Columbus Blue Jackets News Clips

February 26, 2020

Columbus Blue Jackets PAGE 02 The Columbus Dispatch: Trade-deadline wrapup: Blue Jackets in tough spot, must look to draft

PAGE 04 The Columbus Dispatch: Early returns with Blue Jackets look promising for Stefan Matteau

PAGE 06 The Columbus Dispatch: Wild 5, Blue Jackets 4 | The 3-2-1 breakdown

Cleveland Monsters/Prospects

NHL/Websites PAGE 10 .ca: Bill Daly: 'There's no easy fixes' for emergency backup situation PAGE 11 Sportsnet.ca: 31 Thoughts: Could Joe Thornton's next destination be ?

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The Columbus Dispatch: Trade-deadline wrapup: Blue Jackets in tough spot, must look to draft

By Michael Arace – February 26, 2020

The NHL trade deadline went through Columbus like a gentle zephyr Monday. Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen, pressed with the weight of deadlines past, felt he could ill afford to make another sacrifice to substantially boost his roster. He largely stayed pat.

Last year, Columbus was the tornadic center of deadline day. Kekalainen went “all in” on rentals and used picks and prospects to get center Matt Duchene, defenseman Adam McQuaid, left wing Ryan Dzingel and third-string .

Kekalainen took his shot. The Jackets swept the in the first round of the playoffs and pushed the to six games. Then, six unrestricted free agents, including Artemi Panarin and , exited Nationwide Arena. They just visit now.

Kekalainen said he could afford to lose the prospects he gave up at the 2019 deadline. Why? Because he had Alexandre Texier, Emil Bemstrom and Liam Foudy, among others, in the pipeline. It’s not a terrible defense.

This year, barely a breeze emanated from Columbus on deadline day. Kekalainen gave up on the experiment and traded the former first-round pick to the for a bottom-six forward, Devin Shore. He also sent forward Markus Hannikainen, who has been playing in AHL Cleveland, to Arizona for a conditional seventh-round draft pick.

Offensive help in the form of a top-six forward ― a center, if you dared to dream ― would have sent an electric charge through the fan base, not to mention the locker room. It was not to be.

In the final assessment, Kekalainen said, “We did our best, and that's one thing that we always know, if we do our best we can look in the mirror and say that's all we could get accomplished and I'm fine with that.

“I can assure you, though, that was our best effort to do whatever we could today that would make sense, not only in the short term, but for the long term as well. So, yeah, we're not happy with the injuries that we have, but that's something that's out of our control.”

The Jackets lead the league with more than 370 man-games lost to injury ― which made finding significant offensive help nigh impossible. With three defensemen on the shelf, now was not the time to reach into the team’s deepest pool of positional talent to make a trade.

Doing something for, say, J-G Pageau, then, was fantasy. What’s injured forward Josh Anderson’s value on the open market right now? Not much, apparently.

What is more, Kekalainen could not afford to surrender any more draft picks to facilitate a substantial deadline-day deal.

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Since 2018, he has given up one first-round pick, two second-round picks, a third-rounder, two fourths, a fifth and a sixth to swing deals at the deadline. This doesn’t even count the first-rounder he gave up (with William Karlsson) to the Vegas Golden Knights, to protect Anderson, Jack Johnson and in the 2017 expansion draft.

Draft picks are commodities. They are annual replenishment to revolving rosters and losing them stunts growth. Think sixth- and seventh-rounders are throwaways? Vladislav Gavrikov was a sixth-round pick and Markus Nutivaara a seventh-rounder.

Last year’s Dzingel rental was paid for with Anthony Duclair, who is having a terrific season for Ottawa, and two second-round picks. One or two of those second-round picks would have come in handy if the Jackets had their eyes on, say, Andreas Athanasiou (as was rumored) at the deadline. But Kekalainen didn’t have the picks to spare.

Would the Jackets like to have that Dzingel deal back? Absolutely. Such are the risks on deadline day. Kekalainen had to play it safe this year.

The Jackets have neither a second- nor a third-round pick in next draft. Still, that’s where the action is going to be ― at the dra the last weekend in June. Kekalainen has a cache of young assets and a ton of cap space. Hopefully, he’ll have a plan. He usually does.

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The Columbus Dispatch: Early returns with Blue Jackets look promising for Stefan Matteau

By Brian Hedger – February 26, 2020

Eight years is a long time for a hockey player.

In a sport that moves rapidly ― within games and seasons ― a lot can happen in eight years. And a lot has happened with Stefan Matteau since the drafted him 29th overall eight years ago.

For one thing, he doesn’t hear nearly as many “Matteau! Matteau! Matteau!” references as he used to with the Devils, the team that his father, Stephane, famously defeated with a Game 7 double- for the in the 1994 Eastern Conference final.

