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NEWS CLIPPINGS • February 12, 2019

Will the Canes be buyers or sellers at the NHL trade deadline?

By Chip Alexander

Raleigh

The Carolina Hurricanes are moving closer to their biggest decision of the season: buy, sell or stand pat?

The NHL trade deadline is Monday, Feb. 25. On or before that date, players will be moved as teams either stock up with extra “pieces” for the Stanley Cup playoffs or trade players to stock up on “assets,” the two words general managers love to use.

What will the Canes do?

General manager Don Waddell said the team’s five-game road trip, which ends Tuesday against the Ottawa Senators, would give the Canes a better barometer of what direction to take. “We’ll see where we are then,” he said.

The Canes began the trip by shutting out Pittsburgh 4-0, then topping the Buffalo Sabres 6-5 in overtime. Finishing off a back-to-back on Friday, they went into New York’s Madison Square Garden, on a night when the Rangers were celebrating their 1994 Stanley Cup championship, and won 3-0.

Then, New Jersey.

With a chance Sunday to move past the Penguins in the Eastern Conference standings and take over the second wild-card playoff position, the Canes could not beat the depleted Devils at the Prudential Center. Flat in the first period, their power play totally ineffective -- “It sucked the life out of our group,” coach Rod Brind’Amour said -- the Canes fell behind 2-0 after the opening period and lost 3-2 to the last-place team in the Metropolitan Division.

The Canes, with a 28-22-6 record, remained on the outside looking in, one point shy of the playoff cutoff line after Sunday’s games. Up next: the Senators, who sit in last place in the Eastern Conference at 21-29-5.

The most pressing personnel decision for the Canes, who have not been a playoff team since 2009, is what to do about players who will become unrestricted free agents after the season -- and forward Micheal Ferland, in particular.

Ferland, obtained in the offseason trade with Calgary, has toughness, can play in the top six at forward and has playoff experience. He would make a good “rental,” another of those oft-used words, for a number of teams if the Canes decide to trade him.

“We’ve got some UFAs and one that has gotten some interest and traction,” Waddell said of Ferland. “I’ve said maybe that’s our rental piece if things are going well. We

know we may not be able to sign him, but if we trade him we have to go out and find a piece.

“I would say we’re talking to a lot of people, a lot of teams. But I’ve told everybody we’ll get through the (road trip) and see where things are.”

Both goalies, Petr Mrazek and Curtis McElhinney, are due to become UFAs after the season. So is captain Justin Williams.

Waddell and the Canes already have pulled off the trade that had the NHL buzzing, bringing in forward Nino Niederreiter from the Minnesota Wild for center Victor Rask in a one-for-one deal. Niederreiter quickly moved onto the top line centered by Sebastian Aho and started scoring goals while Rask has gotten off to a slow start with the Wild.

“You never know when you make these trades,” Waddell said. “You always hope they work out for both teams. I’ve made a lot of trades and some work out and some don’t.

“One thing that has been missing is that we took on about $1.7 million more a year, cash. Everyone wants to talk about my boss (owner Tom Dundon) being on the frugal side but this is going to cost us over $5 million more, so obviously that always is a factor. It also involves giving (Minnesota) some cap space. Again, everybody is looking for centers. Centers are at a shortage right now.”

Waddell said a rule of thumb for him in trades is: “I don’t worry as much about what we’re giving up as what we’re getting.”

“If you look at trades on paper, and that’s the job of the media to say who won or lost a trade, I look at it differently,” he said. “Did we fill a need that our hockey club needed? This position, and we’ve talked about it for a long time, we needed some goal scoring and that’s why we did it.”

Waddell said his initial discussions with Minnesota general manager Paul Fenton began months ago and included a number of trade scenarios, but that the give-and-take finally turned into Niederreiter for Rask. The trade was made Jan. 17.

“We were never going to get to that point of making a bigger deal than we made,” Waddell said. “We went at it pretty hard for those 48 hours before, probably talking 10 times, before we figured out what each of us could afford to give up to make a deal work. We finally came to the conclusion let’s just keep it simple.”

And that could be the Canes’ approach heading up to the Feb. 25 deadline -- keep it simple. Keep Ferland, look to make a run at the playoffs.

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Gold: Taking stock of the Hurricanes

By Adam Gold

There are 26 games left in the season for the Carolina Hurricanes — the regular season, anyway. Six of those come prior to the league’s trade deadline, and the Canes have exactly two weeks to figure out who they are and what they want from the 2018-19 season. To that end, there are three major things on the minds of most Caniacs and I’m here to help you sort through them.

The road back to the playoffs

Hate to say this, but I kind of felt the loss in New Jersey was predictable, though not necessarily for the reason you may think. Yes, the Hurricanes could have moved inside the playoff cut line with a win in Newark — where they’ve now lost both times this year. But, I do not think that played a factor in the 3-2 setback. To me, the bigger issue is that even in winning the first three games of the road trip, I’m not sure Carolina played more than three periods the way they truly need to play in order to win.

Carolina beat Pittsburgh with a dominant final two periods after Curtis McElhinney bailed them out in the first. The game against the Sabres was a 60-minute fire drill in which the Canes escaped in overtime in spite of twice blowing 2-goal leads. The next night, staring at longtime nemesis in Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist, the group battled hard for two periods, but never really imposed their will on New York until the third, when the Canes finally hemmed the Rangers in their own end and skated out a 3-0 win.

Three periods out of nine, the way the Hurricanes need to play, is not the recipe for a 3-game winning streak. Yet, because of — at times — spectacular goaltending, some outstanding individual defensive plays and clutch goal-scoring from the likes of Teuvo Teravainen and Nino Niederretier the Hurricanes DID string those wins together and put themselves in position to climb over the Penguins with a win in New Jersey.

The mirror, though, always shows the truth.

Coming off the high of snapping a 16-game Madison Square Garden losing streak (deny the impact as you see fit) the Canes would need to have their best 60-minute effort to beat the Devils. They didn’t, falling behind 2-0 after the first, and they just weren’t able to come all the way back. For a team positioning itself for a playoff run to lose to a team positioning itself for the first pick in the draft, that’s a bitter pill to swallow.

Now, what?

The best way to put the disappointment of Sunday’s lost trip to Newark aside is to start another streak in Ottawa on Tuesday. There’s nothing wrong with a 4-1-0 road trip, regardless of what the standings look like come Wednesday

morning. After that, the next five games will determine the plan of attack for owner Tom Dundon and his leadership team.

Let's make a deal?

The Hurricanes are firmly in the post season race. A 13-5-1 stretch since New Year’s Eve coupled with the Blue Jackets and Penguins falling on (relative) hard times has given Carolina a glimmer of hope. Three weeks ago it was a foregone conclusion that the likes of Michael Ferland, Dougie Hamilton, Justin Faulk and others were strong candidates to move. Now, with the Canes desperately trying to make the playoffs and the apparent glut of offensive players on the block, it appears more likely than not that Carolina will wait all the way until the deadline to make any moves.

There was a time when Ferland was among the most attractive rental forwards on the market, along with Philadelphia’s Wayne Simmonds. But, with Ottawa’s Mark Stone and Matt Duchene potentially available plus New York’s Matt Zuccarello and Kevin Hayes as well as Artemi Panerin of the Blue Jackets, it’s suddenly a buyers’ market. And, unless the return for Ferland is worth taking him off your roster, it’s probably not wise to give away a player who helps you win today. A first round pick is a given, a good prospect and a second rounder, sure.

Also, don’t be surprised if the Hurricanes re-engage Ferland’s representatives on a contract beyond this season. The longer he’s on the roster, the greater those possibilities become. Has his contract leverage been diminished some with a few nagging injures, plus a 10-game drought without a goal — yes, I know he scored into an empty net in Pittsburgh?

As for one of the right-shot blue liners, before the break, we got an idea of what was coming when the team moved Brett Pesce to the left side on the second defensive pairing with Justin Faulk. Now, those two, along with Dougie Hamilton — who is playing his best hockey of the year — are all playing top four minutes and the organization is not inclined to do anything unless the return is substantial. They are not moving any of them unless a bonafide 25-goal forward comes back and those don’t just fall from the sky.

It’s far more likely that the Hurricanes make a few smaller moves (Trevor van Riemsdyk, Haydn Fleury, Brock McGinn, etc.,) as long as they get back on the winning path over the next 10 days. Of course, it all depends on the market.

Darling needs a break

Finally, we have the situation regarding the enigmatic and embattled Scott Darling, who has just requested — and has been granted — a temporary leave of absence from the Charlotte Checkers. To say that Scott has struggled since

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signing his 4-year/$16.6 million contract in the summer of 2017 would not do justice to the word “struggled”. Darling’s statistical resume prior to arrival on Edwards Mill Road suggested a player ready for a starter’s role in goal.

As I wrote, and stated several times prior to last season, there is a responsibility that all number one goaltenders must bear. You are not only supposed to perform at a high level, but you are expected to be able to do so night after night after night. More importantly, you’re tasked with doing so even after a bad game.

ESPECIALLY after a poor outing.

Darling never could do that in his first year with the Hurricanes posting the worst save percentage (.888) and the 43rd (out of 49) best goals against average (3.18) of all qualified goaltenders in the NHL. This year, in eight starts for Carolina, the numbers are worse. And, his time in Charlotte, where he was demoted to (in theory) reclaim his game, has

not seen any improvement. He’s just 5-6-2 in the American Hockey League. In five of his 14 appearances, he’s given up at least four goals and in another he was pulled after allowing three goals in the first.

That isn’t to say this leave is performance-based. Who knows what factors have contributed to Scott asking for time to sort through whatever it is that is impacting his ability to play at his highest level. In honesty, we do not know the reasons behind the request, nor is the team at liberty to disclose them. What is certain, is that Darling has overcome a lot — mostly his own doing — to become an NHL-caliber goalie.

It is also certain that he hasn’t yet managed to completely put those demons in his past. Here’s hoping that Scott figures out how to get through this and get back to being a productive member of this, or another organization.

Preview: Hurricanes at Senators

Canes end road trip in Ottawa

by Michael Smith

OTTAWA - The Carolina Hurricanes end their season-long, five-game road trip against the Ottawa Senators.

Even after a 3-2 loss in New Jersey on Sunday afternoon, the Hurricanes have a chance to capture eight out of a possible 10 points on this trip.

Capping the Trip

Assessed in a vacuum, the Hurricanes' 3-2 loss to the Devils on Sunday is huge; the Hurricanes, who could have jumped their way into a playoff spot, needed the win, and the Devils didn't.

But in taking a broader view at the road trip, the Hurricanes still have the opportunity to take home eight of a possible 10 points, and they've already beaten two teams they directly competing with for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

The loss wasn't ideal, sure, but it's not the end of the season.

But the reaction to it says a lot about how far this Hurricanes team has come in 56 games.

"We expect more now, and I love it," head coach Rod Brind'Amour said after practice on Monday. "I love the fact that the bar has been raised. We expect to win every night. That's something that is, I think, a real positive and is a

testament to the guys in the room. They've earned that level of expectation from me. We're a good team."

Rebounding

The Hurricanes had a bad period in New Jersey - a flat first period in which they fell down 2-0 and failed to convert on three power play opportunities - and it cost them.

Moving on.

The Canes got back on the ice in practice on Monday, their first skate as a team in something other than a game in a week.

"It's always good to practice," Brind'Amour said. "We practice for a purpose. We try to get at least one thing accomplished and get better at."

On Monday in Ottawa, it was brushing up on some systems to ensure mistakes weren't replicated.

"Working on the details," Brind'Amour said. "We got away from one that cost us a goal. Just making sure our routes are right and being mentally sharp."

The Last Meeting

The Hurricanes dropped a 4-1 decision to the Senators at home on Jan. 18, one of the team's three regulation losses in the first month of 2019. For whatever reason, it was one of the Canes' most lackluster efforts of the season.

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"It's hard to watch and be a part of it when we know how we can play. We can beat good teams, and then we come off it and we don't like a very good team," Jordan Martinook said after the game. "Tonight, we didn't look very good for most of that game. We deserved to lose. They were the better team."

"We were so bad, I almost dressed and got out there. I might have been as good as what we were throwing out there. We just didn't want to play the way we were supposed to. I didn't know what I was watching. That's the first time all year I can say that," Brind'Amour said. "You're going to lose games, but that was obvious we were going to lose that one just by the way we were playing."

The Opposition

The Senators dropped five straight games after that last meeting, but they've since won two in a row at home, shutting out the Anaheim Ducks, 4-0, and besting the Winnipeg Jets, 5-2. Despite ranking last in the Eastern Conference with a 21-29-5 record and 47 points, the Senators own a 14-11-4 record at home.

WORTH A CLICK

News

Recap: Canes Topped by Devils

Canes Recall Brown from Charlotte

January Canes Prospect Profile: Jake Bean

Hurricanes Jersey Breakdown for 2018-19 Season

Podcast

CanesCast, Ep. 76: In the Mix

Videos

Highlights: NJ 3, CAR 2

Two Floofy Doodles

Gameday Links

First Goal Contest presented by Kayem

WATCH, LISTEN & STREAM

Watch: FOX Sports Carolinas, FOX Sports app

Listen: 99.9 The Fan, Hurricanes app, Hurricanes.com/Listen

With new craft brewery, de Haan helps revitalize hometown

Hurricanes defenseman teamed with friends to invest in, transform historic building

by Cristina Ledra

CARP, ONTARIO -- Every morning around 5:30 a.m., Bill de Haan opens the doors to Ridge Rock Brewing Company and gets to work cleaning the 150-seat craft brewery and restaurant from top to bottom.

This four-hour daily undertaking followed by a couple more hours of repairs and errands might not have been what he envisioned for semi-retirement after almost 40 years in construction and landscaping, but the 56-year-old is loving every minute of supporting his son, Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Calvin de Haan, who co-owns the place with three friends from their neighborhood near Ottawa.

In just less than two years with enthusiastic help from the community, they've turned the formerly ramshackle building into their hometown's newest attraction.

"I'm there by myself and when I go in there every morning, I like going into the building and turning on the (music) and

looking around and saying 'This building is cool, I like it here,' and I do," Bill de Haan said. "My wife and I try to go there once a week. Even though I've spent five or six or seven hours there already, I'll go there and be a customer and it's great."

The building, which everyone in Carp has passed countless times since it was built in the 1860s, is a standalone cinder block structure that you can't miss on the most prominent corner of a village of 2,000 people. Over the years it's taken many forms including a car dealership, a bank, a bus repair station, a gas station and a pharmacy. For Calvin de Haan, 27, and his co-owners, Jake Sinclair, Jason Lalonde, and Ryan Grassie, they grew up with it as a furniture and cabinet business whose owner kept dirt bikes and go-karts in the basement.

Sinclair and Lalonde had their eye on the historical building for a while, knowing there was massive potential in the cavernous space, but the owner was never interested in selling. When he had a sudden change of heart two years ago, the pair jumped on it so quickly the listing never made it to the open market.

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Around that time, Sinclair and Lalonde had been discussing opening a brewery with Grassie and de Haan, and the plans started falling into place.

They wanted to give people in their hometown a spot to hang out and enjoy a beer, which hadn't really existed in their lifetimes. For the adults in town, a night out meant traveling around 10 miles to Kanata where the Ottawa Senators play their home games, or 25 miles to downtown Ottawa.

As commercial and residential development made its way closer to Carp, the four friends saw an opportunity to make a new destination in their village, which was mostly known for the annual Carp Fair in the summer and the Diefenbunker, Canada's Cold War Museum.

When they took ownership of the building, its condition was nowhere near the intimate, rustic hangout it is now.

"The transformation was wild," Calvin de Haan said. "There was literally nothing. It was four walls and a roof."

The renovation was a long list of big ticket items, including tanks for brewing the beer, a commercial kitchen, walls, additional roof structure, patching adult human-sized holes in the cement floor, and putting in all new plumbing and an HVAC system.

The budget for the project probably never stood a chance, but it was important for them to use Canadian-made equipment and local contractors, and pull as much of the history of the building into the design as possible.

There are winks and nods to old tales they unearthed after they took ownership. The building was involved in one of Canada's most notorious bank robberies, in which 72 safe deposit boxes were stolen in 1947 through an underground tunnel that began underfoot. They installed a bank vault door in the basement that opens to a conference room with a smart TV and beer tap that's available for businesses to rent.

"There are all these crazy stories," Grassie said. "And just when we think we've heard them all, a couple of local older people come in and have lunch and tell us stories that we'd never heard. "

The foot railing at the bar is from a Carp train track from the late 1800s. The picture just inside the front door is of the building in its original state, a two-story building that was gutted in a fire and rebuilt as one spacious floor. The two-story facade is the inspiration for the brewery's logo.

Among the finishing touches are red steel beams to match de Haan's Hurricanes jersey, which hangs above the bar, a large graffiti-style mural in Carolina red, white and black in the main dining area by local artist Candice Wei, various old photos of Carp in its formative days, and a nook with a big square wooden table, bench seating and board games.

The deep brown leather armchairs and couches by the entrance were de Haan's idea for an area where customers could relax away from the crowd. So to was Wei's mural, a signature part of some of de Haan's favorite establishments from his time with the New York Islanders.

"We're trying something different, trying to get people to stick around," he said. "If it's playing some random board games or whatever, it's to get people in and we want them to stay."

By the time they were ready to open in September, about 14 months after they started, just about every employee, no matter what their official title, had picked up a paint brush or hammer or some other tool to help bring the place to life.

"We had full-time crews every weekend and through the week," Grassie said. "We didn't have slow contractors or anything. Everyone was hustling during that time. It was just so much to do."

To say the locals were impressed would be an understatement.

In their first month in business, they ran out of beer twice. They've since upped their production and added two large capacity beer fridges.

Brewmaster Jamie Maxwell had come up with a signature line of approachable beers that he and the owners wanted to help introduce their community of blue-collar workers, with beer tastes to match, to the world of craft beers.

De Haan himself hadn't ventured much into craft beer until this project started, but has since grown to love it, especially in North Carolina where there are more than 300 craft breweries, many of which are in the Hurricanes' Raleigh home.

"I appreciate the time and effort that people put into it," he said. "Now that I know the process, it's wild. Our brewmaster takes mega-pride in his beer. It's his creation and he's very proud of it. He's one of the best in Ottawa for that reason."

The live music and open-mic nights have further involved the community, and Maxwell's special seasonal brews have become an attraction as well.

But the real testament to the brewery are its patrons, many of whom were already invested in it before it even opened.

"We wanted everyone to, when it was done, feel like they had a part in it and they would come there and be able to enjoy it," Grassie said. "There are a lot of contractors that helped build that place that I see in there every weekend with their families or their kids or their friends, so it's really cool and they're proud of the place that they helped build."

The de Haan family moved to Carp more than two decades ago, and many of their neighbors have been there for generations watching the village go from the bustling center of Ottawa to a rural community on the outskirts, always with this big cinder-block building with ever-changing purposes.

"We moved here when Calvin was a year old, so almost 27 years now and the building was always kind of an eyesore, like what's anybody gonna do with this?" said Bill de Haan, whose new job at the brewery has helped him slim down by 20 pounds and resulted in well-rested nights for a change. "What he and his partners have done is great. We needed a place to come to and it's right on the main corner of the village. The building looks so much better. Hopefully it'll be a go-to place."

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Evaluating every new head coach in the 2018-19 NHL season

Greg Wyshynski

On Sunday, Anaheim Ducks general manager Bob Murray fired coach Randy Carlyle and replaced him with someone he knew quite well: himself, jumping behind the bench for the first time in his career so he could feel the heat of this dumpster fire.

"I didn't feel it was right to bring anybody in at this point in time," Murray explained. "I had to be here. I had go downstairs and live it with these guys. I have to find out everything going on down here. It's more problematic than I thought a while ago."

Every team has its problems. It's just a matter of how team management chooses to address them. Usually, it ends up as it did in Anaheim, with a coach losing his job.

Murray will be the 12th new coach to step behind the bench in the NHL since the end of the 2017-18 regular season. We figured it was a good time to take a look how the rest of them have impacted their teams, whether these changes have been for better or worse, and how hot their seats are going forward. Starting with our least effective ...

11. Ken Hitchcock, Edmonton Oilers (Nov. 20, 2018)

Record: 15-16-4 | Hot-seat rating: 10

In the most general sense, Hitchcock replacing Todd McLellan after 20 games this season is an abject failure because it fell short of its one particular objective: saving the job of general manager Peter Chiarelli, who was fired on Jan. 22.

More specifically, it was supposed to turn the Oilers around into a playoff team, and Hitch is running just ahead (.486 points percentage) of where McLellan (.475) had the team. The offense outside of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl is paltry. The goaltending, which Hitchcock used to repair through his mere presence during stints with other teams, is third worst in the NHL (.893 save percentage).

Sure, there's still a chance the Oilers could make the playoffs because the West wild-card race has slightly more teams involved than a March Madness bracket. But even if they did, would the next general manager want Hitchcock as his coach? Or, more to the point, would Hitch want another season of this? (And by "this," we of course mean "Mikko Koskinen.")

10. Willie Desjardins, Los Angeles Kings (Nov. 4, 2018)


Firing John Stevens just 13 games into the season remains a panicky, reactionary, "Please don't let us slip into the abyss

of anonymity while LeBron and the Rams suck up all the air in L.A." move by management. Whether the Kings would have cycled back up in play with him behind the bench, as they somewhat have for Desjardins, is debatable. That this disaster of a season is a problem with construction -- the Kings being an old, slow team in a young, fast league -- rather than coaching isn't debatable. An interim coach wasn't going to change that.

9. Scott Gordon, Philadelphia Flyers (Dec. 17, 2018)


The Flyers were 13-15-4 on Dec. 18. Since then, they've gone 12-8-3. That date may end up being significant in Flyers history. Not because it was the debut of interim coach Scott Gordon, promoted from the AHL after new GM Chuck Fletcher cut loose the old GM's last coaching hire, Dave Hakstol. But instead because it was the NHL debut of another AHL call-up: Carter Hart. Hart has started 17 of Gordon's 24 games as head coach and is responsible for 11 of his 13 wins, with a .926 save percentage and a 2.45 goals-against average.

Gordon deserves credit for parts of this Flyers surge back up the Eastern Conference standings. His approach to the players is a total 180 from the tension convention under Hakstol, for example. But the Flyers are scoring less on average under him (2.83) than they were under Hakstol (3.00), yet they are winning more thanks to the stabilization of their goaltending. Gordon is not the first coach whose success is manufactured by stellar goaltending, but that's the scenario here.

His interim status and the Flyers' tenuous re-entry into playoff contention make his seat a bit toasty as Fletcher looks to make his first coaching hire. But anything goes if the Flyers actually make the cut.

8. Jim Montgomery, Dallas Stars (May 23, 2018)


Montgomery doesn't have the strongest case for having improved the Stars. Their points percentage (.555) is off last year's pace (.561). Their possession metrics, as well as offensive and defensive numbers at 5-on-5, are down from last season under Ken Hitchcock. One could argue that the year goalie Ben Bishop is having -- a plus-15.44 goals saved above average in 34 games -- is the reason the Stars are currently in a playoff sport.

But the bottom line is that they're in a playoff spot. After team president Jim Lites savaged stars Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn in the media. After Montgomery himself proclaimed "I haven't been able to change the culture of mediocrity" in

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early January. After a 2-6-0 run in December had Montgomery admitting that he had lost his way as a coach.

He's kept this ship sailing and has gotten better in the job as the season has gone on -- witness recent lineup changes that sparked a five-game winning streak. Dallas is looking like a playoff team.

(For the record, his hot seat is at six because we're not sure what happens to GM Jim Nill if Dallas falls short of the playoffs this season. A new GM could mean a new coach.)

7. Todd Reirden, Washington Capitals (June 29, 2018)


It's difficult to rate and rank Reirden. The Capitals aren't winning (.609 points percentage) as they were last season under Barry Trotz (.640). They're scoring more goals, but are also giving up more on average. Their special teams percentages are down from last season while their 5-on-5 metrics are up.

The defensive issues are, by far, the biggest concern for Capitals fans, although they do seem more systemic to the team's personnel changes over time than anything Reirden's done systems wise. The bigger issue might be that Reirden is learning as he goes as a first-time head coach, which includes how to handle slumps and how to manage egos, especially on a championship team, to maximize effort. It's not coming together quite yet.

6. David Quinn, New York Rangers (May 23, 2018)


This year was a mulligan for the Rangers and Quinn, who walked into what he knew was going to be a slow and steady rebuild. He's gotten more out of this Rangers team than many expected, as their 5-on-5 numbers are slightly better than they were last season under Alain Vigneault. But the most positive change between the former and current coaches is in the way Quinn handles young players. Look no further than Pavel Buchnevich. When Vigneault would scratch him, the moved seemed arbitrary; when Quinn does, it seems like part of a larger, concerted effort to cultivate his talent. Quinn has answered the hype from his BU-to-NHL leap and has proved effective in a no-stakes Year 1 for the Rangers.

5. Jeremy Colliton, Chicago Blackhawks (Nov. 6, 2018)


Much was made about Colliton being 26 years younger than the man he replaced, Joel Quenneville. Heck, at 34 years old, he was one year younger than Duncan Keith, too. But that youthful optimism has served him well during this most unlikely of resurgences from the Blackhawks, as they climb the standings with a seven-game winning streak. Chicago is having fun and playing meaningful hockey, two things they seemed miles away from having when Quenneville's historic run with the franchise ended after 15 games. It felt rather impossible as late as January.

How much of that falls to Colliton? A good part of it. After getting a few weeks under his belt -- a "training camp" some argue he should have had in September had Chicago fired

Quenneville in the summer -- the Blackhawks started finding some structure they lacked this season. Their possession numbers went from being in the toilet to being middle of the pack. He gave some players more responsibility, challenging them. And Stan Bowman gave him a few new toys to play with.

They're riding some heavy power-play and shooting percentage bumps through this winning streak, and will still likely fall short of the playoffs. But Colliton looks like he might be a keeper, and the fact that the Blackhawks are even in the playoff conversation now is stunning.

4. Rod Brind'Amour, Carolina Hurricanes (May 8, 2018)


If the season ended today, the Hurricanes would have a better points percentage (.564) than they've had since 2008-09, aka the last time this franchise appeared in the postseason. So give Brind'Amour credit. For all the questions about his hiring as a total head-coaching novice, he's gotten something out of this squad, especially on offense. Their expected goals percentage (56.98) is way up from last season (53.12) while their possession numbers are higher than they were in Bill Peters' last year. That the Hurricanes are 21st in goals per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 (2.36) despite having the third-worst shooting percentage (6.81) is a heck of a trick.

Off the ice, Brind'Amour has cracked the whip but also allowed for rewards of the team's effort, like the Hurricanes' goofy victory celebrations. He's worked smartly with team consigliere Justin Williams to manage this roster with an ex-player's insight. But let's face it: In Tom Dundon's world, it's all about the results. And Brind'Amour's Hurricanes aren't yet a playoff team.

3. Craig Berube, St. Louis Blues (Nov. 19, 2018)


When Berube was hired on an interim basis, after the Mike Yeo 'hired your next coach to be on the bench with your current coach' experiment failed after parts of three seasons, his Blues promptly went 3-5-1. By Jan. 3, they were in last place in the NHL. Rumors that the entire roster, including Vladimir Tarasenko, was available circulated.

And now they're in a playoff seed, having won six in a row. What a league.

While the goaltending of rookie Jordan Binnington (1.72, .931) stabilized this team in his 13 games, this turnaround can't just be credited to the crease. Berube has gotten this offense going through a reinvigorated forecheck, line juggling and an activated defense. Under Yeo, the Blues averaged 2.95 goals per game. Since Jan. 3, they've scored at a 3.11 goals per game clip under Berube.

More importantly, he's managed to help the Blues locate their defensive responsibility again. Jake Allen saw a parade of odd-man rushes and choice scoring chances early in the season. In contrast, Binnington is seeing just 3.07 high-danger shots per game.

Despite all of this, we have to keep the temperature turned up on Berube's hot seat. He's an interim coach. Granted, if

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the Blues rally for a playoff spot, there's a compelling case to keep him. But with so many big-name coaches available (and the biggest, Quenneville, having some St. Louis ties), his status as the next coach of the Blues isn't on solid footing yet.

2. Bill Peters, Calgary Flames (April 23, 2018)


The Flames are a better possession team under Bill Peters. But that was sort of a given, wasn't it? His Hurricanes teams were always top of the pops in Corsi, but were always torpedoed by either a sputtering offense or bad goaltending. So the pleasant surprise here for Peters in Calgary is an offense that's the second-most potent in the NHL (3.67 goals per game) and goaltending that features 33 solid games of David Rittich being dragged down by 27 games of .889 goaltending by Mike Smith for a passable .901 team save percentage.

How much of the offensive spark can be credited to Peters? A bit, we think. The Flames are averaging over two more shots per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 (30.97) to go along with the upticks in possession metrics and a plus-9.02 in expected goals.

But there's a bunch more beyond the numbers here for Peters. The Flames talk about his attention to detail and preparation. "What we do in a game, what other teams do in a game, faceoffs, any small detail ... We have it covered," forward Garnet Hathaway told the Calgary Sun. "Every drill in practice, there are a few details that have to be hit. Otherwise, you're up in the stands so you see that when we don't get the details rights, we'll start the drill over. I think that has helped us stay accountable and I think it's helped us stay structured in our whole game. You can build off the small things. When you have those pretty strong foundations, I think it's easier to keep improving."

He walked into the Calgary room and addressed their issues from last season head-on and has their attention on and off the bench. There's a lot that's gone right for Calgary this season (and GM Brad Treliving should be credited as well), but Peters' arrival isn't coincidental to it.

1. Barry Trotz, New York Islanders (June 21, 2018)

Record: 32-16-6 | Hot-seat rating: Negative-10

In hindsight, it was like a hockey rom-com. The Stanley Cup-winning coach, jilted by his team over money and a desire to trade in for a younger model. The hapless franchise, jilted by their franchise player and summarily written off by much of

the hockey world. They find each other out of necessity, and wouldn't you know it, they made magic together.

But seriously: Trotz has helped tighten up the Islanders' defense significantly. They're averaging five fewer shots against per game over last season. Their goals-against per 60 minutes of 5-on-5 play is 1.8 vs. 2.54 last season. Much of this is their system, but the play of Robin Lehner and Thomas Greiss in goal -- thanks in no small part to goalie guru Mitch Korn's influence -- has been outstanding.

They're 10 points clear of the playoff bubble. Barring catastrophe, Trotz is going to do what no other hire will do in his first season at the new helm: Win the Jack Adams.

Bob Murray, Anaheim Ducks (Feb. 10, 2019)

It's impossible to judge Murray as an NHL coach, given that this Lou Lamoriello cosplay is his first time behind the bench. We can, however, judge him as a general manager.

Is this an ideal roster for 2019? No. It's too plodding and punchless for the current incarnation of the NHL, which isn't helped by the second line being anchored by a cicada shell that used to house Ryan Kesler. But the Ducks were also coming off seven straight seasons of over .600 points percentage hockey, and the West playoff bubble is so mediocre, so this should be a team that's in a playoff spot right now.

That it isn't falls on two things. First, goalie John Gibson's back broke from carrying the team for three months, and his .900 save percentage and 3.26 GAA in January contributed to their 19 losses in 21 games run. Second, Gibson's collapse ultimately meant he could no longer be the air freshener covering up the stench of this team's play under Randy Carlyle. Even in their best moments this season, the Ducks were a house of cards built on terrible possession metrics and an expected goal differential at 5-on-5 of minus-30.07, the worst in the NHL.

