SPORT-SCAN DAILY BRIEF NHL 01/25/19 Anaheim Ducks 1127526 NHL's young All-Stars will showcase the league's uptempo 1127554 Kelly McCrimmon could well be Nicholson’s No. 1 GM style of play object for Edmonton Oilers 1127527 Ducks All-Star goalie John Gibson entering new phase in 1127555 Rot in the Edmonton Oilers structure goes much deeper young career than the GM 1127556 The good, the bad and the ugly of Chiarelli’s time with the Edmonton Oilers 1127528 Coyotes’ Oliver Ekman-Larsson has knee injury, is listed 1127557 The list of possible general managers for Edmonton Oilers as day-to-day as long as a Connor McDavid streak 1127558 Connor McDavid answered unwanted Oilers questions with poise and defiance, which is a good thing 1127529 The unofficial update on Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask 1127559 Dellow: Four questions that the Oilers should be asking 1127530 All-Star Game Notebook: David Pastrnak’s chance to candidates for the GM job shine 1127560 New Oilers caretaker Keith Gretzky caught between earning playoff berth and keeping future assets 1127531 Mike Harrington: Sabres, city need Captain Jack now more than ever 1127561 From 1 to 95: Why the Florida Panthers wear the numbers 1127532 Rick Pagnutti enjoyed 46 years as Amerks' record holder they do 1127533 Sabres' Rasmus Dahlin, Jeff Skinner earn nods in writers' 1127562 Same job, same team but different circumstances for midseason awards DeBoer and Boughner with the Panthers Kings 1127534 No-nonsense coach has Flames playing at top of their 1127563 The Sports Report: Rams GM Les Snead is heading back game to familiar territory 1127536 Hockey know-it-all Matthew Tkachuk’s love for the game 1127564 Rebuilding the Kings: The case for and against trading blossomed early and continues to grow Alec Martinez Carolina Hurricanes Minnesota Wild 1127537 ‘It’s quite an accomplishment.’ Canes’ Sebastian Aho 1127565 Wild All-Star goalie Devan Dubnyk no longer feels he's ready for his NHL All-Star weekend. alone in the net 1127538 Teravainen, Niederreiter lead Hurricanes over Canucks 5- 1127566 Wild assigns Eriksson Ek, Kunin to American Hockey 2 League 1127567 Wild re-assign forwards Kunin, Eriksson Ek during break 1127568 Eric Staal’s big night sends Wild over Avalanche and into 1127539 Blackhawks acquire Czech forward Dominik Kubalik, the All-Star break on surge Swiss league's top scorer, for 5th-round pick 1127569 One-on-one with Paul Fenton: What the Wild GM is 1127540 Blackhawks star : It ‘would be fun’ to reunite thinking as deadline nears with Artemi Panarin 1127541 Blackhawks acquire F Dominik Kubalik in trade with Kings 1127542 Most Blackhawks don't make the grade 1127570 What the Puck: Savvy moves, serendipity spark 1127543 Blackhawks 2018-19 midseason grades: Forwards Canadiens' resurgence 1127544 Better late than never: How John Wiedeman found his 1127571 Melnick’s GBU: A break won’t slow the momentum of the passion in broadcasting redemption-seeking Canadiens Nashville Predators 1127545 He's just 24, but Seth Jones has All-Star consistency 1127572 P.K. Subban on Vegas' Pierre-Edouard Bellemare: 'He 1127546 Out of the spotlight: Jared Boll and other former Blue knows he bit me' Jackets adjust to life once the cheering stops 1127573 Why is Peter Laviolette excelling in Nashville? Good fit, good talent and a little less bite 1127547 Finland, loose laces and dull blades: How Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen developed into an elite 1127574 What's wrong with the Devils? Who's to blame? skater Goaltending, consistency, road struggles, more 1127548 It’s very possible the Cowboys, Mavs, and Stars all have rookie of the year winners 1127549 How in the world has The Ticket made it 25 years, and 1127575 John Tavares, NHL impressed with Islanders' surprising how lucky am I to be part of it? first half 1127576 Isles rank high in hockey writers' midseason awards 1127577 Mathew Barzal enters his first All-Star weekend with less 1127550 Pavel Datsyuk back to Detroit Red Wings? Not so fast, individual flash, but more team-inspired confidence says agent 1127551 Jimmy Howard's will to bounce back confirmed with All-Star nod 1127552 Red Wings’ Jimmy Howard heads to All-Star Game amid uncertain future 1127553 Agent floats idea of Pavel Datsyuk returning to NHL, Red Wings 1127578 David Quinn opens up on jump from college, coaching 1127609 For all their critics, these Maple Leafs are pretty good style and Rangers’ development 1127610 All-stars Matthews and Tavares get a kick out of 3-on-3 1127579 Henrik Lundqvist remains an All-Star through the Rangers' 1127611 All-star weekend a mix of business and pleasure for Leafs’ ups and downs John Tavares 1127612 Maple Leafs' ECHL coach Ryane Clowe exits Ottawa Senators 1127613 Let Marner, Matthews have another shot and other 1127580 Bagnall: Does Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk thoughts as Maple Leafs take a break have a case of Edmonton envy? 1127614 First NHL all-star games were anything but tame 1127581 Flyers loan goalie Carter Hart to Phantoms to keep him in 1127630 In the lineup of candidates for Oilers GM, a few form during bye week Canucks-connected ones are sure to be found 1127582 Flyers at the All-Star break: The ups and downs and what 1127631 Patrick Johnston: Canucks hope to do a lot of ‘meaningful’ lies ahead chasing for playoff position 1127583 Flyers loan Carter Hart to Phantoms, recall Anthony 1127632 Ed Willes: Beagle digs into old toolbox to modify Stolarz leadership role with Canucks 1127584 Flyers mascot Gritty lives on the edge ... just look at his 1127633 Canucks outplayed by Hurricanes in 5-2 loss Wawa order 1127585 Why patience is key for potential 'game-breaker' Flyers prospect Jay O'Brien 1127615 Sharks replace Golden Knights in NHL All-Star media 1127586 Phil Myers feels ‘as ready as I’ve ever been’ for call up to spotlight Flyers 1127616 Golden Knights’ Marchessault gives tour of Las Vegas home — VIDEO 1127617 Finger biting in Golden Knights-Predators game in dispute 1127587 Penguins need second-half consistency to emerge as title 1127618 Golden Knights recall Oscar Dansk, reassign Maxime contenders Lagace to AHL’s Wolves 1127588 Ex-Penguins, Israeli hockey player's love of Pittsburgh 1127619 Analysis: Predators add to Golden Knights' struggles combine to help Jewish community against top teams 1127589 Heinz History Center exhibit celebrates Penguins, 1127620 Inside the dressing rooms after ‘Bite-gate’ incident in Pittsburgh hockey, local Olympians Vegas 1127590 Joe Starkey: Duquesne's Israeli hockey player the perfect 1127621 Golden Knights Head Into Break With Loss To Nashville point man in fight against hate and Increasing Attendance 1127591 Sidney Crosby skates with locals in Jackson Hole, Wyo. 1127592 History Center's 'A Great Day for Hockey' exhibit opens Saturday. Here's what's on display. 1127622 As Capitals unravel during losing streak, faltering defense 1127593 Dave Molinari: What’s my line? If it’s the 4th, you really do a common thread matter 1127623 What’s wrong with the Capitals? They have a week to 1127594 PHWA midseason awards released; no Penguins make figure it out. cut 1127624 Anatomy of a collapse: 7 reasons for seven straight 1127595 Israeli hockey team to play former Penguins and Capitals losses Duquesne team to show support 1127625 No panic yet, but Caps desperate for answers at NHL 1127596 Penguins' contracts make one thing clear: Young core has All-Star break to perform 1127626 Capitals prospect report: No, Ilya Samsonov is not the answer to the Caps’ problems San Jose Sharks 1127627 Capitals enter All-Star break on sour note in Toronto as 1127597 Erik Karlsson says he’s good to go for NHL All-Star Game losing streak extends to seven 1127598 The best NHL All Star Game ever played? 1127599 What would it cost to go to the NHL All-Star Game on Websites Saturday? 1127634 The Athletic / The evolution of the dressing room speech, 1127600 NHL All-Star Game: Who will sing the national anthems? from emotional outbursts to tactical adjustments 1127601 7 super SF Bay Area things to do this weekend, Jan. 25- 1127635 The Athletic / The Surge: The NHL’s influx of 100-point 27 scorers and why it’s unlikely to end anytime soon 1127602 Sharks’ Joe Pavelski thriving at age 34 1127636 The Athletic / Goaltending, weaponized: How the next 1127603 2019 NHL All-Star Game: Which hockey clichés do generation of goalies is ready to dominate superstars love to use? 1127637 Sportsnet.ca / Oilers' Connor McDavid: 'I'm here to be part 1127604 2019 NHL All-Star Game: Ranking all 44 players skating in of the solution' San Jose 1127638 Sportsnet.ca / Last-place Senators stumble into all-star 1127605 Scratch golfer Joe Pavelski’s game brings ‘a level of break with UFAs unsigned calmness under pressure’ to hockey for the All-Star 1127639 Sportsnet.ca / New Oilers GM will inherit tall task, but it won't be Mission: Impossible St Louis Blues 1127640 Sportsnet.ca / 'Hockey over strength' mantra fuels 1127606 Blues All-Star O'Reilly always pushing to be a better Pettersson's rise to all-star player 1127641 Sportsnet.ca / 31 Thoughts: What’s next for Oilers after 1127607 Armstrong says Berube will stay on as Blues coach Chiarelli firing through remainder of season 1127642 Sportsnet.ca / Four left-shot defencemen the Canadiens should target in a trade 1127643 Sportsnet.ca / Revealing My PHWA Mid-Season Awards 1127608 Q&A: In the booth with Lightning GM Julien BriseBois, on Ballot the art of building, developing and dealing prospects 1127644 TSN.CA / McDavid: ‘I look forward to proving people wrong’ 1127645 TSN.CA / Expect the McDavid MVP debate to rage again 1127647 USA TODAY / Opinion: Don't blame the coach for Capitals' recent slide: This is on players to fix Jets 1127628 Jets on a break, but we're not 1127629 High-altitude Jets not on hockey writers' awards radar

SPORT-SCAN, INC. 941-284-4129 1127526 Anaheim Ducks irrelevant because of the lack of physicality, but the three-on-three games keep players’ interest. So does the prize money, which has been $1 million shared by the winning team. “I like the three-on-three better,” NHL's young All-Stars will showcase the league's uptempo style of play Columbus and Metropolitan Division defenseman Seth Jones said. “The guys can showcase their skill a lot more. There’s a lot more open ice to make plays and you see the speed for sure. Creativity and skill is most important in three-on-three.” By HELENE ELLIOTT JAN 24, 2019 | 10:20 PM Anything that promotes creativity and skill from young or old is welcome.

LA Times: LOADED: 01.25.2019 SAN JOSE-NHL's young All-Stars will showcase the league's uptempo style of play

John Gibson was smiling, a rare sight these days. The Ducks are in a 2- 10-4 nosedive and they’ve subjected their outstanding young goaltender to a league-high 1,361 shots, which is borderline criminal. Gibson’s NHL- best 1,251 saves is the only reason the Ducks haven’t completely bottomed out.

Being chosen to represent the team at the NHL All-Star weekend brought back Gibson’s grin. He deserves to have some fun, and that’s what the skills contests on Friday will be. Same for the division-based, three-on- three mini tournament that will be played on Saturday at SAP Center. There won’t be any hitting and defense will be notably absent — kind of like most Ducks games recently, so Gibson should feel comfortable. In any case, the timing of the festivities is just right to revive his spirits. “Definitely,” he said during Thursday’s media day event. “As far as our team, I think it’s definitely a good time to have a break.”

Gibson, a two-time All-Star at 25, leads the charge of young players who will showcase their talents here. The emergence of youthful stars is an overriding theme. “It’s awesome,” Gibson said. “It shows the way that young guys are now able to step right in and take control and take charge of the game.”

Nikita Kucherov of Tampa Bay, who leads the NHL in scoring with 78 points, is 25 years old. Colorado’s Mikko Rantanen, 22, is second in scoring with 74 points, one point ahead of 25-year-old Johnny Gaudreau of Calgary and 22-year-old Connor McDavid of Edmonton. “The league is getting younger and it’s getting faster as well, when you have a lot of young players,” Rantanen said. “I think it’s good for the league that they can make a big impact on their team. It’s a lot of fun to watch.”

Chicago’s Patrick Kane, fifth in scoring with 71 points, is the old man of the top 10 at age 30. “It’s a young man’s league,” he said. “Seeing these guys come in, maybe in the past their primes were 26, 27, 28. Now your prime is maybe 22, 23, 24. So it’s definitely become a younger man’s game.”

Pacific Division coach Bill Peters of the Calgary Flames said he plans to keep together players who are already teammates, such as McDavid and Leon Draisaitl and two of San Jose’s three representatives, forward Joe Pavelski and defensemen Erik Karlsson — who plans to play despite missing three games because of a lower-body injury — and Brent Burns. The same strategy will apply for the other three teams, where possible. “I think there’s going to be a lot of common sense,” Peters said. “It will be a lot of fun and they’ll figure it out.”

Two other aspects of this All-Star game will stand out. Players will wear jerseys made of recycled marine plastic materials, and those jerseys will contain tracking devices that will record data such as how fast and how far they skate and how hard they shoot. The puck also will be equipped with tracking technology. It’s part of the league’s drive to increase the amount of information available to fans and bettors, significant for a league that has partnered with MGM Resorts.

The applications are infinite for coaches and players too. “I’m just concerned that people are going to know how bad my shot is now,” Philadelphia Flyers forward Claude Giroux joked. “It should be interesting to see the stats that they come up with.”

Goalie Devan Dubnyk of Minnesota was intrigued when he saw the tracking device attached to the chest of his jersey.

“My secret is going to be out that I don’t go anywhere,” he said. “There’s going to be a little black dot in the middle of the crease and that’s going to be my total area of travel. I think it’s very cool, just the idea behind it of giving fans different things to look at it and actual numbers on how guys move and how many miles they cover.”

This will be the fourth time the NHL will use the three-on-three tournament format in place of a single game. The full games had become 1127527 Anaheim Ducks chance to win every game. That’s why he made the All-Star team, that’s why he’s in the game.”

Talk of a Vezina Trophy shouldn’t be viewed as idle midseason chatter, a Ducks All-Star goalie John Gibson entering new phase in young career way to fill in the gaps in the conversation as the grinding 82-game regular season continues, according to Coach , who said, “He’s earned it. It’s not smoke and mirrors. He’s earned it.” By Elliott Teaford Gibson has grown up in many different ways this season. He was married during the offseason and he also signed an eight-season, $51.2- million contract extension that could keep him in a Ducks uniform through ANAHEIM — The Ducks believed they had another gem when they the 2026-27 season. selected John Gibson in the second round of the 2011 draft. Their scouting staff could envision the day in the not-too-distant future when “Overall, very much so,” Carlyle said when asked if Gibson has become Gibson would inherit the net and join the franchise’s list of All-Star a more mature person and goalie this season. “He’s had a lot of events in goaltenders. his life. He got married, signed a new contract, made a big commitment to changing his body makeup and his workout regime. All of those things They also knew it wouldn’t happen by luck or snapping their fingers or are huge.” thinking good thoughts. Gibson couldn’t be transformed overnight from a gifted prospect into the Ducks’ first two-time All-Star goalie. It would take Gibson’s athletic ability, his poise and his confidence cannot be ignored, coaching, mentoring and good old-fashioned hard work to make it especially this season. But it’s taken time and guidance and patience to happen. mold him into the goalie he is today. He’s taken significant strides in each of his six seasons, none bigger than this one. One year later, the Ducks drafted another goalie, Frederik Andersen, in the third round and began the process again. The franchise’s executives “He had that uber-athletic ability so he could make those highlight-reel were determined to ensure the direct line of All-Star goalies continued saves, but he relied on that more than you’d really want,” Maharaj said. from Guy Hebert to J-S Giguere to Jonas Hiller to Gibson and/or “You want them to be Superman 10 percent of the time and Clark Kent Andersen. 90 percent of the time, and a lot of young athletic goalies want to be Superman 60 percent of the time. So convincing him to be Clark Kent 90 The Ducks entrusted the care and nurturing of their young goalies to percent of the time is half the battle. Sudarshan Maharaj, a native of Trinidad who moved to Toronto with his family when he was 6 and became one of the game’s great goaltending “Over the years, it was a matter of reining in the athletic ability and whisperers despite never playing a game in the NHL. adding more structure to the game. So he’s really now at a point where’s adopted a more controlled game.” Maharaj began to work with Gibson and Andersen when they played for the Ducks’ AHL team, then located in Norfolk, Virginia. Gibson made the Now, after playing 221 games in the NHL, Gibson has mastered the art leap from Kitchener in the junior-level in 2013- of economical effort. He’s not reaching for the puck or stretching for it the 14, one year season after Andersen, a Dane who had played in Sweden. way he did when he was younger. He’s tracking it better and is more under control. The spectacular has been replaced by the routine. “When we first got together, when he first came out of junior, you saw the ability to read the play was always an elite aspect of his game,” Maharaj Well, sometimes the spectacular still happens, but it’s more by chance said of Gibson. “What wasn’t there quite in place at that time was the now. ability to maintain structure to his game.” It’s clear to Maharaj that Gibson has entered a new phase of his career. Andersen made his NHL debut first, in 2013-14, but it was soon evident that Gibson was the anointed one, the next one in the line of succession “We’ve seen a real glimpse of the heights he can reach,” Maharaj said. from Hebert to Giguere to Hiller. Andersen played 125 games for the “(But) it’s difficult to maintain the height he’s reached. You look at the Ducks, then was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2016 for two draft statistics from when he entered the league until now, those are pretty picks. dominant statistics.

The battle was won. The net belonged to Gibson. His ascension was “So, I think we’re at a stage where we’re moving more toward a swift and certain. Now, he’s an All-Star for the second time in his career maintenance stage in his development. We continue to work on those and there is chatter around the league about a possible Vezina Trophy skills and keep those skills sharp and let his ability to read the play match as the NHL’s top goalie awaiting him at season’s end. up with his now more structured technique.

“Honestly, I listen to it and I think it’s cool, but there’s a bigger picture,” “We’re at that point where we sort of let things play out the way they said Gibson, 25. “There was a lot of talk about it and then we went on a should.” 12-game losing streak. It’s obviously an honor when you hear your name What happens next? The coaching, the mentoring, the tutoring like that. My focus is on the season right now.” continues.

The Ducks reached the All-Star break with a 21-21-9 record after The hard work is ongoing, but with a caveat. Wednesday’s 5-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues, locked in a pitched battle with a thicket of teams for two wild-card playoff positions despite losing “I’m a firm believer that each goaltender should be allowed to maintain streaks of seven and 12 games earlier this season. their fingerprint,” Maharaj said. “If you strip away their fingerprint, then you’ve taken away their mojo. As a blues guy, I’d say you’ve got to let the What modest success the Ducks have had this season can be linked mojo remain a little bit. In Gibby’s case, I hope we’ve allowed him to directly to Gibson’s occasionally otherworldly play in . He is 17-16-8 maintain the Gibson mojo with the technique and structure. It’s a with a 2.74 goals-against average, a .919 save percentage and two complete package. , all while facing 1,361 shots, the most in the league at the break. “It’s individual to John Gibson.”

“He’s huge to this team,” Ducks center Adam Henrique said. “We’ve Orange County Register: LOADED: 01.25.2019 known that. Everybody knows that. It’s no secret that he’s one of, if not the best, goalies in the league. On a lot of nights this year we haven’t helped him out and he’s absolutely stood on his head and made huge saves just to keep us in games and give us an opportunity to win.”

The Ducks have fed off Gibson’s play, according to defenseman Josh Manson.

“You see the big save, but you don’t see what it really leads to in the hockey games,” Manson said. “He makes the saves that keep us in games and keep them from getting away from us, and it gives us a 1127528 Arizona Coyotes

Coyotes’ Oliver Ekman-Larsson has knee injury, is listed as day-to-day

BY ARIZONA SPORTS | JANUARY 24, 2019 AT 3:06 PM

The Arizona Coyotes announced Thursday defenseman and captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson is day-to-day with a lower-body injury and would be re-evaluated after the All-Star break.

But more specifically, 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station’s John Gambadoro reports that Ekman-Larsson suffered a slight tear in his meniscus and will likely miss just three weeks.

He suffered the injury on Tuesday night against the Ottawa Senators.

The status of the top-pairing defenseman wasn’t previously known. It was only revealed Wednesday that he would undergo an MRI on Thursday morning, once the team had returned to Arizona and entered its All-Star break. Because of a league-mandated bye week, the Coyotes won’t play another game until Feb. 2.

Ekman-Larsson missed Wednesday night’s game in Montreal, which the Coyotes lost 2-1.

Losing the 27-year-old would be a significant blow to the Coyotes, who enter the break just two points out of a playoff spot and have already been crushed by injuries all year. Forward Nick Schmaltz is done for the season, while defenseman Jason Demers, forwards Christian Dvorak, Michael Grabner and Brad Richardson, and goaltender Antti Raanta are all out indefinitely.

After signing an eight-year extension this offseason, Ekman-Larsson has scored six goals with 20 assists in 49 games this year, averaging 23:41 of ice time per game.

Arizona Sports LOADED: 01.25.2019 1127529 Boston Bruins

The unofficial update on Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask

Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask was injured on this goal by the Rangers’ Filip Chytil last Saturday.

By Kevin Paul Dupont

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The Bruins have yet to provide an update on goalie Tuukka Rask, who was concussed late in the first period Saturday vs. the Rangers, but it sounds as if the 31-year-old is feeling better.

Teammate David Pastrnak, here for this weekend’s NHL All-Star festivities, said he exchanged texts with the Finnish stopper on Tuesday — some 72 hours after Rask was felled by charging Ranger forward Filip Chytil.

“I texted him [to see] if he was all good,” said Pastrnak, “and he said he was all good — that was our entire conversation — he said he was feeling good.”

Rask and the rest of his teammates, other than Pastrnak, aren’t expected to be heard from again until Monday when the club reconvenes for an early-afternoon practice in Brighton. They play the Jets the next night at the Garden.

Boston Globe LOADED: 01.25.2019 1127530 Boston Bruins No other Bruins placed in the voting.

Boston Herald LOADED: 01.25.2019

All-Star Game Notebook: David Pastrnak’s chance to shine

By MARISA INGEMI | PUBLISHED: January 24, 2019

SAN JOSE, Calif. — David Pastrnak’s had some moments for the Bruins this season. With two hat tricks, a Winter Classic goal, and two game- winning goals.

His next potential moment will come on a stage that, while not in importance, eclipses that audience.

In his first All-Star appearance, Pastrnak is integrated with the other stars of the sport. In years past, the Bruins have sent Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara, Brad Marchand and other household names in the hockey world.

“It’s a huge honor, there’s a lot of excitement,” Pastrnak said. “Got a little bit of rest the past couple of days, so really excited to be here with all the guys.”

Pastrnak, in his fifth NHL season, is starting to reach that status. With 56 points, he already is recognized as the Bruins’ most lethal scoring threat on their roster.

But, in an event where he will skate alongside the likes of Jack Eichel, Auston Matthews and John Tavares, he might finally be considered in the same breath as the rest of the elite in the NHL.

The 22-year-old has made history all season, becoming the first Bruin to score 20 goals in 28 games since Cam Neely in 1993-94. He also became the third-fastest Bruin to score 100 NHL goals, reaching that milestone in his 259th career game (Barry Pederson, 187; Dit Clapper, 247).

The Bruins top line winger came into the break, which started after last Saturday’s game as half the NHL used its bye week, with four goals and four assists in his last 10 games. With 27 goals (and 56 points) this season, he’s not quite on the same 50-goal pace as he was earlier in the season, but he’s projected to score a lot more than many Bruins offensive leaders have before him in the past few seasons.

“It’s been good, I’ve felt pretty good on the ice,” he said. “Most importantly, I’ve been healthy. Hopefully that keeps going. I’m aware of what I can do when I’m healthy.”

The All-Star Game is a chance to show the entire hockey world a player’s true stardom. Bruins fans know what they have in Pastrnak, but the winger can show the rest of the league, if they haven’t yet figured it out, his skill and flare.

“You try to get more experience from guy to guy, so I’m really excited to see all these great players,” said Pastrnak. “Have fun, enjoy it, that’s pretty much it.”

Boston connections

Pastrnak isn’t the only recognizable name for New Englanders on the All- Star game rosters. Former Boston University stars Eichel (Sabres) and Clayton Keller (Coyotes) were named to their rosters, along with former Boston College star Johnny Gaudreau (Flames).

Former Bruins forward (Jets) also is on the roster.

Minor stars

With Ryan Fitzgerald injured, his Providence teammate Jordan Szwarz will replace him at the AHL All-Star game in Springfield.

Szwarz is fourth among Providence players with 23 points.

Peter Cehlarik, sent from the Bruins to Providence over the break, will be back in the AHL lineup Friday night, likely alongside recently acquired Paul Carey and prospect Trent Frederic.

Mid-season Selke

The Professional Hockey Writers Association named Bergeron as its midseason Selke award winner ahead of the All-Star Game.

Aleksander Barkov of the Panthers and Mark Stone of the Senators placed second and third in the voting, respectively. 1127531 Buffalo Sabres Sabres have never played March games of consequence in Eichel's three seasons.

There is now some expectation. This team has reverse its slide and Mike Harrington: Sabres, city need Captain Jack now more than ever move forward. Eichel, who is tied for 26th in the league in scoring with Evgeni Malkin and Claude Giroux, has to live up to his $10 million contract. And now he has the mantle of the team stitched on to his By Mike Harrington| sweater with that big letter 'C'

"There's not a specific leader where I said, 'Oh, I want to become him' and at the end of the day I have to become my own leader," he said. SAN JOSE -- Jack Eichel says he's reaching a comfort zone as a "After doing it for a few months, you're a little bit more comfortable with it. captain. Over the next 2 1/2 months, we're going to see how much There's been so many leaders in the room and guys who have stepped impact he can have to correct course for his skidding team. up at different times. It's been a year of ups and downs for sure. We've The All-Star break has come at an excellent time for the Sabres, who had a stretch of really good times and right now we're going through a have careened from the top of the NHL to out of the playoffs in just 23 rough patch." games. But Eichel was upbeat here Thursday night at All-Star Media Eichel needs to come back off this break refreshed and playing like he Day. He loves the chance to compete against -- and with -- the game's did when the Sabres were winning. We didn't just see glimpses of great best, so he's going to enjoy the weekend. Probably collect more play from him. We saw Hart Trophy-caliber play. souvenirs and autographs to add to his collection. Eichel has 19 multi-point games this season. It says here the stretch from But come Tuesday night in Columbus, the Sabres will be back to work. mid-November through Christmas is the best we've seen Eichel in his They're not far out of things, just four points from a playoff spot with 34 four NHL seasons. He had 10 goals and 19 assists for 29 points in 19 games left. And they have a seven-game homestand coming up in games, tied for fourth in the league in scoring with tellow Team North February, good news for a team that's 14-6-3 in KeyBank Center. America alums Mark Scheifele of Winnipeg and Johnny Gaudreau of The Captain has a pretty good idea what needs to change. Calgary.

"We've been bringing it on a consistent game basis but it's more of a "The team had some really good success early on and I think that's in shift-in and shift-out thing with us it seems," Eichel said at City National part a result of his leadership," Skinner said. "He's a competitive guy who Civic Auditorium. "Every team has lapses and I feel like right now almost draws a lot of attention from other teams. He brings it every night and all of our bad shifts and mistakes have been ending up in the back of our guys feed off that. ...The competitiveness drives the team." net at really costly times in games. Eichel was asked by a national reporter about the fan interaction he's had "At the beginning of the year, we were on the positive side of things and with the Sabres showing improvement early in the year. He said it was now we're on the negative side, losing one-goal games we should be eye-opening to see the crowds at home. He knows what it could be like winning and getting points in. We knew the second half would be more in the playoffs -- if the Sabres can finally get there. competitive. We have to dig deeper, be crisper. we can't have these "You come to take for granted at times how well they treat you around lapses. You see all our games. It's really a fine line between winning and the city," he said. "I always think when it's over, how many people are losing and we're already seeing that in the second half." going to care about you? But in a city like Buffalo, they'll forever love you Jeff Skinner has been a revelation with 30 goals and Rasmus Dahlin has for being a part of their sports teams. It goes a long way." been every bit as good as hoped for an 18-year-old defenseman -- and Just imagine how much more people will love Eichel if the Sabres finally probably better at times. Carter Hutton looked like a free agent steal in get to play some postseason hockey. goal for two months and now needs to find his game again. Buffalo News LOADED: 01.25.2019 But the Sabres are about Eichel. They thrived when he spent roughly the first 35 games or so having a slice of the Hart Trophy discussion. They've struggled since, when he's either been out of the lineup injured or simply a non-factor in some games.

Eichel leads the Sabres with 16 goals and 52 points in the 45 games he's played. At that pace, assuming he finishes at 79 games played, he would have a 28-goal, 91-point season.

But Eichel's pace has slowed considerably in recent games, with just one goal and two assists over the last seven games he's played. He didn't register a point in the final two games of the 2018 portion of the schedule, playing just four shifts on New Year's Eve against the Islanders before an upper-body injury kept him out of the lineup for the rest of that night and the first three games of 2019.

He wasn't much better when he returned. Eichel had no points in his first three games back, including a minus-2 night in that hideous 7-2 loss at Edmonton, before scoring the overtime winner in Calgary and then assisting on a Sam Reinhart goal in Vancouver.

Eichel feels he can regain his touch and said he felt the Calgary goal was a huge bounceback for him.

"It was really big, to be honest with you," he said. "It was a big goal for a team and a big win for our team after not liking the way we had played in Edmonton. We thought we played a really good team game against Calgary and we can learn a lot about that, with the resiliency we showed.

"That was so important for me because the injury came at a tough time when I really felt I was playing good hockey. It was probably the best hockey of my career. Now it slows you down and you have to be patient. Even when you come back, you don't feel like yourself right away. I just had to stick with it and that helped me out."

It's going to be fascinating to watch how Eichel responds the rest of the season. He hasn't had much pressure on him in his career to date. The 1127532 Buffalo Sabres “(I) had four wonderful years there,” he said. “My daughter was born in Rochester. I’ve followed them from the day I left.”

When Pagnutti returned to Rochester for his induction into the hall of Rick Pagnutti enjoyed 46 years as Amerks' record holder fame, the reception he received floored him.

“The people that came up to me and remembered me was really, I’ll tell By Bill Hoppe|Published Thu, Jan 24, 2019| you, something else,” he said. “I walked in the front door and two of the ushers come running up and (said), ‘Hey, Rick, how you doing?’ Older fellas my age, (they said), ‘Nice to see ya.’

Rick Pagnutti enjoyed his long run in the ’ record “I said, ‘Holy jeez, I didn’t think anybody would remember me after 40- book. Forty-six years, however, was enough for the retired American some years.” Hockey League star. Redmond, 30, broke the record 16:21 into second period, converting On Wednesday, veteran Zach Redmond scored his 19th goal in the Kevin Porter’s pass on a two-on-zero break. Amerks’ exciting 7-5 home win over the Binghamton Devils, breaking Pagnutti’s single-season record for most goals by a defenseman. The slick goal, part of a three-point night, was Redmond’s league-high eighth game-winning score this season. Redmond, an AHL MVP candidate, surpassed the mark in just 41 games, 31 fewer appearances than Pagnutti had in the 1972-73 season. “He’s a humble guy,” Amerks coach Chris Taylor said of Redmond. “He probably doesn’t like talking about this at all. That’s what makes him While Pagnutti said he “cherished” the record, he’s happy Redmond special, that’s what we love about him. Guys are more happy about him owns it. than he was. That just tells me a lot about him.”

“I can always tell my children … my family that, ‘Hey, I had a record for Redmond hobbled off the ice in the waning seconds Wednesday and 46 years with the Rochester Americans that just got broken,’ ” Pagnutti wasn’t available for comment following the game. Taylor said Redmond said Tuesday from his home in Sudbury, Ontario. “You kind of expect it has a lower-body injury and is week to week. sooner or later. I was quite proud of it, but it’s time to go, you know?” Redmond is 11 goals shy of the AHL single-season record for goals by a Pagnutti, 72, is surprised the record lasted so long. Some players defenseman that John Slaney set with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton approached it over the years. Most recently, T.J. Brennan scored 14 Penguins in 1999-00. goals in 36 games before the Sabres recalled him when the NHL lockout ended in 2012-13. Buffalo News LOADED: 01.25.2019

But the modern game is more defensive and structured than in the 1970s. Under coach Don Cherry with the Amerks, Pagnutti could basically do whatever he wanted.

“Do what you can, just put the puck in the net,” he said of Cherry’s philosophy.

Pagnutti, who was inducted into the Amerks’ Hall of Fame in 2012, created plenty of offense over his four seasons in Rochester, scoring 45 goals and 194 points.

Still, when Pagnutti compiled 18 goals in his first season with the Amerks, no one really knew he had made history.

“It took them a while to figure out that I had set a record,” said Pagnutti, who possessed a terrific shot. “No one came to me after I scored 18 goals and said, ‘You know what? You’ve set a record tonight.’ …

“It came up much later. Someone looked into it, I guess. … It really wasn’t a big deal. But obviously it is now.”

Pagnutti said the Amerks invited him to Rochester to present Redmond a plaque. Although Pagnutti can’t attend, he plans to make a trip to Blue Cross Arena soon.

“I am definitely going down at the end of the year,” he said. “If they make a little run in the playoffs, I’ll go down and catch a couple of games.”

The Amerks are still close to Pagnutti’s heart. Despite being selected first overall by the in 1967 – the draft was in its infancy as NHL teams phased out their sponsorship of junior clubs – he never cracked the big leagues.

After being named the International Hockey League’s top defenseman with the Fort Wayne Comets in 1971-72, Pagnutti said he heard the Amerks needed players and called Cherry.

If the Amerks had been affiliated with an NHL team early in Pagnutti’s tenure, he might’ve received a call.

But Pagnutti, a retired firefighter, refuses to dwell on that.

“Life has been good, you know what I mean?” he said. “Everything turns out.”

He added: “I had a lot of fun and I met a lot of nice people. That’s the way I describe hockey.”

Watching the Amerks’ revival — right now, they are first in the North Division — has been special for Pagnutti. 1127533 Buffalo Sabres Story topics: Buffalo Sabres/ Jeff Skinner/ NHL All-Star Game/ Rasmus Dahlin

Buffalo News LOADED: 01.25.2019 Sabres' Rasmus Dahlin, Jeff Skinner earn nods in writers' midseason awards

By Mike Harrington|

SAN JOSE – Buffalo Sabres rookie defenseman Rasmus Dahlin and winger Jeff Skinner each placed second in a category as the Professional Hockey Writers Association announced its midseason awards Thursday in conjunction with the start of All-Star Weekend.

Dahlin finished second in the midseason balloting for the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year to Vancouver's Elias Pettersson, while Skinner finished second to New York Islanders goaltender and former Sabre Robin Lehner in the Comeback Player of the Year voting. That's a vote the PHWA takes at midseason for an award that is not currently handed out by the NHL.

Dahlin has five goals, 21 assists and 26 points in 48 games, easily one of the top offensive seasons for an 18-year-old defenseman in league history. Dahlin leads all rookie blueliners in scoring and had a five-game point streak snapped last Friday in Vancouver, leaving him tied with Bobby Orr, current Sabres coach Phil Housley and Florida's Aaron Ekblad as the only blueliners ever to get points in five straight games before turning 19.

Skinner will be here this weekend playing in his second career All-Star Game. He has a team-high 30 goals, already six more than he did last year in Carolina, and is just seven shy of his career high of 37 set two years ago.

In Eichel and Skinner, Sabres adding double dose of talent to All-Star Game

There were 125 votes cast in 10 categories for the Midseason Awards, which were revived last year in the spirit of the "Half Season" Awards voted upon by the PHWA through 1968. The group's members vote for many of the honors handed out by the league at the annual NHL Awards Show in June in Las Vegas.

The complete Midseason Awards list:

Hart Trophy (MVP): , Tampa Bay; Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary; Connor McDavid, Edmonton

Norris Trophy (best defenseman): Mark Giordano, Calgary; Morgan Rielly, Toronto; Brent Burns, San Jose

Selke Trophy (best defensive forward): Patrice Bergeron, Boston; Aleksander Barkov, Florida; Mark Stone, Ottawa buffalo sabres-colorado avalanche-jeff skinner

Jeff Skinner already has 30 goals, six more than he scored all of last season in Carolina. (Sharon Cantillon/News file photo)

Calder Trophy (best rookie): Elias Pettersson, Vancouver; Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo; Miro Heiskanen, Dallas

Lady Byng Trophy (sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct): Aleksander Barkov, Florida; Morgan Rielly, Toronto; Sean Monahan, Calgary

Vezina Trophy (best goaltender): John Gibson, Anaheim; Marc-Andre Fleury, Vegas; Frederik Andersen, Toronto

Jack Adams Award (best coach): Barry Trotz, New York Islanders; Bill Peters, Calgary; , Tampa Bay

GM of the Year Award: , Calgary; , San Jose; , New York Islanders

Rod Langway Award (best defensive defenseman): Mattias Ekholm, Nashville; Mark Giordano, Calgary; Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay

Comeback Player of the Year: Robin Lehner, New York Islanders; Jeff Skinner, Buffalo; Zach Parise, Minnesota

Mike Harrington: Lehner takes another big step in his personal battle with win over Sabres 1127534 Calgary Flames The Alberta-bred Peters — born in Three Hills, raised in Killam and with most of his family now in Red Deer — could have returned for a fifth campaign in Carolina but instead opted out of his contract after an No-nonsense coach has Flames playing at top of their game ownership change.

He was the only candidate that Treliving interviewed for the job.

Wes Gilbertson Although some initially wondered about the logic of handing the reins to a guy who’d never managed to guide the Hurricanes into the playoffs, nobody is second-guessing the hire of this no-nonsense sort now.

Without a doubt, head coach Bill Peters deserves a whole heap of credit “He definitely has the locker-room,” said defenceman Noah Hanifin, one for what has been a splendid season so far for the Calgary Flames. of a hat-trick of ex-Hurricanes on Calgary’s roster. “When he starts talking, everybody listens. I think he does a really good job of getting our He’s not one of the sharpshooters or shutdown specialists, not one of the team organized. Obviously, we have a lot of skill, but I think his ability to puck-stoppers or -killers, and he only needed stitches that one get it all organized and structured has been great. time. “I think his coaching and his strategy has mostly been the same (as past Without a doubt, though, head-coaching hire Bill Peters deserves a seasons). But we have a lot of really high-end players who can score whole heap of credit for what has been a splendid season so far for the goals, and I think that helps fit into his system really well.” Calgary Flames. With Peters at the helm, the Flames have an encouraging habit of finding “It’s a different feeling in our dressing room, and he is a big part of that,” ways to win. said Flames first-line centre and alternate captain Sean Monahan. “The mentality of our dressing room now, it’s completely different, and I think Averaging 3.73 snipes per night, they can sometimes overpower that’s a big credit to what he’s brought in for us.” opponents and simply out-score their mistakes. They’ve prevailed in some tight-checking slogs, too. Peters seems to deflect praise with the same proficiency that Matthew Tkachuk — the net-front presence on Calgary’s top power-play unit — The Saddledome-dwellers lead the league with seven third-period deflects slappers from the point, but the 54-year-old won’t be able to comebacks, many of them prompted by their boss bringing out the avoid it this weekend. blender to reimagine his line combinations and sometimes ever his defence pairings. (“He’s great on the bench at finding ways to win,” Thanks to the Flames’ stellar first half, Peters scored an invite to the summed up Gaudreau, tied for third in the league scoring race with 73 2019 NHL All-Star Game in San Jose, where he’ll be running the bench points and the PHWA’s current runner-up for the Hart Trophy. “Whether for familiar face Johnny Gaudreau and the rest of the Pacific Division it’s the fourth line, first line, whoever is playing well is going to be out standouts at the annual show-off. there at important moments.”) On Thursday, when the Professional Hockey Writers Association And it can’t be complete coincidence that so many of the key pieces — unveiled the results of its mid-season ballots, he was ranked second in Gaudreau, Monahan, Giordano, etc., etc. — are on pace to shatter their voting for the Jack Adams, the annual nod to the coach ‘adjudged to career-best stat-lines. Some guys already have. have contributed the most to his team’s success.’ The skipper-of-the-year honours are ultimately determined by the NHL Broadcasters’ Association, “I can’t say enough about the job Bill has done,” Treliving praised as the but it is another feather-in-the-cap for Peters that writers from across the Flames split for their break/bye vacations, with their next contest coming league had him so high on their lists. Feb. 1 against the defending champion Washington Capitals in D.C. “Every coach is different and he has his own style that, I think, has made And deservedly so. him a successful coach. He’s a driver. He pushes and pulls and Playoff outsiders last spring, the Flames have been one of the NHL’s maximizes players. He does it in a way that I think, also, is in a positive holy-smokes stories up to the all-star break. Peters’ posse is currently manner. perched atop the Western Conference — and sitting second in the “He never leaves a stone unturned. He’s 24/7 … He’s a high-energy, overall standings — with a 33-13-5 record. high-intensity guy. I think players sort of feed off that, right?” At every mileage marker, this current crew is earning comparisons to the It sure seems that way. 1988-89 Flames, the only edition in local lore that capped their campaign with a championship parade. (The latest? Gaudreau, Monahan, captain Peters isn’t afraid to switch things up Mark Giordano & Co. zoomed past the 70-point plateau in just 51 dates, one slower than that special squad from three decades ago.) ‘I think it’s a real good team’: New coach says Flames are on verge of greatness In anticipation of a long and raucous playoff party, watering-holes on the so-called Red Mile are already pleading with city officials to delay Former player on Bill Peters: ‘He’s intense. All the time, he’s intense’ springtime construction along 17th Avenue. “I think it’s the attention to detail — that’s really one thing that I’ve Perhaps the new head coach could help. noticed,” said hard-nosed forward Garnet Hathaway, tops on the team with 113 hits. “What we do in a game, what other teams do in a game, He certainly seems to be able to get his point across. faceoffs, any small detail … We have it covered. Every drill in practice, there are a few details that have to be hit. Otherwise, you’re up in the “He came in and right away he dealt with the issues from last year, and I stands so you see that when we don’t get the details rights, we’ll start the think that was important,” revealed Flames alternate captain Mikael drill over. Backlund, the bonus-session sniper in Tuesday’s 3-2 overtime victory against the Carolina Hurricanes at the Saddledome. “I think since then, “I think that has helped us stay accountable and I think it’s helped us stay we’ve been a team that has been growing and we’ve had a lot of structured in our whole game. You can build off the small things. When success. I think that was a big key for this team to have success — to you have those pretty strong foundations, I think it’s easier to keep talk about things that are not always comfortable to talk about.” improving.”

With a reporter digging for details, Backlund smiled and shook his head Peters is, no doubt, detail-oriented. in protest. Asked about his first trip to the NHL All-Star Game, he rattled off his own “I just want to keep it in the room what we talked about,” he replied. “It itinerary — he arrived Thursday in San Jose — before turning to the wasn’t maybe comfortable for him or for anyone, but it was the right thing travel arrangements for his wife Denise and son Ayden, their schedule a to do and I think that was a good start for the season to do that.” bit more cramped because his bantam-aged boy has exams at school.

After the Flames flopped last winter, underachieving their way to an 11th- “They come in Friday — they’re coming in hot, landing in San Francisco place finish in the Western Conference, Treliving started his off-season and the car service is bringing them direct to SAP Center,” Peters said. overhaul by firing former head coach Glen Gulutzan. “They’re not checking a bag because I want them there on time for the skills competition. I want my son — he’s 14 — to be on the bench with Rod Langway Award(best defensive defenceman) me. 1. Mattias Ekholm, Nashville Predators “He’s excited, knowing he’s going to be around some unbelievable people and get a chance-of-a-lifetime to witness it up-close-and- 2. Mark Giordano, Calgary Flames personal.” 3. Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning

With each victory, each comeback, each celebratory squirt of purple Comeback Player of the Year Gatorade or post-game bear-hug between Tkachuk and breakout backstop David Rittich, Flames fans are growing more and more 1. Robin Lehner, New York Islanders optimistic that they could be witnessing the start of something special. 2. Jeff Skinner, Buffalo Sabres Peters has been a big part of it. 3. Zach Parise, Minnesota Wild “I think he’s been a huge impact,” said Giordano, the frontrunner in the Source: PHWA PHWA’s mid-season rundown of Norris Trophy candidates. “His message is clear and direct and his in-game adjustments are great. It Calgary Sun: LOADED: 01.25.2019 doesn’t matter who you are, he’s going to shake it up if it’s not going well, and I think guys have responded to that well. For players, when that happens, you’re always wondering why it’s getting switched. It maybe perks you up a bit, makes you play better.