“I heard a lot of it there, but it’s kind of settled down,” said Matteau, who’s now a Blue Jackets forward on his fourth NHL team in a career that includes 361 games and 146 points (69 goals) in the . “It’s so cool what he did and the run they had. It’s obviously a huge part of Rangers history, so it’s pretty sweet.”

It’s also part of Stefan’s history, since he was barely 3 months old when his dad finally got that puck past Devils goalie Martin Brodeur, a hall of famer.

“It wasn’t special (as a kid),” said Matteau, 26. “It was just my father and he's just in the house and that was my dad, but turning pro ... that gave me so much more appreciation for it.”

That’s because of his own hockey career, which can be described as turbulent. Mateau has been at it eight years, mostly slugging away in the AHL while developing in increments. He said he feels like he’s ready to carve out a role in the NHL.

“The last couple years, my mental game has gotten a lot better and my consistency has gotten a lot better,” said Matteau, who has gotten brief stints with the Devils, , Vegas Golden Knights and now Columbus.

“I’m obviously older now, and I’ve never felt more ready than I am now. So it’s all working out. I’ve just got to keep doing everything I can to stick.”

He’s certainly off to a good start.

After signing a two-year, two-way NHL/AHL deal with the Blue Jackets last week, Matteau has two goals, one assist and three points in his first four games. He has good size at 6 feet 2, 208 pounds, and is a versatile winger capable of playing center in a pinch.

It took a slew of Blue Jackets injuries for Matteau to get this chance, after signing an AHL-only contract with the last summer, but “Matteau, Matteau, Matteau!” has made it to Columbus.

“There was not too much going on in the summer, and I didn’t have any contracts,” said Matteau, who led the Monsters with 12 goals and added 16 assists for 28 points. “The (AHL) deal with the NHL

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opportunity showed up and we thought it was a good idea and a good fit. So I was betting on myself, big time, this year. I was just looking for any opportunity and just stayed focused.”

The bet has paid off, thus far. He’s back in the NHL, at least for the time being, and couldn’t be more motivated to stay this time.

“I came (into the NHL) early, and looking back I don’t think I was ready or even deserved it at that point,” said Matteau, who made his NHL debut in 2012-13 at age 18 with the Devils. “I hadn’t really proven anything. And then, once you’re out (of the league), you’re kind of ‘out,’ right? It’s hard to crawl back in.”

Getting back to the top made that crawl worth it. Now, it’s up to Matteau to stay.

Solid debut

Devin Shore made his Blue Jackets debut Tuesday night at Xcel Energy Center, skating at center of the third line in a 5-4 loss to the Minnesota Wild.

Shore met the team in Minnesota and suited up a day after being acquired from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for forward Sonny Milano.

He played 12:23, was credited with two hits and assisted on Emil Bemstrom’s goal 1:55 into the third period. That assist wasn’t credited until Wednesday, but it counts just the same.

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The Columbus Dispatch: Wild 5, Blue Jackets 4 | The 3-2-1 breakdown

By Brian Hedger – February 26, 2020

ST. PAUL, Minn. – They had a number of excuses at their fingertips.

Dinged up?

The Blue Jackets are actually beyond dinged up, going into their 5-4 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday at Xcel Energy Center with 10 lineup regulars out, most for months or weeks. They also haven’t had veteran forward Brandon Dubinsky (wrist) all season.

Tired?

The game in Minnesota was the Jackets’ eighth in 13 days and second in 24 hours, concluding a back-to- back that began Monday in Columbus with a 4-3 overtime victory against the Ottawa Senators.

Out-manned?

The Jackets’ lineup included six rookie skaters plus Jakob Lilja, a first-year forward who doesn’t meet the league’s rookie criteria. Coach also started rookie Matiss Kivlenieks in net and had seven players in uniform who began the season with the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League.

Unlucky?

The Wild’s first goal, and the first goal of the game, was scored by Eric Staal on a wraparound attempt at 1:34 of the first period. The puck hit Blue Jackets defenseman Scott Harrington in the skate blade and deflected into the net before Kivlenieks could react.

Any combination of those challenges would’ve been understandable, had the Blue Jackets chosen to go that route, but wandering down Excuse Avenue isn’t something they’re interested in doing.

They refuse to bend, even in the face of logical reasons to give.

"No, I’m not even going to go there," captain Nick Foligno said, when asked if a grueling portion of the schedule might have finally caught up to the Blue Jackets. "No, because everyone has to play 82 games at some point. So, I’m not going to allow us to think that we’re tired or … we can’t be. We’re playing this to then play a whole (new) season after this (in the playoffs), so I’m not going to let that slip into our room here. We’ve got to get over that mentally.

We’re not in a position to be feeling sorry for ourselves and saying ‘We’re tired and this is the situation we’re in.’ No. We need wins and we have to dig deeper to find them."

