Morning Skate: Viktor Arvidsson among unlikely members of NHL’s 30-goal club

And some big names didn’t renew their memberships.

Apr 7, 2017, 2:08 PM UTC

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Lace ‘em up. Time for the Morning Skate.

Connor McDavid joined the 30-goal club last night. The first of many such seasons, obviously.

That got us thinking: Which players would surprise you if you found out they were also in that 26-man club? There’s some obvious names, for sure. Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin are gimmes. And Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine don’t count. You’ve heard about them all year.

But these guys might not be on your radar.

Anders Lee: That’s right. Not John Tavares! Apparently Kyle Okposo’s absence freed up room for Lee to finally emerge as a goal-scoring leader.
Viktor Arvidsson: The flashy winger eclipsed the 30-goal plateau last night in a rout against Dallas. What fool would’ve benched and dropped him in his fantasy championship yesterday? Surely not the smart guy writing this p--[sobs]
Jonathan Marchessault: Possibly the most surprising guy in this club. And possibly the best under-the-radar free agent signing last summer.
Patrick Eaves: Good for him. It’s good to see a guy who battled all kinds of concussions and injuries finally stay healthy and meet his potential.
Rickard Rakell: None of us was paying attention as the Ducks stockpiled high-lethality, two-way forwards the last few years.
T.J. Oshie: The first 30-goal season of his career! Just in time to sign in the KHL and play in the Olympics.

Let’s continue the exercise. Which notable 30-goal scorers from last season won’t reach that goal this year?

John Tavares: Came close, but that season-ending injury will keep him at 28 goals.
Jason Spezza: Went from 33 goals last year to 15 this year. Uh-oh.
Tyler Toffoli: From 31 goals to 15 goals. Sensing a trend here with players on non-playoff teams that made the postseason a year ago.
Loui Eriksson: Scored 30 goals in Boston. Signed a massive contract with Vancouver. Scored 11 goals. Whoops.
Johnny Gaudreau: A 30-goal scorer last year, Gaudreau still put up 61 points with 18 tallies in 2016-17. Almost like he had more talent around him to dish to.

There’s some time left in the season, so Brent Burns, Joe Pavelski, and Chris Kreider could all join the list.

PAT PONDERS ON THOUGHTS ON THOUGHTS

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Hello. Welcome to Pat Ponders on Thoughts on Thoughts, where I waste your time with my opinions on Elliotte Friedman’s weekly “30 Thoughts” article.

2. Friedman says Nikita Zaitsev is going to sign with the Leafs soon. Be right back. Just going to erase his name from this article.

3. I agree with Friedman. It’s encouraging so far that hockey’s superstars aren’t holding back with their public comments on the Olympics situations. Hockey players are notoriously loyal, or at least not willing to start public fights with management. But the sport benefits from strong-willed, public-facing superstars.

8. Friedman said the Blues were close to signing Vladimir Sobotka, and hey! He was right! What a guy.

9. On one hand, maybe it’s a good thing that Dale Tallon might leave Florida for the Islanders. On the other, can’t the Panthers go four months with some stability in their front office?

15. The Larkin point is a good one. Remember how Nathan MacKinnon lit up the NHL in his rookie year? Remember anything about his sophomore campaign? No? Exactly. Young players need a setback sometimes before they truly blossom.

21. Yes.