MEDIA CLIPS Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Winnipeg Jets January 22, 2020
Columbus Blue Jackets Elvis Merzlikins’ improvement with Blue Jackets can be traced back to mistake
By Jacob Myers – The Columbus Dispatch – January 21, 2020
The Winnipeg Jets have seen Blue Jackets goalie Elvis Merzlikins before. In a different sense, though, they haven’t.
What they saw Nov. 23 at Winnipeg was a goalie in his fifth career start who played a puck in traffic up the middle of the ice, and it wound up in the net behind him three seconds later as the game-ending goal.
What they haven’t seen in person is a goalie who has three shutouts in his past four games and an 8-2-0 record, .955 save percentage and 1.51 goals-against average in his past 10 games. The Jets probably will get that version of Merzlikins on Wednesday night at Nationwide Arena after he used that mistake as a pivotal moment in adjusting to the NHL.
“Obviously if you don't do mistakes, you can't learn,” Merzlikins said, “so I'm trying to play more simple with the puck.”
Merzlikins vowed after that mistake in Winnipeg that he would never repeat it, and he hasn’t. He said goaltending coach Manny Legace “changed everthing” to help him adjust to the smaller rinks in North America and the speed of the NHL compared with what Merzlikins was used to in Europe.
Coach John Tortorella has lauded Merzlikins for his play while Joonas Korpisalo has been out because of injury.
“I think it's been a good progression for him,” Tortorella said. “I'm not going to be 'yea'-ing all the time, (saying) 'Elvis has arrived.' There's so much more hockey to be played, and he has so much more to learn.”
Tortorella is not taking anything away from Merzlikins. This is still the beginning of the goalie’s career. But the growth from two months ago at Winnipeg is tangible.
"I feel really good in my post,” Merzlikins said. “Like I said before, it's easier now for me to move in the post and out. I feel good and keep working with Manny hard.”
Milano’s charges dropped
Sonny Milano missed practice Tuesday while making a court appearance related to misdemeanor assault charges stemming from an early-morning altercation July 7 in New York.
All charges against Milano and A.J. Greer, a Colorado Avalanche prospect, were dismissed as part of a deal with the Manhattan district attorney’s office that required the players to each serve five days of community service and pay restitution in the amount of the victim’s medical bills. Milano and Greer were arrested after they were accused of assaulting a 28-year-old acquaintance, allegedly over a bar tab at a Manhattan nightclub. The victim, who called police, suffered bruises on his face and the left side of his torso, according to a police report.
Milano is outside the playing group for the Blue Jackets but has added five goals and 11 assists in 37 games.
Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 01.22.2020
Blue Jackets’ numbers amazing in their 21-game revival
By Michael Arace – The Columbus Dispatch – January 21, 2020
The Blue Jackets are 15-2-4 over their past 21 games. The numbers within are crazy, and we can count the ways.
On Dec. 9, when this hot streak started, the Jackets were closer to last place in the conference (nine points ahead of Detroit) than they were to the second wild card (11 points behind Carolina). Heading into a game Wednesday night against the Winnipeg Jets in Nationwide Arena, the Jackets are holding the first wild card. Right now, they’re in.
The Jackets are 26-18-6. They have 60 points, their second-best record through 50 games, trailing only the 2016-17 team, which had 71 points through 50 games and ended the regular season with 108. That was a healthy group touched by magic. This is something else.
The past 21 games, by the numbers (and the goaltending stats are crazy):
Nineteen players have combined to score 63 goals (3.0 a game). Twelve players have scored winning goals.
Fourteen players have missed time because of injury.
Nine players have missed more than half of the 21 games, including Cam Atkinson, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Emil Bemstrom, Markus Nutivaara, Alexandre Texier (still out), Josh Anderson (still out) and Joonas Korpisalo (still out).
The Jackets have absorbed 145 man-games lost to injury during the streak.
Only nine players have played in each of the past 21 games.
Ten rookies have run into and out of the lineup, mostly into. Among them: Vladislav Gavrikov (two goals, five assists and a plus-16 rating during the streak); Kevin Stenlund (three of the Jackets’ seven power- play goals in 18 games); Eric Robinson (three goals and five assists in 21 games) and Texier (two goals and five assists in 11 games).
The Jackets have jacked up their goals-per-game to 2.68 from 2.44 during the streak. They have gone from worst to 23rd in the league in that category. If that doesn’t sound impressive, it should: It’s like turning a battleship in the Scioto River. Their differential has gone from minus-20 to plus-7. Among the many impact players during the streak: Pierre-Luc Dubois (five goals and 12 assists), Gustav Nyquist (four goals and nine assists), Atkinson (seven goals and three assists in nine games) and Bjorkstrand (eight goals and two assists in eight games).
Atkinson got back Thursday and had an assist on his first shift. Bjorkstrand got back Sunday and scored two goals.
The top defensive pair of Zach Werenski (nine goals, four assists, plus-12 rating) and Seth Jones (10 assists, plus-12 rating) have combined for a dream season — in 44 days.
David Savard has blocked more shots than Manute Bol.
And then there are the goaltenders. They are melting calculators.
Joonas Korpisalo played the first 10 games of the streak and had a 1.72 goals-against average and a .941 save percentage. Then he injured a knee, and coach John Tortorella was forced to give rookie Elvis Merzlikins a little less conversation and a little more action.
Merzlikins played the next 10 games and had a 1.51 goals-against average and a .955 save percentage. He has gone 4-0-0 with a 0.50 goals-against average and three shutouts in his past four games. He needed a rest, and Matiss Kivlenieks stepped in to make his career debut in Madison Square Garden on Sunday night. Kivlenieks made 31 saves and beat the Rangers 2-1. Latvia!
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that these goalies play with confidence behind a team that is committed to a defensive posture. Sergei Bobrovsky would admit as much.
Who are these Jackets? Are they the lottery team they were through 29 games? Or are they the team that has amassed 34 points over their past 21 games?
Perhaps the team’s history through 50 games is instructive. The Jackets have made the playoffs six times, and each time, they’ve had at least 56 points through 50 games. This year, they have 60.
There’s so much hockey yet to play, and, as Gerard Gallant can attest, things can get away from you quickly.
That said, the youngest team in the league (average age 26, according to hockey-reference.com) with the fourth-biggest chunk of salary-cap space ($6.15 million projected, according to capfriendly.com) is in decent shape with 32 games to go.
General manager Jarmo Kekalainen will be getting scores of phone calls from teams looking for help on defense, with scoring and in the net by the time the trade deadline arrives Feb. 24.
Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 01.22.2020
The opening reviews are in on Elvis: Performance, passion and personality all pluses for Merzlikins
By Aaron Portzline – The Athletic – January 21, 2020
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Blue Jackets have done their best to keep a lid on the fervor surrounding goaltender Elvis Merzlikins, hoping the emotional 25-year-old from Latvia can keep grounded even as his recent string of play is drawing headlines across the NHL.
But those who know the position best aren’t showing much restraint.
The Athletic contacted former NHL goaltenders Marty Biron, Darren Pang, Chico Resch and Kevin Weekes, as well as Michael Lawrence, who was Merzlikins’ longtime goaltending coach in Switzerland, to get their thoughts on his explosion onto the scene.
They didn’t hold back, raving about Merzlikins’ style of play, his energy, his competitiveness and his personality, which is making him a star attraction in Nationwide Arena and beyond.
Merzlikins, named the NHL’s second star of the week last week, is 8-2-0 with a .955 save percentage and 1.51 goals-against average since taking over as the Blue Jackets’ starter Dec. 31 when Joonas Korpisalo went down with a knee injury that required surgery.
Here are excerpts of each conversation:
Marty Biron
NHL career: Played for Buffalo, Philadelphia, New York Islanders and New York Rangers
Current: TV broadcaster, Madison Square Garden Network
What’s the first thing you noticed about Merzlikins when you started taking a closer look?
One thing that stands out is he’s not a traditional, new-age type of goaltender, which we’re seeing a lot of from the up and coming guys now. Elvis, he had a little bit of an old-school or old-time goalie to him. I’m really into equipment, and he’s one of a handful of goalies who still have the old cowlings around his skates. Most goalies have gone to the skates that just look like player skates. He still has them; that’s the first thing I noticed. This is not a guy who has to use the new stuff, it’s whatever feels good for him, whatever works for him.
How about his style of play?
He’s not perfect with his technique. He’s obviously had to find his game from the start of the season until now, but the one thing he does is he fights. He’s quick. He moves around, sometimes almost too much. But it works for him. I tell the young kids that one of the cardinal sins is falling on your back or sitting on the ice. Every game there’s a situation or two situations where Elvis is diving back, laying down, his legs are up in the air. There really isn’t a mold for him. But it works for him and it works for Columbus and it works for (coach John) Tortorella. I played for Torts. These are the guys that Torts really likes coaching. They’re not cookie-cutters, they’re individuals. They do it their own way and it works. The name that gets mentioned a lot regarding Merzlikins’ style is Dominik Hasek …
It’s there, yeah. Maybe more of a 2020 style vs. a 1995 style, but yeah. When Dom was in the league — when I played with him — he was really strong technically. We would do drills in practice and his pushes (from side to side) were really strong, he knew exactly where he needed to be on the ice, and when he needed to be in location. His post play was good, and all that. The only thing he did differently than everybody else was the way he made saves. He did not go traditional butterfly or half-butterfly or stand- up, he was just … whatever worked for him, he did. You see that a little bit with Elvis when he gets back to the post, he gets back to the post in that reverse VH (one pad vertical, one horizontal) position. He’ll have the tendency to show one position as his “base” as a goaltender, but then, all of a sudden, he does something completely different. Instead of facing the shooter and going butterfly, he’ll come way out on the shooter and challenge him. There’s that similarity with the two, but they’re from two completely different generations.