That worked against the Wild in the third, when the Jackets dominated and scored three times to make a game of it, but there wasn’t nearly enough of fire in the first two periods.

That’s what stung them most.

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"I mean, I’ve heard coaches say, ‘Tired is an emotion,’" center Pierre-Luc Dubois said. "I don’t know about that, but at this point you’ve got to find a way. Everybody’s tired. You’ve got to find a way to be sharp mentally and find a way to win games."

The Blue Jackets get another crack Minnesota on Friday in Columbus, looking to split the two-game season series, but until then, here’s a 3-2-1 breakdown from Xcel Energy Center … three takeaways, two questions and one more thing:

Three Takeaways

1) Playoff picture

The regulation loss dropped Columbus into the second wild card in the Eastern Conference. The Jackets are one point behind the New York Islanders, who lost in overtime to the New York Rangers on Tuesday, but have played more games than any of the teams bunched up in the hunt for the East’s final two playoff spots.

The Blue Jackets have 76 points after 65 games.

That’s three more games than the Islanders (77 points, first wild card), (74 points) and Rangers (72 points). It’s also two games more than the (79 points), third in the Metropolitan Division, and (72 points).

Losses in regulation have become a little more common lately in Columbus, but they’re still a rarity if you widen the scope. This was only their fourth in the past 20 games (10-4-6) and sixth in the past 36 games (20-6-10).

The past two months put them in this position, despite a mountain of injuries, but the schedule is winding down now. Opportunities to stack points are dwindling, which is why the first two periods against the Wild stung so much.

"They just came out and wanted it more than us, and it can’t happen, not in the situation that we’re in … where we’re running out of games here to say, ‘Well, we’ll get the next one,’" Foligno said. "We’ve got to have a huge one coming up against (the Wild) when we get back and return the favor."

2) Ch-ch-ch-changes

Tortorella experimented with new forward lines and defense pairings to start this game, which was the first in a Blue Jackets uniform for newly-acquired forward Devin Shore.

He wound up changing things again mid-game, but started out with some different looks. The top two lines remained intact, with Boone Jenner and Dubois the top two centers, but the bottom two forward groups were reworked.

Lilja joined rookies Calvin Thurkauf and Kevin Stenlund on the fourth line, while Shore centered a new third line that had Eric Robinson and Emil Bemstrom as his wingers.

Defensively, Tortorella broke up all three pairings before going back to what they’ve been for a few weeks.

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Zach Werenski skated with David Savard, whom he’s played with in the past, and Savard’s usual partner, rookie Vladislav Gavrikov, was paired with Scott Harrington. Markus Nutivaara moved from the right point on the top pairing, where he’d been playing with Werenski, to the left side of the third pairing with rookie Andrew Peeke.

The defensive shakeup may have been sparked by a search for balance.

Opposing coaches had begun targeting the Jackets’ third pairing in matchups, when Harrington and Peeke played together, especially with the advantage of the last change on home ice. Tortorella changed back to his previous defensive units in the second period and stuck with those the rest of the game.

3) Shore’s debut

A win would’ve been nice, but Shore delivered the goods with a heavy forechecking effort that led to a goal for Bemstrom that cut the Wild’s lead to 4-2 to start the third.

Shore wasn’t credited with an assist on the goal, even though he twice touched the puck before Bemstrom whacked it home, but he looked comfortable in the Blue Jackets’ system during his first post- trade game. Wearing No. 74, Shore played 12:23, finished with two hits and went 3-for-3 on face-offs.

"It was good," Shore said. "It’s a frickin’ hard-working bunch of guys. It’s a fun team to be a part of. I don’t think we’re happy with the first two periods, but we showed a lot of (resilience) and made it close at the end. So, today, for me, was about keeping it simple and getting in with these guys and earning their respect. But it’s a fun group to be part of."

The newest Blue Jacket wasn’t surprised by his new teammates’ strong pushback in the third.

"I wouldn’t call it eye-opening," Shore said. "I knew going into this group what they’re about ... it’s contagious and it’s something you want to jump on board with right away and help in any way you can."

Two Questions

1) Why did Kivlenieks start instead of Korpisalo?

Tortorella said at the morning skate there would be no lineup changes from the Jackets’ OT win Monday against Ottawa, but he wasn’t asked specifically about the goalie position.

Joonas Korpisalo picked up a win in relief against the Senators, after Elvis Merzlikins left with an undisclosed injury, and it was widely assumed he would also play in Minnesota. Instead, Kivlenieks got the nod after re-joining the team as an emergency recall late Monday night.

Tortorella was asked about that decision after the game, but declined to answer in detail.

"We’re playing him," he said, during a terse postgame press conference that lasted less than a minute. "That was our decision."