Like we said, we can't judge Murray as head coach, but we can judge him as a general manager. And in our judgment, he waited far too long to fire a coach whose team was being propped up "Weekend At Bernie's" style by a goalie pushing for a Hart/Vezina sweep while the rest of the team withered. He did so because the coach was his friend, to the point where it took a 2-15-4 run and his team quitting on him to finally end his tenure. Look, they don't give ticket refunds if your team loses, but darn, if Ducks fans wouldn't have a class-action suit for dereliction of duty here ...

Anyway, good luck to Coach Murray in his multiweek evaluation process. And to the next guy he hires to take over the Ducks as well.

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Hurricanes seek to bounce back at Senators

Field Level Media

The Carolina Hurricanes likely arrive for Tuesday night's game with the Ottawa Senators with a sour taste in their mouths.

"We've got to bounce back," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said, referring to Sunday's 3-2 loss at New Jersey. "That's one way to look at it. The past is done."

Carolina is on the cusp of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, so every point matters. The game against New Jersey notwithstanding, there haven't been many blunders lately for the hard-charging Hurricanes as they try to finish a solid road trip with the game at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa.

Carolina is 3-1-0 on this trip and 6-2-1 in its past nine games.

"We have to focus on the next game and we have to find a way to get that one," Brind'Amour said.

The Senators have won two in a row as part of a three-game homestand.

"We've been right in hockey games most of the year," Ottawa right winger Mark Stone said. "We've played pretty hard most nights and given ourselves a chance to win. The last couple of games we've done a good job of getting the lead and playing with the lead."

Yet like the Devils, the Senators are a last-place team in their division. So with consecutive games against bottom teams, the Hurricanes are desperate to salvage a split.

"The problem with this group is the margin is so tight," Brind'Amour said. "Got to play 60 minutes or you're not going

to have success. ... We came out pretty good 5-on-5 (at New Jersey)."

But Brind'Amour said troubles on the power play "sucked the life out of us."

The Senators have allowed 201 goals, the second-most in the NHL after Sunday's games. Yet they have shown strong offense at times with 172 goals, posting a better scoring average than nine other teams in the Eastern Conference.

Ottawa's breakdowns in the defensive end are sometimes glaring. It took Anders Nilsson's 44 saves to fend off the Winnipeg Jets in Saturday's 5-2 victory.

"He kept us in the game for a few stretches," left winger Zack Smith said. "They had a lot of puck possession, but we did a pretty good job of keeping them on the outside."

The recent uptick for the Senators is reason for optimism.

"We're starting to get back to where we were in the middle of December, when we were playing our best hockey," Stone said. "I think we're starting to get that confidence back."

Carolina is the only team in the league with the same number of goals scored and goals allowed -- 163 in each case.

Ottawa won 4-1 at Carolina on Jan. 18, less than two weeks after the Hurricanes posted a 5-4 road victory against the Senators.

Ottawa goes on a four-game road trip after this game, starting Thursday at Detroit. The Hurricanes start a three-game homestand on Friday against Edmonton.

--Field Level Media

Carolina Hurricanes vs. Ottawa Senators: Game Preview and Storm Advisory

The Hurricanes take on the worst team in the Eastern Conference in the final game of their road trip.

By Andrew Ahr

Carolina Hurricanes (28-22-6) vs. Ottawa Senators (21-29-5)

Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019 - 7:30 PM ET

Canadian Tire Centre - Ottawa, ON

TV: Fox Sports Carolinas Radio: 99.9 The Fan

SBN Opponent: Silver Seven Sens

The Hurricanes take on the struggling Ottawa Senators tonight as they try to secure four wins on their five game Eastern Conference road trip and rebound from a tough afternoon in New Jersey two days ago.

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Vital Statistics

Category Hurricanes Senators

Record 28-22-6 21-29-5

Points 62 47

Division Rank 5 Metro 8 Metro

Conference Rank 9 EC 16 EC

Last 10 Games 6-3-1 4-6-0

Streak Lost 1 Won 2

Goals/Game 2.89 3.13

Goals Against/Game 2.88 3.65

Shots/Game 35.5 29.8

Shots Against/Game 27.9 36.6

Faceoff % 48.8% 50.0%

Power Play % (Rank) 16.1% (26) 21.2% (T11)

Penalty Kill % (Rank) 80.1% (15) 77.5% (25)

ES Corsi For % 55.58% 44.42%

ES PDO 98.4 100.1

PIM/Game 7:38 8:46

Goaltender #1

Category Petr Mrazek Craig Anderson

Record 12-12-3 14-17-3

Save % .897 .904

GAA 2.73 3.55

Goaltender #2

Category Curtis McElhinney Anders Nilsson

Record 13-6-1 9-12-1

Save % .915 .916

GAA 2.50 2.70

Game Notes

Tonight’s game is the third and final between the teams this season. The Hurricanes took the first game of the season in Canadian Tire Centre by a score of 5-4, while the Senators took the January 18th matchup in Raleigh by a score of 4-1.

The Hurricanes are 21-7-5 in their last 33 games against the Senators.

Dougie Hamilton scored his 10th goal of the season in New Jersey on February 10th, reaching a double-digit goal total for the fifth consecutive season. He is one of the five defensemen in the NHL to post at least 10 goals in each of the last five seasons, in good company with Brent Bruns, Mark Giordano, Roman Jose, and Aaron Ekblad. He’s been hot lately, scoring seven goals in his last 18 games. That’s the most among NHL defensemen in that span.

Sebastian Aho recorded his 100th career NHL and Hurricanes assist in Sunday afternoon’s loss to the Devils. He currently is tied for the Metropolitan Division lead in points with 63.

Micheal Ferland misses practice yesterday with what Rod Brind’Amour called some bumps and bruises, and while Brind’Amour expects Ferland to be available tonight, the Hurricanes recalled Patrick Brown from Charlotte as insurance.

Storm Advisory

LeBrun: The buyers, sellers, and TBD teams ahead of the looming trade deadline. [The Athletic]

Calvin de Haan visited his old stomping grounds yesterday.

And Mike Maniscalco was there to document it.

The Hurricanes are hosting a Prescription Drug Take Back night on Friday.

The Penguins got robbed.

The Senators might be in trouble this offseason.

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Behind Enemy Lines: Previewing the Senators, Oilers and Stars

The Canes end their road trip, then play host to two Western Conference foes.

By Andy House

Ottawa Senators

Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. at Canadian Tire Centre

The trade deadline looms large over the Ottawa Senators as they enter play on Tuesday night. With multiple names rumored to be on the move, the Sens roster could look a lot different in a very short period of time. Pending UFA’s Mark Stone, Matt Duchene (rumored to be close to signing an extension), and Ryan Dzingel are heavily involved as the deadline nears and the Senators continue to languish in last place in the Eastern Conference.

While it is possible that the Hurricanes could be interested in acquiring one of these options, the more immediate concern for the Canes is their ability to take care of business closing out what has been a fine road trip up to this point. After pushing out to three impressive wins at the outset of the trip, closing it with back-to-back defeats to Eastern Conference also-rans would be a legitimate disappointment. Combine that with the Canes’ desire to make amends for their listless performance at home against the Sens almost a month ago in what was Nino Niederreiter’s first game as a Hurricane, and Carolina has every reason to come prepared and ready to dig in for what should be a tough battle against a team that has proven they can at least score with some regularity.

After their win in Raleigh on January 18th, the Senators immediately embarked on a five-game losing streak that was just recently snapped with wins on home ice over the hapless Anaheim Ducks, and more interestingly, the Winnipeg Jets. Therefore, the Canes need to look no further than the last game to be warned of the type of effort required to earn two points. The two victories have showcased the talents of the rumored trade bait, as Duchene and Stone each posted four points (three goals, one assist) over the two contests. If Carolina is to be effective, corralling Stone and Duchene will go a long way towards success. The depth that the Canes have played with recently with all four lines contributing is also crucial against a team that has unquestionably high-end talent, but lacks in the depth department. Turn this game into a fast-paced four line battle, keep special teams on the sidelines for the most part, and the Hurricanes will have a decided advantage.

What to Watch For

The Canes power play has continued to struggle, and was a serious factor in their defeat in New Jersey on Sunday. Ottawa is a bottom-six penalty kill in the NHL, and spend an average of 8.8 minutes per game shorthanded. Can Carolina take advantage of their opportunities?

Who will be in net for Carolina? Petr Mrazek has seen two consecutive starts, but Curtis McElhinney started the first two contests of the trip.

Edmonton Oilers

Friday, 7:30 p.m. at PNC Arena

Despite producing what has been mostly a terrible brand of hockey, terrible enough to get GM Peter Chiarelli fired (as well as Todd McLellan earlier this season), the Edmonton Oilers remain on the periphery of the Western Conference wild card discussion. Even at 24-26-5, the Oilers sit just six points out of a playoff spot. With that in mind, the question swirling around Edmonton is whether or not the Oilers should attempt to provide some sort of band-aid for a roster that has fallen into disrepair in an attempt to salvage a playoff berth, or to trade away assets that might have some value in an attempt to build for a stronger future. While it would seem fairly simple to decide to build a more sturdy roster in the future, a rabid fanbase and the otherworldly talents of Connor McDavid might persuade the organization to take their chances in trying to get into the dance.

For a deeper look at the roster issues the Oilers face, check out the breakdown from the Behind Enemy Lines prior to the Canes trip to Alberta just before the break. The bottom line for the Oilers is that wasting the prime years of McDavid (who has an astounding 80 points in 54 games) has added significant stress from the fanbase. Openly discontent fans have taken out their frustration on social media and at Rogers Arena. One fan hurled his jersey on the ice in protest last week during another defeat to the Chicago Blackhawks, and Connor McDavid has expressed that he understands the fans are angry and frustrated at what has become an underachieving team, which was just a win away from the Western Conference Final just two seasons ago.

With so many holes within the roster, it is difficult to decide where the Oilers would need to add to stabilize themselves for a playoff berth. Goalie has been a serious issue with Cam Talbot providing his worst season in the final year of his deal. His .893 save percentage has gotten him into basically a timeshare with Mikko Koskinen, who has been better at .906, but would not appear to be a long term solution in net. Quality on the blueline and NHL-caliber depth at forward are also issues, but addressing those would come at a significant cost due to the cap-strapped nature of the Oilers payroll would mean significant draft compensation would be needed to help the Oilers move salary in a deal to improve the roster as it stands.

Regardless, the Oilers will enter Friday night’s contest in need of clarity as the deadline approaches. Clarity that can only be resolved by a streak, whether it be winning or losing.

What to Watch For

As is said mostly every time the Canes take on the Oilers, what to watch is Connor McDavid. Arguably the most talented player in the NHL, McDavid has world-class speed. His matchups with Jaccob Slavin have been terrific in the past, so look for that to continue.

With last change at home, and no Jordan Staal available to match up with McDavid, it will be interesting to see how Brind’Amour manipulates his forwards when McDavid is iced. Rolling the four lines has been successful for Carolina, but will he look to play matchups against a top-heavy opponent?

Dallas Stars

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Saturday, 8:00 p.m. at PNC Arena

The Dallas Stars have continued to deal with the injury bug, most recently with starting netminder Ben Bishop being sidelined for an undisclosed amount of time, but have managed to stay relevant in the Central Division playoff race where they currently hold third place. Powered by a recent five-game winning streak, the Stars appear to be in prime position to claim a playoff spot, but may need to add some reinforcements to account for some significant losses. While Bishop’s length of absence has not been disclosed, the Stars do know that key defenseman Marc Methot will not return this season, and that Centers Martin Hanzal and Tyler Pitlick continue to miss significant time. The question is, will the Stars have the means to pull off another trade after they acquired Andrew Cogliano from the Ducks almost a month ago and re-acquired Jamie Oleksiak from the Pittsburgh Penguins for their blueline?

This season has been a strange turnabout for the formerly high-octane Stars. Just four seasons ago, they led the NHL in offense, while surviving with suspect defense and goal-tending. Now, after trending in this way for the past few seasons, they have morphed into the inverse of their previous identity. Sitting at 29th in the NHL in goals scored, but 2nd in goals against, the Stars are a tight-checking, defensive oriented team despite elite offensive players in Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin being the face of the organization. Toss in Alexander Radulov, who is second on the team with 44 points this season, and you would think that a slumping offensive season across the board would have spelled certain doom for the Stars.

But in the tandem of Bishop and former Cane Anton Khudobin in net, Dallas has iced the most formidable goalie group in the league as they have each provided a .924 save percentage and a goals against average under 2.50. Khudobin will have to take on the heavy lifting in the near-term, making even a reasonably long absence a serious issue for this defensive-heavy team. Fortunately for the Stars, they are in the midst of a stretch that only sees them play back-to-back games once until mid-March. If Bishop can return by then, they will be able to focus their trade deadline attention on adding some scoring and blueline depth.

For Carolina to have success against Dallas, they must capitalize on the offensive opportunities that present themselves. In the past, a more defensive style may have suited the Canes fine against the Stars, but pushing the action and playing with pace and flow should help the Canes open up the neutral zone against the tight defensive structure of the Stars. If the Canes settle into the Stars adopted style of play, it could be a long and frustrating Saturday night at PNC Arena.

What to Watch For

We discussed the top end offensive talent that the Stars do in fact possess. It is apparent most on the powerplay where the Stars rate a solid 14th in the league, despite being only 29th in offense.

In the second of a back-to-back, how will Carolina manage their minutes in both of the games to make sure they remain fresh? The rolling of lines and pairings served them well in Buffalo and New York this past weekend, but can they recreate that at home?

Hurricanes Trade Deadline Primer: Ferland, Hamilton, Faulk, Pesce, and endless possibilities

With rumors swirling and the Canes in contention, the 2019 trade deadline should be one for the ages.

By Brett Finger

Ron Francis always had a patient approach to key deadline days on the NHL calendar. He also had a go-to phrase; “More GMs get fired because of trade deadline and day one of free agency than any other days.”

In saying that, he meant that NHL general managers spend too much money and make too many risks. Ironically, he was fired for doing the opposite.

Two weeks separate the Carolina Hurricanes and the other 30 NHL teams from the February 25 trade deadline, and there are a lot of decisions to be made by Don Waddell and company with regards to their defensive log-jam, rumored interest in another top-six forward, and pending unrestricted free agent winger Micheal Ferland.

What will the Canes do? What should they do? What options do they have? Let’s explore those questions.

Here is your 2019 trade deadline primer.

Biggest Needs

Top-nine center

When you look at the current state of the Hurricanes, the biggest hole is in the middle of the ice.

Lines one through four at the center position go like: Sebastian Aho, Lucas Wallmark, Jordan Martinook, Greg McKegg. You’re going to be able to get away with that top-six. Aho is a bonafide first-line center and Wallmark is a capable NHL center who can handle defensive assignments and contribute sporadic 5-on-5 offense, though I think you’d be better off slotting the young Swede in the bottom-six.

Martinook has been a good stopgap on the third line and his game caters well to the center position, but he’s far from a great face off taker and his natural position is the wing. As for McKegg, I think you have to be pretty impressed by what he has been able to do in the role he’s been put in. He’s a veteran player who knows what he has to do in order to stick around. His offensive touch has been on display and he plays a strong north-south game. Analytically, there really aren’t any red flags. There’s no real reason to seek out a better fourth-line center.

Ideally, the Hurricanes get Jordan Staal back from injury sooner rather than later, but while he has experienced some progress as of late, acquiring a top-nine center should be a

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priority for the front office if they really want to be competitive down the stretch.

Forward Depth

Carolina’s organizational depth has been cut down this season through the losses of Phil Di Giuseppe and Valentin Zykov on the waiver wire and the call-ups of McKegg and Saku Maenalanen. In the next two weeks, the Canes need to re-stock the shelves.

This means seeking out guys like a McKegg or a Di Giuseppe - guys who provide depth for the NHL club and can aid the Checkers’ playoff run. Charlotte has really started to slow down as of late, and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that it happened right as their depth chart got gashed.

A Spot for Fox

Perhaps the most important thing for the Canes to do is create an opening on the blue line for Harvard defenseman Adam Fox. The right-handed blueliner has had a remarkable year and appears to be ready for real NHL minutes right now.

In order for him to sign, though, there has to be a spot for him. Fox has said on multiple occasions that he just wants to play NHL hockey as soon as possible, and the Canes believe that he will sign if there’s a spot for him. That means one of Carolina’s right-handed defensemen has to get shipped out.

The addition of Fox shouldn’t be overlooked. His offense from the back end should add more scoring depth and help the Canes’ horrific power play. As long as he has a spot in the lineup when he signs in March, there shouldn’t be any issues.

Best Trade Assets

Micheal Ferland

The Ferland drama has been a common talking point about the team for months now, and there’s a real possibility that it won’t end any time soon.

For a few weeks now, the potential of a trade has grown less and less likely to the point that, now, I think the odds are against him getting shipped out by the February 25 deadline. The Hurricanes are just one point behind the Pittsburgh Penguins (who they beat 4-0 in Pittsburgh last week) for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The idea of Ferland being a “self-owned rental” has been floated around, and as long as the Canes are right at the doorstep of the playoffs, he won’t get traded.

If the Canes fall out of the race in dramatic fashion over the next week or so, maybe things change. If the team feels like they can secure a valuable asset (like a first-round draft pick), it wouldn’t be difficult to convince themselves to make a move.

Regardless of what happens, Ferland will almost absolutely hit the open market on July 1.

Brett Pesce

Though he had a rough game in New Jersey on Sunday, Pesce has been playing some extremely good hockey this

season and has, in my eyes, moved up near Jaccob Slavin in the “untouchable” category.

If you’re going to trade Pesce, a 24-year-old shutdown right-handed defenseman under an unbelievably team-friendly long-term contract, you have to be getting a bonafide top-six forward in his early 20’s coming the other way. That cuts down Pesce’s market dramatically, which leads me to think that the Canes won’t even come close to trade Pesce in the next two weeks, or maybe ever.

Dougie Hamilton

Hamilton’s first-half struggles were well-documented. He was, largely, a defensive liability and his offense wasn’t prevalent enough to make up for those shortcomings. Whatever happened for him around the New Year, it’s totally changed him for the better.

Since January 3, Hamilton has netted seven goals and 12 points in 18 games. He had just three goals and ten points in the 38 games prior. That’s a pretty huge disparity for the former Flame, and on top of that, he has put together some downright dominant defensive performances.

We all knew the real Hamilton would arrive eventually, and while it took a little longer than we hoped, he’s here. And his trade value has shot up because of it. Like Pesce, Hamilton needs to fetch a really good forward if he is to get traded. Given how well he has played as of late, it’s tough to envision him getting moved.

Justin Faulk

If you follow me on Twitter, you know that I have had a tough time with Faulk for a good number of reasons. What it comes down to is this: this player should not be played the way he is being played. I don’t know why he is still getting preferential treatment over Hamilton. In no world should Faulk be getting several more minutes than Hamilton and Pesce on a nightly basis. That’s outrageous.

On top of having a negative relative corsi share at 5-on-5, he has been the second-least productive power play defenseman in the Eastern Conference this season, yet he is still on the first power play unit despite Hamilton’s huge breakout as of late.

What that doesn’t mean is that he hasn’t been better defensively this year, because he has. He has been a more reliable defender, and good for him. Good for everyone. Right now, though, it looks painfully obvious that the Canes value Faulk more so than some other defensemen on that depth chart, and for that reason, he probably won’t get traded. He also has the least trade value of any of their top-three RHD.

Trevor van Riemsdyk

I think TvR is the most likely defenseman to be moved between now and the deadline. While he holds the lowest value of Carolina’s defensemen, he is probably the easiest guy to move on from and, in doing so, create a spot for Adam Fox.

It’s hard to imagine the Canes getting anything more than a mid-round pick or a depth forward in a return for van Riemsdyk, but that value is boosted even more in the

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addition of Fox. Expect the Hurricanes to wait as long as they can to move TvR (or whichever d-man they decide to move) so that they don’t have to go without a defenseman for longer than they need to before Fox signs in March.

I think the big top-four defenseman for a top-six forward trade likely won’t happen until the offseason.

Prospects

The Hurricanes won’t mortgage the future in order to make a playoff run this season, but they could make deals that help them both right now and in the future.

This is where I look at guys like Haydn Fleury or Jake Bean. Could the Canes dangle a young defenseman out there and bring back a similar caliber forward? Perhaps the Canes can look to acquire a guy who is lower on another team’s depth chart that can break out in a big way in a more significant role in Carolina (i.e. Nino Niederreiter).

Best Trade Targets

Kasperi Kapanen - 22 years old, RW, Toronto Maple Leafs

It’s impossible to not fawn over the idea of the son of Sami Kapanen donning a Canes jersey. On top of the family connection, Kapanen has blossomed into a really good top-six forward this season with the Leafs.

In 55 games, he has 16 goals and 16 assists. He’s a blazing fast winger with a great shot and a very sound two-way game. He’s reminiscent of Michael Grabner in that way, except Kapanen is younger and has a much higher upside.

It looks very unlikely that Toronto will consider moving him mid-season and will likely wait until the offseason, assuming they ever trade him. He’s a pending RFA and he’s going to get a good pay day. If the Leafs can afford him, they’ll keep him. If not, the Hurricanes should be knocking on their door. It would likely cost them a top-four defenseman, though.

Andreas Johnsson - 24 years old, LW, Toronto Maple Leafs

Johnsson is in a similar situation as Kapanen. He’s a young, diminutive forward who has some intriguing offensive upside. Unlike Kapenen, though, he’s really been forced down the lineup due to the Leafs’ impressive forward depth.

This is a player that would be much easier to acquire than Kapanen. He’s two years older, he has less of a pedigree, and there’s more questions about his upside. If the

Hurricanes want to poach a young forward off Toronto’s roster, this one could be a good fit. He has 14 goals and 14 assists in 49 games this season while averaging just 12:52 of ice time per game. That’s really impressive.

Derick Brassard - 31 years old, C, Florida Panthers

This one if a little tricky, but I’ll try to sell it as best I can. Brassard is a known commodity around the NHL. He’s a veteran pivot who has playoff experience and has been able to produce good offensive numbers while playing a strong two-way game.

The Florida Panthers acquired Brassard last week and the expectation is that they will flip the pending UFA near the deadline. He had a rough go in Pittsburgh, but he’s been leaps and bounds better as a member of the Panthers, which could lead to his value going back up and Florida making a smart buy low, sell high business decision on him.

If the Hurricanes really want to make a playoff run, I think they need a center, and while I’d advise against entering the high-end rental market, this is one where, if they can get a reasonable deal, I think I’d take a risk. He’d undoubtedly be cheaper than a guy like Adam Henrique who is under a long-term deal and holds a lot of value for the Ducks.

I’m not even that passionate about Brassard, the Canes just need to see what centers are out there and try to fortify that position heading into the final month of the season.

Charlie Coyle - 26 years old, C/RW, Minnesota Wild

Coyle is an interesting name for a number of reasons. Minnesota has had a rather terrible year so far and the Niederreiter trade has only made it look worse for them. Injuries are a huge issue and their playoff hopes are far from great.

Would they be willing to part with a piece like Coyle? He’s a big, tough forward with offensive touch, versatility, and another year on his deal beyond 2018-19. This is a guy that is a little more than a rental, which could help justify a trade if you’re the Hurricanes. He’s signed to just a $3.2 million cap hit, which is more than reasonable for a 40-50 point player like Coyle in the prime of his career.

Other names to watch: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (EDM), Ryan Dzingel (OTT), Nikolay Goldobin (VAN), Marcus Johansson (NJD), Jakob Silfverberg (ANA), the Edmonton Oilers

About Last Night: Heads Buried in the Sand

If the Hurricanes are going to claim a playoff spot, they simply cannot continue down their current trajectory when on the power play. It’s past time for changes to be made.

By Brian LeBlanc

Normally, in this space, we look at the Carolina Hurricanes’ action from the night before, picking out two or three storylines and delving into them to provide a coherent explanation of why the game went the way it did.

Today, we take a different tack: a one-subject plea for Rod Brind’Amour to please, please, please change up the top power play unit.

The Hurricanes’ loss to the New Jersey Devils yesterday included one power play goal in five attempts, and that one came with Petr Mrazek on the bench for the extra attacker. The Hurricanes had a 30-second two-man advantage in the first period and not only did they not score a goal - keeping them 0-for-the season at 5-on-3 - they did not generate a single shot.

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In short, it was exactly the power play performance that we’ve come to expect, and it’s well past time for the coaching staff to shake things up and make changes.

The top power play unit should be better than it is. Eighteen of Sebastian Aho’s 63 points have come on the man advantage. Teuvo Teravainen has 15. Justin Williams has 9, as does Micheal Ferland who was part of the first unit for a good portion of the season’s opening few months. Nino Niederreiter has only been a Hurricane for ten games, but he has three points already.

And then there’s Justin Faulk. He’s played every game. He’s quarterbacked the first power-play unit in every game. He has five points.

Five power play points. In 56 games. For all their trouble on the power play, the Hurricanes have scored 30 man-advantage goals this season, and on 25 of those goals, the team’s top defenseman is nowhere to be found on the scoresheet.

For all of Rod Brind’Amour’s motivational tactics and his ability to inspire confidence and a buy-in from every corner of the locker room, this is his biggest blind spot in the opening months of his coaching career. Sticking with the same personnel is admirable to a point, because it shows he trusts his players. But we’ve now reached the point - in truth, we’ve long since passed it - where it’s gone from admirable to a hindrance.

Faulk averages 1.87 5-on-4 points per 60, which is the worst among all defensemen in the NHL with more than 140 5-on-4 minutes. Expand that out to 100 minutes and he’s third-worst. Dougie Hamilton, who plays a full minute per game less than Faulk on the power play, averages 2.62 points per 60 at 5-on-4.

The Hurricanes are getting very little from the man they need to be the trigger for power-play efficiency. Two things need to happen here: Faulk needs to be put in a position to succeed, which he is indisputably not doing right now, and the Hurricanes need to get more production out of that spot.

Perhaps Faulk’s best spot is on the half-wall along the boards. Part of his ineffectiveness is due to it being too easy for his passes from the point to down low to be read by opposing defenses - not because they’re soft passes necessarily, but more because there is very little movement

away from the puck. Recipients of Faulk’s passes tend to be either along the goal line to either side of the net or direct vertical passes that get too close to a defender. Repositioning Faulk to the half-wall, in what was the Ray Whitney spot in years gone by, would insert more uncertainty into the process.

From that spot, Faulk would have a few options: set up a point man (Jaccob Slavin?) for a one-timer, pick out a skater coming down the back side of the defense, or maybe work it behind the net and cause chaos in the crease.

For this to work, it would require a forward not currently playing the point to assume that role; Lucas Wallmark is the obvious possibility. Faulk would then serve as a rover of sorts, not a defenseman but not really a forward either.

The fact is, Faulk in his current position is not helping the Hurricanes’ power play. Hamilton’s play has improved dramatically since Christmas, and he’s only averaging 2:11 of power play time per game. If that number holds, it would be his lowest usage with the man advantage since his sophomore season with the Bruins, six years ago. The Hurricanes have an underutilized asset with Hamilton on the power play. Why not change things up and try to solve two problems at once?

In the offseason, the Hurricanes can - and should - address the systemic issues with the power play, which now stretch over three head coaches. But in the meantime, they need to do something to make the man advantage more potent. Not doing so will be the Achilles heel of the Hurricanes’ nascent surge into the playoff race, and will render meaningless the solid goaltending and timely scoring they’ve gotten from elsewhere in the lineup.

We've seen what can happen when one component of a team’s machinery breaks down. Last year, it was goaltending. This year, it’s the power play. The Hurricanes can’t keep allowing history to repeat itself. They need to shake up the power play, and fast.

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Carolina Hurricanes Jersey History

By Peter Ferrell

For people that are supposed to be exceedingly competent businesspeople, National Hockey League owners sure do make some fascinating choices.

For evidence, look no further than Peter Karmanos Jr., former majority (and current minority) owner of the Carolina Hurricanes. Formerly chief executive officer at Compuware, Karmanos joined the NHL ownership ranks in 1994, as part of the group that purchased the rudderless Hartford Whalers.

Now, an NHL team is a risky investment for anyone (how many of them actually make money, do y’reckon?), but Karmanos had been involved in hockey his entire life. The Whalers were a disappointment on the ice, especially following the boneheaded trade of superstar centre Ron Francis, and struggling mightily off it, due to the small size of the Hartford market and the lack of an NHL-calibre arena. So why, then, would Karmanos buy in?

Ron Francis, one of the lone bright spots on the Whalers throughout the ’80s and early ’90s. (The Hockey Writers)

And especially why, three seasons later, would he choose to move the team to Raleigh, North Carolina (renaming them the Carolina Hurricanes), a city far from a slam-dunk for relocation success?

More to the point, Raleigh’s brand-new arena was so new that it wouldn’t even be ready for another two years, forcing the team to play out of nearby Greensboro. And when I say “nearby,” I mean, an hour and a half away. Needless to say, the move didn’t exactly help the team’s attendance.

The Hurricanes have stumbled along ever since, making the playoffs only five times in 21 seasons post-relocation, including missing the dance nine straight times going into 2018-19. Yes, they did manage a Stanley Cup in the free-for-all that was 2005-06, but the ‘Canes have never really had any prolonged period of competitiveness, something even their bumbling predecessors managed.

Carolina Hurricanes Storm Warning

To be fair, the ‘Canes did have a tough act to follow, at least in the uniform department. For all the Whalers’ faults, nearly everyone agrees the team had some truly sweet duds, centred by one of the most artistically brilliant logos to ever grace an NHL jersey.

Wearing these steely, aggressive kits, and with a logo that made incredible use of negative space, the Hartford Whalers were a prime example of style over substance.

The Hurricanes, though sticking with the seafaring theme, completely redesigned the team’s look. Gone was the blue,

green and silver colour scheme, replaced by red, black and silver. Gone, too was the Whalers crest, replaced instead by a swirling hurricane.

The Hurricanes take a lot of flak for their logo, but I think it looks good; nice and aggressive. The shape reminds me of Sonic the Hedgehog in full flight. Yes, it’s a bit blunt, especially considering the complex brilliance of its predecessor. However, I feel most of the hate comes not on account of its own design, but because it replaced a beloved icon of sports logodom.

Traditional underpinnings and excellent use of hurricane imagery make the ‘Canes’ first kits really rather nice, flaws and all.

As for the rest of the uniforms, they were reasonably well thought-out, too. After choosing traditional striping patterns for the sleeves and socks, the ‘Canes broke with the blandness of hockey custom and went with a hurricane warning flag motif for a tail stripe. I think it works better on the red jerseys than the whites (it’s left to float about on the latter, while sandwiched and secured nicely on the former), but I love it, nonetheless. The italicised name and number font works well, too, congruent with the impression of movement the primary logo communicates.

Nevertheless, one thing I really take issue with is the lack of consistency. The tail striping utilises a five-stripe pattern, while the sleeves use three stripes, as do the socks (though in a different arrangement), with the collar only getting two. The application of silver is similarly spotty, with the red jerseys getting more of it than the whites, and the socks receiving none at all. I would also have liked to see black pants used for the red kit, for purposes of contrast and aggression.

Speaking of ruining a good idea with sloppy execution, take a look at that shoulder patch. The team’s secondary logo also utilises the hurricane warning flag, with a singular flag mounted on a hockey stick, the two straining together against the (hurricane-force, presumably) wind. Not bad, right?

Well, one, the singular flag technically represents “storm warning,” not “hurricane warning,” somewhat lessening its impact. And two, the whole thing is mounted on a black triangle, supposedly symbolising North Carolina’s Research Triangle. ‘Cause yeah, that’s what people want to be reminded of when they put on their jersey.

