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          Craig Custance Blog

          The NHL's must-watch teams

          Patrik Laine has already become a fan favorite in Winnipeg, and makes the Jets one of the league's must-watch teams. Jonathan Kozub/NHLI via Getty Images

          One of the great joys of my job is that when I’m not at a hockey game, I get to pick among several on television during nightly viewings. I get to call it work. It’s great. I’m not going to lie.

          And every season, different teams emerge as irresistible lures to watch when browsing games.

          The Pittsburgh Penguins and Chicago Blackhawks have fallen into that category for years. The Tampa Bay Lightning emerged when the electric "Triplets Line" was born. The Dallas Stars were last season's runaway winner.

          But last night, we got a new entry into the field when the Winnipeg Jets battled back from a three-goal deficit in the third period to force overtime and eventually beat the Carolina Hurricanes in overtime.

          Rookie Patrik Laine scored his first NHL goal on the power play to cut the lead to one, and then it was off to the races. Fittingly, the kid who grew up idolizing Alex Ovechkin scored from a place on the ice Ovechkin has scored so many goals.

          The rest of the game after that was a blast and officially marked the Jets as contenders in this year’s most watchable team for those with Center Ice or NHL.tv. An aside: I’ve made the complete conversion to NHL.tv. It’s fantastic. I’m not going to tell you how to spend your money, but there are worst things you can buy.

          So with that in mind, and with most teams having at least one game in the books, here’s an early glimpse at this season’s most watchable team list:

          Reigning champ: Dallas Stars. To be the best, you’ve got to beat the best. They play a great brand of hockey, have exciting young players and aren’t afraid to give up the bad goal. It makes for great entertainment.

          The contenders:

          1. Edmonton Oilers

          They put up seven goals in their first game. Connor McDavid is going to win the points race. Milan Lucic is going to beat up anyone who looks at McDavid funny. They’re probably going to have mental lapses at inopportune times as they figure out how to win. Good times!

          2. Winnipeg Jets

          Just about the moment Nikolaj Ehlers started skating circles around the Hurricanes in overtime, quite literally -- two laps around goalie Cam Ward -- I was sold. Laine is the Finnish Ovi. Mark Scheifele is an emerging star, Blake Wheeler an underappreciated one. Dustin Byfuglien is a wrecking ball.

          3. Toronto Maple Leafs

          Thanks to Auston Matthews, the Leafs are moving up the charts fast. How do you not tune in to see how he follows up his four-goal performance? You might tune in for Matthews, but you’ll end up staying for Mitchell Marner.

          Serious candidates still waiting to start their season: Philadelphia, Colorado and Nashville. Take your time guys!

          And now, the return of the Friday mailbag:

          #CustanceCorrespondence

          I’ll admit that I was impressed that some of the first words out of Matthews’ mouth after he scored four goals in his NHL debut were a public declaration that he was responsible for Ottawa’s game-winning goal.

          Matthews is going to be the captain of the Maple Leafs. It’s inevitable. But let’s pump the brakes a little here. There’s already immense pressure on him in the biggest hockey market as the No. 1 overall pick this season. He now has to live up to his four-goal performance.

          Let’s let him get through a full season of NHL hockey before handing him the "C."

          Yes. That’s just the reality of it. I honestly don’t know how teams that advance to the Stanley Cup finals and lose or have a huge regular season and then lose in the playoffs get up to play games in October. I know these guys are pros and all that. I get it. But there’s zero motivation for the Capitals right now.

          It’s a big mental hurdle for them, and I can see them treading water for a little bit to start the season. Even if they come out houses afire, they’ll get more eye rolls than accolades. For the Capitals, it’s going to be about finding ways to improve each week and develop a team that can win in the playoffs, even if that means experimentation at the cost of early-season success.

          Here’s the story, for those who missed it: NHL is still sticking it to Canadian fans.

          It was an interesting read. I get that the Canadian teams shoulder a heavy burden when it comes to generating league revenue. I agree that there should be another team in Toronto; it would print money.

          But the notion that the American teams are raking it in because of the World Cup is a bit misguided.

          Let’s say the profits ended up being $60 million, as reported in that story. The league then has to split those profits with the NHLPA. That leaves $30 million to be divided among the 30 teams. So we’re talking about $1 million per team. I had one GM say during the tournament that he anticipated receiving something even lower than that, guessing it would be in the $700,000 to $800,000 range.

          Now, if you’re the Stars, aren’t you willing to bypass a cash grab of $800,000 to keep Tyler Seguin healthy? I am. That can’t be the motivation for putting on a tournament like the World Cup.

          Let’s talk about the Red Wings for a minute. Being based in Detroit, I hear the calls that wish management and the coaching staff would give young players more of an opportunity. There’s frustration that players like Frans Nielsen and Thomas Vanek are brought in at the cost of top-six ice time for the young forwards.

          Red Wings fans see Edmonton, Toronto, Philadelphia, Winnipeg, Arizona and all these other organizations playing the young talent, and want to see the same thing happening in Detroit. I totally understand it. That’s where the league is headed.

          I agree that it would do the Red Wings well to take their foot off the gas, move some veterans and spend time in the draft lottery. They need a top-three talent badly.

          But as it stands right now, the young players in the organization aren’t those type of players. If Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill had young talent at his disposal like Dylan Strome, Matthews, Marner, Ivan Provorov, Laine or McDavid, you bet they’d be going young in Detroit. Those players aren’t walking through the Red Wings dressing room door.

          The Red Wings have one young player right now you could consider elite and that’s Dylan Larkin. He’s playing.

          Guys like Anthony Mantha, Tyler Bertuzzi, Andreas Athanasiou -- these are good young players. They’ll end up playing in the NHL. But these aren’t elite young players.

          As for waivers, how often does a young player on waivers end up coming back to haunt the team that cuts them loose? We probably make a bigger deal out of the daily waiver wire than we should. Normally, it ends up being irrelevant. That’s probably the case here.

          If you’re a Red Wings fan, don’t get upset that the coach isn’t playing the young players in the organization enough right now. Get upset that this team refuses to take the necessary step back needed to acquire elite, young talent. Even for one or two years.

          You know what’s really impressive? Just how quickly the arrogance has returned in Ann Arbor. Bravo, Michigan fans.

          Great question. I love questions that lend themselves to lists. So here goes:

          1. Brent Burns. I feel as if we’d be able to survive a little longer with Brent Burns around. Things would definitely be more fun. If we run into any snakes or wildlife, he could correctly identify how much trouble we’d be in. He probably knows some martial arts. He’d have a backpack full of books to read and tea to drink. Maybe he’d bring his RV.

          2. Ryan Suter. At some point, you want to take it down a level. Maybe talk some politics around the campfire. Suter is your guy there. Intelligent, well-read, opinionated -- even if he’s wrong.

          3. Steve Ott. We’re also bound to get a little down on this island. We’ll probably miss our families. You need that guy who is always positive to pump you up. I’ve seen Ott work a dressing room. He can’t pass a single player without making a comment. Guys love him. He’s in.

          If you’re not sure what Steve is referencing, give our Hockey Today podcast a listen. Scott always gets in the last word. Always. He’s the host -- it’s his right.

          Really, that’s why I have my Friday mailbag. To get everything out without Scott interrupting. I can say that McDavid will lead the league in points without him interrupting and shooting it down.

          I feel better already.