Only Tortorella, and presumably his assistants and the Jackets’ corner office, knows what went into that decision. Korpisalo missed 24 games prior to Monday’s game because of a torn meniscus in his left knee, but it’s unknown how much that factored into Kivlenieks making the fourth start of his NHL career.

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Kivlenieks allowed all five Minnesota goals, but couldn’t have done much about most of them. The Wild swarmed the Columbus zone for most of the first two periods and had numerous scoring chances.

2) What changed in the third?

Goals just 1:21 apart by Bemstrom and Dubois to start the third period cut the Wild’s lead to 4-3 with 16:44 left to play, quickly silencing the building. Kevin Fiala got one back for Minnesota about midway through the period, which turned out to be the winner, but the Blue Jackets turned the table on the Wild for most of the final period.

Rather than struggling to get the puck out of their own zone, the Jackets’ forechecking and cycling games started working and pinned Minnesota in its own end for long stretches. Zach Werenski’s 19th goal cut it to 5-4 with 3:06 left, setting up a frantic finish, but Wild goalie Alex Stalock made a couple big saves to make a slim lead stand up.

What happened in that third period, though? How did the Jackets seemingly flip a switch from being dominated to being dominant?

Foligno thought they played smarter in the third, flipping pucks behind the Wild’s defense and getting on the forecheck, while Dubois felt like it was more about their overall approach.

"I think that third period … we just go," Dubois said. "We just play instead of waiting for the other team to make a mistake. Instead of sitting back and waiting for them to turn the puck over and trying to block everything and keep the middle, I think in the third we just play. We make plays, we skate."

They also controlled the puck.

"I mean, the best defense is offense, you know?" Dubois said. "When you have the puck, you’re probably not going to get scored on, unless you shoot it in your own net. So, I think if we do that in the upcoming games, we might give ourselves a better chance."

One More Thing

Werenski, who leads all NHL defensemen in goals, is now one shy of reaching 20. That’s quite an accomplishment for a defenseman.

Every goal Werenski scores now sets the Jackets’ franchise record for single-season goals by a defenseman even higher, but getting 20 would put him in some elite company. That number has only been reached or exceeded eight times by NHL defensemen in the past five years, including just once last season (Toronto’s Morgan Rielly).

It has also been done just 26 times, by 17 different defensemen, in the past 20 seasons and just 153 times since 1917-18, the farther back stats are tracked on the NHL’s web site.

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Sportsnet.ca: Bill Daly: 'There's no easy fixes' for emergency backup situation

By Josh Beneteau – February 25, 2020

NHL Deputy Commissioner Billy Daly said the league will continue to look for better ways to handle emergency backup goalies after 42-year-old Zamboni driver David Ayres had to suit up for the Carolina Hurricanes over the weekend.

Speaking to reporters in Washington, D.C., Daly said “there’s no easy fixes,” but more discussions will be had at the upcoming general managers meetings in Florida.

“It’s something we’ve given some consideration to over the years. As recently as last year, we discussed [it] with the general managers,” Daly said, according to NHL.com. “It happens very, very rarely, but when it happens, it obviously raises everybody’s attention to the issue and whether there are fixes that need to be made to that particular issue.”

Ayres made eight saves on 10 shots to help the Hurricanes beat the on Saturday after both and Petr Mrazek went down with injuries. Ayres has since become a media darling — with appearances on the Today Show and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert among many others.

The current rule for emergency backup goalies requires the home team have someone in the building in case both goalkeepers are “incapacitated.” Ayres was the first emergency goalie to actually see the ice since March of 2018, when accountant Scott Foster made seven saves for the against the Winnipeg Jets.

Daly was asked about ways the NHL could improve the current rule and raised some other questions that, according to him, would need to be answered first.

“We have to work with the [NHL] Players’ Association. Who’s a player? Who’s not a player? What qualifies all of that?” Daly said. “But obviously we want what’s best for the game, and we want to make sure people aren’t putting themselves in danger by playing goal in a game … So that’s obviously something we have to continue to work through.”

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Sportsnet.ca: 31 Thoughts: Could Joe Thornton's next destination be Toronto?

By Elliotte Friedman – February 26, 2020

Greg Redquest was watching when 42-year-old emergency backup goalie David Ayres stepped on the ice.

“I was thinking, ‘The first thing he wants to do is get his NHLPA card,’” Redquest said Tuesday. “I went to golf last summer at Muskoka Bay Club. With the card, I only had to pay $17. Jordan Binnington’s dad had to pay about $185.”

It’s the first of many laughs in our 20-minute phone conversation. Redquest is an awesome storyteller. Get ready for a few like this.

In 1978, he was a 21-year-old Pittsburgh goalie prospect in his second pro season, two years after going 65th in the draft. He was home in Toronto on March 18 thanks to a break in the schedule for the International Hockey League’s Flint Generals.