“I think he just came in and he set a tone. There was no messing around. It was his way, and good on our guys — everyone bought in. We all want to win. We all want to find a way to win. I just think it’s worked.”

Midseason results for the PHWA’s NHL awards:

Hart Trophy(most valuable player)

1. Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning

2. Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary Flames

3. Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers

Norris Trophy(best all-round defenceman)

1. Mark Giordano, Calgary Flames

2. Morgan Rielly, Toronto Maple Leafs

3. Brent Burns, San Jose Sharks

Selke Trophy(best defensive forward)

1. Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins

2. Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers

3. Mark Stone, Ottawa Senators

Calder Trophy(top rookie)

1. Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks

2. Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo Sabres

3. Miro Heiskanen, Dallas Stars

Lady Byng Trophy(sportsmanship with high standard of skill)

1. Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers

2. Morgan Rielly, Toronto Maple Leafs

3. Sean Monahan, Calgary Flames

Vezina Trophy(top goaltender)

1. John Gibson, Anaheim Ducks

2. Marc-Andre Fleury, Vegas Golden Knights

3. Frederik Andersen, Toronto Maple Leafs

Jack Adams Award(top coach)

1. Barry Trotz, New York Islanders

2. Bill Peters, Calgary Flames

3. Jon Cooper, Tampa Bay Lightning

GM of the Year

1. Brad Treliving, Calgary Flames

2. Doug Wilson, San Jose Sharks

3. Lou Lamoriello, New York Islanders 1127535 Calgary Flames The Alberta-bred Peters — born in Three Hills, raised in Killam and with most of his family now in Red Deer — could have returned for a fifth campaign in Carolina but instead opted out of his contract after an No-nonsense coach has Flames playing at top of their game ownership change.

He was the only candidate that Treliving interviewed for the job.

Wes Gilbertson Although some initially wondered about the logic of handing the reins to a guy who’d never managed to guide the Hurricanes into the playoffs, nobody is second-guessing the hire of this no-nonsense sort now.

Without a doubt, head coach Bill Peters deserves a whole heap of credit “He definitely has the locker-room,” said defenceman Noah Hanifin, one for what has been a splendid season so far for the Calgary Flames. of a hat-trick of ex-Hurricanes on Calgary’s roster. “When he starts talking, everybody listens. I think he does a really good job of getting our He’s not one of the sharpshooters or shutdown specialists, not one of the team organized. Obviously, we have a lot of skill, but I think his ability to puck-stoppers or penalty-killers, and he only needed stitches that one get it all organized and structured has been great. time. “I think his coaching and his strategy has mostly been the same (as past Without a doubt, though, head-coaching hire Bill Peters deserves a seasons). But we have a lot of really high-end players who can score whole heap of credit for what has been a splendid season so far for the goals, and I think that helps fit into his system really well.” Calgary Flames. With Peters at the helm, the Flames have an encouraging habit of finding “It’s a different feeling in our dressing room, and he is a big part of that,” ways to win. said Flames first-line centre and alternate captain Sean Monahan. “The mentality of our dressing room now, it’s completely different, and I think Averaging 3.73 snipes per night, they can sometimes overpower that’s a big credit to what he’s brought in for us.” opponents and simply out-score their mistakes. They’ve prevailed in some tight-checking slogs, too. Peters seems to deflect praise with the same proficiency that Matthew Tkachuk — the net-front presence on Calgary’s top power-play unit — The Saddledome-dwellers lead the league with seven third-period deflects slappers from the point, but the 54-year-old won’t be able to comebacks, many of them prompted by their boss bringing out the avoid it this weekend. blender to reimagine his line combinations and sometimes ever his defence pairings. (“He’s great on the bench at finding ways to win,” Thanks to the Flames’ stellar first half, Peters scored an invite to the summed up Gaudreau, tied for third in the league scoring race with 73 2019 NHL All-Star Game in San Jose, where he’ll be running the bench points and the PHWA’s current runner-up for the Hart Trophy. “Whether for familiar face Johnny Gaudreau and the rest of the Pacific Division it’s the fourth line, first line, whoever is playing well is going to be out standouts at the annual show-off. there at important moments.”) On Thursday, when the Professional Hockey Writers Association And it can’t be complete coincidence that so many of the key pieces — unveiled the results of its mid-season ballots, he was ranked second in Gaudreau, Monahan, Giordano, etc., etc. — are on pace to shatter their voting for the Jack Adams, the annual nod to the coach ‘adjudged to career-best stat-lines. Some guys already have. have contributed the most to his team’s success.’ The skipper-of-the-year honours are ultimately determined by the NHL Broadcasters’ Association, “I can’t say enough about the job Bill has done,” Treliving praised as the but it is another feather-in-the-cap for Peters that writers from across the Flames split for their break/bye vacations, with their next contest coming league had him so high on their lists. Feb. 1 against the defending champion Washington Capitals in D.C. “Every coach is different and he has his own style that, I think, has made And deservedly so. him a successful coach. He’s a driver. He pushes and pulls and Playoff outsiders last spring, the Flames have been one of the NHL’s maximizes players. He does it in a way that I think, also, is in a positive holy-smokes stories up to the all-star break. Peters’ posse is currently manner. perched atop the Western Conference — and sitting second in the “He never leaves a stone unturned. He’s 24/7 … He’s a high-energy, overall standings — with a 33-13-5 record. high-intensity guy. I think players sort of feed off that, right?” At every mileage marker, this current crew is earning comparisons to the It sure seems that way. 1988-89 Flames, the only edition in local lore that capped their campaign with a championship parade. (The latest? Gaudreau, Monahan, captain Peters isn’t afraid to switch things up Mark Giordano & Co. zoomed past the 70-point plateau in just 51 dates, one slower than that special squad from three decades ago.) ‘I think it’s a real good team’: New coach says Flames are on verge of greatness In anticipation of a long and raucous playoff party, watering-holes on the so-called Red Mile are already pleading with city officials to delay Former player on Bill Peters: ‘He’s intense. All the time, he’s intense’ springtime construction along 17th Avenue. “I think it’s the attention to detail — that’s really one thing that I’ve Perhaps the new head coach could help. noticed,” said hard-nosed forward Garnet Hathaway, tops on the team with 113 hits. “What we do in a game, what other teams do in a game, He certainly seems to be able to get his point across. faceoffs, any small detail … We have it covered. Every drill in practice, there are a few details that have to be hit. Otherwise, you’re up in the “He came in and right away he dealt with the issues from last year, and I stands so you see that when we don’t get the details rights, we’ll start the think that was important,” revealed Flames alternate captain Mikael drill over. Backlund, the bonus-session sniper in Tuesday’s 3-2 overtime victory against the Carolina Hurricanes at the Saddledome. “I think since then, “I think that has helped us stay accountable and I think it’s helped us stay we’ve been a team that has been growing and we’ve had a lot of structured in our whole game. You can build off the small things. When success. I think that was a big key for this team to have success — to you have those pretty strong foundations, I think it’s easier to keep talk about things that are not always comfortable to talk about.” improving.”

With a reporter digging for details, Backlund smiled and shook his head Peters is, no doubt, detail-oriented. in protest. Asked about his first trip to the NHL All-Star Game, he rattled off his own “I just want to keep it in the room what we talked about,” he replied. “It itinerary — he arrived Thursday in San Jose — before turning to the wasn’t maybe comfortable for him or for anyone, but it was the right thing travel arrangements for his wife Denise and son Ayden, their schedule a to do and I think that was a good start for the season to do that.” bit more cramped because his bantam-aged boy has exams at school.

After the Flames flopped last winter, underachieving their way to an 11th- “They come in Friday — they’re coming in hot, landing in San Francisco place finish in the Western Conference, Treliving started his off-season and the car service is bringing them direct to SAP Center,” Peters said. overhaul by firing former head coach Glen Gulutzan. “They’re not checking a bag because I want them there on time for the skills competition. I want my son — he’s 14 — to be on the bench with Rod Langway Award(best defensive defenceman) me. 1. Mattias Ekholm, Nashville Predators “He’s excited, knowing he’s going to be around some unbelievable people and get a chance-of-a-lifetime to witness it up-close-and- 2. Mark Giordano, Calgary Flames personal.” 3. Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning

With each victory, each comeback, each celebratory squirt of purple Comeback Player of the Year Gatorade or post-game bear-hug between Tkachuk and breakout backstop David Rittich, Flames fans are growing more and more 1. Robin Lehner, New York Islanders optimistic that they could be witnessing the start of something special. 2. Jeff Skinner, Buffalo Sabres Peters has been a big part of it. 3. Zach Parise, Minnesota Wild “I think he’s been a huge impact,” said Giordano, the frontrunner in the Source: PHWA PHWA’s mid-season rundown of Norris Trophy candidates. “His message is clear and direct and his in-game adjustments are great. It Calgary Sun: LOADED: 01.25.2019 doesn’t matter who you are, he’s going to shake it up if it’s not going well, and I think guys have responded to that well. For players, when that happens, you’re always wondering why it’s getting switched. It maybe perks you up a bit, makes you play better.

“I think he just came in and he set a tone. There was no messing around. It was his way, and good on our guys — everyone bought in. We all want to win. We all want to find a way to win. I just think it’s worked.”

Midseason results for the PHWA’s NHL awards:

Hart Trophy(most valuable player)

1. Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning

2. Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary Flames

3. Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers

Norris Trophy(best all-round defenceman)

1. Mark Giordano, Calgary Flames

2. Morgan Rielly, Toronto Maple Leafs

3. Brent Burns, San Jose Sharks

Selke Trophy(best defensive forward)

1. Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins

2. Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers

3. Mark Stone, Ottawa Senators

Calder Trophy(top rookie)

1. Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks

2. Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo Sabres

3. Miro Heiskanen, Dallas Stars

Lady Byng Trophy(sportsmanship with high standard of skill)

1. Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers

2. Morgan Rielly, Toronto Maple Leafs

3. Sean Monahan, Calgary Flames

Vezina Trophy(top goaltender)

1. John Gibson, Anaheim Ducks

2. Marc-Andre Fleury, Vegas Golden Knights

3. Frederik Andersen, Toronto Maple Leafs

Jack Adams Award(top coach)

1. Barry Trotz, New York Islanders

2. Bill Peters, Calgary Flames

3. Jon Cooper, Tampa Bay Lightning

GM of the Year

1. Brad Treliving, Calgary Flames

2. Doug Wilson, San Jose Sharks

3. Lou Lamoriello, New York Islanders 1127536 Calgary Flames “Then I shut it down,” said Tkachuk. “I have every hockey channel, so I’ll go to every game and I’ll have tabs on the games, so I just go back and forth throughout (the night), it’s pretty easy.”

Hockey know-it-all Matthew Tkachuk’s love for the game blossomed Suppertime barely disrupts the evening’s routine. Occasionally he’ll zip early and continues to grow out for a bite. Often, he orders in.

“So I don’t miss anything,” he said. “A lot of time, I have people in town” By Scott Cruickshank Jan 24, 2019 — Mom recently spent a week with him — “and they like to cook for me, so I have dinner right in front of the TV or from the table where you can see the TV. I’m not really missing too much.”

Certain assumptions can be made about the toddling days of Matthew Nor does he downplay his fixation. When something big happens — Tkachuk. wins, fights, deals, hits — he’ll make sure others know about it the next day. That, with his pacifier chewed flat and hanging from the corner of his mouth, he openly smirked at passersby. “He’ll come in and he’ll be like, ‘Hey, did you see this last night?'” Jamie Pringle, video coach for the Flames said. “You wonder how much players That, mini-stick in his gummy mitts, he teetered around the premises, are watching, but I know he’s one guy who definitely does, for sure. fearlessly courting confrontation. Some guys are just wired that way. Chucky, he’s just a fiend for that.” That, obsession already taking hold, he knew more about hockey than Tkachuk is hardly alone, of course. any of his diaper-dragging peers. Because even then, Tkachuk was immersing himself in the game. With a stake in the sport, players do follow developments around the league. Paying close attention to their workplace just makes sense. Thanks to his parents. “Some guys maybe won’t admit it, but if you play in the NHL you’re His mother Chantal and his father Keith, who was skating for the Phoenix keeping tabs around the league,” Sean Monahan said. “You’d be lying if Coyotes in those days, had discovered a simple way to engage their you said you’re not. It’s the best game. If I’m not playing, I’m usually frenetic first-born. watching. I would say that’s the same with a lot of guys. “We would drill him on names and numbers,” Chantal said with a “Some guys have kids, some guys are in different situations. As a chuckle. “I would say, ’27,’ and he would say, ‘Teppo Numminen.’ Or I younger guy, you can learn a lot. It’s pretty cool to watch other players would say, ‘Dallas Drake,’ and he would say, ’11.’ It was really funny. throughout the league.” That started way back. He was probably two or three years old.” As for Tkachuk’s appetite for hockey content? How often did he mess up? “Obviously, he’s a great player,” Monahan said, “but he’s a big student of “Never,” she said. “It was really, really tough to stump him. It was just a the game.” fun game we would play. It was a good way for him to learn his numbers because he’d just associate them with hockey players. Given that this is their job — and a pressure-packed one at that — it becomes necessary to unplug, just for a breather. Hockey every waking “Honest to god, he’s been hockey-obsessed ever since he was a toddler. hour can be a bit much. Everything was hockey, hockey, hockey.” “Sometimes guys, to mentally free themselves up, like to watch Not much has changed since then. something else or get away from the game a bit,” Noah Hanifin said. Anyone spending even a little time with the young man can attest that the “Sometimes if a good game’s on, I’ll throw it on, watch for a bit. Or if Calgary Flames winger’s knowledge of the sport is broad and deep and we’re playing a team (soon), and they’re on TV, I’ll watch. Usually, when I actually kind of infectious. do get home — we’re so busy and we do so much work at the rink — it’s nice to unwind and free yourself up mentally to get ready to go the next His desire to scour the NHL landscape — for old-school feats and current day. goings-on, for statistics and controversies, for streaks and trends — remains ever high. “But (Tkachuk) is all-in. He knows what’s going on. He’s watching hockey every night.” (Courtesy of Chantal Tkachuk) Asked to assess his viewing habits, Tkachuk was adamant that he’s not “I’m embarrassed to say this, but he probably knows a lot more than me “extreme, extreme.” Oh, OK. Then who spends more time than you right now when it comes to all that,” said Keith, who retired in 2010 — tracking the NHL? after 1,201 games, 1,065 points, 2,219 penalty minutes — and now scouts for the St. Louis Blues. “He’s a history buff. It’s unbelievable how He laughed. much he knows. He just has that gift where he’s a hockey guy and the “I don’t know,” Tkachuk said. “I think guys are very passionate about it, only thing that matters to him is hockey. He knows everything, I’m telling but I don’t know what everybody does every second of the day.” you. Plays. Players. Coaches. Drafts. Everything. What about the idea of just letting go, even briefly? To revel in some “If I talk to him today, he’ll fill me in on everything about the (Flames’ next healthy in-season distance from the game? opponents) and their players — what they do and how they do it. He’s got a bit of that coaching mentality in him. That’s the only thing that The 21-year-old laughed again. “I don’t feel the need. That’s what I want matters to him right now – playing hockey and trying to become a better to watch, so I watch it. Even if you don’t want to watch it and things aren’t student of the game and becoming better.” going great, you still watch it.”

There are players like former Flames winger Steve Begin, who once told Tkachuk’s idea of stepping away? Instead of toggling back and forth reporters that the first NHL game he watched from start to finish was the between a handful of NHL contests, he’ll mix in an NFL game. That’s as first one he played in. A television broadcast could simply not hold his big a concession as he’s likely to make. attention. This passion, naturally, was fuelled by his upbringing. Being around rinks At the other end of the spectating spectrum is Tkachuk, who has already and being around players helped to forge a keen interest in the sport, soaked up thousands of telecast hours — with countless more ahead of which went hand in hand with his boyhood clip — described as “pretty him. It’s a staggering pace he merrily maintains. active” by his mom.

On non-game days at home, he luxuriates in his downtown condo. Well- (Courtesy of Chantal Tkachuk) worn remote in hand, he eagerly clocks full shifts. In fact, only one thing could cut through his whirling dervish-ness. Should he choose to monitor one of the pregame shows, his viewing day begins at 4:30 p.m. and goes through the late slate, which wraps up Yup, you guessed it. about six hours later. “If I put hockey on at night, he would actually sit down and watch,” “I honestly knew not much, if anything, about Calgary and he Chantal said. “It became a bit of a babysitter for me because I knew he (emphasized that I should) know who played here before, who was on would relax a little bit, instead of running around.” the team,” he said. “He wanted me to be very interested in the Battle of Alberta. Who were the big rivalry teams? Who was on them Tkachuk, shortly after the family settled in St. Louis and he started back in the day? He thinks it’s important for you to know the former attending elementary school, ironed out his own weekday plan. “I don’t players. He knows from experience that former players come to games, know why I remember this,” he said before offering the details. they come to the rink a lot. It’s important to pay your respects.”

In order to get to Oak Hill School on time, they needed to be out the door Added Keith: “Hopefully, he listened to me. A lot of these young kids are by 7:30 a.m., so he’d wake up at 6 — without an alarm — to shower and video-game freaks and all this stuff, but I think it’s important to know the dress. Then, with a couple of slices of toast, he’d curl up in front of the game and know the people in front of you — what they meant to the TV to watch the NHL Network. Since the highlight program began at the organization, what they meant to the game.” top of the hour, he’d see the second half first — 6:30 to 7 — and the first half second. Tkachuk also stays well-versed on the statistical side of things. Every morning, teams provide packages, filling both sides of more than 30 “So I’d catch it all, but it would be in reverse order,” he said. “My dad pages and detailing everything from standings to individual data. always thought that was pretty cool.” His base of knowledge extends to salaries. About everyone: “I would Told of her son’s recollection, Chantal chuckled. have a pretty good idea, ballpark, I’m sure.”

“That is absolutely true.” Soon enough, Tkachuk’s own pay packet will be a topic of discussion Chantal added that, while her eldest had been glued to the replay around the NHL (and behind closed doors at the Saddledome). For a stream, he was rarely alone. Brady — 21 months younger — was there restricted free agent who’s thrived throughout his entry-level pact — with to keep him company. its average annual value of $1.775 million— there is a meaty raise coming. “Par for the course,” she said. “I mean, if Matthew was down watching the hockey highlights, well, Brady was watching them because Matthew That’s the business side of this venture. was watching them. But the zeroes Tkachuk envisioned when he was daydreaming of big- “I know they were both big on going on YouTube — looking up hits and league exploits were scoresheet-related. For instance, he thought it was fights and goals and goal celebrations, all that stuff. They enjoyed doing fantastic that he and linemate Mikael Backlund hit the 20- and 10-goal that.” plateaus, respectively, the same night. Those are the kind of numbers that resonate. Said Tkachuk of his baby brother: “He is a pretty happy-go-lucky guy. He’ll just go along with anything. Honestly, I don’t know if he was as His own point totals — 48, then 49, now 57 and counting — are trending interested (in hockey as me) at the time – but I know he is now.” upward. As a livelihood, puck-chasing is not something that’s going to be pried away from him. These days, as Brady breaks in with the Ottawa Senators, it is each other’s performances the brothers are observing over. For efficiency’s “I trust him — knock on wood — to make good decisions,” said Chantal. sake, there’s even software that allows them to cherry-pick video files of “As a mom, you just hope that everything goes well all the time. Not their sibling’s shifts. unlike a lot of other little kids, it’s a goal he’s had for the majority of his life. I mean, he did everything he could possibly do to get here. It wasn’t Further, they take advantage of the two-hour time difference between just saying it, it was actually doing it. Shooting pucks all the time. their home bases. Working out. Whatever he felt he needed to do, he did — and never with any complaints. It’s a dream for a lot of kids, but I think not a lot of people “On nights we both play, after his game he gets to watch mine,” said realize just how much work goes into it. And he really did work very, very Tkachuk. “And before our meeting here, I’ll be in the back room watching hard.” his game. It works out well.” Said Keith: “I know he’s not going to mess around. He wants to be a Without a doubt, Tkachuk’s fascination is legitimate. You couldn’t fake hockey player. He’s going to do all the right things. He’s a lot more that many hours of hockey-watching, no matter how much you want to mature than I was at that age, for sure. I don’t have to worry about him.” please the old man. But one question — did all the screen time actually make him better? Chantal’s take is slightly different. “I’m a mother, so I worry about everything.” Including her boy’s culinary deficiencies. “I’m not even sure Keith thinks so. he could successfully scramble an egg,” she laughed. “I just pray there’s “Honestly, doing that helped him understand,” he said. “I used to say all no massive storm and he’s snowed in — he would starve.” the time to Matthew and his brother, ‘Whatever you do, I want you to Tkachuk, who lived with Monahan for only the first two months of his watch only one player — Pavel Datsyuk.’ Not only because he was highly rookie campaign before getting his own pad, realizes his parents have skilled, but the way he played.” faith in him. Which is meaningful considering his father travelled a similar Tkachuk kept a close eye on Datsyuk — and every other player in the path — from first-round pick to star forward in a Canadian market. hockey universe. He, too, figures that all of those hours aided in his “He knew when I came up here I wouldn’t be going crazy or getting ability to play the game, even now. distracted a lot,” said Tkachuk. “He was confident, at a young age, at 18 “You pick up on things, other guys’ habits and stuff. It’s like repetition, years old, that I wanted to be a player, that I wanted to make a right?” he said. “You watch enough, some stuff becomes natural. There’s difference, that I was going to be smart with everything I did. certain teams you watch more than others. I like watching Pittsburgh a “Since I was younger I never thought about anything other than being a lot. I like watching Tampa a lot. I like watching Toronto a lot. So when player. I love hockey. Hockey’s my life. It’s been a huge part of me since you play those teams, you get what guys do.” I was born.” Beyond committing to memory the tendencies of today’s trailblazers, From the days when he could recite the Coyotes’ roster — Who is No. Matthew has an appreciation for those who came before him. 22? Which sweater does Greg Adams wear? — until now when, with Spoiler: Keith, in no uncertain terms, demands appropriate levels of ease, with enthusiasm, he delves into a rival team’s action without reverence. skipping a single spin of his brother’s outing.

“Dad gets all over me when he brings up a player’s name – like former “I couldn’t imagine there being a night when he doesn’t have a hockey players that are coaching now – and I’m like, ‘Who are they?'” said game on,” said Chantal. “Any time I’m here, it’s kind of automatically Tkachuk. “And he’s, ‘How do you not know that? It’s embarrassing.'” what we do at nights.”

Soon after the Flames drafted the kid sixth overall in 2016 there came a She laughed again. crash course in the team’s history — at his dad’s insistence. “He definitely does not unplug from hockey, that’s for sure,” Chantal said. “There’s no question that he’s driven to be a hockey player. I don’t think he had a Plan B. It was Plan A or nothing.

“If it didn’t work out, he’d probably be on my couch right now.”

Clicker in hand, eyes on the screen, you-know-what in progress.

The Athletic LOADED: 01.25.2019 1127537 Carolina Hurricanes point. But he lost the faceoff to begin the OT and was caught drifting defensively as the Flames’ Mikael Backlund quickly scored for a 3-2 win.

“He’s a young kid, still learning,” Brind’Amour said. “We still show him ‘It’s quite an accomplishment.’ Canes’ Sebastian Aho ready for his NHL stuff, talking about details, things he can be a little better at. He’s All-Star weekend. answered the bell for the most part. He’s risen to the occasion more than he hasn’t.” BY CHIP ALEXANDER More than anything Brind’Amour admires Aho’s competitiveness. He burns to win, much as his coach once burned to win.

“That’s what makes him a special player, for me,” Brind’Amour said. “We If he had his druthers, Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour know he’s talented, he works hard on the ice. But the intangibles are probably would like to see Sebastian Aho somewhere on a sunny beach what will make him a special, special player. He hates to lose and he will the next few days, off the ice, taking it easy. do anything he can to win.” “The way we play is uptempo and really hard and in-your-face hockey,” 2019 NHL ALL-STAR WEEKEND Brind’Amour said. “It takes a toll on the mental side of things. You grind all season and you push and push.” SAP Center, San Jose, Calif. That said, Brind’Amour doesn’t in any way begrudge Aho heading off to Friday: All-Star Skills Competition, 9 p.m., NBCSN the 2019 NHL All-Star Weekend in San Jose, Calif. The Finnish center is Saturday: NHL All-Star Game, 3-on-3 tournament, 8 p.m., NBC making his first All-Star Game appearance at age 21, representing the Canes, playing for the Metropolitan Division. News Observer LOADED: 01.25.2019 “I’m happy he’s going. It’s well-deserved,” Brind’Amour said. “He’s been good all year, steady, consistent. He’s kind of establishing himself as an all-star type caliber player, and obviously that’s a nice honor for him. “Those are memories he’ll be able to cherish. It’s quite an accomplishment.” And think of what Aho has been able to accomplish in this, his third NHL season. He has scored 22 goals, making it three straight years with 20- plus, and 57 points in 50 games. He had his second career hat trick. He began the season with a 12-game point streak that included at least one assist in each game, setting franchise records. Aho had two assists Wednesday in the Canes’ 5-2 win at Vancouver. “I think he could play defense, if we had to,” Brind’Amour said. “He’s a very smart hockey player.” One of Aho’s Finnish friends, forward Patrik Laine of the , said Aho’s “mind is like a computer,” that he’s always thinking ahead on the ice, processing plays and situations quickly. ALL-STAR PEERS In going to the All-Star Game, Aho will be surrounded by others who fit the same mold. On the Metro team is Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins, one of the craftiest centers in NHL history. During a game in Aho’s rookie season, Crosby once glanced over to see the name on the back of Aho’s jersey, impressed with his play. Now, they can sit in the same locker room and talk things over. “It’s going to be cool,” Aho said. “It’s my first time going and it will be a great experience for me, and I’m going to go enjoy it. To be around some of the world’s best players, that should be cool. In our division, we have some superstars. I don’t know what to expect but it should be fun.” Canes captain Justin Williams has watched as Aho has grown as a player the past season and half. The two sit next to each other in the Canes’ room at PNC Arena, and Aho in recent games centered a line with Williams and newly acquired winger Nino Niedereitter. Williams has been on Stanley Cup champions with players such as Brind’Amour with the Canes and Anze Kopitar of the Los Angeles Kings. In two years with the Washington Capitals, he played with Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom. But he likes all that he has seen with Aho. His temperament, his resolve. “He strives to be great, right?” Williams said. “That’s what you want. That’s what the team wants to see. You don’t want to see a guy happy with being a good player. You want them to be great. And after they’re great you want them to be a star. “It’s his first taste of being an all-star. And he’ll tell you, too, he’s obviously got a long way to go. That’s awesome because he’s already really good.” Brind’Amour, in his first year as head coach, initially was hesitant to use Aho at center but that’s no longer an issue. Not that there aren’t mistakes. And when there are mistakes, none slip past Brind’Amour, a veteran of more than 1,600 regular-season and playoff games. STILL LEARNING In Tuesday’s road game against Calgary, Aho’s goal with 44 seconds left in regulation tied the score, forced overtime and earned the Canes a 1127538 Carolina Hurricanes “We got down 2-1 and just stuck to the game plan, got pucks in deep, got pucks to the net and got on them,” McKegg said. “And it paid dividends in that period.” Teravainen, Niederreiter lead Hurricanes over Canucks 5-2 Tempers flared in the third, with two Canucks getting ejected. Fists started flying 6:30 into the period after Vancouver’s Antoine THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Roussel took an elbow to the face. The fiery Frenchman pushed through officials to go after Niederreiter and was handed minor penalties for cross-checking and unsportsmanlike conduct, plus a 10-minute misconduct. VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -Alex Nedeljkovic’s first NHL start could not have gone much better. joined Roussel in the Canucks dressing room about 10 minutes later. The young goalie made 24 saves and Nino Niederreiter scored twice as the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Vancouver Canucks 5-2 on The defenseman tried to drop the gloves with Andrei Svechnikov after Wednesday night. the Carolina right wing banged him into the boards. The play sparked a melee in front of the Hurricanes net, and Gudbranson was given a Nedeljkovic got called up this month when Curtis McElhinney sustained a double-minor for roughing, plus a 10-minute misconduct. lower-body injury. The 23-year-old netminder was 20-5-2 with the Charlotte Checkers of the . Both teams are now off for the All-Star break followed by a bye week. His parents flew in to watch him play and Nedeljkovic picked them out in The Canucks sit just outside a wild-card spot in the Western Conference. the crowd early. He was excited to get the opportunity to start, but kept some sage advice in the back of his mind. “We can take this as a fresh start and come back mentally tough and play that much better,” Horvat said. “Over the break, it’s definitely going “One of my goalie coaches told me growing up, ‘Play every game like it’s to be in the back of our minds that we weren’t good enough and we’ll the biggest game of your life so when you play the biggest game of your have to push that much harder.” life it’s just another game.’ So that’s just kind of how I looked at today,” Nedeljkovic said. “Just another Wednesday night game and we came out NOTES: Hurricanes left wing Michael Ferland was scratched with an on top.” upper-body injury. He left Tuesday’s game against Calgary in the second period. ... Carolina leads the NHL in shots per game with 35.8. “We knew Teuvo Teravainen had a goal and two assists for Carolina. Greg McKegg they were going to come out hard, be a fast team and put lots of pucks and Dougie Hamilton each added a goal and an assist as the Hurricanes on net. We didn’t execute well enough to stop that,” Horvat said. ... snapped Vancouver’s five-game point streak in the final game for both Boeser got his 18th assist. He has six points in his last five games. teams before the All-Star break. UP NEXT Sebastian Aho had two assists, and Carolina took five points during a three-game road swing through Canada. Hurricanes: Back in action Feb. 1 when they host Vegas. “That wasn’t very good,” Vancouver’s Bo Horvat said. “We gave Canucks: Begin a four-game road trip Feb. 2 in Colorado. ourselves a chance there in the second period. And right after that, I think News Observer LOADED: 01.25.2019 we just kind of took our foot off the gas.” Teravainen’s big performance came two days after the forward agreed to a five-year contract extension worth $27 million. Niederreiter has four goals since Minnesota traded him to Carolina for Victor Rask last week. The 26-year-old right wing said his new teammates have been creating opportunities for him to score. “They are great playmakers. You try to find the hole. You have to move around,” he said. “You can’t stand still and wait for something to happen. You have to open areas so guys can find you, that’s what has been working well.” Josh Leivo and Sven Baertschi scored for the Canucks. Jacob Markstrom stopped 29 shots. “They forecheck really hard and they were all over us in the second. They won the most battles. And their scoring chances paid off, too,” Markstrom said. “They wanted these two points more than we did.” Nedeljkovic’s first real test of the night came early in the second period after Canucks rookie Elias Pettersson made a no-look pass to Baertschi in front. Baertschi took the shot, but Nedeljkovic was there to gobble up the puck. Carolina opened the scoring 1:54 into the second with a power-play goal after Loui Eriksson was called for tripping. Markstrom stopped a shot from Teravainen but couldn’t corral the rebound and it popped out to Niederreiter, who put it into the empty side. Vancouver responded just more than a minute later with Troy Stecher getting a high pass to Leivo in front of the net. The left wing flicked it in for his ninth goal. The Canucks went up by one after some stunning stickhandling by Pettersson. The 20-year-old center started with a behind-the-back pass to Brock Boeser, who got the puck back to him down low. Instead of shooting, Pettersson sliced a pass to Baertschi and he tipped it in through a hole on Nedeljkovic’s blocker side. Less than two minutes later, McKegg tied it by beating Markstrom with a rocket of a one-timer. Carolina added three more unanswered goals before the end of the period. 1127539 Chicago Blackhawks

Blackhawks acquire Czech forward Dominik Kubalik, the Swiss league's top scorer, for 5th-round pick

Jimmy Greenfield

The Blackhawks announced Thursday they traded a fifth-round pick to the Kings for Czech forward Dominik Kubalik, who has played his entire professional career in Europe. The Kings picked Kubalik, 23, in the seventh round of the 2013 draft. He is currently playing for HC Ambri Piotta of Switzerland’s National League and leads the country’s top league in scoring with 43 points (18 goals, 25 assists). He will remain with HC Ambri Piotta for the remainder of the season. Kubalik has some international experience, having played for the Czech Republic in the 2018 Winter Olympics and leading the Czech team in scoring in the 2018 World Championships. He was a teammate of Hawks forward Dominik Kahun from 2012 to ’14 with the Ontario Hockey League’s . The Hawks previously acquired the fifth-round pick they sent to the Kings from the Coyotes. Chicago Tribune LOADED: 01.25.2019 1127540 Chicago Blackhawks

Blackhawks star Patrick Kane: It ‘would be fun’ to reunite with Artemi Panarin

By Jason Lieseremail

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Blackhawks star Patrick Kane drifted through questions at All-Star media day Thursday until someone mentioned a player who isn’t even here. He perked up when he heard the name Artemi Panarin. Rumors of a possible reunion between the Hawks and Panarin have swirled all season, and Kane undoubtedly would welcome it. They’re both excellent scorers and passers, which made them a marvelous fit as linemates until the Hawks traded Panarin to the Blue Jackets after the 2016-17 season. If Panarin wants to return to Chicago in free agency this summer, Kane said he is all for it. ‘‘Yeah, of course,’’ he said. ‘‘We had so much chemistry together. It was fun playing with him. Artemi’s a great kid, too, so we had a lot of fun off the ice, and I think it translated on the ice because we were having so much fun. ‘‘Who knows what’s gonna happen to him next year, but it would be fun to play with him again.’’ Kane is in San Jose for his eighth All-Star appearance, but Panarin has the week off despite having a strong season. He’s tied for 23rd in the NHL with 53 points (19 goals, 34 assists) and is headed toward career highs in every category, prompting Kane to say: ‘‘He should probably be here at the All-Star Game.’’ Kane, by the way, is the only Hawks player with more than 50 points at the break. Panarin thrived for the Hawks with 30 goals in 2015-16 on his way to winning the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s rookie of the year, then put up 31 goals the next season. He totaled 151 points in two seasons, and his numbers have kept rising in a more prominent role with the Blue Jackets. Kane seemed wistful when talking about their offensive connection. ‘‘I don’t know if it’ll ever happen [again] or not, but for two years there, we really jelled well together,’’ Kane said. ‘‘We played pretty much the same game. He liked having the puck; he liked being the guy to make plays. I thought he was just as good of a passer as he was a shooter, which I think is pretty uncommon these days.’’ There’s sure to be a frenzy when a 27-year-old with that kind of talent hits the open market. It will be especially feverish in Chicago, where the Hawks are starved for firepower as they sit at the bottom of the Central Division. Whether the Hawks can navigate their salary-cap situation to afford him is another question. That’s partly why Panarin was traded when he was. The Hawks forecast his upcoming payday when they unloaded him six months after signing him to a two-year, $12 million extension. That deal yielded wing Brandon Saad, goalie Anton Forsberg and a fifth-round draft pick in 2018. The move must have jolted Kane, considering their bond as players and friends. They’re still close. When the Hawks visited Columbus, Ohio, in October, Panarin sent Kane a cryptic text the night before the game, asking him to meet up. After about a half-hour of chatting, Panarin pulled out a box with ‘‘a pretty nice watch’’ in it to thank Kane for helping him hit contract incentives with the Hawks. ‘‘That speaks volumes of the guy right there, that he would do something like that,’’ Kane said. ‘‘Pretty special for him to even think of me a year after he’s with another team. It meant a lot, for sure.’’ If Panarin wants to one-up that gift, there’s an easy way to do it: Just sign on the line. Chicago Sun Times LOADED: 01.25.2019 1127541 Chicago Blackhawks

Blackhawks acquire F Dominik Kubalik in trade with Kings

By Jason Lieseremail

The Blackhawks traded for Kings prospect Dominik Kubalik this afternoon, giving up a fifth-round pick. He’s playing in Switzerland and will finish the season there. Kubalik is a 23-year-old forward the Kings drafted in the seventh round in 2013 and has not made it to the NHL. He leads the National League in points with 43 on 18 goals and 25 assists. With the trade deadline a little over a month away. the Hawks have been mostly quiet this season. They picked up forward Drake Caggiula from the Oilers, playing him on their top line, and former Tampa Bay defenseman Slater Koekkoek in the past month. In late November, the Hawks sent Nick Schmaltz to Arizona for Dylan Strome and Brendan Perlini. The team is on its midseason break for the All-Star Game and their bye and resumes Feb. 1 at Buffalo. Chicago Sun Times LOADED: 01.25.2019 1127542 Chicago Blackhawks A month ago things seemed to be getting better, but since the calendar flipped to 2019, the Hawks have allowed 41 goals in 10 games.

Until this area gets fixed, the Hawks will continue booking time in the Most Blackhawks don't make the grade Central Division cellar. Grade: F John Dietz 5. Special teams First things, first: Even with a decent stretch in which the Hawks have Before this season began, I laid out five areas the Blackhawks needed to allowed just 9 power-play opportunities over the last five games, the improve upon in order to have any chance of qualifying for the Stanley penalty kill still ranks dead last with just a 74.1-percent success rate. Cup playoffs. As for the power play, it's nearly impossible to grade thanks to the unit's With the All-Star break and bye week upon us, it's time to hand out the sizzling performance over the last 16 games. The Hawks would obviously grades. get an F for going 12-for-105 to start the season, but deserve an A+ for going a league-best 19-for-48 since Dec. 18. And as you might guess, most of the last-place Hawks (18-24-9) haven't earned many bragging rights. Last season, the Hawks ranked 28th on the power play and 20th on the PK. Had the power play been even marginally more effective over the The envelopes, please: first 35 games, the complexion of the entire season might be different. But it wasn't. 1. Improved goalie play Grade: C- After Corey Crawford was lost Dec. 27, 2017, the Hawks' postseason chances took a serious nose-dive with the inconsistent, inexperienced 6. Bonus category trio of Anton Forsberg, J-F Berube and Jeff Glass in net. GM The 2018-19 Hawks desperately needed Crawford to stay healthy and play like the Crawford of old. Neither happened, and with veteran Cam Bowman's overall grade should probably be a C. He gets a D for the off- Ward posting the worst save percentage (. 888) and goals-against season and a B+ for his in-season moves. average (3.87) in the league, it's safe to say the sport's most important In the off-season, Bowman added three players -- Chris Kunitz, Brandon position has been mostly a wild disappointment. Manning and Cam Ward -- who have done next nothing to improve the The emergence of Collin Delia (4-2-3, .923, 3.00) obviously gives the Hawks. He also fired Joel Quenneville after 15 games, incredibly odd team some hope, but it's almost definitely too little, too late. timing for a coach who has won three Stanley Cups. Fire him before the season or after half the season. The only thing saving Bowman from an F Grades: D for Crawford/Ward; B for Delia was his ability to move Marian Hossa's contract. 2. Killer Kane During the season, Bowman pulled off three moves that seem to be working out well: Good season, title season or bad season, Patrick Kane always seems to find a way to produce. And incredibly -- despite the Hawks possibly • Acquiring Dylan Strome and Brendan Perlini for Nick Schmaltz. headed for the worst record in the league -- Kane is on pace to better his 106-point MVP campaign from three years ago. • Acquiring Drake Caggiula for Manning and Robin Norrell. Kane has 19 multipoint games, eight of which were 3 points or more. He • Acquiring Slater Koekkoek for Jan Rutta. just completed a career-best five-game multipoint streak. He could score With the trade deadline approaching, it will be fascinating to see what 50 goals for the first time in his career. Bowman has up his sleeve. And he's once again doing it with a revolving door of wingers on the left Stay tuned. Because it figures to be a wild month ahead. side. Daily Herald Times LOADED: 01.25.2019 Kane remains Kane and for his sake, it's a shame such a season is going to waste. Grade: A+ 3. Bounce backs Jonathan Toews, Brandon Saad and Duncan Keith all struggled last season and needed to rebound. So how have they done? Toews has been fantastic. He has 22 goals and 26 assists, and although he wasn't great during the Hawks' two eight-game losing streaks, the captain definitely deserves an A. Saad has bounced back after a truly dismal season, but is he consistently playing like a $6 million player? Most would say no. Players of his caliber can't go through a 17-game stretch and score just twice. He gets a B-. Keith, meanwhile, continues to get beat by faster, younger forwards and he's done next to nothing offensively. He gets a D. It's a tough grade to dole out, but this trio hasn't played well enough to put the Hawks in a good spot on many nights. Overall grade: C+ 4. Team defense The Hawks have allowed 189 goals in 51 games. That's neck and neck with Ottawa for the worst total in the league. Worse yet, there's nobody really close in the Western Conference as the Hawks have allowed 25 more goals than San Jose, 27 more than Edmonton, 28 more Colorado and 30 more than Vancouver. And those are the next four worst teams. 1127543 Chicago Blackhawks

Blackhawks 2018-19 midseason grades: Forwards

By Charlie Roumeliotis January 24, 2019 7:45 AM

Going into the 2018-19 campaign, the Blackhawks were looking for rebound seasons from their top guys and counting on their younger ones to take that next step. It's safe to say they've done that for the most part. After compiling a career-low 20 goals and 52 points in 74 games last season, Jonathan Toews has already surpassed his goal total with 22 and is four points away from tying his point total from a year ago through 51 games. The Blackhawks captain is on pace to set a career-high with 35 goals and 76 points. Patrick Kane, who statistically had a down season by his standards, has 29 goals and 42 assists for 71 points in 50 games this season. For reference, he had 27 goals and 49 assists for 76 points in 82 games last year. The former Hart Trophy winner is on pace to set a career-high with 46 goals and 114 points, and he even missed a game with an illness. Alex DeBrincat has emerged a star. He has 25 goals and 18 assists for 43 points in 51 games this season, with eight of his goals coming on the power play. He's on pace for 40 goals and 68 points, both of which would set a career-high. A year ago, he had 28 goals and 24 assists for 52 points in 82 games while averaging only 14:48 of ice time. Heck, even Brandon Saad's numbers are quietly coming around. There are still inconsistencies in his game, but he has 15 goals and 27 points through 49 games after recording only 18 goals and 35 points in 82 games last season. He's on pace for 25 goals and 44 points. In summary, the Blackhawks are expected to have three 35-plus goal scorers, one 25-goal scorer and a 100-plus point player this season. DeBrincat led the team with 28 goals in 2017-18 as a rookie and Kane led with 76 points. That's a big difference from where the Blackhawks were a year ago. The problem is, the four players listed above have combined for 91 of the 135 goals from Blackhawks forwards this season, which comes out to be 67.4 percent. That means the remaining 44 goals have been scored by the other 16 forwards combined. To be fair, Dylan Strome has accounted for nine of them in only 27 games with the Blackhawks. Over the course of an 82-game season, that comes out to be 27 goals. That'll definitely work. After that, the secondary scoring simply hasn't been there. The scorching power play has carried the slack for the last two months and has made up for it, but it's absolutely an area the Blackhawks need to address going into next season. There needs to be a more balanced offensive attack. And that will certainly be a high priority this summer, considering they got their expected bounce-back seasons from their horses. Grade: B- Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 01.25.2019 1127544 Chicago Blackhawks McNeil tried to pass on whatever knowledge and advice he could about the industry while Wiedeman worked for him.