What’s his strength?
He’s really fast. When he moves laterally, he’s able to do the splits while he moves laterally, and it reminds me of (Los Angeles Kings goaltender) Jonathan Quick in his prime, how he could come across, spread the legs out and really make an unbelievable save that was under control. He’s not always like that, but his moves are exceptionally quick. What I like about him, and this is technical, just an observation, when the puck is around the net, even when it’s with his own guy, he follows the puck and moves with the guy, almost like you would if it was on an opponent’s stick. Elvis is engaged on the puck. He follows it like he would on a breakaway. That just shows his engagement level to me. He doesn’t play at 10 percent. He plays at 100 percent all the time.
And his weakness?
The one part he’ll have to work on, and it’ll come with experience, is his puck management. I’m not just talking about him playing the puck, but a lot of times when the puck is around the crease and he could put a hand on it or freeze it, he’ll bat it away with the stick. You’re going to find out quickly you don’t want to give second and third chances to the other team. When it’s around you, freeze the puck and get a whistle and move on.
Does his personality come through to you in his play?
I’ve worked with people at TSN and they’ve talked about him for a few years now. They always say, “This guy, he’s the real deal.” He more than just a player, eh? He has a love for the game, has some personality, too. I thought it was a little bit weird when Korpisalo went down and Elvis said he wasn’t going to talk to the media, that he wanted to be in his own bubble. That’s either extremely mature, to have the goalie say he doesn’t want to talk and then provide the explanation, or it’s incredibly insane, right? We’re seeing him now. Him celebrating playing the guitar (in Las Vegas), the in-house entertainment (in Nationwide Arena) has spotlights on him because you know he’s going to do something special. He’s celebrating. It’s great, and I don’t see it as reckless energy. I just see him enjoying the ride. It’s really cool. I remember Game 7 against Washington (first round) in 2008, (Philadelphia) wins in overtime and I’m in the locker room after the game, just kind of going “Yay, we won. OK, what’s next?” We were taught to not get too high or too low. You look at a guy like Elvis, and there are other guys around the league, they’re going to truly enjoy the highs. I mean, Martin Brodeur would win or lose and you couldn’t tell.
Chico Resch
NHL career: New York Islanders, Colorado Rockies/New Jersey, Philadelphia
Current: Madison Square Garden, New Jersey Devils TV color commentator
You saw Merzlikins’ 41-save shutout on Saturday, Chico, and you seemed impressed by the goaltender, the atmosphere …
Oh, we’ve been chucking about the Elvis phenomenon, then to have seen it on Saturday (laughs heartily), it was quite a show! Obviously the energy level is the first thing that strikes you. A lot of goalies don’t want to be too busy, they want to be calm. But that Elvis … he just oozes energy. It was one of the greatest feats of goaltending I’ve seen this season. His movements are all solid, but he’s so active. He’s 6-foot-3, and he stretches out — he made that great save on Jack Hughes — and just oozes confidence.
As a goaltender, what did you see with his technical play that stood out?
A couple of things. He can get his knees flat on the ice. Some goalies it’s just off the ice a little bit, but he’s flat and nothing sneaks under him. He’s not like a lot of 6-3 or 6-4 goalies who play deep. No, he’s going after the puck. He’s saying, “I’m playing the puck, the puck’s not playing me.” It’s nothing too crazy, but he’s on the edge of being too active. Hey, he’s going through the most exciting time of his life as a goaltender. This would be like Elvis (Presley) himself after the first time he’s played in front of large crowds. The adrenaline! The energy! When he jumped into Foligno’s arms at the end of the game, I thought, OK, now, I haven’t seen that before. I’ve seen guys jump but this was orchestrated. I just about exploded. I was so excited. I haven’t been that excited just to watch a goalie in a long time. There are some athletes who cross over to the artistic. They’re artists. The way they see what they’re doing, and everything around them, it’s sort of through an artist’s eyes, and that’s what that guy does. He’s a throwback.
You’ve seen lots of different goaltenders through the years. Does he conjure memories of anybody else?
I don’t want to get too carried away here but … Dominik Hasek. He’s got some of Hasek’s flair. There are some skaters, like say an Ovechkin, who are worth the price of admission. Not many goaltenders, though, because they’re such cookie-cutters. But that guy is worth the price of admission. I was thinking of an Elvis song during the game. “Falling In Love With You.” I was signing it after the game, “I can’t help … falling in love with you.” He’s going to get that from the fans there as long as he can win, and I don’t see why not. He grabbed a puck about three minutes in and ripped all the way around the boards. I thought “Wow!” That shot of his has some heat on it.
Being in the Metropolitan Division, you’ve seen a lot of the Blue Jackets the last few years …
Oh, everybody’s disappointed that (Sergei) Bobrovsky leaves and gets $10 million. I said to my broadcast partner during the game on Saturday, who would you rather have, Bobrovsky for $10 million, or this kid here? Is he even making a million dollars? It’s just such a good story. Columbus pulled the most courageous thing I’ve ever seen last season, hanging on to all those assets they could have justified trading. But they took a step and lived on the edge, and how do they get rewarded? With this guy! (laughs)
The NHL doesn’t have a lot of players with personality. The game beats it out of them. The teams don’t know how to handle characters. What does Merzlikins need to keep in mind?
You pick your spots and make sure you don’t step over the line. Are fans dressing up like Elvis in the stands yet? I love the flair and the character, as long as everything he does is genuine. That was the captain waiting to hug him after the game. That’s a good sign. We need that. We need some of that in the game. Everybody’s so scrubbed up now. Is there anybody recently who’s been a showman? Anybody? I remember when I kissed the goalposts back in the 1970s and it was such a big deal. People still remember that. I didn’t do it to show off. I learned, though, the fans love you when you’re winning. When you’re not winning, it’s a different story. I just hope the kid doesn’t lose that flair. There were some good rock singers, too, but Elvis had the flair. It’s kind of refreshing. I hope he doesn’t step over the line because he’s doing something that other guys can’t do. All the other guys want to do it quieter, want to do less. This guy wants to do it a little bit differently.
Kevin Weekes
NHL career: Florida, Vancouver, New York Islanders, Tampa Bay, Carolina, New York Rangers, New Jersey.
Current: NHL Network studio analyst
How much credit do you give Merzlikins for not falling to pieces after his Pittsburgh debut, after starting the season 0-4-4, etc.?
I know what it’s like to have those big expectations and not be able to get a win at the start of your career. I went into Florida as a rookie and just couldn’t get a win (0-5-1) and then I got traded. It’s tough. It eats at you. I give Elvis a lot of credit for pulling the kepi over his eyes and just getting down to work. Elvis is super talented and he’s played great, and you’re starting to see him get more comfortable and his personality is coming out. This is what he knows he’s capable of delivering. It’s a shitty feeling when you’re not delivering, and it’s a great feeling when you are. Good on him for getting his nose bloodied and being humble about it and putting on his work boots. Told this to (GM) Jarmo (Kekalainen) on Saturday: The scouts did an amazing job in finding him; Torts, the coaches and his teammates have done a great job with him … all of that’s true. But whatever they’re paying (goaltending coach) Manny Legace, it better come with some bonuses. The way Manny has handled himself and what he’s done with these two guys — Korpisalo and now Merzlikins — it’s beyond remarkable.
What did you see first with Merzlikins?
The majority of the best goalies in the game are great skaters. It matters. They get to where they need to be either early or on time because they can. He’s an elite skater. I haven’t seen him skate around the rink, but I saw him skate to the bench on a delayed penalty and I was like, “Yeah, great skater.” I feel like his reflexes and athleticism are elite. He has great instincts. I don’t feel like he’s too robotic. I don’t feel the goalie coaches have coached him to the point that he’s robotic. He’s loose and technical at the same time. I could go on and on with this guy.
Please! (laughs) I like goalies who breathe fire and have foam in their mouths. Everybody has their own cadence but, for me, a Jonathan Quick type, a Henrik Lundqvist type … those guys who have foam in their mouth and they compete on every shot and they hate getting scored on, and I mean in games and practices, alike. And he shows a lot of that right now. There is a star quality about him. I like to put things in the proper context. There are a lot of blowhards out there; I’m not that guy. I saw what (Sergei) Bobrovsky did for that franchise over the course of his tenure, and you know that’s very hard to find. I saw what Steve Mason did when he first came there, and then it got good to Mason and the work ethic stopped and, well, you’re there, you know the rest of it. What I’m seeing with Elvis is not unlike what I saw with Hank Lundqvist in his first year, when I was his partner. Now, don’t go and say I’m saying Elvis is the next Hank because Hank is a future Hall of Famer. A lock! But I tell you, as far as how they play, the aggressiveness, the instincts, the competitiveness, the fire, the personality … I’m seeing Hank in him as far as that’s concerned.
Where’s the soft spot with his game?
I don’t see a soft spot, per se, but sometimes when you’re aggressive it can be with your decision- making. But listen, give me a thoroughbred over a plow horse all day. The plow horse will get the job done, but I like the thoroughbreds and the guys who foam at the mouth. You don’t ever have to pull- start these guys like a lawnmower; they’re always up, always ready to go. He has that. Does he maintain that? Only time will tell. But he has that. It’s very noticeable from my standpoint. He’s on the right trajectory. He’s dialed in right now.
Where do the Blue Jackets go from here?
I know a lot of people were hypersensitive (in Columbus) about me (last season), but I’ve always been a big Jackets booster. I’ve always said, they’ve drafted well and developed well. Jarmo’s done a great job. John Davidson did a good job. This team … I think Josh Anderson should be another Tom Wilson. The first time I met Pierre-Luc Dubois I was like, “This guy’s legit.” You know how I feel about Seth (Jones) and Zach (Werenski) … I’ve always felt like Columbus had good pieces in place. Now you’re cooking with gas. You got two ‘tenders who are 25 years old. One (Korpisalo) is an All-Star and the other one is playing like an All-Star. As a franchise now, you’re in a position of strength. I’m a big believer in development, and that it doesn’t stop at the NHL level. These two goalies are proof of that.