“I was playing cards with my parents, my uncle and a couple of buddies,” Redquest remembers. “Around lunchtime, the phone rings. Someone claiming to be from the Penguins says, ‘ has a pulled back. We need you to dress today. Can you be here in 15 minutes?’

“Now, I was a real prankster back then. And I thought it was someone getting me back. So I had a couple of beers and stayed at home. They call again later, asking, ‘Why are you not here?’ Again, I didn’t believe it.”

“I remember having to call him and he got there just before the game started,” said Rick Kehoe, who played 906 NHL games and is now a pro scout for the Rangers.

“That’s true,” Redquest said. “Right before the game, (GM) Baz Bastien called. That’s when I knew it was serious. It took us about seven minutes to get from Etobicoke to . I knew some of the guys from training camp. Dave Schultz was like, ‘Where the (bleep) have you been?’”

(Redquest told a great story about Schultz, who was three years removed from an NHL-record 472 minutes for the Flyers in 1974-75. “I sat near the glass for a Philadelphia/Toronto game and screamed at him the whole time. When I met him in an elevator in Pittsburgh, I hoped he didn’t remember me.”)

Prior to the Toronto call-up, Redquest said he had dressed just one other time for the Penguins, in Montreal: “ broke his wrist, so they brought me in,” Redquest said. “At our practice, my skate blade breaks. I’m (on the bench) wearing Ken Dryden’s used skates. He’s a size 12 or 13. I’m a nine-and-a-half. We’re losing 9-1. A fan yells, ‘You must really stink if they won’t put you in.’”

Colin Campbell, now the NHL’s Executive Vice President and Director of Hockey Operations, was a blueliner on that Penguins team.

“We weren’t a very good team. It was a crazy way to do business, but that was the NHL then,” Campbell said. “As players, you just laugh.”

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Campbell paused. “I think he was also a mailman.”

“Not quite,” Redquest says now. “I had a part-time job at the post office.”

The Hurricanes — aside from head coach Rod Brind’Amour — were laughing when Ayres entered the game on Saturday. After two Toronto goals, they settled down and smothered the Maple Leafs. The 1978 Penguins were laughing for a different reason; they could tell Redquest had had a few beers. Head coach Johnny Wilson ordered him to stay in the dressing room.

As Redquest cooled his heels, Herron out-duelled Mike Palmateer in a game where the shots were 44– 43. The Penguins beat the Maple Leafs 3-2. They had a game to play the next night in Chicago and, after a day off, another in Minnesota. With Dunc Wilson still on the shelf, Redquest made the trip.

“Everything was first class — what a great experience,” he says. “I was wearing blue jeans and a T-shirt, because that’s what you wore in juniors. The other players are all in suits. The bus driver stopped me, because he couldn’t believe I was player: ‘You can’t get on this bus.’”

Back then, Saturday games in Toronto started at 8:00 p.m. There was a curfew at Pearson Airport, so the team had to fly to Chicago on a propeller jet out of Hamilton.

The odds for that Sunday game weren’t good for the Penguins, who finished 15 points below the Blackhawks that season.

Not that it bothered Redquest.

“I was watching the game, having a great time,” he says. “Chicago Stadium. Looking around: ‘This is awesome.’”

At 7:13 of the third, Pierre Plante beat Herron to make it 6-1.

“Johnny Wilson turned to me, ‘Get in there, kid.’ I was like, ‘Are you nuts?’ He said, ‘Get in there.’ I hadn’t faced shots in about two or three weeks. It’s like golf. If you’re not doing it every day, you’re not ready.”

Redquest held for more than six minutes before Alain Daigle and Bob Murray scored 24 seconds apart. (Murray was one of three current eventual GMs playing defence for the Hawks that night. The others were Dale Tallon and Doug Wilson.)

If anything bugs him, it was the final goal. Hall of Famer Stan Mikita made it 9–1 with 2:45 to go. The goalie claims, “Mikita threw it in with his glove. I told (referee Bruce Hood) he couldn’t count that, and he replied, ‘I’m not disallowing that in this building!’”

Via text, Murray said he didn’t remember scoring on Redquest, but believed the Mikita story could be true. (Ace producer Kathy Broderick checked with the NHL to see if any highlights existed. The answer is no, but this epic is so good we’re sticking with it.)

“I don’t remember that one,” Kehoe said. “You try to forget those as soon as you can.”

“The next day was the day of a lifetime,” Redquest said, continuing the tale. “We went to a bar called Tommy Webster’s in Minnesota. I was with Derek Sanderson — what a perfect gentleman. He treated everyone so well. Peter Mahovlich, too. To that point the greatest time of my life.”

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One night later, Minnesota blasted Pittsburgh 7–1. Herron played the whole game.