“He said to me, ‘Do you think at my age I’m nuts for wanting to be a play- Better late than never: How John Wiedeman found his passion in by-play guy?'” said McNeil, who now co-hosts the “McNeil & Parkins broadcasting Show” on The Score. “I said, ‘Well, I think with your unhappiness with what you’re doing to make a living, combined with not having a financial commitment to the family, I think you’re nuts if you don’t.’ By Scott Powers Jan 24, 2019 “I told him it’s a very, very difficult route. You’re going to work as a PR guy, a marketing guy. You’re going to make low-end money for a minor league outfit. And you’re going to take guys on the team who have never John Wiedeman can still remember the sweltering heat of the Kansas been to the doctor for an examination and all kinds of things you never City summer, the fatigue from lifting box after box of soil pipe and all the thought of, and you’re going to work 70-hour weeks and make shit grease that found its way onto him. money. He said, ‘I’m willing to do that.’ Wiedeman respected his family’s business — Reeves-Wiedeman “He was mature. He finally recognized what he wanted to do. I saw him Company, a wholesale plumbing supplies business — and dedicated as a guy if given the opportunity was going to make some employer glad many hours of tireless work in a poorly ventilated warehouse growing up. they gave him that chance. You saw it in his eyes. You see sometimes in To this day, his work ethic is a testament to what he procured from that a guy’s eyes when there’s a fire. His was relentless.” labor. John Wiedeman and Troy Murray call a recent Blackhawks game. (Scott But it was there, in 1988, that Wiedeman recognized he didn’t want to Powers/The Athletic) carry on the family business. He was hot. He was tired. He simply wasn’t happy, and he couldn’t foresee that changing. He respected what his Wiedeman now had a better idea of what it took to get the job he wanted. family did, but he was old enough to recognize his own passions. But he knew he needed something he didn’t have: a sample of his broadcasting work. “Like a lot of kids, I tried a lot of different things,” Wiedeman said. “None of those paths were right for me.” Wiedeman decided to record himself calling a hockey game. The Blackhawks’ playoff run had ended earlier than he had expected in the So at the age of 31, Wiedeman finally chose a definitive direction. He 1990-91 season, so he missed his window to do one of their games. wanted to be a broadcaster. Instead, he traveled to St. Louis for a Blues- game. Thirty years later, Wiedeman is the Blackhawks’ radio play-by-play “I got the cheapest ticket I could buy,” Wiedeman said. “I went to the top announcer. He’s been in that position for 13 seasons. He’s called some of the arena, the old St. Louis area, in the steel. There’s steel that of the biggest moments in Blackhawks history. He’s cherished by his supports the roof. I went in the back row. I’m standing there. These guys listeners and highly respected within his industry. came up next to me, they’re all Blues fans. I just engage one of them in conversation, I hope for the best. But getting there took time, hard work and a lot of miles on his car. “I said, look, I have to do some play by play of this game, and he goes, After graduating from the University of Kansas in 1989, Wiedeman oh, OK. I said, tell you what, can you guys kind of surround me here, I’ll realized he was getting a late start, especially in the competitive buy each one of you a beer. They go, sure, like that. So I bought broadcasting industry, and there was a real chance his career may never everyone a round of beer. There were like six guys, I bought six beers. get off the ground. On the other hand, he believed in himself and knew So they’re standing with their beer and I’m doing play by play. During a he had to give it a try. He packed his belongings and moved to Chicago. stoppage in play, a guy sitting (in front of me), he turns to me and says “Chicago’s radio, it’s the best market in the United States,” Wiedeman when are you going to stop doing that. The guy standing next to me who said. “It’s the No. 3 market overall, but if your focus was radio, which I bought a beer for, he says, hey, he’s doing a play-by-play tape, he’ll be mine was, this is the best market to come to learn from professionals and done soon, don’t worry, like that. So, these guys are defending me.” learn the trade the right way. At the time, I was 31 years old. I didn’t have Wiedeman recorded for about 10 minutes, felt he had enough, bought extra years to play with.” another round of beers and went on his way. He finally had his demo Wiedeman didn’t have a broadcasting job waiting for him. He had to find tape, but he’d also need some more patience. work elsewhere and devote his free time to his real interest. The next year Wiedeman landed a part-time job with a radio station in The first job he took in Chicago happened to be in the area he had the Morris, Ill., which allowed him to attend Blackhawks games. It was then most knowledge. he first met Jim De Maria, who would later become his boss with the Blackhawks. By then, Wiedeman had parted ways with the plumbing “I took a job selling plumbing supplies because it was the only business I sales job and was bartending at Zanies Comedy Club. really knew that I could work in and make a living, but at the same time pursue what I wanted to do,” he said. “That was my plan. I really wasn’t As the summer of 1992 approached, Wiedeman felt he needed to do even sure I was going to be able to get into the business. So, I thought if something more if he was going to land his dream job in hockey. He I can’t, this job that I have would be a nice thing to fall back on, maybe decided to drive to the NHL draft in Montreal and network. make a career out of that. My heart was really into what I’m doing (now) “I shook a thousand hands that day,” Wiedeman said. “I felt like a — broadcasting. politician. I must have had the filthiest hands in the city from all that “Thirty-one, I was single. I really had no ties. I had family back in Kansas bacteria. And I got some tips, I got some job leads, but I didn’t get City. I felt that if I was ever going to pursue my dream, I needed to make anything solid. So I got into my car, drove back from Montreal the next a break, a substantial break and I did. It was kind of a sink-or-swim day. On my way back, I’m stopping through all the little junior Canadian situation. I was either going to be an abject failure or going to be a cities like Peterborough, there was Belleville, Kingston, the real traditional success. To what degree of a success, I didn’t know. I knew that I could Ontario Hockey League cities where the major junior A players play.” always go back and work in the family business. I didn’t really want to.” Wiedeman wanted to see ’s hometown and stopped in Time wasn’t on Wiedeman’s side, but there were advantages to being Brantford, Ontario. He made his way to a local rink where the Brantford older and trying to kickstart a career. Wideman was more mature. He Smoke played in the Colonial Hockey League and asked whether they knew he exactly what he wanted and was focused on getting it. needed his play-by-play services. They did not, but he was advised to drop by the Chatham Wheels on his route home. Wiedeman’s first real break in Chicago came from an introduction to Dan McNeil, who was then the executive producer of Chet Coppock’s show, The Wheels didn’t have any openings either, but Wiedeman was directed “Coppock on Sports,” on AM-1000. McNeil and Wiedeman immediately to the Muskegon Fury, a team just joining the league. Wiedeman was connected over their mutual love for hockey. Wiedeman grew up playing advised to call the Fury when he returned to Chicago, but Wiedeman and watching the sport. In his early days in Chicago, he’d buy the wasn’t going to wait. cheapest ticket he could outside Chicago Stadium and stand in the “I remember thinking, you know what, you only live once, I’m going there second balcony to watch Blackhawks games. He says he missed only tonight,” Wiedeman said. “I’m physically going to be there tomorrow to three games during the 1989-90 season. talk to the guy who runs the team. That’s exactly what I did.” McNeil didn’t have a full-time job to offer, but he did have an unpaid Wiedeman had $12 in his pocket and used most of it on tolls. He slept in internship. Desperate to get into the industry, Wideman took it. his car in a church parking lot overnight and bathed at a YMCA in the morning. He put on the suit he wore at the NHL draft and went to meet Tony Lisman, the Fury’s owner. Three months later, Wiedeman was point, left circle, left corner, left half wall, down to the left post and vice hired to be the Fury’s play-by-play announcer. versa with the right-hand side. He paints the picture extremely well and he stays on top of it. Wiedeman then began bouncing around and making his ascent. He worked two years for the Fury, and spent two more calling games for the “He’s unbelievable. I’ve sent him tapes of me and he’ll give me feedback. Worcester Ice Cats. He worked for the Philadelphia Flyers for one year, He’ll give me critiques — do less of this, add more of that, try and mix up then spent four years as the play-by-play announcer for the Cincinnati your verb usage and everything. That was something I was kind of Cyclones. actually leaning on him last night for. At times I feel like I’m repeating myself as the game of hockey just kind of goes. I was counting all the When the Cyclones folded after the 2000-01 season, Wiedeman thought different verbs he’ll use to call the puck. Ultimately how he banters with his broadcasting career was over and began looking outside of the field. Troy, that’s something I want to be better at too is creating natural But just as he was considering a position at Culver Academy in Indiana, chemistry with my broadcast partner. I think he and Troy are magnificent he got an unexpected phone call from the New York Islanders and was at feeding off each other and having fun, and you can tell they’re having hired to be their radio play-by-play announcer. fun, which I think is a big component with why their broadcasts are so Wiedeman remained with the Islanders until the 2005-06 season. His much fun to hear.” contract was up just as the Blackhawks were looking for their own radio Wiedeman appreciates such compliments. play-by-play announcer. Wiedeman touched base with De Maria, submitted his resume and the rest is history. “I take pride in describing that picture for our fans,” he said. “I like it when I hear people come up to me and say, when I hear you do the play by “I accepted and moved here in September of 2006,” Wiedeman said. “It’s play, I feel like I’m there at the game. Then I know I’m doing my job right. been a ride that I never could ever have imagined or dreamed, not even close.” “(One) thing that went into (my style), if I were a listener, what would I want to hear? So, I try to provide to our listeners what I would want to Wiedeman called his first regular-season Blackhawks game on Oct. 5, hear and hope what I would want to hear is the same thing that they 2006 and happened to call his 1,000th regular-season game as Jeremy would want to hear and are hearing.” Colliton made his coaching debut for the Blackhawks on Nov. 8. McNeil is certainly a satisfied listener. He will always have a special Wiedeman has missed only one game — preseason, regular season and place in his heart for Wiedeman. playoffs — with the Blackhawks over 13 seasons, and that was only due to a diverticulitis attack that confined him to the hospital during Game 6 of “He’s a very sweet guy,” McNeil said. “He’s a master craftsman at what the Western Conference semifinals against the Vancouver Canucks in he does. I’ve been lucky enough to see a lot of guys who interned for me 2010. and produced — I got some damn miles on the odometer, I’m 57. And you see young guys come in, I seldom dissuade somebody, and it didn’t “I wasn’t going to tell anybody what was going on with me because it was cross my mind to attempt that (with) him. I saw what he wanted and sort during the playoffs,” Wiedeman said. “So you’re riding on a charter with a of showed what the template would look like. Every time I hear him, I bunch of hockey players in the back dealing with fractures and sprains can’t help but smile and think about his journey and how it cool was.” and pulls and stitches and bumps and bruises and all kinds of stuff, right? Real pain, real nasty stuff. I’m thinking to myself, my gut is killing me, I That journey is something Murray thought about too as he discussed don’t know what this is, but I can’t make them land this plane because I Wiedeman. have a stomach ache. I’m just going to have to tough this out.” “There’s not many jobs and it’s a hard profession to get in, but he stuck The pain became too great, and after the team arrived to its hotel, with it,” Murray said. “He’s been to different leagues at different levels Wiedeman went to the hospital. He recovered in time for the Blackhawks’ and rode buses and all this, but it was what he wanted to do. He finally next game in the Western Conference finals and called the remainder of got an opportunity here in Chicago. I think the Blackhawks fans, the that Stanley Cup run. He hasn’t missed a game since. listeners, are very lucky to have a guy like a John. For John, he should be proud he stuck with it through some times that people probably looked “You know what? I don’t like to miss work,” Wiedeman said. “I never at it and said you’re crazy, why you doing this, why you doing this to really have. Even when I was young, I didn’t like to miss work because I yourself, but this is what he wanted to do and he got the opportunity.” always felt a sense of obligation. Like someone hired you to do this job, so you need to give them back at least a day’s work, if not more. That’s Thirty years after embarking on his late career, Wiedeman has no somebody putting their faith in you. That’s not somebody just filling a regrets. He couldn’t have written it up better. chair.” “I couldn’t even dream some of the stuff that has happened, the success In the chair beside Wiedeman doing color commentary for nearly his this team has had,” Wiedeman said. “I’ve been so fortunate to be a part entire Blackhawks career has been Troy Murray. Murray and Wiedeman of it, to be able to call the games, work with a guy like Troy Murray, work have cultivated a precise rhythm for how they call their games over the in an awesome city like Chicago, kind of coming home almost. I always years. Even as long as they’ve done it together, Murray remains in awe loved this city. I always loved the Blackhawks. I feel like I belong here. of Wiedeman’s play-by-play abilities. Even though I’m from Kansas City, I feel like I belong here. I can’t define that.” “I don’t know how you do it,” Murray said. “It’s a real talent. It’s an art. Hockey is such a fast sport. To be able to pluck out the numbers, the The Athletic LOADED: 01.25.2019 names and correlate that to what’s going on the ice and to not miss a pass, not to miss a name, is incredible. As a fan, I’m sitting there (with) my headset on and watching the game and John’s telling me exactly what I’m watching. It’s incredible. He’s just telling me exactly me what my eyes are showing me on the ice, what I see on the ice. I don’t know how to describe it. “I’ve listened to a lot of broadcasters and stuff and the way he calls the game, his description, the clarity of how he makes it sound where the puck is on the ice, whatever zone, you’re there, you know what’s going on. He takes a lot of pride in that. I know he does a lot of work. He’s a true professional in that regards. He does a lot of homework on the players and the background of the players. It’s just impressive, and it’s not something easy to do. Very few people can do what he does to paint such a great picture.” Rockford IceHogs play-by-play announcer Joseph Zakrzewski can attest to that. With his own aspirations to make it to the NHL one day, Zakrzewski has studied and gotten tips from Wiedeman. During the Blackhawks’ last home game, Zakrzewski sat in WGN’s booth and observed Wiedeman for a period. As Zakrzewski explained, it’s Wiedeman’s attention to detail that makes him stand out. “I notice a lot he likes to use a lot of lefts and right instead of nears and fars, and that’s something I’ve adjusted myself,” Zakrzewski said. “Left 1127545 Columbus Blue Jackets

He's just 24, but Seth Jones has All-Star consistency

Brian Hedger

He’s not the first name mentioned in All-Star discussions and voting for the Norris Trophy yet, but Seth Jones is at least being included in those debates. At age 24, that’s a lofty accomplishment for the Blue Jackets’ top defenseman — who was chosen this season for the NHL All-Star Game for a third straight time and is set to make his second All-Star appearance this weekend at the San Jose Sharks’ HP Pavilion. “I think it definitely takes time for something like that to happen,” said Jones, who may have gotten a bump from name recognition. “It takes time for a young guy to have their game recognized and kind of be there every year with those top names, so I’m happy that I guess I’m in that discussion at this moment ... but there’s (also) me knowing myself and I’m my biggest critic. There’s still a lot of room to improve within my game.” That might be true, but don’t let Jones’ critique fool you. Despite missing the Blue Jackets’ first seven games because of a sprained right knee, he is having another All-Star caliber season. Jones, who missed the All-Star Game last year because of illness, has 29 points on seven goals and 22 assists. His averages in goals, assists and points are near where they were a year ago, when he set career- highs in goals (16), assists (41), points (57) and plus/minus rating (plus- 10). Unlike the previous two years, though, Jones has skated with multiple defensive partners. Rather than playing the vast bulk of his ice time with Zach Werenski, who has fought some defensive struggles, Jones also has skated with Ryan Murray and a couple games with Markus Nutivaara. The lack of consistency in pairings hasn’t affected him much, if at all. He has become the consistency for whomever is paired with him. “Every night, he’s a 200-foot defenseman — whether it’s scoring big goals or making great plays defensively or offensively,” Werenski said. “He just brings his game every night. He’s someone that a lot of guys, older or younger, can watch and learn from and try to model their game after.” Jones also has made strides in another category, which has impressed coach John Tortorella the most. He has become one of the Blue Jackets’ strongest leaders, on and off the ice, saying something only when he feels it’s needed and getting his message across through actions. Jones first wore an “A” on his jersey last season, filling in during stretches as an alternate captain when the Jackets went through a spate of injuries. This year, it has been on there from the start and isn’t likely to come off until he someday becomes a captain. “He can bring everything,” Tortorella said, when asked about Jones’ signature traits as a player. “He can do a lot of things and that’s why I have always thought he should be in that conversation as one of the top defensemen in this league. It’s not always about the points he’s putting up, which he does, but it’s how he defends all of the situations he’s been put in — and now, just the leadership skills that he has.” All rolled into one, with Tortorella spearheading his Norris candidacy, Jones has developed a rare reputation for somebody his age. He plays and leads beyond his young age, and he plans to get even better. “It’s more exciting for my mom, to be honest,” he said of his recent All- Star nod, which may include another whirl at the NHL’s Hardest Shot competition on Friday. “I just go out there and play hockey, right? That’s my job. My first priority is to be the best I can be for the Columbus Blue Jackets and all the awards and the All-Star stuff is secondary on my list, but it’s also special. It’s an honor to be selected again, but helping my team was much more important than that.” Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 01.25.2019 1127546 Columbus Blue Jackets He’s also a former player whose promising career was cut short by injuries.

Most of us think of retirement as a happy occasion that occurs in our late Out of the spotlight: Jared Boll and other former Blue Jackets adjust to 60s. It means more time to devote to the grandkids and pet projects. life once the cheering stops “I was 29 years old and my playing career was over,” Davidson said. “People tend to forget that. You’re a relatively young person and hockey Tom Reed Jan 24, 2019 is in your blood.” Davidson joined the Blue Jackets seven years ago. He got to know and like Boll, who played with the organization from 2007 until the team COLUMBUS, Ohio — Lauren Boll knew something wasn’t right the bought out his contract in 2016. moment she heard her cellphone ring late last winter and saw her husband’s name flash across the screen. The team president appreciated Boll’s service to the franchise. So did Jarmo Kekalainen and assistant general manager Bill It was the afternoon of a game day, a time Jared Boll always spent Zito. napping. It had been part of his routine long before the couple met eight years ago in Columbus when Lauren was a graduate student and Boll They agreed to meet with Boll. The former winger also spoke by phone to was protecting teammates as the Blue Jackets’ resident enforcer. John Tortorella, who had coached him during his final season in Columbus. “I had a feeling something was seriously wrong,” Lauren recalled. “Jared just said, pretty much straight up, ‘I think I’m done.’ He was dealing with Boll reached out to several other teams, but the Blue Jackets were his concussion symptoms that I wasn’t even aware of at the time. desired destination. He had treasured his time here, becoming a fan favorite as a member of the first club in franchise history to qualify for the “It was a defining moment. We had just found out a few weeks earlier postseason in 2009. that I was pregnant. After that phone call, he began to open up a lot more about things.” Lauren, a part-time speech pathologist at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, grew up in nearby Dublin. The Bolls wanted to raise their daughter, Lauren was relieved to hear of her husband’s intentions. The couple had Annie, born Oct. 17, 2018, in central Ohio. spent several months awkwardly dancing around the topic of his retirement. “Jared has a great personality, and he wants to work,” Davidson said. “He was aggressive. He came knocking on the door, and he knew what Boll played 518 games split between the Blue Jackets and Ducks, and he he wanted.” was winding down his 11th season playing for Anaheim’s top minor- league affiliate in San Diego. Not every former player is as certain. His parents were eager to see Boll — the NHL’s most active fighter from Scott Hartnell, who played with Boll in Columbus and also retired in the 2007-2018 — call it a career. So was Lauren. offseason, is weighing his options. He’s serving as a guest analyst with the NHL Network and also is considering careers in player development Boll knew it was time, but in announcing his retirement a few months and player representation. Hartnell isn’t in any rush to commit to one path later, he confronted a reality that, in his mind, was every bit as scary as and understands none will supply the exhilaration and perks of playing. the biggest, baddest opponent he faced. “Everyone told me to play as long as I could because there’s nothing like What was he going to do now? being an NHLer,” said Hartnell, who had a 17-year career. “It’s so true. There’s nothing like wearing the uniform and traveling the way they travel Hockey had been his entire life since age 5, growing up in suburban and staying at the nice hotels and going out for nice meals. It’s a one-of- Chicago. Boll was always the first kid at the rink, making sure his mom a-kind job. had him there at least an hour before practice. “I even miss a lot of the little things. Halloween is my favorite holiday, and Education had not been a priority. He recalls some days working harder this year it was weird not having a team party to go to.” on his autograph than his schoolwork. Three years ago, as Boll and Lauren were filling out their wedding guest list, he came face to face with R.J. Umberger, another former Boll teammate, retired after the 2015-16 how all-consuming hockey had become. season. He’s helping coach his 5-year-old son Matthew and remains active in the Columbus youth hockey scene. “Other than family members, almost every name I was writing down was a teammate or a former teammate,” the 32-year-old Boll said. “It made Umberger spent his first year out of the NHL traveling and immersing me realize I had almost no friends outside of the game.” himself in family life. The Umbergers have three children. Boll had heard stories about former players struggling with their More than two years after his retirement, the former Blue Jackets and transition. It wasn’t just about the money, either. Most modern pro Flyers forward is still searching for his calling. athletes, especially ones having played a decade in the big leagues, would be all right financially as long as they hadn’t squandered their “I don’t know what I’m going to do the rest of my life, but I need to do savings. something,” said Umberger, who played 11 NHL seasons. “That’s how a lot of us feel. We have been so involved in something that you need It was more about adjusting to a world outside the locker room and away something else. … We’re used to being on the go constantly — playing, from the game and its unique camaraderie. traveling, training, even in the summer. Downtime can feel like a century. “I’m telling you, that’s what you hear from every guy,” Boll said. “It’s what “You need to find a way to challenge yourself and challenge your mind. you miss the most when you’re done playing. Sure, you miss the games, We’re all athletes, competitive as can be. That’s how we got to be where but you become so tight as a group. It’s crazy. They are your family, your we are. To just rip every competitive thing away from you at one time and best friends.” move on to normal everyday life creates a really big challenge, a big, empty hole. I have tried to find little things to challenge myself — working Boll officially retired in July. Acting on his wife’s advice, one of his first on my golf game, working out five days a week.” phone calls was to John Davidson, the Blue Jackets’ president of hockey operations. Boll had no interest in taking a year away from the game. “If I could, I wanted to find a way to stay in the game,” Boll said. He interviewed with the Blue Jackets in July for an opening as an assistant development coach. A month later, he was still waiting on a ‘A big, empty hole’ final decision. Davidson, known around the hockey world as “JD,” moves through life at Repercussions and reunions a Zamboni’s pace. Lauren Boll cheered for the Blue Jackets before meeting her future The former NHL goaltender is 65 years old. In his own words, 15 husband. She attended games at Nationwide Arena with her father. surgeries to his knees and back have turned him into “a walking piece of arthritis.” Fighting was one of her favorite elements of hockey, and she thought it was neat dating a player who stood up for his teammates. Davidson was a legendary television analyst. He made the transition to team management in 2006 and helped transform the fortunes of the Through her college courses, Lauren began learning about chronic Blues and Blue Jackets. traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Suddenly, the allure of fighting faded. Would her boyfriend develop symptoms such as depression, memory “(The alumni association) has done things over the last year or so that loss and dementia? All the fights. All the headshots. All the tragic tales of makes you feel connected to something, and that’s important,” Umberger Derek Boogaard, , Steve Montador, Wade Belak. said. “It’s great and I’m anxious to see where it goes in the future. What would Boll’s quality of life be like after the cheering stopped? “My best years were here. We chose to live here. I want my son to grow up to be a diehard Blue Jackets fan. This is where I want to be.” “When I went into grad school and started to get into in-depth studying of CTE, that’s when everything changed for me,” Lauren said. “It really Mentor and pupil reunited started to concern me.” Blue Jackets skills coach Kenny McCudden was in Montreal working with She’s proud of the proactive approach Boll is taking to monitor his Pierre-Luc Dubois in late August when he received a phone call that cognitive functions. He’s visited a specialist in Detroit. He wants to be reminded him how small the hockey universe really is. healthy for his wife and daughter. Two decades ago, McCudden was trying to establish a youth hockey “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t read stuff and see stuff,” said Boll, who school in Chicago when he came across a kid named Jared Boll. Both underwent offseason back surgery. “It’s impossible not to see stuff. I feel were from Crystal Lake, Ill. Both harbored NHL aspirations. bad for guys who are having problems. For me, it’s about surrounding yourself with good people and people who take care of you. McCudden lost track of Boll but was proud to see one of his former students being selected No. 101 overall in the 2005 draft by the Blue “Now that I’m a dad, I know what my dad saw. I can’t imagine if I had a Jackets. A few years later, the established NHL veteran called son fighting someone. I would want to fight for him. That’s how my dad McCudden and asked whether he was willing to fly to Columbus to help was.” improve his skills for a week in the summer. The coach had been training pros in the offseason for years while also working with the Blackhawks’ Hall of Famer Martin St. Louis, recently added to the Blue Jackets staff minor-league affiliate. as a consultant, said allowing the body and mind to heal should be a priority for the newly retired. McCudden made the trek to Columbus for five consecutive offseasons. “First and foremost, the transition is going to be much easier if you’re One day, Blue Jackets management saw McCudden on the ice with Boll healthy,” St. Louis said. “You have to get your health (in order). Then, and other pro players. Kekalainen was intrigued. In 2015, the club made you can get into a routine, or whatever it is.” McCudden one of the NHL’s first full-time skills coaches. The Bolls said they are fortunate to have Jody and Mandy Shelley as “Boller was very instrumental in getting me seen by the Blue Jackets,” friends and confidants. McCudden said. “I will never forget him for that. It helped change my life.” Jody Shelley, the Blue Jackets’ television analyst, played 627 NHL Davidson considers McCudden a “hidden gem.” Tortorella calls him “the games for four franchises, including Columbus. One of the game’s top best in the business.” enforcers, his role was almost identical to that of Boll’s. Last season, former Blue Jackets forward Fredrik Modin assisted Nearing the end of his career, Boll sought the advice of Shelley. McCudden in working with players but opted to step away from the role to devote more time to family. “I promised myself that when the fire in my belly, that fire you need to fight, was gone, I was done,” said Shelley, a longtime Columbus fan Boll spoke to McCudden about the opening. The assistant coach told him favorite. “I was not going to put myself in that situation.” to inquire with Blue Jackets management. The club made the hire official in late August. Boll immediately contacted his old mentor to share the In his final NHL season, Shelley played for the Flyers and was a frequent news. healthy scratch. As the team prepared for a tough game in Toronto, the coaching staff planned to dress him to combat Maple Leafs bruisers “That was a terrific phone call,” McCudden said. “I could hear it in Boller’s Colton Orr and Frazer McClaren. voice. It was the start of him making a quick transition from retirement to joining a club he loves.” “I had a hip injury that had been lingering and I used it to pull myself (out of the lineup), knowing I didn’t want to put myself in that situation,” Jared Boll and his wife, Lauren, had their first child, Annie, in October. Shelley said. “I had never felt that way in my life. I remember telling the (Courtesy of Lauren Boll) trainer, ‘I don’t think I can go.’ I was heartbroken and excited all at once. It was crazy. I was proud I made that decision although I would have Adjusting to new roles never admitted it at the time.” The Blue Jackets’ practice rink was empty late last week except for two Lauren said her frequent chats with Mandy Shelley were invaluable. figures carving up the ice. Injured winger Markus Hannikainen was being put through conditioning drills by the team’s new assistant development “I used Mandy as a resource even before Jared and I started to have the coach. retirement discussions because I didn’t want to bug him too much about it,” Lauren said. “He wanted to focus on the game. I would vent to Mandy Clad in a team-issued tracksuit and hat, Boll served as both taskmaster about things. Jody and Jared had similar careers and the roles on their and motivator. teams were not easy. She has been a huge mentor to me and a help “Come on, Hanny, come on,” Boll yelled as he checked the stopwatch on through certain situations.” his iPhone. Jody Shelley loves retirement and wants others to savor it, too. He and It was an exhausting session for Hannikainen, and Boll refused to let the Todd Sharrock, the Blue Jackets vice president of communications and player do all the suffering. At one point, he started doing line drills as the team services, have founded the club’s alumni association. Finnish winger recovered. Still in its infancy, the organization provides outreach for former Blue Reaching the end boards, Boll bent over at the waist, gasping for breath. Jackets and gets them involved in team functions. They invite ex-players and their families to about a dozen games a season and allow them to “I was dying out there,” he said with a smile. “I still think I’ve got it and watch from a suite. then I skate with (Hannikainen) and he’s lapping me.” Several players said they appreciate the gesture and admit it was difficult Boll cherishes the interaction with players but is mindful of his place. He at first to come back to games. can walk into the locker room after practices and games, but he’s no longer part of its fabric. Shelley said that ranks among the biggest “After I got out of hockey, I wanted to get away from it,” said Jean-Luc adjustments for former players. Grand-Pierre, who played eight NHL seasons before continuing his career in Europe. “It took me two years to go to a Blue Jackets game. I “I didn’t realize until I was outside that (locker room) door how small and don’t want to say it was depressing, it was just something I didn’t want to tight that group was behind the door,” Shelley said. “It’s a major see. I wanted to build myself as ‘Jean-Luc the realtor.’ ” transition. You still get recognized, and people still welcome you in, but you are not one of them anymore. There’s a little bit of heartache The former Blue Jackets defenseman has become a successful real involved in knowing it’s a place you are no longer supposed to be.” estate agent in central Ohio and also shows promise as a part-time hockey analyst. Boll echoes the sentiment. Grand-Pierre and Umberger will co-host a Blue Jackets watch party next “When you are in that locker room as a player, you can say or do month from the team’s locker room for a road game in Montreal. The anything you want,” Boll said. “And when you leave it, you can’t do that. event was auctioned off at a recent charity function. You can’t talk to people the way you did your teammates.” Boll skates with injured players and healthy scratches before practice. He’s also on the ice during practice. On game nights at Nationwide Arena, Boll observes the action from a booth in the press box with other assistants. He often converses with players not in the lineup. “He can put his arm around a player and talk to the player and share some thoughts,” McCudden said. “I have seen Boller do that, and it’s tremendous. One of the greatest things I have seen him do is relate to the healthy scratches. He keeps those players prepared, he keeps their spirits up. He’s been in that situation. He brings so much to the table in that way.” Boll doesn’t travel with the team. He has plenty of interests to keep him occupied, however, starting with helping Lauren raise Annie. Hartnell and Boll agree that caring for a newborn child has helped in their transition from playing hockey. “The baby takes my mind off what I’m missing with the guys and all the fun stuff which comes with being a player,” Hartnell said of his son Wesley. “It helps waking up with this little peanut at 2 a.m. It gives me something to focus on. Me and my wife are racing up the stairs to get that first smile. Changing diapers has been a 50-50 thing. … It has been great.”

PAPA @HARTSY43  PIC.TWITTER.COM/0EXDTUKYXM — COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS (@BLUEJACKETSNHL) DECEMBER 9, 2018 Boll’s biggest fear of leaving the game he loves has been averted. He understands how fortunate he truly is, especially given how many other retirees are looking to find their way, looking to fill that “big, empty hole.” Sharrock jokes that Boll is around Nationwide Arena more than when he was as a player. There’s still so much to learn, including how to break down film. Perhaps, his role will lead to other NHL opportunities. Maybe, there’s a more prominent job for him in the future. “I tell guys that coaching is as weird as you make it,” Boll said. “If you think it’s awkward, it’s probably going to be awkward. But so far I think it’s gone really well.” Jared Boll is still the kid who wants to get to the rink early. Even in retirement, he wants to be the first one on the ice. The Athletic LOADED: 01.25.2019 1127547 Dallas Stars With his skating, Heiskanen has drawn lofty comparisons. Montgomery compared Heiskanen to Hall of Famer Scott Niedermayer, who is arguably the greatest skating defenseman of all-time. Beginning with Finland, loose laces and dull blades: How Stars defenseman Miro trade rumors last summer, Heiskanen was linked with Erik Karlsson, and Heiskanen developed into an elite skater their graceful skating nearly mirrors each other. For Karlsson, much like Heiskanen, he never really thought about his skating because, well, it was always there. Matthew DeFranks "I don't know, I've skated well since I was young," Karlsson said. "For me, that's my normal, so I don't think any different of it. He's a good skater too from what I've seen. A young Finnish guy, I'm sure he skated a lot On a fall Thursday morning in Boise, Idaho, in the unblemished shine of growing up. That's probably helped. a new season, the shadow of past failings and the promise of a new savior, Miro Heiskanen arrived. He was the teenager from Finland too "We skate more because it's fun, not because we have to." prized to part with in trade negotiations, whose adolescence radiated through his boyish face and soft-spoken voice. Heiskanen was the 19- Heiskanen's skating was almost a necessity in Finland. He was always year-old present the Stars were waiting to unwrap, to see if his skills smaller. He was always younger. He was 14 years old when he played could translate to the NHL and if he could become the next great Dallas for HIFK's U16 team. He was 15 when he played U18 and 16 when he defenseman. jumped to U20. He became a professional in Finland's at 17, and is now a 19-year-old All-Star in the NHL. He unfurled his skillset quickly and easily during training camp in Boise: the poise, the hockey sense and, of course, the skating. Kari Kalto coached Heiskanen for HIFK's U18 team from 2014-16 and had concerns about him. Heiskanen's skating ability, his most noticeable trait, is the one that allows him to become a potential cornerstone piece for the Stars. It looks "He was small, and I didn't think he was going to survive," Kalto said. unforced and serene, like he's gliding on the ice instead of digging into it. "The game's going to be like surviving. ... He was so small and tiny, and On the second day of training camp, Stars coach Jim Montgomery was because he played bigger players, there were always one-on-one battles. asked who had impressed him. He always wanted to win those battles, but he didn't have the power yet. He was so rough to himself. He always wanted to be better. Every "Oh, Heiskanen, Jesus," Montgomery replied. "Can he ever skate?" practice, he was pissed off at himself. No one else, just himself." Heiskanen's skating unlocks abilities other players normally couldn't Then Kalto witnessed the same thing observers are noticing now. He reach. Two weeks into his NHL career, the Stars began calling faceoff was bewildered by Heiskanen's skating and called it a mystery. plays designed around using his speed on mismatched forwards. He uses it to escape pressure in his own end, and then apply it on the "The skating, technically, it's pretty wide," Kalto said. "The gliding, I don't opposite side of the ice. Combine the speed with his other skills and the know how he does it, to get that speed with that skating. I have seen teenager should live up to his No. 3 pick status. better technically skaters, and Miro is not strong with his legs, I don't know how he can go so fast, so easy." In his rookie season, it's resulted in a breakout year. He has nine goals and 11 assists in 49 games this season, earning an All-Star appearance Heiskanen's background in Finland certainly helps him, but it's not wholly this weekend in San Jose. Heiskanen is the youngest player in franchise responsible for his smooth skating. Not all Finns skate like he does history to be an All-Star and only the second rookie in franchise history to despite going through similar training in their upbringing. earn the honor. "He's probably had guys he's played with his whole minor hockey career, Heiskanen will arrive in San Jose on a league-wide stage and potentially so it's not just taught," Spezza said. "Some of it is God-given and how flash his skating in the fastest skater competition. But to understand much you can retain. I think when you're exceptional at anything, you Heiskanen, it's clear that both him and his skating arrived long before can't really say that it's taught. I'm sure there's another guy that trained training camp in Boise. exactly the same as Miro, but doesn't have the same skating stride. Some of it is given, but it's also probably being able to pick up things "I've always just skated," Heiskanen said, "and don't think about that too quicker, too, at a younger age." much." Heiskanen's CCM JetSpeed FT1 skates typically sit in front of his corner To mold his stride, Heiskanen never used a personal skating coach. stall in the Stars dressing room. They look like the rest of his teammates' skates from a distance, black with white laces snaking above the tongue. In today's NHL, skating coaches are common as some players seek out But smaller details reveal another unspoiled secret in Heiskanen's former figure skaters to improve their speed, balance and edges. Jason skating. Dickinson has worked with popular coach Barb Underhill since his junior days in Guelph, and his skating was so good that some scouts labeled Of the 11 eyelets on his skate, Heiskanen leaves the top one unfulfilled. him lazy because it looked easy for him. Jason Spezza uses one in the It's a trick many of the top young skaters are using, including players like offseason. Skating coaches regularly drop by offseason programs for a Connor McDavid, Johnny Gaudreau and Jack Eichel. But Heiskanen handful of other Stars. goes a step further by tying his laces loosely. But Heiskanen hasn't used a skating coach. Part of it is thanks to his Instead of tightly hugging his feet, Heiskanen's skates cradle his feet and upbringing in Finland. allow for some freedom of movement in his ankles. Ankle flexion is another recent trend in skating that Spezza called "one of the biggest It was a theory first posed by Spezza, who said Europeans do more changes that have happened in the last 10 years." individual work during team practices than North Americans. So while North Americans hire skill and skating coaches to supplement their "You see the guys coming up now, they're a bit more fluid: Jack Hughes, normal practices, Europeans normally receive that type of instruction. McDavid, Miro. Lots of ankle flexion, that kind of stuff," Spezza said. "It could be, but also if you ask Miro, I think he's going to say the same Heiskanen said: "Almost every guy ties their skates as hard as they can thing," Swedish defenseman John Klingberg said. "When he was young, and their ankle doesn't move that much. Of course, it depends on how they really worked on skating from small age to even pretty old." you like to move your skates, but I like it a little bit looser." In Finland (and similarly in Sweden), youth practices are different. His laces only tell part of the story. His blade says more. According to European teams did skating drills before every practice. Fellow Finnish Stars assistant equipment manager Dennis Soetaert, Heiskanen keeps defenseman Julius Honka said they did about 15 minutes of skating his skates dull instead of constantly having them being sharpened, even before each practice. Klingberg said practices started with skating until going through just two pairs of skates in the first half of the season. about 13 or 14 years old. "Even the sharpness of it, over in Europe, they don't get them as sharp," Finnish defenseman Esa Lindell said young Finns play on smaller ice Soetart said. "A lot of Europeans are duller than our Americans or our ("cut the ice in half," he said) until about 10 years old, and they are not Canadians, our North Americans. I don't know why, but it's almost like a allowed to hit. They learn to play the game with positioning and speed standard that growing up, they (North Americans) think sharper is better, instead of with physicality. but really duller is better for most guys. They don't dig into the ice, the legs aren't working as hard. "When I was younger, we skated a lot at practice," Heiskanen said. "I think that's the reason why I'm now a good skater. We skated every "I don't want to say he's floating on top, but he's not digging in that practice." much." --- Heiskanen's game is dotted with undetectable traits: finding open ice, getting to his forehand, subtle stick movements to dislodge the puck and correct positioning in the defensive zone. But he's also saved plays with out-of-nowhere backchecks by speeding through the neutral zone. "A lot of his game is skating for sure, then he has his poise and his defensive stick like everyone sees," Klingberg said. "And his poise in his offensive game as well, but I think a lot of his game comes from his skating ability for sure." Nashville defenseman Roman Josi is one of the best skating defensemen in the NHL, and understands how to use his speed. "I think one of the big things is jumping up in the play and joining the rush," Josi said. "Teams forecheck really hard, so you try to beat that forward up the ice and jump in. There's a lot of things. I think, defensively, you can be a little more aggressive in certain situations and hopefully rely on your feet to get back." In his first 49 career games, Heiskanen has wowed nearly everyone around the Stars organization with his combination of current performance and future potential. This weekend, he'll have the chance to do the same on the league-wide stage, to arrive yet again in front of the hockey world. "His efficiency and balance is what separates him, right?" Spezza said. "How fluid he is on his skates, it's not work. It's like Scott Niedermayer, Erik Karlsson, those guys that can skate for days and play 30 minutes and not look tired. That's what he's got. To me, it's balance, edges, composure. "I'm sure he's feeling like we're not going 100 percent out there." Dallas Morning News LOADED: 01.25.2019 1127548 Dallas Stars Like Luka, Miro is a 19-year-old Euro who plays like he’s almost a full decade older.

Miro is an NHL All-Star, and currently ranks second among rookie It’s very possible the Cowboys, Mavs, and Stars all have rookie of the defensemen in scoring. He also leads all major rookies in average ice year winners time at more than 23 minutes per game. He deserves to win the NHL’s Calder Trophy as the top rookie, but he BY MAC ENGEL has a numbers problem. He does not have enough whereas Vancouver center Elias Pettersson does.

