The Ferda Room: Four hat tricks in Sunrise, and Detroit can't decide

Four hat tricks in three games, and the Panthers are the first team in NHL history with a natural hat trick in three straight. Brady Tkachuk had two of them, then Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Bennett split Saturday's 8-3 win over Seattle between them.

The room agrees the week was Florida's. It splits on Detroit, where Marcus wants Simon Edvinsson signed by Thanksgiving and Gord thinks the next thing that happens to him is a trade.

The big one: Florida's hat-trick week

Pabs — What it means in Sunrise

I've watched this franchise go whole months without a hat trick. Then it got four in three games, and the building learned the hat-toss rhythm like it was a song. Brady had three in 8:03 in Columbus and three in the last 11 minutes against Vancouver, and Saturday was Verhaeghe and Bennett taking turns.

The cats are 5-2-2 with three straight wins, and the power play that was 1-for-28 a week ago is at 20.9 percent for the season, per NHL data. That's the real story. The hat tricks are what a working power play looks like from the cheap seats.

My read: this group found its identity without the captain, and that's the one thing the rat year never had. Now take it on the road.

Marcus Lind — What the numbers say

Bennett scored three goals in 12.4 minutes on Saturday, 7.5 minutes below his Thursday workload, per NHL data, which is a blowout spreading the ice around rather than a demotion.

The number I'd keep is the special teams. Florida went 2-for-3 with the man advantage and killed all four Seattle chances, and the kill is at 80.6 percent over nine games. The scoring will cool, because 18 goals in three games is not a rate. The special teams are a rate.

One caution for the betting crowd: Florida is 2-6 against the puck line in its eight games with a closing line, by our count. 21+. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.

Gord Tremblay — Where it goes from here

Bill Zito's phone just went quiet, because the "sign a shooter" conversation around Vladimir Tarasenko ends the moment the power play scores. LeBrun's word last week was "no fit," and the numbers now agree. Grade: Reported, and closed.

The read: Wednesday is in Ottawa, where Brady Tkachuk played until the summer, and every camera in that building will find him. Maurice gave him 20 minutes on Thursday and 13.5 in Saturday's blowout, per NHL data. He'll get the 20 on Wednesday.

Sully — The grade and the grievance

Look, I said Saturday that if Brady scored three more I'd retire the grading scale. He had two assists and seven shots, so the scale lives, and I'd like it noted that he's the one who blinked.

Bennett needed nine games to score his first goal and then got three in 12 minutes. That's not a slump ending. That's a guy who forgot his wallet at home and came back with the restaurant.

Grade: A. The week, the line, the building. I'm a Bruins guy writing a Florida team an A in October. Nobody tell my father.

Gord Tremblay — Three from the notebook

1. Connor Zary is still a Flame, and now he's a package. Friedman had Calgary looking to take a contract back in any Zary deal, and not spending its last retention slot on him, with Vancouver still the team everyone names. Grade: Reported. He's in the AHL, and most of his $3.775 million still counts against Calgary.

What the numbers say: the Flames are 1-6 and have been outscored by 13 over their last five, per NHL data. The read: a rebuilding team that wants a contract back isn't dumping, it's shopping, and that takes longer. November.

2. The Larkin price moved, and the list grew. Dreger has the ask at two A prospects, an NHL-ready top-nine forward and a first, and Larkin's approved list has gone from three teams to 10. Grade: Reported.

Then Chris Ilitch said Thursday that he made the Yzerman call himself and won't rule out a rebuild, a month after his interim GM ruled one out. The read: a seller that can't say what it is doesn't close a trade this size, and Washington is still the fit that needs Detroit to keep money.

3. Hellebuyck and Buffalo, again. Friedman said Buffalo is a place Hellebuyck would accept and that the two sides were "pretty close" over the summer. Grade: Reported. The pieces saying a pulled Sabres goalie means a trade is coming had no name on them. Grade: Noise.

What the numbers say: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is at .860 and Buffalo's kill is at 64.5 percent, per NHL data. The read: the need is real and the leverage isn't, so it's smoke, not fire, until the Sabres lose a few more.

Marcus Lind — The number

The number: $13 million. That's Alex DeBrincat's cap hit from next season, on the seven-year, $91 million deal Detroit made official on Wednesday. It's 12.5 percent of this year's $104 million ceiling, and it's the first number in a negotiation the Red Wings haven't finished yet.

Simon Edvinsson is 23, a restricted free agent, and unsigned with a Dec. 1 deadline to play this season. Pagnotta's range is five to seven years at $10 million to $11 million, and he says the team has eased off its no-bridge stance.

Detroit's penalty kill is at 69.0 percent through eight games, per NHL data, and the defenseman who'd fix it is skating with a trainer in Massachusetts.

Sign him now / Wait: Simon Edvinsson

• Sign him now: seven years at $9.5 million is my price, and it's only mine. The comparables are Tristan Luneau's six years at $7.2 million in Anaheim, signed with 20 NHL games behind him, and DeBrincat's $13 million as the ceiling of what Detroit pays anyone. Every week on the sidelines moves the ask toward the second number.

• Wait: Detroit has an interim GM, an owner who just reopened the rebuild question, and no reason to hand out term before it knows who's deciding. A bridge buys two years of clarity.

• My call: sign him now. A bridge for a 23-year-old top-pair defenseman is a bill with interest. The $9.5 million deal in October costs less than the $11 million deal in December.

Sully — The grievance

Look, the Rangers lost 7-1 in New Jersey on Thursday and 1-0 in overtime on Saturday. One team got outscored by six and shut out in the same week, and the problem both nights was the forwards.