Bastien told Redquest he’d go back to the minors for the playoffs. The goalie had other ideas.

“I told him, ‘Baz, I’m going to get married.’”

He’d play one more year, “Then it became about the kids… and (eventually) the grandkids.”

He now does on-ice instruction at NTR’s goalie school in Newmarket, Ont., and is finishing his 10th season as a coach for the OHL’s Owen Sound Attack.

Final NHL stats: one appearance, 12:47 of ice-time, seven saves in 10 shots against and a 13.85 goals- against average. But if you think he’s bitter, you’d be sorely mistaken.

Redquest confirmed one story that illustrates his fun-loving personality: He was traded by Roger Neilson from the 1973 for hitchhiking during a training run.

“That’s true. We were preparing for the 1974 World Juniors in (the Soviet Union). Small town, everyone knew everyone else.” He loves the memory.

So it won’t surprise you to know that he laughed about having the worst goals-against average — until surpassed in 1979-80. His star pupil is Jordan Binnington. Binnington, unbelievably, also played 12:47 in his first NHL game, which was three seasons before last year’s breakthrough. Because they were tied, Redquest would tell Binnington, “You haven’t broken my record.” (He speaks glowingly of Binnington’s ability.)

After the trade deadline is a perfect time for a hilarious 20-minute conversation. Greg Redquest has an awesome approach to life.

“I always tell my goalies that your teammates won’t play for you when you’re negative all the time. They play good for you when you’re positive.”

31 THOUGHTS

1. It was incredible watching the reaction as Ayres’s night unfolded in real time. What a great 72 hours for him and wife Sarah. What a statement about the character of the Hurricanes’ players. When Toronto pulled within 4-3, the texts coming in were full of fury:

“How can it be allowed for the emergency backup to be a Toronto employee?”

“He’s 42 years old, WTF?”

“This is a disgrace for the NHL!”

As the third period unfolded and it became clear Carolina was going to win, the notes changed to happiness for David, laughter at Sarah’s tweets, and yes, plenty of rip jobs on the Maple Leafs’ effort.

The EBUG situation will be discussed at next week’s GM meetings in Florida. A couple of years ago, there was a movement to making every team hire an additional assistant/video coach with recent college/junior/professional goaltending experience. That person would be required to travel, so if this occurred, each team would have its own relatively young third goalie. (In the playoffs, teams travel with three.) The associated cost scuttled the idea.

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We’ll see what changes here, but I do think there will be a conversation about an age cutoff.

2. Teams can make AHL trades after the deadline, but those players won’t be eligible for the post- season. Carolina needs goaltending, Toronto needs defence, Arizona needs scoring. Those organizations think unconventionally. I wonder….

3. Boy, it was tough reading those Joe Thornton quotes on Tuesday.

“It would have been nice to at least have a chance,” he told reporters in Philadelphia. “I wanted a shot, you know? Believe it or not. I’ve been hunting this thing down for 22 years, so I wanted another shot at it…. Back to the grind, and that’s how it is.”

Sharks GM Doug Wilson made it clear that interested parties had to be legit Stanley Cup contenders to make the pitch. I heard Boston never went far down the road, and the Dallas interest wasn’t huge. Thornton’s hilarious personality obscures his burning pride/desire, but don’t kid yourself — it’s there.

San Jose’s plan is to return to contention in 2020-21, and the big question is if Jumbo Joe believes the Sharks can do it. If he doesn’t, he’s going to have to consider breaking his comfort zone. Patrick Marleau’s speed makes him an easier fit for a mid-season switch. Thornton’s gifts — his intelligence and skill — are harder to translate at this time of year, but I do think there are teams who would be willing to make it work if he started the season with them.

4. If Thornton is not sold on the Sharks, and he’s willing to seek out new life (boldly go where no one has gone before), my prediction is Toronto will be a factor. I can’t confirm this, but I believe the Maple Leafs considered adding him now. Two things stopped it: 1) their decision not to make short-term fixes after the Carolina loss, and 2) are they really a legit contender if they have to go through Boston or Tampa Bay or both? When GM Kyle Dubas said he wanted to see how his group would respond to its tough stretch, he meant it. Thornton would have eased the tension right now, but the organization wants to see how everyone top to bottom reacts and performs. Next season is a different story.

5. Thornton’s made it clear he will make his salary fit. He’s a left-hand shot who could feed Auston Matthews/John Tavares from his strong side. (They have spent plenty of time with Zach Hyman and William Nylander on their weak sides, although both have had strong seasons.) There’s the Greyhound connection. People forget, too, that Thornton’s been through the ringer. The first playoff series I covered for was Boston/Montreal 2004, where the Canadiens came back from 3–1 down to win. Thornton came under huge criticism with articles demanding he be stripped of his captaincy. He survived and will walk into the Hall of Fame. Good message for Toronto’s young core. Anyway, something to chew on.