Don’t let that dissuade you from knowing that the Stars nailed it when DALLAS-Luka Doncic, Miro Heiskanen and Leighton Vander Esch walk they selected Heiskanen with the third overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft. into a bar, but only one can legally drink. He is the player this franchise desperately needs, and can save the GM’s job. When LVE is the old man in the crew and has to buy beer for his buddies, it’s party time. 3. LEIGHTON VANDER ESCH, DALLAS COWBOYS, LB This trio sounds like the top line for a European hockey team, and The final impression we have of LVE this season is him sitting next to individually they are major scores for their respective franchises, and our Sean Lee on the bench in Los Angeles as defensive coordinator Kris entire deep-playoff run starved town. Richard yelled at both of them for getting their fannies kicked by the Rams in the playoffs. Our local teams have stomped all over our sports’ heart lately, but these three kids are the hope we all need to keep going. All three are legitimate The overall impression is that LVE is their long-term solution to replace candidates to be named his respective league’s Rookie of the Year this Lee at the position. The 19th overall pick in the draft, Vander Esch is a season. franchise-building hit. The Cowboys’ season is over, the Dallas Mavericks are not a playoff He’s a big, fast, athletic player who led the team in tackles, intercepted team today, and the Dallas Stars just barely would make it to the two passes, and was visible for all of the right reasons. The only time he postseason. The Texas Rangers? Because my New Year’s Resolution to looked over-matched was in the playoff loss to the Rams, when the rest be upbeat is on life support, let’s just not talk about them. of his teammates on defense were bad too. The Cowboys, Mavs and Stars hit on these three rookies in a way LVE will not win the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year award. Not franchises crave, so let us celebrate the fact that we have three guys because of the playoff loss, but rather because this category is stacked who should finish 1, 2 and 3 in their respective Rookie of the Year voting. and includes Darius Leonard of the Indianapolis Colts. Is it a playoff run? No, but at this point we need hope. All three of these young men - Luka, Miro and LVE - are exactly what a franchise could want when they were first round picks, and they 1. LUKA DONCIC, MAVS, G/F represent the type of hope necessary a fan base needs to keep watching. Mavs GM Donnie Nelson was convinced Doncic was the best player in the ‘18 draft, only he had no idea he was this good. No one outside of the Star-Telegram LOADED: 01.25.2019 Doncic family did. He was the third overall pick of the 2018 NBA Draft, and the Atlanta Hawks traded him to the Mavs in exchange for Trae Young, whom the team selected fifth. Although top pick DeAndre Ayton averages a double-double in Phoenix, the NBA’s Rookie of the Year will be Doncic. The Mavs are going to build their entire roster around him, for good reason. Doncic is 19, and he averages 20 points, 6.8 rebounds and 5.2 assists. Again, he is 19. In the first two months of his career, The Luka has been named the Rookie of the Month in the Western Conference twice. The last player to win the Rookie of the Month in his first two months is Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers. Doncic will be an All-Star next month; he currently ranks second in the West in All-Star voting, which ended on Monday night, and he trails only LeBron James. Luka’s presence has made Dennis Smith Jr. expendable, and the Mavs will use Luka’s talents to recruit and sign free agents in the offseason. NBA free agents will want to play with Luka. Of course, the Mavs said the same thing about Dirk Nowitzki and his impact in free agency was to land Chris Kaman. One, Dirk was older when the Mavs, and the league rules, allowed for a college-like recruiting atmosphere. Two, Dirk didn’t want to be a door-to- door salesman. Because of Luka’s youth, talent and personality, he may be able to sway a few players to actually sign with the Mavs as opposed to just using them for leverage. The last time a Maverick won rookie of the year was Jason Kidd in 1995. If the Mavs do to Luka what they did to Kidd, whom they famously traded in 1996, give up on the franchise forever. 2. MIRO HEISKANEN, STARS, D The Stars have searched for a Miro since Sergei Zubov lost a step in 2008. Instead of finding another Zubov they may have found Nick Lidstrom. If you don’t know hockey all that well, Lidstrom is one of the best defenseman in the modern era. Heiskanen may be the one person who can save GM ’s job; he has drafted, and spent big money, in hopes of landing a true No. 1 defenseman. 1127549 Dallas Stars moment my eyes opened each morning. I could never get comfortable, and I was so young and insecure that I would try anything. Those tapes sound extremely weird to me because I was not being myself. I was How in the world has The Ticket made it 25 years, and how lucky am I to trying to be what I thought I was supposed to sound like. I was lost be part of it? without a compass. I was moved to middays within nine months. That move was obviously a huge positive for my career, but I had mixed feelings because of its By Bob Sturm Jan 25, 2019 repercussions. Previous midday host Rocco Pendola was fired in the Spring of 1999 and he was definitely the station’s “hockey guy,” making my entry a natural fit. You may recall that Dallas had a nice hockey story happening in 1999, so again, I fell into something amazing. Within two This is a huge weekend for the institution I owe everything to: Sports months, I would be standing in arenas at historic Dallas hockey wins in Radio 1310 The Ticket. 25 years have passed since the station’s radical St. Louis, Denver, and Buffalo witnessing history before a Downtown format change in early 1994, and while that makes it nowhere near the Dallas parade. Somehow, I had gone from middays in Lynchburg to a age of many other long-haul radio frequencies and formats, I’d like to Stanley Cup-winning locker room in 11 months. Blessed doesn’t describe think our story is a little bit more amazing. it well enough. If you want stories from the early days, there are many on our staff who That same month I was paired with Dan McDowell in an arranged can recite them all. Mike Rhyner told quite a few to Levi Weaver this marriage, one of 12-15 different partners the station matched me with week. I have heard them countless times and am eager for additional over a 60-day transition period. Bruce knew he wanted me to host tellings at our next team dinner. The stories get progressively more middays, but he didn’t know with whom. He asked me for my opinions ridiculous each time they are told, as if I am hearing an old comedy and I thought Mark Followill was a perfect partner, but Bruce had other album with added punch lines that produce spit-takes at just the right ideas (so did Mark, eventually). Gilbert definitely believed that a two-man beat. At their root, though, the stories are all true. They are true because show was the path, and to circle back to my insecurities, I needed a the guys who did the work to make sure this station even existed 25 shoulder to lean on. I did not conduct a good single-man show because I years ago remain on the air in 2019, still killing it. tried to take on the world by myself and that really wasn’t my strength at To me, that is what makes The Ticket special. It is not magical call-letters age 26. Dan was the perfect antidote. His ability to do radio while or a logo or the location of the studios. It comes down to the guys who questioning authority, convention, and “the way it is” are his finest traits. I would not let this operation fail. They were determined to be the voice of colored within the lines for fear of consequences. He colored outside the sports in a city that had never tried that idea before dinner (only night lines because it was fun to do bad things. I probably needed more fun. It time sports talk existed before 1994). Most of the players who got this was uncomfortably perfect. train out of the station still make the place tick today, and that makes all We would fight, argue, and occasionally pull together in a joint effort to the difference in the world to me. survive amongst the most talented staff a radio station can have. You I wasn’t part of that group; not by any stretch. In fact, in January of 1994, don’t understand; these guys who made the Ticket what it is are absurdly I was finishing my senior year at Liberty University, chasing a broadcast talented. They all can do things that are ridiculous outside of just sports journalism degree while wearing a tie to class (because that is how we talk. Musicians, impressionists, and brilliant intellectuals. I have one gift: I rolled). I would graduate four months later and begin a run of four years can talk sports. These guys were several levels beyond that. and two months in Lynchburg, Virginia. I was the only local voice on All Dan and I wanted in 1999 was to survive. We knew that these shows WLNI, a station of syndicated radio shows like Don Imus, G-Gordon around us, particularly The Musers and The Hardline, were heavyweight Liddy, and Don and Mike. My little shake-voiced-21-year-old know-it-all champions in a massive market where every station is trying to get to the routine debuted on May 9, 1994. Four days later, I would graduate from top. We didn’t care about world domination. We just cared about not college. getting sent back from whence we came. We also thought the way to do By 1998, my wife and I had enough of the small-town life (radio market it was a departure from many other shows that tried to make their way at #166!) and were itchy to either move up or move back to Wisconsin to the station. It always seemed to us that the rookie shows were made up tackle a life of insurance sales or some “real job.” I needed to figure out of young radio guys who had been born here and thus grew up on the how to move further up along the ladder. I compiled a list of target cities, Ticket. Their perspective on radio was pretty much influenced specifically but Dallas was certainly not one. Having served the Redskins fan base, by the Ticket. Therefore, their shows sounded like cover bands of Ticket there was no way a Dallas station would hire me; I was openly cheering shows. for “ABC! Anybody But the Cowboys” to win each year. I sure knew how If we did anything right, it was to purposely try to sound like we were part to pander to a fanbase. of the Ticket but not like we were ripping if off. It is hard to say how well To make a long story short, I found sportsradio.com (generic) and asked we pulled that feat off, but we are not Texans by birth. We are “Yankees” consultant Rick Scott about how to move up and whether I needed an to many, who talk funny and probably can’t be trusted. For us to survive, agent to do it. He put me in touch with the great Bruce Gilbert (KTCK’s we would have to produce a product that could hold its own. Eventually, program director at the time) who brought me in on Fathers Day of 1998 we figured out how to do that. to try out for a night-time gig that was soon to be vacant. He even It took a while, though. And during that time, we needed our Ticket introduced me to a friendly Max Miller during my tour of the station, but I buddies to give us a boost. We needed their approval and their would later find out I would replace him. That remains my only interaction endorsement at times. With a snap of their fingers, they could have with Max to this day, and I still feel bad about it. If you are out there, Max, turned their loyalists against the new guys. It would have been self- I am sorry. destructive, perhaps, but it is pretty common in radio for accomplished This is a good point of the story to reinforce that I had no idea what the performers to make the new guys twist. I don’t believe this Ticket family Ticket was, whether it was successful, or whether it would be on the air ever did that for a moment. We kept trying to figure out our sound, and at 12 months later. I didn’t know, I wasn’t smart enough to ask — and some point over 20 years, we made some progress. frankly, my dear — I didn’t care. I wanted to move to a place where big- Back in 1998, when I first arrived, I was terrified of these guys. I met time sports were played. I would have literally gone anywhere. In them all when they operated a success-producing machine. I had a bag retrospect, I definitely won the lottery, but I was too dumb to know better. of next to nothing. They must have wondered about me; I could not be I was going to the first radio station and city that returned my call and I less like them in many respects and I truly didn’t get 80% of their jokes at did it with more happiness than any one person should possess. first. My head was spinning. Mike Rhyner definitely had me extra Anyway, my first day was July 27, 1998. Within one week I would be in frightened. It was very confusing to pinpoint his exact role; I can clearly Wichita Falls at Cowboys training camp, doing what passed as my recall trying to explain him to my dad and being confused myself. Was he nighttime show from 8 to 11 p.m. I was alone on the air in a city I knew my boss? Well, no. But, everything went through him. I met with Rhynes very little about. I was on a radio station where everyone was seemingly and he did most of the talking, and then when it was over, I remember a rock-star. I was a confident, medium-sized fish in a tiny pond who had wondering how it went. I am sure I did a lot of nodding and agreed to been thrown in the radio ocean. And I was terrified. some words that I probably didn’t fully understand. I just knew that he sat in the power chair, so I was smart enough to act accordingly. Perhaps you can relate to the feeling that you have fallen into something too big for you. The feeling that you clearly don’t belong. The feeling that Greggo, George, Craig, and Gordon were the rest of what constitutes your time here is going to be short because you will soon be exposed for The Dream Team, the group which flipped the switch on radio history 25 being out of your league. I figured I would enjoy these few months before years ago. I arrived in Year 4, Dan in Year 5, and then Norm Hitzges shaking the hands of the guy brought in to replace me. I was a mess, and came downstairs in Year 6, but he needed absolutely no introduction my apprehension wasn’t getting any better as the weeks went by. I would since the guys who conceived of the station actually grew up listening to not go on the air until 8 p.m., but I would start preparing for the show the Norm themselves. It was the Mount Rushmore of Dallas sports radio and fighting for each other. As corny as it may sound, I think the key is that those two carpet-baggers from up north. this place has a bunch of guys who love each other. The coolest thing about the station from the inside was seeing how The Ticket isn’t about sports talk. Well, it is, but it’s also not. It is about everyone seemed to be great friends. I don’t just mean the “Big Five,” but life and the day-to-day stuff that it includes; kids, wives, TV, movies, cars, you could add in Jeff Catlin, Corby Davidson, and so many others at the golf. It is what radio can be when people are talking to their buddies and station, as well as the P1’s who not only listened faithfully, but seemed to not at an audience. It is an infectious soap opera for guys. also hang out with many of the hosts everywhere we would go. Greggo seemed to know everyone in the city and they adored him. It was really These guys built this thing from the dust, and like a band getting mind-blowing how close-knit the group was (and how big the group really together, it started with friends who wanted to work together, doing was when you included all of the listeners and part-time employees), something that hadn’t been done. They were successful because they even though I didn’t know a soul at first. were real. There is no on-air persona. They are guys being guys. They welcomed us onto their team, but it was one built on friendships and Dan and I are wired very differently, but we share one thing in common: relationships that stand the test of time and the stress of competition. Even during our earliest days in Dallas, we were never what you would Now, when the occasional new personality joins the team, I use that as a call “nightlife” folks. I think we both prefer to be home when skies get textbook on how to bring the younger guys along. The door was opened dark, and that certainly slowed down our ability to fit in with our new radio for me and I should be expected to do the same. family. Years and years ago, I had a conversation with Dan about how long The But that never stopped anyone from welcoming us to their team and Ticket could realistically keep going. It requires a lot of things to fall into helping us along. Were we different dudes? Absolutely. I would still say place to keep it going at a top level. And when the success level drops… that in our own ways, we are rather dissimilar to many on the Ticket well, demolition is common to any enterprise with big expectations and a team. And that is why I cannot tell you how great it has been to be a part big operating budget. of something this special. This station’s cornerstones went out of their way to open their arms to me and my family, and now I cannot see ever We arrived at the conclusion that The Dream Team probably couldn’t leaving Dallas, Texas. I am 20 years older than I was when I got here survive five more years. There was no way, considering everyone’s age and have three young Texans in my home. Literally everything that has and their years on the job, that we could keep the team together five happened to me in my career and every opportunity that has come my more years. Impossible. Let’s enjoy this while it lasts. way is a product of The Ticket providing me with the shot of a lifetime. That was 2002. In 2013, Dan and I came close to seeing if the grass was actually The Ticket won’t live forever and neither will its members. It is important greener on the other side of the fence. A competitor talked to the two of for the station to skillfully add new characters to keep it going. Along the us about being the “top names” on their team. They were generous, way, The Great Donovan has played an enormous role, with others like flattering and tempting. It seemed natural that 15 years later, we might my good friend Jake ready for an even bigger stage. But, doggone, there want to try to play on our own team and build our own identity away from will never be anything like this place and its characters ever again. I owe the station, especially if the rewards seemed substantial. it everything and I consider the guys on this team my lifelong friends. I One thing kept us at the Ticket (and only one). It was our friends. These am truly blessed to have ended up on this team and I really have no idea guys. The guys who put this radio station in place called our phones or how it all happened. I may have other jobs in this world, but this one is cornered us in the parking lot as we deliberated over the decision. They THE gig. And I love this gig. talked to us each in terms of true friends who appreciated our opportunity Everyone should be so lucky as to love what they do each day when they but wanted to reach out and express their desire to keep the team fire out of bed. together. The Ticket could go on without us, but our buddies wanted us to know that we were a bigger part of the team than we know and that Long live the Ticket. our station’s best attribute is that our lineup had not budged much since 1998. Let’s keep the band together and keep this train going down the The Athletic LOADED: 01.25.2019 track. We should spend more time telling those close to us how we feel about them. Hearing those sentiments articulated by the guys you respect more than anyone on the planet meant the world to me and Dan. Our coworkers felt strongly about us, but I am not sure I had ever heard it said so clearly until June of 2013. By the time I was done talking to each of those “Day-1” guys during that time, I had done a complete 180. Dan felt the same way. We were staying. They had given my family so much that there was no way I was going to ignore their words. Having legends tell you that their team is better for having you on the roster was the ultimate compliment. I often wonder how many people in the world truly love their coworkers, because I can’t think of any other term to describe the feelings that I have for these guys. It would be a truly absurd way to use the movie Superbad and the sleeping bag scene with Seth and Evan to explain how I believe the four shows feel about each other after all these years, so let’s go for it: Seth: I love you. I love you. I’m not even embarrassed to say it. I just– I lo– I love you. – Evan: I’m not embarrassed. – Seth: I love you. Evan: I love you. Why don’t We say that every day? Why can’t We say it more often? Seth: I just love you. I just wanna go to the rooftops and scream: “I love my best friend, Evan.” Evan: We should go up on my roof. Seth: For sure. And there, in all of its absurdity, is the missing ingredient of the many sports radio stations which tried to steal The Ticket’s playbook. I just don’t think you can assemble a staff of great sports minds and expect them to give a rip about each other. That comes from years and years of legitimately good guys actually caring about each other and ultimately 1127550 Detroit Red Wings

Pavel Datsyuk back to Detroit Red Wings? Not so fast, says agent

Helene St. James, Detroit Free Press Published 1:00 p.m. ET Jan. 24, 2019

Pavel Datsyuk is not ready to retire from professional hockey. But beyond that, his agent urged caution on the Datsyuk-to-NHL comeback buzz.

Speaking to the Free Press on Thursday, Dan Milstein, who has represented Datsyuk as his sole agent since 2014, said Datsyuk might consider returning to the NHL three years after leaving. If so, the agent believes there’d only be one club in the mix: the Detroit Red Wings.

“It has been blown out of proportion,” Milstein said, regarding Google translations of what he told ’s Match TV. “Pavel is not ready to retire. I talk to him six, seven times a week. I have talked to him about a possible return to NHL, but that is all.

“He is going to have to make a decision.”

Is Pavel Datsyuk really weighing a comeback with tthe Detroit Red Wings?

Datsyuk turns 41 in July. He left the Wings with a year left on his contract in the summer of 2016, saying he needed to return to his native Russia, where his daughter from his first marriage resided. He also wanted to play before homeland fans. He signed a two-year contract with SKA Saint Petersburg, and re-upped for a season last April.

In order to free up salary cap space, the Wings traded Datsyuk’s contract to Arizona in a deal that also involved swapping first-round picks (Arizona moved up to 16th and drafted Jakob Chychrun; the Wings drafted Dennis Cholowski at 20th), and the Wings also received a second-round pick (which they used on Filip Hronek). Milstein said the Coyotes own Datysuk’s rights until July 1, 2019, when he becomes an unrestricted free agent.

Milstein said he has not spoken to any NHL executives about Datsyuk and won’t until “he tells me he is considering coming back to the NHL."

“I believe if he wants to come back he would consider only one club," Milstein said.

"He spent entire career in Detroit. If he wants to come back, I believe he would only consider the Red Wings.”

Wings general manager was not available for comment, but teams generally don’t comment on players whose rights belong to other clubs.

Milstein said Datsyuk “still has an appetite to win, still is very competitive.”

Datsyuk's return to the NHL, should it happen, could pose an interesting situation for the Wings. The top forward slots — it's hard to think Datsyuk would be happy as a third-liner — are spoken for by key rebuilding blocks in Dylan Larkin, Anthony Mantha, Andreas Athanasiou and Tyler Bertuzzi. Does Filip Zadina fit into the mix next season? Michael Rasmussen? Is Gustav Nyquist gone at the trade deadline, or will he be re-signed? What if the Wings win the draft lottery and the right to draft forward Jack Hughes this summer?

There’s a lot that will have to play out for the Wings to consider Datsyuk, and it seems more likely he finishes his career in Russia.

Detroit Free Press LOADED: 01.25.2019 1127551 Detroit Red Wings “I’m getting up there and I see the light at the end of the tunnel,” Howard said. “At the same time, I’m having a lot of fun, and I just want to take this as far as I can.”

Jimmy Howard's will to bounce back confirmed with All-Star nod A potential unrestricted free agent on July 1, Howard has never shied away from his desire to remain in Detroit for the rest of his career. And with his level of play this season – for the last few seasons, actually – re- Ted Kulfan, Jan. 24, 2019 signing Howard might be a very attractive option for the the Red Wings.

But, if a contender were to have its starting goalie injured ahead of the Feb. 25 trade deadline, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a team inquire Jimmy Howard ( David Guralnick, Detroit Detroit – The question of who is about Howard’s availability, which would have the Wings likely asking for more excited to attend NHL All-Star weekend really isn’t close. a first-round draft pick in return. Detroit Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard is looking forward to playing in “I’ve been through this before, and really, you can’t think about it,” said his second All-Star Game. But his sons – James, 7, and Henry, 4 – are Howard of the trade speculation. “You can’t do anything about it. It would miles ahead of dad on the excitement meter. be an honor to finish my career here.” “They’re at the age where they are beginning to know these guys,” Howard also calls it an honor to represent the Wings’ organization and Howard said of his fellow All-Stars. “Auston Matthews, Connor McDavid, his teammates this weekend in San Jose. Patrick Kane – those guys. They play them on the video games. They’re excited to meet them.” “It’ll be fun,” Howard said. “It truly is an honor to represent the Red Wings at an event like this. Would I like to have the time off and relax a little bit? Jimmy Howard meets the media at the NHL All Star Weekend in San Yes. But it is an honor to be going, and I’m real excited to go and enjoy Jose, and talks about the experience, the players, his kids, and Pavel the time with my boys. Datsyuk. Tom Gromak, The Detroit News “They’ve been having a countdown every single day, asking us when The boys are pretty excited to see their dad in the skills competition and we’re going to California. They have been so, so excited.” game, too. NHL All-Star weekend There’s no doubt Howard deserves the All-Star spot for the game in San Jose on Saturday night, given he has a winning record (14-13-5) and Where: SAP Center, San Jose sturdy statistics (2.76 goals-against average, .916 save percentage) on a team that’s near the bottom of the NHL standings. When: Skills competition – Friday, 9 p.m., NBCSN; All-Star Game – Saturday, 8 p.m., NBC. Howard’s first All-Star Game was in 2012. He was named an All-Star again in 2015, but wasn’t able to attend after suffering a groin injury prior Format: This will be the fourth year the NHL uses a four-team, 3-on-3, to the game. single-elimination format, with each of the NHL's four divisions being represented. The winners of the semifinal games meet in the After that injury, it took Howard a while to recapture his high level of play. championship game. Howard had fallen behind Petr Mrazek on the depth chart, and it appeared Howard might be headed toward life as an NHL backup. Detroit News LOADED: 01.25.2019

But anyone who knows Howard probably knew he wasn’t going to give up the No. 1 job without a fight.

Howard went to new goaltending coach Jeff Salajko and the two put in many hours in the summer, improving Howard’s game.

“I’d say Jimmy is being rewarded for the work he’s put in over the last three and a half years,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “I told him I’m real proud of him and happy for him.

“Everyone in this room knows there was a time where it looked like he was going to be a backup and he decided to change his game, go to work, be mentally tough, hang in there and stay with it. Just keep working and get better.

“It’s a lesson we could use as a hockey team. You have to be resilient. You have to find ways to keep getting better and to stay mentally tough and work. It’s great for Jimmy.”

Sitting and watching behind Mrazek was frustrating, but Howard knew his game needed some revisions.

Howard basically became a more patient goaltender, took less chances, became more glued to the net.

The results speak for themselves.

Jeff Blashill on Jimmy Howard: “I’d say Jimmy is being rewarded for the work he’s put in over the last three and a half years.”

Jeff Blashill on Jimmy Howard: “I’d say Jimmy is being rewarded for the work he’s put in over the last three and a half years.” ( David Guralnick, Detroit NHL analyst says Howard’s competitiveness is as strong as any NHL goalie.

Howard says that trait was nurtured growing up in Ogdensburg, in upstate New York.

“Coming from a small town,” Howard said, “you play with a chip on your shoulder.”

Howard turns 35 in March and knows his time in the NHL is shrinking. 1127552 Detroit Red Wings “It’s a lesson we could use as a hockey team . You got to be resilient. You got to find ways to keep getting better and you got to stay mentally tough and work. I think it’s great for Jimmy.”

Red Wings’ Jimmy Howard heads to All-Star Game amid uncertain future Here are the All-Star Game rosters:

Atlantic Division

By Ansar [email protected] Forwards: Jack Eichel (Buffalo), Nikita Kucherov, (Tampa Bay), Auston Matthews (Toronto), Jeff Skinner (Buffalo), David Pastrnak (Boston), (Tampa Bay), John Tavares (Toronto). DETROIT – Jimmy Howard has had better statistics in seasons past, but some in the Detroit Red Wings organization believe the longtime Defensemen: Thomas Chabot (Ottawa), Keith Yandle (Florida). goaltender is having one of his better seasons. Goaltenders: Jimmy Howard (Detroit), (Tampa Bay).

That is why they want to sign him to a contract extension. Metropolitan Division

But they also realize he could be a valuable trade chip as the Feb. 25 Forwards: Sebastian Aho (Carolina), Cam Atkinson (Columbus), Mathew deadline approaches. They would like to acquire a first-round pick for Barzal (Islanders), Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh),Claude Giroux him. That seems unlikely, unless the starting goalie for a Stanley Cup- (Philadelphia), Kyle Palmieri (New Jersey). contending team suffers a season-ending injury in the next four weeks. Defensemen: John Carlson (Washington), Seth Jones (Columbus), Kris Unless the Red Wings lower their demands, they might not be able to Letang (Pittsburgh). move Howard. And that would be fine with them, because they want to keep him, probably for two more seasons. They don’t view Jonathan Goaltenders: Braden Holtby (Washington), Henrik Lundqvist (Rangers). Bernier as a No. 1 goalie and none of their prospects are close to being NHL-ready. Howard would bridge the gap. Central Division

However, trading him and then re-signing him on July 1 also remains a Forwards: Patrick Kane (Chicago), Nathan MacKinnon (Colorado), Ryan possibility. Howard has made it clear he wants to stay. O’Reilly (St. Louis), Mikko Rantanen (Colorado), Mark Scheifele (Winnipeg), Blake Wheeler (Winnipeg), Gabriel Landeskog (Colorado). The Red Wings (19-25-7) limped into the All-Star break with a 5-12-3 record in their past 20 games and are just two points from the NHL’s Defensemen: Miro Heiskanen (Dallas), Roman Josi (Nashville). basement. If they finish last overall, they’ll have the best odds (18.5 Goaltenders: Devan Dubnyk (Minnesota), Pekka Rinne (Nashville). percent) of winning the April draft lottery and the ability to select Jack Hughes of the U.S. National Development Program with the first pick. Pacific Division The Red Wings would be happy to settle for the second or third pick, Forwards: Johnny Gaudreau (Calgary), Clayton Keller (Arizona), Connor giving them the opportunity to take one of two other highly rated forwards McDavid (Edmonton), Joe Pavelski (San Jose), Elias Pettersson in Kaapo Kakko of TPS Turku (Finland) or Vasily Podkolzin (SKA St. (Vancouver), Leon Draisaitl (Edmonton). Petersburg). Defensemen: Brent Burns (San Jose), Drew Doughty (Los Angeles), Erik If they unload Howard, it could all but guarantee they’ll finish last. Karlsson (San Jose). Howard hasn’t been their most valuable player. That would be Dylan Goaltenders: Marc-Andre Fleury (Vegas), John Gibson (Anaheim). Larkin, who leads them with 21 goals and 48 points and is on pace for career highs. But the glut of star forwards in the Atlantic Division Michigan Live LOADED: 01.25.2019 prevented Larkin from being selected for the All-Star Game Saturday in San Jose (8 p.m., NBC).

That’s why Howard, who is 14-13-5, with a 2.76 goals-against average and .916 save percentage, will make his second appearance in the event. This one is more special to him than his 2012 appearance because he’ll be enjoying All-Star weekend with sons James, 7, and Henry, 4.

“They’re at an age now that they know other guys on other teams,” Howard said. “They’re playing video games and watching the NHL channel and YouTube. They’re really looking forward to meeting Patrick Kane, Auston Matthews, Connor McDavid, Henrik Lundqvist. They were disappointed when (Carey) Price pulled out. It’ll be fun.”

All-Star Games are tough on goaltenders due to the lack of defense – nobody is risking injury by playing physical or blocking shots. But Howard can appreciate the excitement the three-on-three format adds for fans.

“It’s exciting when you start trading chances and teams are just going up and down the ice,” Howard said. “There’s odd-man rushes, there’s breakaways. It makes for a lot more exciting than four-on-four or five-on- five.

“This game is getting faster by the day. Each year, it seems like it’s getting quicker, guys are getting more talented. It’s fun.”

Howard wasn't playing like a All-Star a couple years ago, when his lost his starting job to Petr Mrazek and his career was at crossroads. Howard worked with goaltending coach Jeff Salajko and sort of re-invented himself. He regained the top job with Mrazek regressed and was traded last season.

“I’d say Jimmy is rewarded for the work he’s put in over the last 3½ years,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “Everybody in this room knows there was a time where it looked like he was going to be a backup and he decided to change his game, go to work, be mentally tough, hang in there, just keep working and get better. 1127553 Detroit Red Wings

Agent floats idea of Pavel Datsyuk returning to NHL, Red Wings

By Ansar Khankhan

Pavel Datsyuk turns 41 in July, but apparently isn’t close to being done playing hockey, according to his agent, who is floating the possibility of the former Detroit Red Wings star returning to the NHL.

Datsyuk has spent the past three seasons with SKA St. Petersburg in Russia’s KHL, after retiring from the NHL in 2016 with one year remaining on his contract with Detroit.

The Red Wings, rather than being saddled with the $7.5 million cap hit, traded Datsyuk's rights to the Arizona Coyotes on draft night, moving down a couple of spots to No. 20, where they selected Dennis Cholowski, and acquiring an extra second-round pick (No. 53), which they used on Filip Hronek.

Datsyuk's agent, Dan Milstein, told Russia's Match TV, that the skilled center is not ready to retire.

“I’ll tell you one thing, Pavel is not ready to finish hockey in the coming years,” Milstein said in a story translated from Russian posted on tsn.ca. “So the decision is his -- whether to leave for America, whether to play further in the KHL.”

Datsyuk cited family reasons, wanting to be closer to his daughter, for returning to Russia three years ago.

Milstein believes Datsyuk would still draw much interest from NHL teams and seemed to be pushing a return to Detroit, where he spent his entire 14-year career.

“Three years ago, Datsyuk left Detroit on his own,” Milstein said. “The same desire can bring him back.”

According to tsn.ca, the Coyotes own Datsyuk’s NHL rights until July 1, after which he would become an unrestricted free agent.

Datsyuk has nine goals and 25 assists in 44 games this season, 29 goals and 74 assists in 125 games the past three seasons.

He won an Olympic gold medal with the Olympic Athletes from Russia in 2018.

Michigan Live LOADED: 01.25.2019 1127554 Edmonton Oilers Another name to consider is former goalie Sean Burke, who has been GM of Canada’s world championship team, but might not be ready to get the keys to the car in Edmonton. Yet maybe the Montreal pro scout is in Kelly McCrimmon could well be Nicholson’s No. 1 GM object for management somewhere with a new GM, also with somebody with a Edmonton Oilers strong analytics background.

Chiarelli did some good things in both places—he signed Zdeno Chara, brought in Tim Thomas and drafted a young Milan Lucic in Boston and Jim Matheson, Edmonton Journal he made some nice trades here, for Cam Talbot and Patrick Maroon. But in Boston he kept trading skill (Tyler Seguin, Phil Kessel) for lesser skill.

In Edmonton, we all know how moving Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle has If Bob Nicholson is in charge of hiring a new caretaker for Connor turned out. McDavid, there are lots of balls in the air, but the Edmonton Oilers What Nicholson also needs is to convince his owner Daryl Katz to toilet president can’t make the same mistake after hiring Peter Chiarelli — who some of the bad money on the roster like the Toronto Maple Leafs did wasted the past two prime years of the best player in the world’s hockey when they bought their way out of their fiscal mess and buried contracts life. in the minors. Make some of them vanish at the NHL level. Nicholson could hire somebody he knows from his history as head of “At one point the Leafs had $20 million in the AHL. (Colin) Greening, Hockey Canada because people like to lean on what or who they know, (Brooks) Laich, (Jared) Cowan, (Milan) Michalek. Daryl (Katz) would but that’s what he did with Chiarelli, who was one of his Olympic advisors have to give a blank check to his general manager and say fix this mess,” along with and Ken Holland. former goalie and TSN commentator Jamie McLennan said. Nicholson knew Chiarelli well enough that the vetting process was There have to be hard choices here. Put guys in the minors, even with minimal here, hiring him less than two weeks after the Boston Bruins big contracts, and find younger, cheaper people. fired him, like he was the only man for the job. E-mail: [email protected] But that can’t happen this time around. Too much is at stake The new GM has to have a better plan to help his captain, or at least some plan. On Twitter: @NHLbyMatty And it would do the organization well if they kept the interim GM Keith Gretzky in a good spot because he’s smart and hard-workng. Latest Oil Spills podcast: Oilers stall as chorus calling for GM to be fired grows louder Nicholson is crafty enough to read the prevailing winds and there are enough gusts of discontent in OilerNation that he has to look outside the Hockey beat writers Jim Matheson and Rob Tychkowski talk to host box. Craig Ellingson about the makeup of the Edmonton Oilers and the man who put it together, general manger Peter Chiarelli. He has to look at Kelly McCrimmon, 58, who had a huge hand in constructing the Vegas expansion roster, is from Western Canada Considering the stalled fortunes of the NHL club over the past month- (Brandon) and is intelligent. Plus, he knows the Oilers roster because plus, should the Oilers continue employing Chiarelli and allowing him to he’s in the same division. shape the roster?

Also, he would be an easy sell to the fan base because he comes from a Edmonton Sun: LOADED: 01.25.2019 good organization and there’s no Oilers history there for some of the fans who keep bringing up the Old Boys Club.

His name came up as a GM candidate in Carolina when the new owner Tom Dundon fired last year, but McCrimmon got bad vibes and wasn’t the least bit interested. But in Edmonton with McDavid? It could be much different.

Maybe he doesn’t want to leave the Golden Knights, maybe he wants to see that through but, again, he would be attractive to the fan base in Edmonton and Nicholson read their anger at Chiarelli and let him go with lots of time and money left on the table.

If not McCrimmon, then ex-Philly GMs — another Western Canadian — who got the dirty end of the stick with the Flyers because he was preaching patience and drafting better than almost everybody else, but with an ownership that wanted more results now, so he paid for it and got fired in his first GM job. He also did lots of the behind-the-scenes work in Los Angeles for GM Dean Lombardi before he went to Flyers, so he knows his stuff.

We’re not sure how well Nicholson knows either guy because he hasn’t worked with them at Hockey Canada, but Hextall has preached building through the draft and not giving up assets. And McCrimmon is an ace scout, who can pick out players after working in junior hockey as Brandon coach-GM and owner.

Mark Hunter in Toronto would be a good fit, too, because he was part of the Toronto rebuild and he pushed hard for Leafs to take Mitch Marner and we all know how that has turned out.

Plus, he’s the GM of the London junior team that the Oilers top draft choice from 2018, Evan Bouchard, plays for. That would be the first tie-in if Nicholson was looking for somebody he had a little familiarity with.

Hunter and McCrimmon are alike in that they’ve run their own junior teams and both know players — both are born scouts.

For sure, Nicholson has to look at people from good organizations and he’s not making this hire in a vacuum. You can bet Kevin Lowe, the former Oilers GM, will have input. It won’t be Nicholson making the call by himself. 1127555 Edmonton Oilers These are strong-minded, former dynasty members who love the Oilers, it’s hard to imagine that they don’t want to offer some well-intended insight.

Rot in the Edmonton Oilers structure goes much deeper than the GM “I hear that all the time,” said Nicholson. “It’s the old guard, the Oilers of the 80s are making the decisions, that’s not true at all.

Robert Tychkowski “Peter Chiarelli was the president and GM of this hockey team; we gave him the authority to make those decisions. He brought in the majority of his own staff.

Throwing stones at Peter Chiarelli on his way out of town is easy. “We do have people who are from those (glory) days in the organization, but Kevin Lowe hasn’t been on hockey operations decisions. He’s It’s low hanging fruit. He did a woeful job in his three and a half years at leading us now in a different part of the organization. (Old Boy meddling) the helm of this sinking ship and for that the Edmonton Oilers, in a move is a perception that’s out there, but I can tell you, and tell all the fans, that straight out of the KHL, fired him during the second intermission of a 3-2 it’s not true.” loss to Detroit. Maybe not. But even if they aren’t whispering in ears backstage, or in That’s somewhere in between doing it on Skype and letting him pack for Katz’s luxury suite, they are part of an organizational structure that’s a seven day road trip, flying him from Edmonton to San Jose and burned through seven head coaches and three general managers in nine gunning him Joe Pesci-style in a hotel room. and a half years and hasn’t made an inch of progress that wasn’t gifted to Regardless of how or when they did it, firing Chiarelli is justified. He’s it at the lottery. made a terrible mess of this. His well-documented mistakes did That, alone, is reason enough for change. significant damage to the Oilers moving forward. They can start there. Or blame Chiarelli and bring in the next guy. But, at what point in the last 12 years were the Oilers ever actually moving forward? Sift through the standings since 2007 and give it some Edmonton Sun: LOADED: 01.25.2019 thought: 25th, 19th, 21st, 30th, 30th, 29th, 24th, 28th, 28th, 29th, 8th (what!) and 23rd.

They are 23rd again this morning.

This has been an organizational failure of biblical proportions. The only thing missing is an Uber video. Yet, there they are, many of the same people who designed the original road map for this 13-year desert walk, still part of the Oilers think tank.

Why?

That’s the bigger question here. That’s the fruit that is hidden deep inside of owner Daryl Katz’s tree (or tree fort, as it was once referred).

After eight coaches and four general managers in the last 10 years, it’s obvious to everyone that the problems in this franchise runs much deeper than coach and GM. The rot in this structure is down to the foundation.

Can firing one person for the 10th time in 10 years really fix the problem? At what point are they just painting over rust?

Oilers CEO Bob Nicholson tried to assure everyone during Wednesday’s media availability that the fundamental issues in this seemingly hopeless cycle of lottery wins and firings is being addressed.

“The point about changing and changing is dead on,” he said. “That’s why we’re not going to be in a real rush to get a general manager, we have to get the right one.

“We have to look at all parts of this organization. I want to emphasize, again, that we have some really good players. We have some really good staff. But there’s something in the water here in Edmonton that we don’t have right and we have to get that figured out.

“I’m going to try and open up more doors, in all aspects of this of this organization, to find out those little things that just haven’t been fixed over the last number of years.”

I might be able to help with that.

I can’t run an NHL team (although, if push came to shove, I could probably put something together that misses the playoffs 11 times in 12 years), but the Oilers might want to start by cutting a little deeper.

Yes, Chiarelli is gone. He can’t hurt the Oilers any more. But anyone who isn’t still very worried about how this organization works hasn’t been paying attention.

Nobody knows for sure what is going on in the Oilers inner circle. We know Wayne Gretzky, Craig MacTavish, Kevin Lowe and Scott Howson are here in various capacities, and we assume they still have some kind of influence. Mark Messier was around for a while. We’ve heard of “Red Wine Summits,” where past greats supposedly gather to compare rings and formulate strategy. We even saw Paul Coffey parachuted in to coach up some of the young players in practice. 1127556 Edmonton Oilers You’d think the guy who got badly burned in trading away Tyler Seguin because he didn’t fit the Bruin mould would be more patient if given a second chance.

The good, the bad and the ugly of Chiarelli’s time with the Edmonton Nope. Oilers THE EBERLE EFFECT

This one is perplexing. Jordan Eberle had his flaws defensively and Robert Tychkowski would never be confused with Cam Neely, but he was good for 25 goals a season. Like clockwork.

Peter Chiarelli was GM of the Edmonton Oilers from Apr 24, 2015 to Jan. But when the Oilers made the playoffs for the first time in his career, 22, 2019 (3 years, 8 months, 29 days). In that time he signed 89 Eberle didn’t adapt well. He had zero goals and sometimes shied away contracts (total value of $484,870,250), drafted 27 players and made 38 from the intensity. And that was it. trades. Chiarelli sent him to Long Island to play with Barzal in exchange for Ryan Here is the good, the bad and the ugly of his tenure here: Strome, who averaged 11 goals over the previous three seasons. In defending the downgrade, Chiarelli said it was partly to free up some cap CONNOR McDAVID space. They never did use the cap space, but it sounded reasonable at the time. The first part was pretty easy. Most 10-year-olds knew who to pick in 2015. The miracle is that while Buffalo and Arizona were doing their best Wait, it gets worse. Strome couldn’t replace Eberle’s 25 goals, but he to tank, Edmonton won the lottery from 28th place. Instead of getting potted 13 his first season in Edmonton, fitting in well, chipping in when he Noah Hanifin or Dylan Strome, all the hard work paid off and they got could, contributing on special teams and becoming a well-liked, hard- Connor McDavid. working character guy in the dressing room.

Two years later Chiarelli locked up the captain with an eight year, $100 So he replaced him with Ryan Spooner, who just this week was placed million contract. It was clean, easy work, thanks in large part to McDavid on and then sent to the minors after scoring twice in 25 games not trying to put the screws to anyone. It also means the Oilers only have with Edmonton. seven years left to try and get this thing fixed. As one comedian put it: Chiarelli should have just put Eberle on waivers GRIFFIN REINHART and saved everyone a lot of trouble.

It’s tough when swapping a Hart Trophy winner for a stay at home OSCAR KLEFBOM defenceman, or turning a 25-goal scorer into a guy they just put on waivers, might not be your worst trade ever, but that’s how bad the Griffin The way the Oilers have floundered without him fully illustrates his value Reinhart deal was. to this team. But prior to the 2015-16 season, long before Klefbom played his way into into the top pairing, Chiarelli took a gamble and offered him There was serious organizational love for the former Edmonton Oil Kings a seven-year contract worth $4.1 million per year. defenceman that blinded them to everything else. Despite warnings that his foot speed wasn’t good enough for the NHL and the physical He’d only played 77 NHL games over two seasons at that point, scoring advantage he relied on in junior wouldn’t be there in the pros, they paid a a grand total of three goals, and wasn’t far removed from shoulder massive price to get him — first AND second round picks in 2015. surgery. It seemed like too much too soon. Instead, it’s tremendous value. Problem is, Reinhart was a bust, and the rest of that draft was stacked with talent. The Islanders used the first pick to take Mathew Barzal, who Imagine, knowing what we know about his value, if he was back at the won rookie of the year and has 130 points in a year and a half. Brock negotiating table this summer. Boeser, Sebastien Aho and Kyle Connor were also available at the time. MILAN LUCIC

The Oilers left Reinhart unprotected in the Las Vegas expansion draft. Did somebody say value? He currently plays for the AHL Chicago Wolves. This contract doesn’t quite fall into that category. It was roasted CAM TALBOT immediately when the Oilers signed the UFA winger for seven years at This was a nice move. Starting goalies are hard to come by and $6 million a year. Giving Shawn Horcoff money to a rugged 28-year-old everyone had a pretty good idea, given his relief work when Henrik power forward seemed out of sync with a league shifting gears to speed Lundqvist got injured in New York, that Talbot could very likely be a and skill. quality starter. But darned if it didn’t pay off. Lucic scored 23 goals and 27 assists in his He was co-MVP with Connor McDavid in the playoff season (you know first season with Edmonton, giving the Oilers a swagger and identity they things are bad when you can just call it the playoff season and everyone hadn’t had in years. He made a huge difference on a team that had a knows what you’re talking about), starting a franchise record 73 games perfect mix of skill and toughness. The Oilers looked so good in that and earning a Vezina nomination. Getting him for second-, third- and playoff run that many people picked them to win the Stanley Cup the seventh-round picks was a steal for a team that used eight goalies over following season. the two previous seasons. They didn’t. Lucic fell into the worst slump of his career, two goals in 82 You can argue that this was a sympathy move, Glen Sather knowing he games in 2018 over two seasons. He’s out of it now (four goals in his last had to trade Talbot and wanting to help out some old friends, but, nine games), and still brings some much needed qualities to the team, whatever. Chiarelli got it done and it resulted in the best season they’ve but, unless he’s back to scoring 20 a year, he’s making too much money. had in 13 years, MIKKO KOSKINEN

TAYLOR HALL This is another Klefbom-like gamble. Koskinen played a grand total of “The trade is one for one.” four games in the NHL before coming to Edmonton on a one-year contract and playing 27 this year. Those are words that will live in infamy in Edmonton, where fans gasped in shock upon learning that the second best player in the organization, But Chiarelli and the Oilers had seen enough and raced to lock him up one of the cornerstones of a team that was just starting to take shape, for three years and $13.5 million. That’s risky, even without considering just got traded for a stay-at-home defenceman. that in the 10 games prior to the signing he went 3-6 with one no decision and an .877 save percentage. Adam Larsson is a very good player and stabilized a blue line that badly needed stabilizing. He was a huge part of the team that finished with 103 We’ll see. points and made it to the second round. But that team was a fluke. One JUSTIN SCHULTZ and done. And here we are, the Oilers with a good stay at home defenceman and New Jersey with a Hart Trophy winner. By the time Chiarelli got here the organization had already ruined Schultz by forcing him into a top pairing role he was never qualified for, so you can’t really blame the GM.

Schultz’s confidence was destroyed, fans bullied him and turned him into a whipping post and eventually Edmonton just sent him to Pittsburgh for a third round pick. He’s now a two-time Stanley Cup champion and almost exactly what the Oilers are looking for — a puck moving right shot defenceman who can work the power play.

THE MIDDLING DOWNGRADES

Colby Cave, Tobias Reider, Brandon Manning. By the end, when he had nothing left to trade, Chiarelli was grasping at straws, taking low-end risks on low end players that haven’t panned out. It irked the fan base and made a mediocre team just slightly worse.

Drake Caggiula for Brandon Manning, a healthy scratch in Chicago who’s greatest claim to fame was breaking Connor McDavid’s collar bone? Not sure you want to trade your fifth leading scorer for that guy.

JESSE PULJUJARVI

This one was tough. Puljujarvi was consensus No. 3 on draft day, coming off a MVP performance at the World Juniors. Everyone had him at No.3, except, as it turns out, the one GM in the NHL who spoke Finnish.

Jarmo Kekäläinen and the Columbus Blue Jackets passed on him and and when he fell to the Oilers at four, they had to bite. So far, it hasn’t worked out. To make matters worse, Matthew Tkachuk was there for the taking and would have solved a lot of problems when it comes to Edmonton’s offence and competitiveness.

Instead Puljujarvi is three years into his development and hasn’t shown much development. The Oilers are partly to blame for not bringing him along properly, and he’s still only 20, but after busting on a first overall in Nail Yakupov, not having anything tangible to show for a fourth overall pick four years later hurts.

Edmonton Sun: LOADED: 01.25.2019 1127557 Edmonton Oilers Some others to consider for sure:

Current Montreal pro scout Sean Burke, GM for Canada at the worlds and also played in the Olympics for Canada in 1988. Talented, bright and The list of possible general managers for Edmonton Oilers as long as a Nicholson is close from his Hockey Canada ties. Connor McDavid point streak Ex Oilers and Norm Maciver. Guerin is Rutherford’s closest sounding board as assistant GM in Pittsburgh. He’s worked for Penguins Jim Matheson, Edmonton Journal since 2011. Maciver is Stan Bowman’s right-hand and has three Cup rings, helping to build the Hawks in their heyday. He’s been their assistant GM for six years.

When Bob Nicholson fired general manager Craig MacTavish in April, Ken Holland and Doug Armstrong. Both currently employed but if Chris 2015 at the same time Darnell Nurse was ironically trying to check Ilitch, Mike’s boy who runs the Red Wing now, wants to Connor McDavid in the OHL playoffs, there was no exhaustive search for be GM, Holland will be available. Armstrong has been running the store a replacement, nine days and the out-of-work Peter Chiarelli had the job in St. Louis for five years and had a five-year GM stint in Dallas too. He’s here. built good teams in St. Louis but they can’t win. He’s worked with Nicholson as a GM advisor at the Olympics. Nicholson, who just fired Chiarelli with a season and 32 games left on his five-year deal, promises to be “more patient” this time, spreading the net *One other former GM Dave Taylor, who was Kings’ manager for nine a lot wider than first man up to bat. That is a good thing; there will years. He’s currently VP of hockey ops for Blues and was director of actually be interviews, plural. player personnel for three years before that.

Here’s some names to consider, outside of interim caretaker Keith Edmonton Sun: LOADED: 01.25.2019 Gretzky

1. Kelly McCrimmon (Vegas)

George McPhee gets most of the credit for putting the expansion Golden Knights together but McCrimmon, who left the for Vegas, did a ton of the grunt work scouting players. His name is out there for the Seattle expansion job, too, because he’s already been through it once, but McCrimmon, who coached Glen Gulitzan in junior, has impeccable credentials. Also, he has a feel for the Oilers organization because the Golden Knights are in the same division. He’s not perfect — Vegas took Griffin Reinhart off Oilers list and he’s never seen a minute with them, rather than the unprotected Jujhar Khaira.

2. Ron Hextall (Flyers)

He was an assistant GM to Dean Lombardi when the Los Angeles Kings won their two Cups, then went to Philadelphia and built an organization with asute drafting.

“It’s not a vision of mine to trade young players for older players,” he said.

The Flyers have more high-end prospects than just about anybody, but ownership wanted results now, and thought he was too patient. He stuck with coach Dave Hakstol when people were crying for his head. Hextall got whacked first, then Hakstol by new GM . His operating style is close-to-the-vest like Chiarelli. He has a history with Oilers of course. He was Philly’s playoff MVP goalie in 1987 when they lost the Cup final to the Oilers in seven games.

3.