That triangle looked a whole lot cooler before I found out what it’s supposed to represent.

The Hurricanes had a few good design ideas they then ruined with overengineering. Or maybe they didn’t put

CAROLINA HURRICANES


enough effort in and underengineered them. Or maybe the engineers just weren’t competent in the first place. Whatever.

The jersey engineering on the Hurricanes’ inaugural kit is intriguing but, ultimately, sub-par.

Carolina Hurricanes at the Reebok Edge of Reason

With the exception of a black outline added to the player names a couple seasons in, the ‘Canes’ kits remained exactly the same for a decade.

However, the 2007-08 rollout of the Reebok Edge uniform system resulted in many a team making unneeded, often detrimental changes to their uniforms. The Hurricanes were no different, further muddling an already flawed design.

I mean, why bother doing anything at all if you’re just going to make things worse?

As you can see, none of the flaws of either the home or away uniforms were addressed. Instead, you know that vertical piping everyone was adding to their jerseys at the time? Well, the ’Canes turned it into shoulder yokes. Or, rather, the outline of shoulder yokes. Actual shoulder yokes might have looked cool – especially on the white jerseys, but the Hurricanes felt an outline was sufficient.

It’s not. It only serves to further complicate an already confused cacophony of confuddlement.

Carolina Hurricanes One Step Forward, Two Steps Black

In 2013, the Hurricanes debuted a black alternate kit, with the almost-hurricane flag crest front and centre, and the swirling hurricane relegated to shoulder duty.

Interestingly, the ‘Canes chose to go with the wacky, wavy sock striping of Reebok Edge for their alternate uniform, after (wisely) ignoring it in their home and away ensembles. They even changed the amount and order of the sock stripes, though this alteration is at least in line with the changes to the sleeve striping. Unfortunately, this continuity is lost when one looks at the jersey tails, where silver is on top and red on the bottom, contrary to the rest of the kit. The Hurricane stripe is also much thicker than the sleeve stripes, while it’s red trim stripe is much thinner.

The Hurricanes missed another opportunity to make all their striping elements consistent, a decision from which this kit could have benefitted greatly.

There’s a lot to like here, but the negatives are as glaring as they are befuddling. Worse, the faults are entirely self-inflicted.

Carolina proceeded to further ruin their attempt at progress with yet another head-scratching decision: greying out the hurricane flag motif and shoulder logos. This tragic overestimation of “silver” (grey) deadens what could have been a staggeringly good black kit – a rarity in the NHL.

Fortunately, the Hurricanes finally decided to switch to black helmets and black pants. Unfortunately, this decision applied to their black jerseys.

To make their outfits even more punchy, they could have used the team’s red helmets and pants with the black jerseys

for some added contrast, likewise putting the black helmets and pants to use in the red kit.

Alas, no such luck.

Carolina Hurricanes Downgraded to Tropical Storm

What’s that saying, “Be careful what you wish for?” Hurricanes fans sure must have been thinking that when the team brought out their redesigned kits for the 2013-14 campaign.

The black alternate sweater remained in the rotation, unchanged, but the home reds and road whites were both given complete overhauls.

And not for the better.

Apologies if you fall asleep reading this. I promise, it’s entirely the fault of these jerseys.

The home uniform is thoroughly boring, with two thin, white stripes adorning the tail, sleeves and socks. Consistent, yes, but utterly devoid of any thought, care or artistic merit whatsoever. The most interesting thing about it is the lace-up collar, which is black – the only instance of black colouration on the jersey, save for a thin outline of the typeface.

While we’re on the topic of the typeface, even that manages to be boring; tall, slender lettering that would be more at home on a road sign than an NHL jersey (though the black third jerseys retained the chunky, italicised typeface of the previous uniform set). There’s just nothing about this uniform that communicates any sort of passion or evokes any sort of emotion.

It’s more of the same with the away kit. True, gapped, slim-thick-slim striping can be found on the tail, sleeves and socks, giving the uniform more complexity than its home equivalent. However, the squared-off shoulder yokes look cookie-cutter and robotic, and the V-neck collar looks downright amateurish. Different, yes. But still staggeringly uninteresting.

The Hurricanes’ original uniforms, though irritating in many ways, were undoubtedly interesting and had some excellent design features. Their replacements look as though they were designed by a computer algorithm – or maybe an alien given only the vaguest description of a hockey jersey, rather than by a human being with, you know, eyes. And a heart.

Carolina Hurricanes Gaining Strength?

But, never fear, for Adidas’ ADIZERO programme is upon us, and it has benefitted the Hurricanes’ uniform set greatly.

Well, half of it, anyway. Actually, only a third. Whatever. Shut up.

Now that’s more like it! Well, one of them, anyway.

Yes, the old black alternates were put out to pasture, thanks to Adidas’ 2017-18 moratorium on third jerseys. And yes, the road sweaters stayed the exact same (what, did they run out of money? This is the Hurricanes, after all…).

But that red home uniform… Boy, is that ever a sight for sore, uninspired eyes. The same basic two-stripe template has been retained but, this time, the thin white stripes are

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flanked by black. The top white stripe is joined by a thin black band, while the lower stripe has a thick, chunky black block on its southern border. The addition of more black makes the black collar finally make sense, and the jersey altogether more attractive and aggressive. The hurricane warning pattern returns, too, although it’s somewhat muted and is, sadly, restricted to the tail striping.

This jersey is not without warts. The thin black trim stripe is probably not needed. I’d like to see a full-impact hurricane flag design, rather than the sublimateed design they’ve gone with. The hurricane patterning should also be extended to the sleeves and socks. Black helmets and pants would make the kit look much more striking. Oh, and the font still sucks.

But hey, much like the Hurricanes as a team, their uniforms are finally pointing in the right direction.

Hurricanes’ Latest Alternate Technically Terrible

For the 2018-19 campaign, the Hurricanes revealed a new black alternate jersey, intended to address many of the shortcomings of its predecessors in Carolina’s jersey history.

Unfortunately, the ‘Canes paid so much attention to these technicalities they ended up with an utterly horrendous frankenjersey that should be immediately burned on sight.

Good gracious, how on Earth did things go so wrong for the Hurricanes?

Starting with the logo. Yes, the Hurricanes’ old secondary crest was, technically, the warning for a storm, rather than a hurricane, but, let’s be honest, who really cares?

Loads of logos aren’t exactly as advertised. The Ottawa Senators’ logo is the head of a Roman centurion, not a senator. True, the positions sometimes overlapped, but the Sens’ crest is much more warrior than politician. Or, how about the crests of the Buffalo Sabres, which have always focussed more on images of buffalo, rather than swords. Some people even contend the original logo of the Los Angeles Kings is actually a queen’s crown.

The point is, a cool logo is a cool logo. If people are looking to hockey sweaters for historical and scientific accuracy, the problem is with them, not the team.

Carolina’s dual-flag design, while technically correct as a hurricane warning, makes for an overly oblong crest that just looks plain weird on the front of the jersey, especially considering it’s not mounted atop anything to help round out the shape.

The old flag design wasn’t perfect, but it’s a darn sight better than this. Or, here’s an idea, why not just plop the regular logo on there? It’d look absolutely fabulous atop a black background.

This new logo does have one neat feature: The space between the two flags forms the outline of North Carolina. It’s a clever touch, for sure, even if it does feel a bit forced and a little too niche. Unlike something like the Whalers’ logo, or even that of the Vegas Golden Knights, this use of negative space isn’t really noticeable through organic observation. Design features are like telling jokes: If you have to explain it, maybe it’s not all that good.

As for the Hurricanes’ primary logo, it’s again relegated to shoulder duty, complemented by the North Carolina state flag on the other side, both of which are greyed out. Notwithstanding the fact putting flags on jerseys is an unnecessary and thoroughly unwelcome design decision, everything’s set atop a “storm grey” shoulder yoke.

In what world is grey ever a good idea as a major feature on a hockey jersey? Did ‘Canes learn nothing from the New York Islanders??

Then-New York Islanders captain Mark Streit was forced to wear this monstrosity, something which no doubt risked violation of the United Nations Convention Against Torture. (Photo courtesy of New York Islanders)

Even worse, the Hurricanes have used grey on top of a black background, making the entire ensemble look absolutely ridiculous.

Even if you’re going to use grey, why wash out the shoulder patches?? On a bland, dreary uniform, that’s exactly where you could do with a splash of colour! And, if grey’s so important, why isn’t it used literally anywhere else in this outfit – or any Carolina outfit, for that matter???

This is basic stuff here, friends.

The striping is a shambles, too, with the neat, textured, “heathered red” motif ruined by its implementation in an asymmetrical package featuring one thick stripe atop a thinner one on the sleeves and socks of the kit, with the tail featuring a single, thick stripe flush against the bottom of the jersey body.

While I applaud Carolina for bringing back black helmets and pants, again, I can’t help feeling they’d be better utilised with the red sweaters, while the red helmets and pants of the home kit would provide badly needed colour and contrast to these alternates.

Speaking of colour and contrast, the names and numbers will be white, trimmed in red. Using white numbers on a black and grey jersey runs the risk of making the sweater look dull and soulless. The ‘Canes used red numbering on their previous black kits, and it looked absolutely fantastic.

The team says the change is to make the numbers “legible and camera-friendly.” If it’s such a big deal, why doesn’t every NHL team have numbers that are either black or white?

All in all, these third jerseys are absolutely horrendous.

Interestingly, owner Tom Dundon was on Twitter recently, soliciting logo suggestions from fans.

Given that he’s looking for a new logo for the Hurricanes, hopefully a new alternate uniform won’t be far behind.

Carolina Hurricanes Climate Change?

It’s a real shame the Hurricanes haven’t had any sustained success, as they do draw fans – Caniacs, in fact – when they’re winning. Or, you know, at least not abjectly terrible.

The team has just been so offensively (and goaltendingly) starved the past few seasons that they’ve become absolutely

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dreadful to watch. Can you really blame people for not going?

On-ice results aside, the Hurricanes aren’t exactly helping themselves with their branding strategy. Though their red home uniforms are very nice, their white road kits are as

uninspired as it gets, and their vomit-inducing black alternates should never have seen the light of day.

The Hurricanes have every opportunity to turn their ship around and return to their winning ways (or, rather, “way”).

If that happens in the near future, however, they certainly aren’t going to look very good doing it.

Weekly Report: Feb. 11, 2019

Written by Nicholas Niedzielski

Week in Review

Team Statistics

Overall record

32-13-7

Home record

14-6-4

Road record

18-7-3

Last week's record

1-2-1

Last 10 games

2-4-4

Division Standings

1st

Conference Standings

1st

League Standings

1st

Checkers 3, Cleveland 1

The Checkers kicked off their week on high note, building an early lead and topping the Monsters in their first meeting this season. After Aleksi Saarela opened the scoring less than six minutes in, the Checkers added two more unanswered in the middle frame to hold a 3-0 advantage heading into the third. Cleveland would finally put one behind Alex

Nedeljkovic, who finished the night with 32 stops, but that would be the extent of their comeback attempt and the Checkers came away with the victory. Full recap

Checkers 1, Cleveland 5

The next night’s rematch didn’t fare as well for the home side. The Monsters tallied two goals in the second to open the scoring, but Nick Schilkey lit the lamp to pull the Checkers within one going into the final frame. Cleveland would strike twice over a 29-second span early in the third, however, and that would prove to be a back breaker for Charlotte. Cleveland added one more before the midway point of the third and that would be enough to bury the Checkers, who fired 41 shots but saw 40 of them turned aside by Jean-Francois Berube. Scott Darling finished the night with 30 saves but was saddled with the loss. Full recap

Checkers 2, Hershey 3

The Checkers hit the road to take on the hottest team in the Eastern Conference and locked in a tight back and forth battle. Jake Bean put the Checkers on top late in the third with a power-play tally – Charlotte’s second of the night – but a low-angle strike from Riley Barber with less than two minutes left tied things up and sent the contest to overtime. The extra period saw several huge chances for both sides but no goals, so the game would proceed on to a shootout. Alex Nedeljkovic and Vitek Vanecek stood tall and denied each of the first four opportunities they faced until Nathan Walker wristed one in for Hershey in the fifth round. With the game on his stick, Janne Kuokkanen was turned aside and the Bears emerged with the two points. Full recap

Checkers 1, Hershey 2

It was another low-scoring, tightly contested game the next night in Hershey. The home side opened the scoring late in the first but a tic-tac-toe passing play finished off by Nicolas Roy evened the score midway through the second. With 91

CAROLINA HURRICANES


seconds left in the middle frame, though, Riley Barber helped the Bears convert on a two-man advantage and snag the lead. Charlotte would push hard in the third, doubling up the Bears on shots, but rookie Ilya Samsonov was unbeatable and the Bears rode out the rest of the clock for a regulation win. Full recap

Three Stars Of The Week

3rd Star

Jake Bean

1g, 1a

2nd Star

Morgan Geekie

1g, 2a

1st Star

Alex Nedeljkovic

1-1-1, 1.64 GAA, .936 SV%

Notables

POTTING POINTS

The Checkers are currently mired in their first real slump of the season. They are winless in three straight and have just two regulation wins in their last 10 games. In fact, the Checkers have the third-fewest points in the Eastern Conference standings over the last 10 games. The positive take on Charlotte’s skid is that the team has managed to collect at least collect a point in half of those losses, giving them a point in six of their last 10 games. Despite the recent downturn the Checkers’ early success has kept them afloat in the standings. They lead the Atlantic Division by nine points, have eight more points than any other team and boast the best points percentage in the AHL.

THOUGHT IT WAS A DROUGHT

Charlotte’s offense has had a hard time finding the back of the net as of late. The Checkers have scored more than two goals just once over the last six games, accumulating a total of eight goals over that 1-2-2-1 stretch. The one outlier – a three-goal effort against Cleveland on Tuesday night – was also the lone win for Charlotte during that run. The Checkers have recorded at least three goals in nearly two-thirds of their games this season, but have struggled when they don’t hit that mark. In fact, Charlotte is 4-10-4 when scoring two or fewer goals this season. Charlotte’s top six goal scorers this season – Andrew Poturalski, Aleksi Saarela, Nicolas Roy, Morgan Geekie, Julien Gauthier and Janne Kuokkanen – have a total of four goals over the last six games.

TIGHETENING UP

It’s been overshadowed by the struggles on offense, but the Checkers have had success holding their opponents in check as of late.

Following a stretch where they allowed at least four goals in four straight games, the Checkers have allowed more than two in just two of their last seven games. That’s carried over to the penalty kill as well, as the Checkers have surrendered three goals in their last 23 penalty kills over the last seven games.

NED STANDS TALL

Despite taking his first regulation in over two months on Sunday, Alex Nedeljkovic has been lights out for the Checkers as of late. The AHL’s wins leader has pushed his way into the top 10 best goals-against averages in the league by virtue of a three-game week that saw him post a 1.64 mark with a .936 save percentage. Nedeljkovic has held opponents to two or fewer goals through regulation in each of his last five appearances.

Ranks

Andrew Poturalski is tied for fifth in the AHL in scoring (48), tied for 8th in assists (30) and tied for fifth in game-winning goals (5)

Dan Renouf ranks second in the AHL in penalty minutes (100)

Alex Nedeljkovic leads the league in wins (22), ranks second in minutes played (1964:02), ranks fourth in saves (808) and is tied for eighth in goals-against average (2.54)

Jake Bean leads all rookie defensemen in scoring (31), is tied for the lead in goals (10) and ranks third in assists. He is also tied for 10th among all blue liners in points and tied for fifth in goals

Trevor Carrick ranks second among league blue liners in game-winning goals (4)

INJURIES

Spencer Smallman - Missed 39 games starting 11/11

Transactions

Incoming

Feb. 9: (D) Haydn Fleury - Assigned from Carolina (NHL)

Feb. 9: (C) Steven Lorentz - Recalled from Florida (ECHL)

Feb. 8: (G) Callum Booth - Recalled from Reading (ECHL)

Outgoing

Feb. 9: (RW) Cliff Pu - Assigned to Florida (ECHL)

Coming Up

Friday, February 15 at 7:05 pm - Checkers at Springfield

Broadcast Info: AHLTV | Checkers App

Saturday, February 16 at 8:05 pm - Checkers at Providence


Sunday, February 17 at 3 pm - Checkers at Bridgeport


CAROLINA HURRICANES


By the Numbers

CATEGORY RECORD AHL RANK

LAST WEEK

Power play 17.3% t-19th 20th

Penalty kill 84.3% 4th 5th

Goals per game 3.17 17th t-6th

Shots per game 29.77 18th 18th

Goals allowed per game 2.81 7th 7th

Shots allowed per game 27.42 3rd 4th

Penalty minutes per game

13.73/td> 20th 7th

LEADERS

CATEGORY LEADER(S)

Points Andrew Poturalski (48), Aleksi Saarela (36), Janne Kuokkanen (32)

Goals Andrew Poturalski (18), Aleksi Saarela (16), Nicolas Roy, Morgan Geekie (14)

Assists Andrew Poturalski (30), Janne Kuokkanen, Jake Bean (21)

Power play goals

Janne Kuokkanen (6), Julien Gauthier (5), Nicolas Roy, Morgan Geekie (4)

Shorthanded goals

Saku Maenalanen (3), Patrick Brown, Nicolas Roy, Michal Cajkovsky (1)

Game-winning goals

Andrew Poturalski, Nicolas Roy (5), Trevor Carrick, Aleksi Saarela (4)

Shots on goal Aleksi Saarela (135), Andrew Poturalski (124), Jake Bean (114)

Penalty minutes Dan Renouf (100), Trevor Carrick (64), Julien Gauthier (51)

Plus/minus Roland McKeown (+15), Martin Necas (+13), Nick Schilkey, Morgan Geekie (+11)

Wins Alex Nedeljkovic (22)

Goals-against average

Callum Booth (2.53)

Save percentage Alex Nedeljkovic (.907)

Hurricanes Recall Patrick Brown

Written by Nicholas Niedzielski

The Checkers’ captain is headed to the NHL as the Hurricanes have recalled Patrick Brown from Charlotte.

This marks the first recall of the season for Brown, who has 18 points (10g, 8a) in 46 games for the Checkers this season. Brown, who is serving as team captain for the third consecutive year, ranks third in Checkers history with 310 games played.

The 26-year-old has 28 NHL games under his belt with Carolina, 14 of which came in 2016-17. The Hurricanes visit Ottawa on Tuesday before back-to-back home games on Friday and Saturday, while the Checkers are back in action with a three-in-three weekend starting Friday in Springfield.

TODAY’S LINKS

https://www.newsobserver.com/sports/article226082090.html https://www.wralsportsfan.com/gold-taking-stock-of-the-hurricanes/18185169/

https://www.nhl.com/hurricanes/news/gameday-preview-carolina-hurricanes-ottawa-senators/c-304732596 https://www.nhl.com/news/carolina-hurricanes-defenseman-calvin-de-haan-opens-craft-brewery-in-hometown/c-304736124

http://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/25972066/nhl-evaluating-every-new-head-coach-2018-19-nhl-season-including-new-york-islanders-barry-trotz https://sports.yahoo.com/hurricanes-seek-bounce-back-senators-184825247--nhl.html

https://www.canescountry.com/2019/2/12/18221415/carolina-hurricanes-ottawa-senators-game-preview-statistics-notes-links https://www.canescountry.com/2019/2/11/18220225/behind-enemy-lines-preview-ottawa-senators-edmonton-oilers-dallas-stars

https://www.canescountry.com/2019/2/11/18214590/carolina-hurricanes-trade-deadline-primer-ferland-hamilton-faulk-pesce-nhl-rumors https://www.canescountry.com/2019/2/11/18219839/about-last-night-carolina-hurricanes-power-play-justin-faulk-rod-brindamour-dougie-hamilton

https://thehockeywriters.com/carolina-hurricanes-jersey-history/ http://gocheckers.com/articles/features/weekly-report-feb-11-2019

http://gocheckers.com/articles/transactions/hurricanes-recall-patrick-brown

CAROLINA HURRICANES


1130268 Carolina Hurricanes

Will the Canes be buyers or sellers at the NHL trade deadline?

BY CHIP ALEXANDER

FEBRUARY 11, 2019 01:05 PM

The Carolina Hurricanes are moving closer to their biggest decision of the season: buy, sell or stand pat?

The NHL trade deadline is Monday, Feb. 25. On or before that date, players will be moved as teams either stock up with extra “pieces” for the Stanley Cup playoffs or trade players to stock up on “assets,” the two words general managers love to use.

What will the Canes do?

General manager Don Waddell said the team’s five-game road trip, which ends Tuesday against the Ottawa Senators, would give the Canes a better barometer of what direction to take. “We’ll see where we are then,” he said.

The Canes began the trip by shutting out Pittsburgh 4-0, then topping the Buffalo Sabres 6-5 in overtime. Finishing off a back-to-back on Friday, they went into New York’s Madison Square Garden, on a night when the Rangers were celebrating their 1994 Stanley Cup championship, and won 3-0.

Then, New Jersey.

With a chance Sunday to move past the Penguins in the Eastern Conference standings and take over the second wild-card playoff position, the Canes could not beat the depleted Devils at the Prudential Center. Flat in the first period, their power play totally ineffective -- “It sucked the life out of our group,” coach Rod Brind’Amour said -- the Canes fell behind 2-0 after the opening period and lost 3-2 to the last-place team in the Metropolitan Division.

The Canes, with a 28-22-6 record, remained on the outside looking in, one point shy of the playoff cutoff line after Sunday’s games. Up next: the Senators, who sit in last place in the Eastern Conference at 21-29-5.

The most pressing personnel decision for the Canes, who have not been a playoff team since 2009, is what to do about players who will become unrestricted free agents after the season -- and forward Micheal Ferland, in particular.

Ferland, obtained in the offseason trade with Calgary, has toughness, can play in the top six at forward and has playoff experience. He would make a good “rental,” another of those oft-used words, for a number of teams if the Canes decide to trade him.

“We’ve got some UFAs and one that has gotten some interest and traction,” Waddell said of Ferland. “I’ve said maybe that’s our rental piece if things are going well. We know we may not be able to sign him, but if we trade him we have to go out and find a piece.

“I would say we’re talking to a lot of people, a lot of teams. But I’ve told everybody we’ll get through the (road trip) and see where things are.”

Both goalies, Petr Mrazek and Curtis McElhinney, are due to become UFAs after the season. So is captain Justin Williams.

Waddell and the Canes already have pulled off the trade that had the NHL buzzing, bringing in forward Nino Niederreiter from the Minnesota Wild for center Victor Rask in a one-for-one deal. Niederreiter quickly moved onto the top line centered by Sebastian Aho and started scoring goals while Rask has gotten off to a slow start with the Wild.

Carolina Hurricanes’ Nino Niederreiter, center, celebrates his goal with teammates Sebastian Aho, left, and Brett Pesce (22) during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Vegas Golden Knights, Friday, Feb. 1, 2019, in Raleigh, N.C.

Karl B DeBlaker A

“You never know when you make these trades,” Waddell said. “You always hope they work out for both teams. I’ve made a lot of trades and some work out and some don’t.

“One thing that has been missing is that we took on about $1.7 million more a year, cash. Everyone wants to talk about my boss (owner Tom Dundon) being on the frugal side but this is going to cost us over $5 million more, so obviously that always is a factor. It also involves giving (Minnesota) some cap space. Again, everybody is looking for centers. Centers are at a shortage right now.”

Waddell said a rule of thumb for him in trades is: “I don’t worry as much about what we’re giving up as what we’re getting.”

“If you look at trades on paper, and that’s the job of the media to say who won or lost a trade, I look at it differently,” he said. “Did we fill a need that our hockey club needed? This position, and we’ve talked about it for a long time, we needed some goal scoring and that’s why we did it.”

Waddell said his initial discussions with Minnesota general manager Paul Fenton began months ago and included a number of trade scenarios, but that the give-and-take finally turned into Niederreiter for Rask. The trade was made Jan. 17.

“We were never going to get to that point of making a bigger deal than we made,” Waddell said. “We went at it pretty hard for those 48 hours before, probably talking 10 times, before we figured out what each of us could afford to give up to make a deal work. We finally came to the conclusion let’s just keep it simple.”

And that could be the Canes’ approach heading up to the Feb. 25 deadline -- keep it simple. Keep Ferland, look to make a run at the playoffs.

News Observer LOADED: 02.12.2019

1130329 NHL

CAROLINA HURRICANES


Seahawks M’s UW WSU Sounders NHL Expansion Storm SU Preps Stone Calkins Poll TV/Radio

By Geoff Baker

Carter Hart managed his share of memorable feats tending goal for the junior Everett Silvertips.

There was the long-awaited vanquishing of the Seattle Thunderbirds in last spring’s playoffs, followed by Hart leading the Silvertips to within two victories of their first Western Hockey League title. Before that, he helped Canada recapture gold at the World Junior Hockey Championships after losing it to the United States in heartbreaking fashion a year earlier. Not to mention, the unprecedented consecutive Canadian Hockey League Goalie of the Year honors he took home.

But none of that compares to what NHL rookie Hart, at age 20, is trying to pull off with the Philadelphia Flyers. Almost entirely because of Hart’s stellar netminding, the onetime cellar-dwelling Flyers have won nine of 10 and suddenly are chasing a playoff spot after firing their general manager and coach.

“We just want to keep things rolling,’’ Hart told NBC Sports in a postgame interview last week after his career-high 41 saves preserved a 2-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks. “We’ve got good vibes going around the locker room right now. Everybody’s working hard, and we’re having a lot of fun doing it.’’

Hart, naturally, has to keep talking up his teammates.

But a month ago, it appeared Philadelphia had a better chance of seeing Dave (The Hammer) Schultz elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame than the Flyers playing a postseason game in 2019. No team has made the NHL playoffs after being 16 points out, which the Flyers were in the race for the Eastern Conference’s final wild-card position. Hart embarked on a personal eight-game win streak, becoming just the second goalie in NHL history — Jocelyn Thibault in 1995 being the other — to do that before his 21st birthday.

The Flyers had won eight straight as a team before losing 3-2 in a shootout to the Los Angeles Kings last Thursday with Hart getting the night off. Hart was back in goal Saturday, extending his personal streak in a 6-2 win over Anaheim.

Hart was named NHL Rookie of the Month for January. Last Monday, he placed second in weekly league three-star honors for his performance the prior week.

The Edmonton native is being whispered — amazingly, given his NHL debut was Dec. 18 — as a dark-horse Calder Trophy candidate as the league’s top rookie. Hart winning the Calder would see Seattle-area junior team alums claim their second straight such prize, with former Thunderbirds captain Mathew Barzal of the New York Islanders having taken it last year.

But Barzal never put on a one-man show like this.

Since Hart’s streak began Jan. 14, the Flyers have collected 19 points in their last 10 games after managing just 38 points in their first 45 contests. They’ve leapfrogged several teams and by Sunday were within a half-dozen points of that final playoff spot with two months of season remaining.

The biggest reason is obvious: They’ve shaved about 1.4 goals allowed per game off their ledger on nights Hart plays. And that’s offset their mediocrity just about everywhere else.

Defensively, Philadelphia remains just 25th of 31 teams in goals allowed even with the boost from Hart. And they’re nothing special offensively, their top point-getter being captain Claude Giroux — a

veteran forward with one 30-goal season to his credit since being drafted when Hart was 7.

Its only player with a shot at 30 goals this season is Sean Couturier, who has 23. In fact, Couturier may wind up the only Flyer to crack even 25 goals.

You get the gist. The Flyers aren’t making the playoffs by winning many 6-5 games.

They’re where they are because Hart gets his body in front of enough pucks to buy his otherwise ordinary team extra chances at victory. That was evidenced during last week’s Vancouver contest, in which Hart’s incredible right-armed diving block of a Nikolay Goldobin shot at a previously open net preserved a win with under six minutes to go.

Half the team’s wins during their recently ended eight-game streak came with the Flyers scoring three goals or fewer. And they’ve actually allowed more scoring chances since Hart arrived than before.

“Carter Hart has made the Flyers better pretty much by himself,’’ screamed a Philadelphia Inquirer headline last week. Another from PhillyVoice.com stated Hart has “helped turn their season around.’’

Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim told reporters after the Vancouver game: “He gives us a chance to win every night.’’

The rest of the team was again exposed in last week’s loss to the Kings, outplayed throughout at home by one of the league’s worst squads before a tying goal in the final minute of regulation salvaged a point in the standings. There is justified concern in Philadelphia that the recent streak is masking team deficiencies and hurting its draft chances for what remains a longshot playoff bid.

Still, Flyers fans are clinging to Hart as their one “sure thing’’ amid the uncertainty. It’s rare any NHL draft pick touted as a potential franchise savior delivers so much right away, especially between the pipes.

The last rookie NHL netminder to come out of nowhere to win a Stanley Cup was Cam Ward of the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006. Before him, Patrick Roy of the Montreal Canadiens did it in 1986 when he was Hart’s age as did Ken Dryden for the Habs in 1971. Ron Hextall of the Flyers almost did it in 1987, but fell just short in losing a seven-game Cup Final thriller to Edmonton and capturing the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

Ed Belfour got the Chicago Blackhawks to a division title in 1991, while Tom Barrasso did the same for the Buffalo Sabres in 1984 as an 18-year-old. Steve Mason backstopped the Columbus Blue Jackets into their first playoffs in 2009.

Otherwise, it’s been slim pickings the past 50 years. Hart — drafted by Hextall before his November firing as Flyer GM — isn’t close to capturing a Stanley Cup or division title and perhaps not even a playoff spot. But his Flyers supporting cast also isn’t nearly as good as the teams Hextall, Roy, Dryden and those other playoff goalies had in front of them.

For now, historical comparisons aside, Hart’s record of 11-5-1, his 2.45 goal-against average and .926 save percentage have made him one of the most recognizable sports faces in a city boasting Joel Embiid of the 76ers and last year’s Super Bowl champion Eagles.

Which shouldn’t surprise anybody as the Flyers continue to chase a playoff opportunity that, by all logic, has no business existing. Only Hart’s face has mattered in this unlikely Flyers resurgence, and that will remain the case until this in-season turnaround plays out to its natural conclusion.

Seattle Times LOADED: 02.12.2019

CAROLINA HURRICANES


1130330 Ottawa Senators

Ottawa Senators bracing for the storm, on and off the ice

Ken Warren

With a winter storm and the Hurricanes coming Tuesday, the new favourite game for Ottawa Senators fans is to ask the “what next” questions.

What would the roster look like when and if Mark Stone, Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel are traded away? How could the Senators possibly plug the holes left by the departure of their three 25-goal scorers, three of their top six forwards?

Would the organization take a leap of faith and open front-line spots to the suddenly red-hot Belleville stars, including Drake Batherson and Logan Brown?

They are very real questions, looming on the not so distant horizon.

With the NHL trade deadline set for Feb. 25 and the Senators leaving on a four-game road trip Wednesday—not returning to Canadian Tire Centre until Feb. 22—there’s a distinct possibility that Tuesday’s contest against the Carolina Hurricanes could mark the final home game for any or all of Stone, Duchene and Dzingel.

I'm going to have a very hard time following the #ottawasenators if Mark Stone is traded. Dude is the heart and soul of whatever is left of this franchise. #nhl #TradeDeadline

— shawn (@SaveOurSenators) February 7, 2019

For the time being though, Zack Smith, the longest serving current Ottawa Senator won’t allow himself to go to that uncomfortable place.