Darren Pang
NHL career: Chicago Blackhawks
Current: St. Louis Blues color analyst
How did Merzlikins first grab your attention?
I mean, back-to-back shutouts. Three shutouts in four. I never had one! Honestly, though, it started in training camp when we played those couple of games against one another, and the one in St. Louis he played. I remember writing down in my notes that he might be a little raw, but boy is he competitive. We all talk so much about calmness and the new techniques that are part of the game, but at the end of the day, every goalie has to be competitive and has to want it, has to own that crease. I was impressed that Elvis wanted to be on top of that crease and he would fight for his own space. That’s the only way to let your teammates know that you’re engaged and you’re into it. If you’re passive and calm, sometimes they don’t believe you’re totally involved. That was the first thing I was totally impressed by, his ability to get out there and fight for pucks and make saves that maybe he didn’t see, but he still worked hard to find them.
What’s the buzz like around the league right now for this guy?
I was sitting in the Blues dressing room, Jake Allen and Jordan Binnington and I, just having one of those conversations, “What do you think of this guy?” I think we said Elvis’ last name wrong (laughs), or maybe we just called him Elvis, but we all agreed on the same thing. He seems to have really good feet. At that point, I was wondering if he was going to be over-moving, over-rambunctious to the point where he overplays things or is he going to calm down and use those competitive instincts he has to maybe do less work to make more saves. That was early. I keep my eyes on all of the young goaltenders out there, just to make sure I know something about them. I was certainly impressed by him.
What’s the difference you see in his game from early in the season to now?
I think Manny (Legace) has done a really good job of simplifying the crease. It’s not that big, ya know. You don’t have to work outside the crease, you just have to work inside the posts and get to the middle of the net. Our guy, Binnington, he’s not the biggest guy in the world, but he’s a great “angle” goalie, which is why he makes a lot of saves look easy. He gets back to the center of the net without sliding excessively on one side or the other. I see that in Elvis. I see the guy who gets to the middle and makes big saves by letting it hit him in the chest. He’s covering rebounds. It’s confidence more than anything else, but Binnington had 204 games in the minors. Elvis doesn’t have that, so that’s hard. That’s very impressive.
You saw in St. Louis last season what it’s like when a team throws its full trust behind a goaltender. Describe that magic.
Those are the instincts of the coaching staff. That’s what (Blues coach) Craig Berube did. He saw a goaltender come in and win his first game. He didn’t play him the next game. He played him the one after that. But you could feel something special going on, especially when you’re in that position when you’re not in the playoffs. You have to run whoever is hot. Even when Binnington appeared to slip a little bit last season, he’d get a little help from Jake Allen and then he’d go right back in and find his game. He never lost back-to-back regular-season games. Even when he let in a goal, he bounced right back with a big save. He has that mentality. You can see it with Elvis, too. I’m telling you, I could feel it when my teammates had confidence in me and when they didn’t. When they do, it’s like nothing can go wrong, so you run that goalie out as much as you can.
Where’s the line between being a character and being a “me” guy? And how important is that distinction?
First of all, Elvis has a great name. So right away, he wins. I mean, Elvis … how can you go wrong with that? He’s shown some energy. The hugs at the end of the game are good. Binnington has a different kind of swagger. He’s sly. He has a sense of humor that’s really dry and he challenges everybody in a fun way. That’s his personality. Could we use more personality in this game? Absolutely! I’d have no problem with it as long as it doesn’t take over the team. We always think that way in hockey. Once your locker room believes in what you’re doing, then everything else outside of that is OK. If they don’t believe or if they think you’re a phony, just doing it for attention, that’s different. That can really go against you. But when you win the room over, and you know the other players have your back, then, boy, it’s all fun and games after that.
Michael Lawrence
Current: Goaltending coach, Hockey Club Lugano (Switzerland)
You know Elvis’ game inside and out. What’s changed lately versus earlier in the season?
When you’re the guy who’s used to playing so much … when you think about Switzerland, he was playing in the league, but also the World Championships, the Champions League, the Swiss Cup. He was over 70 games, and he did that year in, year out. Not a lot of guys in the NHL are doing that kind of workload. When you’re in that rhythm and then you go to playing nine games over the first couple of months of the season, it’s a completely different mental approach. You’re always stopping and starting and you can let your mind get in the way a little bit. But I think he’s better now for going through that. I think he’s learned from it. Where he’s at now … he can just run, and no, I’m not surprised by any of this. He’s worked very, very hard to get where he is, and he’s worked very, very hard in Europe to play in those events and become a horse.
Tell me about the adjustment he’s made to play here in the smaller rinks.
There are some changes, but I think it’s mostly awareness. Manny (Legace) has done a very good job of making him understand that the volume of shots is going to be much higher. The angles have changed a bit, but it’s more just the scenarios of getting pucks at the net and the volume of shots. The games over here (in Switzerland), the shots-to-scoring chances ratio is almost 50-50. It’s kind of like soccer. You only shoot when you have a real opportunity. It’s a very different game. You have to be very strong mentally with those scenarios. They’re going to shoot from everywhere (in the NHL). They’re going to funnel pucks, try to get rebounds on you, drive to the house. Manny’s done a really good job of constituting those things into his game. It’s easier to bring those things into your game when you’re playing frequently. When you’re not, you live in your head and there’s not that next night to get better.
You know Elvis about as well as anybody in hockey. What’s it like to see him tasting this success, to hear Nationwide Arena chanting “Elvis!”?
I’m proud. I’m so proud. I’m an older brother, a teacher to him, so yeah, really proud. But I’m not shocked. Elvis has a strong warrior spirit to him. People are drawn to that. They want to take that in. When you watch somebody who fights as hard as he does … especially in Columbus, where a lot of people counted them out. Then, all of a sudden, two incredibly talented goaltenders start playing the way they’re playing, and you have an amazing group of guys who are doing all of the right things on the ice, playing the right way. They’re a team, and they’re in a playoff position because of all of that. But when you have a guy with Elvis’ spirit and the building is chanting his name, it’s because of the fight that he stands for when he’s playing for that team. He’s all in. There’s no doubt, and the fans love that. I’m not surprised, but very, very proud. More importantly, Hockey Club Lugano is incredibly proud of this kid they brought in when he was very young and needed a lot of guidance. He needed attention from our GM to his agent to our owner, the management here. They treated him like a son, and they’ll continue to treat him like a son, and it all comes from a lot of love and understanding of who Elvis is.
What makes Elvis special in your opinion? I’ve been around a lot of great competitors, very successful people. My time with Elvis has shown me that his drive is just very, very competitive. It’s not fake. It’s real. It comes from the most genuine place. Sometimes he can control it and sometimes he couldn’t control it. A lot of his process here in Lugano was learning to find the middle. He’s evolving, but it’s going to the right place. Everything about him is about being precise and being the best at what he does. You can’t fake that. He wants to win a championship, and I don’t think that’s any different now that he’s in the National Hockey League. His drive is to win a championship with his club, the Blue Jackets. That’s who he is. I’m not sure what happens when Korpisalo comes back, how the playing time will work. But I know that Elvis’ passion to win a championship is not just going to go away. That’s who he is; it’s always going to be with him.
A 7 p.m. game here is a 1 a.m. start time in Lugano. Are you able to watch him play most nights?
I record the games and watch them when I get home from the rink in the afternoons. You can’t help yourself. You want to see how he’s doing. It’s funny. Each morning the players are in the lounge here at the rink getting coffee, chatting and watching NHL highlights. Elvis used to be in that room with those guys just a few months ago. And now they’re watching his games and his highlights. It’s funny to be hearing Merzlikins’ name over the TV now. It’s well earned. It’s well deserved. And there are a lot of people here who are awfully proud of him.
The Athletic LOADED: 01.22.2020
Blue Jackets count on David Savard’s fearless shot-blocking
By Brian Hedger – The Columbus Dispatch – January 22, 2020
David Savard was a high-scoring defender before he reached the NHL, where he has become a stout, defense-oriented defenseman for the Blue Jackets who isn’t afraid to use his body to block shots.
His most recent goal was a beauty.
It happened in Game 1 of the playoffs last season, when the Blue Jackets stunned the Tampa Bay Lightning by overcoming a 3-0 deficit to win 4-3 at Amalie Arena — the first victory in a shocking sweep of the NHL’s top seed.
David Savard pounced on a loose puck in the neutral zone, beat defenseman Victor Hedman with a move to the inside and then flipped a shot past Andrei Vasilevskiy, who later was awarded the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goalie.
It was a stark reminder of Savard’s unheralded worth, which is measured more in goals prevented than scored. In fact, Savard hasn’t scored since that goal, a fact he would like to change, but he has done plenty to help the Jackets get back in the hunt for a fourth straight playoff appearance.
“If there’s a person that sees him that understands hockey in any sense, they can see what he does, because he’s fearless as far as defending,” coach John Tortorella said of Savard, who’s a sturdy 6-foot-2, 229-pound shot-blocking machine. “He’s a huge plus to us, as far as building a bench, a camaraderie of a bench, just with his shot-blocking alone. And he’s a guy everybody pulls for.”
Savard is also a guy who’s comfortable with the type of defenseman he has become, transitioning from a high-scoring defender in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League into a stout, defense-oriented defenseman with the Blue Jackets.
His size, strength and stick have become effective defensive tools, and he isn’t afraid to use his body to block shots — which he’s done 107 times going into a game Wednesday against the Winnipeg Jets.