The former agent (Tuukka Rask, Tim Thomas, Kimmo Timonen and one- time Oiler Jeff Norton) left the business in 2013 to work with Columbus, eventually running their farm team. He has lots of input with Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen and was GM of Team USA at last spring’s world championship. He was runner-up for the Buffalo job that went to Jason Botterill so he’s getting closer to running his own team. Chiarelli used to be an agent too, in Ottawa working with Larry Kelly.

4. Mark Hunter

When Lou Lamoriello was Leafs GM, he had and Hunter as his assistants. Hunter, brother of ex-Oiler Cup winner Dave, lost out to replace Lamoriello, who’s now running New York Islanders. He didn’t want to hang around to work for the younger Dubas, so went back to . Hunter is a keen judge of talent. He pushed the Leafs to take Mitch Marner at No. 4 in the draft when lots of people thought Marner was too small.

5. Tom Fitzgerald

He played over 1,000 games, was Nashville’s first captain, and on the 1996 Florida team that lost in the Cup final to Colorado. He finished his career in 2006, worked as head of player development for Pittsburgh in 2007, then became one of Rutherford’s assistant GM’s, before joining Ray Shero in Jersey as his right-hand man. He got a Cup ring in 2009 with Pittsburgh. wound up his career in 2006. His son Ryan was drafted by Chiarelli in 2013 when he was Bruins’ GM. 1127558 Edmonton Oilers has been seen by some as something to be taken personally, if not an affront to McDavid personally then an affront to those who believe he deserves better.

Connor McDavid answered unwanted Oilers questions with poise and Not that McDavid was having any of this ‘woe is me’ narrative when defiance, which is a good thing asked by The Athletic about the idea that he was a victim in this, too.

“I’m not going to comment too much on that at all,” he said. “I’m just as By Scott Burnside Jan 24, 2019 much a part of this group as anyone if not more. It’s on all of us as players. It’s on me being a part of that, it’s on me being the captain.”

Frustration? Of course there’s frustration. SAN JOSE – If Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid was as hard done by as some in the hockey world believe he is then this all could “Losing isn’t fun. It’s not fun for anyone. I’m no different,” he said. “I think have gone a lot differently than it did Thursday afternoon in San Jose. people want to win and you want to build something special and something that you’re proud to be a part of and we’ve got to still build If McDavid, centerpiece of one of the most dysfunctional hockey clubs in that.” the land, really felt betrayed or let down by the organization that drafted him with the first-overall pick in 2015 he certainly would have sounded a John Tavares understands something of what McDavid is going through lot more petulant than he did as he made his first public comments since having been the first-overall pick of the New York Islanders in 2009. He the abrupt firing of Edmonton GM Peter Chiarelli in the middle of the didn’t play a playoff game until his fourth season with the Islanders and in Oilers’ last game before the All-Star break. fact the 28-year-old has played in just 24 postseason games in his career. In fact the exact opposite was true of the 22-year-old superstar. “Sometimes, you can get very narrow-sighted and especially in today’s After initially declining to comment on the Chiarelli firing – “We’re here for world where everyone wants results and change so fast, but everything’s the All-Star Game and I want to enjoy that as much as I can,” he said – a process,” Tavares said Thursday. “Everything takes time. And as a McDavid dutifully responded to a series of questions about the chaotic player, first and foremost, I just tried to look myself in the mirror the best I nature of the Edmonton season which has also included the firing of could every day about how I can help our situation, help this team and head coach Todd McLellan. make sure to do everything I can. And knowing when you make a long- term commitment – as I did, coming out of my entry-level, I signed a six- In agreeing to answer questions about the situation in Edmonton even year deal – I was fully committed to doing everything I can to help the though his stated preference was to do otherwise McDavid revealed team, helping the organization get to where you want to get to. I just had once more the kinds of qualities that make him a good captain. In the mindset of endless pursuit of that, never take it for granted and you answering questions he’d just as soon not have entertained McDavid never know how fast things can change, how quickly things can change, answered with poise and not just a little defiance. just kind of looking at the bigger picture sometimes and realizing that it’s When asked about the character in the Edmonton room, something that a long journey. That’s the way I approached it.” team president Bob Nicholson addressed when he met with reporters to Tavares’ comments on commitment and being in for the long haul were explain the Chiarelli firing, McDavid said the outside perceptions are echoed by McDavid, this in spite of another outside narrative that wrong. suggests at some point McDavid will become weary of the losing and “Character-wise I think you know it’s easy to think that we have turmoil in want to go somewhere else. our locker room that we have this and that,” McDavid said. “We don’t “You know what? That’s just not the case at all. I’m here to be a part of have that at all. We’re a tight group. Guys love to play for each other and the solution and that’s all I’ll say on that,” said McDavid, who signed an so it’s not that.” eight-year contract extension in the summer of 2017 with an annual As for what he’s looking forward to after the All-Star break and the team’s average cap hit of $12.5 million. bye week McDavid said he’s looking forward to proving that some of the People’s memories are sometimes short. perceptions of this team are flat out wrong. McDavid isn’t the first superstar to have to ride out some early “What I look forward to coming back from the break is trying our best to disappointments. He’s not the first superstar to be thrust into a leadership prove everyone wrong,” he said. “We have an opportunity here, where role at an early age and then have to accept a public role when things go things seem pretty down on us, there’s a sense of negativity with the south for an entire organization. media, with everyone around the team, we get to prove people wrong. We get to decide how we’re going to finish the second half. That’s what “One of the things I said as a young captain, there’s a lot of things you I’m looking forward to.” have to deal with off the ice,” said longtime NHLer and top broadcast analyst Dave Poulin. “Besides what’s public there’s a lot of things you In a season that has seen five coaches and two general managers have to deal with. Personal things. Private things. Off-ice things in that dispatched and with formerly high echelon teams like St. Louis, Los locker room that are challenging for a 19- or a 20-year-old to deal with.” Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia reeling and in various stages of rebuild the Oilers are in a place all their own in terms of the spotlight and McDavid has for most of his four NHL seasons had to answer difficult the feeling of chaos. questions.

The team has somehow managed to continually tread water on the NHL “To have to stand up every night and talk to the media because you’re evolutionary chart in spite of collecting four first-overall draft picks the captain and explain why your team isn’t playing as well as they between 2010 and 2015 and a handful of top-10 picks over that time should, it wears on a person. It just does. That’s human nature,” Poulin period. said. “That’s just challenging and it wears on you. I think he handles it extremely well, but I think there’s 30 teams that would love it if there was The poor drafting and developing has been compounded by ill-advised any indication that he was no longer going to be an Edmonton Oiler. I trades including moving former number one overall pick Taylor Hall to think that’s outside of any thinking.” New Jersey for defenseman Adam Larsson in the summer of 2016. While the Oilers were missing the playoffs last season Hall was guiding the Poulin recalls another pretty good player named Mario Lemieux going to Devils to an unexpected postseason berth and a Hart Trophy. a pretty awful Pittsburgh Penguins team as the first-overall pick in 1984. The Penguins didn’t make the playoffs until Lemieux’s fifth season and Maybe it’s the cumulative feeling of having wasted so many good then they missed the following year before evolving into a dynastic team opportunities and with so little to show in terms of forward and sustained that won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1991 and 1992. progress for the franchise that has led to this feeling that somehow the Oilers haven’t just let their loyal but long-suffering fan base down, but are “Technically every first-overall player is joining a bad team if the system somehow letting McDavid himself down. is working like it’s supposed to,” Poulin pointed out.

It’s interesting that somehow the mismanagement of the Oilers assets And here’s the thing. Take a look at the standings. Yes, the Western and the ongoing struggle to become a perennial playoff team – they’ve Conference is a bit of a bog when it comes to the playoff race with even made the playoffs once since advancing to the 2006 Stanley Cup final – the most moribund of teams still holding faint hope that a strong finish can push them into the tournament.

But there are the Oilers just three points back of the final wild-card spot in spite of all that has transpired. That’s certainly not lost on McDavid.

“For positives I would say we’re three points out of a playoff spot,” McDavid said. “I think that gets lost. I think that really is lost. We’re going through a lot of different changes, we’re three points out. Have a chance to make the playoffs.”

Fair point.

The Athletic LOADED: 01.25.2019 1127559 Edmonton Oilers 2. “How can we become more efficient from a salary perspective?”

It’s no secret that one of the issues that the Oilers are facing at the moment is a lack of salary cap room moving forward. While two of the Dellow: Four questions that the Oilers should be asking candidates for biggest issues are Andrej Sekera and Milan Lucic, the roster’s littered the GM job with instances where the cap number is out of whack with the value being created by the player.

By Tyler Dellow Jan 24, 2019 (Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports

For all that talk about Edmonton’s self-inflicted wounds over the past few years, Sekera isn’t one of them. He gave the Oilers exactly what you’d In the long and storied NHL history of the Edmonton Oilers, the club had hope for from an expensive unrestricted free agent, right up until the never finished a day without a general manager. That streak came to an point that he was injured in the 2017 playoffs. His comeback last year end on January 22, 2019. After seamless transitions from Larry Gordon was rough and then he suffered a horrifically timed tear to his Achilles to Glen Sather, Glen Sather to Kevin Lowe, Kevin Lowe to Steve tendon in August of 2018. If Edmonton has a healthy Sekera to anchor a Tambellini, Steve Tambellini to Craig MacTavish and Craig MacTavish to second pair and provide some cover when Oscar Klefbom was injured, Peter Chiarelli, the Oilers finally let a general manager go without having it’s not at all unreasonable to think that this year would have been an heir apparent. In his media availability discussing the decision to different. move on from Chiarelli on Wednesday, Bob Nicholson explained that the time period for the GM search has no deadline and the search will take Sekera’s got another two years left after this one, with cash values of as long as it takes. $4.5-million payable in each season against a $5.5-million cap hit. The problem with the Oilers simply bringing him back next fall is that, subject Although the Oilers have drawn some comment regarding the unusual to him returning to the ice and playing well this year, you can’t really have timing of Chiarelli’s firing, it’s actually a fairly crafty thing to do. There’s a any idea what you’re going to get. Given that they need some stability on sort of rhythm to the hockey season and firing general managers at the their second pair, that’s an awful lot of risk to carry over the course of the end of the season has never made a lot of sense to me, both in terms of summer. Is there a way to reliably get him onto LTIR? Can he be the team doing it and in terms of the teams who are then being asked to packaged with something to a team that’s better positioned to take that grant permission for their staff members to interview for the job. The day risk? after the trade deadline is probably the point at which it’s least disruptive to other management staffs to lose someone (outside of maybe July 7 or Edmonton’s got a number of these issues, circumstances in which the some other date in the downtime over the summer). It also gives the new player can’t really be counted on to perform at a level befitting his salary general manager six weeks or so to watch the team in-season and start cap hit next year. Make a list of them and ask people how they’d deal to get a feel for the situation before heading into the summer. Waiting with it. In particular, ask how the Oilers can most efficiently create the until the offseason to make an inevitable change just wastes time. room that they need. Steal the good ideas.

From that perspective, if this was a move that the Oilers felt they needed 3. “I know this is crazy but please, please hear me out. It’s wild and I’m a to make, they picked a smart time to do it. Colleague LeBrun has a run- little embarrassed raising it. Pretend that culture isn’t responsible for the down of potential candidates for the job and Edmonton might as well fact that we can’t score. How would you fix this, given the constraints that throw them all on the list. In making the move now, it affords the Oilers exist in terms of the salary cap and roster?” the opportunity to ask a lot of smart people to consider and reply to some One of the threads running through Nicholson’s media availability was a vexing questions facing the organization. Even if they don’t ultimately hire concern with culture and chemistry. TSN’s Darren Dreger added more those people, it’s still a great chance to ask intelligent people questions, gas to this particular fire a little later on. while taking careful notes. As it so happens, the Oilers are faced with a few burning questions on which some outside opinion might be helpful. NICHOLSON TOUCHED ON THE NEED FOR CHARACTER. A PRIMARY FOCUS WILL BE ON BRINGING IN SECONDARY 1. “How do we facilitate Connor McDavid taking his game to the next LEADERSHIP TO HELP MCDAVID. level over the next four years as Sidney Crosby did between the ages of 22-25?” — DARREN DREGER (@DARRENDREGER) JANUARY 23, 2019

I’ve got a story that’s been pushed back in light of recent developments It’s impossible for anyone outside of the Oilers to know whether they’re looking at Connor McDavid’s season and what Sidney Crosby’s peak really dealing with cultural issues or whether it’s a buzzword that people looked like. While I won’t get too deep into it, despite injuries and fall back on when they have to talk to the media. It’s also impossible to lockouts robbing hockey of a lot of Crosby’s brilliance during his best know if Nicholson really believes that. The problem with talking to the years, when he was on the ice he hit an offensive level that nobody else media is that you have to say something and the easiest things to say has touched in the NHL’s Somewhat Better Data Era. The five best four- are things that aren’t really falsifiable and highly subjective. That isn’t a year windows by way of GF/60 all belong to Sid and he peaked with a rejection of the importance of culture. Issues of culture can be very real. four year run between 2009-13 in which Pittsburgh scored 4.5 GF/60 with It may well be that the Oilers have some cultural issues to sort out. him on the ice. In his age 20/21 seasons, by the way, the Penguins put up 3.3 GF/60 with him on the ice. That being said, part of management is dealing with uncertainty, even when you think you know the answer to something. Put another way, it’s McDavid’s been outrageously, outrageously good to this point in his asking yourself “What if I’m wrong?” when you’ve decided upon some career – the Oilers have scored about 3.5 GF/60 with him on the ice at 5- course of action. Imagine for a minute that the Oilers’ issues with scoring on-5 which is phenomenally good. Imagine if they got 30 percent more goals (and their abysmal shot generation, particularly of late) aren’t really though. For example, if McDavid’s playing 22 hours of 5-on-5 ice time cultural but are tied to tactics or personnel. Even if the Oilers are and he blows up like Crosby did in this window, you’re talking about convinced that their issues are cultural, it’s worth considering the another 7 or 8 points in the standings per year. The easiest way for possibility that they aren’t. A good way to find out if there are other issues Edmonton to improve is to get more out of what they already have. is to ask people who aren’t currently immersed in the Oilers’ day-to-day minutiae about their perception of the issues from different perspectives. It’s hard to say if this is really possible – maybe Crosby just found a level McDavid will never hit – but if it is possible, it’s a gain that the Oilers 4. “How do we find undervalued defencemen who might be available?” should desperately be chasing. It would cover up a lot a lot of their pressing short-term issues. It’s also not something that should be left As was discussed above, the loss of Klefbom, on top of what seems like solely for the coaches. It’s an organizational issue, in that pursuit of this it might be the end of Sekera as a reliable top-four option, has been goal requires consideration of what players might be most effective in crippling for the Oilers. People forget this but it used to be a hallmark of enabling McDavid to his Sid’s levels of production. Ultimately, the the Oilers. The last time they went to the Stanley Cup final, their defence coaching staff will implement whatever strategy they develop to facilitate featured Jason Smith (acquired from Toronto for a second and a fourth- that but the development of that plan will include the general manager. round pick), Steve Staios (acquired as an unrestricted free agent after The decisions that he makes will affect how the team plays and who Atlanta didn’t qualify him), Jaroslav Spacek (acquired from Chicago for plays with McDavid. Crosby’s two most common linemates during that Tony Salmelainen) and Marc-Andre Bergeron (undrafted free agent … explosion, by the way, were Chris Kunitz and Pascal Dupuis. Fine had a bit of a rough first game of the finals. Maybe a bad example. But professionals but not particularly high-end talents. still.) Yes, the Oilers had Chris Pronger slotted in at the top of the defence group and, while Klefbom is many things, he’s no Chris Pronger. That said, the current Oilers roster has three forwards who are more valuable than anyone featured on that 2006 team and in the grand scheme of things, Pronger’s probably not on the same level as McDavid.

Finding defencemen has been a challenge though. Maybe it’s a shift in how the league works in the salary cap era because it’s not unique to the Oilers. There seem to be a lot of teams that are sort of perpetually on the hunt for defencemen. It’s an area of particular importance for Edmonton though, both because they already have the pillars of the franchise up front and because they’ve been vulnerable to the loss of Klefbom and Sekera over the past two years. Again, it’s an issue on which the Oilers could potentially benefit from picking the brains of people around the league who’ve been grappling with the same questions.

Looking at the Oilers from the outside, things seem pretty bleak right now. That being said, they’re still better positioned for the next five years than all but a few teams in the league because of their strength down the middle. There are obviously some challenges and issues that need to be dealt with but they’ve got an unbelievable building block in McDavid and fantastic second and third centres in Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent- Hopkins. Going through what they’ve gone through over the past 18 months is awful for the organization and fanbase but the process they’re about to embark upon presents them with a real opportunity. Don’t just find a new general manager – get as many ideas and insights into your team from as many smart people as possible and take as much as you can.

The Athletic LOADED: 01.25.2019 1127560 Edmonton Oilers That doesn’t usually amount to much. Although perhaps the Oilers are due considering how poorly they come out on the deal that saw Ryan Strome dealt to the Rangers for Ryan Spooner. (Spooner was sent to New Oilers caretaker Keith Gretzky caught between earning playoff berth Bakersfield on Wednesday after being waived earlier in the week.) and keeping future assets When you add it all up, it looks like Gretzky’s hands are somewhat tied.

The way Nicholson sees it, however, most of the responsibility to right By Daniel Nugent-Bowman Jan 24, 2019 the ship this season falls at the feet of the players.

“You look at the way this team’s played at times this year (and) we just have to get them consistent in playing that way,” Nicholson said. “We It would be best advised for Keith Gretzky to start studying up on his know that we have to bring in some other pieces, but we’re going to put fencing techniques. Because when it comes to the next month in his role all the onus on the group inside the dressing room because they have as interim GM of the Oilers, it seems he’s about to step into a bout with shown that they can do it.” one hand behind his back. To some degree, he’s correct. With barely a month left before the trade deadline, CEO Bob Nicholson maintained Wednesday the Oilers are a playoff-calibre team even after The Oilers have had two great stretches this season – first when they the firing of Peter Chiarelli. They have 32 games left in their season and went 8-2-1 from Oct. 13 to Nov. 3 under Todd McLellan and then 9-2-2 are three points out of the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference from the time Ken Hitchcock was hired on Nov. 20 until Dec. 14. heading into the All-Star break. On that day – a day when Nicholson said Chiarelli’s job would be safe if They’re also in 13th in the conference and six points out of being alone in the Oilers made the playoffs – the team was third in the Pacific Division, the basement. just three points behind Calgary for top spot.

One would think significant moves will have to be made to get them But since then they’re 5-12, the latest swoon that has been bookended there. by six- and three-game losing streaks.

But in saying he believes the Oilers can make the postseason, Nicholson At some point, a team’s record – in the Oilers’ case 23-24-3 – reflects the also stated the club’s first-round pick won’t be traded to augment the type of team they are. talent on this roster. Top prospects won’t be easily surrendered either. The Oilers are 19th in goals for and 23rd in goals against. They have just “We’ll make some trades at the deadline if they’re the right trades to get four players in double-digits in goals and 11 that can say the same for us in the playoffs, but (we’re) not giving away at the future,” said points. Two of those in the latter category are defenceman Oscar Nicholson, who’ll oversee Gretzky as head of hockey operations. Klefbom (sidelined since mid-December) and Drake Caggiula (dealt for depth blueliner Brandon Manning). Given their place in the standings and the state of the roster, not mortgaging the future for a short-term fix seems like the sensible Nicholson is steadfast in his insistence that the Oilers aren’t about to start decision. rebuilding. (Or continue rebuilding, or rebuild again, depending on your point of view.) So, this begs the question: What can Gretzky – deemed the “key point person” by Nicholson – do to improve the plight of the Oilers and help They have a strong core in place with Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, them reach the postseason despite having few trade chips to use? This Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Klefbom – who’s expected back after the is the quandary Gretzky will have to stickhandle around until the Feb. 25 break after missing the last 19 games with a hand injury. deadline. “We have the best player in the world. We have other real good players The NHL roster is bereft of players marketable in a trade, either because in that dressing room,” Nicholson said. they’re untouchable for the Oilers or because other teams would have no Those players, along with arguably the club’s fifth-best skater in Darnell desire to take them on due to salary, effectiveness or both. Nurse, were either already with the Oilers when Chiarelli was hired in Jesse Puljujarvi’s name has turned up repeatedly in the rumour mill, but April 2015 or, in the case of McDavid, acquired by making a no-brainer it’s hard to imagine another GM surrendering a player of the calibre the No. 1 pick at the draft two months later. Oilers need without being offered a sweetener or two. Since that time, it’s the surrounding cast that’s mostly been the issue, Ruling out jettisoning the first-round pick means the focus shifts to the which has been so apparent this season. prospect pool. That leaves plenty of avenues for Gretzky to improve the roster if the Evan Bouchard, 19, started the season in Edmonton before he was Oilers truly want to go for the playoffs and reach them for only the second returned to the OHL’s London Knights, with whom he’s excelling. Fellow time since 2006. blueliner Caleb Jones, 21, just finished his first NHL stint before being The dilemma is that if he does plan to attack the trade market looking to sent down to the AHL’s on Monday. buy, he’s bound to be doing so shorthanded – without truly appealing Kailer Yamamoto, 20, can be added to the mix of top prospects outside assets at his disposal. of the big club after he was demoted to the Condors on Wednesday. The Athletic LOADED: 01.25.2019 Nicholson stressed the desire to have youngsters overripe in the minors as part of a new organizational shift in philosophy. Nicholson wants to see Yamamoto play regularly in Bakersfield to develop into the type of player the franchise believes he can be.

It would take a lot for the Oilers to move any of those three.

And after them, the depth chart starts to thin out.

There are a few players like Ethan Bear, Tyler Benson and unsigned 2018 second-rounder Ryan McLeod that are part of a growing stable of emerging farmhands or juniors. But with little that holds trade value on the big-league roster and a refusal to deal the first-round pick, it’s unlikely Gretzky could use them in a package to acquire something useful for this season.

One of the last options is moving problem contracts or underperforming players to other teams for those in the same or similar scenarios. 1127561 Florida Panthers decided to wear No. 3 because he wore it, too. He was (a mentor) — still is to this day — but growing up I always wanted to do whatever he did. He was a dedicated hockey player and athlete at a young age, a two- From 1 to 95: Why the Florida Panthers wear the numbers they do time All-American in college. I always wanted to do what he did. Went to the same high school he did, wanted to play college with him at UNH, but I decided to go to major junior. But I always, always wanted to do what he did. Still, to this day, he is a guy I look up to very much.” By Erin Brown and George Richards Jan 24, 2019 Other Panthers to wear No. 3: Paul Laus, Karlis Skrastins, Clay Wilson,

T.J. Brennan, Steven Kampfer SUNRISE, Fla. — When it comes to numbers worn on the back of their No. 5, Aaron Ekblad: “When I was really young, my first number was 19, hockey sweaters, every player has a story. then I switched to 5 while I was with the Barrie Colts because of Nicklas Some are better than others. Lidstrom. He’s one of the best defensemen ever, and I got to watch a lot of his games growing up across the river from Detroit in Windsor. I was In some cases, the story is there is no story: The team equipment lucky it was open here when the Panthers drafted me because it’s manager assigned them an available number and they took it. usually not open on an NHL team. I’m happy I get to be No. 5 here for a very long time.” Others have reasons for wearing the number they do. Other Panthers to wear No. 5: Gord Murphy, Filip Kuba, Brad Ference, For captain Sasha Barkov, his father wore No. 16 and now he is proud to Yan Golubovsky, Jeff Norton, Igor Ulanov, Branislav Mezei, Bryan Allen wear it as well. Mark Pysyk was told 13 is an unlucky number, but he likes it and is one of a handful of players in franchise history to wear it. No. 7, Colton Sceviour: “When I first turned pro with Texas in the AHL, that’s the number they gave me. I had some good years down there, so I A number of Florida players sound like they would swap numbers if they associate it with good memories, so I stick with it whenever I can. It’s a could. legit number. I wore 9 in junior, so I like single digits. In Dallas, I wore 22. Defenseman Mike Matheson, for instance, wore No. 5 in college, but by But when I came to Florida, they let me choose a number, so I went back the time he joined the Panthers, that number had been claimed by top to what I liked. That was the first time since junior hockey that I was given draft pick Aaron Ekblad. Henrik Borgstrom is also a big fan of that the option to pick a number, so I went with one I associated good times number; alas, the rookie is now wearing No. 95. with.”

Jared McCann, meanwhile, wanted No. 19 but Matheson had it, so he Other Panthers to wear No. 7: Brian Benning, Mike Casselman, Rhett settled for No. 90. Ekblad wore 19 as a kid but has no interest in getting it Warrener, Mike Wilson, Matt Herr, Pavel Trnka, Steve Montador, Noah back. Welch, Dmitry Kulikov

Had Mike Hoffman joined the Panthers a few years ago, he definitely No. 8, Jayce Hawryluk: “It’s my favorite number. I think I had 21 at one would not be wearing No. 68. That number, of course, is synonymous point and 18 was my other number (as a kid) and (I was) 3 at one time, with future Hall of Famer Jaromir Jagr, who spent parts of three seasons but mostly 8. It’s my favorite number. I just grew up loving it.” in Florida before leaving the organization in 2017. Other Panthers to wear No. 8: Dallas Eakins, Magnus Svensson, Craig There are only two numbers that are off-limits to the Panthers. Martin, Jaroslav Spacek, Peter Worrell, Valeri Bure, Joel Kwiatkowski, Tim Kennedy, , Dylan McIlrath Although the franchise has yet to retire any player numbers, it has honored team founders by taking two numbers out of circulation. “They gave it to me in juniors. I didn’t ask for it,” said Jonathan Huberdeau of wearing No. 11. (Robert Mayer / USA Today) The Panthers mascot used to wear No. 93, but that is now off limits after it was retired in honor of founding team president Bill Torrey and the No. 11, Jonathan Huberdeau: “They gave it to me in juniors. I didn’t ask franchise’s first year. for it. I was 20. When I got drafted (by Saint John) they gave me 11. I would have worn 20 my whole career. I’m glad I have 11. Now I like it. I Original owner H. Wayne Huizenga’s favorite number was 37 — he was never had it when I was young. When you get drafted (in the NHL), they born in 1937 — and it now hangs from the BB&T Center rafters in his try to give you your number if it’s available. It was available, so they gave memory. it to me — after Billy Lindsay!”

Roberto Luongo isn’t the first Florida player to wear No. 1, but he will be Other Panthers to wear No. 11: Evgeny Davydov, Bill Lindsay, Kevyn the last. The Panthers plan on retiring that number not long after Luongo Adams, , Jon Sim, Gregory Campbell, Niclas hangs up his skates. Bergfors, Joey Crabb

According to the team record book, several numbers have only been No. 12, Ian McCoshen: “This is the first time I have worn the number worn once or not at all — they are all above 53. save for a summer pick-up league. I used to wear 3 throughout junior and college, but that number belongs to Keith Yandle here and obviously I’m So, why do the Panthers wear the numbers they do? not taking that away from him. I think he would beat me up if I tried. No. 1, Roberto Luongo: “I have always said ‘No. 1 means everything. No. There are four kids in my family — me and three sisters — so I took four 1 in your program, No. 1 in your heart.’ That’s the way it goes. I have and multiplied it by three, and that’s how I ended up with 12.” worn this number forever, since I was a little kid just getting started. I Other Panthers to wear No. 12: Jody Hull, Chris Allen, Dwayne Hay, have had it pretty much my whole career except, maybe, when I got Marcus Nilson, Ryan Johnson, Alex Hicks, Olli Jokinen, Byron Bitz, Jack traded in junior and it wasn’t available.” Skille, Jimmy Hayes Other Panthers to wear No. 1: Kevin Weekes, Kirk McLean No. 13, Mark Pysyk: “I was No. 3 growing up, and I don’t know how I No. 2, Josh Brown: “I had 96, which is the one they kind of gave me (in ended up with it, but I wore that forever. When I first went to Rochester camp). I’ve always loved No. 3, but Keith (Yandle) has got it. That’s his when I was with Buffalo, 3 was taken, so I took 13 and had a good year. number. I like being a lower number for a bigger defensive defenseman. Here in Florida, Yandle had (3) so 13 has been lucky to me, so I have That’s kind of the style, to have a lower number. I was thinking of either just kept it. Everyone in my family said to stay away from 13 because it’s doing 21 or 2, so I decided to go with 2. And 21 is taken as well. I’m unlucky or whatever, but I like it.” happy with it.” Other Panthers to wear No. 13: Oleg Kvasha, Vaclav Prospal, Juraj Other Panthers to wear No. 2: Joe Cirella, Terry Carkner, Lance Pitlick, Kolnik, Anthony Stewart, Mike Santorelli Lyle Odelein, Lucas Krajicek, Branislav Mezei, Keith Ballard, Alexander No. 16, Sasha Barkov: “When I was a kid in Finland, my dad (Aleksander Sulzer Sr.) was playing there and that’s the number he wore. When I started No. 3, Keith Yandle: “I wore No. 2 my whole life until I got to high school. playing hockey, of course my dad was my idol so I took his number. It’s That was taken by an upperclassman my sophomore year when I went to my dad’s number and it’s special to be able to wear it here. It’s a big Cushing Academy. The upperclassman had the upper hand. My brother thing to me.” wore No. 3 because of the same thing — someone else had No. 2. I Other Panthers to wear No. 16: Len Barrie, Randy Moller, Ray Sheppard, decided that it wasn’t a very popular number and that meant I could keep Gilbert Dionne, Craig Ferguson, Craig Fisher, Ryan Johnson, Oleg it wherever I went. It’s an easy number to keep.” Kvasha, Ivan Novoseltsev, , , Matt Cullen, , Darcy Hordichuk, Marco Sturm Other Panthers to wear No. 63: Dave Bolland

No. 18, Micheal Haley: “It’s a number I have worn since I was a kid. My “When I was drafted to Ottawa, (68) was the number I first got going to brother wore 14, so when I was very little, I wore that. But I have an uncle my first development camp and just stuck with it ever since. Not too who wore 18, so I switched to that in pee-wee and have kept it whenever many people wore it, so I thought it was kind of cool.” (Kevin Hoffman / I could. When I broke into the NHL with the Islanders, I wore 59 but USA Today) ended up getting 18 back. If it’s available, I take it.” No. 68, Mike Hoffman: “When I was drafted to Ottawa, that’s the number Other Panthers to wear No. 18: Mike Hough, Alex Hicks, Cam Stewart, I first got going to my first development camp and just stuck with it ever Marcus Nilson, Ville Peltonen, Shawn Matthias, Reilly Smith since. Not too many people wore it, so I thought it was kind of cool. It’s (Jaromir) Jagr’s number. But there’s no specific or special reason why. It No. 19, Mike Matheson: “I have no reason why I took it. It was there, it was just the number I was given when I first entered the league and just was available, so I grabbed it. I wore No. 5 at Boston College, but it was stuck with it.” taken (in Florida by Aaron Ekblad). I don’t mind it, don’t really care what my number is. But I would definitely rather have No. 5. I wore No. 56 Other Panthers to wear No. 68: Serge Payer, Mike Duco, Jaromir Jagr during the (2016) playoffs, and that was a pretty brutal number. I needed No. 72, Frank Vatrano: “When I was in Boston, it was the number they to change it and 19 looks better.” gave me when I first got called up. I think after a certain amount of Other Panthers to wear No. 19: Andrei Lomakin, Brad Smyth, Radek games, they ask you if you want to change or get a different number. I Dvorak, Len Barrie, Serge Payer, Stephen Weiss, Byron Ritchie, Dominic stuck with it in Boston. I had an option to switch here in Florida, but I Moore, Marty Reasoner, Scottie Upshall stayed with it, the number I came into the league with. I didn’t really want to switch it. It has sentimental meaning. I played my first game in it and I No. 21, Vincent Trocheck: “Growing up, my favorite player was Peter didn’t want to switch. I wore a whole bunch of numbers — I wore 49 in Forsberg, and he wore 21. And my dad also wore that number in the minors. It was the number I wore in juniors, it was given to me also. I baseball and my cousin wore it as well, so it’s kind of a family number. It kind of got to pick 49. Growing up I always wore 13 because of my Italian felt like it had a little meaning. Growing up, I wore No. 88, then in junior I heritage, it’s a lucky number. I wore 13 growing up and in college, too.” wore 89. My first number here was 67, but when I had the chance to change it, I felt 21 was more meaningful so I took it.” Other Panthers to wear No. 72: Alex Petrovic

Other Panthers to wear No. 21: Tom Fitzgerald, Mark Parrish, Denis No. 88, Jamie McGinn: “I was born in 1988, first of all, so I just love the Shvidki, Alexei Semenov, Cory Murphy, Krys Barch number. I’ve always loved double-digit numbers. Eric Lindros was a favorite of mine growing up. My buddy Mark, back home, when we No. 22, Troy Brouwer: “I used to wear 11 and I loved it because I like played lacrosse growing up, we called ourselves the ‘Bash Brothers.’ I Mark Messier. When I went to junior, 11 was taken, so I took 22 and I was 88 and he was 44. That was a lacrosse thing from back in the day. I had good success in juniors and in Chicago. So I thought when I came never really got the chance to wear it in San Jose or Colorado. So when I here, it would be a number that would give me success.” got the chance to choose my number in Buffalo, I took full advantage of it.” Other Panthers to wear No. 22: Bob Kudelski, Steve Washburn, Dino Ciccarelli, Todd Simpson, Kristian Huselius, Sean Hill, Jassen Cullimore, Other Panthers to wear No. 88: Peter Mueller Jeff Taffe, Matt Bradley, George Parros, Mike Mottau, Shawn Thornton No. 90, Jared McCann: “There is no reason. No. 19 was my number No. 27, Nick Bjugstad: “My uncle, Scott, wore number 27 when he growing up, but when I got here, it was taken. So I looked at what was played. For the most part, he wore 27. He was my idol when I was a kid. I there and wanted to keep the 9 in the flow. There was no reason for 90 wore it at Minnesota, in high school. In youth (hockey), they didn’t have other than it looked kind of cool.” 27 unfortunately. I just wore whatever number my uncle wore because he was the man to me. He’s a good dude. He had a good hockey career.” Other Panthers to wear No. 90: None

Other Panthers to wear No. 27: Scott Mellanby, Jaroslav Bednar, No. 91, Juho Lammikko: “When I came here for my first development Christian Berglund, Noah Welch, Steven Reinprecht, Michal Repik, Alex camp, that was the number they gave me, so I went with it and just kept Kovalev it. I just never changed it. I don’t care what number I wear, and I haven’t really thought about another one. I’m not the kind of guy to come in and No. 34, James Reimer: “In my first AHL camp, they asked me what change my number. This is what they gave me and that’s fine. I’m not number I wanted. I said I didn’t care, wasn’t picky, but asked for 30, 31 or superstitious. It’s a great number. A lot of pretty good players have worn 35. I come into camp and there is a No. 34 sitting there. So, whatever — it over the years.” it worked for me then and it has just stuck over the years. I just rolled with it.” Other Panthers to wear No. 91: None

Other Panthers to wear No. 34: John Vanbiesbrouck, Mathieu Biron, No. 95, Henrik Borgstrom: “Because I got it. After the first game I didn’t David Shantz, Alexander Salak, Patrick Rissmiller, Nolan Yonkman, Tim have the balls to change it, so I just kept it. I would love No. 5, but Ekblad Thomas has it, so I’m not trying to get it. I just got 95, so I’ll go with it.”

No. 55, Bogdan Kiselevich: “I like No. 5, so when I was between second Other Panthers to wear No. 95: None team and first team, 55 was available, so that’s why I chose it. On my The Athletic LOADED: 01.25.2019 next teams, it was always available, so I’d take it and not change it. Five is a very good mark in school in Russia, an ‘A.'”

Other Panthers to wear No. 55: Ed Jovanovski, Igor Ulanov, Sean Hill, Ric Jackman, Steve Eminger, Jason Demers

No. 62, Denis Malgin: “They just gave it to me my first year. I never changed it. I think it’s a lucky number because I made the team my first year, so I kept it. I had 13 (previously). It was a lucky number. But since they gave me 62 and I made it right away, it’s a lucky number, too, I think.”

Other Panthers to wear No. 62: Vaclav Nedorost

No. 63, Evgenii Dadonov: “When I grew up, I always wore No. 10 because I liked it. My first professional year in Russia, I was 17 and didn’t like it so I took 27. When I came to Florida, they gave me 63. … I just 1127562 Florida Panthers Florida lost the season series to Montreal, a team with fewer regulation and overtime victories than the Panthers but the same amount of total points. The NHL later changed the tiebreaker.

Same job, same team but different circumstances for DeBoer and “It’s disappointing,” DeBoer said the night Florida was eliminated with a Boughner with the Panthers game left despite beating the Thrashers in Atlanta.

”The goal from Day 1 was to get into the playoffs. I’m proud of our group. By George Richards Jan 24, 2019 I couldn’t ask for a better group of professionals to work with as a first- year coach. We created an identity. … There’s a good foundation here. The key is to keep it and add some pieces. I think we’re real close.”

SUNRISE, Fla. — On the surface, if there is one person who knows what Then came the offseason. Things would not be the same for DeBoer in Bob Boughner is going through when it comes to the struggles of South Florida again. coaching the Florida Panthers, it is his good friend Pete DeBoer. Martin resigned to become coach of the Canadiens, knowing Cohen was DeBoer, after all, spent three seasons coaching the Panthers and was getting out of the hockey business and putting the team up for sale. fired after Florida failed to make the playoffs — although, like Boughner, they came painfully close in his first year at the helm. Although Cohen had an agreement to sell the team in June 2009, the deal fell through. In November of that year, minority owners Cliff Viner Only the two situations are not the same. and Stu Siegel took over the team. Randy Sexton, the assistant under Martin, was named the new GM but that lasted one year. “Totally different,” DeBoer said Monday afternoon, a few hours before the Panthers beat his San Jose Sharks 6-2. “You reminisce when you come back, memories kind of flood back when you get off the plane and drive around,” DeBoer said Monday. “I still There have been dramatic changes to the organization since DeBoer left, remember flying in here with my wife for that first press conference with except, of course, for the general manager whom he clashed with and Jacques. ended up being fired by in 2011. “At that point, Al Cohen owned the team and the franchise was a model Boughner, on the other hand, has the support of ownership and of stability. They spent near the cap and had done so for a few years; management in his second season with the Panthers. there were some good pieces here. It looked like a good spot. Then, in The Panthers went into their 10-day break for the All-Star Game and bye about half a year, everything changed. The last 2 1/2 years I was here, week 10 points out of a playoff spot after a rough start. we played significantly under the cap, dumped at the deadline, had different owners and GMs. We really never got any traction.” Florida won just two of its first 11 games and had a seven-game losing streak before winning its final three before splitting up. In his third season, DeBoer coached under Dale Tallon and the two clashed about the direction of the franchise. Fans have called for a change behind the bench, but owner Vinnie Viola has made it clear he is sticking with Boughner. Tallon was tearing things down and ready to rebuild; DeBoer wanted (and needed) to win, and the two argued about how the roster was built. The Panthers won 25 of 35 to end last season to finish one point out of Tallon shed players and salary as the Panthers ended up $12 million the playoffs. Viola is giving his coach the chance to finish strong again. under the cap in 2010-11 but added draft picks and roster flexibility for what was coming next. Boughner has two more years remaining on his contract. which, according to capfriendly.com, pays him $1 million per season. The day after that season ended, DeBoer was fired. He ended up being hired by New Jersey and, ironically, coached against the Panthers in the Boughner is the fifth coach to pilot the Panthers since Viola bought the first round of the 2012 playoffs after Tallon rebuilt the roster in the team from Cliff Viner in 2013, as head coaches Kevin Dineen and Gerard offseason, which led to the franchise’s first divisional title. Gallant were fired and interim coaches Peter Horachek and Tom Rowe were not retained. The Devils won that series in 7 and eventually went all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals — DeBoer’s first of two trips to the NHL’s “We are being patient here and know that it’s going to work,” team CEO championship round. Matt Caldwell said Monday night. “Last year, we got 96 points which, was third-most in our franchise (history), and didn’t make the playoffs. We Boughner (left) was a Sharks assistant under DeBoer (center) in 2015. didn’t get off to a great start this season, but there is a lot of hockey left to The two went to high school together at W.F. Herman in Windsor, play. Ontario. “In talking with Bob, he’s genuinely excited about the group, the ownership … where things are going,” DeBoer said. (Kyle Terada / USA “We are sticking behind (Boughner). We want to get better every day, but Today) we’re not putting him on the spot here. But we want to see progression. We have a lot of talent. We should be playing better. Everyone knows Although a few years and two jobs removed from his time in South that.” Florida, it’s apparent DeBoer still holds a soft spot for the franchise.

Coach Bob Boughner will be given the chance to finish strong despite the He was thrilled his friend Boughner (the two went to high school together Panthers being 10 points out of a playoff spot going into the All-Star at W.F. Herman in Windsor, Ontario) got the job in 2017 after spending break. (Steve Mitchell / USA Today) two seasons as an assistant under DeBoer in San Jose.

When DeBoer was hired by the Panthers in 2008, they appeared to be a “In talking with Bob, he’s genuinely excited about the group, the franchise on the right track under owner Alan Cohen. ownership, the stability … where things are going,” DeBoer said. “There is a lot of enthusiasm there that I probably didn’t have. I don’t want to With a solid core of players such as Jay Bouwmeester, Nathan Horton, speak out of school, but in my conversations with him, it has been Stephen Weiss, David Booth and goalie Tomas Vokoun, the Panthers nothing but great support from everyone. … You can see it, just from an were an attractive landing spot for a young coach on the rise. outsider looking in. If they can stick with it, I see some big success not The team finished the 2007-08 season nine points out of the playoffs, that far off.” leading Cohen to relieve Jacques Martin of his coaching duties but keep The two communicate by text a lot — Boughner said DeBoer will contact him as general manager. him after a tough loss or a nice win he happened to watch — and Not long after hiring DeBoer — who had great success on the junior level Boughner says he has learned a lot from coaching under DeBoer in San with the Kitchener Rangers — Martin traded captain Olli Jokinen to the Jose. Coyotes after those two openly feuded in what would be Martin’s final “If I’m debating whether I want to change something or need a question season as coach. answered,” Boughner said, “I am not afraid of picking up the phone. He DeBoer’s first season went well enough, with the Panthers finishing with has given me great support. We are friends first. But we don’t give away 93 points but missing the playoffs after losing a tiebreaker with the any secrets, just talk about the state of our franchises and stuff.” Canadiens. On Sunday, a day before Florida played host to the Sharks, Boughner met up with DeBoer and the rest of the San Jose coaching staff at Elbo Room in Fort Lauderdale to watch football and share a few laughs.

“We have known each other for over 30 years and although our hockey paths diverged over the years, we got back together and I’m really rooting for him,” DeBoer said. “I am a big fan of Bob and think he’s an excellent coach. I’m also a big fan of this franchise and hope they can do what I think they are capable of doing.

“I know it’s not easy. There is a lot of pessimism after what has gone on here over the years. But I think Bob sees the light at the end of the tunnel … and people around the hockey world see it as well. It’s just a matter of sticking with it.”

Despite his team’s struggles, Boughner has put on a strong face. Only on rare occasion has his disappointment showed. He has kept a positive outlook even as the losses piled up.

One reason for that could be his knowledge that he has the backing of Viola (first and foremost), but also of Tallon and the rest of hockey operations.

He says he doesn’t worry about his job security. His concern is on what’s next for his team.

“I worry more about how we can get out of it, not letting doubt sink in,” Boughner said. “I mean, last week, we had players come in for video and we showed them a Bill Belichick speech, one from Pete Carroll about competing and getting the emotion back in the game. I’m worried about pulling different strings. Obviously, you’re depressed when you’re not winning, and sometimes it feels like you are never going to win a game again.”

Though it looks like Boughner will coach the Panthers for the remainder of this season, what happens next is not known.

Former Chicago coach Joel Quenneville is available after being fired earlier this season and will draw plenty of interest from teams either before the season ends or soon after it. Because of his relationship to Tallon and championship success with the Blackhawks, perhaps even the Panthers will get involved.

For now, though, Florida has 34 games remaining. Although Viola would not speak on the record about this season, he did tell a group of reporters getting onto the postgame elevator Monday night “we’re about to make this real interesting.”

With solid goaltending and the return of Vincent Trocheck, the Panthers have won their past three games.

They’ll need a finish very similar to last year if they have any hope of making the playoffs for just the sixth time in the franchise’s 25 years.

“I’m not scared of facing the firing line because that’s what we have signed up for,” Boughner said. “I feel the support, but I’m not stupid. I know this is a business. Dale has been real good to me, Vinnie has never come up to me and said ‘hey, we need to get it going or something is going to happen.’