“I don’t think it’s beneficial to think about it,” Smith said following Monday’s workout. “I haven’t considered what it would be like. That stuff is out of our control. We’re not paid to speculate.”

At the same time, Smith recognizes just how difficult life has become for his high-profile teammates, carrying on with the games while wondering and waiting about their futures.

“Last year, my name was being thrown out a lot,” he said. “It’s not an easy situation for them. They probably get asked the same question every day. They’re huge pieces of our organization and people want to know what’s going to happen.”

At least there’s a winning streak, of sorts, to discuss.

The Senators 5-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday came on the heels of a 4-0 defeat of the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday.

While Stone, Duchene and Dzingel have led the offence, combining for seven goals and two assists in the two victories, there have been some other bright spots.

Well, I've gotta admit that the #OttawaSenators goaltending has been on fire taking that many shots

— Logan MacKinnon (@loganmackinnon1) February 9, 2019

After stopping 89 of 90 shots in the past two wins, goaltender Anders Nilsson will go for his third straight triumph. He has won six of his past eight starts.

Smith has been part of an energetic two-way third line, along with Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Magnus Paajarvi, that has shut down big-name opponents. Pageau, Paajarvi and Smith have all played a role in the Senators drastically improved shorthanded play. The Senators

have gone eight games without allowing a power play goal and have yielded only one in their past 12 contests.

“It’s a difficult situation and you never want to be at the bottom of the standings, because that means there are going to be changes,” said Smith. “But there is a lot to be positive about now. We’re playing with a lot of confidence right now. We have more trust in our defensive game. Our special teams, especially our (penalty killing) has improved so much. Going into games, that helps a lot with the confidence.”

Defenceman Cody Ceci agrees that the recent winning serves as a deflection from the big picture, but he’s also well aware that he could be out the door before Feb. 25, as well.

“With the situation we’re in, it’s not that much fun, so when you have something going for you, it’s (good).”

In many ways, the games serve as the escape from the trade noise.

“I’m in contact with my agency quite a bit and you hear all the rumbles and stuff,” Ceci said. “You’ve just got to put it in the back of your mind until it actually happens.”

It’s a trickier time for the Hurricanes players who could be on the trade market if Carolina falls out of the race.

Heading into the Pittsburgh Penguins Monday game against the Philadelphia Flyers, the Hurricanes were only a single point behind the Penguins for the final wild card spot.

If the surprising Hurricanes keep winning, their chances of staying in Carolina grow. If they fall off the pace, they become vulnerable to being shipped out.

There are number of Hurricanes defencemen who could help a playoff contender. At the same time, the mobile defence is a major reason why they’ve caught many teams off guard.

“Their goaltenders have done well, but really, if you look at the NHL, the defensive corps on all those top teams have really good quality depth (on defence),” said Senators coach Guy Boucher. “So, when you at their team, that’s what they’ve got. If you don’t look at names…for us, when we look at video the last times we’ve played them, that’s the first thing we’ve told our players. They’ve got real mobile defencemen and they can all move the puck. They’ve also got hard-working forwards on all four lines.”

As for the Senators, not much has changed lately on their forward lines. How long will that last? Welcome back to the guessing game.

A TALE OF TWO CITIES

Anders Nilsson has found his groove in the Senators crease, stopping 89 of 90 shots in victories over Anaheim and Winnipeg last week.

It has been quite the turnaround since the start of his season with Vancouver.

W-L-OTL, GAA, SAVE PERCENTAGE

Vancouver: 3-8-1 3.09 .895

Ottawa: 6-4-0 2.21 .937

Ottawa Sun LOADED: 02.12.2019

1130331 Ottawa Senators

Warrenspiece: Borowiecki stands up for Condors; Batherson and Brown take flight in Belleville; Archibald goes the extra miles

CAROLINA HURRICANES


Ken Warren

Mark Borowiecki is making no apologies for using whatever voice he has to address an injustice.

The rugged Ottawa Senators defenceman is livid at what he calls the “bureaucratic nonsense” that led to a pair of Capital City Condors players being banned from playing in a special needs hockey tournament in Kitchener next weekend.

Tournament organizers said Tysen Lefebvre and Lucas Hooper were ineligible to play due to the fact they use a Kaye Trainer, a specialized aid that allows them to move around the ice.

“That doesn’t make sense to me,” said Borowiecki, who serves as honourary captain of the Condors and is quite familiar with the Lefebvre and Hooper families. “Sledges are allowed on the ice with upright players. I see no reason why, at the lowest level of special hockey, Kaye Trainers and skate assistants can’t be allowed with upright players. It’s not an insurance issue. It’s a sanctioning issue – at the expense of kids who need our support and need our inclusion.”

The issue of who can and can’t play together and what equipment is allowed on the ice in special hockey has become a bigger issue in Ontario, Canada and internationally as the special needs hockey community grows. There have been differences of opinion on whether all players with cognitive and physical challenges should be included. For Condors president Jim Perkins, that goes against the fundamental idea that hockey should be for everyone.

“If you’re talking about the potential for advancement and opening the doors for more players, new equipment is being developed every day,” said Perkins.

TALK IS CHEAP: Borowiecki hopes the current battle – there have been suggestions that Human Rights complaints could be filed against sanctioning bodies — can turn into a positive.

If that is, the Ontario Hockey Federation, the Canadian Adaptive Hockey Alliance and Hockey Canada can sit down and iron out the issues involved.

“We can turn it into something good,” said Borowiecki, who happened to be wearing a rainbow-coloured Senators logo on a baseball cap Monday to highlight Tuesday’s “Love is Love” theme night against the Carolina Hurricanes.

“Here’s a chance for Hockey Canada to intercede. This is your job. Step in here and make this right and deal with politics after.

“Does it look good? Absolutely not. This is, I believe, Hockey is For Everyone month, right? This is what we talk about, we preach it as a sport, about inclusivity and about how we’re all good guys here. Well, talk is cheap. Now is the time to do something about it. If it’s kind of a long forgotten, miswritten rule from back whenever when special hockey started that needs to be changed, then that’s fine, let’s amend it, let’s change it and deal with everything else after.”

After hearing about the issue on Sunday, Borowiecki had a lengthy phone conversation with former Senator Kyle Turris, who was honourary captain of the Condors before being traded to the Nashville Predators last season. Turris remains close with the Condors and their families.

“(Turris) is a reasonable, level-headed guy,” said Borowiecki. “He’s going to make some calls (Monday). He has some contacts with Hockey Canada and is going to reach out. The bottom line for us is taking care of these special players.”

BIG WEEKEND HARVEST ON THE FARM: After scoring six goals and five assists in four games last week, Drake Batherson was named AHL player of the week Monday. Batherson also received the

honour earlier in the season before being called up to play 17 games with the big-league Senators.

Batherson’s linemate, Logan Brown, has also hit his stride in Belleville. Brown scored the overtime game winner against the Toronto Marlies Sunday, allowing Belleville to complete a three-game sweep on the weekend. Brown, who suffered from injuries and inconsistency in the early portion of the AHL season, has registered 15 points in his past eight games.

HAVE SKATES, WILL TRAVEL: Take a gander at Darren Archibald’s fun weekend. The Belleville alternate captain played in Friday night’s 5-2 win in Laval, but after the game was summoned to Ottawa as an injury call-up for Saturday’s 2 p.m. game against the Winnipeg Jets. Archibald took part in the pre-game skate, but didn’t dress as coach Guy Boucher went with 11 forwards and seven defencemen. Archibald immediately went from the ice to a waiting car, arriving in Belleville around 4:30, in time for to play in the B-Sens 6-3 rematch win against Laval, picking up an assist. Sunday morning, Archibald was back on the bus with his Belleville teammates, scoring a goal and an assist in the B-Sens matinee win over the Marlies.

MORE RE-INFORCEMENTS COMING: With Mikkel Boedker still nursing his injury, either Archibald or another Belleville forward could be recalled for the Carolina game. The Senators skated with only 11 healthy forwards at practice Monday. Coach Guy Boucher, however, said he would likely stick with the winning formula of 11 forwards and seven defencemen against the Hurricanes.

Don’t be surprised if Marcus Hogberg is called up Tuesday, either. Craig Anderson suffered a minor “tweak” while warming up for practice Monday. Anderson is expected to join the team for the four-game road trip which begins Wednesday.

Ottawa Sun LOADED: 02.12.2019

1130290 Edmonton Oilers

Say tell, how is Oilers prospect William Lagesson?

Jim Matheson, Edmonton Journal

Andrej Sekera is a defenceman, not a scout, but he knows a talent when he sees it, and he loves his farmhand William Lagesson.

“He’s an NHL player. I would put money on that,” said Sekera, playing left side with Lagesson, a lefty, moving over to his little-used right on Sekera’s conditioning stint in Bakersfield.

“He’s a really talented player, good in his D-zone, uses his body, never out of position, and he moves the puck well, good break-out pass.”

Lagesson’s stock is certainly on the rise in the organization, even if it’s pretty crowded there. The fourth-round pick in 2014 played two years at the University of Mass-Amherstl and spent last season back in his native Sweden, in Djurgardens. He turns 23 on Feb. 22 and has 17 points in 43 games.

“He takes pride in defending first but he’s not afraid to jump into the rush. I wouldn’t put him as just a defensive defenceman. I mean, I’ve only played two games with him but he has all the tools to be an NHL player,” said Sekera.

While Lagesson is on the rise, so is winger Tyler Benson in his first pro season.

CAROLINA HURRICANES


Benson has done a terrific job in his first pro year with 38 points, which puts him in the top five in rookie scoring, too, behind Drake Batherson (44), Joel Esperance (41), Alex Barre-Boulet (41) and Troy Terry (40).

Benson might have a shot at the NHL roster next season, or maybe he’ll he go back for another few months in Bakersfield, but after so many injury-plagued seasons in junior, he’s healthy. He still needs work with his skating but he’s worked with coach David Pelletier, and he’s getting better.

And he’s thriving as a play-making winger with eight goals and 30 assists.

“He can really find people,” said Oilers interim general manager Keith Gretzky.

Benson, (Cooper) Marody (35 in 36 games), Joe Gambarella (38 points) and Josh Currie (21 goals) are leading the way in Bakersfield. It’s so deep Kailer Yamamoto is on the third line right now.

“Marody had more jump than when I saw him two weeks ago, too. He didn’t look as tired, he had more pop to his skating. Yeah it has to come but it looked better,” said Gretzky.

Edmonton Sun: LOADED: 02.12.2019


Path to success is a hard one, says Oilers coach

Robert Tychkowski

It’s not easy being an Oiler.

At least it shouldn’t be if they play the way Ken Hitchcock wants them to play.

The Oilers coach reiterated Monday that if Edmonton is going to come back to life and challenge for a playoff spot, it will have to be as a tight-checking team that relies on defence to make up for its lack of scoring depth.

“We’re built a certain way and when we play outside of that we don’t have success,” said Hitchcock. “That’s the ongoing dialogue and debate that you get into with players all the time.

“The way we have to play to win is a very difficult game, it’s very challenging and physically demanding. It’s not fun, but it’s the way we’re built right now and we have to play this way. It’s hard to do.”



Edmonton Oilers return to work after public scolding from Hitchcock

Robert Tychkowski

Ken Hitchcock’s message to the players came through loud and clear.

They didn’t like hearing it, and they definitely disagree with the part about a lack of commitment, but they understand the frustration level and admit feeling some of it themselves.

No, things are not especially chipper around the Edmonton Oilers these days, nor should they be after the team lost 11 of its last 13 at home and 16 of its last 22 overall to fall six points out of a fast-fading wildcard spot.

Two days after the head coach unloaded both barrels in a post-game media conference following a lifeless 5-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks, the players returned to practice Monday, his words still resonating in the dressing room.

“He’s the coach, essentially he can say whatever he wants,” said winger Leon Draisaitl. “If he thinks that we weren’t good enough, which we weren’t, clearly, it’s his right to say that. Obviously we weren’t good enough.”

“I’m sure he was just fired up, caught in the moment,” added defenceman Darnell Nurse. “Obviously you never want to hear something like (commitment) come into question, especially from someone who is one of our leaders.”

The part that echoed loudest was Hitchcock saying, “at this time of year the coaches can’t want it more than the players.”

He amended the comment Monday to say he was talking about a willingness to fully accept and carry out a hard-checking style, not the will to win.

Either way, the players respectfully submit that nobody cares about winning and getting to the post-season more than they do.

“You never want to hear your coach say that,” said Zack Kassian. “We clearly want it. Whoever was around for the playoff run two years ago, that’s what we live for, that’s what we love to play for. That’s the best time in hockey. What’s the point in playing 82 games if you don’t get in the playoffs? We want it.

“We’re just making mental errors that are costing us. Up in our lineup, down in the lineup, collectively everyone needs better no matter who you are.”

Having said all that, the players understand where Hitchcock’s frustration is coming from. They feel it, too. This isn’t a strong roster, that’s why the GM got fired, but they should still be better than they are.

“I can speak for everyone in our room,” said Nurse. “We all want to make this something special. We all have that passion and that drive. Some nights aren’t going to go the way you want, and that’s happened a little too often this year, but everyone cares about this team and the opportunity we have in front of us. We have to be better, no question about it.”

The Oilers saw a lot of the good cop in the early days of the Hitchcock tenure, now they’re getting a sense of the legendary bad cop. It’s a transition most of the coaches in Edmonton (eight of them in 10 years) have undergone at one point or another. Hitchcock can play it harder than most, though.

“He definitely has more of an old school approach in motivation and teaching, he’s kind of like a football coach,” said Nurse, who sees a lot of similarities between Hitchcock and the men who coached his uncle (Eagles QB Donovan McNabb) and father Richard, who played 103 games with the Hamilton Ti-Cats.

“I grew up in that environment. They’re just hard. That’s how he is. For us, he’s made some points that make a lot of sense. We need to be better out there. It’s as simple at that.”

Hitchcock knew before he even made his comments Saturday that they would strike a nerve, but reminds everyone that these are thick-skinned professional athletes we’re talking about, not delicate flowers who might never recover from a scolding. It was harsh, and a

CAROLINA HURRICANES


lot of it was deserved, but the focus now is on Wednesday in Pittsburgh.

“It is what it is,” he said. “You have to get your hands dirty every day and you’e going to make mistakes. It’s an emotional sport, it’s not like we’re shopping at the mall. Understand that.

“Sometimes I say the wrong thing or the player says the wrong thing or sometimes it doesn’t work out, but you come back to work and you just keep going.”

The bottom line is they all want the same thing — wins — and they have’t been coming fast enough to save this season.

“I know the players are frustrated and we’re frustrated,” said Hitchcock. “It’s a roll up your sleeves, get your hands dirty message. You’re going to make mistakes along the way. It’s not going to turn overnight. You don’t get this formula changed overnight.”



TAKE 3: Oilers effort needs to make up for their ability

Robert Tychkowski

Nobody wants to be in a situation where every time they win a game it’s considered a huge upset.

But that’s where the Edmonton Oilers are heading and that’s certainly when they were Saturday against San Jose.

When one team’s third line centre is Joe Thornton and the other team’s third line centre is Brad Malone, it shouldn’t be a surprise how things turn out.

Nobody is stunned the San Jose Sharks beat the Oilers 5-2 on Saturday, especially after they just beat the Calgary Flames by the same score a few days earlier.

You win some, you lose some. But when a team loses seven of its last eight games, and 11 of its last 13 at home, it doesn’t take much to turn things sour. And that’s there where Oilers fans are now.

What upset everyone most is that it almost looked like the Oilers had accepted their fate not long after the puck dropped Saturday. Shrugging your shoulders and admitting somebody is better than you is no way to run a season, especially when most of the rosters in the league are better than yours.

Every so often you have rise up and beat a better team.

“They (the Sharks) are rolling and a team full of confidence,” said Oilers winger Milan Lucic. “But it is almost like an Any Given Sunday mentality that you need, that anybody can win on any given night.

“Especially with the parity in the league today. If we found a way to bring the type of game that we have had in our three road games after the break, it would have given us a better chance to win.”

WILD CARD

Everyone knew it was going to happen at some point. And now it’s happening.

The Western Conference wildcard zombie walk is picking up speed.

St. Louis is 7-2-1 in its last 10, Chicago is 6-2-2 on the strength of a six-game winning streak, Los Angeles is 6-2-2, Vancouver is 5-3-2.

On Saturday night, five of the eight teams in the hunt picked up points. On Sunday, three more either won or lost in overtime.

The Oilers, meanwhile, came out of the weekend empty handed. The gap on a playoff spot that used to be two points has now grown to six.

Of the nine teams that still consider themselves alive in the wildcard race, Edmonton has the third worst record at 3-5-2 in the last 10.

The situation is approaching crisis mode as they prepare for a three-game road trip to Pittsburgh, Carolina and the New York Islanders.

The Oilers are slowly drifting into the seller’s lane heading into the trade deadline. If they don’t pull out of this, and management is left with no choice but to move out contracts and impending UFA’s in exchange for prospects and picks, then a very thin roster is going to get even thinner.

If that happens it’s going to be a dark, cold walk to the end of the season — lead by two of the most productive offensive players in the game today. This organization is already a laughingstock around the NHL, it doesn’t need this.

BAKERSFIELD ROLLING

Congratulations to the Bakersfield Condors. If there is one area of the Oilers organization that is actually operating on a major league level, it is their minor league team.

A lot of eyebrows were raised last year when Oilers assistant coach Jay Woodcroft, instead of being fired in the purge that saw Jim Johnson and Ian Herbers replaced, was given control of the AHL Condors instead.

It seemed like another classic example of the Oilers inability to get rid of people in the wake of failure. If you are getting rid of assistant coaches because the NHL team had a miserable season, why put one of those assistants in charge of your prospects?

Woodcroft, however, is proving all of his doubters wrong. He is doing a heck of a job down there, leading the Condors on a 12-game win streak and into first place in their division.

More importantly, Edmonton’s young prospects are being developing in a positive, winning environment. That’s crucial for an Oilers organization that has been trying to rid itself of a losing culture on the big team for more than a decade.

Learning how to be a winner in Bakersfield is a good start for those kids because it certainly isn’t what anyone has been teaching them in Edmonton.

This is how farm teams are supposed to operate, with young prospects playing key positions on a team that is learning how to win together. Who knows if that environment will ever make its way up the food chain to Edmonton, but what they’re doing down in Bakersfield is worth applauding.



Will he stay or will he go? Possible trade destination for Cam Talbot

By Daniel Nugent-Bowman Feb 11, 2019

As coach Ken Hitchcock lambasted the Oilers for their lack of determination, inattention to detail and the countless turnovers they

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committed, his ire seemed to be directed at those skating outside the goaltender’s crease.

The 5-2 loss to San Jose on Saturday flattered the home team. Oilers goaltender Cam Talbot was often to left face clear-cut chances by the Sharks after sloppy coverages off rushes and in the defensive zone by his teammates. Under siege, Talbot surrendered five goals on 31 shots.

That Hitchcock appeared to spare him from his tirade was somewhat appropriate. Talbot is an impending unrestricted free agent and could be on his way out of town by the Feb. 25 trade deadline. It’s best not to sully an asset if possible.

Talbot said last week he remains open to re-signing with the Oilers. He and his wife, Kelly, have laid roots in the city with their twins, Landon and Sloane, in just under four seasons since his arrival from the Rangers.

Although not impossible, it’s hard to envision that happening after Mikko Koskinen was re-upped to a three-year, $13.5-million deal last month – which was made official the day before former GM Peter Chiarelli was fired. The deal was announced with Koskinen’s stats trending downward and Talbot’s slightly improving.

Talbot’s agent George Bazos told The Athletic Koskinen’s deal came as a surprise to him and his client. Still, he added, Talbot is interested in signing an extension in Edmonton if he can be the No. 1 goaltender. That seems like a long shot given the money committed to Koskinen.

There have been no contract talks between the Oilers and Talbot since the summer, Bazos said.

Trading Talbot and what’s left of his $4,166,667 salary and finding a cheaper goaltender would be a big help for the Oilers. Interim GM Keith Gretzky will have to clear cap space if/when Andrej Sekera finishes his conditioning stint and comes off LTIR.

Talbot’s contract includes a modified no-trade clause, which permits the Oilers to deal him to 10 teams without his permission based on a list submitted on June 1, according to Bazos. A lot has changed since then though. That list isn’t so set in stone as long as the acquiring team was willing to give Talbot a chance to re-establish himself as a starting goalie.

“We would work with Edmonton on a case-by-case basis. If it’s not going to be the right fit for Cam there and they need to move him somewhere outside the list, if it’s a good situation for Cam we would look at that,” Bazos said.

Considering Hitchcock’s recent reliance on Talbot, and the fact that a .893 save percentage in 31 games generally isn’t that enticing, a trade is no sure thing.

If one does happen though, the following teams – in a variety of situations – could provide the best fit for Talbot’s services within the next two weeks.

Insurance options for a championship- or playoff-contending teams

These are teams that can use some support between the pipes but also have a need on the roster and have the cap room to acquire Talbot. A team like the San Jose Sharks, for instance, wouldn’t qualify. Martin Jones and Aaron Dell both have save percentages below .900 but are on pricy contracts beyond this season, which likely makes them part of the Sharks’ longer-term plans.

Arizona Coyotes

The Coyotes are right in the thick of this bizarre playoff race in the Western Conference. Oddly enough, they’re tied with the Oilers with identical 24-26-5 records – although Arizona currently holds the regulation and overtime wins tiebreaker 22-21. While the Oilers’ season has been categorized as a disappointment, the Coyotes have overachieved since they’ve been held together by spit and

tape. Several key injuries have ravaged the roster, including the one sustained by Antti Raanta. The Coyotes starting goalie has been out with an expected season-ending injury since Nov. 27. Darcy Kuemper and Adin Hill (now in the AHL) have mostly filled in for Raanta. With Raanta under contract for two more seasons at $4.25 million per, it’s unlikely Talbot would have a long-term future in Arizona. But he could, at worst, be a suitable 1B option there for the rest of the season.

Vancouver Canucks

Another team in the mucky mess of the playoff race, the Canucks have been riding the goaltending of Jacob Markstrom all season. That’s been especially apparent since Anders Nilsson was traded Jan. 2 as Markstrom has started all but one of Vancouver’s subsequent 14 games. The only person to give him a reprieve is 23-year-old Thatcher Demko, who is now on injured reserve with what the Canucks are calling a “slight strain.” Top prospect Michael DiPietro is up from the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s on emergency recall and Richard Bachman is the only other goalie under contract within the organization. Even when Demko returns, it might be advantageous to send him back to the AHL for more seasoning and acquire a veteran netminder. Talbot might be able to push Markstrom or at the very least, could give him more rest than he’s been getting.

Vegas Golden Knights

Marc-Andre Fleury has been a workhorse this season, starting 49 of the Golden Knights’ 58 games. The case against acquiring Talbot is Vegas as all but guaranteed the third spot in the Pacific. The Golden Knights are seven points behind San Jose and nine points clear of Vancouver. If there’s a time for Gerald Gallant to give Malcolm Subban a few more starts, this is it. The thing is Subban has only started seven games and has appeared in just eight. Although Talbot isn’t having a good season, he would provide a veteran option in the event of a Fleury injury. With just over $1.2 million left on Talbot’s contract as of Monday, the Golden Knights have more than enough room to accommodate his salary under the cap.

Tryout for next season

These are teams that are either out of the postseason race or are hanging on for dear life. The point of bringing Talbot in now would be to get him into their organization, get him acclimated and see if there’s a fit to be re-signed for next season. There must be a need on the roster to warrant an organization giving up an asset or assets to acquire Talbot by Feb. 25 as opposed to just waiting until he’s an unrestricted free agent.

Detroit Red Wings

If the Red Wings deal UFA Jimmy Howard before the deadline, they’ll need another goaltender to work in tandem with Jonathan Bernier ($3-million AAV until 2021). Bringing in Talbot makes sense for a few reasons. Trading Howard would probably bring in more of a haul than what it would cost to acquire Talbot. The rebuilding Red Wings should be gathering as many assets as they can. Detroit also needs another goaltender for next season and could provide Talbot with an opportunity at another No. 1 gig. It might be worth parting with something, as long as it’s of little value, to give Talbot a test drive for a few weeks.

Philadelphia Flyers

The Flyers are seven points back of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. They’re not out of it yet. But they’re long shots considering there are two teams ahead of them and they needed a 9-0-1 run just to get to this point. While it’s clear Carter Hart is the goaltender of the present and future for the Flyers, it wouldn’t hurt to have some veteran cover. Anthony Stolarz is backing up Hart right now and he’s an RFA at season’s end, whereas Brian Elliott and Michal Neuvirth will both be UFAs and are on injured reserve. Hart reportedly trained with Talbot this summer and would be the

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beneficiary of further mentorship this season. If re-signed, Talbot could step in if Hart is stricken by the sophomore slump.

Outside the box

These are teams that don’t fit into either of the previous categories. Including Talbot on their roster is part of an unorthodox plan.

Carolina Hurricanes

In his Friday column highlighting reasonable trade scenarios, colleague Eric Duhatschek outlined what would be a unique exchange of UFA goalies Talbot and Petr Mrazek. Duhatschek’s rationale is that he believes Carolina has an interest in Talbot for next season, so why not bring him in now? (And why not let the Oilers give Mrazek an audition, too?) Neither goaltender’s numbers are great, but it would be a bold move for the Hurricanes in the immediacy given they’re just one point behind Pittsburgh for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Curtis McElhinney, a 35-year-old journeyman sporting a .915 save percentage, is Carolina’s other goalie.

Chicago Blackhawks

Corey Crawford’s health has been a constant concern for the Blackhawks. He missed 47 games with a concussion last season, missed the start of this season recovering and then sustained another concussion in mid-December. Although Crawford practised for the first time on Saturday since his latest injury, there’s no timetable for him to play again. The Blackhawks have carried on with veteran Cam Ward and emergency call-up Collin Delia. Chicago has climbed to within four points of a playoff spot and having another component goaltender couldn’t hurt in their efforts. However, to avoid carrying three goalies, an acquisition of Talbot would have to come after a return to the lineup for Crawford has been ruled out. In that case, having Talbot in the fold would also be beneficial to see if his play warrants a future contract – either to replace the UFA Ward as the starter or to support a healthy Crawford.

Columbus Blue Jackets

Compared to all the other teams on this list, the Blue Jackets will have undergone the most upheaval if they’ve traded for Talbot. They fancy themselves a playoff contender and are third in the Metropolitan Division, just two points behind Washington for second. They’re also only three points ahead of ninth-place Carolina and their two-time Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender is playing poorly while showing no desire to remain in Columbus after his contract expires on July 1. His postseason career numbers are terrible, too. The goalie, Sergei Bobrovsky, has a no-movement clause, meaning he has complete control of the situation. But if he’s open to moving to another team willing to offer a king’s random, perhaps it would behoove the Blue Jackets to accept, acquire Talbot and then use him in tandem with Joonas Korpisalo. In the game of goaltender musical chairs, that would be something.

And one more …

Edmonton Oilers

For all the various scenarios outlined above, the simplest one has a distinct chance of happening. Talbot has started four of the six games since Koskinen signed his extension and Hitchcock has said he’s willing to ride the hot hand – contract situations be damned. Of course, it isn’t in Hitchcock’s job description to make trade calls and a skeptic would say Talbot getting more playing time is good for GMs of other teams potentially interested in his services. Although their chances are dwindling, the Oilers are still in a playoff race and the push will probably require both goaltenders. Plus, if the Oilers do want to re-sign Talbot in the weeks or months ahead, keeping him around increases the odds. Trading him in the short term doesn’t preclude that from happening, but it’s probably best to not let him see if the grass is greener elsewhere.

The Athletic LOADED: 02.12.2019

1130282 Dallas Stars

As Valeri Nichuskin's goalless streak continues, here's why the Stars forward is getting another shot in the lineup

Gerry Fraley

FRISCO -- The Stars will try again to jump-start enigmatic winger Val Nichushkin.

Coach Jim Montgomery said Nichushkin will return to the lineup after a three-game absence Tuesday night at Florida. He will replace Denis Gurianov and will play right wing on a line with center Radek Faksa and Mattias Janmark on the left side.

"Val will get a chance to assert himself in the lineup again," Montgomery said.

Nichushkin, who returned to the Stars this season after two years in Russia, has not come close to the expectations for a player taken with the 10th overall pick in the 2013 draft. He has no goals and seven assists in 39 games this season and only three points in his last 27 games.

Going back to his previous time with the Stars, Nichushkin has not produced a goal in his last 55 games.

"He knows what he looks like when he's a good player for us," said Montgomery, who met with Nichushkin after Monday's practice. "It's up to him to play to his strengths, our team's strengths, to stay in the lineup."

Montgomery said a growing sense that the Stars are becoming "stale'' figured in the decision. The Stars have scored only 29 goals in the last 14 games. They are 7-6-1 in that span.

"We like the way we're playing ... but we still aren't scoring enough," Montgomery said. "So why not try some other combinations?

"Sometimes, just switching wins can get that spark. Sometimes, it's different bodies."

Gurianov, the 12th overall pick in the 2015 draft, has done little to enhance his status. He has one goal and four points in 18 games. That includes only one assist in his last 13 games.

Montgomery picked up a bad vibe from Gurianov during Saturday's loss at Arizona. Montgomery said it appeared that Gurianov wanted off the ice after several ineffective shifts.

"When a player is like that, he needs to rest and watch a game," Montgomery said. "When he gets the opportunity, realize the game is not as hard as he mentally makes it."

Dallas Morning News LOADED: 02.12.2019


Stars goalie Ben Bishop (upper body) out vs. Panthers, could return later this week

Gerry Fraley

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FRISCO -- The Stars will be without goalie Ben Bishop but will have defenseman Roman Polak against Florida on Tuesday.

Montgomery said Bishop (upper body) is improving and could appear Thursday at Tampa Bay. Polak came out of Saturday's game after Arizona after taking a hard hit, raising concerns of a concussion. Polak participated in practice and said all is well.

With Bishop out, Anton Khudobin will make his third consecutive start. It will be his 23rd start overall. He had 29 starts with Boston last season.

"Every goalie wants to play as much as possible," Khudobin said. "Obviously, I want [Bishop] to be healthy, but this happened and I'm playing."

Briefly: The game at Florida marks another stop on the Stars' tour of empty-seat arenas. Florida ranks next-to-last in the 31-team NHL for attendance, ahead of only the New York Islanders. The Stars on Saturday played at Arizona, which is 29th in attendance. The Stars will finish the trip Saturday at Carolina, which is 28th.

-- The Stars are 29th in the league for road scoring with an average of 2.15 goals per game. They are averaging 3.00 goals per game at home.

-- Jamie Benn has 10 goals and 17 points for 13 career games against Florida.

Dallas Morning News LOADED: 02.12.2019


These moms raised the Stars into who they are today. For one trip, they got a glimpse of their sons’ world

By Sean Shapiro Feb 12, 2019

GLENDALE, Arizona — The Tower Suites at Gila River Arena are a posh place to watch a hockey game.

They feature a full kitchen with a well-stocked refrigerator, four rows of seats overlooking the ice, and enough room to fit both shuffleboard and foosball tables, while more than 20 people can comfortably enjoy themselves. It’s also rather private, unlike other suites; there are no neighbors and the space allows for a complete, undisturbed viewing of the events below.

This is where 21 women have gathered to watch a hockey game, each wearing a customized Dallas Stars jersey with the name and number of their son, who either plays for the team or is part of its staff.

The group of women traveled from all across Canada and the United States to watch their sons play hockey. Two made the trek from Sweden while two more arrived from the Czech Republic, taking a two-game dive into the NHL schedule as the Stars played against the Nashville Predators and Arizona Coyotes last week.

