The Athletic Hockey Show

@theathletichockeyshow · Podcast

Latest segments

• McDavid's 31-point start, 2026-10-29
  Adds a 168-point projection to the pace debate
  Adds a colleague's written projection to the McDavid pace debate: Jansen Danik put a number on the season at 168 points, and the hosts treat it as a live over-under rather than a fantasy.
• McDavid's 31-point start, 2026-10-28
  Collects season-ending point predictions from three writers
  Turns to Duench's piece on the era-adjusted equivalent of 200 points, settled at 165, and collects season-ending predictions: Duench 167, Gentille 184, McIndoe in between. Pure projection built on the start already on the record.
• McDavid's 31-point start, 2026-10-28
  Argues necessity drives the streak on an injured roster
  Extends the McDavid start to 34 points and a 12-game point streak, then argues the driver is necessity: an injured Oilers roster with no other scoring, plus a summer of heat over the Babcock hiring. Stays inside the same start-of-season story.
• Hellebuyck trade near, 2026-10-28
  Breaks down the Devils debut and the light workload
  Breaks down Hellebuyck's Devils debut in Dallas: a 5-1 win, 17 saves on 18 shots, 1.65 expected goals against. Argues the light workload is the point, and uses Swayman's post-holdout season as the caution on calling New Jersey an elite contender.
• McDavid's 31-point start, 2026-10-26
  Tracks McDavid's pace past Gretzky's mark
  Weekly McDavid check-in: the pace has climbed to 252 points, with 33 points through 11 games, ahead of Gretzky's 27 through 11 in his 215-point season. Notes Draisaitl's 176-point pace and asks listeners to name the segment.
• Hellebuyck trade near, 2026-10-26
  Slots the Devils second in the Metro
  Weighs where the Devils slot in the Metro now that Hellebuyck is in net, landing on second behind Carolina if the team stays healthy. Then a detour on Quinn Hughes' return to Vancouver and the mixed reception from Canucks fans.
• Hellebuyck trade near, 2026-10-26
  Explains the low-shot save percentage split
  Granger walks through his weekend story on why Hellebuyck fits New Jersey: the analytically minded front office avoided goalie spending until a predictable goalie came free. The new material is the low-volume split - Hellebuyck's save percentage barely drops when he faces under 30 shots, while the league average falls off a cliff.
• Hellebuyck trade near, 2026-10-26
  Ribs the reporter who missed the trade
  Opens the show ribbing Jesse Granger for flying to Dallas for a Stars-Jets game only to have the Hellebuyck trade land an hour after his flight left. Anecdote and insider-reporting jokes, no new development in the trade itself.
• Hellebuyck trade near, 2026-10-23
  Speculates on the fallout and cap math
  Speculates about the fallout of the Hellebuyck trade: whether the Wild now feel pressure to chase Dylan Larkin, and how New Jersey could fit Quinn Hughes by moving Dougie Hamilton's $9 million. Stays inside hypotheticals and the cap math already on the record.
• Hellebuyck trade near, 2026-10-23
  Weighs the deal against Mehta's goalie line
  Weighs the Hellebuyck trade against Sonny Mehta's public line that goaltending is the least predictable position and not worth heavy investment, and finds the deal consistent with it because the first-round picks stayed. Notes the Devils' cupboard is thin after moving Nemec and Command, leaving Silayev as the top prospect, and that Keefe is the next pressure point.
• Hellebuyck trade near, 2026-10-23
  Critiques Winnipeg's return as neither rebuild nor haul
  Critiques the Jets' return: no first-round pick, a second-rounder three years out, and a package that is neither a rebuild nor a win-now haul. Goldman argues Mercer's value had already fallen in New Jersey and that Winnipeg should have moved Hellebuyck sooner and chased players like Paterka and Nyes.
• Hellebuyck trade near, 2026-10-23
  Zooms out to the Metro standings
  Zooms out to the Metro standings: the Devils' forward depth absorbs Mercer's exit, and the Rangers, Islanders, Flyers and Penguins all have holes, so New Jersey can join Washington and Carolina at the top. Analysis of the trade's consequences, not a new development.
• Hellebuyck trade near, 2026-10-23
  Reacts to the completed trade and sold-low return
  Emergency reaction pod to the completed Hellebuyck trade. Retells the return, argues Winnipeg had no leverage and sold low, and stays inside the package debate already on the record, with Goldman adding that a rebuilt Devils goalie department gives Hellebuyck a better rebound path.
• McDavid's 31-point start, 2026-10-21
  Debates McDavid's pace against the underlying numbers
  Debates whether McDavid's fastest-to-20-assists mark is real, then widens out: 100 points by Christmas would trail only Gretzky's 1984-85 pace, and Edmonton's average process numbers sit behind the league's best actual goals. Adds the Wild win and the underlying-stat split.
• Hellebuyck trade near, 2026-10-19
  Walks through the standoff before the trade
  Walks through the standoff before the trade: the suspension is expected to be lifted, but Granger doubts Hellebuyck ever plays in Winnipeg again and floats the lift as a self-imposed trade deadline. Notes the hellebucks.com counter and the $8,000-a-day figure.
• Tkachuk's back-to-back hat tricks, 2026-10-19
  Digs into the brother-assist angle
  Walks through Tkachuk's week and the Panthers' scoring surge, then digs into the brother-assist angle: the first natural hat trick in NHL history with a brother on all three assists, the 14th brother-assisted hat trick overall.