“Ownership has been great to me and maybe in the past (here) it hasn’t always been that way. What we talk about when we’re struggling — me, Dale, Vinnie — is what do we need to change? What do we need to add? Vinnie is very committed to getting this team to the next level. The support is there.”

The Athletic LOADED: 01.25.2019 1127563 Los Angeles Kings Helene Elliott takes the Kings to task (and rightfully so) in her new column. She talked to team president Luc Robitaille about the team. Here’s an excerpt:

The Sports Report: Rams GM Les Snead is heading back to familiar “When we set out and we did our work at the end of last year and you territory take out that we missed Jeff Carter for over 50 games and we got 98 points, we kind of based this season off of that team,” Robitaille said. “And that was the reasoning for adding a player like Ilya Kovalchuk that By HOUSTON MITCHELL would hopefully help us get a few more goals. And then you look at it if you win two or three more games you end up with 102 and 104 points,

and it changes your position for the playoffs.” The Sports Report: Rams GM Les Snead is heading back to familiar That miscalculation by Robitaille and general manager is one territory of many mistakes that have consigned the Kings to defeat this season…. Rams GM Les Snead (Joe Robbins / Getty At least publicly, Robitaille hasn’t given up on mounting a playoff push. Howdy everyone, and welcome to the Wednesday edition of the Los That means he’s not ready to implement a “Lose for Hughes” strategy Angeles Times daily sports newsletter. My name is Houston Mitchell and and tank in order to get in the draft lottery and improve the Kings’ odds of I’m your host for the festivities. Subscribe to this newsletter by clicking choosing top-ranked forward Jack Hughes. That could change in the here. weeks before the Feb. 25 trading deadline, and it should. Making a brief playoff appearance is counterproductive to an organization that needs a Let’s get to it. massive infusion of talent through the draft and through trading whatever contracts they can off-load to teams seeking the final pieces to a Rams championship roster. Rams general manager Les Snead grew up about 2 ½ hours from “It’s going to be a challenge but I never count these guys out,” Robitaille Atlanta and worked in the Atlanta Falcons’ front office when the Rams said. “I will never count Jonathan Quick, Drew Doughty, Anze Kopitar hired him as GM in 2012. and Dustin Brown out because I know they’ve done it in the past. We Now he returns to watch the team he put together play in the Super Bowl. always believe in that. I expect them to play to win every day and I expect them to have a chance to make the playoffs. That’s the way our But our new columnist, LZ Granderson, has decided not to take it easy in guys think and that’s the way I want them to think.” his first week on the job. He has a problem with Rams fans, or rather, the fact that not as many people as you might think have become Rams That kind of thinking got them in this hole. fans. LA Times: LOADED: 01.25.2019 “I have no idea how many Rams fans are going to make the journey to Atlanta to see them play in the Super Bowl. I know Saints fans travel. I know Cowboys fans travel. I know Chiefs fans travel. I know Patriots fans will travel. But what about us?”

You can read Granderson’s column here, then email him your thoughts afterward.

When is the Super Bowl?

It will be on Sunday, Feb. 3 at 3:30 p.m. on CBS.

Who will win?

The last polls we did were successful, so let’s do it again. Who will win the Super Bowl? Click here Jpgto vote. We’ll announce the results on game day.

Lakers

LeBron James won’t be on the court for the Lakers when they play the Minnesota Timberwolves tonight, coach Luke Walton said after practice. Rajon Rondo, meanwhile, practiced without limitations and is likely to play Thursday, depending on how he feels before the game.

“With him and Rondo it’s going to be again, how he’s feeling tomorrow morning and take it from there, and see how he’s doing the next day after that and the next day,” Walton said. “When they feel ready to play then they’ll play.”

James has missed 14 games so far and the Lakers have gone 5-9 without him.

Clippers

Tobias Harris scored 31 points as the Clippers defeated the Miami Heat, 111-99, a nice rebound victory after a poor performance in a loss Tuesday to the Dallas Mavericks.

“We kind of flushed it out,” Harris said of his conversation with teammates about how poorly everyone played in Dallas. “We kind of just talked about it like dang, we couldn’t make no shots. Me going around like, ‘You couldn’t make no shots, you couldn’t make no shots.’ We brought some light to the situation and was able to come out today and have that good energy.”

Kings 1127564 Los Angeles Kings Dillman: The remodeled or reshaped Kings defense – whatever you want to call it – is going to need someone with experience during inevitable lean times.

Rebuilding the Kings: The case for and against trading Alec Martinez Someone has to stay around, right?

If Muzzin moves on, as many expect, it might behoove the Kings to retain By Lisa Dillman and Josh Cooper Jan 24, 2019 Martinez for the next stage. On the plus side, there has been no outward signs of decline in his game at 31.

(He will turn 32 on July 26.) Going from a team with Stanley Cup aspirations to a seller means having to make some tough decisions. And for the Kings, those tough decisions As we like to say, plus/minus is not the last word when it comes to could involve trading fan favorites this year. performance, but the fact Martinez is a plus-two in this dismal Kings’ season is a minor miracle. Longtime defenseman Alec Martinez may fall into that category. He’s a good player at a reasonable price. If you’re going to keep The well-liked blueliner was picked by the Kings in the fourth round of the someone around, you want him to be cost effective … a cost effective 2007 draft and has developed into a nice, under-the-radar member of option in an era where prices are going up, up and up. their core – being part of both of the organization’s Stanley Cup squads. Cooper: The leadership argument plays with Martinez big time, in my Furthermore, he was involved in two of the best memories of the Kings’ opinion. He’s a phenomenal pro and understands the best aspects of most recent Cup run – scoring the overtime-winners to both send them to Kings culture as well as anyone. If you want someone to teach the next the Cup final and ultimately win the trophy. generation of Kings defensemen what it takes, he would be on the short list of options. As excellent as his tenure has been in Los Angeles, he’s a guy who could probably net some sort of return as a defenseman still in his I agree with Lisa in that he’s not in decline and should play well for the relative prime that a contending team could want to add. duration of his contract. Granted, anything can happen between now and then, but for the role he plays, he seems to have the type of game that This year, Martinez has three goals and 11 points in 36 contests while shouldn’t drop off that much. playing 20:40 per game. Also, there’s a bit of a sentimental reason for keeping Martinez in that he Of course, the Kings could see Martinez as the right type of guy to bridge did score the Stanley Cup winning goal in 2014 as well as the goal that the previous generation of players to the next generation. got them to the Cup final in that run. Jazz Hands forever! So deal or no deal? Trade score With the Kings likely moving toward an inevitable reset, Lisa Dillman and Let’s evaluate the likelihood of the player moving based on his contract, Josh Cooper are examining some of their potential trade chips. age and skill level, using a score of 5 to 1, with 5 meaning he is highly The case for trading Martinez attractive for a trade and 1 meaning he is not attractive for a trade.

Dillman: Acquiring Martinez would be a thoroughly acceptable alternative Salary: 3 for NHL general managers shopping at the Jake Muzzin mart and finding A contending team looking for a do-it-all puck-mover can do worse than it too pricey. $4 million per year. That being said, there are probably available As colleague Pierre LeBrun recently detailed, the acquisition cost for defensemen who come at a lower price. Muzzin looks like it is going to be steep. Why potentially mortgage the Age: 2 future when a top-four D-man like Martinez is an option? Martinez is 31 years old. As we pointed out, he’s not in any sort of Martinez, a left-hand shot, can play both sides and has done so. The noticeable decline, but he’s not that young either. contract is reasonable ($4 million cap hit) with two years remaining after this season. He has won two Stanley Cup championships with the Kings Ability: 3.5 and showed something when he answered Team USA’s call for the World Championship in 2018. Martinez is relatively underrated in that he plays over 20 minutes per night, gives hard minutes and can also move the puck. He’s not an elite For some teams, a player signed for an additional two years is a plus. defenseman, but he does a lot of things well. He’s not a rental and if you think you are just entering your window of opportunity, you would be getting a top-four defenseman for the next Market three playoff runs. Any team looking to add reasonably priced veteran blueline depth would Cooper: If you’re a team with Stanley Cup aspirations looking to help make sense. The Wild had been rumored to be interested in Martinez your blueline, you could do a lot worse than Martinez. before. It feels like the Maple Leafs are always rumored on blueliners – yes, we know we mentioned them in our Muzzin trade piece – and As Lisa pointed out, any team that called the Kings about Muzzin and someone like Martinez could help stabilize that group as a player with a found his cost to be too steep should ask about Martinez. He can play a winning pedigree. lot of different styles and in many different situations, so fit shouldn’t be an issue wherever he goes. The Athletic LOADED: 01.25.2019

At $4 million per year for two more seasons after this one, he’s not a rental, which could increase his overall value in general for L.A. That number may be high to a team like the Kings that are a few years away, but not a team that could actually use Martinez in the playoffs now.

His 2.4 blocks per game rank fifth among players who have played at least 35 games. While it’s been found that blocks can be an overrated stat, a guy who is willing to sacrifice his body to make a play is vital in the postseason.

So yeah, while the Kings appear to be heading toward the draft lottery, sending Martinez to a team that could use him – and getting a longer- range asset in the process – could help them for the future and makes the most sense for L.A.

The case against trading Martinez 1127565 Minnesota Wild and save percentage (. 921) among goalies who have played at least 175 games.

“He’s a big guy who could skate,” said Frederic Chabot, the Wild’s Wild All-Star goalie Devan Dubnyk no longer feels he's alone in the net goaltending development coach and the Oilers’ goalie coach while Once Devan Dubnyk viewed results through a team lens, he excelled Dubnyk was in Edmonton. “He could read the game well. He had the ability to stop the puck. … But he [made] adjustments to keep improving. I think the better goalies in the league are able to do that.” By Sarah McLellan Star Tribune JANUARY 25, 2019 What these results underscored were the different formulas to achieve two points; it could take a 2-1 grind in which he’s posted 30-plus saves, or maybe the offense bails him out 4-3. Losses used to torment Devan Dubnyk. But by learning how to win, it dawned on Dubnyk — it’s not all about him. And succeeding that way was more gratifying than his accolades when He’d have trouble sleeping, wake up grumpy and get annoyed in he viewed himself as a solo artist. practice. “There’s no possible way in this league that you can go out there and do At the start of his NHL career, that was how he coped with adversity, and it on your own,” he said. “It does not matter who you are, if you do back there was plenty of it. flips, there’s just no way to do it. Even if you’re making Grade A saves, Not until he latched on with the Wild and enjoyed a renaissance did his you’re given that ability to make a read on the play. Everything that perspective on the goaltending position change. happens in front of you gives you the ability to make those saves. Instead of continuing to buy into the singularity of the role and the stress “Even if it is a breakdown or a Grade A, there still is that kind of last play it can create, he realized he’s only one piece of the puzzle — a stop on by the D-man or backcheck by the forward that allowed you to get a read an assembly line whose product is determined by the sum of its parts. on where the puck’s going.” Because of that, the recognition he’ll receive this weekend in his That it took time to accept this isn’t unusual, as it seems to be correlated franchise-record third All-Star Game appearance in San Jose, Calif., isn’t to experience. Instead of stewing in misery after every setback, the 32- just a reflection of his body of work this season. year-old is even-keeled. nhl all-star game 7 p.m. Saturday in San Jose (Ch. 11) He’s still disappointed, make no mistake, but he doesn’t show it. It’s a testament to the team. “When you win, you’re not on the top of the mountain thinking you did it by yourself,” Dubnyk said. “And when you lose, you’re not sitting there “If you go out there and have a great game, it’s not because you had a depressed thinking it was all your fault.” great game,” Dubnyk said. “It’s because we all did together. And when you have that feeling and you understand that’s how it works, you can Leading the charge get away from that unnecessary pressure of thinking that it’s just you and Interpreting his responsibility this way, however, doesn’t diminish whatever you do is the only thing that can affect the game because that’s Dubnyk’s importance to the team. not really how it is. In fact, he’s poised to be the face of the Wild’s push to the playoffs after it “It’s a difficult league, and the only way for any of us to have success is regroups from an eight-day layoff. we go out there and do that together.” “You have to be a big part of it,” he said. “There’s no way around it.” When he was vying for stability in the NHL, that wasn’t Dubnyk’s outlook. His performance has helped the team climb into the third seed in the The last line of defense standing alone between the pipes, he subscribed Central Division with 55 points. Dubnyk’s 20 wins are tied for fifth in the to the isolating visual of goaltending. His circumstances reinforced that NHL, while his .913 save percentage and 2.57 goals-against average are ideology. A first-round draft pick by the Oilers as an athletic 6-6 18-year- improving — in his past four games, he went 3-0 with a .944 save old in 2004, he toggled between a starter and backup for much of his five percentage and 1.29 goals-against average. seasons in Edmonton, starting in 2009. “If he can be on top of his game after the All-Star break and for the last The Oilers traded him in 2014, the start of a dizzying slide that crashed 32 games,” Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said, “I think you’ll find us there.” into the minors. The Predators demoted him after two tough games; the Canadiens did the same after acquiring him from Nashville. Rather than focusing on that objective, though, Dubnyk will concentrate on the checklist that he utilizes to stay consistent by making sure he’s set “You’re trying to impress, impress, impress,” Wild goaltending coach Bob in his crease and tracking pucks. Even if that doesn’t produce perfect Mason said. “Sometimes you get that in your mind. You get a mental play, he hopes to be solid enough that his teammates feel they have a block and press and press and press. That’s when things can kind of get chance to win with him in net. sideways on you.” And if that means a heavy workload the rest of the way, Dubnyk is fine A fresh start later the next season with the Coyotes was the beginning of with it. Dubnyk’s resurgence. Stuck as a backup, he still told himself he had to shine in every game since they’d be spot starts. He responded well “You want to be the person that is relied upon every single game and in enough for the Wild to acquire him Jan. 14, 2015, and immediately give the tough situations,” he said. him the keys to its playoff hopes — which Dubnyk jump-started into a berth amid a 27-9-2 run. Before that, though, Dubnyk will bask in the spotlight shining on the NHL’s premier players in San Jose for a skills competition Friday and But he also left Arizona with more cargo in his mental space. A postgame then the 3-on-3, tournament-style showdown Saturday among divisions conversation with then-Coyotes captain Shane Doan after Dubnyk led for a $1 million prize. the team to a 4-2 victory over the Flyers less than three weeks before he was traded has stayed with him. He’ll be accompanied by Jenn; their two oldest sons, Nate and Parker; his parents, brother and brother-in-law. “When you’re at your best and you’re doing your thing,” Dubnyk said Doan told him, “always remember that that’s who you are and not the “I don’t think the novelty wears off,” Jenn said. other way around. If there is an off game, that’s not who you are. It was just a rough night. The next day, you just get back to being who you are.” Dubnyk is one of only eight goalies who will participate, but he’s not treating the attention as an individual honor. Learning to win He’s also representing the Wild. Dubnyk has known who he is since: The Wild’s No. 1 goalie, a title that helped complete his transformation. “That’s why it’s such a great sport,” he said. “There’s just no way to win without everybody doing something.” So did the victories that piled up. Star Tribune LOADED: 01.25.2019 “Initially it was about proving others wrong,” said Dubnyk’s wife, Jenn. “Now he’s done that, and now he’s just comfortable.” Since joining the Wild, Dubnyk ranks first in the NHL in starts (267), goals-against average (2.31) and shutouts (21); and second in wins (154) 1127566 Minnesota Wild

Wild assigns Eriksson Ek, Kunin to American Hockey League

By Sarah McLellan JANUARY 24, 2019

Instead of embarking on a break like the rest of their Wild teammates, forwards Joel Eriksson Ek and Luke Kunin will keep playing. Both were assigned to Iowa of the American Hockey League Thursday, a day after the Wild played its final game before an eight-day layoff that starts with the NHL All-Star Game. The Wild cruised by the Avalanche 5- 2 to remain third in the Central Division with 55 points. After getting assigned to Iowa in December to help ignite his offensive potential, Eriksson Ek was recalled Jan.8 once center Eric Fehr went down with a lower-body injury. He appeared in nine straight games – chipping in a goal and two assists. Overall, the 21-year-old first-round pick in 2015 has two goals and seven points in 36 games with the Wild this season. This is Kunin's first trip back to the minors since he was ushered from Iowa in early December. In 21 games, the 21-year-old recorded a goal and five points after he put up 15 points (eight goals) in 21 contests with Iowa. Another first-round pick by the Wild, in 2016, Kunin has three goals and nine points in 40 career NHL games. Iowa plays at Milwaukee Friday before visiting Rockford Saturday before that league pauses for its All-Star Classic. These moves drop the Wild from the 23-man roster limit it was at heading into the break. Since the Wild will need to use one of those spots to activate Fehr from injured reserve once he's ready to return – which is likely when the team reconvenes Feb.1 with a game in Dallas against the Stars – it's possible only one of these players rejoins the Wild after the break if the team decides to recall anyone at all. Lately, the two had been filling out a fourth line alongside winger Marcus Foligno. Star Tribune LOADED: 01.25.2019 1127567 Minnesota Wild

Wild re-assign forwards Kunin, Eriksson Ek during break

By Pioneer Press

The Wild on Thursday re-assigned Joel Eriksson Ek and Luke Kunin to Iowa, where they’ll be able to play two games while the Wild take an eight-day break. Eriksson Ek, 21, has two goals and seven points in 36 games with Minnesota this season; Kunin has a goal and five points in 21 games. The Iowa Wild play American Hockey League games on Friday and Saturday. Minnesota, which brings a three-game winning streak into the mid-winter break, next plays Feb. 1 at Dallas. Pioneer Press LOADED: 01.25.2019 1127568 Minnesota Wild

Eric Staal’s big night sends Wild over Avalanche and into All-Star break on surge

By Michael Kelly / Special to the Pioneer Press

DENVER — The playoff push usually starts at the trading deadline, but the tight Central Division moved up the urgency a few weeks. The Wild have been up to the task and head into their break solidly in postseason position. A big night from Eric Staal and goals by Charlie Coyle, Ryan Suter and Jared Spurgeon gave the Wild a boost going into an eight-day break. Staal had a pair of goals, the second of which broke a 2-2 tie, to lead Minnesota to a 5-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday night. Suter and Coyle also had assists and Devin Dubnyk had 20 saves. The Wild (26-21-3) have won four of their past five and solidified their hold on third place in the Central Division going into the All-Star break. “We wanted this game, we knew it was important,” Staal said. “We’re smart enough to know the standings and know how competitive our division is. We wanted to follow up the same effort we had in Vegas. We came in with the right mindset and played a strong game. We had everyone contributing, and hopefully we’ll come back and be re- energized and excited about finishing strong.” Staal has been a catalyst for the recent surge. He has four goals and five assists in the past six games and now has 17 goals on the season. “Eric Staal was great,” Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said. “He’s reminding me of this time last year, when he started to go and find his legs.” Staal was one of many Wild players putting it all out on the ice. Rookie defenseman Nick Seeler blocked five shots. “Unbelievable,” Boudreau said. “He had three blocks right in a row, laying out his body. Once you start laying out your body like that, then (Marcus) Foligno had a block on the same shift, then you know the team is committed and you have a good chance of winning that night.” While they were blocking shots Staal was putting them in the Avalanche net. Wednesday was his second multi-goal game of the season and first since Nov. 21 against Ottawa. He got the game-winner on a 5-on-3 advantage early in the second period. Mikael Granlund, who had two assists, sent him a pass to the side of Colorado’s net, and he slid the puck just inside the post at 7:24. “Classic Granlund,” Coyle said of the winger’s assist. “That’s a pretty goal. But we see that a lot with him. That’s a pretty goal. That’s up there.” Staal created the chance on his first goal by forcing a turnover in the Colorado end and tipping in Coyle’s pass at 6:50 of the first to tie it at 1- 1. It came just 68 seconds after Colorado scored. Coyle gave Minnesota a 4-2 lead with a goal at 19:37 of the second period, and Suter put it away when he scored on the Wild’s second 5-on- 3 at 8:13 of the third period. “Everybody’s doing their part, scoring,” Coyle said. “We had some big blocked shots. It’s nice to be able to contribute on the scoresheet.” Minnesota looked like it would be down heading into the first intermission, but Spurgeon struck at 16:27. He pinched in and buried a cross-ice pass from Suter over Philipp Grubauer’s left shoulder for his eighth goal of the season. It was all Wild after that, and they were able to put some distance between them and the scuffling Avalanche. They lead Colorado by three points in the Central Division. “They’re right behind us in the standings,” Coyle said. “This isn’t the end- all-be-all, but it’s another step in the right direction. Something we obviously wanted to take care of going on break being our last game for a while so we want to make sure we get as many points as we can.” Pioneer Press LOADED: 01.25.2019 1127569 Minnesota Wild contracts like Eric Staal and Eric Fehr to teams looking for rentals. That likely won’t include backup goalie Alex Stalock, whom I believe is close to a multi-year contract extension. 3) If he’s going to buy, because he One-on-one with Paul Fenton: What the Wild GM is thinking as deadline doesn’t want to trade picks and prospects (see the disastrous Martin nears Hanzal trade of 2017), that really leaves one alternative — “hockey trades.”

That, to me, is most interesting. By Michael Russo Jan 24, 2019 Victor Rask

The signature move of the Fenton era so far saw Nino Niederreiter Now, Paul Fenton officially knows what it’s like to be the Wild’s GM. depart and Victor Rask arrive — one of the so-called “hockey trades” the GM is focused on. (Ron Chenoy / USA Today) Sure, along the way, there have been plenty of cool milestones in his first eight months on the job. — Jason Zucker’s modified no-trade clause kicks in July 1 and he has had a disappointing 13-goal, 12-assist season. Would Fenton consider There was that initial news conference in front of his proud family in May. moving him while he has the entire hammer? I bet so. There was conducting his first draft and free-agent period a month later. And of course, there’s always satisfaction when experiencing your first — Mikael Granlund is one year from unrestricted free agency. He will victory and pulling off your first series of trades. command a maybe unpalatable raise on his $6.5-million salary for 2019- 20 in either a contract extension this summer or a re-signing next year. But you’re really not the Wild GM until you want to throw a couple chairs, He has been really unproductive the past number of weeks, although he break a couple TVs and wonder how the $#&%!!!! your team can stroll reminded on a couple 5-on-3 goals by Staal and Ryan Suter on into tough buildings in Winnipeg, Toronto and Vegas and win so darn Wednesday night just how much he can drive the Wild’s offense. I do get convincingly only to lay giant eggs against bottom dwellers like Detroit the impression from talking to other teams around the league that and Philly and free-falling teams like Anaheim. Granlund can be had, whether that’s in the next month or around June NHL’s draft. You’re really not the Wild GM until you endure your first all-out, full-scale, four-alarm Minnesota Wild-style swoon™, you know like the one where — Charlie Coyle, the past month, has played arguably his best hockey they can win 10 of 12 in October/November only to follow it up by losing with the Wild. Does Fenton consider trading Coyle when his value is 13 of 19 in November/December and play two months of mediocre, probably at an all-time high as opposed to when he felt compelled to losing hockey on home ice. trade Niederreiter when his value was low? Does he view Joel Eriksson Ek the way the previous regime viewed him, and if not, would he use the Welcome, Paul. young first-round pick as a chip? Would he trade veteran defenseman You’re now officially one of us. Greg Pateryn, whom he signed to a three-year deal? I bet he would. This team will tease you. These are all significant decisions that Fenton very likely could be weighing the next month and beyond. One second you’ll start envisioning a Stanley Cup parade down West 7th, the next second you’ll fantasize about how fun it would be to blow The good news? this franchise to smithereens and sink the remnants on the bottom of the The Wild have put themselves in a good position again. They’re playing Mississippi River. solid hockey. What’s encouraging is a vital piece like Staal has found his So, that’s why even now, with the Wild entering the All-Star break and legs and hands again, and he’ll now get eight days to rest his tired, aging ensuing bye week with victories in four of their past five games, third in body. Zach Parise, despite being on a largely ineffective line with Aberg the Central Division and in the midst of an eight-win, 16-point January and Rask, is healthy and has been the Wild’s engine all season. Suter that ranks tied for second and tied for fourth in the NHL, respectively, and Jared Spurgeon have looked strong together lately, Jonas Brodin Fenton’s not about to get ahead of things now. has been exceptional despite not having a consistent defense partner since Matt Dumba’s injury, Devan Dubnyk, with the exception of a recent Paul Fenton blip, is 7-3 in his past 11 games with a .920 save percentage and big Jordan Greenway continues to develop in front of our very eyes. With the Feb. 25 trade deadline quickly on the horizon, Fenton will take the “fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me” approach So, without further ado, here’s my one-on-one with Fenton. to his first trade deadline as Wild GM. On the conference call after the Niederreiter-Rask trade, you pretty much Last week, excluding one minor-league trade and another where he said that one day you’ll watch this team and think they’re world beaters somehow duped the Montreal Canadiens into taking injury-prone Gustav and the next day you’ll watch this team and think they’re not very good. Olofsson’s full contract and being, Fenton made his first two trades of You said, “I’m letting the players convince us what they are.” You’re new eventually three in a six-day span (Pontus Aberg, Victor Rask and Brad here, but this is kind of what we’ve seen out of this team for the last three Hunt). or four years. How frustrating has this been for you to watch? On the subsequent conference call, Fenton admitted the Wild were “right Pretty frustrating. (laughs) on the bubble,” that it has been a “roller coaster ride” and that he was trying to “alert” his group of frustrating players that “nothing is forever” How do you get them out of this never-ending cycle when it has proven and he won’t hesitate trading core pieces like Nino Niederreiter if players to be pretty never-ending, that maybe this is just exactly who they are? don’t wake up and “play the way that we want them to play.” Continue to analyze it. There’s not a timetable on this. For me, the The Wild followed up Fenton’s words with a flat performance that allowed timetable is probably right before the trade deadline. the Ducks to snap their 12-game losing streak. But the reality is the Wild So, what you’re saying is, this next month could really help shape where have won three consecutive games since, including just outstanding this organization goes in the near- and long-term? efforts in Vegas and Colorado to enter the break on a high and give themselves a little playoff cushion for a change. You’ve got to still let this sort itself out. If we’re in it, then my plans are going in a different direction. If we’re not, then we’ll build for the future. On Monday, prior to the Wild facing the Golden Knights, I got together with Fenton in Sin City for a little The Athletic one-on-one in an attempt to Does that mean potentially trading guys for picks or prospects if you’re pipe into Fenton’s brain and what he’s thinking heading into this pivotal outside the playoff bubble? February of 14 games in 26 days. Can be. I’d prefer hockey trades more than anything like that. We’ll just As you can read below, yes, we discussed everybody’s popular topic — analyze each and every kind of deal that comes our way. “rebuilding” — and everybody’s favorite word — “tweaking.” Your prospect pool, you didn’t have anybody in the World Junior Thirteen of those 14 games come before the trade deadline, so how the Championship, and I’m sure you look around the league and see tons of Wild play in this next stretch of games will shape Fenton’s thinking on bright young talent on other teams compared to your organization. How whether he buys, sells or stands pat. concerned are you? Is this an area where you realize that there’s probably a lot of work? A couple of things stood out during my chat with the first-year GM: 1) He is absolutely concerned about the Wild’s shallow prospect pool and Yeah, we’ve got some work to do for prospects. There’s no question. wants to do everything to avoid trading picks and prospects. 2) If the Wild We’ve done our prospect list, and it’s pretty easy to figure out. A lot of fall out of the race, he will absolutely consider trading players on expiring draft picks have been (traded). I get it. They traded them trying to get there and win, and that’s the nature of our business. Sometimes you go Well, I think we all recognize that we’re an older team. Beginning of the for it and you give up the futures. Now, our job is to pick up the pieces year, I think we were last in the league as far as an age thing is and try to reacquire and get some futures in here. I want to build our concerned. For me, I was looking for a hockey trade. When you look at prospect pool. That’s the name of the game here, build your prospect centermen, it’s hard to get centermen, it’s hard to get guys. He wouldn’t pool. have been available if he was lighting everything up, and vice versa with Nino. I hope they both do well. I mean, it looks like they both have pretty Martin Hanzal good games, at least Victor did when he was here (in his debut). I didn’t Fenton is determined to rebuild the Wild prospect pool, depleted after see it, but I saw that Nino scored a couple in Edmonton, and good for years of trades like the one that brought in Martin Hanzal for 25 him. I hope we both win. disappointing games in 2017. (Brad Rempel / USA Today) Is it fair to say that the Detroit and Philadelphia losses may have been a So, conversely, you kind of alluded that if you are not inside the playoff tipping point for you? bubble come the Feb. 25 deadline, you’d sell off some assets. If you are No. I think all of them sting regardless, depending on how you go about in it the next month and you do want to add, do you almost have to make things. There’s just so many ups and downs during the season. There’s “hockey trades” because you don’t think this organization can afford to things that you can’t control. There’s things that you’d like to put a value start trading draft picks and prospects to go for it at the deadline? on but you can’t. I mean, this is sports. There’s nights when guys aren’t I know we can’t trade draft picks. Again, let’s go through the history, and I feeling well and they might be beat up. Things happen. It’s just the nature guess from my background, when you’re used to developing from within of sports. and then replacing from within and then adding key pieces as you go Some bigger-picture questions for you: First, did you realize before you along, that’s going to be my philosophy here. Things change, certainly, got here or do you even feel that the Suter and Parise contracts, both in but my M.O. is to look at it that way. Hockey trades. terms of cap space and no-move clauses, inhibit your flexibility to do After a real tough stretch, it has to be encouraging to see Staal playing things? well again, and he did get better in the second halves of the last two It is what it is. They’re the key pieces that we’re going to continue to build seasons. Is he one that will probably come down to the wire in terms of around here and they’re great players. They’re all great players. Look at what you do? You wouldn’t necessarily have to even re-sign him by Feb. Zach, you know, 20 goals already. Ryan plays 27 minutes a night and 25, but do you need to see where you are in the standings to decide Mikko (Koivu) gives you everything that he has every single shift. He whether you trade him or not? plays 200 feet. He’s your leader. I don’t have a problem with that. You I’ve talked to his agent and let him know that we’re going to look at things look at every other team in the league. They’re going to have the same and then we’ll make decisions. They’ve been very good about it. I have to building blocks on their teams that are stable, and they’re going to be the give them true professionalism. They’re letting this thing play out and he guys that they build with. has to go down to the wire. On defense, since Dumba went down, you’ve tried Nate Prosser, Louie When the decision was made last spring to move on from Chuck Fletcher Belpedio, Ryan Murphy, Matt Bartkowski. Do you think that is suddenly a despite six straight playoff berths, Craig Leipold made clear that he didn’t big area of need that you have to shore up fairly quickly? (Note: This feel this team needed to be torn down, that a few tweaks could help it question is a little outdated. This interview took place 90 minutes before take the next step. That became the popular word around here: Tweak, the Wild played the Golden Knights on Monday, and two hours after the tweak, tweak. He didn’t want a rebuild. Do you think that he might be game, the Wild acquired defenseman Brad Hunt.) more open right now to letting you trade significant pieces if you feel it’s Yeah, it could be. It’s a continued conversation with a lot of people. I’m time to move on from certain core players? looking at various things. Again, I’m not going to give up our future in I talk to Craig all the time and we have an open conversation. There’s not order to plug the leak in the dam. What I’m going to do is I’m going to try anything mysterious about it and I’ve talked to him about everything, to take somebody that I hope can help us, if that’s the way, and continue whether it’s continuing forward or going the other way. And he’ll be in to give our team some confidence. agreement, whichever way I want to take this team. Maybe a tough question, but Dubnyk. He has won the Wild one playoff Regardless, I’m sure that you both feel that this isn’t good enough, that series in four years and he’s four years removed from that. He’s 8-18 in you’re probably going to have to make some significant moves to get this the playoffs. Do you feel like he’s the guy that you can win with here team straightened out and on par with the upper-echelon teams? long-term? I wouldn’t say that. That’s just trying to make things up, honestly. If you Yes. Yes, I do. He’s had his ups and downs this year, but for the most look at this team, there’s a lot of quality pieces. There’s a lot of quality part, he’s been terrific. It’s hard to find starting goaltenders in this league players that we can build with and build around. It’s my job to pick the who’ve had the success that he has. right pieces that are going to be put in place to help the guys. Kaapo Kahkonen. Do you feel he has the ability to be the quote-unquote People always talk about rebuilds. Is there even a way to do a full rebuild Goalie of the Future? when you have a lot of core pieces in maybe unmovable contracts? I don’t know. I don’t know if that’s a real fair question in his first year. I’m not even looking down that area, to be honest. We want to win. We We’re very happy with the way that he has played. If (Andrew) Hammond all do. There is a parity in this league, and we’re right there. That goes to doesn’t get hurt, he doesn’t get the opportunity to play as much as he show you that there’s parity in the league when you’re within a point of has. For us, it’s just a great stepping stone. You’re going to need people playoffs and so are six or seven other teams. in different positions. In a few years from now, he should be ready. You’ve been patient up until this last week. Has it been hard for you to be Jordan Greenway patient to start putting your stamp on the team by making trades for “He’s been terrific,” Fenton says of Jordan Greenway, who has nine Aberg and Rask? goals and has shown flashes of potential as the power forward the Wild Definitely. There’s a lot of things in our business that are difficult. Maybe hope he can be. (Brace Hemmelgarn / USA Today) in my era, it was easy to make trades. But it’s not easy to make trades in Looking at the roster, would you say Greenway has probably been the the current NHL. It’s very difficult to be able to make trades. It’s not that most pleasant surprise to you coming into this? you’re not trying and it’s not that you’re asking an exorbitant number for somebody else. It just does not work in a lot of instances even though Yeah, he’s been very … as a young man, he’s been terrific. I stress that you have some commonality. he’s a young man because he still is and he’s got lots to learn. He’s got to believe that he’s the player that he’s capable of being. We’ve seen So, when it came to Niederreiter, was that a spur-of-the-moment type visions of it, and when you see it, you honestly get so excited that you’re thing with Carolina because I’ve heard you’ve been talking to other teams saying, “This kid is going to be a man that nobody’s going to be able to about Nino since June? handle.” He’s been great. I’ve talked about this for a long, long time and it just happened. It was You got your dream job back in May. It was a huge excitement at the able to happen at that particular time. That’s kind of how things go in this time. Looking at the roster now, maybe the future now, has this been business, too, is you’re looking, you’re analyzing everybody else’s harder than you thought it would ever be? situation and vice versa. Finally, you see the fit, so you do it. It’s a challenge every day. There’s no question. There’s a lot of things On the Rask trade in particular, is that you also starting to realize that that happen, and then, there’s a lot of things that you continue to try to do you have to get younger up the middle? that just don’t happen. It’s interesting. It’s really interesting. You have to also feel like you’re in a tough spot, no? You’re new. You need time to put your mark on this team. This is your first year, yet there’s a passionate fan base that has long desired to watch this team go on a real playoff run and they feel they’ve seen this movie before. Are you starting to recognize their frustration level? Yes. There’s no easy way to put a stamp on a team today. I mean you can blow things up. You can throw things at the wall and whatever. It’s got to be the right fit for you now and into the future. What would you say that you like best about this team? That they’re so consistent with staying in it. But then, that’s probably the negative part as well is that they’re consistent staying in it and we haven’t been able to finish. That’s the thing. Some nights I’ll sit up there and watch the game and say, “Our scoring chances are just unbelievable and we should finish.” Goal scoring is an art. I guess we haven’t hit that streak where your goal scoring takes over. The Athletic LOADED: 01.25.2019 1127570 Montreal Canadiens Bergevin also did the right thing by making Weber captain, something he should’ve done the day Weber first walked into the dressing room. Man Mountain is a real leader and Pacioretty never was. I think two of the What the Puck: Savvy moves, serendipity spark Canadiens' resurgence biggest mistakes Bergevin made was allowing Patches to become captain and keeping Michel Therrien on far too long as head coach. The Montreal Canadiens are doing so much better than they were a year ago and that's due to some smart management moves and a bit of luck. They’re doing some good things and you know what they say: You have to be good to be lucky.

Montreal Gazette LOADED: 01.25.2019 BRENDAN KELLY, MONTREAL GAZETTE

What a difference a year makes. At this time 12 months ago, things couldn’t have looked more dark for the Montreal Canadiens. Early in 2018, I was part of many a coffee shop/pub conversation about who was the worst GM of the modern Habs era, Réjean Houle or . I penned a column around this time last year talking about how my Habs-obsessed friends had stopped watching games, how TV ratings were down, how there were so many empty seats at the Bell Centre, and how fans were telling me they thought Geoff Molson was the Harold Ballard of the 21st century. Ballard, for you kids out there, was the owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs back in the day who used to pride himself on making loads of dough from dumb fans of one of the worst teams in hockey. Flash forward 12 months. Going into a well-earned break, the team that was supposed to be one of the worst in the NHL is in third place in the Atlantic Division, two points ahead of the Boston Bruins, and they’ve won five of their last six games. This Montreal team is one of the biggest surprises of the NHL season. What happened? My view is that the shocking success of the Canadiens this season is partly due to some savvy moves by management during the off-season and it’s partly due to a little good old-fashioned luck. First a word on the luck. Last season, everything that could go wrong did go wrong. Shea Weber was injured in the first game of the season, Carey Price was wildly inconsistent and captain Max Pacioretty went into a major depression. This season, luck has gone the Habs’ way. Analyze This columnist Marc Dumont had a great line in The Athletic in his rundown of the Canadiens’ victory over the Arizona Coyotes Wednesday night: “I’m convinced the hockey gods are back on the Canadiens’ side, a nice change of pace following a season in which they certainly had their fun at the expense of the fan base.” He was referring to the coach’s challenge Claude Julien launched after what appeared to be the tying goal from former Hab Alex Galchenyuk late in the third. After video review, it turned out that Coyotes’ defenceman Alex Goligoski was offside shortly before the goal. It’s been that kind of year for the Habs. With the exception of Andrew Shaw, few key players have gone down to long-term injuries. Weber came back earlier than expected and he’s been a monster for the team. I continue to maintain that Bergevin got lucky on the Galchenyuk-Max Domi trade. I don’t believe anyone, including Bergevin, knew that Domi was going to be as explosive as he’s been this season. However, keep in mind that when the Habs and the Coyotes met in late December, that trade looked like a steal on the part of the Habs and now it’s becoming a little more even. Since that game Dec. 20, Galchenyuk has five goals and nine assists in 16 games and Domi has two goals and nine assists in 15 games. The bottom line is that the jury’s out on that one. But Habs management also did some smart thinking after doing some not-so-smart thinking in the previous couple of years. Listening to Canadiens president Geoff Molson on TSN 690 Thursday, it crystallized what I’ve been thinking for a while. Molson and Bergevin misjudged the team they had. When they went to the conference final in 2014, the two top Habs execs became convinced they had a contender on their hands. They were wrong about that, which is what I and some other contrarians were saying at the time. By the end of the disastrous 2017-18 season, Molson and Bergevin finally came to the realization that the team they’d built was going nowhere and that they needed to make big changes. And credit to them that, unlike Peter Chiarelli in Edmonton, they looked at a bad situation and made some bright moves. They realized that players like Galchenyuk and Pacioretty were not going to be the guys to lead the Canadiens out of the woods and dealt them for quality pieces in Domi and Tomas Tatar as well as prospect Nick Suzuki. 1127571 Montreal Canadiens · Joel Armia: The only thing missing was a goal. It looked like he had one shorthanded before veteran goalie Calvin Pickard, who was making his first NHL start since November, managed to squeeze his pads together Melnick’s GBU: A break won’t slow the momentum of the redemption- to keep Armia’s shot from giving Montreal a two-goal lead during a seeking Canadiens Charles Hudon penalty midway through the second period. Armia was in full beast mode most of the night but especially on that penalty kill. It was one of the best single shifts by a Hab this season and earned him a strong ovation when he finally left the ice. His strong work everywhere on By Mitch Melnick Jan 24, 2019 the ice led to several forced turnovers. He kept sneaking up behind Arizona skaters like a 12-year old playing hide and seek. And even

though he didn’t get an assist, he was a big part of why the Habs took the It sounded like the end to something but for Carey Price and the lead early in the third period when he forced a turnover behind the Canadiens, they really believe it’s just the beginning. Coyotes’ net before Jeff Petry went for a skate to set up the game winning goal by Mike Reilly. Armia was just relentless all night. It looked “We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished,” said Price after the Habs like he could play a doubleheader. sneaked by a banged up, fatigued, but utterly determined Arizona Coyotes team to finish up the pre-All Star portion of the schedule. · Brendan Gallagher: Just another typically effective night at the office. But with a bit of a twist. Shortly after the Habs grabbed a 2-1 lead, The Habs also get their long-awaited bye week following the high-level Gallagher covered for a pinching Jordie Benn who got caught inside the skills competition this weekend in San Jose. So they’ll have nine full days Arizona blue line. Not only was Gallagher able to assume Benn’s off before returning to play with their traditional back-to-back matinees at position, he showed he could skate backwards while simultaneously the Bell Centre over Super Bowl weekend. rubbing out an opposing forward into the boards. You can never have too much depth on the blue line. Raise your hand if you thought Price and the Canadiens would be sitting in third place in the Atlantic Division, just one point behind the Toronto · Power Play: Hallelujah! Maple Leafs, heading into the break having played 51 games, or 62 percent of their schedule. · Jonathan Drouin: His first goal in nine games opened the scoring and helped breath some life into the NHL’s worst power play. It was a Weber Maybe it’s all the rain and snow and clouds but I don’t see anything. blast that started it and some excellent work by Tomas Tatar in a crowd Anybody there? in front of the net that got the puck to Drouin, WHO WENT TO THE NET to score his 14th goal of the season, or one more than he scored all of Price has reason to feel proud. last year. While the Canadiens didn’t need to lean on him to get off to a strong · Mike Reilly: Reilly was part of the power play that put in a lot of work at start, they certainly have needed him to slog through the heaviest part of practice over the last couple of days. He’s made a habit of taking wildly their schedule. He sure looks like vintage Carey Price again. inaccurate shots from inside the other team’s blue line, but perhaps it I wasn’t among those who thought the Habs would follow up the disaster looked like all the extra work paid off because instead of wildly blasting of a year ago with a bottom-of-the-standings follow up season. As long the puck he took a normal, accurately measured shot just off the ice that as Price returned to form and Shea Weber returned with no further injury found its way past Pickard after deflecting off the knee of Jordan Weal. It issues, I thought they’d be able to hang around and scrap for a playoff was Reilly’s third goal of the season and the first game winning goal of spot, while building up some much-needed positive momentum for next his NHL career. season. · Charles Hudon: Picking up on his good effort Saturday against the Pride is a great equalizer. The vast majority of professional athletes Flyers, Hudon looked more like the pesky and at times dangerous- possess it in abundance. looking rookie we saw last season. He’s certainly shown more in the last two games than any of the other depth forwards on the Habs. Even as he “We didn’t have very much doubt in our own room,” Price said after the did take yet another bad offensive zone penalty that, in the end, proved game. “It was a goal coming into this season to redeem ourselves.” to be a shining shift for Armia. It’s far from over, but at this point it appears only a sudden, significant · Mario Leblanc: I’ll assume it was the Habs’ video coach who spotted the collapse could drop Montreal out of the playoffs. offside that led to the video challenge after Galchenyuk’s dramatic power play goal appeared to tie the game with about three and a half minutes to There is no doubt that Price’s calm demeanor on the ice has resulted in play. It was impossible to tell in real time that when Alex Goligoski played the return of his intimidation factor for opposing shooters. But just as the puck at the Montreal line that it had indeed barely slipped over it. important is the calmness in which he discusses where his team is at, “Good eye,” said Price about the game changing moment. where it’s come from and where they want to go. THE BAD “We know we have a lot of season left and we have a long road ahead of us still.” · Artturi Lehkonen: It was far from Montreal’s best home ice effort of the season, which I was kind of expecting, but it’s not as if anybody played And if there is any concern that the long break will in any way sap the like they had already checked out for the break. Except maybe for Canadiens momentum, as they hit it with five wins in their last six games, Lehkonen. He committed two terrible turnovers inside his own zone with Price delivered another message that was as clear as a long forgotten nobody around him very early in the first period, and his game didn’t get cloudless day. But there was nothing loud about it, in volume or tone. much better. During a second period penalty to Reilly, Lehkonen had a “We can enjoy our rest and recuperate,” he said before wrapping up his chance to clear the zone but failed. Then, Weber’s stick broke so he post-game scrum. “But at the same time we can’t take too much time off gave his stick to the Habs captain. While the Coyotes kept control of the and come back flat…I think we have a bunch of professionals in here that puck inside Montreal territory, a helpless Lehkonen decided to skate to know how to manage their time well.” the bench. As Armia jumped on, he too was helpless to aid what turned into a 5-on-3 that ended when an unguarded Conor Garland put the puck Take a look. Is there anybody on the Habs who worries you? That they into a wide open net to tie the game. On the other side of the puck, might somehow overdo it during their time off? Is anybody leading the Lehkonen managed just one shot on goal as his scoreless streak charge into Party Central while eventually working off the effects of a reached 13 games. Perhaps taking a few shots in the Bahamas will help five-day blitz? loosen him up. Not while it’s still redemption time. · Michael Chaput: Happiest guy in the Bell Centre once the Habs challenged the late game-tying power play goal by Alex Galchenyuk. THE GOOD Chaput had the puck on his stick but panicked. Instead of getting it out, · Carey Price: Thirty saves earned him his 20th win of the season. The he quickly tossed it into the boards to keep the play alive for the Coyotes. only goalies who have more are Marc-André Fleury (27), Martin Jones Even with the speedier Matthew Peca in the lineup in place of Kenny (23), Frederik Andersen (22) and Connor Hellebuyck (21). Agostino, the Chaput line did not have a good night against the injury- riddled Coyotes. It’ll no doubt be a new look fourth line with Paul Byron .@CANADIENSMTL GOALIE CAREY PRICE HAS IMPROVED HIS set to return from his suspension and, perhaps, Andrew Shaw ready to STATS & PLAY OVER THE LAST 2 MONTHS, BUT LOOKING AT HIS return from his injury. You know what they say about water seeking its LAST 10 GAMES SHOWS JUST HOW MUCH HE’S BEEN ON TOP OF level. When they’re not talking about the water in Edmonton. HIS GAME LATELY PIC.TWITTER.COM/GGSDM83EEF · Max Domi: He was very nearly leveled in the neutral zone by — STATSCENTRE (@STATSCENTRE) JANUARY 24, 2019 defenceman Ilya Lyubushkin shortly after the Habs opened the scoring. Domi saw him at the last moment, otherwise it would have been an ugly collision. When Domi got to the Arizona net he predictably challenged Lyubushkin to drop his gloves but the 6-foot-2 Russian, who spent four years with Locomotiv in the KHL, refused. It kept Domi on his toes for the rest of what turned into a quiet night for him. THE UGLY · Peter Chiarelli, Darryl Katz, Bob Nicholson, Kevin Lowe, Craig MacTavish, Duane Sutter, Scott Howson, Keith Gretzky, Wayne Gretzky: Sorry Edmonton. I feel for you. If it’s any consolation, it felt almost as bleak around here at this time a year ago. The Athletic LOADED: 01.25.2019 1127572 Nashville Predators