“This has been such a great trip. Some of us know each other, but we really don’t have a chance like this to get to know all the moms and really get to see them with their sons,” Jackie Seguin said. “I’ve been really looking forward to this; sure, I get to spend time with Tyler, but I really was looking forward to spending time with all of the girls.”

For roughly an hour during the Stars’ game against the Coyotes, from pre-game festivities through the end of the first intermission, I’ve been given a seat in the suite with the Stars mothers. Jackie

Seguin, who acts like the captain of the group, invites me to sit down in a high-top chair that makes up the fourth row of seating.

She’s sitting next to Heather Benn — Jamie’s mother — and Donna Spezza, Jason’s mother. In the front row, Alena Faksova and Eva Hanzalova are watching intently, speaking Czech to each other and taking photos during warmups. In Czech names are given masculine and feminine properties; masculine nouns often end in a consonant and feminine nouns end in vowels.

It’s the reason that in english, Martin Hanzal and his mother Eva have slightly different last names. It’s the same reason that Hanzal’s wife and daughters have the last name Hanzalova, which can sometimes lead to a bit of confusion in American schools.

For Alena, this has been a special trip after making difficult decisions that helped Faksa reach the NHL. When Radek was an 11-year-old he moved out of the family’s house and lived in a hotel roughly 90 minutes away to play for a better team.

“She loved it, she got so many memories for the rest of her life,” Faksa said. “She can know how we travel and how we go on the road. She was always wondering, ‘How’s the flight? How are the hotels? How’s the food? The meetings?’ The moms deserve a lot and she said it made her year.”

Faksa said his mother particularly enjoyed the desserts on the trip; she and Hanzalova were able to order from the dessert cart in Nashville on Thursday through a somewhat elaborate game of charades with the server on the suite level.

On the other side of the front row from the Czechs, Trella Nill, the mother of Stars general manager Jim Nill, watches closely. Two rows back Anna Klingberg, John’s mother, and Margarett Nylen, Mattias Janmark’s mother, converse in Swedish.

“It’s such an interesting group,” Jackie Seguin says. “In many ways we are all so different, but at the same time, we really are all hockey moms. I think that’s something you understand no matter where you are from. We’ve all been watching our sons play for so long, to be able to get together like this is amazing.”

Sean Berry/Dallas Stars

A moms’ trip has been in the works for a couple years now. When Jim Nill was hired by the Stars in April of 2013, his agenda included creating more a family feel around the franchise. In each of the past five seasons the Stars have had a trip for dads and male mentors. Each time the dads would come home, the moms would hear about the trip. Therefore, Nill would get needled by the moms, who said they also needed a trip with their sons.

One of the loudest proponents of this trip was Arlene Forbes, the mother of Stars video coach Kelly Forbes. Whenever she visited Dallas or when the Stars visited Vancouver, Arlene would talk to the Stars GM about traveling with her son.

Arlene never got to make the trip. She passed away in January after a battle with cancer. Kelly Forbes is one of the longest-tenured members of the Stars, he’s in his ninth season as video coach, and in some shape or form, many of the moms had come across Arlene at some point during their sons’ tenures in Dallas.

Arlene was unwavering in her positivity and she had an aura about her that really lit up a room. I’m saying this as someone who only met the women once, back in December about six weeks before she passed, and every story I’ve heard about Arlene fit perfectly with my meeting.

In many ways, the Stars dedicated this trip to Arlene. The team wore helmet stickers with her initials, while the coaches and broadcasters wore buttons with her initials as well. There was a jersey made for her, with Forbes stitched on the back, that Kelly kept with him throughout the trip.

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Kelly said after practice on Friday that he felt Arlene’s presence on this trip. When the Stars landed in Nashville on Wednesday evening, the first song he heard was “Broken Halos” by Chris Stapleton. That’s one of Arlene’s favorite tunes.

The experience was obviously emotional for Kelly, but being around the rest of the moms has helped with the grieving process.

“I wanted to be around the moms and feel their energy, and do the events that Mom would have wanted to do,” Forbes said. “I’m not going to hide from it, I want to be there. It’s tough, but this is her dream trip and I wanted to treat it like she’s here, because she is here. I wanted to be around the moms and they’ve been great … It’s been so fun to be around them and it’s honestly helped me, it really has.”

The Stars have done everything to treat the moms like royalty. On Wednesday night in Nashville they enjoyed a five-star dinner and then explored the Music City. After watching the morning skate on Thursday there was a tour of the Country Music Hall of Fame and a visit to the Historic RCA Studio B before the game against the Predators.

In Arizona, the mothers took a spa day while the players practiced. On Friday evening, each mom was able to spend one-on-one time with their son.

The moms were nearly unilateral in saying Friday night was the best part of the trip. Even though most of them find time to visit Dallas during the season, quality time with their son is hard to come by. When Donna Spezza visits Texas, she’s also paying attention to four granddaughters. Dianne Comeau and Amy Pitlick are in similar situations; life is hectic whenever they visit Dallas.

“That’s the best part, getting to spend time with just Jamie,” Heather Benn said. “Whenever we come to Dallas so much is going on, or it’s a trip with other people. And it’s great to get together as a family, but you rarely get time like that with just your son.”

As the game begins, the mood in the suite varies depending on whose son is on the ice.

Jackie Seguin is rather talkative. We discuss how she served as the interior decorator for Tyler’s home and it was important to put something red in every room of the house — it apparently brings good luck — and the fact that Tyler makes fun of her cooking.

“I’m a terrible cook, as Tyler puts it, because he’s living the life,” Jackie Seguin said. “But he always wants me to cook, so it can’t be that bad.”

When Tyler is on the ice, though, the conversation comes to a halt and Jackie’s focus is on the ice with the occasional comment of “come on, Tyler,” or “that was close.”

One day earlier, Tyler described his mom as a more vocal parent.

“She yells a lot, she says ‘honey’ and ‘pumpkin’ a lot, but definitely very involved and emotional,” the Stars center said. “She screams when I score and I don’t think she’s missed watching a game in years.”

When Tyler steps off the ice, conversation flips back on and at one point we end up discussing how Tyler has jokingly said he’ll no longer be buying $5,000 purses for his sisters on a regular basis, or his mother’s appreciation for how the Stars have treated Tyler.

“When he got to Boston they left him to fend for himself, nobody took care of him. Nobody. He was in an apartment as an 18-year-old alone,” Jackie Seguin said. “That is really hard, emotionally very hard. Nobody knows that, well I guess they do now because I’m talking to you. But Dallas had been really good to him and he loves it here, he’s staying for a reason.”

Sean Berry/Dallas Stars

When Blake Comeau takes a penalty in the first period, Dianne Comeau shakes her hand in frustration at a questionable call. When the Coyotes score on that power play the entire suite gets awkwardly quiet for a moment.

Teri Cogliano and Tammy Ritchie are on their second moms’ trip of the season. In December both Teri and Tammy were on the Ducks’ iteration of this adventure. Tammy has two sons in the NHL, Brett and Nick, while Teri’s son Andrew was traded to Dallas in mid-January.

Teri almost didn’t go on this trip; Andrew and his wife Allie Bertram have their first child due next week, while Teri also had another grandchild born in the past two weeks. The timing has worked out perfectly, as she’s able to go on this trip and sandwich it around new additions to the family.

“This is really the only way I’d get to know many of these women, it’s not like there’s much of an opportunity to get to know the people around the team when a trade happens,” Teri Cogliano said. “I had known a couple of the other moms in passing, but really getting to know them and their sons has been a great experience.”

Cogliano was traded for Devin Shore on January 14. Shore’s mother, Andrea, had been looking forward to the moms’ trip and was making handmade scarfs for every mother on the trip. She was almost finished with the batch when the trade happened, and she then passed them onto Jackie Seguin, who added the finishing touches.

“She was crying when she called me, I know all of us were looking forward to this trip all season,” Jackie Seguin said. “It’s a business and we end up learning that at some point. I know I learned that with Tyler early in his career. We live near each other, so Andrea brought the scarfs over to me. I felt bad for her.”

Heather Benn has also seen the business side of hockey firsthand. The Stars traded her other son, Jordie, to the Montreal Canadiens during the 2016-17 season.

“For years it was really easy to see both of them when Jordie was living with Jamie,” Heather Benn said. “That was such a great setup for us as a family, every year for Christmas we would come down here. This year was the first year we didn’t come down to Dallas for Christmas.”

Heather Benn said the Montreal doesn’t have a parental trip, which makes her more appreciative of what the Stars have done. We also end up discussing how, for months, Heather and Randy had to take care of Jordie’s dog since Montreal has a pit-bull ban (which has since been lifted).

“It was only 20 percent pit-bull and they wouldn’t allow it,” she said. “Now they have a younger mayor that’s thinking forward and Jordie has his dog back.”

Late in the period Roman Polak is boarded by Coyotes forward Lawson Crouse. He’s slow to get up and throughout the suite, questions abound about who is crumpled in the corner. The fact that none of the mothers can quickly point out the player is good sign his mom isn’t there.

When Polak gets up and skates off, the mood lightens and a conversation starts about the Czech defender. Jacqui Fedun, Taylor’s mom, remarks that she wishes she understood Czech, because on the team plane the night before, Polak was telling stories to Hanzalova and Faksova, and both were laughing constantly.

Mom and dad constantly ask questions about their sons’ careers, but getting an inside look through trips like this answers questions they’d never think to ask.

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Jason Spezza has played in the NHL since 2002. Donna has seen him play up-close many times. But she had never considered what happens on the plane when the team flies from one city to the other.

“They are like Clark Kent or Superman changing on the flight,” Donna Spezza said. “Like, they step onto the plane wearing suits and looking sharp, then the minute they step onto the plane everyone is getting into more comfortable clothes like sweatpants. Before the plane lands it’s back into the suits. I had never thought about that part of Jason’s life.”

The first intermission nears its end, meaning it’s time for me to return to the press box for the remainder of the game. Jackie Seguin is walking around with a Thank You card for Stars team services director Jason Rademan, better known as “Stretch,” who organized the day-to-day details of this trip. The card is partly a thank-you note, partly a reminder that the dads went on five straight trips before the moms got their first one.

“It’s time to even up the score,” Jackie Seguin said. “Right, Stretch?”



Shap Shots: Khudobin’s origin story, Martin Hanzal’s status and a thank you to readers

By Sean Shapiro Feb 11, 2019

Anton Khudobin was a coach’s nightmare.

As a kid growing up in Russia, Khudobin played defense and was rarely in the right position. He often ended up in front of the net, but rarely found positive results.

“I never really understand the game, I was just running around,” Khudobin said. “I was blocking the shots all the time and the puck was hitting me and (would) go into our own net, and my goalies were pissed at me.”

Eventually, Khudobin’s coach snapped and yelled at the then 10-year-old.

“I came to the bench and my coach yelled, ‘Hey, do you want to be a goalie?’ He was mad,” Khudobin said. “Then I talked to my father and I said, ‘I think I want to be a goalie.'”

Khudobin later learned it was something his father, Valery, had already been thinking about before Anton came to that conclusion. Valery saw how his son was always around the puck and had a knack for getting in its way. Switching positions made sense.

The transition became a father-son project as the frustrating defenseman turned into a pretty good goaltender. Valery would often stay up late and watch NHL games while Anton slept. In the mornings he’d relay what he saw to his son, and would give him ideas for save techniques before practice.

In the summer the Khudobins would set up drills at their home where Valery would dump a bucket of pucks, often 30 to 35 at a time, and he would then take shots at his son.

“He had this sheet that would slip so he could shoot pucks off the ground, it looked like ice,” Khudobin said.

Two years after the position change Khudobin was the No. 1 goalie for his team. By the time he was a teenager, Khudobin was being recognized as a potential future professional. As a 16-year-old he played games in the Russian third division.

For Khudobin, hockey — no matter the position — was a game he played for fun. Success mattered to him, (it’s more fun to win than lose,) but he never really set long-term goals or took the game too seriously.

Two decades later he still doesn’t take it too seriously. And that’s been a key to the Dallas Stars’ success this season as Khudobin and Ben Bishop have formed the NHL’s best statistical tandem in the crease.

Khudobin and Bishop are tied for fifth in the league with a .924 save percentage. Bishop is third in goals against average with a 2.30 mark and Khudobin ranks seventh at 2.45.

“Every night our goaltending has given us a chance to win,” Stars general manager Jim Nill said. “There hasn’t been a game we’ve gone into this season where we’ve been worried about what’s happening in the net and what that might mean for the rest of the team.”

Khudobin’s impact goes beyond the games and his strong performances in the net. He makes practice fun, even for those of us watching.

During drills Khudobin will challenge his teammates with both his positioning and his words. He aggressively plays each shot like it’s a game, and after making a save he often gives players an earful of taunts and chirps.

Sometimes it can sound like gibberish, a mix of Russian and English getting spouted from behind a goalie mask, but his intention is clear. Especially when Khudobin gets into a shouting match with his good friend and practice rival Alexander Radulov.

“That’s because we push each other,” Radulov said. “We’ve known each other for a long time, if I score I’m going to have a good time. He knows that, he wants to stop that.”

After that question Radulov turned and yelled across the locker room to Khudobin in Russian. Earlier that day the two had a pretty good back-and-forth on the ice, Khudobin making several saves in a row, so the chirping has continued off the ice.

“You have to have fun with your teammates. Even if it’s in a competition, it’s a healthy competition,” Khudobin said. “If we’re chirping each other or bagging each other, or whatever, trying to get under the skin in a good way. It’s related to the game. When I try to challenge them or they get pissed off, saying, ‘I’m going to bury the puck today,’ I think it’s a good thing.”

If there is a close play — take a save on the goal line, for instance — Khudobin will wave his arms mimicking a referee and letting everyone know that it wasn’t a goal.

“When you have a goalie that tries in practice and every day he makes it a good time and fun for the players, that’s great,” Jason Spezza said. “He doesn’t take anything too seriously, which really helps everyone … he’s a great guy, he’s a gamer when he plays and he’s really funny to be around when he’s not.”

Khudobin’s personality and his amusement when he’s not playing have recently taken center stage on social media.

During the Stars’ recent game against the Buffalo Sabres, Jamie Benn and Jeff Skinner got into a heated exchange and were yelling at each other between the benches. Khudobin was sitting between the two, just grinning and trying not to break out laughing.

WHEN YOU'RE JUST TRYING TO MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS � PIC.TWITTER.COM/WYNPPHAYOI

— DALLAS STARS (@DALLASSTARS) JANUARY 31, 2019

“I actually clipped it and showed him, but he had already seen because the guys had brought it up,” Stars goalie coach Jeff Reese said. “He’s a character guy and he’s a character. And he brings a lot

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of life to our dressing room and he brings a lot of life and energy to our team when he plays.”

Two games later Khudobin was back in a similar situation, this time watching a fracas break out right in front of his seat between Richard Panik, Derek Stepan, Blake Comeau, and Benn.

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— SEAN SHAPIRO (@SEANSHAPIRO) FEBRUARY 5, 2019

“It’s just funny, it was a little scrumble, and like last game, it was (Derek) Stepan and he was just laughing to me and I’m just laughing because he asked, ‘Are you having fun here?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I’m watching you guys banging each other,'” Khudobin said. “Then the other night Benner and Skinny, I know Skinner too, they started chirping each other, so it was fun.”

“When I think of him right now, I immediately think of him sitting in between Chubbs (Benn) and Skinner, just sitting there with a little smirk on his face,” Stars defenseman Taylor Fedun said. “I think that sums up his personality pretty good.”

What’s up with Hanzal?

Few players draw more questions than Martin Hanzal. You aren’t asking about the injured center’s play, however, but how much his salary is impacting the team’s ability to make a move at the trade deadline.

This was once again brought to the forefront this weekend when Jim Montgomery reaffirmed that Hanzal isn’t close to playing at this point and hasn’t done much more than cardio and stretching. Further confirming that story, Hanzal himself has said his back really isn’t feeling much better and he’s not sure when he’ll be able to play again.

When you consider all those statements and you think about how much time is left in the regular season, it seems likely that Hanzal has already played his final regular-season game. Even if he were to start skating tomorrow, it would likely take him at least three or four weeks to get into game shape and into a position where the coaches would feel comfortable playing him.

Much to the chagrin of much of Stars Twitter, the Stars haven’t put Hanzal on long-term injured reserve yet. It’s important to remember that there isn’t any benefit to putting Hanzal on LTIR right now. Right now, with Marc Methot on LTIR, the Stars have close to $1.8 million in cap space they could use at the trade deadline to acquire another player.

If the Stars do make an acquisition and take on more than $1.8 million in additional salary (that’s total salary, not pro-rated. Once a team activates LTIR, it’s looked as a total number rather than pro-rated approach), then Dallas could put Hanzal on LTIR and have another $4.75 million in cap space to make the deal work.

In the Stars’ ideal world, Hanzal would return this season and head into next season fully healthy. It seems likely this is a conversation that we’ll continue to have during the 2019-20 season. I’ve been asked multiple times what would happen if Hanzal were to retire, but he will not do so at this time. Not formally, at least.

For Hanzal, retirement would voluntarily give up $4 million that he’s entitled to by the contract he signed with Dallas. Even if Hanzal doesn’t play another game for the Stars, he’s still going to get paid next season. It’s really up to Stars GM Jim Nill to figure out the cap gymnastics.

Thank you

This part is going to be a little sappy.

Tuesday, February 12, is the one-year anniversary of The Athletic‘s launch in Dallas. It’s also the one-year anniversary of a dream

realized after several years of asking myself if the risks would ever be worth the reward.

When I graduated from college my career goal was to become an NHL beat writer before I turned 30. It didn’t matter the city or the team, I wanted to cover the NHL for a living and really had no idea what type of path I’d need to take to end up with that position.

In 2013, I was the sports editor of a weekly paper in Cedar Park, Texas, and was told I no longer had a job. As odd as it sounds, getting laid off and spit out by the journalism industry early in my career was the best thing that ever happened to me from a work perspective.

It was a development that forced me to figure out the journalism industry and how I could fit in. Instead of looking at full-time jobs, my wife and I took a risk and remained in Central Texas, where I tried to pay the bills while freelancing. I wrote about everything (that gamut runs from cyclocross to Formula 1 to the X Games) while also turning myself into a full-time beat writer for the AHL’s Texas Stars.

There were some paying freelance gigs, but the majority of my work covering the Texas Stars came through my own site Wrong Side of The Red Line. That site was my proving ground, it was where I could define and show that I could competently cover a professional hockey team in both a daily and creative way.

It also morphed into my first attempt to stay in this business through the subscription model. At Wrong Side of The Red Line I introduced a paywall. Amazingly, a small but growing number of people started to support the endeavor. I know most of WSOTRL’s subscribers have since followed my work to The Athletic, and I can’t thank those readers enough for their support. Not just financially, but for the emotional lift it delivered. That support showed me people believed in my work and that went a long way.

Before my wife and I ended up in Dallas, just before the start of the 2016-17 NHL season, I almost punted on my career goal. The freelance work was starting to dry up and while WSOTRL was a passion project, the money raised from subscribers all went back into hosting the site and occasionally taking a trip to cover a road game.

I accepted a full-time job as a recruiting writer with the Austin American-Statesman. I was actually driving home from the employment drug test when I received a call from an unknown New York number. It was Barry Rubinstein from NHL.com, he was offering a contract position covering the NHL.

Keep two things in mind:

1. This was a contract position and I had accepted a full-time job.

2. I didn’t live in Dallas. In fact, my wife and I had just purchased a home in Cedar Park.

Somehow — I’m still amazed Christina was willing to take this risk with me — I turned down the full-time job and took the contract gig in Dallas. Alongside my NHL.com work, I re-focused WSOTRL on the Dallas Stars and once again did a little bit of everything to pay the bills, which included both freelance work and driving for Uber and Lyft at ungodly hours.

(Pro tip: if you want to drive for a ride-share service, it’s best to schedule yourself from 4 am to noon. You end up picking the high-dollar airport runs and end up with better odds of your back seat staying clean.)

All of that continued through another subscription-based experiment, merging WSOTRL with Levi Weaver’s endeavor The Upset. That site grabbed the attention of the folks at The Athletic, and within two months of Levi and I sitting down over tacos discussing The Upset, I had a full-time job for the first time since 2013.

I’m obviously thankful for The Athletic, but when I think about how this story played out, it just makes more appreciative for the readers

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who value in-depth writing and reporting and those that put in the hard work for it.

My career as a hockey writer likely comes to an end if not for the people who subscribed to WSOTRL early on. Without that type of interest in my work, the site would have died and the other key steps of my career would have never panned out. My job today only exists because readers value the stories and work myself and others put in. If not for you, this whole company would have been just another failed sports media start-up.

Thank you for reading. Hopefully, I’ve helped make your subscription worth the cost.


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The Athletic / Teams should beware of these players at the 2019 NHL trade deadline

By Jonathan Willis Feb 11, 2019

Media coverage of the NHL trade deadline tends to focus on the positive, and that’s sensible. Good teams typically get better, trading for players on expiring contracts that they wouldn’t have been able to get earlier in the year. Bad teams retool and add picks or prospects to the cupboard, better enabling them to sell hope to their long-suffering fans.

What sometimes gets overlooked in all the excitement is that it’s a dangerous trade market to enter. While there is value out there, there are also pieces longer on reputation than performance and savvy general managers looking to take advantage.

A good recent example is the 2013 re-tooling that San Jose Sharks general manager Doug Wilson engaged in. In the span of a week, he turned three players (Ryane Clowe, Douglas Murray and Michal Handzus) who had combined for a single goal all season into six draft picks over the following two years: three second-rounders, and one pick each in the third, fourth and fifth rounds.

The Sharks didn’t get appreciably worse in the process. They’d make it to the second round of the playoffs, going seven games with the Kings before getting knocked out. Yet at the same time, they managed to restock their prospect cupboards and add some ammunition to make a couple of trade deadline purchases of their own.

Chicago probably didn’t mind flipping a fourth-rounder for Handzus, who exploded centering Patrick Kane that spring. But by summer the Rangers and Penguins likely regretted expending so many resources on Clowe and Murray, two players who ultimately didn’t move the needle very much.

That’s why it’s worth taking a few minutes to identify a handful of players whose market value is likely to be much higher than their actual value in terms of winning playoff games.

RD Cody Ceci, Ottawa Senators

Broadly speaking, bad teams tend to have two types of defencemen: the kind that cause chaos and the kind that reduce it. Because these teams have lots of chaos to spare, it’s sometimes hard to tell which efforts are helping and which are hurting.

Ceci causes chaos.

Graeme Nichols recently argued this point at length, so we won’t spend too much time on it. I can’t help adding one point, though:

how Ceci’s regular partner, Maxime Lajoie, has fared with him and without him.

Unlike in past years, where a WOWY analysis would compare Ceci to Erik Karlsson, these days the other right-side options in Ottawa are not good. Lajoie has played with Dylan DeMelo, Christian Jaros and Chris Wideman.

Here’s how Lajoie has fared in an average hour when playing at 5-on-5 with Ottawa’s top two centres, both with Ceci and with his mishmash of other partners:

Those numbers are per hour and they’re crazy. The mere presence of Ceci knocks 20-odd shot attempts and 15 shots per hour off the performance of the Duchene and Tierney lines.

It’s a long-running issue. Since the start of 2016-17, only six defencemen (min. 1,000 minutes) have a worse 5-on-5 on-ice goal share than Ceci. Of those six, one is a regular partner of Ceci, four are either out of the league entirely or have seen AHL time this year and the sixth is Erik Gudbranson.

The question isn’t whether the Senators should be able to command a Jake Muzzin-like return in a trade. They can’t: Ceci is far inferior to Muzzin as a player and unlike Muzzin he isn’t really under team control beyond this season. Technically Ceci is an RFA, but his $4.3-million qualifying offer is a ridiculous price to pay for a player of this caliber. Whether it’s Ottawa or another team, nobody should be qualifying Ceci at that cost.

Ottawa’s ask is going to reflect the way they regard Ceci: a top-four defenceman under team control. In contrast, a contender should see him as a pure rental who may or may not be able to competently handle third-pair work. It’s too large a gap to overcome.

RW Alex Chiasson, Edmonton Oilers

Chiasson has been one of the few positive stories in Edmonton this year. On a team littered with underachievers, he has overachieved and has already set career-highs in goals (17) and average time on ice (16:35).

The trick is in establishing his true value and to do so, it is helpful to divide his year-to-date into thirds.

Everything Chiasson touched went in early. This stood out on a bad team and he was promoted up the depth chart. The move initially helped compensate for his inevitable drop-off. Now he’s still getting the prime minutes, including on the power play, but the magic is long gone. Not only has his shooting percentage dried up (as expected) but his even-strength point production is almost nil of late despite premium linemates.

Chiasson’s point totals haven’t fallen off because he’s starting to make hay on the power play. That has value, and while he has been an upgrade over previous net-front presence Milan Lucic, it’s pretty unlikely that a contender is going to plug him into the same role on their power play.

Chiasson was a good fourth-line right wing a year ago for Washington. He’ll likely be a good fourth-line right wing again if the Oilers decide to deal him. The problem is that because he has 17 goals, the market is likely to value him significantly higher than that.

LC Adam Henrique, Anaheim Ducks

The story of the Ducks this year is of their epic collapse and their large commitments to an ancient forward core.

Corey Perry is 33, has played just five games this year and is coming off his worst season in ages but will cost $8.625-million through 2021. Ryan Kesler has six points on the year, and at 34 carries a $6.875-million cap hit through 2022.

These should serve as cautionary tales to any team interested in adding Henrique, a 29-year-old whose five-year extension at a

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$5.825-million cap hit kicks in next season and doesn’t expire until 2024. Unlike Perry and Kesler, Henrique wasn’t a star in his prime, so when his game starts declining it’s going to be immediately apparent.

Henrique hit a career-high in goals in 2015-16 at the age of 25, and at that peak he put up 1.64 points-per-hour for New Jersey at 5-on-5. That was a solid second-line forward-type number.

This year he’s at 1.38 points-per-hour. That’s a fairly typical third-line number around the NHL today, and $5.825-million is a lot to pay for it, even once we figure in his work on special teams and his two-way ability.

It’s nothing like the overpay that contract will represent at the end of the line.

Henrique was 28 when the season began and has recorded 28 points in 56 games this season, an average of 0.5 points-per-game. If we go back to 2013-14 and look at 28-year-old forwards from that year who scored between 0.4 and 0.6 points-per-game, we can get a feel for where Henrique is likely to be at the end of his current contract.

There are 11 in all (min. 41 games played) who meet that description. Here are their NHL totals from this season:

Maybe the Ducks (or an acquiring team) get lucky and Henrique follows the Zajac career curve.

It’s not a bet one should make willingly, though. If Henrique looks more like any of the other 10 career curves represented here, at some point a buyout is going to become very tempting. Anaheim avoided signing bonuses, but they didn’t frontload the contract, so that eventual buyout will be fairly pricey.

This is the kind of acquisition a team with a fading core might sensibly make, but for any club with a contending window that stretches beyond the next year or two, the long-term pain is likely to outweigh the short-term benefit.

RD Adam McQuaid, New York Rangers

Tough right-shot defencemen always seem to have value at the trade deadline. What makes McQuaid particularly interesting is his combination of playoff experience (68 games, including a Cup win in 2011) and his plus-one rating on a minus-26 Rangers team.

It’s worth digging into how the 32-year-old McQuaid has managed to keep his head above the waterline.

Looking at goal differential over a short span of time is always dangerous, and it’s especially silly to focus on plus/minus, which selectively records goals. That makes it a good idea to look at a) a longer timeframe and b) 5-on-5 goals only.

The longer timeframe tells us that this is the first time in five seasons that McQuaid has been on the ice for more goals for than against, despite the fact that his previous four years came with a pretty good Boston team. So what has changed in New York this year?

It isn’t the shot metrics. McQuaid’s 43 percent Corsi is the worst number of his career and way below even New York’s average. Nor are the goalies stopping more pucks when he’s on the ice; his .915 on-ice save percentage is the second-worst number of his career and slots in between his numbers from the past two seasons. Combine those two points and we find that McQuaid’s on-ice goals-against number is actually the very worst of his career.

What does that leave? Goals for. In each of the last four seasons, Boston scored less than 2.0 goals-per-hour with McQuaid on the ice. This year, New York is averaging 2.6 goals-per-hour, thanks to a sky-high 10.5 shooting percentage. Goalies in the NHL this year have stopped 91.8 percent of 5-on-5 shots they face. With McQuaid on the ice, New York’s opponents have stopped just 89.5.

There is no reason to believe that McQuaid is responsible for this. Not only is he famously a defence-first defenceman, but his 5-on-5 scoring rate is the lowest of any New York defenceman.

It’s a happy coincidence, either a random spike that has fortuitously pumped his value just as he approaches free agency or at best a by-product of being welded at the hip to the highly competent Brady Skjei. McQuaid’s shiny on-ice goal total should allow the Rangers to sell him for more than he’s worth at the deadline, and barring a post-deadline collapse, should earn him a few dollars more in free agency this summer than he otherwise would have received.

The true story is told by the long-term trend and the shot metrics, which paint the picture of a long-declining defenceman continuing to erode in his 32nd year. There are better options out there, and smart teams will look at them rather than being fooled by the sparkly combination of playoff experience and a good plus-minus.

RW Wayne Simmonds, Philadelphia Flyers

No player is totally immune to Father Time, but power forwards, in particular, seem to struggle with the toll taken by years of playing physical NHL hockey. At 30, Simmonds is undergoing the same decay that so many of his peers have experienced.

Simmonds at his peak was a triple threat: a 5-on-5 scorer, a 5-on-4 scorer and physically intimidating.

Of those three attributes, the physical game is generally the least vulnerable to age-related decline. That makes sense, since it’s the area most closely correlated to pure effort. Simmonds isn’t hitting as much as he did at his absolute peak, but in terms of 5-on-5 hits per hour, he’s at the same numbers he was at when he was 24. GMs value this. Arguably they value this too much.

Simmonds’ 5-on-4 scoring has died along with the Philadelphia power play. After scoring between 2.8 and 3.8 goals-per-hour over each of the last five years, this season he’s put up just 1.9. After five straight years at 4.0 points-per-hour or better, this year he sits at 2.6.

The Flyers’ entire first unit has come apart. After topping 9.0 goals-per-hour for five straight years with Simmonds on the ice, it’s down to just 4.1 this season. This suggests the potential for a team-wide problem, so it’s possible that Simmonds might be reenergized in a new home.

It’s worth noting though, that without Simmonds the top unit has fared much better. In 133.7 minutes together at 5-on-4, Simmonds and Claude Giroux were on the ice for 11 goals for. In 58.8 minutes without Simmonds, Giroux has been on the ice for 10 goals for. In 27.7 minutes without Giroux, Simmonds has been on the ice for zero goals for and two goals against. In other words, it’s entirely possible that it’s not a team-wide problem, and that Simmonds is no longer money on the power play.

The last place where Simmonds had value at his peak was at 5-on-5 and that’s been over for years now. His 5-on-5 scoring rate crashed in 2016-17 and has never recovered, as Charlie O’Connor has previously noted. Of the 388 forwards to play at least 1,000 minutes at 5-on-5 since the start of 2016-17, Simmonds ranks 318th by points-per-hour. His closest peers in terms of ice-time and scoring rate are Milan Lucic and Ryan Kesler and that’s not a good place to be.

It’s also not like good things are happening when he’s out there. The Flyers have been outscored 116-to-85 over the last three seasons with Simmonds on the ice. That 42 percent on-ice goal share ranks Simmonds 356th of the 388 forwards to play at least 1,000 minutes over those three years.