Savard has taken pucks off the shins, skates, thighs, arms and torso, and two in particular stood out for another impact zone — his rear end. The first was a hard wrist shot Nov. 19 against the Montreal Canadiens, courtesy of Ben Chiarot. The second was a slap shot by the Vegas Golden Knights' Nick Holden on Jan. 11 at T-Mobile Arena, striking Savard with eight seconds left in the first period.
Savard didn’t flinch on either one, and the Blue Jackets won both games.
“I always watch players, how they handle themselves after certain things,” Tortorella said before the 3-0 win at Vegas. “He blocks a shot and you see in this league, all over the place, the wincing and this (and that). He goes to the bench, sits down, gets ready for his next shift. That’s invigorating to a team.”
It’s also a change for Savard. The season before the Blue Jackets selected Savard in the fourth round of the 2009 NHL draft (No. 94 overall), he had 44 points on nine goals and 35 assists for the Moncton Wildcats, adding five goals and five assists in 10 playoff games.
The following season (2009-10), Savard had 77 points on 13 goals and 64 assists before finishing his final QMJHL playoffs with one goal, 14 assists and 15 points in 21 games.
Savard’s offensive production continued in his first three professional seasons with Springfield of the American Hockey League — the Blue Jackets’ former affiliate — but the focus changed after he played with veteran defenseman Fedor Tyutin in Columbus.
“It was just the way he carried himself in practice and all the stuff he did,” Savard said. “You go through ups and downs and stuff, but he was always positive. It was fun to be next to him and learn from him.”
Savard has carried on the tradition. He keeps the mood light in the Jackets’ locker room and is a mentor to younger defensemen in the way Tyutin was for him.
“It changed kind of quickly, but it’s been fun,” said Savard, who became the Jackets’ most senior defenseman after Jack Johnson and Ian Cole left as free agents in 2018.
“I’m just trying to help these young guys the same way some guys did for me when I came into the league.”
One butt block at a time.
Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 01.22.2020
Winnipeg Jets Jets' tailspin continues
By Mike McIntyre – Winnipeg Free Press – January 21, 2020
RALEIGH – One team was gathered at centre ice playing a massive game of dodge ball in front of their hometown fans as part of the latest "Storm Surge" victory celebration. The other was dropping F-bombs in the post-game media scrums as frustration continued to boil over.
Such was the state of both Carolina and Winnipeg following Tuesday's game at PNC arena in Raleigh, which the Hurricanes won 4-1.
For the Jets, it's their third straight loss — they've been outscored 16-4 in that span — and leaves them with just five wins in their past 17 games, now 25-21-4 overall. And not even the captain and coach appeared to be on the same page in assessing what went wrong with this latest effort.
"There was no f——-g slow start. We played as good in the first as we did in the second as we did in the third," was Paul Maurice's terse reaction to a question about why his club fell behind 2-0 before the contest was even six minutes old, then got outshot 16-3 in a third period that began with them still down a pair of goals.
"F—k man. Yeah, they were better than us in the first and third," was Blake Wheeler's response to a similar query.
So which was it? You'd be hard-pressed to convince anyone the Jets played very well at any point in this game, let alone in the opening 20 minutes. Martin Necas at 2:28 and Justin Williams at 5:30 did the damage to a fragile Winnipeg club that should have come out playing like their season was on the line.
Because, in a way, it is. They keep falling further down the Western Conference standings, and they're not even looking competitive at times.
"We’re getting scored on in the first period. If some of those bounces weren’t going against us right now, the first period wouldn’t look nearly as bad. It’s not bouncing for us for sure and playing from behind every game is pretty challenging in this league when you play against good teams," said Wheeler.
Patrik Laine gave the Jets some hope with his 17th goal of the season at 6:26 of the first period to cut the deficit in half, but Teuvo Teravainen got it back with just under two minutes left in the frame.
There's no doubt Winnipeg turned it up in the second period, with several stretches of offensive zone time. But they were unable to score, let alone muster much in the way of scoring chances.
"They battled hard, they have good sticks, they play hard, they’re a good team. They’re tough to generate offence on. We had a few sustained shifts where maybe we didn’t get a shot but we need to do more of that, make teams tired playing in their d-zone with their backs towards our net," said forward Mark Scheifele. And then came the inexplicable third period, when you'd think the desperation level would have been cranked on high. Instead of Carolina sitting back to nurse the two-goal lead, it was the Jets who appeared to be on their heels the entire time.
And Williams, playing in just his second game of the season after opting to put off retirement, scored his second of the night midway through the third period to put this one on ice. The 38-year-old beat 23- year-old Kyle Connor to the net for the easy goal.
The Jets did show a bit of fight, quite literally, as Scheifele was the unexpected combatant in fighting Carolina defenceman Brett Pesce. It didn't go so well for the Jets No. 1 centre, who had been tripped by Carolina goalie Petr Mrazek just prior to dropping the gloves.
"I gave Pesce a little cross check and he fell, and then Mrazek tripped me in front of the net and Pesce comes and cross checks me in the face while I’m on the ground and he asks me to go, so, you know, I thought I might as well go. That’s hockey," said Scheifele.
"It wasn’t frustration, it was passion. This is a beautiful hockey game, Pesce’s a great hockey player, he played hard all night and once in a while you drop the gloves and have at ‘er."
Wheeler was spitting fire after the game, suggesting Pesce threw a few additional punches at Scheifele when he was prone.
"I like to play with guys that are willing to lay it on the line. He’s a guy I’d go to bat with any day. I don’t love their guy throwing punches on the ground. Anybody can throw punches on the ground. That will come back to him," said Wheeler.
Winnipeg went 0-for-4 on the power play, continuing a recent slide that has seen them go 1-for-16 in recent games, including 12 straight power plays without a goal.
"Last game we had 13 (power play) shots, 10 chances. (Tuesday) we didn’t have as many. It’s a hell of a penalty killing group that they’ve got, just between (Jordan) Staal and (Jaccob) Slavin, and they’ve got nine shorties. That’s a top-end PK unit that they put on the ice. It’s not gonna look the same way every night, but our power play’s been good," said Maurice.
All told, the Jets put up just 17 shots on Mrazek as his team improved to 29-18-3. At the other end, Connor Hellebuyck stopped 25 of the 29 shots he faced.
"It’s tough playing against a team that’s good, they’re solid, they work hard, they have good sticks, they’re fast. They’re where they are in the standings for a reason. We battled hard, too, and we have to keep that battle attitude, that grind attitude going into (Wednesday's) game and get a win before the break," said Scheifele.
Indeed, the Jets will try to salvage something out of this three-game road trip, which began with a 5-2 loss in Chicago Sunday, as they head to Columbus to play back-to-back against the red-hot and well- rested Blue Jackets.
After that, players will part for an eight-day break which includes the All-Star game and league- mandated "bye week." "There’s nothing we can do about (Tuesday night). We battled hard. We just have to play good hockey (Wednesday). Battle, grind it out again, have everyone going and leave it all out on the ice before the break," Scheifele said of the mindset that will be required to bust the slump.
"You take a shower, you wake up (Wednesday) and you bust your ass one more time and try to win. That’s it man," said Wheeler.
Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 01.22.2020
Optimus Reim raising Cane in Carolina
By Mike McIntyre – Winnipeg Free Press – January 21, 2020
RALEIGH — James Reimer has never forgot where he came from — even if the vast majority of hockey fans couldn’t find Morweena on a map. He’s proud of his Manitoba roots, appreciating the simpler life after travelling through much of North America during a pro career now in its 10th full season.
"Great people back home, great community to grow up in. Just wholesome people," Reimer told the Free Press on Tuesday of his hometown, located north of Winnipeg in the Municipality of Bifrost- Riverton.
And now, as he settles into his newest hockey home here in Raleigh, the 31-year-old is making the most of a fresh start. Reimer is 11-6-1 in 20 appearances with the Carolina Hurricanes, with a tidy 2.47 goals- against-average and sparkling .921 save percentage.
"It’s been pretty good. We’ve got a good young team and we’re having some fun playing some hockey. It’s a nice city to be living in, a nice family town. So there’s a good feel to it," Reimer said of the fit for him, his wife and their two children.
Yes, he’s come a long way from the kid who didn’t start playing organizational hockey until he was 12, then caught the eye of Steinbach hockey agent Ray Petkau after playing in a local tournament on a church team.
The former Red Deer Rebel, drafted 99th overall by Toronto in 2006, had to pay his dues in the ECHL and AHL before finally breaking through on the NHL stage during an impressive 2010-11 campaign with the Maple Leafs. He went 20-10-5 with a 2.60 GAA and .921 save percentage, earning the nickname "Optimus Reim."
But the road to stardom was paved with plenty of obstacles along the way, with Reimer mostly relegated to a backup role over the past decade. His career-high in games played is just 44, due to a combination of circumstances, performance and injuries.
Six years in Toronto. One in San Jose. Three in Florida. And now the latest stop, with the fun-loving "Bunch of Jerks" in Carolina, who took the league by storm last season and are off to another solid run this year. "I think the main thing is you just want to go to a team that has a chance to win. This group here, we’ve got a good group and a lot of skill. I was excited about that, obviously saw what they did last year," Reimer said of the Hurricanes run to the Eastern Conference final.
He’s worked well with netminder Petr Mrazek, who made his 32nd appearance of the season Tuesday night as the Hurricanes hosted the Winnipeg Jets at PNC Arena. They’ve formed a solid one-two punch that takes pride in both their defensive acumen and speed and skill up front.
"Obviously like any season there’s ups and downs, good games and bad games, but I think as a team we’re playing pretty well. When as a team you play well, individually you look better. I think that’s kind of the case here. You try to have a good off-season, you try to train well and do what you can do. We’re just playing some good hockey," said Reimer, who is in the fourth year of a five-year contract that pays him an average annual salary of US $3.4 million.