P.K. Subban on Vegas' Pierre-Edouard Bellemare: 'He knows he bit me'

Paul Skrbina, Jan. 24, 2019

LAS VEGAS — Once bitten, not shy. Not P.K. Subban. The Predators defenseman wore a bandage on his right pinkie and a look of bewilderment on his face Wednesday night after he said he was bitten by Vegas' Pierre-Edouard Bellemare with 26 seconds left in the second period of Nashville's 2-1 victory at T-Mobile Arena. Subban grabbed Bellemare by the head, trying to pull him off Predators goalie Juuse Saros, when Bellemare supposedly sunk his teeth into Subban's finger. Subban reacted with disbelief and had blood on his jersey as he headed to the bench. But not before Vegas' Ryan Reaves dropped his gloves and went after Subban, who was assessed four minutes' worth of penalties — two for roughing and two for unsportsmanlike conduct. "He knows he bit me," Subban said. "I'm not trying to rip his head off. I'm not that type of player. All I tried to do was grab him. I grabbed him by the head to pull him up (off Juuse Saros) and he bit me. That’s it. I don't know how I walk out of there with four minutes in penalties. "It wasn’t explained. They tried to apologize after the fact that they gave me four minutes in penalties. My finger is bleeding. I don’t know what you want me to do." Rocco Grimaldi served one of the penalties for Subban, who retreated to the dressing room to have the finger bandaged and later started the third period in the penalty box. "When you get bit — have you ever had someone bite your finger? It's completely unexpected," Subban said. "Refs are human. They don't have X-ray vision. But once there's evidence, there's blood — you're giving me more minutes in penalties for what? Because I reacted after a guy bit me?" Bellemare saw things a bit differently. “He started yelling that I bit him, I bit him,” Bellemare told the Athletic. “I don’t know what you have in your mouth, but if you put your hand all the way in at one point, and you pull up then you’re going to feel the teeth. I don’t know what the (expletive) he’s doing.” The drama of “Bite-gate” continues. This is a real billboard in Las Vegas today. Stick tap to @Hobbit311 for the awesome photo If you want to read the full story here it is- https://t.co/vHsj1LgADx#VegasBorn#Predspic.twitter.com/Qvzu3aLL6b — Jesse Granger (@JesseGranger_) January 24, 2019 Predators coach Peter Laviolette was equally as perplexed as Subban. He said he didn't initially see the confrontation. And when he asked officials, who in turn asked the linesmen, he was told nobody saw any biting. "P.K. said he was bit in the hand. His finger was bleeding," Laviolette said. "After all that settles and you find out you're two minutes down (in penalties), you want an explanation." Laviolette said he was told Subban initiated the scrum by roughing Bellemare. "That was their interpretation," Laviolette said, adding that his interpretation was "not necessarily the same." The Predators held on for the victory, thanks mostly to a career-high 47 saves by Juuse Saros. Tennessean LOADED: 01.25.2019 1127573 Nashville Predators Philadelphia 2009-10 to 2013-14 272 145-98-29 23-22 Nashville 2014-15 to present 380 212-117-51 30-25 Why is Peter Laviolette excelling in Nashville? Good fit, good talent and a * Won 2005-06 Stanley Cup little less bite Good fit for his style

So why have things worked so well here in Music City? By John Glennon Jan 24, 2019 One reason Laviolette has achieved more success in Nashville than anywhere else is that the Predators, unlike some of his former clubs, were not a complete reclamation project when he arrived. In each of his three previous NHL stops, Peter Laviolette resurrected bad hockey teams, engineered massive turnarounds and steered clubs back Sure, Nashville had missed the playoffs in Trotz’s final two seasons, but into the playoffs. the Preds had posted a respectable 38-32-12 mark (88 points) the year before Laviolette. In four-and-a-half seasons behind the Predators’ bench, Laviolette has guided Nashville down a similar path, but with one significant difference In contrast, the Islanders of 2000-01 had won just 21 games the year to boot: before Laviolette took over, the Hurricanes were 8-11-8-2 when Laviolette stepped in during the 2003-04 season, and the Flyers were 13- He still has his job. 11-2 in 2009-10 when Laviolette was hired. When Laviolette recorded his 600th coaching victory this week in The attack-minded Laviolette also had five defensemen — Roman Josi, Colorado, it shed light not only on his impressive career achievements — Shea Weber, Ryan Ellis, Seth Jones and Mattias Ekholm — who were he’s one of just seven active NHL coaches to have hit the 600-win mark more than ready to increase their collective presence in the offensive — but on his tenure in Music City. zone. Weber and Jones would eventually be traded, but the addition of Laviolette’s time here may not seem long in comparison to that of Barry defenseman P.K. Subban and first-line center Ryan Johansen hardly Trotz, who steered the Predators’ ship for 15 seasons. But Laviolette has slowed the Predators’ inclination to push the pace. now coached far more games in Nashville (380) than he did with the New Filip Forsberg had already produced a 26-goal season when Laviolette York Islanders (164), Carolina Hurricanes (323) or Philadelphia Flyers arrived, Craig Smith was coming off a 21-goal season and a young Viktor (272). Arvidsson was waiting in the wings. More impressively, he’s totaled his most coaching victories (212), his “I think he’s got players there that love to play his style, and it’s a style highest regular-season points percentage (.625) and his most playoff he’s preached for a long, long time,” said Vegas Golden Knights wins (30) in Music City. broadcaster Dave Goucher, a New England native and friend of The Predators may be battling through an up-and-down stretch at Laviolette’s for more than two decades. present — due in part to a string of key injuries — but there are clearly no “Even back to his days (as an AHL coach) in Providence, he wanted his concerns about his position. defensemen to join the rush and try to make it a four-man attack as much In fact, the overall numbers show that Laviolette’s marriage to the as possible, trying to get odd-man rushes. He’s always been full-throttle Predators is producing the kind of results neither coach nor team has in terms of wanting to go on offense. So especially (in Nashville), with experienced in the past. that defense corps and especially the core four, it suits their style and his style to a ‘T.’” “It’s just a good match,” Predators general manager said. “Peter is someone who’s had success and he’s also had some tough Totally fresh and always new times. In my view, he’s lost his job a couple of times in ways that are In some ways, Laviolette is the same coach who guided the Providence pretty unexplainable. Bruins to an AHL title one year after the club had posted a losing record. “But he’s got the right mentality to be a successful head coach because The push-push-push offensive style is one example, but another is his he’s been through it all. So it’s good for Peter and good for the Predators, ability to motivate and communicate with players. because I think we both arrived at the right place at the right time.” Former Predators forward Scott Hartnell played for Laviolette twice, from Strange circumstances 2009-10 to 2013-14 in Philadelphia and during the 2017-18 season in A quick recap of Laviolette’s previous stints shows some head-scratching Nashville. He wondered whether Laviolette had used up all his firings, even for a league that dispatches coaches more regularly than inspirational messages in Philadelphia, but found in Music City the coach any of the big four leagues. had a seemingly endless supply. The Islanders cut ties with Laviolette after he’d recorded back-to-back “It was wild because I was with him for three or four years (in playoff seasons, and after he’d doubled the team’s win total from 2000- Philadelphia), and you figure coaches are used to saying the same thing, 01 to 2001-02. He was the victim of former Islanders general manager so maybe they’ll just recycle things on different teams,” Hartnell said. “Mad” Mike Milbury, who fired seven coaches in seven-and-a-half years. “But I didn’t hear one speech (in Nashville) that was the same that I The Islanders made the playoffs in just two of the eight seasons following heard in Philadelphia. You think you’d hear the same thing over and over Laviolette’s departure. again, but it was totally fresh and always new. The Hurricanes fired Laviolette about a third of the way through the 2008- “After a speech, he’s a guy you want to go through a brick wall for to go 09 season, despite the fact he’d guided the team to the Stanley Cup in win that hockey game or win that playoff series. It’s contagious, too. He 2006 and posted back-to-back winning records the next two years. believes it and we all believe it, and then the fans and the city ultimately Carolina reached the playoffs the season he was fired, but hasn’t been believe it.” back since. Former NHL defenseman Bret Hedican, who played for Laviolette during Then there were the Flyers, who showed Laviolette the door just three the Hurricanes’ Stanley Cup-winning season of 2005-06, marveled at games into the 2013-14 season, after he’d steered Philadelphia to a how Laviolette tailored his message to the team’s situation that year. Stanley Cup Final and two second-round playoff appearances in the previous four years. The Flyers haven’t advanced beyond the first round Whenever Hedican and his teammates felt they needed the coach to give of the playoffs since Laviolette departed. them a lift, Laviolette found a way to do just that. When the Hurricanes knew they were under-performing and needed a kick in the pants, “Another thing everyone looks at is, ‘What happens after (the coach) left? Laviolette was the man to deliver it. How did the team do?’” Poile said. “I think we’re just very lucky to get Peter. I think our good fortune is a loss for the teams that let him go.” “It’s like we had a telepathic wave straight into his head,” said Hedican, now a TV analyst for the San Jose Sharks. “I’ve never seen a coach that FOURTH STOP IS TOPS FOR PETER LAVIOLETTE? much on the pulse of our team than I saw him that year. That’s what it Team Tenure Games W-L Playoffs takes. It takes really being a good listener to what you have in front of you, and making sure all the strings get pulled at the right time.” NY Islanders 2001-02 to 2002-03 164 77-62-19-6 4-8 That’s not to say all of Laviolette’s players agree with his message all the time. But most everyone seems to appreciate the straightforward manner Carolina 2003-04 to 2008-09 323 167-122-6-28 16-9* in which it’s shared. “When I talk to him, there’s never any bullshit,” said Preds forward Zac “I think (Poile) has done an unbelievable job assembling a group that can Rinaldo, who also played for Laviolette in Philadelphia. “He’s going to tell be competitive and win,” Laviolette said. “More than ever, I feel fortunate me what I need to hear, bad or good. I’d rather that than someone about that.” blowing smoke up my ass and lying to me.” And last but certainly not least, it can’t hurt that Laviolette, who grew up Another constant has been Laviolette’s emphasis on team as family, a near Boston, has developed a fondness for middle Tennessee. Unlike at priority for him at every stop. He makes sure the bonds extend beyond least one of his previous stops — Philadelphia — the hockey market isn’t just the players in the locker room, including wives, girlfriends and quite as large here, nor the independent media contingent as hefty. children as well. “I think the biggest thing is that sometimes when you’re in a big market, “He has always felt like that’s enormously important,” Goucher said. there’s obviously more media and they want to create more stories,” said “Even when I was around him in the minors, he felt that if you really care Kevin McCarthy, Laviolette’s longtime assistant coach. for a person off the ice, you’re going to care even more (in a game) because you know them as somebody away from the rink. You know “Sometimes when things are going well, there’s always someone there their family, maybe their kids, and in the heat of the battle, that’s going to that wants to look at the negative side of things. I think here it’s been the come through.” opposite. They thrive on the positive things … You’re not putting out fires that people try to create.” Maybe a little less bite Laviolette appreciates the Music City hockey atmosphere he has helped But Laviolette has also succeeded over the years because he’s been build, ranging from the huge throngs that filled Broadway during the 2017 willing and able to change. Stanley Cup Final to the home sellout streak that now stands at 134 games. Hedican, for instance, gives Laviolette high praise for his ability to self- evaluate, dating back to when Laviolette took over as Carolina coach “With regard to the city and the fit, for me, never would I have imagined it midway through the 2003-04 season. would be so unbelievable,” Laviolette said. “It far exceeds any expectations somebody might have when they come to a team. The Hurricanes had a veteran group at the time — only a couple years removed from reaching the Stanley Cup Final — and Laviolette’s take- “To watch the building turn into all these sellouts, and to watch the charge attitude didn’t necessarily play well with them at first. streets fill for playoff games, and to listen to the chants that fans get going here, I never could have imagined it.” “We had a group of guys that really understood what winning looks like, and when Peter got in there and started coaching for us, it was kind of The Athletic LOADED: 01.25.2019 like he was treating us as boys,” Hedican said. “His attitude wasn’t really flying very well within our group.” Things changed, however, when the NHL lockout arrived the following year, a work stoppage that actually allowed Laviolette and the Hurricanes more time to get to know one another off the ice. In Hedican’s opinion, Laviolette gradually changed his approach with the players — becoming less of an instructor, more of a team-builder — because of the trust he developed in them. When the lockout ended, the Hurricanes won 14 of their first 18 games and eventually captured the only Stanley Cup in franchise history. “I thought he really learned a lot from that moment he was our coach — and the way his attitude was — to where it changed in that interim, to where he came back and became a different man,” Hedican said. “I think that’s a part of any good professional athlete and coach, to be able to self-assess and to look at yourself in a different way, to know that maybe I don’t have all the answers but maybe I have to do things a little differently.” Added Laviolette: “What I really liked about that (lockout) year in Carolina is, yeah, I was able to establish some relationships. They were able to understand me a little bit and I was able to understand them. “When we came back from the lockout, we picked right up with the team building and probably emphasized it even more, just trying to build a culture inside the room. We were able to find success that year.” Does Laviolette feel he’s changed much overall through the years? “I don’t think so, not too much,” Laviolette said before a short pause. “Maybe a little bit less bite to what I’m trying to do, and understanding more the personal side of the players.” Music City appreciation There are at least a couple more intangibles that might explain why Laviolette has had his greatest success in Nashville. One is his chemistry with Poile, as the Preds’ even-tempered general manager appears to be a good balance for Laviolette’s passion and single-minded approach to his job. “I just know that he’s razor-focused and all business most all of the time, certainly on a game day,” Poile said. “So it’s just getting to learn how to work with somebody and try to play off what their strengths and weaknesses and needs are. When is the best time to talk? When is the best time to leave someone alone? “My job is to try to provide as good players and environment as possible. That allows him to do his job 100 percent as a professional.” Poile’s bold and aggressive trade strategies — acquiring Subban, Johansen and Kyle Turris since Laviolette’s arrival — also seem to mirror Laviolette’s on-ice strategy: seize the initiative. 1127574 New Jersey Devils going back to the start of the season. Between the goaltenders being unable to steal a win or the skaters’ inability to make one or two more plays to grind out a win, the Devils haven’t gotten the job done. What's wrong with the Devils? Who's to blame? Goaltending, Inability to beat top teams consistency, road struggles, more During 2017-18, the Devils went 5-0-1 against the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Toronto Maple Leafs. This season, the Devils are 0-6-0 against By Chris Ryan those two teams. Both squads are among the top tier of NHL competition, and the Lightning have lost just 12 times in 49 games, so there’s no shame in As the NHL enters the All-Star break, the Devils have just 43 points and losing to that elite talent. sit at 30th out of 31 teams in the standings. Yes, they have multiple games in hands on three teams just two points ahead of them, but the But the Devils found ways to win those games one year ago. As Devils' position is a far cry from their 2017-18 playoff team. simplistic as it might sound, if the Devils went 5-0-1 against the Lightning and Leafs so far this season, they’d be 23-17-8. That would have them at So what's been the difference? 54 points and within four points of playoff spot. The Devils don't have a drastically different roster from last season, and A lot more goes into the Devils’ struggles than just those six losses, but they've posted some similar underlying numbers, especially on the those games can be the difference in changing the narrative of the offensive end. season. Here's a look at some of the areas that have caused the biggest The problem is, the Devils weren’t remotely competitive in those six difference in results. games. Their closest finish was a 4-2 home loss to the Leafs on Jan. 10, which ended with a late empty netter by Toronto. Goaltending The Devils are also 0-2-1 against the New York Islanders, 0-3-0 against Outside of Keith Kinkaid’s strong start and Mackenzie Blackwood’s the Columbus Blue Jackets and 0-1-1 against the Winnipeg Jets. midseason emergence, the Devils’ goaltending has been an issue all season long. The Devils are clearly below the tier of top NHL teams. But being a playoff team means occasionally stealing games and points in those When they made their postseason run in 2017-18, they finished with a matchups. .908 save percentage as a team, good for 18th in the NHL. That was also boosted by Kinkaid's strong run in March to close the season, where he The offense hasn’t been the issue won 10 of his final 11 starts. By a lot of traditional and advanced stats, the Devils’ offense has been This season, the Devils have a collective .892 save percentage - just just as good, if not better, than it was one season ago.: 28th best in the league. Stats via Natural Stattrick Blackwood has posted a .924 save percentage in his 12 appearances since being called up in December. He’s gotten the net on most nights The one big drop for the Devils between the two seasons has been the because Kinkaid struggled to recapture his 2017-18 magic. team’s power-play conversion. They finished 2017-18 10th in the NHL, but they’re currently sitting at 20th. Part of that has to do with the In Kinkaid’s past 17 appearances, he finished with a sub .900 save absence of Taylor Hall for the past month, but even with him, the Devils percentage 12 times. From Feb. 1 until the end of the 2018 regular were converting at just over 18 percent this season. season, that happened 10 times in Kinkaid’s final 26 games. So since they’re still scoring at nearly the same rate per game, their 5-on- Before Cory Schneider got hurt on Dec. 14, he didn’t do much to help the 5 play has been decent. But considering the team is giving up 3.38 goals team save percentage, either. He has a .852 mark in nine appearances. per game — fifth highest in the league — the offense hasn’t been enough to mask the defensive problems. The team defense has struggled at times in front of the goalies, but at a certain point, the Devils need more consistent net minding. That’s why Road record Blackwood has gotten his opportunity. The Devils found their road mojo early last season and used it throughout Physical play the campaign, going 21-15-5 away from Prudential Center. Only five teams had more road victories. The Devils aren’t built to be a physical team. In a league that’s trended more toward speed and skill in recent seasons, compared to the hard This season, the Devils are a league-worst 5-17-3 on the road. Every and big-hitting ways of the past, that’s not a surprise. other NHL team has at least seven road wins at this point of the season. But hockey is still a physical sport, and in moments when the Devils have Their home record has been fine, going 13-6-4 in the first half. Only 11 needed to be a little bit more physical, they have come up short. teams have more than that at this point, so they’re middle of the pack in that category. The Devils spent the bulk of their final practice prior to break working on battle drills, dedicating more than 30 minutes to 1-on-1 work. But their inability to win on the road has hampered their ability to string together winning streaks or pick up valuable points. “Obviously we’re not a heavy team but we’re first on pucks, we’re touching pucks first, we finish checks. We use our body positioning and Lack of Taylor Hall net-front box outs,” defenseman Andy Greene said. "It’s just doing that more consistently and just bringing more guys into the battle. Making The Devils weren’t in great position to begin with when he got hurt, but sure you win you’re 50-50 battles, making sure you win your shift. Once losing Taylor Hall in December for what has now been nearly 33 percent you start doing that, everything starts to snowball the other way in a of the team’s schedule has added up. positive way. Each guy needs to do that and just focus on that.” Despite missing 15 of 48 games this season, Hall is still second on the Consistency Devils in points. His 37 points trail the 38 points of Kyle Palmieri, and it took until Jan. 14 for Palmieri to overtake the team lead. Hall hasn’t Consistency has been a harping point for coach John Hynes and players played since Dec. 23. over the course of the season, and for good reason. The Devils’ overall struggles this season probably wouldn’t have been When the Devils were on their game, they looked like world beaters. salvaged by Hall’s presence alone, but missing the MVP for more than They rolled through the Washington Capitals in a 6-0 win in their second one month has taken a toll. game of the season. They dominated the Boston Bruins in a road win. When they played well and deserved to win, they did. Hall should return to the lineup shortly after the bye week and All-Star break, and while it would take a superhuman effort to get the Devils back But that type of performance became tougher to capture on a night-to- in the playoff race, his return would be a sight for sore eyes for a lineup night basis as the season progressed. Yes, it’s impossible for a team to that has missed him. play at 100 percent every night during the grind of an NHL season, but the Devils haven’t been able to find that game consistently. Star Ledger LOADED: 01.25.2019 Part of being a successful NHL team also means finding ways to win or steal points when that A-game isn’t there. That’s been another problem, 1127575 New York Islanders

John Tavares, NHL impressed with Islanders' surprising first half

By Mark Herrmann

SAN JOSE, Calif. — They’re impressed. Mathew Barzal had not heard that specifically before taking part in his first NHL All-Star media day here Thursday night because he had not run across many of his fellow stars. But by the time the weekend is over, he will know exactly what the rest of the league thinks about the Islanders. They’re impressed. No less an authority than Maple Leafs All-Star center John Tavares emphatically agrees with that. “They’re having a tremendous season. Obviously, it’s a complete 180 on the defensive side,” Tavares said while wearing a Leafs crest at an All-Star gathering for the first time. “Goaltending has been a big part of that, but just not giving up a whole lot defensively and it’s leading to a lot of success, a lot of wins. “I know a lot of people there, a lot of the guys that I’m still very close with, have great friendships with. It’s great to see they’re doing well, but my focus obviously is on helping the Maple Leafs and controlling what I can control,” he said before feeling compelled to add, “But they’re having a very good season.” Tavares, of course, is the reason the season is so surprising. When he left the Islanders as a free agent and signed with the Leafs on July 1, it was widely assumed that his former team was doomed to be among the lottery-chasers. Instead, heading into All-Star Weekend, the Islanders are one point better than Tavares’ current team (which is having a pretty good season). Barzal said he is “a little nervous” as a first-time All-Star, getting to play on the same team with Sidney Crosby, one of his heroes. He added that one of the reasons he is here is that everyone around him in Brooklyn and Uniondale has done so well. He knows what an upset the hockey world considers the Islanders’ first half under coach Barry Trotz. “I don’t know if I’m surprised, but it’s maybe a little bit different from what people pegged us as,” said Barzal, who moved up from the Islanders’ No. 2 center to No. 1 in the absence of Tavares. “I think we kind of like that. We weren’t pegged to do everything at the start of the year. So we had a lot of guys who wanted to prove something this year, a lot of guys getting a lot of opportunity, and we’re definitely making the most of it.” They have not gone unnoticed. Devils All-Star Kyle Palmieri said, “It’s pretty incredible to see it. Obviously, it’s not the most fun to play against. They’re a tough team to score against. They have two goalies who give them a chance to win. I think the team as a whole has done a great job of buying into the way they need to play to keep the puck out of their own net. When they believe in that system, it’s tough to beat.” NHL players credit Trotz, especially if they have played for him. “It’s awesome. I’m really happy for Trotzy,’’ Predators goalie Pekka Rinne said. “He deserves all the credit he’s getting, after last year and being able to change the Islanders and change the way they play. He has done a really great job.” Seth Jones of the Blue Jackets, who are among the teams looking up at the Islanders in the Metropolitan Division standings, said, “Barry has had success everywhere he has been. He was with me in Nashville my first year. We went through some things together. He went to Washington and had success there and now he’s with the Islanders, having success. I’ve always thought he was a great coach in my heart and I’m happy for him.” Aside from the impact of coaching, star players have noticed the impact of a change in address, too. Said Jones, “Have you seen that building? Come on!” Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 01.25.2019 1127576 New York Islanders

Isles rank high in hockey writers' midseason awards

By Andrew Gross

The Islanders’ turnaround season has been recognized by the Professional Hockey Writers Association, which released the results of its midseason awards voting Thursday. Barry Trotz finished first in balloting for the Jack Adams Award as the top coach, goalie Robin Lehner was first in voting for comeback player of the year and Lou Lamoriello was third in balloting for general manager of the year. All three are in their first season with the organization. The Islanders (29-15-5), seeking their first playoff berth since 2016, lead the Metropolitan Division by three points over the defending Stanley Cup champion Capitals as they enter their combined All-Star break and bye week. They play next against the NHL-leading Lightning on Feb. 1 at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum. Trotz guided the Capitals to their first Cup in June and won the Jack Adams with that organization in 2016. Al Arbour, in 1979, is the only Isles coach to receive the Jack Adams, which is voted upon at the end of the season by the NHL Broadcasters Association. Lehner is 15-7-4 and leads the NHL with a 2.02 goals-against average. He is tied for first with a .931 save percentage. Last season for the Sabres, he was 14-26-9 with a 3.01 GAA and a .908 save percentage. But his bigger comeback is personal after he battled alcohol and pill addictions as well as mental-health issues in Buffalo. Lehner is a likely candidate for the Bill Masterton Trophy, which recognizes perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to and is voted upon by the PHWA. Lamoriello, who spent the previous three seasons as the Maple Leafs’ GM and won three Cups during his lengthy tenure with the Devils, hired Trotz, signed Lehner to a one-year, $1.5-million deal, signed third-line stalwarts Valtteri Filppula and Leo Komarov as free agents and reacquired fourth-line left wing Matt Martin from the Maple Leafs. The Flames’ Brad Treliving was first in the GM balloting and the Sharks’ Doug Wilson was second. A panel consisting of the league’s GMs, plus a limited number of executives and media members, will vote on the postseason GM honor. More than 125 members from all of the PHWA’s 31 chapters participated in the midseason balloting, which selected the Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov for the Hart Trophy (MVP), the Flames’ Mark Giordano for the Norris Trophy (top defenseman) and the Canucks’ Elias Pettersson for the Calder Trophy (top rookie). Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 01.25.2019 1127577 New York Islanders to do the things I need to do, not get scored on, play the way I need to. At this point, it’s all that matters.”

Digging into the shot and chance totals between the two years on Natural Mathew Barzal enters his first All-Star weekend with less individual flash, Stat Trick — and as always, a warning that scoring-chance numbers are but more team-inspired confidence incredibly vague, given the data comes from the NHL’s real-time stats and is far from reliable (not a knock on Natural Stat Trick) — it’s interesting to see this through 49 games: By Arthur Staple Jan 24, 2019 2017-18: 128 high-danger chances for, 128 against

2018-19: 145 high-danger chances for, 126 against In the space of roughly 16 minutes of game time last week, Mathew Barzal showed us everything. He’s a first-time All-Star this weekend, Those numbers are from five-on-five play and a testament to how rightly headed to San Jose to represent an Islander team on which he is dominant the Isles (and Barzal) have been at even strength when it the biggest star and the team leader in scoring by a fairly decent margin. comes to scoring chances. Less so on overall Corsi, where Barzal’s Corsi-for percentage is down from 53.3 percent a year ago to 51.8 But his All-Star debut comes in a season that, on the surface, appears to percent this season. be a bit less eye-catching than his standout rookie season of 2017-18, when he routinely showed up in league highlight reels and stormed to a And another interesting number through 49 games: near-unanimous Calder Trophy win. He’s leading a much more 2017-18: 4-10-14 on the power play successful team into this All-Star break and five-day bye, but doing so under the tutelage of a coach and a president/GM in whom Barzal has, at 2018-19: 3-14-17 on the power play times reluctantly, put his trust. Barzal is part of a far less successful power play, with the Isles operating Back to last Tuesday in Barclays Center against the Blues. Holding onto at 16.7 percent this season versus 20.3 percent a year ago. But it all runs a 1-0 lead in the third period, Barzal takes a feed from Anthony through him and his numbers are up on the man-advantage. If the Beauvillier and steams into the offensive zone, down the right wall. He current Isles power play had six to seven more goals, he’d be even with circles the net, head up, looking to make a play. He circles just inside the his point totals from last season. blue line. The fans are keyed up — they’ve seen this before and often it results in a good scoring chance. “He just wants so bad to be the best, you see it every time he’s out there,” Josh Bailey said of his regular center. “He holds himself to a This time, though, Barzal circles too long, keeping his teammates pretty high standard. I think we’re all learning that there’s a time and stationary. The puck dribbles off his stick and now it’s a dash back on place to be more aggressive and a time to just fight another day. I think defense, a struggle given that it’s already a minute into his shift. The he’s done a great job of it this year.” Blues attack below the goal line and David Perron, Barzal’s man, strikes quickly from the slot to tie the game. Certainly enough to be an All-Star. Barzal will walk into the star-studded weekend filled with “guys I’ve idolized for a long time,” the likes of Patrick “With every young player — they want to play the game they’re Kane, Steven Stamkos and John Tavares, Barzal’s former teammate. comfortable with,” Barry Trotz said a couple of days later. “Veterans will Perhaps if he’d gotten the nod last year, Barzal would have reveled in the play the game that’s dealt to them. That’s where young players have to selection and his amazing first season, but not felt quite so great about continue to grow. They’re thinking, ‘This has worked for me before.’ Well, his team sliding down the standings. if it’s not there, it’s not going to work. If it’s a wide-open game and there’s some space, you can wheel and deal and it can work. But if it’s not, if it’s It feels right to him this year. tight and there isn’t room, you do have to play that chip-and-chase game, “Going there in first place, I’m happy with how things have gone,” he or whatever. Sometimes the young guys are a little reluctant to do that. said. “It’s nice to be in that position — not really bragging rights, but They go back to the default program. That’s the maturing process for a you’re for sure more confident going in there with how the team has done young player and some older players, as well.” … It’s all about the wins.” This Islanders-Blues game featured precious few scoring chances either The Athletic LOADED: 01.25.2019 way and that was already well-established by the time Barzal’s turnover led to the tying goal. Unlike earlier in the year, though, Trotz didn’t rein in his star; the coach has already used ice time as a carrot to get Barzal to learn discipline and patience in games like this one, so No. 13 is not skipping a shift the rest of the way. The reward comes in overtime, where Barzal’s wizardry with the puck has room to flourish. He circles out of the St. Louis zone about 90 seconds into OT and Beauvillier goes for a line change. Jay Bouwmeester tries to do the same for the Blues and Barzal strikes, whipping a pass for Valtteri Filppula just off the bench and with loads of room. Filppula snaps one home and it’s over. Barzal made it happen at just the right time. TONIGHT'S @EASPORTSNHL OT WINNNER IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY VALTTERI FILPPULA! #ISLES PIC.TWITTER.COM/MHTUIXUWX1 — NEW YORK ISLANDERS (@NYISLANDERS) JANUARY 16, 2019 “That’s part of the adaptation of my game, I guess,” he said that night. He sits with 45 points through 49 games, five fewer than he had through the same span last season. That makes sense, given that the Islanders have scored 22 fewer goals this season than last through 49 games. That they’ve allowed 60 fewer goals as a team also speaks to the focus Trotz and his coaching staff have instilled, which could lead to less wide-open play and fewer points for Barzal. He may be frustrated at times, but Barzal is firmly on the side of more team points versus more individual points. “Early in the year, maybe in years past for me, you want individually to do well. But at this point in the season, there’s no way anyone in this locker room, including myself, can jeopardize what we’re about as a team,” he said. “Things are running too smoothly right now. In the bigger games, the big moments when we’ve needed goals and stuff, I’ve been there. But lately it hasn’t been needed, everyone’s been stepping up. I’m trying 1127578 New York Rangers On the differences between the NHL of 2012-13 and today’s NHL: “It’s not as physical, that’s for damn sure. And everybody frowns upon a practice. It stuns me that you go for 40 minutes and people act like it’s a David Quinn opens up on jump from college, coaching style and marathon. What do people want me to do? They hired me to coach here. Rangers’ development I’m not acting like Joe Tough Guy, but I’m not going to let things go; that’s how you get better. And I believe that’s what this team at this time needs. By Larry Brooks January 25, 2019 Rangers answer David Quinn's challenge by ripping Hurricanes

“There are some days where I have to fight that and do hold back There is no man behind the curtain. Nothing inauthentic about David because that’s what the players need on a particular day. That goes Quinn, who is very much the same coach with the same personality against my personality, but I think I’ve done a good job of managing that. directing the Rangers through the traditional halfway mark of his first NHL I know I’m push-push-push, so I’ve asked my staff and [GM] Jeff [Gorton] season as he was behind the Boston University bench the previous five and [assistant GM] Chris [Drury] to let me know if I need to back off. years. “The thing I like about this group is that they respond, or try to respond, Quinn spoke at length with The Post last week before the combined bye to everything I ask. They’ve been really good that way.” and All-Star break that will end on Sunday when the Rangers hit the ice for practice that is certain to provide his players with an instant reminder On his responsibility to develop young players and its impact on coaching of what the coach’s voice sounds like. to win games: On the differences between coaching college and the NHL: “Development is funny. Some people think that development is to throw a guy out there and let him play and let him play. But development getting “Just the depths of the relationships you have with your players; the experience and ice time, but it’s also learning what we’re going to need college feel, being around other sports, things of that nature. In college big picture, too. Fil Chytil went through a stretch where he was playing 10 you’re the owner, president, GM and assistant GM, so it’s different here, minutes a night because that’s what he deserved. You don’t just give there’s a lot of input and a lot of discussion and a lot of opinions. I think I somebody something. There’s also a checklist in my mind when I’m manage that. The biggest jump going from college to the NHL is that handling these guys of, ‘OK, what are your intentions?’ I’m big on piece of it, but I also think that’s what has made this transition so much intentions. easier for me is because of my relationships I have with the people I work with. “Are you making a mistake yet you had the right intentions and it just didn’t work, or is your mistake one because you had the wrong “It’s more hockey without all the other responsibilities I had at BU, like intentions? Is your work ethic what it needs to be? Is your preparation fundraising, making sure guys were going to school and staying out of what it needs to be? It’s our responsibility as a staff of sending the trouble, plus there was the recruiting aspect that was almost non-stop. message of what is acceptable and what’s not. That’s part of There’s a lot to those jobs. development. Letting them know they have to earn what they get is part of development. That’s one of my most basic principles.” “Here, the games are always so fast and furious, you’re always on, ‘What’s next, how can I help us get better?’ I’m still managing delegating. Rangers coach David Quinn with Kevin Hayes during training camp. I’m someone who likes to do a lot on my own, not because I don’t trust other people but because that’s just my personality, so delegation is On whether the Rangers’ young players are developing at an expected something I still need to work on to take some things off my plate. pace: “Again, I was fortunate to have a little bit of experience at this level so I “I never thought about a timetable. I just don’t think things happen that knew what to expect, but there’s a little bit more hockey now than at quickly. You scratch a guy, they come back with a little more piss and school. It’s been everything I thought it was going to be and I’ve enjoyed vinegar, they get the minutes, and they kind of start reverting back to who it probably a little bit more than I thought.” they’ve been in their careers. For skill guys, it’s just been all about skill and not doing all the other things five-on-five that have to be done at this On whether he has had to make unforeseen adjustments in his level. Again, I’m willing to meet people halfway. People talk about [Kevin approach: Hayes] all the time. Hayzee is not the perfect player, but when you’re getting a point per game, right?” “I think I do that no matter what team I’m coaching or at what level. Part of your responsibility as a coach is a feeling out process, too, even from “All of a sudden someone pops. You never know. How are guys going to year to year at BU because you never know what personality your team handle more responsibility? But there is so much uncertainty.” is going to take on, what the pieces are in the puzzle. I’m very fortunate to have coached at this level before [as an assistant with the Avalanche On whether he has remained in contact with NHL players he coached at in 2012-13] so there wasn’t a lot of wondering what it was going to be BU: like. “Those relationships are real and they’re deep. I have relationships with “It’s different as the head coach, for sure, but coaching NHL players, that Jack Eichel and Clayton Keller and Brady Tkachuk and Jordan was never an issue for me because I had done it as an assistant and at Greenway and Evan Rodrigues and Charlie McAvoy and Nick Bonino the World Championships. It was more about the team, how am I going and Colin Wilson and all those guys. They’re lifelong friends of mine. I’m to be able to coach this team? What buttons am I going to be able to not going to stop being friends with these guys. I stay in touch, check in push, can I be hard on them, can I not be hard on them, are they visual every two-to-three weeks. When Charlie was going through his learners, and so forth. There’s a lot that goes into trying to figure out a concussion issues, we talked on the phone about it. I care about the guy, team. I’ve learned as I’ve gone through this, and I do coach differently you know. I’ll never apologize for that. now than I did in October, but I don’t think that’s because of the level I’m “That’s just the way I coach. And I think of our guys that way, even at, but because that’s just coaching.” though they’re older. When you coach college, I think that’s always in On whether he’s been approached by veterans suggesting he alter his you. And the other thing I think college does for coaches, when you approach, specifically as it relates to practice: coach a college team, you can’t trade them, you can’t cut them, so you are forced to coach. These are our guys. Make them better. That’s your “Yeah, I’ve had some discussions (laugh) along those lines and job. That’s how I think here. Maybe that’s why people think I’m probably sometimes I agree with them and sometimes I don’t, you know? I more hands-on as a head coach but that’s just how I am.” welcome their input, but as I tell them, everything we do is well thought out and there’s a reason we do everything we do. On how often he has wondered what he has gotten himself into: “Sometimes they’ve pointed things out and I’ve said, ‘You know what, “Honestly, none. I knew, we knew, we all knew the situation we were in. you’re right,’ and other times I’ve said, ‘Well, too bad.’ It’s been everything I thought it would be and more. I knew it was going to be very challenging but these guys have been very receptive to the “This has been a very coachable group. I think there’s a connection things we’re trying to do. between the staff and the players yet there’s also that line. I think that’s our job, to push them as far as we can without losing them. People know “If anything, I just miss the college feeling, but who doesn’t? If you can right from wrong. I don’t care what they say to you. When you do what stay in school, stay in school right? But I love New York. It’s a great city. you do, there may be some pushback, but when they put their head on This experience, this job, has been everything I thought it was going to the pillow at night, they know, and if they don’t, you don’t want them. You be. And I’ve enjoyed it probably a little bit more than I thought.” don’t want them.” New York Post LOADED: 01.25.2019 1127579 New York Rangers On the other hand, his strong season has helped. He has allowed the team’s young players to compete in meaningful minutes in close games.

