room of a headache hours before hosting a feel-good national event, the Heritage Classic.<\/p>\n A tidy bit of business all around.\u00a0<\/p>\n Winnipeg secures an intriguing mix of immediate help and future hope, while Devils GM Sunny Mehta locks in one of the sport\u2019s rare No. 1 workhorse goalies without subtracting much from his current roster. (Dawson Mercer has better in him but has yet to score this season).<\/p>\n Mehta was going to have to negotiate raises for Mercer (RFA 2027) and Nick Bjugstad (UFA) anyway, so this frees up future funds for the Devils’ next move.<\/p>\n 4. The Ottawa Senators<\/a> and their fans not only finished on the bright side of their emotional showdown with the Florida Panthers this week, but they also did the Columbus Blue Jackets<\/a> dirty.<\/p>\n From the variety and ingenuity of chants<\/a>\u00a0the Canadian Tire Centre volleyed at turncoat Brady Tkachuk to the inspired performance in the game itself, Canada\u2019s capital reminded everyone what revenge games should be all about. One out of 84 that, in the moment, feels like the whole pie.<\/p>\n Panthers coach Paul Maurice said the home fans should bring whatever they feel into the barn. And, boy, did Sens fans heed that message.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re a passionate fan base for sure,\u201d said ex-Senator Nick Paul, who watched the game on his off night. \u201cObviously, when something like that happens, they all showed up.\u201d<\/p>\n It was Paul\u2019s Maple Leafs \u2014 and not Kirill Marchenko\u2019s spurned Blue Jackets \u2014 who showed up in Columbus one night earlier for the undercard of Revenge Week.<\/p>\n Comparatively, the Blue Jackets took it easy on their star forward who begged out. As did the fans in Ohio, who might be feeling as defeated as Rick Bowness these days.<\/p>\n \u201cYou always want to win for someone that gets traded, especially that first game. But that was up there with just us finding our game and our identity. Going back-to-back, we needed four points in those two games, and that was a high priority for us,\u201d Paul explains.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you have a guy going back to Columbus, you always want to do whatever you can to help him get that win.\u201d<\/p>\n On one hand, you have Ottawa bench boss Travis Green \u2014 whom we circled as one of the most influential characters this season<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 extending his contract way early, through 2030-31, and guiding his team to a respectable record through multiple injuries and a captaincy exodus.<\/p>\n On the other hand, Bowness appears to be trying to inject a winning culture into a thin roster and doesn\u2019t look long for the gig. Dmitri Voronkov, 26, reportedly wants to follow Marchenko out of town. And how long until Zach Werenski considers a refresh, too?<\/p>\n Bottom line: how your group gets up (or lies down) for a meaningful home game can speak volumes about the spirit of the team.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Sens passed their test with flying colours. The Jackets flunked.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere guys maybe want to get traded out of where they are, then it becomes a more meaningful game for the team for the game,\u201d says William Nylander.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Leafs star didn\u2019t catch Tkachuk\u2019s noisy return but thinks back to the Islanders and their fans’ rude reception<\/a>\u00a0for John Tavares in 2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI don’t think anything compares to that one,\u201d Nylander smiles. \u201cWere they throwing snakes at Brady?\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI was standing right next to him on the line, and then \u2014 pffft!\u00a0\u2014 a snake coming over the shoulder. You could barely hear yourself think. It was crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n 5.\u00a0Drafted by the Maple Leafs eight years ago, Sean Durzi<\/a> has bounced through L.A., Arizona and Utah before landing with the Rangers and making an immediate impact for an overhauled roster that has jumped to an encouraging start.<\/p>\n Moving isn\u2019t ideal, particularly if you\u2019re eager to plant roots. But if you do it enough, you get the hang of it.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s funny. For me, it\u2019s that experience of going through a few trades,\u201d the upbeat defenceman explained. \u201cIt\u2019s made this one a little bit easier. I\u2019m a passionate player. I give my everything to a team. So, trades, I\u2019ve realized, aren\u2019t that easy on myself mentally.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The experience of joining new teams has taught Durzi that it\u2019s best to accept change. Mould in with the group as quickly as possible. So, he travelled to New York City well before training camp to get a head start on bonding.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve always said you play better when you’re playing with your best friends. How quickly we become friends. I tried to make sure I came down early, having that experience, spending time with the guys, having a few laughs, and then when it’s time to block a shot or have my back on the ice, they\u2019re always there for me,\u201d Durzi said.<\/p>\n He\u2019s being leaned on for 20-plus minutes a night and is still driving offence despite seeing more D-zone starts (66.4 per cent) than O-zone starts for the first time in his six-year career. With Adam Fox entrenched on the top power-play, Durzi is finding other ways to contribute.<\/p>\n \u201cThe beauty is, I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve played my best hockey yet. I think there\u2019s a lot more I can contribute on both sides of the puck,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \u201cI heard a good quote once (from) Cameron Gaunce: \u2018If you’re not getting better, you\u2019re getting worse.\u2019 And that\u2019s kind of the mindset. If you think you’ve hit your peak, you’re in trouble. All the best players, the guys who played for a long time, they’re constantly working on their games.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just constantly learning, enjoying the game, picking things up from guys. I\u2019ve had the privilege of playing with a few teams now, so there\u2019s a lot of guys I could pick a few things up off of. But that mindset of constantly getting better is just something that I’ll carry with me forever. A nice piece of advice from a familiar face.\u201d<\/p>\n “I already know the DMs I\u2019m going to be getting from Team Tank: ‘Stop winning, idiot.'” \u2014Calgary Flames goaltender Devin Cooley, after defeating Cup contenders Carolina and Minnesota in consecutive starts<\/p>\n Half of us believes the best tack for the talent-starved Flames is to finish 32nd, win a draft lottery for once, then draft and develop around local boy Landon DuPont, who would open his career in conjunction with the shiny new Scotia Place.<\/p>\n The other half craves more post-win press availabilities with Cooley, who is fast becoming the most enjoyable \u2014 and viral \u2014 personality in the league. Easy to root for.<\/p>\n Cooley\u2019s explanation of his “unconscious brain” mindset after his 3-2 win over the Canes garnered a ton of attention. It\u2019s a high-pressure mental strategy as old as Buddhism, that has roots in Bushido, the samurai code.<\/p>\n The Japanese concept of Mushin\u00a0translates to \u201cno-mind\u201d or \u201cmind without mind.\u201d Ninja masters were trained to ignore outcome, win or lose. To tap into a Zen mind state and let unconscious flow take over.<\/p>\n Sports psychologists push athletes to perform in the present, to live free of the past gaffe or goal and the shift that hasn\u2019t arrived yet. Golfers are better off not adding up their scorecard mid-round. Poker players shouldn\u2019t perform math on their chip stack. Word to Kenny Rogers.<\/p>\n Writers and musicians celebrate words and notes they didn\u2019t write, one handed to them from some ethereal benefactor. If you find your flow state, sink into the leather.<\/p>\n Dismissing Cooley as just another crazy goalie might be the least sane thing to draw from his comments. We should all be so unconscious.<\/p>\n