Reimer said he was especially happy to move on from the Panthers, saying his time in the Sunshine State didn’t exactly go as planned. Florida traded him last summer in an attempt to clear out some salary, which they used to sign new No. 1 goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky in free agency.
"It was interesting. There were a lot of expectations and different plans per se that were in place. It was just, I don’t know how to explain it, but things didn’t go as you thought they would go. It wasn’t seamless by any means. I don’t know how to explain it. It was interesting times, I’ll put it that way," said Reimer.
"Good people, some awesome people in the organization, and I met some good people, too, and our family, both kids were born down there. But on the ice and what-not, it was interesting."
Reimer’s most recent victory came Sunday on home ice and was a memorable one, when his team beat the New York Islanders 2-1 in a shootout. Justin Williams, a.k.a Mr. Game 7, scored the winner in the breakaway competition in his first game back since putting off retirement to play another season.
"Sports is awesome, and the little things like that are fun. In the sporting world anything can happen, and when things work out like that it’s fun for everyone in the building. Unless you’re wearing an Islanders jersey," Reimer said with a chuckle.
Carolina’s quest for a championship just got a bit tougher as defenceman Dougie Hamilton broke a bone in his left leg last week and is out for the remainder of the regular-season. Hamilton had 14 goals and 26 assists and was in the Norris Trophy conversation.
"Dougie’s awesome. A great guy and just a stupid amount of skill. It’s tough. I think what was maybe nice, and obviously it wasn’t planned, was to get Willy (Justin Williams) back right after. That was a big boost for our team. Obviously different positions and what-not, but just the presence and kind of the boost to the club is nice," said Reimer.
"We’ve got a lot of good players so hopefully guys kind of hold the fort and we keep getting better, and when he comes back it will be a huge boost for us."
Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 01.22.2020
Jets fall into another early hole, continue alarming slide with loss to Hurricanes
By Ted Wyman – Winnipeg Sun – January 21, 2020
RALEIGH, N.C. — Another slow start proved to be too much to overcome for the Winnipeg Jets and their January backslide is threatening to carry into the all-star break.
The Jets allowed two goals in the first 5:30 of the first period and trailed 3-1 after one before falling 4-1 to the Carolina Hurricanes before 14,607 fans at PNC Arena Tuesday night.
The Jets have now been outscored 8-1 in the first period over the last three games — all losses — and are quickly falling out of playoff contention in the Western Conference.
“There was no f—ng slow start,” Jets head coach Paul Maurice said, defiantly. “We played as good in the first as we did in the second as we did in the third. That team played its asses off tonight.
“Listen, I haven’t liked some of the games we played but that team played as hard as it could. I got no beef on the effort, the other team played well too.”
Playing better than in the last two games wasn’t saying much and it produced the same result, a lopsided loss.
The Jets have now been outscored 16-4 in the last three games — all defeats — and if there’s any greater indication that things simply aren’t working, I don’t know what it would be.
They have one more chance to get back in the win column Wednesday night in Columbus — against a rested Blue Jackets team that is on a five-game heater — before their eight-day all-star break gets underway on Thursday.
So, what can the Jets do about this right now?
“You take a shower, you wake up tomorrow and you bust your ass one more time and try to win,” Jets captain Blake Wheeler said, shortly after dropping an F-bomb of his own. “That’s it man.
“Sometimes, your effort and your overall play isn’t indicative of the final score. Right now it’s not as bad as it seems. We’re scoring one goal a game and giving up a few and it’s just a product of when you go down by multiple goals every single game, you’re chasing the game and it makes it real challenging.”
The Jets are 3-6-1 this month, have lost five of the last six games and remain three points back of the Arizona Coyotes and Vegas Golden Knights, who hold the last two wild-card playoff spots in the Western Conference. The Coyotes will play twice before the Jets return from their break on Jan. 31.
“You’re feeling your record in your last six right now, but they played hard and I’ve got no complaint with them,” Maurice said.
“It doesn’t always go perfect for us but it’s what we’ve got and what we’ve got to learn to fight with it.”
All this is bringing Maurice’s future with the Jets into question. The Jets have regressed in the standings for two straight seasons, since making it to the Western Conference final in 2018, and have dropped off considerably this season after a more than decent start.
They haven’t been getting the job done offensively, nor defensively, and have been out-goaltended on most nights since the calendar turned to 2020. Even if they believed their performance was good on Tuesday, it’s still another setback stacked up in a troubling series of losses.
“It’s tough playing against a team that’s good, they’re solid, they work hard, they have good sticks, they’re fast,” Jets leading scorer Mark Scheifele said. “They’re where they are in the standings for a reason. We battled hard, too, and we have to keep that battle attitude, that grind attitude going into (Wednesday’s) game and get a win before the break.”
It seems unlikely anyone in the organization wants to fire Maurice and, to be fair, he has been dealt a bad hand this season, between off-season departures, Dustin Byfuglien’s suspension and injuries, but the organization has to at least look at what effect such a move would have.
Maurice’s contract is up at the end of the season and it’s going to be a hard sell to give him a multi-year contract extension after two years of regression.
His team is just not making things happen for him right now.
The power play has scored once in the last 16 tries and is 0-for-9 on this road trip, which started with a 5-2 loss in Chicago on Sunday.
Martin Necas put the Jets in an early hole for the third straight game by scoring at 2:28 of the first period and veteran Justin Williams, playing just his second game of the season, scored on the power play at 5:30 to make it 2-0.
Patrik Laine scored less than a minute later off a Scheifele feed from behind the net to make it 2-1, but his Finnish countryman Teuvo Teravainen scored late in the first to make it 3-1.
The Hurricanes, a fast team with great defensive sticks, shut the Jets down from there and Williams got his second of the game to make it 4-1 midway through the third period, converting a great pass from Andrei Svechnikov on a three-on-three rush.
The Jets defensive play left something to be desired on that goal, and really all of the Carolina tallies.
Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck made 25 saves and has now allowed 13 goals on 73 shots over the last three games, a save percentage of .821.
“It’s not on him,” Maurice said. “They’re still getting A chances on us. He needs a night off and he needs some break. We’ve asked an awful lot of this guy. The number of shots that we give up, the quality of shots that we give up, he needs a break.”
Backup Laurent Brossoit will play in Columbus Wednesday.
Though the Jets only generated three shots in the third period and never had a chance to come back, they did show some fight, especially Scheifele, who threw punches with Canes defenceman Brett Pesce.
“It wasn’t frustration, it was passion,” Scheifele said. “This is a beautiful hockey game, Pesce’s a great hockey player, he played hard all night and once in a while you drop the gloves and have at ‘er.” The question that comes to mind is: Where was that passion and fight in the first period?
Winnipeg Sun LOADED 01.22.2020
JETS GAMEDAY: On back-to-back, Jets in tough against rested Blue Jackets
By Ted Wyman – Winnipeg Sun – January 21, 2020
WEARY JETS VS. RESTED BLUE JACKETS
While the Jets are on the tail end of a back-to-back and are playing for third time in four nights, the Blue Jackets haven’t played since Sunday when they won their fifth straight game. The Jets, who played at Carolina Tuesday, will have to look to turn the tables after losing badly twice in the last week to teams on the tail end of back-to-backs. The odds will be against them against a Columbus team that has gone 8-2 in its last 10 games to move into a playoff position in the Eastern Conference.
Five keys to the game
HEY BABY, IT’S ELVIS
Perhaps the Jets wish Elvis would leave the building. Goaltender Elvis Merzlikins has been on fire of late for the Blue Jackets, winning his last four starts, and earning shutouts in three of them. Joonas Korpisalo, who started the season as No. 1 after the departure of Sergei Bobrovsky, has been injured, but Merzlikins and backup Matiss Kivlenieks, who started and won Sunday, have been excellent. Merzlikins started the five games before that and should be in net against the Jets against Winnipeg backup Laurent Brossoit
FIGHT THROUGH THE D
The Blue Jackets have given up the second fewest goals against per games played this season at 2.50. They’ve been getting good goaltending but are also playing terrific team defence. It seems coach John Tortorella has got his players buying into forgoing offence in order to play solid defence. That might explain why their leading scorer, Pierre-Luc Dubois, has just 35 points.
SHUT ’EM DOWN
The loss of Artemi Panarin to free agency has clearly hurt the Blue Jackets offence. Exhibit A is winger Cam Atkinson, who scored 41 goals last season but has just 12 through 38 games this season. The Jackets leading goal scorer is defenceman Zach Werenski (tied with Dubois) so the Jets should have an opportunity to use their higher-powered offence to keep puck possession and outscore them.
NEW LOOKS
Jets coach Paul Maurice hinted Tuesday that he may give forward Kristian Vesalainen a chance to play Wednesday and some have speculated he could see time in the top-six after getting called up from the Manitoba Moose on Monday. Maurice also said he’d like to give rookie Jansen Harkins a chance to play centre on Wednesday. LEAVE IT ALL OUT THERE
The Jets and Blue Jackets both begin their bye weeks on Thursday so there will be no holding back in the final game before the break. If ever there was a game to leave it all out there, it’s this one. Especially when you consider the psychological effects of going into the break on a winning note as opposed to a losing one.
Winnipeg Sun LOADED 01.22.2020
JETS SNAPSHOTS: Vesalainen says he’s more calm at the rink, more comfortable with smaller ice surface
By Ted Wyman – Winnipeg Sun – January 21, 2020
RALEIGH, N.C. — Kristian Vesalainen arrived in North Carolina Tuesday with little idea of what kind of role he’ll play for the Winnipeg Jets but a whole lot of excitement at the possibility of getting into the lineup.
“You can’t expect anything so you just have to work hard, rely on yourself and hope you’re gonna get called up,” he said at PNC Arena Tuesday, ahead of the Jets game against the Carolina Hurricanes.