6. The Maple Leafs made it clear they weren’t trading Tyson Barrie unless they received two things: a good-enough replacement to keep them in playoff position until currently injured reinforcements arrived, and a sweetener for the future. They would have taken Troy Stecher, but the Canucks didn’t have the picks and made it very clear certain prospects were not available. Ergo, no match. Toronto was also looking for more of a Kevin Shattenkirk circa 2017 return than, say, a third-rounder. That’s right out of the Brian Burke school of managing: don’t make a trade for less than you want, because everyone knows you’ll eventually cave.

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7. Very, very impressed with the way Stecher handled things. Strong performances amidst the rumours. Told reporters that, as a B.C. lad, he wants to be a Canuck and then walked the walk.

“I had a friend send me a fake tweet the other day and it scared me a bit,” he said. “It was a fake account, a burner account, and he fell for it.”

The Canucks lost Ben Hutton last season because they couldn’t handle his qualifying offer and that could happen with Stecher in June. If he plays this way, he won’t need to worry.

8. Finally, on Toronto: A few teams were wondering what was up when Dubas sent out a note 45 minutes before the deadline looking for a forward. They thought it was weird Dmytro Timashov would be lost on waivers and then the Maple Leafs would be trying to add. (Timashov had asked for a trade weeks ago, and may have asked to be placed on waivers as Sven Baertschi did this year.) Another GM, though, thought Dubas was slyly trying to snare an inexpensive forward at the last second from a team that suddenly had one too many.

9. Edmonton, which pitched Marleau before the season, considered him again before his trade to Pittsburgh.

10. They lost in overtime Tuesday night in Anaheim, but Oilers fans were having a collective Twitter orgasm over the two-goal, six-point even-strength night for Andreas Athanasiou, Tyler Ennis and Connor McDavid. Steve Yzerman tried for a first-rounder for Athanasiou, but Ken Holland held firm.

11. The move that surprised most was Florida’s trade of Vincent Trocheck. I heard when teams queried the Panthers about it, they asked what was wrong that made him available? Arizona, Calgary and Minnesota were among those who made pitches.

There were a few factors that went into this, but it’s clear that new coach Joel Quenneville and Trocheck didn’t mesh. Chris Johnston reported the Panthers have been ordered to cut payroll, which certainly fits with the move — but Quenneville wanted to send a message while the playoffs were still within reach that changes were coming if the group didn’t compete harder. The prospects (Eetu Luostarinen and Chase Priskie) will play. Lucas Wallmark played 12:39 in Tuesday’s 2-1 win over the Coyotes, Erik Haula 14:30. Haula is an interesting guy. He’s got a chip on his shoulder, believing he deserves more of a role than he gets. (In Minnesota, he was nicknamed “Haula-Famer” because of that.) The Panthers want attitude. He’ll get a shot there.

12. The Coyotes got no power plays at home in that one. I thought there was going to be a homicide post-game.

13. When we reported that Carolina was closing in on Trocheck, a few sources thought we had to be wrong. The Hurricanes were looking for defence and goaltending. Initially, we doubted it, too. It aligns with something Marc Bergevin once said: “If a good player becomes available, you have to try to make it fit.”

Down the middle, the Hurricanes are very strong. Owner Tom Dundon didn’t want to trade a first- or second-rounder, especially for rentals, but did it for four more years of Brady Skjei. He’s not crazy about rentals in general (which is why they didn’t pay Chicago’s price for Robin Lehner), but they made the move for Sami Vatanen. You have to reward your team when it earns it, and the Hurricanes earned it.

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14. If I’m wrong about this, I’m sure he’ll let me know, but I understand Chicago indicated it did not want to go past two years on Lehner.

15. From talking to other teams, it was interesting to see how Ottawa GM Pierre Dorion handled this deadline compared to last year’s. In 2019, things spun out of control. All of it was public. It was sloppier than the interior of David Amber’s car (which is pretty bad). This time, there was much less noise even with so many balls in the air.

“He was grinding pretty hard,” another GM said.

Dorion wanted a second for Dylan DeMelo, but that wasn’t coming. Last year, he allowed Vegas permission to talk to Mark Stone prior to making the trade, but it put the Senators in a rough spot, so he held back with Jean-Gabriel Pageau and the Islanders this time.

In the end, the strategy paid off: Ottawa got a first and second, the New Yorkers got their man, and Pageau got his extension. (The negotiations got close, somewhere around $250,000 to $500,000 per year. But everyone knew the Senators weren’t crazy about term.) We all learn from what we go through.

16. Dorion also wanted to add a forward who could help AHL Belleville, and got one in Matthew Peca. Those Senators are first in the North Division and woke up Wednesday third in the league.

