NHL Update: Location, Location, Location

It’s a little early yet for my Ex-Penguins Update. But there’s one expatriate black-and-golder who’s caught my eye during the early going.

Derick Brassard.

Incredibly, the journeyman 34-year-old center’s gotten off to a red-hot start this season for the Flyers. Blessed to be skating on a line with fellow newcomer Cam Atkinson, the Hull, Quebec native’s piled up five points (1+4) in three games to go with a sparkling plus-six!

I say incredibly because Brassard’s been mostly ordinary since the much-vilified trade that brought him to the ‘Burgh on February 23, 2018. The one that signaled the end of his time as a cut-above-player…and our would-be dynasty…in one fell swoop.

Indeed, since that fateful day, the player known as “Big Game Brass” for his clutch playoff performances has scored 36 goals and 88 points in 206 NHL regular-season games while skating for six different clubs…a rather pedestrian average of 14 goals and 35 points per 82-game slate. Last season he tallied eight goals and 20 points in 53 games for Arizona.

Just goes to show how being in the right place at the right time can help rejuvenate a player.

While we’re on the subject of former Pens, Jared McCann’s been jack-rabbit quick out of the starting gate as well. He leads Seattle with three goals and five points in five games (he’s also a minus-five). Brandon Tanev’s a notch behind on the list of Kraken scorers with three goals, to go with 13 hits and a fight with New Jersey’s Michael McLeod. Riley Sheahan’s also lit the lamp for the Kraken.

Jack Johnson scored a goal in his first game for Colorado on a pretty forehand-to-backhand move against Marc-Andre Fleury, who’s gotten off to an ultra-shaky start for Chicago (5.63 goals against average, .840 save percentage). On the flip side, Matt Murray and Filip Gustavsson (part of the Brassard trade) have each posted quality starts in goal for Ottawa.