Simmonds still scores on 13 percent of his shots, and he’s still 6-foot-2 and physical, so some team is going to pay a premium to rent him. Don’t be that team. He scores like a fourth-liner at 5-on-5, his team gets lit up when he’s out there and now even the power play is no longer a sure thing.

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The Athletic / LeBrun: The buyers, sellers, and TBD teams ahead of the trade deadline

By Pierre LeBrun Feb 11, 2019

Two weeks to go until the trade deadline and still, there’s a whole whack of teams that aren’t sure if they’re buyers or sellers.

Such is at the morass of the Western Conference wild-card race and suddenly some teams in the East with fringe hope.

One GM said Sunday he thinks this week is huge in terms of determining if some teams decide they’re out. If that happens, some trades may start to trickle in this week. On the flip side, he said, if some of those teams hang in, it could mean a last-minute actual Deadline Day bonanza.

My TSN colleague James Duthie would love that.

Here’s my best attempt at handicapping the buyers, sellers and “to be determined” gang ahead of the Feb. 25 deadline:

Buyers

Tampa Bay Lightning: On the surface what you’ll hear is the Lightning gave up a ton of futures to acquire Ryan McDonagh and J.T. Miller last season and can’t really keep doing that every year. Hogwash, I say. You want to win the Stanley Cup? Be aggressive again. This is a team with very few holes, if any, but as I’ve consistently said for more than a month, it screams a little more top-nine muscle and Wayne Simmonds (whom they’ve checked on) would be completely perfect as a rental. I also think GM Julien BriseBois should look to add some blueline depth and I think he will. If you’re planning to go four rounds, you have to protect against the inevitability of injuries. Tampa is loaded in prospects throughout the organization. The Bolts have the currency to add. And I think they will.

Nashville Predators: I love the addition of bottom-six rock Brian Boyle. He’s a special teams demon and oozes character. The Preds also added some fourth-line toughness in Cody McLeod, which I’m not convinced they really needed. But I’m telling you this: The Preds, right now, probably aren’t good enough to win the Stanley Cup. I don’t think they get by Winnipeg without making another move. And to me, that move screams Artemi Panarin even if it costs the kind of pieces that won’t let David Poile sleep at night. The time is now for Nashville. Sources confirm they are looking at the big boys on the market, including Panarin, but do they end up paying the price?

Winnipeg Jets: It is fine to say you won’t force it or overpay just for the sake of saying you did something. I get it. But this is one heck of a hockey team which because of the salary cap won’t be as deep again for several years. They’ll be a good team for many more years. But not this deep. So just like they did a year ago in spending a first-round pick on rental Paul Stastny, they need to dive all the way in again. And if either Matt Duchene or Mark Stone get sprung loose in Ottawa this week, that’s where the Jets will look first. Duchene is the best fit at centre but Stone is one hell of a Manitoba stud who would be a monumental addition. But if neither Ottawa guy materializes, what about Eric Staal in Minnesota if the Wild fall out of it over the next 14 days? I’m pretty sure the Jets have given that an internal thought. The Jets have their first-round pick to spend again plus young NHL roster players and/or AHL prospects teams covet. They’re in great shape to add.

Calgary Flames: No question GM Brad Treliving has done his homework and phoned around on a long list of potentially available players. The Flames, I’m told, are still in the mode of sizing up the market. I think depending on the cost, the Flames could add a top-nine forward and also a third-pair defenceman. I’ve always liked the idea of Micheal Ferland returning to Calgary but I think once the Flames found out a few weeks ago from Carolina a first-round pick was part of the ask, that was a pass until further notice. The Flames don’t have their second-round pick for June so while I wouldn’t say their first-round pick is off the table, the Flames certainly aren’t going out of their way to flaunt it. Now if it could get them Stone, well, that’s a different story. On a more medium scale, two rentals I think Calgary should look at: Gustav Nyquist in Detroit or Marcus Johansson in New Jersey. Both pending UFAs would add more versatility and scoring depth to the Flames’ lineup.

Vegas Golden Knights: If there’s one thing we’ve learned from Knights owner Bill Foley it’s that it’s been go time from the get-go with these guys. The Golden Knights brass, led by GM George McPhee, no question has looked carefully at the crop of rental players. It’s long been speculated that Stone would be a main target if he became available, due to his relationship with Knights assistant GM Kelly McCrimmon dating back to their WHL days in Brandon. And really, why not? Vegas is a contender again and he’d be a superstar addition with perhaps the chance to sign him long-term, too. Either way, McPhee was aggressive a year ago at the deadline, nearly acquiring Erik Karlsson which would have been insane, before settling for Tomas Tatar which didn’t work out. Doesn’t mean he won’t try again to make a splash.

Boston Bruins: It might be the worst-kept secret in the NHL that the Bruins would love to add a top-six or at least a top-nine forward who preferably can play on the right side. It’s believed they’ve shown interest in Panarin, Simmonds, Ferland and Jakob Silfverberg among others (the Ducks are hopeful to re-sign Silfverberg and take him off the market). Panarin would make an already very good Bruins team downright scary. Simmonds? Wow. His beef would rock in Beantown. Either way, the Bruins are adding up front before Feb. 25.

Toronto Maple Leafs: They made their big move in adding Jake Muzzin but they may not be done. Some grit/toughness up front and/or a right-handed blueliner are both areas of interest. Leafs AGM Laurence Gilman scouted Carolina again last week — despite the Muzzin acquisition. Was he looking at Ferland or those talented Canes blueliners? Any move the Leafs make now must be dollar in, dollar out with them being at the cap. But I wouldn’t sleep on GM Kyle Dubas. The Muzzin acquisition, which was sublime, takes the heat off but I don’t think he’s done.

Washington Capitals: I would term the Caps as careful buyers, which worked well for them a year ago when they picked up Michal Kempny and nobody blinked an eye. You know the rest of the story. This past weekend, the Caps played their first game all season with their full lineup from last year. So there’s that. A source Sunday indicated that they’re looking to add a middle six forward. They would, as long ago rumoured, move Andre Burakovsky once they find a team willing to pay their price on him. I don’t sense anything major but GM Brian MacLellan is willing to tinker.

New York Islanders: I can’t actually say that I know for sure what GM Lou Lamoriello is up to, because nobody does. But the surprising Isles have oodles of cap room and like others have suggested, why not take a run at Panarin? Might make more sense to wait until July 1 but the team has its passionate fan base excited, and I think Papa Lou will add a piece before all is said and done.

Poking around

San Jose Sharks: I traditionally would put them in the serious buyers’ category given their Cup contender status but the reality is they made their biggest trade deadline acquisition already in getting Karlsson in September. That’s how the Sharks are looking at it

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internally. Now, GM Doug Wilson always has his antennae out. If there’s an opportunity to add a medium piece, he’ll look at it. But the futures he gave up for Evander Kane a year ago plus Karlsson before this season suggests there shouldn’t be any fireworks this time around at the deadline for San Jose. The Sharks really like their team and their depth, as they should.

Pittsburgh Penguins: GM Jim Rutherford, as always, was busy way before the deadline, the recent acquisitions of Nick Bjustad and Jared McCann coming a few months after also adding Tanner Pearson. Justin Schultz will be back from his long injury and that’s like adding at top-four defensemen at the deadline. Now, I will never, ever, write that Rutherford is “done’’ because I think he can’t resist adding when he’s got the chance. It just so happens he still has his first-round pick.

Montreal Canadiens: It wasn’t a headline-grabber but the weekend trade which saw the return of fourth-line winger Dale Weise and depth blueliner Christian Folin fulfilled two check marks GM Marc Bergevin had on his shopping list. Now, there are those around the league who believe the Habs might be willing to stand pat now. Bergevin seems adamant, regardless of his team’s surprising season, to not lose sight of his “reset’’ game plan. I have no problem with that. The Habs have some promising prospects coming. But I would also say two things: The Habs have cap room which they can use to lure a player like they did for Joel Armia last summer, and that Bergevin is among the more surprising GMs in the league who likes to pull off the out-of-left-field trade. He doesn’t have to do anything else, but I would never sleep on him. (Update: The Canadians acquired Nate Thompson and a fifth-round pick on Monday, sending a fourth-round pick to the Kings.)

Vancouver Canucks: A source suggested Sunday that the Canucks are sticking to their plan ahead of the deadline. Which means if GM Jim Benning can make some hockey deals, not rental deals, he’ll dive in. The Canucks host the draft in June so they’re not interested in moving high picks for rentals. But in a hockey deal, they would be interested in adding some scoring up front and that’s the focus right now as Benning scours the market.

Dallas Stars: They view themselves as careful buyers and that makes sense. They’re third in the Central as the week begins but just two points ahead of the hard-charging Blues. And the memory of last year’s late-season collapse no doubt is still fresh. Still, if the Stars keep up the pace, I could see GM Jim Nill looking to add a second- or third-line forward closer to Feb. 25, that would be the primary need. I like Mats Zuccarello as the type of rental that would make sense.

Buy and sell?

Columbus Blue Jackets: What an awful position the Jackets find themselves in. Panarin is publicly committed to testing the July 1 market. Sergei Bobrovsky wanted out last summer. The Jackets are in a playoff spot. GM Jarmo Kekalainen continues to solicit and evaluate offers for Panarin, who doesn’t have a no-trade clause and can be dealt anywhere if the Jackets indeed decide to do that. I think they have no choice, quite frankly. I’d feel differently perhaps if they were 10 points ahead in first place of the Metro but they’re not even assured to make the postseason. Panarin should net the biggest asset haul of any rental. Important here is whether Columbus can net a roster player as part of the package or whether they have to make a separate deal to bring in, preferably, a center. I’ve wondered whether the likes of Artem Anisimov (under contract past this season) or pending UFAs such as Kevin Hayes or Derick Brassard make sense for the Jackets. Bobrovsky is a tougher case to figure out because he’s got a full no-move. Florida wants him and they’ve called Columbus but they’re not paying a high price to Columbus when they can wait until July 1 and bid on him for free.

Carolina Hurricanes: The push for a playoff spot has muddied the Ferland waters. They would have dealt him 10 days ago had a team offered a first-round pick. Now the sense is Canes management

feels they might not be able to move him during a playoff race. Which makes me think they’ll reach out to his camp if they haven’t already to see one more time if there’s any interest in an extension. I don’t think there is. I think Ferland wants to go to July 1 and why not. He’ll never again have this shot to cash in. So what does Carolina do? I think it will depend on the kind of offers they get. As we’ve reported all year long, they would also move one of their right-handed defensemen for a top-six, offensive forward. But that deal can also wait until the offseason if need be. Either way, the Canes could do a bit of buying and selling all at once.

Philadelphia Flyers: Yes, GM Chuck Fletcher hopes to be both a buyer and seller depending on the opportunities at hand. It is still more likely than not that he will trade Simmonds, however, word over the weekend is what seemed like a slam dunk a week ago is no longer 100 percent. According to a source, there are circumstances where the Flyers would keep Simmonds. But in the end, the same source believes Simmonds likely gets moved. My read on that is either there’s suddenly a chance they could sign him, or it really comes down to the idea that unless a team pays the price Fletcher has established for Simmonds, he’s just as happy keeping him for a playoff push. Fletcher added veteran defenseman David Schlemko over the weekend, a guy that definitely needed a change of scenery. Fletcher is open to hockey deals if they’re the type of thing he’d look at in June anyway. The Flyers could be a real wild-card ahead of Feb. 25.

To be determined

St. Louis Blues: Another big weekend for the resurgent Blues. Two months ago, GM Doug Armstrong was listening on some big names on his roster. He never pulled the trigger. Now his team is back in a playoff spot. Crazy. Perhaps after all the massive changes last summer it took that long for this team to find chemistry. So what now? Not yet determined — that’s essentially the answer I got from a league source. Which makes sense. Ride it for now and see what another two weeks brings.

Eric Staal

Minnesota Wild: A two-point playoff cushion for a Wild team that doesn’t inspire confidence. A source suggested Sunday they are very much in the “TBD” category. GM Paul Fenton made a hockey deal for Victor Rask last month which so far doesn’t look like a great deal. But it’s early. The real question is what he ends up doing with Eric Staal. There was mutual interest expressed earlier this season to sign an extension but if the Wild falls out over the next 14 days, does that still make sense? Staal has a 10-team no-trade clause so he has some say in his future. As I wrote in the Jets section, Winnipeg could be interesting. The bottom line here though is what does Fenton want to do with this team in his first year? Does owner Craig Leopold want a playoff push or will he accept Fenton wanting to start to re-tool? Consider this exchange between the great Michael Russo and Fenton in a Q&A late last month:

Russo: When the decision was made last spring to move on from Chuck Fletcher despite six straight playoff berths, Craig Leipold made clear that he didn’t feel this team needed to be torn down, that a few tweaks could help it take the next step. That became the popular word around here: Tweak, tweak, tweak. He didn’t want a rebuild. Do you think that he might be more open right now to letting you trade significant pieces if you feel it’s time to move on from certain core players?

Fenton: I talk to Craig all the time and we have an open conversation. There’s not anything mysterious about it and I’ve talked to him about everything, whether it’s continuing forward or going the other way. And he’ll be in agreement, whichever way I want to take this team.

Buffalo Sabres: They most definitely won’t be buyers, according to a source, and the next two weeks will determine whether or not they end up sellers. They’re in great shape no matter what with four total

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first-round picks over the next two drafts (their own plus one each from St. Louis and San Jose). The real question now is what happens with Jeff Skinner. But unlike Stone and Duchene in Ottawa, Skinner has a full no-move, no-trade. Remember that he waived it specifically for the trade to Buffalo last summer. So I mean, while it would be nice for the organization and probably the player to have the extension done before Feb. 25, unless Skinner wants a change of scenery, which we doubt, then there’s not as much urgency surrounding the deadline as far as whether Skinner signs or not.

Colorado Avalanche: They’re only four points out of a playoff spot but it feels like 14 for an Avs team in freefall. They were poking around earlier this season looking at secondary scoring on the trade market but now the question is whether there’s any point in making that kind of trade. I love the idea of getting Burakovsky from Washington because he’s under control as an RFA past this season. That way even if the Avs miss the playoffs they’ve invested in an asset for next season and beyond. The Avs have not only Ottawa’s sure lottery first-round pick but their own first-rounder could be high as well.

Chicago Blackhawks: Seven wins in a row. Go figure. Really, it changes next to nothing as far as the trade deadline. The win streak isn’t going to make GM Stan Bowman a buyer. My sense is whatever game plan he’s had for weeks doesn’t change. But the reality is he really doesn’t have that much selling to do, either, hence I didn’t really know where to slot the Hawks. As I reported last week, the Hawks have taken calls on Anisimov, who has two more years on his deal at a $4.55 million AAV. His role has diminished this season, especially after the acquisition and emergence of Dylan Strome. Columbus and Carolina, I’m told, are among the teams that have called Chicago on Anisimov but so far that feels more like tire-kicking. Now, there’s also the matter of that conversation I reported a few weeks ago that was slated to happen closer to Feb. 25 between Hawks management and Duncan Keith and his agent. With the Hawks in the playoff race, I’m not sure there’s any point in having that conversation. No way Keith would ever dream of leaving with his team having a chance to get in. Unless the Hawks fall out of it soon, I’m guessing that conversation is likely delayed until the offseason thanks to this playoff push. But we’ll see.

Arizona Coyotes: Here’s what GM John Chayka told me less than two weeks ago when I asked him about the trade deadline for the never-say-die Coyotes, who have battled crazy injuries all year but are alive in the turtle derby:

“We’re not losing sight of our long-term plan here. Having said that, a big part of our plan is to put these guys in an environment where they can grow and learn and obviously play in meaningful games down the stretch and making a playoff push is a big part of that and is hugely valuable. My view is, the nice part about the injuries is, I can do nothing (at the deadline) and we’re still going to add players to our roster that are impact guys as we get some guys back here hopefully. We’re also in a position where we’ve got a lot of future assets and a lot of assets that we value but I also know the league values. If there’s an opportunity that makes sense and into the future, I don’t think we’re looking at pure rentals … I’d like to add to our group and continue to add to improve our group. This group has done a nice job, if they continue doing what they’re doing, it would be nice to make an addition.’’

Their best additions might be in getting some of their injured players back such as Brad Richardson, Christian Dvorak and Jason Demers. In the end, I think the Coyotes only add before the deadline if makes sense not just for now but for the future.

If the Coyotes fall out of it, pending UFA rental options include Richard Panik, Jordan Weal and Jordan Oesterle.

Edmonton Oilers: I should put them in sellers now because I think that’s where it’s headed. But the fact they could still make the playoffs, and how desperate they are to do so, would mean holding on selling more than any other of the teams in the Western wild-card

race. I think they end up moving pending UFA Cam Talbot if they can find a fit. If they’re 7-8 points out come Feb. 24, my guess is they auction off pending UFA Alex Chiasson who has had a nice year. Without a new GM to run things, I’m not sure the Oilers can really afford to be that active either way. Unless they’re simply able to move out salary. They need cap room big time ahead of the offseason.

Florida Panthers: They made a big deal with Pittsburgh two weeks ago which in the big picture was about clearing some cap space to re-tool this summer, including what sources confirm is a planned attempt to sign both Panarin and Bobrovsky. I’m told the Panthers did check with Columbus about Bobrovsky but why pay a high price now when they can get him July 1? Still, I bet you Florida checks in again with Columbus closer to Feb. 25. Pending UFAs Derick Brassard and Riley Sheahan were acquired in that Pittsburgh deal and people figured they’d be flipped immediately but GM Dale Tallon first wanted to give his group a chance at a late-season run like a year ago. But if Florida isn’t close enough to a playoff spot come Feb. 24-25, they would obviously become sellers so that’s when Brassard, in particular, could be sold off. Other pending UFAs include Jamie McGinn and Troy Brouwer.

Sellers

New York Rangers: Step right up, the Rangers knew from Day 1 in October this was their trade deadline destiny, fulfilling a plan that started a year ago with a very public rebuild plan. The pending UFAs for sale include Kevin Hayes and Mats Zuccarello as the more promising items. Hayes would be a beast of an add for a contender looking for size and enough skill to play in a top-six role. Hard-hitting blueliner Adam McQuaid is also a pending UFA and will likely be moved. After that, the Rangers are listening on signed players, a guy like Vladislav Namestnikov, 26, as an example. He’s signed for another year at $4 million. He’s yours for the right price. Having the necessary cap room for July 1 and a possible run at the likes of Panarin and/or Erik Karlsson (unless he stays in San Jose) are possibilities.

Anaheim Ducks: Randy Carlyle was mercifully fired and now a disgruntled GM is behind the bench. Two weeks before the trade deadline no less. Talk about some theatre. The Ducks, for a while now, have been listening on a lot of their players but unless they can’t re-sign pending UFA Jakob Silfverberg, there are no real rentals of note. If they move players out it’s guys that have term. With GM Bob Murray getting a close-up look on the bench, it could be fascinating to see how he reacts before the deadline. But in reality, I think the offseason offers him a better window to make bigger roster changes.

Ottawa Senators: This is the week where there should be clarity on Duchene and Stone, as far as whether they sign extensions or whether talks end and they get put not the trade market. I think there’s a better chance of Duchene signing than Stone but they both could be gone anyway. Pending UFA winger Ryan Dzingel would also have sizeable interest but do the Sens throw money at him if they strike out on Stone and Duchene? Ottawa, of course, doesn’t have its first-round pick this year. They could get two first-round picks back (albeit low ones) as part of the trade packages for Duchene and/or Stone. Also, defenseman Cody Ceci, RFA July 1, is on the market. The Sens would like to duplicate what the Kings got for Jake Muzzin but I don’t know they’ll be able to.

Detroit Red Wings: The Wings have some pending UFAs to see off in Gustav Nyquist (who has a NTC), Jimmy Howard, Thomas Vanek and Nick Jensen. The Wings have also debated the merits of re-signing Howard so I think it will come down to the wire in his case in terms of balancing what’s being offered for him in a trade versus the idea of just signing him now or trying to bring him back July 1.

New Jersey Devils: The selling off began with respected veteran forward Brian Boyle last week. Another attractive pending UFA is Marcus Johansson. Once the bigger rental forwards go, the Devils

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should get more action on him. Defenceman Ben Lovejoy and forward Drew Stafford are also pending UFAs who are available.

Los Angeles Kings: The Kings will try to move pending UFA forwards Carl Hagelin and Nate Thompson. As I reported last week, veteran winger Ilya Kovalchuk would waive his no-move for the right fit to a contender. Otherwise after dealing Muzzin to Toronto, the roster shaping will continue in full earnest come the offseason. (Update: On Monday, the Kings sent Nate Thompson and a fifth-round pick to the Canadiens for a fourth-round pick.)


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The Athletic / DGB weekend rankings: We deserve a Leafs vs. Habs playoff matchup (even if you hate them)

By Sean McIndoe Feb 11, 2019

One good rule of thumb for the NHL (and life) is that when absolutely everybody agrees on something, they’re probably wrong. Well, these days, it seems like everybody agrees that a Toronto/Montreal first-round matchup would be awesome.

You know what? They’re not wrong.

Saturday’s matchup in Montreal was all sort of fun, featuring plenty of speed, three lead changes, a great crowd and a beautiful overtime winner. It was a great game, the kind you’d show to someone you were trying to talk into becoming a hockey fan.

And by the end of it, the Leafs and Habs were holding down the second and third spots in the Atlantic, respectively. Which means you could play the “if the playoffs started today” card and dream of the first postseason matchup between the two teams in four decades.

Here’s hoping you did, because the Bruins went and ruined it with yesterday’s win. That moved them back into the third spot, which would set up yet another Toronto/Boston matchup that represents just about the worst-case scenario for Leaf fans. But the playoffs aren’t starting today, because we still have two months to go, which means two months to get this right.

We’ve been down this road before, of course. Back in 2013 some of us got way too excited about a Toronto/Montreal matchup – OK, fine, I got way too excited – and then the Senators screwed it up for everybody on the season’s final night, setting up a series between the Leafs and Bruins instead. I don’t remember how that one ended. I’m sure it wasn’t important.

The point is that a Toronto/Montreal matchup would be amazing. If you’re a fan of either team, it would be a once-in-a-generation chance to beat your oldest rival. And if you’re not, it would be a chance to watch two fan bases that take themselves way too seriously have a weeks-long meltdown. Either way, you win! Or, you know, suffer a soul-crushing defeat from which you may never recover. One of those two things.

It’s somewhat amazing that we haven’t seen the Leafs and Habs play against each other in the playoffs since that matchup way back in 1979. They were in different conferences for some of that, but they’ve been division rivals since 1998 and have still managed to avoid each other. The lesson, as always: the hockey gods hate us.

There’s another all-Canadian rivalry matchup that’s still in play, although barely. The Flames and Oilers somehow haven’t met since 1991 but could pair off this year if Edmonton could climb back into a

wildcard spot. That’s looking less likely by the day, which is as good a reason as any to enjoy the idea now.

But if you’re a Canadian fan who’s already given up on the Oilers, there’s always the Canucks. They’ve hanging in that wildcard race, sitting just two points back heading into tonight’s action and could play the Flames or the Jets if they made it. Either of those would be a nice Smythe Division callback, not to mention an intriguing underdog story. Let’s do one of those.

Actually, screw it – if Canadian fans are going to dream here, let’s go big. Let’s have Leafs vs. Habs, Canucks vs. Jets, and Oilers vs. Flames. That might be mathematically unlikely, but it would make for an April that the entire country could enjoy. (Looks over and notices Senators fans sitting sadly by themselves watching Jack Hughes highlights with trembling chins.) That would make for an April that almost the entire country could enjoy. Look, we’re doing our best here.

In the meantime, I’m told there are also teams in the United States and that some of them might have been playing this weekend. A few of them might show up in this week’s rankings. Let’s find out.

Road to the Cup

The five teams that look like they’re headed towards a summer of keg stands and fountain pool parties.

We haven’t had much of a chance to talk about the Rangers in this section this year, and depending on how long the rebuild takes, it could be a while before we get the chance again. But we’ll do it this week, thanks to Friday’s ceremony that honored the 1994 team that snapped a 54-year championship drought.

THE VIDEO TRIBUTE TO THE #NYR 1994 CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM THAT PLAYED @THEGARDEN FOR TONIGHT’S CELEBRATION PRESENTED BY @CHASE. PIC.TWITTER.COM/KZIOSOFEXM

&MDASH; NEW YORK RANGERS (@NYRANGERS) FEBRUARY 8, 2019

We can get caught up in wins and losses and xGF and PDO and whatever else, but that clip is a nice reminder of what’s really at stake for the teams in the top five and the others fighting to get in. This is, after all, about the Road To The Cup. Win it, and fans will still be celebrating a quarter-century later. Flags really do fly forever.

Oh hey, speaking of New York …

5. New York Islanders (33-16-6, +29 true goals differential*) – It’s time.

Yes, fine, maybe it was time weeks ago. I hear you, Islander fans. But we’re here now. You win.

I’m still not convinced that the Islanders are necessarily a better team top-to-bottom than others that could make a claim for this spot, like the Predators or the Maple Leafs. But after a pair of weekend wins to open up a five-point lead over the Capitals on top of the Metro, and with the Blue Jackets and Penguins in turmoil, the Islanders unquestionably have a much easier path out of the first two rounds than those teams. And if we’re trying to predict a Cup winner, that matters.

I’m going against some of the Stanley Cup models out there, like this one and (especially) this one, and the oddsmakers still haven’t caught up to what the Islanders are doing. And maybe a team like Nashville or Boston goes out and makes the sort of big-time deadline acquisition that pushes them back up the list.

If they do, we’ll adjust accordingly. But at this point, the Islanders have as good a case as anyone and a better case than most. And they’ve certainly waited their turn. They’re in.

4. Winnipeg Jets (35-18-3, +33) – The focus in Winnipeg is on holding off the Predators to win the Central. But their pending RFAs

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are a looming story, especially now that Auston Matthews has set the top of the market. Murat Ates took a look at the possibilities earlier this week.

3. San Jose Sharks (33-16-7, +31) – They’ve racked up five-straight wins, including the first three of their Western Canada road trip. That hasn’t quite been enough to catch the Flames, but they’ve left the Knights in the dust and all but locked up home-ice in the first round.

2. Calgary Flames (34-15-6, +44) – After being the clear-cut top pick for the Pacific for almost a month, this week made for a much tougher call. With losses to the Canucks and the surging Sharks, they’ve given up just about all of the cushion they’d built on top of the division. But “just about all” isn’t the same as “all,” so we’ll leave them in the two-spot for one more week.

In other news, never say “well, at least my season couldn’t be going any worse.” It could always be worse.

GEEEEZ, OFFICIALS AND PLAYERS SCOOPING NEAL’S TEETH OFF THE ICE

&MDASH; ELLIOTTE FRIEDMAN (@FRIEDGEHNIC) FEBRUARY 10, 2019

1. Tampa Bay Lightning (41-11-4, +58) – Here’s this week “I think the Lightning might be good” stat: They now have more wins in regulation than any other team in the league has wins, period.

*Goals differential without counting shootout decisions like the NHL does for some reason.

Not ranked: St. Louis Blues – Through the first half, the Blues were one of the league’s worst stories. They weren’t quite the worst team – we had a running joke in the power rankings that Blues fans were constantly mad that their team wasn’t being rated lower than it was. But based on expectations heading into the season, they’d been a disaster.

On Dec. 9, they were blown out 6-1 at home by the Canucks, dropping their record to 10-14-4. It was the second time in just over a week they’d lost to a playoff also-ran by that lopsided score, having also fallen to the Coyotes, and it came two weeks after they’d given up eight goals in a loss to the Jets. They were already 11 points out of a playoff spot. They were bad.

But since then, they’ve been … well, not as bad. Not great, maybe. But not bad. They’ve won 17 of 26, and with just about everyone else in the Western race imploding around them, that’s been enough to climb all the way back into a wildcard spot. The big story has been rookie Jordan Binnington, who’s been just about unbeatable since taking over as the starter. At 9-1-1 and .931 save percentage, he’s basically out Carter Hart-ing Carter Hart. And more importantly, he stabilized a position that had been a mess under Jake Allen for a few seasons now.

Binnington got the day off yesterday in Nashville, but Allen was able to do enough in a wild 5-4 win. That gave the Blues a bigger cushion in the wildcard race, even moving them past the Wild. Heck, they’ve got a real shot at catching the Stars this week.

It’s all been a heck of a thing to watch. Teams rarely make up playoff gaps of four points in November; the Blues might pull it off for an 11-point gap in December. At the very least, they’re going to be playing in games that matter down the stretch, and (presumably) not blowing up the roster at the deadline like we thought they might. That doesn’t get them all that close to the top five, of course. But it’s a pretty amazing story all the same.

The bottom five

The five teams that look like they’re headed towards hoping the ping-pong balls deliver Jack Hughes.

Two weeks to go until the trade deadline, and most of the big names are still in play. You can keep track of all the deals, rumors and speculation over at The Athletic’s deadline tracker.

5. Edmonton Oilers (24-26-5, -28) – Is it bad when your coach says this? It seems bad.

&QUOT;AT THIS TIME OF YEAR THE COACHES CAN’T WANT IT MORE THAN THE PLAYERS.&QUOT; — OILERS COACH KEN HITCHCOCK.

&MDASH; ROB TYCHKOWSKI (@ROB_TYCHKOWSKI) FEBRUARY 10, 2019

Any chance of building some momentum after snapping a six-game losing streak on Thursday ended quickly on Saturday, with a 5-2 loss to the Sharks on home ice. That’s resurrected the narrative of the Oilers being a team engulfed in a losing culture. Personally, I lean towards agreeing with this guy – it’s the lack of talent, not the effort level. Then again, maybe it’s both.

Either way, they make their first appearance of the season in the bottom five. This week they’re off on a three-game road trip that brings a tough slate of the Penguins, Hurricanes and Islanders. Will they be able to want it more than the coaches? Maybe, if “it” is for the season to just mercifully end.

4. New Jersey Devils (21-26-8, -25) – This was a cool look at what goes on behind the scenes when a player like Brian Boyle is traded.

3. Detroit Red Wings (21-28-7, -27) – With two weeks to go until the deadline, the Red Wings still haven’t played any of their cards. You’d figure that will change soon; there’s really no good reason not to at least move their pending UFAs. Meanwhile, it’s possible they could be eying bigger moves in the offseason.

2. Anaheim Ducks (21-26-9, -56) – Last time, they just missed the bottom five. Apparently, they took that as a challenge, because they spent the last week going 0-4-0 while being outscored 20-4, and yesterday they finally made the coaching chance everyone knew they should have made months ago. That’s not just sneaking into the bottom five, it’s kicking the door down and then confidently striding directly into the doorframe face-first.

THE DUCKS HAVE TO BE ON THE WORST STRETCH OF THE SALARY-CAP ERA.

&MDASH; JASON BROUGH (@JASONBROUGHTSN) FEBRUARY 9, 2019

So now what? They’ve lost seven straight in regulation and have achieved what seemed virtually impossible by actually losing enough ground in the Western race that we can rule them out of a playoff spot. Everyone seems to agree that Randy Carlyle had to go. But he’s being replaced by Bob Murray, who’s never coached before at any level. It’s an old-school “let the GM see the problem up close” move, or maybe a “you made this mess so now it’s your problem” directive from ownership. Either way, it keeps Dallas Eakins away from this mess until next year. But it’s hard to see how it makes the Ducks any better.