“For sure it’s really nice and I’m really excited.”
The 20-year-old Finnish winger, drafted in the first round (24th overall) by the Jets in 2017, was recalled from the Manitoba Moose of the AHL Monday as the big club deals with a rash of forward injuries.
With Adam Lowry out for a month and Andrew Copp shifting to centre, the Jets needed a winger and Vesalainen, who has nine goals and 13 assists in 44 games with the Moose this season, fit the bill.
“They like the way he’s playing,” Maurice said, referring to Moose coach Pascal Vincent and his staff. “A lot of what we do, when we call a guy up, is by position, for need, especially if I’ve got him going in right away. Or, it’s the guys down there that they like how they’re going. I don’t get to see many of those games, but his game is improving.”
It seems like the Jets didn’t call Vesalainen up just to sit him. While he was in the press box on Tuesday, Maurice said earlier in the day that he wanted to get him into one of the team’s remaining two games prior to the all-star break.
That means it’s likely Vesalainen will play Wednesday night in Columbus.
It will be his first game with the Jets since Oct. 14 of last season. He had one assist in five games before being assigned to the Moose and eventually Jokerit Helsinki of the KHL.
He re-joined the Moose at the beginning of this year and believes his game has come a long way since his first training camp in Winnipeg. “I’m just a little bit more calm at the rink, with this ice, and I feel like it’s been better for me to play in the smaller rink so I have some good experience now,” Vesalainen said. “I feel like it’s a little bit easier for me.”
Vesalainen and teammate and fellow Finn Sami Niku were involved in a car accident during training camp and sustained minor injuries, but Vesalainen does not believe that set him back at all.
“It was just an unfortunate thing that happened,” he said. “That was nothing to do with the things have gone on.”
On the morning of Tuesday’s game at Carolina, most of the Jets chose not to participate in the optional skate at PNC Arena, instead engaging in a rousing game of “footvolley” in the corridors below the stands.
It was a boisterous and noisy affair and clearly everyone was having a good time, which seems a bit out of tune with how things have been going on the ice lately.
Heading into Tuesday’s game, the Jets had lost four of the last five games and had been outscored 12-3 in their last two contests.
It seems head coach Paul Maurice wouldn’t have it any other way.
“So we’re clear, this isn’t a casual thing for us,” Maurice said.
“We know what our record is here, our last five games, we know the situation we’re in. By design, we don’t want to be walking around dragging our lips and feeling sorry for ourselves. You’ve got to work hard some days to be in a good mood when you’re not happy. And we want them to work at it. We want them to stay together, do their normal routines and not be a dead quiet group, you know, the sky is falling. You’ve got to fight to get out to these things.”
The Jets seemed to be having no problem keeping up the positivity, even if the fans aren’t feeling it at all right now.
Most of them have their mothers on this trip and they are doing their best to make the experience memorable.
“You can see it over there,” he said, motioning toward the volleyball/soccer game the players were playing. “If we start crying about it, it’s not gonna do us any good. We’re here, having fun, our mom’s are on this trip and we’re focused. We know what we need to do.”
With the Jets in a back-to-back situation, Connor Hellebuyck got the call in net Tuesday and Laurent Brossoit was expected to play Wednesday night in Columbus.
Maurice did some line juggling in light of the injury to centre Adam Lowry, who’s out at least a month and there could be more of that in story.
He said he wants try rookie Jansen Harkins as a centre.
“I want to look at Harkins, maybe, in the middle, so I’m gonna move some pieces around, not tonight, but possibly (Wednesday),” he said. “That’s the position he played. He started as a lefty, went into the middle, had some success there. It may be something we want to look at.”
The pride of Morweena, Man., James Reimer, is enjoying his first season in Carolina, where he’s serving as the 1A goalie to No. 1 Petr Mrazek.
Mrazek, who was in net against the Jets on Tuesday, has now started 31 games, while Reimer has started 20.
Reimer, in the 10th season of a career that started in Toronto, made a brief stop in San Jose and lasted three years in Florida, has an 11-6-1 record this season, with a 2.47 GAA and .921 save percentage.
“Yeah, obviously like any season there’s ups and downs, good games and bad games, but I think as a team we’re playing pretty well,” Reimer said Tuesday. “When, as a team, you play well, individually you look better. I think that’s kind of the case here. “You try to have a good off-season, you try to train well and do what you can do. We’re just playing some good hockey, and as a goalie, you’re a benefactor of it.”
Winnipeg Sun LOADED 01.22.2020
Wheeler’s 2020 NHL prospect pool rankings: No. 23 Winnipeg Jets
By Scott Wheeler – The Athletic – January 21, 2020
Welcome to Scott Wheeler’s 2020 rankings of every NHL organization’s prospects. You can find the complete ranking and more information on the criteria here, as we count down daily from No. 31 to No. 1. The series, which includes evaluations and commentary from coaches and staff on more than 500 prospects, runs from Jan. 13 to Feb. 11.
There are prospect pools featured throughout this series that have pushed themselves up the list from where I expected they’d be at the start of the year. Those teams have seen a plethora of prospects exceed my expectations, prompting a climb for them individually and their team’s system collectively.
Then there are prospect pools whose most important players went the other direction, where talent and success haven’t aligned to result in steps forward. The Jets are one of those pools.
Though a small number of their prospects have progressed on a steep incline, several key pieces have either only showed signs or have begun to look like they might be plateauing. The result is a pool of talented young players that should probably, on the whole, be ranked a couple of spots higher. It’s a group that leaves me wanting a little more.
1. Ville Heinola, LHD, 18 (Lukko)
After showing quite well in his brief NHL stint, Heinola hasn’t had a particularly impressive year. Despite posting five points in seven games at the world juniors, I wasn’t all that impressed with his game. Three of those five points came against Kazakhstan and Slovakia and he wasn’t noticeable in the other games, nor did he grab hold of big-minute usage, finishing fifth on the team in time on ice at an average of 16:53. After an excellent rookie season in Liiga last year, he also hasn’t been an impact player for Lukko, playing more than a minute and a half less each night than he did a year ago. The good news is that while he’s not producing like you might hope, or activating offensively like you might want, he has quietly driven possession results with a 55.4 Corsi For percentage to lead all Lukko defencemen. If you followed my draft coverage last year, you’ll know I like Heinola a lot and that I believed he was drafted right around where he should have been (he was No. 21 on my final top 100 and was selected 20th). Still, my concern now is the same as it was then: While Heinola plays an efficient, poised game with and without the puck, he lacks a dynamic quality that may limit his NHL upside. He’s not the kind of player who is going to take over a game, open up a shift with a jaw-dropping sequence or become a volume shot presence from the point. He skates well enough in all four directions to break down teams in the offensive zone, he’s got good hands and he’s always got his head up, so there’s room for him to attack and be more aggressive. His lone Liiga assist on the season highlighted exactly that:
But that’s not his typical approach to the game. He normally plays it a little safer. As a result, his game projects more for a second-pairing role than a first-pairing one.
2. Dylan Samberg, LHD, 20 (University of Minnesota-Duluth)
Samberg has always had the defensive chops needed to be a legitimate NHL prospect. He’s huge without being slow and uncoordinated, he’s physical off the rush and along the wall while remaining relatively disciplined and he doesn’t just use his size and power to overwhelm people because he also has an active stick, which he uses to disrupt carriers before stepping into them or breaking up seam passes. The question was always whether his offensive game was going to progress far enough to make him more than a depth, stay-at-home type. After taking on a bigger role on the NCAA champion Bulldogs as a sophomore, he has continued to show signs of above average offensive skill for his size as a junior. Though he’s not going to wow anyone with his pop with the puck, Samberg has developed a strong zone-exit game as an outlet passer who is talented enough as a handler to sidestep forecheckers if need be. He’s also got a good — though not great — point shot, even if it hasn’t resulted in goals this year (I’d chalk that up to luck more than anything else). He’s got the chance to be a good second-pairing defenceman at even strength, with penalty kill upside.
3. Mikhail Berdin, G, 21 (Manitoba Moose)
After a sensational start to his first full season with the Moose (which followed an excellent first half- season), Berdin has begun to struggle and shows signs of either burning out or having lost rhythm once the Moose got Eric Comrie back into the mix. Still, I’m really high on Berdin’s game. He’s a little on the smaller end but he’s a freakish athlete who can get to pucks most goalies aren’t capable of getting to and he’s ultra-competitive, which contributes to a style of player that rarely means he’s out of it, even when it looks like he is. He’s also a superb puck handler, which doesn’t show up in his save percentage but gives him another element that contributes to his team’s success. I’m not sure if he’s going to be an NHL starter but I wouldn’t rule it out and he definitely has NHL upside.
4. Kristian Vesalainen, LW/RW, 20 (Manitoba Moose)
I don’t know how infuriated Jets fans are with him at this point but if it’s anywhere near where I’m at then I pity you. I’ve written this again and again but Vesalainen should be way better than he is. When he’s on, he’s a force, blending size, power and puck control skill with decent peripheral vision and an ability to create through traffic (not an easy thing to do when you’re 6-foot-4 and 200-plus pounds). When he’s not on, or when he’s not playing with other talented players, he can fade. The good news is that despite it feeling like he’s been playing pro hockey forever without making the jump, his late birthday means he’s only 20. There’s still time for him to put it all together. If he does, he might have second-line upside at the NHL level. If he doesn’t, I don’t know where exactly his floor is but it’s not in the NHL. On pure talent and upside, he should be ranked No. 2 here. But here we are.