17. Calgary also checked into Wayne Simmonds. Second time in two years.

18. I understand why Buffalo acquired him. The Sabres are battling for positivity in a negative time, and Simmonds has a great attitude. They were losing two players who wanted to move, and you need to replace them since you’re striving for a miracle finish (Dominik Kahun was the other add). The Devils made it very clear Simmonds was not going anywhere unless the situation was good for him. He’ll get a chance to play good minutes and work towards his next deal. (Hopefully Instigators co-host Andrew Peters reads to 18 this week.)

19. Both Andrew Ladd and Zach Parise waived their respective clauses to switch teams. It’s going to take some time to figure out what happened here, but here’s the best I can give you at this time: This move was on the table last summer, but then-Wild GM Paul Fenton rejected the idea. Both sides revisited it over the past few weeks, but the issue was money. Parise has $37 million in cap room to go after this season, although only $19 million is cash. Ladd has $16.5 million in cap room, $12 million in cash ($9 million of it is signing bonuses; Parise has no more).

There were all sorts of issues to consider on keeping money, sweeteners to do so, etc. (There were rumblings Kieffer Bellows was going to be in the deal, for example.) People were concerned about Lou Lamoriello’s reaction if it got out prematurely. For very legitimate reasons, Minnesota was concerned about cap-recapture issues if Parise retired early — although I’m sure the Minnesota native would be amenable to solutions. It’s not an easy deal to make, and who knows where it goes from here.

20. I do believe the Islanders also had interest in Mikko Koivu, who preferred to stay put.

21. At all-star, one individual speculated that six years at $6.75-million AAV would keep Chris Kreider in Manhattan. He was almost bang-on, with seven years and $6.5 being the final numbers. A few potential pursuers indicated afterward they always believed that would be the eventual outcome, although it was in doubt as late as Sunday afternoon. I heard there was one particular team that engaged, but the two

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sides could not agree on parameters. Educated guess is Colorado, but they weren’t willing to go where the Rangers needed them to go.

22. Moving Skjei allows the Rangers freedom to take care of internal business, like Anthony DeAngelo and Ryan Strome.

23. We’ll see where this stands after the playoffs, but there was some Tyson Jost action. Nazem Kadri’s arrival pushed him to the wing. I don’t think the Avalanche have any problem with his effort; he just fits better as a centre and he’s not going to be in the top six when both Kadri and Nathan MacKinnon are healthy. The one thing I heard about Jost: Colorado liked his playoff performance last spring. So they weren’t unhappy to keep him. We’ll see where it all stands in June.

24. Boy do a lot of teams like Ondrej Kase. (They like his contract — $2.6 million for another season — even more.) The only concern I heard?

“Why does Bob Murray want to deal him?”

For years, Murray wouldn’t even entertain it. Hopefully, he stays healthy.

25. One other Detroit player who had legit interest: Luke Glendening.

“(Yzerman) wasn’t making it easy,” one exec said.

26. Another player I heard a lot of teams liked: Philadelphia’s Scott Laughton.

“Chuck (Fletcher) couldn’t hang up fast enough,” another exec joked.

27. Tampa Bay GM Julien BriseBois did a lot of research into the last decade of deadline moves and decided he was willing to trade first-round picks solely for guys with term. Someone smart pointed out to me that the Lightning didn’t deal a first-round pick for Barclay Goodrow — they just moved down 50 or 60 spots to acquire a player making $925,000 for two playoffs (Tampa added San Jose’s third- rounder, from Philadelphia).

A few Western Conference people I asked said Goodrow is one of the few Sharks who has overachieved this season. So I guess the proper perspective is, would you move up 50 or 60 spots in the draft for him? If you’re the Lightning, the answer is yes you would. When you’ve taken Anthony Cirelli, Radko Gudas, Nikita Gusev, Alex Killorn, Nikita Kucherov, Ondrej Palat, Cedric Paquette and Brayden Point after the first round — you believe in your scouting staff.

28. Took my son and nephew to see the Family Day AHL matinee between Binghamton and Toronto. looked good. Smooth and calm. Hopefully, it translates.

29. Pretty crazy stat about Columbus. The Blue Jackets have taken the fewest minor penalties in the league this season (167). Six times they’ve gone without taking a single penalty, most recently Feb. 16 in New Jersey. The last time this happened was the 1945-46 New York Rangers, who did it seven times. The record is nine, by Detroit in 1939–40. And it’s not like the Blue Jackets are a bunch of softies.

30. On the other end, the Islanders are last in power-play opportunities with 146. Lowest in a full season since the NHL began keeping records is 191, by the 1977–78 Atlanta Flames.

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31. Was watching Jason Zucker leave morning skate on a freezing day in Toronto. No socks. Minnesota winters toughen you up.

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