Maybe at this point, it’s just about finishing dead last and loading up on those lottery odds. That would have seemed ridiculous just a few weeks ago, but at this point, they’re close to being the odds-on favorites.

1. Ottawa Senators (21-29-5, -29) – I still see the Senators finishing a shade below the Ducks, if only because they have a chance to get significantly worse over the next two weeks through trades. We’re still in a wait-and-see mode on Mark Stone and Matt Duchene, but time is basically up – Elliotte Friedman is reporting that the Senators will let other teams know their plans on both players within days.

Of course, there was good news for Senator fans this week: according to Eugene Melnyk, they’re just one or two years away from being all done with the rebuild, at which point they’ll start in on

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“a five-year run of unparalleled success.” The current record for Stanley Cups won in a five-year period is, uh, five. So apparently the Senators are going to win six or more. Congratulations in advance to Ottawa fans.

Not ranked: Los Angeles Kings – The Kings aren’t included in this week’s bottom five. That’s news.

This week’s absence snaps a streak of 15 straight appearances in the bottom five for the Kings, dating back to the third week of the season. They were ranked either first or second for ten of those fifteen weeks, including as recently as a week ago. But with three wins in four games this week, they’ve climbed out of dead last in the West and even moved within eight points of a wildcard spot, which isn’t close but is at least single digits.

Don’t get me wrong – they’re still bad. If this was a bottom six, they’re probably there. And maybe they should be in the bottom five anyway, and I’m breaking my own rule by overreacting to a bad Oilers’ game instead of looking at the bigger picture. The Kings aren’t making the playoffs and nothing that’s happened lately should allow Rob Blake to talk himself out of selling.

But for now, at least, they’re not terrible. And they’re not in the bottom five. It’s been a while since we could say either of those things, so let’s recognize it while we can.


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Sportsnet.ca / Canucks fail to protect Michael DiPietro in premature debut

Iain MacIntyre | February 12, 2019, 2:01 AM

VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks set up Michael DiPietro to fail, and on Monday night, in a premature National Hockey League debut, he did.

The 19-year-old goaltending prospect, an emergency callup from the Ontario Hockey League last week, was forced into an NHL start when Canucks goalie Jacob Markstrom reported to work Monday morning experiencing tightness in his lower body.

The idea when backup goalie Thatcher Demko sprained his knee during the pre-game warmup in Philadelphia last Monday was that the Canucks could bring in DiPietro and the 2017 third-round draft pick would gather invaluable experience and intel practising with NHL players and working with Canucks goaltending coach Ian Clark while Markstrom played.

And during the two weeks or so Demko would miss, Canucks general manager Jim Benning and his staff would continue to search for an inexpensive, suitable “third goalie” to bring into the organization for depth. They never found one in time.

DiPietro lost his first NHL start 7-2 to the San Jose Sharks.

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The Canucks’ veteran minor-league goalie, Richard Bachmann, suffered a season-ending Achilles injury with the Utica Comets on Dec. 21. And the organization’s plan to replace him went awry on Jan. 4 when Mike McKenna was claimed on waivers by the Philadelphia Flyers, a couple of days after the Canucks acquired him

from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for NHL backup Anders Nilsson. Nilsson was moved in order to make room in the NHL for Demko.

In the 31 days between losing McKenna and Demko, the Canucks searched for another goalie but neither acquired nor signed one. They have former NHLer Michael Leighton in the minors on a professional tryout.

So DiPietro was thrown literally to the Sharks.

Talented and promising as Team Canada’s world junior championship starter is, DiPietro isn’t ready to start games in the NHL. Almost no 19-year-olds are. Not in goal.

DiPietro had an NHL goal-against before he had an NHL save. The Sharks, one of the best and highest-scoring teams in the league, scored three times on their first five shots.

“Anytime you let three in on five, it’s definitely not an ideal start,” DiPietro told reporters. “But the next puck is coming. That’s what I kept telling myself: ‘I’ve got to be ready for it.’ It’s tough mentally, but you’ve got to be ready for anything this game throws at you.

“Some adversity has been thrown, but it’s OK. It’s something I can definitely learn from and work towards bettering my game and bettering myself.”

By late in the second period, DiPietro had improved his save percentage to .600, having allowed six goals on 15 shots.

A couple of San Jose goals came from deflections, a couple from atrocious defending in front of DiPietro. So the Ottawa 67s goalie had neither luck nor much help. But he also looked overmatched, unaccustomed to NHL speed and puck movement and the ability of even fourth-liners at this level to release the puck quickly and with velocity.

“The start that we had, you put that on us,” veteran Jay Beagle said. “We had to be better. Especially with a guy starting his first NHL game, you don’t want to start like that.

“For anyone coming in and playing, never mind their first NHL game, you want to allow them to feel the puck. Lock it down defensively and let them settle in. That first goal goes in (after 64 seconds) and that can’t happen. It just can’t happen. That’s not how you want a guy to start the game. Put that on my line.”

Beagle and wingers Loui Eriksson and Tyler Motte stood in a triangle in the low slot and watched Timo Meier stand unchecked between them as he converted Logan Couture’s pass to make it 1-0. On the next goal, at 3:22, Evander Kane’s harmless flip towards the net was gloved backwards by Canuck defenceman Ben Hutton and blocked into the goal by DiPietro. At 8:48 of the first, still four minutes before San Jose goalie Martin Jones was required to make a save, Melker Karlsson deflected in Brent Burns’ point shot. And so it went.

“We definitely weren’t good enough in front of him,” the Canucks’ Bo Horvat said of DiPietro. “We had to be better defensively for him, especially early. When you’ve got a young goalie like that, his first NHL game, you can’t go 8-0 shots (against) in the first five or 10 minutes. That’s never going to end well.”

“It’s not them,” DiPietro said of the blame. “It falls on me, too. I’ve got to be better. The guys have been great with me and made me feel welcome. These guys, you want to play for them. I appreciate all they did.”

It’s hard to see how DiPietro benefitted from this experience. And it’s even harder to imagine Canucks management letting it continue. If Markstrom doesn’t report to work Tuesday with the vigour and chipperness of someone in a Viagra commercial, Benning has to find another goalie.

And even if Markstrom, who sat on the bench Monday but wasn’t going to play under any circumstance, feels great, will his

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unspecified injury actually allow him to play back-to-back road games against the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings, starting Wednesday?

Including Saturday’s visit to the Shark tank, the Canucks have three games in four nights in California and are desperate to cling to the Western Conference playoff race that nobody expected Vancouver to be in. Demko isn’t expected to be available for any of these games.

We understand Benning’s refusal to surrender an asset for another team’s third or fourth-string goalie when the player may never be needed to start a game for the Canucks. But unsigned goalies like Leighton cost nothing but a little money – and that money will be paid on a two-way deal.

How much are the playoffs worth?

Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 02.12.2019

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Sportsnet.ca / Canadiens' depth bolstered by Weise, Thompson acquisitions

Eric Engels February 11, 2019, 4:27 PM

BROSSARD, Que. — The Montreal Canadiens practised with Charles Hudon, Michael Chaput, Matthew Peca and Nicolas Deslauriers rotating through their fourth line on Monday, but Tuesday’s look will be vastly different.

30-year-old right winger Dale Weise, acquired by the Canadiens in a Saturday trade with the Philadelphia Flyers, was recalled from the AHL Laval Rocket shortly after noon. And it was roughly 90 minutes later that the team sent a 2019 fourth-round pick to the Los Angeles Kings for 34-year-old centre Nate Thompson and a 2019 fifth-rounder.

Barring another trade—none are expected at the moment—it’s expected one of Hudon, Chaput, Peca or Deslauriers placed on waivers Tuesday, moments after Weise and Thompson take their first reps with the Canadiens at their south-shore practice facility.

Whichever player is being waived by the Canadiens tomorrow has already been filed with the league as a non-roster player. So no paper transaction required to make room for Thompson.

— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) February 11, 2019

These changes were imminent. Coach Claude Julien had been pining for a fourth line he could roll out more regularly. A trio of players he could trust against any of the opposition’s forwards; one that helps the team keep the puck out of its own net, one that finds a way to provide energy—perhaps a bit more scoring—and one that can wear down the opposition’s defence by cycling in the offensive zone. He hadn’t found it through 55 games, and after the combination of Peca, Chaput and Deslauriers got scored on twice in a three-minute span of Saturday’s 4-3 overtime loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, it was expected other moves might be on their way in short order.

Enter Thompson who is a 12-year veteran with 672 games of NHL experience under his belt. A player with 62 games of playoff experience. A 6-foot-1, 207-pound, left-shooting faceoff specialist who kills penalties and plays on the edge.

The Alaskan’s speed may not be optimal for the system Montreal runs, but his trustworthiness—and his reputation as a good team-

guy—made him worth the cost of acquisition, which was basically nothing.

The fourth-round pick the Canadiens sent to Los Angeles is bound to be a late one, considering it originally belonged to the second-place Calgary Flames, and they offset that by obtaining an early fifth-rounder that originally belonged to the 25th-place Arizona Coyotes. And Thompson’s $1.6-million expiring contract is a pittance to absorb when you consider the Canadiens still have enough room to add roughly $41-million in prorated salary between now and the Feb. 25 trade deadline.

We believe the #Habs have placed Michael Chaput on 'Waivers Non-Roster' in order to free up a roster spot, & will place him on waivers at noon tomorrow.

The above designation is made via written request to the NHL asking to remove a player from the active roster pending waivers. https://t.co/HqovAVFfk7

— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) February 11, 2019

This move—in addition to the one that sent defenceman David Schlemko and forward Byron Froese from the Rocket to the Flyers for Weise and 6-foot-3 defenceman Christian Folin—bolsters Montreal’s depth. In 53 games with the Kings this year, Thompson scored four goals and added two assists. Weise, for his part, had five goals and six assists in 42 games with the Flyers.

Perhaps of even greater significance is the fact that both players have averaged more than 12 minutes of time on ice per game.

That is more than Julien has doled out to any of the players he was using on the Canadiens’ fourth line prior to these acquisitions—and certainly much more than he gave Peca (8:07), Chaput (7:53) and Deslauriers (5:53) in the loss to the Leafs on Saturday.

Fourth line ice time this season: Deslauriers (9:54), Hudon (11:45), Peca (10:40), Chaput (11:13), Agostino (11:11). Thompson and Weise both averaged more than 12 minutes/game with their former teams.

— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) February 11, 2019

“We want to play a fast game, we want to be on teams,” said Julien just two days prior, after the Canadiens rolled four lines and skated the Winnipeg Jets into the ground in a 5-1 win at the Bell Centre. “If you shorten your bench, you can never keep that momentum and that pace going.”

That pace has led the Canadiens to a 31-18-7 record and a seven-point cushion over the playoff-bubble Carolina Hurricanes. They’re currently in the first wild-card position in the Eastern Conference and just two points back of the Leafs for second place in the Atlantic Division.

More moves from general manager Marc Bergevin could be coming down the pipeline to help the Canadiens maintain. He’s already said he won’t sacrifice a first-round pick or any of the team’s A-level prospects for a short-term addition, but sources have indicated to Sportsnet he’s in the market for a left defenceman who can slot into the team’s second pair—one who’s on the right side of 30 and in possession of a contract that extends beyond the remainder of this season.

A forward who can help on the power play—Montreal currently ranks 30th (13.5 per cent)—is on Bergevin’s wish list, too. But whether he adds anything else between now and the deadline, the moves he made over the last 72 hours have already addressed a significant need.


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Sportsnet.ca / Meet the old enforcer keeping NHLers from hitting rock bottom – Sportsnet

by Eric Francis

'HE'S BEEN THROUGH IT ALL'

He fought on the ice. He fought for his sobriety. Now Brian McGrattan is fighting for the health and safety of players on the Flames and across the NHL.

It’s been more than three seasons since Brian McGrattan’s days as an NHL enforcer, but dressed all in black, his tattooed arms showing and his hair cut into a mohawk, he looks like he could step right back into the role if duty called. Sitting in his kitchen at home in the south of Calgary, McGrattan is talking about how different life is today, though you can’t hear much of what he’s saying, because three barking dogs are frantically gunning for his front door. Lola, the tall, golden-haired one, leads the charge.

When the barking quiets, McGrattan gives Lola a pat as she passes on her way to the other end of the house, and then he returns to his last thought. He looks across the counter at his wife, Michelle, and then to his right, where their three-year-old son, Gabe, is playing with Lego on the living room carpet, blonde hair cut just like Dad’s. (They go to the same barber). “Would never have had this,” McGrattan says, describing what would’ve happened had he kept careening down the path he was on a little more than a decade ago. “I’d be dead, so I wouldn’t have had it.”

On Dec. 4, 2008, McGrattan locked himself inside the bedroom of his Phoenix home and called the Coyotes’ trainer to say he wouldn’t be making practice because he was sick. Coming off a five-day bender fuelled by cocaine and whatever booze he could get his hands on, McGrattan called his mom, Cathy, next. “I’m not sure if I wanted to die — I didn’t care,” he says, now. The realization scared the daylights out of him. He told Cathy: “I need to get some help.”

Thanks to that decision, McGrattan is not only a husband and a dad, but the 37-year-old has also carved out a second career in hockey as a member of the Calgary Flames’ front office in a role that’s unique in the NHL — nobody else in the league does what he does. After a 10-year career protecting his teammates on the ice with his fists, McGrattan is now using his vast life experience to protect and help players as Calgary’s Director of Player Assistance. He’s not a therapist or a doctor — he prefers the terms “big brother” or “friend” — but he’s here to confidentially talk to Flames and prospects about anything and everything, the goal being to ensure that none of them hits rock bottom like he did.

As he sits here at home surrounded by his family and dogs, McGrattan considers whether the other 30 teams in the NHL are doing enough to support players struggling with personal issues. Michelle looks up from her early afternoon espresso and answers first: “No.” McGrattan nods in agreement. “I don’t think so,” he says. What’s missing in every market — aside from Calgary, the team sitting atop the Western Conference, which he’ll tell you is no coincidence — is an employee in that lifestyle role he occupies. “I’m not the kind of guy to preach,” McGrattan says, “but hopefully it becomes a trend.”

HELPING HAND

Considering himself a "big brother" or "friend" to every player on the Flames' roster, McGrattan is there to get them through any personal trials and tribulations.

It’s an off-day for the Flames, and ahead of tonight’s National Lacrosse League game, the Calgary Roughnecks are practicing. McGrattan is half-watching from a private box. His six-foot-four

frame is wedged into a seat, his legs stretched out as far as space allows.

He has an office here at the Saddledome, kind of. It’s a small desk in the corner of the office that’s actually occupied by assistant general manager and former teammate, Craig Conroy. That’s where McGrattan does paperwork, since scouting is also part of his role. But his most important work doesn’t happen here. No, unlike his days as an enforcer, McGrattan’s biggest impact is now felt outside the rink, because any player wanting to discuss a sensitive issue won’t be doing so here. “This would probably be the last place it would happen,” he says. A coffee shop or a phone call is a lot more common.

McGrattan supports players the moment they enter the organization. He visits prospects and spends weeks at a time with the Flames’ AHL affiliate in Stockton. He takes small groups of guys out for meals or coffee, “then give them the reason why I’m around,” he explains. What he tells every player is this: “I’m here any time you have something going on. Number’s on all night.” Marital issues, family trouble, anxiety, addiction — you name it, “I’m here to talk and listen,” he says. As for how often he’s discussing personal issues with Flames and prospects, McGrattan says, “I’ll just keep that to myself.” Confidentiality is king.

“That gave me so much courage and hope, seeing this guy that I could relate to — finally.”

Though it’s now literally his job, McGrattan figures he helped more than 10 players through personal issues while he was a player himself. He helped guys without even knowing it at the time, too. An example: About nine years ago, Rich Clune was playing for the L.A. Kings. He was sitting on his parents’ bed with his bags packed for rehab, but he was thinking, “Ah, f—, I don’t know if I’m gonna go.” Then he flipped on the TV and there was McGrattan sharing his story on TSN’s Off The Record. “That gave me so much courage and hope, seeing this guy that I could relate to — finally,” says Clune, who’s now 31 and a member of the Toronto Marlies. “Back then it was maybe the one guy that I would look up to, this big tough fighter in the NHL who I’d watched as a kid. So I was like, alright, and I went to rehab.”

Clune lasted four days that first trip to treatment, but a year later, he got sober. Eight months after that, he reached out to McGrattan just before their two AHL teams were scheduled to meet, and asked if they could talk after the game. “I was doing everything they taught me in treatment, going to meetings, but I was so desperate, right?” Clune says. “I was missing that connection with someone I could relate to.” He and McGrattan talked for 45 minutes that day and they’ve been friends ever since.

Someone players can relate to is exactly the reason Flames general manager Brad Treliving decided the team needed a Director of Player Assistance. While the GM didn’t know quite what the job would look like when he first thought about it a few seasons ago, he did know McGrattan was the perfect fit, and extended the offer when McGrattan retired in 2017 after a season with the Nottingham Panthers in England.

Treliving has plenty of experience with McGrattan: He was assistant GM in Phoenix when the team acquired the enforcer. The executive actually believed McGrattan back in those days when he lied and said he didn’t have a problem with drugs and alcohol, when he said he didn’t need help after the team’s management offered it. “We joked the first time we talked about this, ‘Who’s the first person you hire to protect your home?’ You hire the thief that’s already been here,” Treliving says. “He knows all the tricks of the trade.” Not that McGrattan’s here to rat out players: The point, and the hope, is to prevent potential problem situations, to encourage players to talk to him before it’s too late. As Treliving describes it: “Let’s not wait until the house is on fire before we call the fire department. Is there a way that we can get in front of this? Are there resources that we can give our players, people to talk to? In Brian’s case, seeing signs that

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maybe somebody’s heading down the wrong path, that we can prevent something before it becomes an issue — that’s really our mindset. How do we look after our people?”

Since McGrattan joined the Flames staff, Treliving has had five or six other NHL GMs inquire about the benefits of the role and how it works. Treliving isn’t one to suggest what other teams should be doing — he’s too busy worrying about his own, he says — but that no other teams have added a Director of Player Assistance since he got the job surprises McGrattan. “It’s kind of shocking, actually,” he says, given that statistically, one in five people will experience mental illness at some point each year. With some 700 players in the league, he wonders, “how many guys are struggling without anybody to talk to? You do the math, it could be two players a team that could have something going on.

“A major part of our career is our life away from hockey,” McGrattan adds. “When we leave this rink today, the other 10 hours of the day are very important. So why don’t we have someone helping guys with that lifestyle stuff?”

“How many guys are struggling without anybody to talk to? You do the math, it could be two players a team.”

That lifestyle stuff can be especially daunting for a rookie stepping into the league, as Dillon Dube can attest. The 20-year-old forward made his NHL debut this season with the Flames, and he calls the transition from junior to pro “crazy,” going from no salary to a pro salary, living in a new city, learning to play the pro game. While playing last season in Stockton, Dube got to pick McGrattan’s brain over the course of several visits. “He doesn’t feel like a player development guy,” Dube says. “He was helping me in Stockton, just getting comfortable. He was really there for me. And it’s really different, what we go through, having to hold the reputation as an NHL player. If you had to talk to a stranger about that? It’s hard. So I think going through him, he’s been through it all.

“And it’s hard to talk to people that are in the organization and management, but when you get to know him, you feel comfortable going to talk to him more than anybody else. You know he’s been in the league and [knows] how hard it can be to talk.”

Certainly, that McGrattan has been in players’ shoes helps. But to enjoy the benefits of his wisdom, they do have to get over the fact that the man they call ‘Big Ern’ — named after Bill Murray’s character in Kingpin — could beat the crap out of them if the mood struck. McGrattan may be kind and thoughtful and open, but he’s also the most menacing-looking member of the Flames’ front office. Head coach Bill Peters jokes (maybe jokes?) that he doesn’t take part in alumni skates “because of Big Ern.”

Dube admits he was a little scared to talk to McGrattan when they first met. “Have you seen what he’s done in this league?” he asks, eyebrows all the way up. “The guy’s an enforcer, one of the best of all time.” Dube stares at his own hands and shakes his head as he talks about McGrattan’s bear paw-sized mitts: “His hands are just crazy.”

McGrattan laughs when Dube’s descriptions are relayed to him. “Scared of me?” he says, grinning. “He’s my boy now. He knows I’m here for him, any time.”

THE OTHER SIDE

Breaking a cycle of substance abuse he knows would've killed him, McGrattan is now 10 years clean with plenty to smile about.

What McGrattan is doing in the NHL may be unique today, but the Director of Player Assistance role didn’t begin with him. It got its start with another NHL enforcer.

Brantt Myhres had just checked into rehab for the fifth time. Every item of clothing he owned was stuffed into a Calgary Flames hockey bag. He had less than $100 in his bank account and even fewer

hours of sobriety to his name. In about a week, his first child, a daughter, would be born.

Hours later, at that treatment facility in Astoria, Oregon — where The Goonies was filmed and set — Myhres drew up the foundation for a player assistance role in the NHL. Having hit his rock bottom, he decided the league needed to hire someone to help players who were struggling like him. He pulled out his laptop and started to draw up a proposal that same night. He sent the finished product to both the NHL’s and NHLPA’s offices about a year later. “I started thinking back about some of the players that I played with that had issues, and I thought, ‘Man, I want to put something together for the league,’” Myhres says now, from his home in Edmonton. “And if I can hang onto my sobriety, I believe that there’s a position somewhere.”

“You have to be integrated in the day-to-day stuff the team’s doing, and that’s how you build the trust.”

It was quite the turnaround for Myhres: Three days before he checked in to rehab, his face was in a snowbank and two police officers were on his back. He remembers seeing his older sister, Cher, crying on her front porch. He doesn’t remember smashing the glass table in her house, or trying to fight her husband, or drinking all the liquor in her freezer. It was Feb. 18, 2008, a couple years after Myhres had failed a fifth drug test administered by the NHL. The test had turned up cocaine in his system all five times.

Myhres knows more than most how much support the NHL offers when its players are in trouble. The day after his arrest on his sister’s front lawn, in came a call from the league’s head office with the offer to cover seven months of in-patient treatment and a question: “Are you finally finished?” Was he finally ready to get clean? He had no choice this time, he says. He had to.

The league had already paid for four stints of rehab, would pay for him to return to school, and would later give him a monthly stipend from the NHL emergency fund to help him get back on his feet. Myhres says he’s “forever grateful that they hung in with me right ‘til the end.’” But still, he saw room to better address a need.

It’s not hard to understand why Myhres’s proposal might not have been taken seriously at first. As a player, he’d gotten sober for up to two years at a time so he could be reinstated into the NHL, only to relapse. He wasn’t what you’d call reliable, a guy you’d rush to hire after a trip to rehab, thinking this time it would definitely stick.

'SCARED OF ME?'

A feared enforcer in his day, McGrattan is still an imposing presence — even if he now has gentler ways of helping players.

But it turned out the fifth time was the charm for Myhres. And about six years after he sent that proposal to the league, he got a call from Dean Lombardi, then GM of the L.A. Kings, looking for help. About a week earlier, star forward Mike Richards had been arrested at the Canada-U.S. border with oxycodone in his possession, and that same season fellow Kings forward Jarret Stoll was booked on the suspicion that he had cocaine and ecstasy at a pool party in Las Vegas.

Lombardi didn’t mince words: He asked Myhres how they could structure the role he’d mapped out years earlier as an in-house job in L.A. “It didn’t take very long for us to agree on most of it,” Myhres says. “I’d figured out a lot of it seven years earlier.” That off-season, the Kings became the first franchise in NHL history with a Director of Player Assistance. Myhres came up with the job title.

For the next three seasons, Myhres spent 20 days of every month with the Kings. “I felt it was imperative that I was involved in the day-to-day functions of the team in order to build that trust with the guys,” he says. “You can’t come in once a month for a couple days, you have to be integrated in the day-to-day stuff the team’s doing, and that’s how you build the trust, not only with the players but with the

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trainers and with all of the staff.” On his days off, he headed back to Edmonton to see his daughter, Chloe. He can’t and won’t say how many players he helped in that time, due to confidentiality, but he will say this: “We had no unmanageable incidences in the three years that I was employed by the Kings.” In other words, no players in L.A. had to make use of the NHL and NHLPA’s Substance Abuse and Behavioural Health Program (SABH). “That’s me doing my job,” Myhres says.

At least, it was. Last summer, after Lombardi and Sutter were fired and Rob Blake and John Stevens took over, Myhres’s contract wasn’t extended, leaving McGrattan as the lone Director of Player Assistance in the league. Myhres is grateful for the three years he spent with the organization, and says simply, “the vision changed.”

The Kings now have a Director of Player Health and Performance on staff, in Dr. John Meyer. The team declined a request for an interview, but said via email that when it comes to support for players with personal issues, they use “outside services tailored for each individual as we have seen every situation as being different.”

There’s no doubt that every player’s struggle is unique, but both McGrattan and Myhres agree that the best way to reach and help guys in times of need is through someone who’s lived through something similar. “Someone guys can relate to,” McGrattan says.

“With the players in the room, the hard part is breaking through,” Myhres adds. “That’s why I think having a guy that has played in the National Hockey League, the players instantly go, ‘Oh ok, He’s been in my shoes.’ And that’s crucial for that door opening just a little bit, because then you’re just not another guy in a suit that comes in and says a speech for 45 minutes and leaves. Not to say that that’s not valuable, because that is. But I know personally from the players that I helped in Los Angeles and I know from the players that Brian’s helped in Calgary that being an ex-player and having 10 years of sobriety goes a long way with these guys.

“The problem with hockey players is that we’re so careful on who we let into our little world of problems. And usually it’s when it’s too late, and that’s when the NHL and the NHLPA have to step in.”

On Jan. 29, the NHL announced that Predators forward Austin Watson, who was arrested and charged with domestic assault last summer, was entering Stage 2 of SABH due to alcohol abuse. Watson is suspended without pay while he undergoes treatment, and he’s eligible to return to the league if doctors and the NHL and NHLPA agree to it.

If a player reaches the fourth and final stage of SABH, he’s suspended without pay for one season, at minimum, while he gets treatment, and again the league and players’ association decide if he deserves another shot.

Myhres, who is 11 years sober on Feb. 18, is hopeful that an NHL team will seek out his services, but he doesn’t want it to take a big incident for that to occur. He believes the role should be adopted by all 31 teams, that the idea of in-house player assistance should be as natural as having home insurance. “You’re running an organization that’s worth $80 million in assets,” Myhres says. “Even if nothing happens, you still want to be covered. And right now, only one team is covered.”

WALKING PEACE OF MIND

Myhres sees McGrattan as insurance for the Flames, allowing the front office to rest easier knowing their biggest assets — the players — are in good hands.

McGrattan’s NHL dream had just been realized with the Ottawa Senators when he was first made aware of the NHL’s coverage and help for players with personal issues. He remembers hearing presentations from doctors and getting a business card with a number you could call “if you were in trouble,” he says.

By that time, he was already in trouble. He’d developed a dependence on alcohol. Addiction to cocaine followed as he got more money and started going to different parties. Teammates and friends, like Matt Stajan, had already asked if he needed help, and he’d told them to “beat it,” he says, or even to “f— off.” He wasn’t willing to admit he had a problem.

When he was eventually ready to accept help, it was the NHL and NHLPA’s SABH that delivered it. In addition to SABH, since 1996, the league and PA have been providing players and their families with around-the-clock offerings for confidential treatment, an 800 number they can call for help and a bevy of counsellors and doctors in every city. On top of that, the medical staffs on NHL teams have only grown to bolster these programs and offer other services. The Detroit Red Wings have two dentists, the Nashville Predators have four plastic surgeons and the Winnipeg Jets boast a medical team 13 strong.

“It was a rough and tumble game. Guys were expected to be warriors.”

Still, any effort to change that long-standing tough guy narrative in hockey and offer help for players — particularly those struggling with mental illness — is relatively new. “I think our business historically has been conservative,” Toronto Maple Leafs assistant GM, Laurence Gilman says, when it comes to addressing those issues. “That’s changing, but I think it’s been, in some regards, provincial.”

Toronto’s team took a big step this season, hiring Dr. Meg Popovic as Director of Athlete Well-being and Performance. Popovic is responsible for helping Maple Leafs who may be experiencing mental illness or addiction, and with all issues that relate to their health outside of physical medical problems. And just as they are with McGrattan, conversations with Popovic are confidential. “It’s blind to us,” Gilman says. Popovic isn’t around the team daily, but players are aware they can reach her at any time.

A front office veteran who has worked in Winnipeg, Arizona and Vancouver, Gilman says he has experienced “both ends of the spectrum” as far as what teams can provide when it comes to help for struggling players, but that offerings across the league are as good as they’ve ever been. “Mental health and well-being is something that, I think it’s fair to say, most hockey teams didn’t put a lot of time and effort into. You know, it was a rough and tumble game. Guys were expected to be warriors,” Gilman says. “But things have evolved, and I think they’re changing across the league. That change doesn’t happen overnight, and positions like the one Calgary has for Brian McGrattan, or positions like the one the Leafs have for Meg Popovic, it’s an evolutionary process.”

Other leagues have evolved a heck of a lot faster, though. For the last 18 years, Major League Baseball has required all 30 of its teams to have an Employee Assistance Professional (EAP) on staff, a role that has to be filled by a licensed health care professional. Some former players who’ve also studied medicine in some capacity fill that EAP role, like pitcher Dickie Noles in Philadelphia. The Toronto Blue Jays employ a former U.S. Marine Corps officer and therapist. Still, other teams get former players in their front offices in other ways: Former pitcher Bob Tewskbury, owner of a masters in psychology, is a Mental Skills Coordinator for the Chicago Cubs. Rick Ankiel, who famously lost the ability to throw strikes as a pitcher and then reinvented himself as an outfielder, was hired by the Washington Nationals as a Life Skills Coordinator.

The NBA requires every team to have an employee in that lifestyle role, though the name of that job varies from team to team. In the NFL, you’ll find player engagement roles listed on most team’s staffs, and some are occupied by former players, like Terry Cousin in Pittsburgh and Fred McAfee in New Orleans. In the NHL, Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly says medical professionals believe that a centralized league-wide approach is best to address players’ various personal issues, “with perhaps a few exceptions,” he wrote in an

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email. “And we believe that model has worked very well for us for quite some time now.”

It’s McGrattan’s hope that the NHL moves toward the NFL model, with every team adding personnel in a lifestyle role. For now, he says of Calgary, “we’re kind of leaders.” Not only do the Flames boast the lone Director of Player Assistance, but they also have a mental performance coach on staff, in Dr. Matt Brown.

A look at the standings might convince other teams to follow suit, McGrattan figures. “It’s no mistake that our team is in first place right now,” he says, “because of the way guys are treated here.”

READY WHEN YOU NEED ME

McGrattan prefers to wait for players to reach out, but he's available and willing to jump into action or lend an ear any time of the day or night.

One of the most difficult parts of McGrattan’s job today is knowing when to approach a player he can see needs help. It never worked for him when teammates or management staff cornered him, asked if he had a problem and tried to lend a hand. So he’ll rarely make the first move. Mostly, he waits until a guy is ready to talk.

In a conversation that stretches for more than an hour in his kitchen, over a couple bottles of water, McGrattan revisits his story — the one he started telling when he was finally ready to talk, the one he still tells players today, the one that makes him both unique and relatable.

Michelle is making her coffee, listening even though she’s heard the whole thing more than a few times. She started dating McGrattan after he’d been sober for two years. “Where was your girlfriend?” she asks now, of the day he finally decided to get help. “I’ve never asked you that.” McGrattan shrugs, he’s not sure. Michelle’s eyes widen and she shakes her head.