5. Declan Chisholm, LHD, 20 (Peterborough Petes)
Unlike Vesalainen, who hasn’t taken year-over-year steps since his breakout season in Liiga, Chisholm is one of the better Jets prospect stories of this season — and a player I was surprised wasn’t at least invited to Canada’s world junior selection camp. Part of Chisholm’s OHL success this season is driven by his age and experience. Even with that said, though, I didn’t expect him to be this dominant. He’s second among all OHL defencemen in points, just ahead of Sharks prospect Ryan Merkley and just behind overager Noel Hoefenmayer, a former Coyotes prospect who went unsigned and is now a free agent. Chisholm logs big minutes for the contending Petes, he’s 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds, he can drive play at even strength with his calculated aggression and above average skating ability (he’s smooth without being powerful) and I’m starting to see more of a surprise-you element from the blue line in, which may give him PP2 upside at the NHL level if he continues to take steps.
6. Jansen Harkins, C/LW, 22 (Manitoba Moose)
If Chisholm’s season is one of the better stories among Jets prospects, Harkins is the best. He now looks closer to the player I thought he had a chance to become when I ranked him 24th in my final ranking for McKeen’s Hockey in 2015 (he went 47th). This year, he has gone from versatile, driven AHL forward who could probably fill a depth role in the NHL to dominant AHL threat who looks like he may have middle- six upside. Nobody has ever faulted Harkins for his ability to stay on pucks, fight for control, make the right choices with the puck and play responsibly off the puck. He’s also always had standout offensive instincts. Despite not being an outwardly gifted offensive player as a handler, he has always done a nice job tracking the play, supporting his linemates and creating offence through a give-and-go style that didn’t require he drive a line to contribute. This year, it has been nice to see him attack more and show off his ability as a passer, which has always been a bit more impressive than his ability as a scorer (though he does have a quick release, which I’d like to see him use more because there’s still untapped upside there if he can look shot more often). Despite his recent promotion, I decided to include Harkins in this ranking because I suspect he may still end up back in the AHL this year before making the jump full-time next season.
7. Leon Gawanke, RHD, 20 (Manitoba Moose)
Gawanke deserves more love for the rookie season he has put together. I expected him to play a limited role or potentially even spend some time in the ECHL and he has done neither. Some of the raw tools have always been there — his hard shot, his pro frame, his powerful stride — but I have been particularly impressed by his vision. In my viewings, Gawanke has routinely demonstrated an ability to find teammates through traffic, walk the blue line or activate into the rush as a playmaker. And while his defensive game could use a little more polish, he’s been fine in that regard as a 20-year-old pro. I’m still not sure exactly what role he might fit into as he progresses toward the NHL but keep an eye on him. 8. Johnathan Kovacevic, RHD, 22 (Manitoba Moose)
Over the years, Kovacevic has slowly turned himself into a legitimate prospect. After getting passed up in the NHL draft, he made a name for himself as a standout (literally and figuratively) freshman at Merrimack College, got selected in the second go-around and has continued to perform ever since. In college, he became a contributing two-way defenceman with size and length who made up for mediocre skating with a calm, don’t-chase approach to defending that allowed him to pick his spots effectively and kept teams to the outside. Though he’s not the type to corral the puck, change direction and fire a pass across the offensive zone to a teammate, he has just enough offence in his game (his 6-foot-5, 219- pound frame helps him power through his snap shot to force tough saves) to complement an excellent defensive presence. On a Moose team that has been outscored on the year, he has driven results. He has a chance to be a good third-pairing option who can complement a more talented lefty.
9. Nathan Smith, C, 21 (Minnesota State University)
It has been a bit of a slow burn for Smith (you never like to see a decent prospect only begin his collegiate career at 21) but he has stepped into the top-ranked Mavericks as an immediate contributor and the kind of player who looks like more of a sophomore or a junior than a freshman. At his best, Smith is a line-driving, dynamic puck carrier who can hang onto it and wait for seams to open off the rush, carve through traffic to draw attention before a quick pass in the offensive zone, run a power play or get under an opposing player’s skin with his physical, in-your-face approach. At his worst, he can look a little too one-dimensional because he’s not a major scoring threat, he can box himself into corners looking pass and he’s not an explosive skater.
10. Michael Spacek, C/RW, 22 (Manitoba Moose)
After a strong season saw him finish third on the Moose in points last year (even with a shooting percentage under 10 percent), I expected Spacek to push for 50-55 points across the Moose’s 76-game season this year, giving him a real shot at an NHL promotion into a depth role in the process. And after a decent start, he was called up to the NHL in the middle of November. But despite the brief promotion, Spacek’s season hasn’t been a good one — and included a stint as a healthy scratch with the Moose. He’s been better of late, with four points in his last three games. At this point, though, Spacek turns 23 in April and the clock has begun to tick on him showing he’s more than an inconsistent second-line forward in the AHL. Stylistically, there are some redeeming traits to his offensive game: he does a good job leading his linemates with passes into dangerous pockets in the offensive zone and he’s strong on the puck for a 5-foot-11 player. But he can also frustrate as he tries to do too much, plus he has never been a consistently reliable defensive player. He’s starting to look like a tweener.
11. Harrison Blaisdell, C, 18 (University of North Dakota)
Blaisdell has been thrust into a depth role on a top-ranked college team as a freshman but he’s got an NHL shot and the offensive instincts needed to eventually be a really good scorer at the college level. And though he’s not an explosive skater, Blaisdell makes up for it with sheer force of will, a hunt-the- puck approach and a willingness to engage physically in man-on-man battles despite not being an imposing physical player. If he — and the Jets — are willing to be patient, they might get an energizing depth player with some scoring touch someday.
12. Henri Nikkanen, C, 18 (Jukurit) Nikkanen made a name for himself very early on in his competitive hockey-playing career in Finland because he was bigger than all of his peers and it made him a dominant offensive presence growing up. Today, it also makes him a serviceable depth option in a decent pro league as a teenager. His problem is that as his peers began to catch up to him in size, they surpassed him in terms of his skill level. That’s particularly noticeable because he doesn’t offer the overwhelming physical presence you expect out of a 6-foot-4 centre. So he’s never going to be a physical, finish-your-check power forward type and he’s not overly skilled for his size. That makes him hard to evaluate from an upside perspective. I would like to see him hang onto the puck, use that size and reach to his advantage and attack as a shooter a little bit more. When he does, he can make plays:
13. Giovanni Vallati, LHD, 19 (Oshawa Generals)
Vallati’s skating blew me away the very first time I watched him live in a preseason game ahead of his rookie year. Today, it makes him one of the smoothest-skating defencemen in junior hockey. His stride is light and effortless, propelling him away from pressure with ease. It also helps him correct from mistakes because despite lacking game-breaking talent and a shot (his is weak), Vallati tries to hang onto the puck and make things happen in the offensive zone. Though his production hasn’t followed the curve you’d look for in a D prospect with NHL aspirations, he’s got NHL athleticism and that alone makes him worth giving a long AHL look.
14. Simon Lundmark, RHD, 19 (Linköping HC)
Lundmark will put the idea of being good at everything without being great at any one thing to the test. He’s a smooth skater without breakaway explosiveness. He’s a heads-up outlet passer without being the type to stretch the ice. He’s got pro size but he’s not physical. He’s poised with the puck without being aggressive with it. He’s just a good, smart hockey player. I think you need to be more than that to climb into the NHL, but you never know.
15. Skyler McKenzie, LW, 21 (Manitoba Moose)
Speaking of tweeners. McKenzie has it written all over him. Undersized? Check. Dominant offensive junior player without ever pushing 100 points? Check. Struggled to replicate that offensive prowess at the pro level due to that size and lack of a truly game-breaking skill? Check. Has shown flashes as a sophomore of an ability to make high-end plays at the AHL level now that he’s comfortable? Check. McKenzie is clearly gifted enough to make things happen in the AHL, particularly as a scoring threat (he’ll score 25-30 in a mid-level pro league someday). But he’s probably not talented enough to play in a scoring role at the NHL level, he’s going to be 23 or 24 before he really takes over in the AHL and he’s not likely a fit on a fourth line. Think Nic Petan (they even share Portland Winterhawks roots) but less talented.
16. Logan Stanley, LHD, 21 (Manitoba Moose)
I don’t want to rub salt in the wound so I’ll keep this short. He might get shoe-horned into a third- pairing, penalty kill role eventually. I don’t think he’s talented enough for the NHL, though, and his selection looked doomed to fail from a mile away.
17. Santeri Virtanen, C, 20 (Saipa) He’s big and used his size and athletic maturity to dominate his peers growing up. Doesn’t have a physical element to his game that you’d hope for, nor the pure offensive ability. If you think that sounds like Nikkanen, that’s because it does.
18. Austin Wong, C, 19 (Harvard University)
You can’t rule out Wong just because pests find weird ways of earning pro opportunities and he’s such a pain in the ass that he’s going to make a name for himself by the time his college career (which is off to a slow start) is over.
The Tiers
Each of my prospect pool rankings will be broken down into team-specific tiers in order to give you a better sense of the talent proximity from one player to the next (a gap which is sometimes minute and in other cases quite pronounced).
Winnipeg’s groups are pretty straightforward, with a clearcut No. 1 close to a lock to be an NHLer, a five- player tier of prospects with good odds at becoming medium-impact NHLers, a smaller group who could be peripheral NHL options with room for more and a final tier of long shots with intriguing enough qualities for inclusion here.
The Athletic LOADED: 01.22.2020
NHL/Websites Analyzing how teams have fared after changing coaches in 2019-20
By Rory Boylen – Sportsnet.ca – January 21, 2020
It’s fair to say this has been a strange and turbulent season for coaches in the NHL.
Seven have lost their jobs already — just four shy of the season-long record of 11 — though not all of those dismissals have been performance-related. The Bill Peters situation opened up all kinds of questions about hockey culture and the player-coach relationship, while Jim Montgomery’s ousting in Dallas was equal parts mysterious and shocking.