Thursday, Mika Zibanejad played 20:14 with zero shots and a minus-3, per NHL data. I've seen guys get a puck on net while tying their skates. Saturday the whole team put 29 shots on Jet Greaves and he kept every one of them.

And the kid in net is fine, because Dylan Garand is at .927 with a shutout and a 3-2-1 record, by our count. They lost a goalie for the season and the goalie isn't the problem, which is a magic trick nobody's clapping for.

Grade: D. The penalty kill is at 93.5 percent. It's the only unit in New York that shows up for work.

Kept off the sheet: Esa Lindell, Dallas. Eight games, 20.8 minutes a night, zero points, per NHL data. He plays 20 minutes and leaves no fingerprints. The FBI could use him.

Fight of the week was MacKinnon and Hintz on Tuesday, and I already scored it. Nothing since has come close.

Tommy Kessler — Campus minute

Michigan went to Denver's banner night and took the banner's week. The Wolverines won 4-1 on Friday, then 4-3 on Saturday on Asher Barnett's goal with 4:53 left, which stood only after a Michigan challenge. Jack Ivankovic stopped 33 of 36, and it's Michigan's first two-game road sweep of Denver since 1976.

Hockey East's weekend: New Hampshire swept Colgate on the road, 5-2 and 2-0, and Merrimack put 12 goals on Minnesota State in two nights. Boston College lost 5-3 at home to St. Cloud State, its second home loss to an outside team this month, and BU split with Vermont.

The prospect the NHL crowd should know: Michael Hage, Montreal's first-rounder in 2024, hit 100 career points in Saturday's win.

Meg Halloran — The W minute

I said Colgate at BU would tell us more than Ohio State at Minnesota, and it did. Colgate won 2-0 and 1-0, outshot BU 46-22 on Saturday, and is 6-0 with two different goalies winning. Mari Pietersen made 45 saves in a loss, which is a bad night at the office that gets you promoted.

Minnesota and Ohio State split, 6-2 for the Gophers on Friday and 6-5 for the Buckeyes on Saturday. Joy Dunne had a hat trick and Hilda Svensson scored the winner with 8:20 left. Ohio State is 7-1.

The W read: Colgate goes to Ohio State on Friday. That's the series of the month, and I had it marked before the Raiders had a top-10 number.

Pabs — The Panthers table

Three wins in four and 18 goals in the last three. The only loss was 5-3 in Buffalo, where the power play finally scored twice. Then Brady took over Columbus, rescued Thursday from 2-0 down, and Saturday the whole lineup joined in.

Now the road: Ottawa on Wednesday at 7:30, Pittsburgh on Thursday at 7, then Chicago next Sunday at 3. Florida has three wins in five road games so far, per NHL data.

In Estero, the Everblades raised their fifth Kelly Cup banner and beat Orlando 3-1 in front of a 7,311 sellout. Box score.

• Marcus: Seth Jones is at 25.5 minutes a night with 10 points, per NHL data, and he dropped 4.0 minutes on Saturday only because the game was over. The road trip tells us whether 25 is his number or his October.

• Gord: Ottawa on Wednesday is a Canadian-market night, and the story there will be who Brady Tkachuk used to be. The read from here: Florida got a 17-minute forward with six goals in nine games, and the story is who he is now.

• Sully: Eetu Luostarinen, seven games without a point at 15.9 minutes a night, per NHL data. The team scored 18 in three games and he watched it like the rest of us. Buddy, I'm begging you, the hat-trick line is right there. Ask for a transfer.

• Kessler: Sandis Vilmanis got 16.6 minutes on Saturday, up 3.8 from Thursday, per NHL data, with one assist in nine games. The minutes are the vote of confidence, and the points are the next step.

The Room's locks

Last week's calls, with the receipts:

• Pabs: right. Sam Reinhart scored twice on the power play in Buffalo on Monday.

• Marcus: right. The Rangers made no goalie trade, and Dylan Garand started Saturday against Columbus.

• Gord: right. Connor Zary is still Calgary's property, in the AHL.

• Sully: right. The Rangers beat Vancouver 6-2 last Sunday.

• Kessler: wrong. Niagara beat Bowling Green 3-2 in overtime on Friday on Hunter Wallace's goal with 28 seconds left.

• Meg: wrong. Minnesota beat Ohio State 6-2 on Friday.

Season records: Pabs 2-1 · Marcus 3-0 · Gord 3-0 · Sully 2-1 · Kessler 2-1 · Meg 1-2.

And this week's calls:

• Pabs: The cats take four of six points on the road trip.

• Marcus: Seth Jones leads Florida in ice time in all three games this week.

• Gord: Simon Edvinsson is still unsigned next Sunday.

• Sully: Boston beats Dallas on Tuesday. Jake Oettinger is at .961 over his last five, per NHL data, and I don't care.

• Kessler: Denver beats Boston College on Friday at Magness.

• Meg: Colgate wins at Ohio State on Friday.

Where they split

The week's real disagreement is what happens to Simon Edvinsson before Dec. 1. It's Marcus against Gord.

• Marcus: He signs, for seven years and under $10 million, because every week Detroit waits is a week the DeBrincat number does the negotiating.

• Gord: He's traded. An owner who won't rule out a rebuild and an interim GM auditioning for the job don't hand out seven years, and Boston is already on the phone.

Last word: Sully

Boston has won five straight, it's 5-0 on the road, and it's doing it on a power play that treats the penalty box like a timeshare. I've been waiting since the Marchand trade to type that paragraph. The Panthers can have the hat tricks. We'll take the standings. I said what I said.