“It’s no mistake that our team is in first place right now, because of the way guys are treated here.”

McGrattan wasn’t a natural at the enforcer role. He took it up by necessity after he turned pro because he wanted to crack the NHL and figured that was the way to get there for a kid his size. He got beat up all the time when he first started dropping the gloves. “I was actually awful,” he says, grinning. He found a fighting mentor in Dennis Bonvie (the most penalized player in pro hockey history), and in his third pro season McGrattan won 40 of 43 fights. He’d found his separating skill, his ticket.

No pro fight was bigger than one of his first in the NHL, a win against his childhood idol, Tie Domi, that solidified his place on the Senators’ roster. And then, “I muffed out a 10-year career doing it the hard way,” he says, of life as an NHL enforcer. “Probably the hardest way.”

McGrattan faced anxiety about getting sent back down to the minors or being a healthy scratch. He drank and did drugs in part because it fit his tough guy image, in part because he couldn’t stop, in part because it helped him manage pain. He played hungover and fought and felt superhuman even when he felt broken inside. “I look back and I don’t know how I did it,” McGrattan says, shaking his head. “Still at the same time, you’re young and you think you’re invincible and nothing can happen to you, and slowly your life starts falling apart around you, but you don’t see it.”

Until, of course, he finally realized he didn’t have another booze-and-drug-filled run in him: “I would’ve died the next time.”

Listen to McGrattan’s story and you’ll understand that when he says “there’s kind of nothing I haven’t been through,” he really isn’t exaggerating. But as good as he is at talking — McGrattan has a gift for the gab — what players who’ve sought out his help will tell you is the man is an even better listener.

In the summer of 2017, prospect Emile Poirier talked to McGrattan every day. Rarely was it about hockey, sometimes it was about fishing, often it was about life and feelings. A Flames’ first-round pick, Poirier was battling alcoholism and had just begun treatment. “He was there for me, telling me, ‘no judgement here if you want to talk,’” says Poirier, who’s been sober ever since, coming up on two years. “We talked a lot, and we’re still talking.”

But to Poirier, 24, and now a part of the Winnipeg Jets organization, the conversations aren’t the only important part of his friendship with McGrattan. It’s the example the former enforcer sets. “Just to see him in his life now gives me hope,” Poirier says. “He’s got a kid, he’s got a wife, he’s got a good life, he’s got a house. Seeing him and seeing that it’s working, you know? It makes you realize, ‘Ok, this can be done.’ He showed me how it could be — you can actually be happy and enjoy life.”

“He showed me how it could be — you can actually be happy and enjoy life.”

Talk to enough guys who’ve sought out McGrattan’s help and the endorsements pile up like testimonials on a pamphlet. “He’s really helped me to find that happy, safe place,” says Tyler Parsons, the goaltender who earlier this season chose not to attend training camp due to what he calls “dark, dark thoughts” — concussion symptoms had led to depression.

“He’s our guy to talk to here. He’s huge for our organization and I know everybody I talk to loves him,” Parsons says. “I think what he’s doing here and what the Flames are doing, other organizations can learn from. And Brian McGrattan, all he wants to do is help.”

'EVERYBODY LOVES HIM'

McGrattan's helped players like Parsons find "that happy, safe place," in part by reminding them that hockey should come second to taking care of themselves.

The morning skate is over, the Flames players have all cleared out of the dressing room, and McGrattan is sitting in Matthew Tkachuk’s stall. Back when he had his own space in this room, in 2014, he remembers sitting in his own spot with his own name above it, having just taken off his shoulder pads after a morning skate. Then head coach, Bob Hartley, rushed over.

“I need to see you in my office,” Hartley said. “I need to see you right now.”

Still wearing the lower half of his gear, McGrattan stepped into Hartley’s office and saw prospect Micheal Ferland sitting there, in tears. “I’ll leave you two alone to talk,” the coach said.

Ferland had just opened up to Hartley about his battle with alcoholism. For the next 45 minutes, the two players talked. Ferland broke down and opened up, and McGrattan told him about his own struggle. He told Ferland that as long as he put in the work at the treatment centre, “when you come back, we’ll all be here for you.”

Sitting here now, McGrattan grins, looking nothing like a tough guy, as he thinks about Ferland, who’s now second in scoring with the Carolina Hurricanes. Ferland has been sober since their conversation. “Ferly, I mean, he’s created a pretty special life for himself, too,” McGrattan says.

What’s been created in the Flames organization in that time is pretty special, too. McGrattan’s right to feel pride in the part he’s played and in his role here now, but he knows the secret to real happiness lies, like most of the work he does, outside this building. “Hockey is second,” McGrattan says. “Everything else falls into place — family, career, hockey, all that stuff — if you take care of yourself.”

In Calgary, Big Ern will do everything he can to help make sure you do.


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1130413 Websites

Sportsnet.ca / Oilers need to dig in and prove they can play Hitchcock's style

Mark Spector February 11, 2019, 5:06 PM

EDMONTON — It was the post-game comment heard ‘round the Edmonton Oilers’ world.

“At this time of year, the coaches can’t want it more than the players.”

Head coach Ken Hitchcock said it on Saturday night, after a woeful home-ice performance in a 5-2 loss to San Jose, and his players had a full day off on Sunday to allow that thought to ruminate. To chew on it a bit, let it rate around their brains before walking back into Hitchcock’s video room on Monday morning.

“It was quiet, at the start,” said Hitchcock. “I think they were expecting something different.”

As it turns out, Hitchcock meant something different. When he said, “the coaches can’t want it more than the players,” it turns out us scribes took it out of context.

“The coaches can’t want it — and I meant the style of play — more than the players. The players have to want that style of play,” Hitchcock corrected on Monday. “It’s about the style of play.

“The way we have to play to win is a very difficult game. It’s very challenging, it’s physically demanding, it’s not fun. But it’s the way we’re built right now, but we have to play that way.”

Sportsnet NOW gives you access to over 500 NHL games this season, blackout-free, including Hockey Night in Canada, Rogers Hometown Hockey, Scotiabank Wednesday Night Hockey, the entire 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs and more.

Before, however, you mistake a savvy coaching audible for a quote being simply lost in translation, fear not. The Oilers plays took it the same way you did — like they need to dig in and want this thing more than they showed on Saturday against the Sharks.

“I think I can speak for everyone in our room. We all care,” began Darnell Nurse, who is emerging as one of the true young leaders on this team. “The coaches care, management cares, players care. We all have a strong want to make this something special. We all have that passion, that drive.

“Each and every person, from the person that cleans up Rogers rink, right up to Daryl (owner Katz) — everyone cares about this team, and the opportunity we have in front of us.”

Leon Draisaitl, whose defensive game is not yet as consistent as his offensive game, assured reporters on Monday that, “We want it just as much as everyone else. We all care. We all want it more than anyone on the outside.

“He’s the coach. He can say whatever he wants,” Draisaitl said. “If he thinks we weren’t good enough, which we clearly weren’t, then that’s his right to say that.”

Of course, when you play the way this Oilers team has played at home — losing 11 of its last 13 — talk is cheap. Particularly from Draisaitl, who was delinquent defensively on the 2-0 goal and nonchalantly changed at an inopportune time on the 4-1 goal versus San Jose, yet bristled when asked about it.

So, that is really where the Oilers are this season, now six points out of the wildcard spot and heading out on the road for three games. Talk is cheap, yet season tickets at Rogers Place are not.

Miss the playoffs this season and that’s 12 of the last 13 years, a stat that is, of course, much bigger than the players inside the 2018-19 locker room. That is why there will be a new GM and head coach here — again — when the 2019-20 season begins.

In the meantime, everyone who is getting on the plane heading to Pittsburgh Tuesday needs to toughen up and figure out how to play the way the coach is asking them to play. And if they can’t, well, then it will be fair to ask if the roster is competent enough to execute an NHL game plan at the NHL level.

“It’s a roll-up-your-sleeves, get-your-hands-dirty message,” Hitchcock said. “You’re going to make mistakes along the way. It’s not going to turn overnight. You’re going to have emotional setbacks… We were so excited about the way we played in Minny (4-1 win) … and all of us expected we would carry it on. Well, we didn’t.

“But you’ve go to come back to work. You can’t just keep bemoaning the fact that you didn’t get it done. You’ve got to come back to work.

“You’ve got to grind.”


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TSN.CA / Five Takeaways: Canucks vs Sharks

Jeff Paterson

TAKEAWAYS

1) Monday's 7-2 loss to surging San Jose wasn't on rookie netminder Michael DiPietro. This loss goes on the record of Canucks management. DiPietro was forced into a no-win situation that he should never have been in in the first place. It's extraordinary enough that the 19-year-old is even in the NHL right now. It's mind-boggling that he was pressed into duty against the highest scoring team in the league since Christmas because the Canucks were unable or unwilling to address a glaring weakness in organizational depth at the most-important position in hockey that has existed for more than a month now. Sure, it was unfortunate that Thatcher Demko got injured last week -- but that was another week that has gone by with the Canucks operating without a safety net at both the NHL and AHL levels. It was pointed out then that the Canucks were one Jacob Markstrom knock away from turning to an Ontario Hockey Leaguer to handle their netminding. When Markstrom experienced lower-body tightness and was unable to play on Monday, the Canucks were left with nowhere to turn but DiPietro who didn't look NHL-ready giving up three goals on the first five shots he faced and seven goals on 24 shots on the night. While I'm sure DiPietro welcomed the chance to play in the NHL, his debut should have come under much better circumstances for everyone involved.

2) Big winger Zack MacEwen got better as the night went on in his NHL debut. He looked nervous on his first few shifts and that's understandable after getting plugged into the line-up without a practice and with only a sparsely attended optional morning skate on game day to help him prepare. In 9:45 of ice, MacEwen picked up an assist on Derrick Pouliot's third period goal, had a couple of shots, a hit and a blocked shot. He's not the most fluid skater, but he didn't look like the pace of the game was too much to handle. In the second period, he got a hard slap shot away as he skated in on right

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wing. A few shifts later, he showed some confidence as he tried to turn a Sharks defender inside out off the rush. On a team that is lacking consistent scoring from any wingers not named Brock Boeser or Josh Leivo, hopefully MacEwen is given a chance to build off his first NHL game and remain in the line-up on the team's upcoming road trip. Ideally, with the nerves of his debut out the way, MacEwen could use his size a little more and show a little more edge to his game. But as first impressions go, he gets more than a passing grade.

3) Bo Horvat is up to 20 goals with 25 games remaining. After an ice cold stretch of just one goal in 18 games, Horvat has now scored in back to back games which is a good sign for a Canucks team trying desperately to stay in the playoff mix in the Western Conference despite dropping four of its last five games (1-3-1). Horvat was on the finishing end of a sublime Elias Pettersson cross seam pass in the dying seconds of the first period on Monday. On the night he scored his 20th goal, interestingly enough he played 20:20. He needs two more to match the career-high he set in 64 games last season. With Brandon Sutter out indefinitely, Horvat will likely see a spike in his ice time which should lead to more scoring opportunities. Also, he's overdue for a power play goal having gone without since a December 20th win against St. Louis. With that in mind, 30 goals certainly doesn't seem out of the question for Horvat.

4) It wasn't that long ago the Canucks were a completely healthy hockey club. Everyone knew it wouldn't -- and couldn't -- last. It is, however, remarkable with this team how quickly the injuries pile up. First it was Sven Baertschi, then Alex Edler and Thatcher Demko. Now it's Brandon Sutter and perhaps Jacob Markstrom. All of those have occured since the All Star break. Sutter will be out 'a while' with a mid-body injury according to Travis Green. The Canucks are expected to dip into the farm once again on Tuesday and recall Adam Gaudette. The Markstrom injury is more perplexing and more troubling. He was sensational Saturday against Calgary and was then given Sunday off from practice. He was expected to start Monday against the Sharks, but didn't. And with a travel day and no on ice sessions Tuesday, the Canucks hope Markstrom will be ready to play Wednesday in Anaheim. But keep in mind, Wednesday is the start of back to back games with the Canucks in Los Angeles on Thursday. That seem like a lot to ask of a goalie who's dealing with muscle tightness. And on Saturday, it's a rematch against a San Jose team that has been way too much to handle in two meetings this season outscoring the Canucks 11-2. If Markstrom doesn't make a full and speedy recovery, Michael DiPietro could easily be pressed back into duty -- or the Canucks could roll out a sixth different goaltender to suit up for them this season (Markstrom, Nilsson, Bachman, Demko, DiPietro and perhaps there'll be another name added to the list before they face the Ducks on Wednesday night).

5) The Canucks have a number of issues facing them as they try to stay with the pack in the Wild Card chase. Ultimately, this much is perfectly clear. They won't reach the playoffs without stringing wins together. After their loss to the Sharks, they are 25-25-7. They have 57 points in 57 games. No matter how low the bar is in the West this year, it won't be 82 points -- and that's the pace the Canucks are on. Simple math tells you they will have to find a way to get on a win streak. The question is: is this group capable of putting wins together? Their season high for consecutive victories is three and they've done that three times. The last time was a December 6th home game against Nashville followed by road wins in St. Louis and Columbus. Since that December 11th win against the Blue Jackets, the Canucks have won back to back games twice. They beat the Oilers and Flames out of the Christmas break and downed the Sabres and Red Wings on home ice on January 18th and 20th. That's one set of back to back wins in the last 16 games. On paper, they may not have a better chance than consecutive games against the two bottom feeders from Southern California. You can't start a win streak without the first one and Wednesday night they face a team that has two wins in its last 21 games. Everyone else is beating the Ducks. The Canucks simply have to find a way to do it, too.

TSN.CA LOADED: 02.12.2019

1130415 Websites

TSN.CA / The Oilers are squandering McDavid’s excellence

Travis Yost

It’s bad enough that the Edmonton Oilers wasted all three seasons of Connor McDavid’s entry-level contract. Save for one playoff series win in the 2016-17 season, the Oilers have nothing to show for the luxury of three years with the world’s best hockey player on a middling $925,000 average annual value contract.

Year four is headed in the same direction. McDavid, now making $12.5 million per year and probably still underpaid relative to his talent, is staring up at the majority of the Western Conference. His head coach, Ken Hitchcock, is publicly theorizing that the coaching staff wants to win more than the players do. The Oilers are 13 points out of the third spot in the Pacific Division and four points back of the final wild-card spot, but getting there would require leapfrogging five different teams. That’s why their playoff odds are currently forecasted at 14 per cent and dropping.

It would be premature to eliminate the Oilers right now, but that seems like a trivial discussion, all things considered. The bar for success for this team – considering what they have at their disposal – can’t be just to qualify for the postseason as one of the league’s 16 best teams.

The Oilers should have higher aspirations. After all, the last time a generational player came into the league we saw rapid and stepwise improvement from his team. Remember the 2005-2009 Pittsburgh Penguins? They missed the playoffs, and then had a first-round exit, a Stanley Cup Finals loss and a Stanley Cup victory in the first four years of Sidney Crosby’s career.

Some might point to the fact that Crosby had help. He sure did!

Nothing was more material to the franchise's long-term outlook than being able to also draft Evgeni Malkin. But Sergei Gonchar, Petr Sykora, Ryan Malone, and the mid-season acquisition of Marian Hossa all played pivotal roles in year three when the team found itself in the Stanley Cup Final. Everything Pittsburgh did, from the moment they fell into Crosby, was to ensure that the roster around him was as capable and competent as possible.

That’s precisely the opposite of what has happened in Edmonton. Keep in mind, this team had three years with no material cap implication whatsoever from McDavid. The team has also been flush with high first-round picks this decade (including but not limited to: Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Oscar Klefbom, Nail Yakupov, Darnell Nurse, Leon Draisaitl, Jesse Puljujarvi, Kailer Yamamoto, and, most recently, Evan Bouchard). It should have been the perfect recipe to find complementary players to build around McDavid for years, up until the point where the salary cap gets increasingly more difficult to manage.

Instead, the Oilers have been a nightmare of epic proportions when McDavid isn’t on the ice. If you go through Edmonton’s four-year game log and partial out their results with and without McDavid on the ice, the numbers are jarring.

Let’s start with shot advantages and territorial play. McDavid is a masterful attacker and the Oilers either sustain consistent offensive zone pressure with him on, or are able to flip zones because of his ability to jump-start the rush. When he’s gone, it’s as if the team goes into a shell and hopes to not give up a goal.

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The below graph shows Edmonton by cumulative shot advantages in the McDavid era, as well as a rolling game average (percentage of total shots in favour of Edmonton):

It’s the type of data that makes you check, and check again, and then check a third time just to make sure you didn’t screw something up. But yes, it is absolutely that bad. With McDavid on the ice, the Oilers have been 508 shots (52 per cent Corsi%) better than their opponent. That’s absolutely playoff-calibre hockey.

With McDavid off the ice, it’s a different story. The Oilers are 671 shots worse than their opponents, with around 47 per cent of the shot share. That’s really underwhelming, especially considering how many opportunities – through the draft and free agency – the team has had at trying to juice performance further down the lineup.

It’s completely natural for a team’s second through fourth lines to underwhelm relative to a team’s first line. Star players still drive performance and we would be asking entirely different questions if depth lines were substantially more productive than top lines. But it doesn’t need to be this bad. Consider just this season: the Toronto Maple Leafs get over 50 per cent of the shots with Auston Matthews off the ice. The same is true with the Winnipeg Jets and Mark Scheifele, the Calgary Flames with Johnny Gaudreau and the Tampa Bay Lightning with Steven Stamkos. You get my point.

This is just shot share, though. How is it translating to goals? Any differently? It’s actually much worse. (We will use a slightly longer smoothing scale for the goal percentages due to the higher volatility).

The Oilers are 49 goals better than their opponent (55 per cent Goal%) with McDavid on the ice over the last four years. Only 21 forwards around the league have a better Goal% in that span, and almost all of those players were employed by Stanley Cup- calibre teams that routinely overran their competition. With McDavid off the ice? They are 98 goals worse than their opponent (43 per cent Goal%). That’s the difference between a Stanley Cup contender and a team that is chasing the first-overall pick in the draft lottery.

Just as a point of reference, the worst team by Goal% over the last four years are the Buffalo Sabres, who actively tanked a couple of those seasons and just recently returned to a brand of semi-competitive hockey. Their Goal% over that span is 44 per cent.

There is going to be a lot of soul-searching for this organization post-Peter Chiarelli. I think the organization wants to point to the general manager and head coach – both of whom have been removed from their duties – as the reason for this futility, but they can’t possibly shoulder all of the blame.

It would certainly appear that there is something more afoul within the organization, and now the club no longer has the luxury of skirting their mistakes due to a lack of salary cap pressure. The Oilers are right up against the cap ceiling and don’t have any obvious relief, save for a possible trade to get off of Milan Lucic’s contract – and that transaction will probably end up costing Edmonton more than they would like.

The next general manager, whoever he may be, has his work cut out for him.


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TSN.CA / Countdown to TradeCentre: Time for Ducks to blow it up?

STAFF

The National Hockey League's Trade Deadline is 3 p.m. ET on Monday, Feb. 25, and teams will be making decisions on whether to buy or sell and decide which players can make the biggest difference and hold the greatest value. Check out the latest trade rumours and speculation from around the NHL beat.

Time For Change?

Mark Whicker of The Orange County Register believes no Anaheim Duck other than goaltender John Gibson should be surprised if they're traded ahead of Feb. 25. Whicker notes, however, that the Ducks are highly unlikely to be able the shed the contracts of Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry or Ryan Kesler this year.

Murray said Sunday he had "no fear" in asking any of the three of them to waive their no-move clauses, but with Perry carrying an $8.625 million cap hit, Getzlaf coming in at $8.25 million and Kesler at $6.875 million, Whicker believes the team may be forced to consider buyouts in the summer.

Perry, signed for two more seasons, has just one assist in five games this season since returning from a pre-season knee injury. Kesler, who is signed through 2021-22, has four goals and six points in 48 games this season with a minus-21 rating.

Getzlaf, also signed for two more seasons, is the Ducks leading scorer this season with 11 goals and 36 points in 50 games. He said Sunday he hopes to stay with the franchise moving forward.

“I’m not exempt from anything that’s going on in this room,” Getzlaf said. “I’ve been here my whole career. The last thing I plan on doing is to go somewhere else unless Bob says I have to.

“I’ve always told him that if either side has an opinion that this needs to end, we’ll have the discussion. But I’ve put too much into this organization to not see it through. Going to another team is not in my vocabulary.”

The Ducks have nine pending unrestricted free agents on their current 23-man roster including leading goal-scorer Jakob Silfverberg.

What's the Price?

Bruce Garrioch of The Ottawa Sun writes that should the Ottawa Senators fail to re-sign Mark Stone or Matt Duchene in the coming days, then the team will likely seek three pieces in exchange for each of the forwards on the trade market.

Garrioch added that one of those three pieces would be a first-round pick, something the Senators are currently without in this year's draft thanks to their 2017 trade for Duchene.

In addition to Stone and Duchene, the Senators' third-leading scorer at forward, Ryan Dzingel, is also a pending unrestricted free agent. Garrioch believes the Senators could turn their focus to keeping Dzingel once they discover Stone and Duchene's plans, but notes he's believed to be seeking a salary over $5.5 million, which could lead him being traded. He adds that the price tag on Dzingel, who has 21 goals and 40 points in 53 games this season, is believed to be a first-round pick.

Garrioch lists the Winnipeg Jets, Nashville Predators, Calgary Flames, New York Islanders, Vegas Golden Knights, Minnesota Wild, Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins as teams who are expected to be in the market for forward help this month.

Decision Coming

Edmonton Oilers defenceman Andrej Sekera has played two rehab games with the AHL's Bakersfield Condors, posting a plus-5 rating in his recovery from a torn Achilles.

Kurt Leavins of The Edmonton Journal writes the Oilers could be faced with a decision on activating Sekera from injured reserve as soon as Wednesday, when he plays in his third AHL game.

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The Oilers are currently $1.19 million over the cap using the relief from having Sekera on long-term injured reserve. The team will have to clear cap space in order to activate Sekera, who carries a $5.5 million hit.

TSN Senior Hockey Reporter Frank Seravalli wrote last week that the Oilers' "cleanest option" could be to place both Brandon Manning and Alex Petrovic on waivers and demote both players to the AHL if they clear. Seravalli noted that waiving the two players would free the necessary space - as Petrovic carries a $1.95 million cap hit as a pending free agent and Manning counts for $2.25 million with one year left on his deal.

Leavins added that the Oilers could delay their decision if they chose to have Sekera play the maximum of five games in the AHL.


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TSN.CA / Panthers’ Huberdeau joins TSN Trade Bait board

Frank Seravalli

One of the worst-kept secrets in hockey has been the Florida Panthers’ burning desire to land both Sergei Bobrovsky and Artemi Panarin in a package deal.

A little fuel was added to that fire last week when Panarin fired his agent and hired Paul Theofanous, who represents Bobrovsky.

But the question has been: What could the Panthers offer to pull off this blockbuster?

Panthers forward Jonathan Huberdeau could potentially be a part of that puzzle, which is why he is the latest member to join the TSN Trade Bait board at No. 20.

GM Jarmo Kekalainen and the Blue Jackets are in search of a package that allows Columbus to remain in the playoff race while also adding future assets. The belief is that it would certainly take more than a package surrounding Derick Brassard and other expiring contracts.

Huberdeau, 25, is nearly a point-per-game winger who would certainly check that box. He also comes with cost certainty, with four years remaining on his deal at $5.9 million.

Huberdeau has a no-move clause that kicks in on July 1.

What the Panthers must weigh is how heavy of a price they should pay now for two pending UFAs who will likely be available on Canada Day.

Since Panthers GM Dale Tallon already unloaded more than $5 million in commitments for next season in Nick Bjugstad and Jared McCann to Pittsburgh, there is really no need to unload a high-salaried player like Huberdeau to be able to go after Bobrovsky and Panarin.

Yes, keeping Huberdeau would certainly make for an intriguing top six with Aleksander Barkov, Vincent Trocheck, Mike Hoffman, Evgeni Dadonov and Panarin.

The key to a return like Huberdeau from the Columbus perspective may well be allowing a potential suitor like Florida permission to negotiate with Theofanous.

That is where the agent change could come in. Panarin’s former agent, Dan Milstein, was not shy in saying repeatedly that they

wouldn’t negotiate with any team during the season because Panarin had his sights set on making it to July 1.

Does Panarin’s switch to Theofanous represent a difference in that philosophy? Panarin said last week in his first interview in English that he remains intent on making it to free agency.

"It's one life, one chance for free agent and I want to test [free agency]," Panarin told reporters. "We'll see what happens in the summer, but right now I don't know what I want ... it's 10 per cent of my life, seven or eight years, you know? I want to stay happy every day and see more options."

These are all questions that could be answered in the next two weeks.

"Interesting situation," Panarin said when asked about a Bobrovsky package deal. "I really like [Bobrovsky] and we're big friends right now. But we have two different lives."

Here is TSN Hockey’s latest Trade Bait board, which always seeks to blend a player’s prominence with his likelihood of a trade:

1. Artemi Panarin, CBJ LW 27 52 21 63 $6M UFA

2. Matt Duchene, OTT C 28 46 25 53 $6M UFA

3. Wayne Simmonds, PHI RW 30 55 16 24 $3.98M UFA

4. Jets' 1st-Round Pick

5. Mark Stone, OTT RW 26 55 25 56 $7.35M UFA

6. Mats Zuccarello, NYR RW 31 41 9 32 $4.5M UFA

7. Dougie Hamilton, CAR RD 25 56 10 22 $5.75M 2

8. Gustav Nyquist, DET RW 29 56 14 47 $4.75M UFA

9. Charlie Coyle, MIN C 26 56 10 28 $3.2M 1

10. Sergei Bobrovsky, CBJ G 30 39 2.98 .901 $7.43M UFA

11. Micheal Ferland, CAR LW 26 47 14 28 $1.75M UFA

12. Cam Talbot, EDM G 31 31 3.36 .893 $4.17M UFA

13. Jimmy Howard, DET G 34 37 2.78 .913 $5.3M UFA

14. Kevin Hayes, NYR C 26 46 13 38 $5.18M UFA

15. Brett Pesce, CAR RD 23 47 5 15 $4.03M 5

16. Marcus Johansson, NJD LW 28 43 10 22 $4.58M UFA

17. Adam Henrique, ANA C 29 56 10 28 $5.83M 5

18. Jack Roslovic, WPG RW/C 22 55 7 16 $894K 1

19. Brayden Schenn, STL C 27 50 10 33 $5.13M 1

CAROLINA HURRICANES


20. Jonathan Huberdeau, FLA LW 25 54 13 52 $5.9M 4

21. Artem Anisimov, CHI C 30 52 8 24 $4.55M 2

22. Derick Brassard, FLA C 31 45 10 18 $5M UFA

23. Cody Ceci, OTT RD 24 51 5 18 $4.3M RFA

24. Jakub Silfverberg, ANA RW 28 47 12 20 $3.75M UFA

25. Luke Glendening, DET C 29 56 8 18 $1.8M 2

26. Alex Chiasson, EDM RW 28 46 17 27 $650K UFA

27. Andre Burakovsky, WSH LW 23 49 7 15 $3M RFA

28. Justin Faulk, CAR RD 26 56 5 20 $4.83M 1

29. Adam McQuaid, NYR RD 32 31 2 5 $2.75M UFA

30. Ryan Dzingel, OTT LW 26 53 21 41 $1.8M UFA

31. Jeff Carter, LAK C 33 51 10 25 $5.27M 3

32. Chris Kreider, NYR LW 27 55 24 42 $4.63M 1

33. Colton Parayko, STL RD 25 54 9 16 $5.5M 3

34. Alex Steen, STL LW 34 40 6 10 $5.75M 2

35. Alec Martinez, LAK RD 31 41 3 12 $4M 2

36. Jay Bouwmeester, STL LD 35 50 2 12 $5.4M UFA

37. Carl Hagelin, LAK LW 30 34 2 8 $4M UFA

38. Andreas Johnsson, TOR LW 24 49 14 28 $788K RFA

39. Patrick Maroon, STL LW 30 46 4 14 $1.75M UFA

40. Alex Edler, VAN LD 32 38 5 20 $5M UFA

41. Ben Lovejoy, NJD RD 34 46 1 6 $2.67M UFA

42. Chris Tanev, VAN RD 29 51 2 12 $4.45M 1

43. Vlad Namestnikov, NYR LW 25 51 4 16 $4M 1

44. Nikolay Goldobin, VAN LW 23 49 6 24 $863K RFA

45. Nathan Beaulieu, BUF LD 26 27 3 7 $2.4M RFA

46. Mikkel Boedker, OTT LW 29 51 6 28 $4M 1

47. Tobias Rieder, EDM LW 26 41 0 9 $2M RFA

48. Jamie McGinn, FLA LW 30 0 0 0 $3.33M UFA

49. Kasperi Kapanen, TOR RW 22 55 16 32 $863K RFA

50. Jeff Skinner, BUF LW 26 55 33 50 $5.73M UFA


1130418 Websites

USA TODAY / Penguins star Evgeni Malkin ejected for swinging stick at head of Flyers' Michael Raffl

Mike Brehm, USA TODAY Published 11:19 p.m. ET Feb. 11, 2019 | Updated 12:04 a.m. ET Feb. 12, 2019

The Philadelphia Flyers-Pittsburgh Penguins rivalry took an ugly turn Monday night when Penguins star Evgeni Malkin was ejected for swinging his stick at an opponent's head.

Malkin, who had returned from a five-game injury absence, was being worked over by Flyers forward Michael Raffl late in the third period near the Philadelphia blue line. When Raffl cross-checked Malkin and then punched him in the back of the head, the center reacted by swinging his stick around one-handed with some force.

Malkin received a match penalty and was kicked out, leaving the Penguins short-handed for the remainder of the game. Jakub Voracek scored 20 seconds later to give the Flyers their first goal of the game.

Yeah, that's gonna warrant a phone call or hearing. pic.twitter.com/nZgxoa4Ppy

— Broad Street Hockey (@BroadStHockey) February 12, 2019

Here's a view from another angle.

Super ugly stick swing from Geno Malkin. Yikes. pic.twitter.com/jvs7TW6htu

— Yahoo Sports NHL (@YahooSportsNHL) February 12, 2019

A match penalty requires a league review of the play, and the league's Department of Player Safety tweeted Monday night that it would conduct a hearing with Malkin on Tuesday for high-sticking/slashing.

"I know I was not playing smart with five minutes left, but it’s only like one point," Malkin told reporters after the game. "I know it was dirty, but I missed my stick and I touched his, like, shoulder to shoulder, I don’t know.

"Everyone was like give me five minutes. It wasn’t dangerous, he wasn’t bleeding or anything. I know it gave them a five-minute power play and it was my fault for sure but just play smart next time."

Malkin had received a match penalty in November for an illegal hit to the head of Washington Capitals forward T.J. Oshie, but the league ruled at that time against giving him further discipline.

The Penguins had plenty going for them in the 4-1 win on Monday. Goalie Matt Murray made 50 saves and Kris Letang set a franchise record for career goals by a defenseman (109).

CAROLINA HURRICANES


The Penguins ended a four-game losing streak and ended their hard-charging division rival's 10-game point streak to get some breathing room in the playoff race before the teams meet outdoors at the Philadelphia Eagles' Lincoln Financial Field on Feb. 23.

But now the Penguins will also need to wonder how long they will be without Malkin.

USA TODAY LOADED: 02.12.2019

carolina hurricanesdownloads.hurricanes.nhl.com/clips/clips021219.pdf · york’s matt zuccarello...

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