Only three of the seven teams have hired a full-time replacement, while the other four are running with interim bosses. But all of these teams hoped and expected that their coaching changes would lead to better days under the new guy — or that at least their seasons wouldn’t be derailed further.
But how have these coaching changes worked out so far? Here’s a look at how the seven teams have fared since making a move behind the bench.
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
Under Mike Babcock: 9-10-4
Under Sheldon Keefe: 16-7-3 Though Toronto’s front office would have preferred the team work through its issues and let Babcock guide the Maple Leafs through another playoff run before deciding his future, a six-game losing streak in mid-November proved too much to endure. At the time of the decision, Toronto was fifth in the Atlantic and sitting outside of the playoff picture.
Since then, however, it’s mostly been a success under new head coach Sheldon Keefe. Although, another recent run of mediocrity to head into the bye week and all-star weekend is raising eyebrows.
Toronto won four of its first five games under Keefe and, in a 10-game stretch through December and into early January, the team didn’t lose once in regulation. In fact, from the day Keefe was hired through Jan. 5, Toronto’s 15-4-1 record was second-best in the league behind only Tampa Bay. Their offence had opened right up, averaging a league-high 4.10 goals per game, while their 2.70 goals-against per game was the fifth-lowest mark. Everything, it seemed, was coming up Milhouse Leafs.
It’s the past two weeks that are causing worry again, as Toronto allowed 28 goals in just six games. Frederik Andersen has struggled, and enters the all-star break with the lowest save percentage of his career, but it wouldn’t be fair to say the Leafs showed up for all these games. A lackadaisical first period against Chicago on Saturday, the team’s last before the break, clearly highlighted that.
So there’s two ways to look at this. One is that Toronto is playing to the strengths of the roster now and the clicking offence has made it seem like the team has turned a corner. The other is that, especially over the past two weeks, Toronto’s roster showed the kind of “immaturity” that worries fans about how real their Stanley Cup chances are. This is why GM Kyle Dubas needs to find some veteran help, ASAP.
CALGARY FLAMES
Under Bill Peters: 11-12-4
Under Geoff Ward: 15-7-1
The Flames were treading water at the end of Peters’s tenure, as he had won just one of his last eight games with the team. Some of their metrics were fine — the Flames were in the middle of the pack in Corsi for percentage — but they were being outclassed in scoring chances created at 5-on-5. Stars Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan weren’t bringing the same level we’d become accustomed to and that the Flames need. The best story of the early going was probably how David Rittich was quickly becoming acclimatized as a heavy-usage NHL starter.
And then one tweet from Akim Aliu set into motion a string of events that altered the course of not only the Flames, but the entire hockey world, as we were left facing tough questions about the game. Before November was out, Peters and the Flames parted ways and assistant Geoff Ward took over the head job on an interim basis.
Though his first game behind the bench doesn’t officially count on his head-coaching record since Peters was still employed, we’ll give Ward credit for winning his first seven games. The practices got looser, as music over the loudspeakers became the norm. This was a juncture in Calgary’s season where all the distractions could have taken the team way off course, but Ward deserves major credit for stabilizing everything. Under Ward, the Flames are second in high-danger goals for percentage at 5-on-5, and 13th in expected goals for percentage. It hasn’t all gone smoothly, but it’s worth noting that any time the Flames have hit a bump under Ward it hasn’t spiralled out of control. Their longest losing streak since the switch is just three games.
If there is a worry, it’s how the offence is showing a propensity to dry up for prolonged periods. While the Flames won four of their last six games before the break, they only managed 11 goals over that stretch. This puts more pressure on the goalies and defence, and has us wondering if GM Brad Treliving — no stranger to a big trade — looks to upgrade his forwards.
NEW JERSEY DEVILS
Under John Hynes: 9-14-4
Under Alain Nasreddine: 8-11-3
Less than two years after leading the Devils to a surprising playoff berth, Hynes was out the door following a surprisingly slow start. GM Ray Shero (now former) did a lot to try and accelerate this thing — trade for P.K. Subban, draft Jack Hughes, trade for Taylor Hall a year earlier, sign Wayne Simmonds off the UFA market, trade for the upside of Nikita Gusev, etc. But rather than take a step up, New Jersey was still languishing near the bottom when Hynes was dismissed Dec. 3.
He was a highly touted coach, though, and it barely took him a month to find another head-coaching job in the league, so what gives? Rather than this being the fault of coaching, it may be just that the Devils failed to find chemistry and that ultimately unravelled all hope.
Under Nasreddine the Devils have been mildly better, which may be more due to having a little more luck fall their way than anything else. It is worth noting, though, that since the Devils traded Hall on Dec. 16 they have one more point than the Arizona Coyotes, the team they moved Hall to.
Nasreddine had the Devils playing .500 before a tough road trip prior to their bye made for a record that looks worse. There are still major problems on the blue line and in goal (until MacKenzie Blackwood settles in), but by bringing the Devils even close to .500, Nasreddine is making a case to stick around beyond the season and get promoted from interim to head coach.
Senior Writer Ryan Dixon and NHL Editor Rory Boylen always give it 110%, but never rely on clichés when it comes to podcasting. Instead, they use a mix of facts, fun and a varied group of hockey voices to cover Canada’s most beloved game.
DALLAS STARS
Under Jim Montgomery: 18-11-3
Under Rick Bowness: 9-6-1
The Stars can be a tough team to figure out. They run hot and cold and can be streaky, though overall the swings haven’t been as wild as last season. But they’re still there. After Dallas won a single game in its first nine of the season, some were wondering if Montgomery would be on the hot seat. Then they won 14 of their next 16 and all looked right again. But on Dec. 10, completely out of the blue two days after beating the Islanders, Montgomery was fired not for on-ice performance, but for “unprofessional conduct.” Almost a month later, Montgomery admitted himself into an inpatient residential program for alcohol abuse.
The Stars are a well-put-together team, though, and after promoting assistant Rick Bowness with an interim-head-coach tag they just kept chugging along. Dallas has played nine road games under Bowness, winning six of them, and has been nearly as good at home. Their longest losing skid has been just two games.
However, they have allowed more goals than they’ve scored under Bowness, and that’s not the only potentially troubling stat to keep an eye on. Where Dallas generated the most high-danger chances at 5- on-5 under Montgomery, it ranks 20th under Bowness. No matter all the big names you see in the lineup, make no mistake that offence is not this team’s primary strength.
They have a formidable team defence, which is the core of their success dating back to last season, as well as a couple of quality netminders. As long as that base stays in place, the Stars will remain a Cup contender. The offence, with all its weapons, should come.
SAN JOSE SHARKS
Under Peter DeBoer: 15-16-2
Under Bob Boughner: 6-9-2
Does anyone really believe coaching is the core reason (or, heck, even a peripheral reason) why the Sharks are falling from their pedestal this season? Remember, this is a team that lost Joe Pavelski, Joonas Donskoi, Gustav Nyquist from its forward unit, did nothing to upgrade its depth issues on the blue line, and returned with the same two goalies that led the team to a league-worst save percentage last season.
It’s not that we don’t believe GM Doug Wilson can’t turn them around in a year or two. After all, Timo Meier and Tomas Hertl seem to be following nicely and naturally behind Logan Couture as younger difference-makers up front. But there is work to do.
Boughner was bumped up and given the interim tag after DeBoer was let go and an Aaron Dell hot streak, during which he’s taken over the No. 1 job in January, has saved San Jose’s goalie numbers from looking as bad. We believe this is only a limited-time offer. The Sharks lost their last three games before the bye, two of which Dell started, and allowed 14 goals-against. This is who San Jose is right now and there’s not a coaching change to be made that’ll fix it.
Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman talk to a lot of people around the hockey world, and then they tell listeners all about what they’ve heard and what they think about it.
NASHVILLE PREDATORS
Under Peter Laviolette: 19-15-7
Under John Hynes: 3-3-0
Very small sample size and too early to determine if Hynes is getting this team back on track, but the writing was on the wall for Laviolette with this year’s slow start following a first-round playoff exit in 2019. The team’s power play remained near the bottom of the league after finishing dead last in 2018- 19, while the penalty kill took a significant step back into the bottom-third.
Nashville generates the third-most average shots per game in the league but, despite seemingly having enough offensive firepower among the forwards, the team generated the ninth-fewest high-danger opportunities under Laviolette this season. They just heavily rely on their blueliners to generate offence, which isn’t ideal in today’s NHL.
The third line, led by Nick Bonino, is having a great year, but the drivers (Filip Forsberg, Viktor Arvidsson, Ryan Johansen, Matt Duchene) haven’t been able to put up high totals. Defenceman Roman Josi leads the team in points by 16.
Under Hynes this measure hasn’t changed yet.
It should be noted that Pekka Rinne has also regressed hard at age 37 and has posted just an .899 save percentage, despite Nashville’s defence remaining one of the tougher outfits in the league to get high- quality chances against. Had Rinne been able to continue his resurgence from the past couple of years, perhaps the team would have overcome some of the offensive issues and Laviolette would still be in charge.
VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS
Under Gerard Gallant: 24-19-6
Under Peter DeBoer: 1-0-1
When we looked at some potential next stops for Gallant after Vegas dismissed him last week, we highlighted that it’s mostly been bad luck that has held Vegas back this season. With a little better shooting and save percentages, given the team’s strong underlying numbers, they may be running away with the Pacific Division right now.
In just two games under former rival coach DeBoer, we can’t determine what’s changed or where this thing is going. A win in Ottawa and a shootout loss in Montreal are all we’ve seen, but everything is still in place for a team two years removed from a Stanley Cup Final appearance, and one year removed from an incomprehensible collapse that in any other universe would have been a Round 1 win.
This is a well-put-together team that wouldn’t surprise anyone with a stronger stretch run than we’ve seen so far.
Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 01.22.2020