I compare it to what the general manager of a second-division baseball Henrik Lundqvist remains an All-Star through the Rangers' ups and team once told me: Although the club was not a postseason contender, downs he insisted on keeping his first-rate closer because he wanted to win Rangers' goaltender is the major reason why this rebuilding team has every game he could so the young players wouldn’t lose hope. more wins than regulation losses at the All-Star break this season. There could be tough times ahead this season for Lundqvist. Victories might become tougher to get if Mats Zuccarello and/or Kevin Hayes are traded. So he will have to rely more on the philosophy he introduced at By Mark Herrmann last year’s All-Star Game: “I think this time of year, there is going to be a lot of speculation and rumors. I think that has been the case every year. So you can’t put too much thinking into it. You’ve got to just stay focused on what you as a player have to do to move forward.” SAN JOSE, Calif. -- This is more or less an anniversary for Henrik Lundqvist, a year since he learned that the Rangers were deciding about Still, bet on him having a good second half, and on being an All-Star going with “more” or “less.” again next year. It was at the NHL All-Star Game in 2018 that he, like everyone else, Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 01.25.2019 heard about the team’s proposed tear-down-and-start-over plan. He said at the time that he was not sweating it. He still isn’t. The Rangers did go into the “future” mode by trading veterans, but Lundqvist made it clear at every step that he would not give up the ship. He was and is determined to stay on board no matter how rough the seas get. “I take a lot of pride in being a New York Ranger. It means a lot to me to have this opportunity to play my entire career with one organization,” Lundqvist said at the NHL All-Star media day Thursday night. “When I came into the league 14 years ago, I didn’t think much about where I was going to be in 10, 15 years. But looking at it now, the way the organization committed to me over the years is a great feeling. I value that a lot.” The Rangers have been respectable this season in their philosophy- change-on-the-fly, largely because of Lundqvist. He is the major reason they have more wins than regulation losses at the break this season. He has continued to burnish his place in NHL history, moving up in the heady lists of all-time greats. And here he is, an All-Star again. It is all of what he had wished for before he left Tampa and the league’s star showcase last January: “Hopefully I’ll be back here.” Back then, it might have sounded like wishful thinking that Lundqvist could maintain his fitness, his reflexes and his mental toughness while nearing the age of 37 and in a non-contending situation. But now it sounds prescient, as he had said then, “I’ve made some adjustments and there is no reason I won’t be able to play at this level for another four years, five years maybe. It depends on how much you love the game. Right now, I really love putting in the time and doing all the extra things to be on top of my game.” His name is near the top of all-time goaltending lists, passing icons and heading upward by the day. Last week, he moved ahead of Terry Sawchuk into sixth place on the all-time victories list. He is eight behind Curtis Joseph for fifth. It says something more about Lundqvist that he chose to stay with the Rangers and embrace the challenge. It says something in that the one great ambition that has eluded him in his career is a Stanley Cup ring. Rangers management did talk with him about possibly going somewhere else, a place that would give him a better shot at getting his name on the trophy. “It wasn’t a very long conversation,” he said earlier this season. Elite athletes, free agents and others who have paid their dues have every right to go where they want. If NBA superstars, for instance, choose to jump into a sure-thing situation by joining a championship- caliber club, so be it. But it is refreshing that a venerable franchise player is willing to accept the burden of growing pains. “I think this year the big thing was to set the right kind of pressure on yourself and be realistic about where we are and what we can do,” Lundqvist said. “You can’t compare to where we were a couple of years ago, you can’t put that same pressure on. But at the same time, you want success, you want to win games. So it is tough. I wish we were in a better spot, but at the same time, you have to be realistic. I just try to deal with that the best way I can, and really the best way for me is to focus on my game and do what I can to help the team.” In one odd yet practical way, maybe Lundqvist’s skills have hindered the Rangers. If he had not been so good, the team might be in a better position to win the draft lottery. 1127580 Ottawa Senators What the Senators needed, he says, was a large site with access to public transit or highway capable of dealing with an exodus of 20,000 fans on game nights. The NCC ruled out LeBreton Flats because at the Bagnall: Does Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk have a case of time it had other plans for federal buildings. Lansdowne, Firestone adds, Edmonton envy? couldn’t work because it would take four hours for public transit to clear out of the area after a sold-out game. And Lac Leamy was in at a time when that province already had two NHL franchises. JAMES BAGNALL Updated: January 24, 2019 With LeBreton Flats back in play, and no government money on the table, Melnyk and partner Ruddy are thus faced with the job of filling an empty space with a community served by a new light rail transit system. It’s the deal that tantalized the Ottawa Senators from the beginning. What’s required now is multiple partners with enough money to make up Edmonton Oilers’ owner and multibillionaire Daryl Katz managed to for lack of contribution by the City of Ottawa — businesses with global secure a $484-million arena, in operation since 2016, by contributing less contacts capable of attracting tenants and business to the LeBreton site. than $20 million cash upfront. Hence the appeal of adding members of the runner-up bid, Devcore Canderel DLS to the mix. For instance, Cirque du Soleil founder Guy For Senators owner Eugene Melnyk, the Edmonton formula seemed Laliberté could be instrumental in helping to fill the new stadium with made to order for the LeBreton Flats project he was pursuing with Trinity entertainment acts other than NHL hockey — which accounts for just 40- Development founder John Ruddy. Now that the two partners are plus home dates each year. embroiled in $1.7 billion worth of claims and counterclaims, the Katz formula could offer some clues about how to mediate their dispute. The Warren Winkler has a few weeks to sort out a myriad of possibilities in board of the National Capital Commission, which meets publicly search of a deal that might satisfy everyone. He could start by isolating Thursday, has given Ontario chief justice Warren Winkler until the end of the economics of that problematic arena. Here, the Edmonton example February to find a way to end this commercial war. offers some possibilities for raising money — a ticket surcharge, parking revenues, commercial rent, naming rights, among other revenue Success appears elusive. Ruddy and Melnyk were already deeply at streams. This can be tweaked this way and that to the benefit of certain odds over money by September 2016, when the Edmonton Oilers played partners. their first game in their new 18,350-seat ice palace. While the two LeBreton partners had agreed to a 50:50 split of the LeBreton project’s The revenue achieved will help to establish the true value of the team. initial funding, and of the resulting profits, Melnyk was responsible for the Would Melnyk sell it at the right price? Or would he keep the Senators arena and related venues. regardless? Devcore president Jean-Pierre Poulin said he is good either way. Members of the Devcore Canderel DLS team and others are As the project progressed, Melnyk grew more concerned about the prepared to buy the team, and build a new stadium they would lease to financial impact of a nearby apartment-and-retail complex at 900 Albert Melnyk. St. being promoted by Ruddy. The Senators’ owner believes 900 Albert will undercut the economics of the LeBreton project, which depends on Which means Katz’s Edmonton deal holds lessons for the Devcore group multiple revenue streams from condominiums, retail sales, a hotel and as well. But to understand truly how much Edmonton wanted to keep the parking. And, since the new NHL arena was to be built during the first Oilers, consider what else Katz managed to negotiate. few years of the 20-year-long project, Melnyk’s financial exposure looked greatest early on. Rogers Arena sits at the heart of a 25-acre redevelopment — about half the size of LeBreton — in what was once a decrepit downtown district. Which is why he was likely so envious of the deal Katz extracted from the Katz partnered with ONE Properties to build office towers and retail City of Edmonton. stores on the site — including a 27-storey building that is occupied mainly by, wait for it, City of Edmonton employees. Consider how Rogers Place was financed. Edmonton kicked in $226 million of the $483.5 million total cost. Another $125 million is to be That’s the kind of financial help that could help LeBreton’s developers raised through a 9.5 per cent surcharge on ticket sales, and Katz will pay smooth out their differences — and potentially give Winkler something to rent of $112.8 million under a 35-year lease agreement. That left just work with in negotiating a settlement. $19.7 million for Katz to pay upfront. Of course, the likelihood that the City of Ottawa would sign multi-year Very early in the LeBreton project, Melnyk learned the City of Ottawa leases on LeBreton has to be considered pretty low. Nevertheless, it would contribute nothing. Mayor Jim Watson emphasized the point a illustrates there are a number of ways to reach a potential LeBreton deal. year ago when he told this newspaper, “We should not be using property- tax dollars to subsidize an NHL team.” Winkler just has to figure out the best path to it and nudge everyone along. Watson’s philosophy on this point is supported by the experience of NHL teams in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver — all of which built arenas Ottawa Citizen LOADED: 01.25.2019 without public money. The owners of these teams could afford to do so, because the population in each city is much greater than in the capital region, and the arenas were built in sections of the downtown core well served by mass transit. Greater densities translate to significantly higher ticket prices in the three big cities and healthier operating income — and that’s before we include the negative financial impact of the federal government’s policy of restricting its employees from accepting NHL hospitality. Teams in Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg — small markets by NHL standards — have struggled to create a solid financial operation. The gap is usually filled by government help or wealthy owners. Ottawa belongs in the second group in terms of size. It’s why Melnyk attempted (unsuccessfully) to coax additional revenue streams through side businesses, such as an MLS soccer franchise or a casino. A failure to secure these ventures forced Melnyk into a position of covering annual losses at the Senators by adding debt against the value of the franchise. Fortunately for him, the latter has been rising rapidly — Forbes Magazine last month estimated the team and current arena are worth $435 million US, compared to $90 million US when he acquired the operation out of bankruptcy in 2003. His debt over the same period has jumped to about $200 million US from $40 million US. Some blame the team’s lacklustre economic performance on the arena’s location deep in the west end. But it’s worth remembering why the arena was built there in the early 1990s. Team co-founder Bruce Firestone recalls the Senators examined a number of downtown sites — including Lac Leamy, Lansdowne Park, South Keys and, yes, LeBreton Flats. 1127581 Philadelphia Flyers

Flyers loan goalie Carter Hart to Phantoms to keep him in form during bye week by Sam Carchidi, Updated: January 24, 2019- 6:36 PM

In a temporary move involving goaltenders, the Flyers loaned rookie Carter Hart to the Phantoms and recalled Anthony Stolarz from his conditioning stint with their AHL affiliate Thursday. "We are happy with the progress Anthony has made in his rehab and two recent games in Lehigh Valley,” general manager Chuck Fletcher said. "With a full week off the ice due to the NHL bye week and all-star break, we would like Carter to continue getting ice time and game action with the Phantoms.” Hart, 20, is in his first professional season and has played 12 games for the Flyers, compiling a 6-5-1 record with a 2.66 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage. In his last five starts with the Phantoms before being recalled by the Flyers on Dec. 17, Hart was 4-1 with a 1.82 GAA and .939 save percentage. Hart is expected to return to the Flyers before they return to action Monday against visiting Winnipeg. The 6-foot-6 Stolarz, 25, played nine games for the Flyers this season, posting a 2-3-2 record with a 3.90 GAA and .880 save percentage before being placed on injured reserve Dec. 17. He played two games for the Phantoms during a conditioning stint, highlighted by a 44-save performance Monday in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 01.25.2019 1127582 Philadelphia Flyers setup.) Why, again, was power-play coach Joey Mullen fired after the 2016-17 season? In five of Mullen’s 10 years, the Flyers power play was in the top five in the NHL. Flyers at the All-Star break: The ups and downs and what lies ahead Q is for Joel Quenneville. The Flyers brass discussed Quenneville, who had led Chicago to three Stanley Cups, while Hakstol was still here, and the discussions are expected to heat up after the season. by Sam Carchidi, Updated: January 24, 2019- 10:46 AM R is for revival. Patrick has four goals over his last three games — after scoring just five goals in his first 38 games. Reviewing the Flyers’ season at the All-Star break: S is for Simmonds. He has been a heart-and-soul player and has averaged about 28 goals since the Flyers acquired him in 2011. But if the A is for apathy. Based on attendance figures, fans have purchased Flyers can’t re-sign the potential unrestricted free agent, he will probably tickets to games at the Wells Fargo Center, but an alarming number have be dealt next month. If anybody deserves to win a Stanley Cup, it’s stayed home. Empty seats are plentiful, and recent tickets went for as Simmonds. low as $6 on StubHub. With the emergence of goalie Carter Hart, however, that could change. T is for terrific shooting percentage. Van Riemsdyk has scored on a staggering 17.9 percent of his shots. B is for bounce-back. James van Riemsdyk, the Flyers’ big free-agent addition, injured his right knee Oct. 6 and missed the next 16 games. U is for underappreciated. has 13 points, 148 hits (second When he returned, it took him a while to regain his rhythm, but lately, he on team), and a team-best plus-10 rating. Gudas and Hagg have been has resembled the player who scored 36 goals last season for Toronto. the Flyers’ most consistent defensemen. Van Riemsdyk has six goals in his last five games. V is for Jake Voracek. He has had an up-and-down season (39 points, C is for chaos. In a dizzying three-week span, the Flyers fired general minus-13 rating). His high point: a career-high five points in a 7-4 win in manager Ron Hextall, assistant GM Chris Pryor, head coach Dave Ottawa. Hakstol, and assistant coach Gord Murphy. W is for winning draws. Led by Scott Laughton (59.3 percent), Giroux D is for defense, or the lack of it. The Flyers have allowed 3.52 goals per (59.1), and Sean Couturier (57.8), the Flyers lead the NHL in faceoff game, 29th in the 31-team NHL. Goalie injuries were a big factor. So was percentage (56.2). a drop-off by defensemen Ivan Provorov (minus-14) and Shayne Gostisbehere (minus-12). X is for Xerox. As in copy. In a recipe for disaster, the Flyers faced a 2-0 deficit in 20 of their 48 games, a whopping 41.7 percent. They won just E is for encouraging signs. The Flyers, led by Hart, won four of their last three of those 20 games. five games before their bye week, including the last three. Things to watch over the last 34 games: The development of young players such Y is for yikes. The Flyers lost, 8-2, to San Jose on Oct. 9 — the most as Hart, Nolan Patrick, Oskar Lindblom, Travis Sanheim, Robert Hagg, goals they have allowed in a home opener in franchise history. Travis Konecny, Gostisbehere, and Provorov. Z for Zzzs. As in a sleepy attack. Though they have been more F for Chuck Fletcher. He became the GM on Dec. 3 and has made some productive lately, the Flyers scored two goals or fewer in 21 of their 48 minor moves. The trade deadline is Feb. 25, and Wayne Simmonds and games, and they were blanked six times. Michael Raffl are the players most likely to be dealt. There is also a Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 01.25.2019 chance that goalie Brian Elliott, sidelined since Nov. 17 with an apparent groin injury, will return and get showcased for some games in an attempt to deal him. G is for goalies. The Flyers have tied an unwanted NHL record by using seven goalies, which leads us to … H is for Hart, the 20-year-old goalie who has played only 12 NHL games but has displayed the ability and composure that make him look like the real deal. He has a 2.66 goals-against average and .918 save percentage. At long last, the Flyers appear to have found a top goalie. That should make Fletcher’s retooling job much easier. I is for the interim head coach Scott Gordon (7-8-2 record). He has done a much better job utilizing timeouts, revamping the power play, and communicating with his players than his predecessor, Dave Hakstol (12- 15-4 this season). Will it be enough for him to keep the job? Stay tuned. J is for jump. The Flyers, who are 14 points behind, need to jump over five teams to get a wild-card spot. K is for the kids. Young forwards Patrick and Lindblom struggled through huge chunks of the first 48 games. But both excelled on the team’s Western swing — in the four games, each had six points — and showed glimpses of their potential. L is for Ian Laperriere, who has taken lots of grief for running the team’s penalty kill. But the PK has made some tweaks, has been much more aggressive, and has rebounded impressively. After killing just 68.5 percent of penalties in their first 21 games, the Flyers have been successful on 83.5 percent in the last 27 games. M is for the team’s MVP at this point, Claude Giroux, who has 52 points (on pace for 89) and is among the NHL leaders in faceoff percentage (59.2). N is for near-misses. Hart has twice taken a into the last seven minutes before being scored upon. O is for astronomical odds. According to sportsclubstats.com, the Flyers have a 0.3 percent chance of earning a playoff berth and would need to go 23-7-4 (gulp) the rest of the way to have a better than 50/50 chance to qualify. P is for the struggling power play. After their last game, the Flyers were 30th in the 31-team league on the power play, converting at 13.3 percent. (In fairness, it has looked better since Gordon went with a five-forward 1127583 Philadelphia Flyers

Flyers loan Carter Hart to Phantoms, recall Anthony Stolarz

By John Boruk January 24, 2019 4:26 PM

As expected, Carter Hart will use the NHL’s All-Star break to get some work in at the AHL level. The Flyers on Thursday loaned Hart to the Phantoms and, in turn, recalled Anthony Stolarz from his conditioning stint in Lehigh Valley. The Flyers are looking to keep Hart fresh and view this as an opportunity most teams aren’t afforded since the 20-year-old rookie is waivers exempt. "We are happy with the progress Anthony has made in his rehab and two recent games in Lehigh Valley," Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher said in a release by the team. "With a full week off the ice due to the NHL bye week and All-Star breaks, we would like Carter to continue getting ice time and game action with the Phantoms." The Phantoms are home Friday as they host Laval and hit the road for a game in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Saturday. Expect Hart to start one of those games before rejoining the Flyers for Monday’s game against Winnipeg at the Wells Fargo Center. While Hart can be shuttled back and forth between the Flyers and the Phantoms, the same can’t be said for Stolarz, who was able to play with Lehigh Valley as part of his conditioning stint. Ideally, the organization would like both Hart and Stolarz to be playing and not sitting, but Stolarz would have to clear waivers again in order to be sent back down to the AHL. A safer route would be to keep Stolarz with the Flyers along with Hart, and then place Mike McKenna on waivers and send him down to the Phantoms if he clears. Another wrinkle in the Flyers' never-ending, yearlong goaltending saga is how will this play out once Brian Elliott receives medical clearance to resume practice and is activated from injured reserve? Elliott’s expected return is early-to-mid February. "There’s so much to be factored in here," Flyers interim head coach Scott Gordon said recently. "With Stolie if he plays, is he healthy? Where’s Brian Elliott at? There’s all kinds of stuff that has to factor into the final decision on that." Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 01.25.2019 1127584 Philadelphia Flyers

Flyers mascot Gritty lives on the edge ... just look at his Wawa order

By Jordan Hall January 24, 2019 2:10 PM

Is Gritty the most interesting person (or thing) on the planet? He might be. We're pretty sure he was hanging out for Joel Embiid's press conference Wednesday night (watch the video above). The guy has quite the life. Thanks to a brilliant Q&A by Sarah Larimer of the Washington Post (via email, of course), the Flyers' mascot offered us a glimpse into the day-to- day lifestyle that is Gritty. From hair products to his relationship with best friend Claude Giroux and his go-to Wawa order, Gritty opened up — and, yes, it's fascinating. Let's look at those three excerpts from the Q&A session, which can be found right here. Can you tell me what products you use for beard/hair care? This question comes up quite often. It’s all natural, born this way, baby. This is surprising given how together Gritty looks every single day. Maybe he's being modest, because Gritty truly works hard at it. Did @GrittyNHL and @Hartsy43 just become best friends? pic.twitter.com/GnxucCp72G — Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) December 20, 2018 Do you ever get to hang out with your best friend Claude? What do you guys like to do for fun? Claude’s a busy guy, but we write each other almost every day. We’ll get a lot of QT out there in San Jose (he’s my All Star). Giroux really is his best friend, whether Giroux agrees or not.

HBD KING. Ilysm. pic.twitter.com/Ata5vZMGdv — Gritty (@GrittyNHL) January 12, 2019 “What can we expect from @GrittyNHL at #NHLAllStar Weekend?” “He’s intense. The other mascots are in trouble.” Spoken like a true BFF. pic.twitter.com/yQqnKt9IOL — Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) January 25, 2019 #bestfriendsgivethebestadvice https://t.co/YOc6MibXWh — Gritty (@GrittyNHL) September 27, 2018 Thanks for the New York minute, @jimmyfallon. You, me, Claude...lunch? pic.twitter.com/3vYziGp7ZM — Gritty (@GrittyNHL) September 28, 2018 What is the best Wawa order? Have you played Wawa Screen Roulette? Eyes closed — tap, tap, tap, complete order. People are actually going to try this now. Earlier this month, Gritty wouldn't disclose his pregame meal, but we have a feeling he likes pasta, pizza or anything else. A pregame @GrittyNHL delivery for @MikeMcKenna56! #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/6tQo3WKZVY — Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) January 16, 2019 2009 was rough, but since u asked... pic.twitter.com/Q3xibEHHcZ — Gritty (@GrittyNHL) January 14, 2019 Click here Jpgto download the MyTeams App by NBC Sport Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 01.25.2019 1127585 Philadelphia Flyers They're all being patient. O'Brien is, as well. There's too much potential to not believe in the process.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 01.25.2019 Why patience is key for potential 'game-breaker' Flyers prospect Jay O'Brien

By Jordan Hall January 24, 2019 7:00 AM

Providence hockey and the Flyers are on the same page. Both believe in Jay O'Brien. The two see eye to eye on the shiftiness and burst, the hands that can make the puck go all sorts of ways, the innate goal-scoring ability. It's why the Friars and Flyers plucked O'Brien out of Thayer Academy, a prep school in Braintree, Massachusetts. It's also why they're just fine with being patient. "I think Jay, if he continues to progress, can be a game-breaker for us," Providence head coach Nate Leaman said Monday in a phone interview with NBC Sports Philadelphia. "And that's what we're kind of looking for. We want him to continue to grow with the speed and the understanding of the game, but I think with his skill set and his ability, he can be a game-breaker. "These guys that come right from high school, it takes time and I know Philly has told us that they understand that also. So it's just for him continuing to grow." O'Brien, an offensively gifted forward the Flyers selected 19th overall in the 2018 NHL draft, hasn't had the dream start to his collegiate career — and that's OK. He missed six games over the course of October and November because of upper-body injuries and went scoreless in his first eight contests. Early adversity can derail a freshman season, but that's when O'Brien's background comes into play. Tony Amonte, the former Flyer and current head coach at Thayer Academy, commended O'Brien for his "grit to go along with goal scoring." The mindset and work ethic were right on par with the skill. The blend of those characteristics caught Leaman's attention on the recruiting trail. First impression is that here's a guy that works and he has the skill set. That's what really drew us to him. Jay's skill set is pretty elite, but you see guys out there with real good skill sets but you don't see them work. The one thing that can make Jay special is that he competes and he works. He's a positive kid. He's a very positive individual and I think he's having a year of learning. I think this is very healthy for everything Jay is going through. He has a great skill set, he's got very good vision, he's got very good hands around the net and in tight situations. His hands in tight situations, in tight around the net, are really elite. He's coming from high school hockey. Usually the normal freshman in college hockey, it takes them a good two months to really settle in and unfortunately, Jay missed some of that time with the injuries. It's clear why Leaman was a major selling point for O'Brien choosing Providence. "Coach Leaman is unbelievable, I think he's one of the best coaches in college hockey," O'Brien said last summer. "His compete and his want to win and his details are huge. It's a place I wanted to go as soon as I toured there." Already, the tide is starting to turn for O'Brien, who has two goals and two assists in his last six outings following the eight-game scoreless stretch. Leaman has moved him from center to winger, with the purpose of freeing up O'Brien. "He's been doing a good job with that," Leaman said. "He plays on the power play and he plays on one of our top lines on the wing. "It takes time to learn to play at the speed, to play with the lack of space." Flyers player development coach John Riley and amateur scout Nick Pryor have been at a number of Providence's games. "I communicate with them regularly also," Leaman said, "and I know they're communicating with Jay." 1127586 Philadelphia Flyers Depending on what happens with the Flyers before the Feb. 25 trade deadline, perhaps he shows that this season. The team has two right- handed defensemen in Radko Gudas and Christian Folin for the first time Phil Myers feels ‘as ready as I’ve ever been’ for call up to Flyers in a while. Sanheim, Robert Hägg and Shayne Gostisbehere have all played the right side as well. If there is a trade and an opening on the back end, Myers figures to finally get a shot. Dave Isaac, NHL writer Published 8:55 a.m. ET Jan. 24, 2019 “I’ve learned over the years that you can’t read in too much to that,” Myers said. “Even if you read something on Twitter, it hasn’t happened yet so I’m trying not to get wrapped up in that too much but obviously you’re aware of what’s going on up there. The guys are going, they’re hot ALLENTOWN, Pa. — If only Phil Myers had been a goalie. The Flyers lately. I’m aware of how they’re playing but not getting wrapped up too have needed five extra of those. Defensemen, on the other hand, they much into that.” haven’t had to recall all season long. Courier-Post LOADED: 01.25.2019 The seven they started the season with have been enough and Samuel Morin is on the mend too, so there’s even more competition. At the same point last season, the Flyers had already recalled four defensemen: Mark Alt, Will O’Neill, T.J. Brennan and Morin. The wait continues for the undrafted Myers to make his NHL debut and based on merit he’s done plenty to deserve it. “I feel as ready as I’ve ever been,” Myers said Tuesday. “Just working hard every day and I’m not trying to get too wrapped up into that. You can, but it’s just gonna bring you down and I’ve been through that. Just trying to focus on what I need to do today, bring my work ethic to the rink every day and whether it’s on-ice or off-ice, when you need to relax…we’ve had a busy schedule lately and it’s important to take the time to just relax and get an extra nap in. We’ve got 10 games in 16 days, so recovery is really important. I’m just trying to focus on recovering my body right now.” Myers, the 6-foot-5, 212-pound right-handed blueliner, has been a horse for the Phantoms. He’s on their top pair, averaging roughly 23 minutes per game. It wasn’t always that way. Because of a preseason injury to Andrew MacDonald, there was a buzz that Myers was a shoo in to make the NHL roster. He probably believed it at some point too, but after the team loaded up his schedule with exhibition games and his play dipped, he didn’t make the cut. “Obviously you don’t want to get frustrated about that. Whether you like it or not it’s gonna have an impact,” Myers said. “You want to be up there. You want to be in the NHL. It’s been my dream since I was a kid. I think it was maybe a little bit in my head but now it’s all out.” Consistency was an issue to start his season with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and he admits now that thinking it was ready in training camp and being demoted took a big toll on him. It wasn’t until late November that he felt he finally hit his stride. “I think in terms of consistency at the start of the year it was…I had a really good game and then a not-so-good game and it was always one or the other,” Myers said. “These past couple months I’ve been playing a lot more consistently. Ever since the Canadian road trip where we went to Toronto, Laval and Belleville, I had a really good weekend there and that was the first really good weekend that I had all year.” “I think Phil, what he’s recognized, it’s similar to what Travis (Sanheim) went through,” Phantoms interim coach Kerry Huffman added. “We always say less is more and sometimes I think Phil was just trying to take games over early in the year and that’s not a good way to play pro hockey at any level, whether it’s up there or here. That’s the hardest thing with young defensemen to learn. Sometimes you have to let the game come to you a little bit and not try to win games by yourself. I think he’s recognized that now. The last 20 games he’s been really, really good for us. He’s gonna be a really good player (in the NHL).” He signed an entry-level contract with the Flyers on Sept. 21, 2015 with Ron Hextall at the helm. Now it’s Chuck Fletcher who Myers has to impress and he’s eager to do that. He’s eager to meet him but hasn’t had the chance. “Hopefully we can do that soon,” Myers said. Fletcher first showed up in Allentown the night that the Phantoms had a 5-1 loss to the Cleveland Monsters. He figured that meeting everyone after a game like that wasn’t the best route. “It was a tough loss, obviously not the way we wanted to start that off,” Myers said, “but I’m not exactly sure how many times he’s been here. “Obviously you want to make a good first impression. When I knew he was in the building I was trying to keep it as simple as possible and play my game, do the things I do best. To be honest I’m not trying to think about it too much. In the room I think guys have been taking it really positive. Huffer’s the new coach and we want to play for him, we want to win for him.” 1127587 Pittsburgh Penguins That jury is still out. Having fashioned a 26-16-6 record before hitting their bye week, the Penguins are on pace to finish the season with 99 points. That should get them into the playoffs relatively comfortably, but it Penguins need second-half consistency to emerge as title contenders falls a little short of the standard set by the last five champs. To put it charitably, they still are trying to find championship-level consistency. JONATHAN BOMBULIE | Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019, 6:18 p.m. “I think learning to play with consistency night in and night out and not taking nights off or having very few of those off games allows those teams to be successful and keep building and play well in the playoffs,” Good point(s) winger Bryan Rust said. Nine of the last 10 Stanley Cup champions finished the regular season in Johnson said he figures the Penguins have enough time left to reach that the top 10 in the league's overall standings. This year's Penguins are goal. 13th with 58 points. “Teams need to peak at the right time,” he said. “It does you no good to Season Team Rk Pts peak in November. A team needs to be steadily getting better as the season goes on and peaking in the playoffs. There’s a lot of factors that 2018 Capitals 7th 105 go into playoff hockey. The hardest thing to win is the Stanley Cup. 2017 Penguins 2nd 111 You’ve got to go through four rounds of seven-game series. You need some luck involved. Injuries are a factor. You can run into a hot 2016 Penguins 4th 104 goaltender. All those things are factors. There’s a lot of things that go into it.” 2015 Blackhawks 7th 102 Tribune Review LOADED: 01.25.2019 2014 Kings 9th 100 2013 Blackhawks 1st 77 2012 Kings 13th 95 2011 Bruins 7th 103 2010 Blackhawks 3rd 112 2009 Penguins 8th 99 Editor’s note: As the Pittsburgh Penguins hit their bye week, beat writer Jonathan Bombulie looks at four characteristics usually shared by Stanley Cup champions and where this year’s team stacks up in those areas. As Phil Kessel undoubtedly knows, there’s a motto sometimes repeated by players at the World Series of Poker. No matter how small the stack is in front of them, they have a chance to win the first-place bracelet if they have “a chip and a chair.” A lot of people talk about the Stanley Cup playoffs in much the same way. As long as a team gets into the 16-team tournament, it has as good a chance to raise the fabled trophy as any other club, right? Not really. Instances of lower-seeded teams pulling off a series of upsets to claim a championship have become few and far between in the last decade in the NHL. The last five Stanley Cup champions have finished the regular season with at least 100 points in the standings. Fans of underdogs like to point to the 2012 Los Angeles Kings for motivation. Coming into the playoffs as the eighth seed in the Western Conference didn’t stop them from winning a championship. In reality, though, the dark-horse label doesn’t fit them all that well. They finished with 95 points in the standings, just two points out of first place in their division. That’s way better than the average eighth seed. Second, they were a team with a 21-year-old Drew Doughty, 24-year-old Anze Kopitar and 25-year-old Jonathan Quick just coming into their own. Far more frequently, the teams that prove themselves the most capable over a long, 82-game regular season have the most success during the two-month playoff grind as well. Pundits sometimes ascribe the postseason success of those teams to the acquired skill of knowing how to win. Penguins defenseman Jack Johnson doesn’t have much time for that kind of talk, though. “I don’t know exactly what people mean by knowing how to win,” he said. “It’s just having confidence. Teams that are good, that’s a confidence in itself. You go into the game, and you expect to win. That’s step one, as opposed to hoping to win. You have to be comfortable in tight games, in one-goal games, and keep making plays and having confidence. I think it’s all a swagger and a confidence that makes teams good.” Have the Penguins put together a strong enough regular-season track record to be considered a legitimate Stanley Cup contender in the spring? 1127588 Pittsburgh Penguins And that played a big role in wanted proceeds from the games this weekend to go to the Jewish University Center.

"Students like me, my age, my generation basically are the ones who Ex-Penguins, Israeli hockey player's love of Pittsburgh combine to help face this anti-Semitism," he said. "They're going to be the ones who have Jewish community to maybe find a solution for this." A few weeks after the shooting, Hockey Sticks Together organized a MATT ROSENBERG | Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019, 4:36 p.m. fundraising weekend, honoring victims Cecil and David Rosenthal in a tournament for developmentally disabled hockey players. Maaravi dropped a ceremonial puck while donning his Israeli National Team jersey at that event. It took one trip to Pittsburgh for Shai Maaravi to be hooked. Among Pittsburgh athletes playing in the alumni event Sunday will be Traveling with the Canada Israel Hockey School as an assistant coach, former Penguins winger Tyler Kennedy and former Steelers kicker Shaun Maaravi and his team from Israel were brought to Pittsburgh in 2015 as Suisham. Former Penguins coach Michel Therrien will coach the Israeli part of Emily Pressman's Bat Mitzvah project. Stacey Pressman, Emily's team. mom, said Emily always has loved hockey and hoped to tie that in. Brett Keisel will coach the alumni team with some help from Neil Walker. While Maaravi and the team were in Pittsburgh, they played and trained Sean Casey also will be there with members of the Miracle League of the and spent time with local families. That's when he became close with the South Hills, an organization he founded to help wheelchair-bound or Pressmans. visually impaired children play baseball. "We pretty much quasi-adopted him," Stacey Pressman said. "It's about all the Pittsburgh sports guys and Pittsburgh community all coming together for a greater good and try to find some healing," said Labeled an "elite athlete" by Israel, Maaravi was granted an extra 90 Michele Humphreys, executive director of Hockey Sticks Together. " days per year to -- among other perks -- train and travel to the IIHF World There's something so much bigger here." Championships with the Israeli National Team. He used some of that time -- every three or four months for three weeks or so -- to visit Tickets for the 7 p.m. Saturday game between the Israel Selects and Pittsburgh to train, play and live with the Pressmans. Duquesne at Alpha Ice Complex in Harmar are $10. Tickets for Sunday's 7:30 p.m. game between the Pittsburgh athletes and Israeli team at By his second or third trip back to visit, he said, Pressman suggested UPMC Sports Complex are $15. They can be purchased in advance Maaravi try to move to the area. here. "It was always kind of my dream to maybe get settled here, try to live Tribune Review LOADED: 01.25.2019 here," Maaravi said. After serving his required three years in the Israeli military between 19 and 22 through June 2018, Maaravi is here, a freshman at Duquesne, living on campus and playing ACHA Division I hockey. But he still spends some time and weekends with the Pressmans in Squirrel Hill, a community that, within a few months of Maaravi starting school, was struck by horror. The Tree of Life Congregation massacre nearly three months ago sent shockwaves through his community, and he wants to be sure no one brushes it aside. That's why the Hockey Sticks Together Foundation, Maaravi and the Pressmans all took part in organizing this weekend's "Hockey is Stronger Than Hate" events. A group of Israel Selects alumni will travel to Pittsburgh to face Maaravi's Duquesne club team and a Pittsburgh Penguins alumni team -- featuring some other special guests -- Saturday and Sunday nights. Proceeds from the games, silent auctions and sale of merchandise and apparel will benefit the Hillel Jewish University Center of Pittsburgh and the Israel Hockey Federation. The Israel National hockey team is led by former Penguins coach, Michel Therrien. All proceeds from the event will go to the Hillel Jewish University Center of Pittsburgh in memory of the Tree of Life Victims. https://t.co/UgcvKqPfvU pic.twitter.com/XwJG5EklL4 — HockeySticksTogether (@HkyStx2gether) January 22, 2019 "We want to show that it didn't just happen, we dealt with it a couple of months and it's done," Maaravi said. "It's not done." Having lived in Israel, Maaravi was "used to this kind of event," he said, and it wasn't unheard of to hear about a person you know dying because of a terrorist attack. Stacey Pressman said Maaravi reached out immediately upon hearing about the Tree of Life shooting. "As he was horrified, it was a very different level of 'Are you OK? Where are you? Let's get you home,' " Stacey Pressman said. "He was so systematic about how you had to deal with this." Though conflict in Israel exists, Maaravi said he doesn't believe that to be based in religion. He said Arab-Israeli conflict is related to the country itself, not that its people are Jewish. Which is what made the Tree of Life shooting different: That was rooted in the growing anti-Semitism around the world, he said. "I never expected to move to Pittsburgh and my family's Squirrel Hill neighborhood and my community targeted because of hate and terrorism simply because we're Jews," Maaravi said during a vigil at Duquesne in the aftermath. 1127589 Pittsburgh Penguins

Heinz History Center exhibit celebrates Penguins, Pittsburgh hockey, local Olympians

JONATHAN BOMBULIE | Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019, 2:27 p.m.

When U.S. Paralympic gold medalist Dan McCoy stopped by the Heinz History Center on Thursday morning, it was like he was visiting an old friend. McCoy, a Cheswick native, was in attendance for a preview of the museum’s new exhibit, “A Great Day for Hockey,” which will open to the public Saturday. In addition to a multitude of artifacts from the history of the Pittsburgh Penguins and pro hockey in the city, the exhibit will also include an area dedicated to Olympians with local ties. That’s where McCoy was reunited with the first sled he ever played hockey in. “We called it the coffin because it’s just a wooden bucket,” McCoy joked. For years, it had been in the possession of Sue Birkmire from Shriner’s Hospital in Erie, who started the program that became the Mighty Penguins sled hockey team more than two decades ago. Now it’s on display for all hockey fans to see at the museum, juxtaposed with the modern, high-tech sled he used at the 2014 Paralympics in South Korea. “I felt 5 years old seeing it again, reliving the memories of that,” McCoy said. Reliving childhood memories is a big part of the appeal of the exhibit, which expands and showcases in a new light the hockey-related collection the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum has displayed since its opening in 2004. From the warm-up jacket coach “Badger” Bob Johnson wore during the 1991 season to sticks, helmets and jerseys from Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, the meat of the exhibit is memorabilia related to the five Stanley Cup championships the Penguins have won. A vast collection of goalie masks on loan from Penguins equipment manager Dana Heinze spans every era of the team’s existence. The exhibit also includes a life-size statue of Mario Lemieux lifting the Stanley Cup over his head. “The who’s who in the hockey world has been through Pittsburgh. We’ve been very fortunate,” said Penguins president and CEO David Morehouse. “When you see it all together, you realize we’ve been able to witness history here.” For Morehouse, a Beechview native, artifacts related to Lemieux stirred up memories of attending games at the Civic Arena as a man in his 20s. “Looking at the clip of Mario scoring, I remember it was like a Pavlov’s dog thing. If Mario got the puck over center ice, you counted the goal,” Morehouse said. “I don’t know what his percentage was – I bet he could tell you – but on a breakaway, he scored.” The exhibit includes artifacts from the pre-Penguins era of the city’s hockey history, including bricks from Duquesne Gardens, which first hosted pro hockey in 1915, and a jersey won by Willie Marshall of the AHL’s Pittsburgh Hornets in the 1950s. It also spotlights the Pittsburgh Pennies, a traveling women’s hockey team from the 1970s. As the team’s vice president of communications, few people are more well-versed in the history of the Penguins than Tom McMillan. The exhibit reminded him, however, of the breadth and depth of the sport’s history in the area. “It’s been here for a long time. There were forebearers of the Penguins and women’s hockey and now it’s expanding all other sorts of hockey,” McMillan said. “I think one day we’ll have a display in here of all the Pittsburgh players in the NHL, whether they played for the Penguins or not.” Tribune Review LOADED: 01.25.2019 1127590 Pittsburgh Penguins “First time, I liked it,” Shai recalled. “Ice skates, hockey stick — not the usual stuff. Unique stuff. I became different. Through school, kids would say, ’Oh, he’s the guy who plays hockey.’ ” Joe Starkey: Duquesne's Israeli hockey player the perfect point man in Shai wound up graduating from an amazing place called the Canada- fight against hate Israel Hockey School, which luckily was situated only 45 minutes from his home and was chronicled in a TSN documentary called “Neutral Zone.” He went to play for the Israeli national team (and still does). JOE STARKEY One theme at the school to form teams of children from different backgrounds — Jews and Arabs — in hopes they come to find more similarities than differences and pave the way for improved relations. It’s hard to hate somebody when you know somebody. The team Shai accompanied to Pittsburgh in 2015 was formed at the Those aren’t my words. They are Stacey Pressman’s. Unspeakable hate school. The Penguins hosted them. Shai’s life changed forever that erupted a block from her home on the morning of Oct. 27, at the Tree of week. This is where he wanted to be. Life synagogue in Squirrel Hill. Fast forward four years, to this weekend. Shai felt called to help organize Stacey was alone that morning. Her husband was away. She was at the a puck-filled event called “Hockey is Stronger than Hate.” Shadyside Whole Foods when she began to hear word of something terrible happening at Tree of Life. She grew panicky. She knew a lot of In the first game, 7 p.m. Saturday, the Israel Selects will play Duquesne those people. Her daughters had gone to Hebrew school there. at the Alpha Ice Complex in Harmarville. Shai, a defenseman, will play half the game for each team. In the second game, 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Shai Maaravi, a 22-year-old freshman at Duquesne University, was UPMC Lemieux Sports Center in Cranberry, the Israelis will play headed toward Squirrel Hill at the very same time. Headed toward Penguins alumni and friends, including ex-Penguins Tyler Kennedy and Stacey’s house, in fact. Shai came to know the Pressmans four years goaltender J.S. Aubin. earlier, when they helped organize his very unusual hockey team’s trip from Israel to Pittsburgh. Former Steelers kicker Shaun Suisham also is expected to play. Ex- Steeler Brett Keisel, with an assist from Neil Walker, will coach that team. Shai Maaravi, who plays hockey for the Duquesne University club team Former Penguins coach Michel Therrien will coach the Israeli team. as well as the Israel national team, takes part in a ceremonial puck drop Proceeds will go to The Edward and Rose Berman Hillel Jewish at the first USA Hockey Special Hockey Classic at UPMC Lemieux University Center of Pittsburgh — an organization involved with Jewish Sports Complex in Cranberry in November. undergraduate students around the city. Bob Batz Jr. “First, this is about not forgetting what happened (at Tree of Life),” Shai said. “There is a quote related to The Holocaust — ’Never Forget.’ This is Israeli hockey team to play former Penguins and Duquesne team to show also about standing in solidarity and pushing hate away from our life. support We’re the next generation that has to stand up against hate and anti- Why unusual? semitism.” The team included Jewish kids, Arab Christians, Arab Muslims and Who better as a point man in that endeavor? others who would not normally mix. Over their time at a hockey school in Post Gazette LOADED: 01.25.2019 Israel, however, and especially on trips like this, they came to learn just how hard it is to hate somebody when you know somebody. Shai was an assistant coach with the team — and a huge Penguins fan. He fell in love with Pittsburgh at first sight. He can’t really say why. But he kept coming back and ultimately chose to follow his dreams here, joining Duquesne’s club team and pursuing a degree in business management. The Pressmans became Shai’s second family. He eventually landed at Duquesne, where you can spot him fairly easily on the small Catholic school campus. He’s the one with the white hockey scar on his chin and the Star of David draped around his neck. “I’m proud of my heritage, never hiding it,” Shai says. “And the spirit here at Duquesne really connects with my spirit as a Jewish person.” Spirit’s the right word when you’re talking about Shai Maaravi. I don’t pretend to know him. We met for an hour. But I listened to his “Pittsburgh mom,” Stacey, describe him, and it squared with my observation. I asked her what stood out about Shai. “His heart, basically,” she said. “He loves his family, and he really wants to make a difference in this world. You can see that. I’ve never met anybody who has a stronger work ethic. For someone so young, he knows exactly what he wants and what he needs to do to get there.” On the morning of Oct. 27, Shai wanted to know Stacey was OK. So he made sure of it. He met her at Whole Foods, accompanied her home and stayed. She was in “complete and total shock,” as she recalls, and even though her family did not belong to Tree of Life, she knew nine of the 11 victims by sight. Her daughter Emily wound up organizing the vigil near the site later that night. “Shai — he was a very comforting presence,” Stacey said. “It’s nice to have somebody who’s been in the military. You feel slightly more protected. You just feel somebody understands — and one of the things that hit me most is that for Israelis, this is their existence. They wake up to bombings and stabbings and car rammings. He was very calm in the crisis. This is what they live through. It really opened my eyes.” Indeed, though Shai’s childhood was mostly peaceful, he’d spent some harrowing days in his hometown of Katzrin — near the Syrian border — running to bomb shelters. Incredibly, he also discovered hockey in Israel, a country he says has only three rinks. He didn’t like soccer or basketball, so he was eager to try out this strange, new sport when a Russian man who worked with his mother invited him to try it. 1127591 Pittsburgh Penguins

Sidney Crosby skates with locals in Jackson Hole, Wyo.

PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE

Sidney Crosby used the Penguins’ bye week to escape to a quiet place again. Buckrail.com reported Thursday that the team’s captain was spotted in Jackson, Wyo., skating at that town’s Snow King Sports and Event Center. Sporting his Penguins practice jersey, he went through drills and took pictures with members of the Jackson Hole Moose senior team. “He’s the nicest guy you’ll ever want to meet. Just a regular guy like anyone you would meet in Pittsburgh,” Dustin Stolp, a Penguins fan and former Moose player, told Buckrail. “It’s a dream come true for me,” Stolp said of skating with Crosby. “His power and speed; the way he opens up for a shot from anywhere and can take even the worst pass and have it on his stick. And that laser shot. You can’t even see it with the naked eye. He just hear it ring off the post.” The Vegas Golden Knights celebrate a goal against Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Casey DeSmith (1) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Jan. 19, 2019, in Las Vegas. Buckrail wrote that Crosby was in town with goalie Matt Murray, who was having engagement photos taken in the area. It’s the second year in a row that Crosby has surprised hockey fans with an appearance far from an NHL arena. Last year, he joined a 19-year-old juniors player for a workout in Mont-Tremblant, Quebec. He’ll be back on more familiar ice soon, as he’s slated to play in the NHL All-Star Game Saturday in San Jose, Calif. Post Gazette LOADED: 01.25.2019 1127592 Pittsburgh Penguins The new exhibit benefits from the collecting and kindness of people such as Penguins equipment manager Dana Heinze, who loaned his vast and perhaps, to some, creepy collection of masks from all areas for the goalie History Center's 'A Great Day for Hockey' exhibit opens Saturday. Here's area. what's on display. Interactive elements include a custom-made bubble hockey game that visitors can play that pits, to organ music, plastic Penguins vs. plastic Philadelphia Flyers, and one of many videos explores that traditional BOB BATZ JR. cross-state rivalry. There is to be a clothes dryer into which visitors can, like Sid the Kid did, fire pucks.

Near exhibit center ice will be a display dedicated to Dan McCoy, who You’d expect a Pittsburgh hockey exhibit to put halos on heroes such as was born with spina bifida and who became so good at sled hockey that Mario Lemieux, Sidney Crosby and “Badger Bob” Johnson. he won a gold medal at the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games. That display will include two of his sleds, including the wood one with which he And to be sure, those Pittsburgh Penguins and the team’s five Stanley started, and other equipment, including one very important piece of his Cup wins are a big focus of the Senator John Heinz History Center’s hockey mom, Angie: Her rosary. new, expanded hockey exhibit, which opens to the public Saturday. “A Great Day for Hockey,” which is supported by businessman and Pens’ But there are all kinds of heroes who are part of the story here. co-owner Bill Kassling’s family and UPMC, will continue to evolve, and it The Pens’ championship history didn’t start until the 1990-91 season, presages a transformation of the rest of the Strip District history center’s when the team won its first Cup with a still-skating Lemieux and Coach sports museum. Johnson, who coined the now-famous phrase, “It’s a great day for You can learn more at heinzhistorycenter.org/exhibits/hockey. hockey!” The History Center is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily at 1212 Hence, “A Great Day for Hockey” is the name of this new permanent Smallman St., Pittsburgh, PA 15222. More info: 412-454-6000; exhibit at the history center’s Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum. Its heinzhistorycenter.org. director, Anne Madarasz, said at a media preview Thursday morning that it is more than twice as big and has three times the number of objects as Post Gazette LOADED: 01.25.2019 the former hockey exhibit. An original 1952 wool jersey from the Pittsburgh Hornets' Willie "The Whip" Marshall will be part of the new "A Great Day for Hockey" exhibit opening Saturday at the Senator John Heinz History Center. (Lake Fong/Post-Gazette) And a lot of it documents the Penguins, from the flightless baby-blue birds’ start in the in 1967 to the hard-earned hoisting of the Stanley Cup, which is depicted by a life-sized and lifelike figure of Lemieux. There’s a slowly turning replica of Lord Stanley’s trophy, too, on which visitors can read all the winners’ tiny names, and bigger actual letters that once spelled “Arena,” as well as a piece of the retractable roof, from the former Civic Arena that fans called the Igloo. There’s Coach Johnson’s Penguins practice jacket, Marc-Andre Fleury’s and many other players’ sticks, piles of pucks and the pure-Pittsburgh pysanky eggs that may have been as elemental to the franchise’s 1990s success. But the exhibit goes even wider than that, Ms. Madarasz stressed, to encompass “all that has happened here on the ice since the turn of the last century.” That goes back to the 1890s and previous pro hockey teams such as the Yellow Jackets and the Pirates — yep; the exhibit tells how Pirates coach Odie Cleghorn pioneered the use of set lines of players. Those early teams played at Duquesne Gardens, billed as the world’s biggest ice rink. So did the Hornets, the 1951-52 roster of which is painted on one of the wooden plaques from that old barn. (The plaque was found in the garage of the wife of the late Hornets goalie, coach and general manager “Baz” Bastien, with the help of dogged historian Bob Grove.) The Hornets won three cups, but they were Calders. The rinks part of the exhibit also acknowledges that these buildings weren’t just for ice hockey. There’s a vintage program for Ice Capades, which many may not know started in the late 1930s in Pittsburgh, and pairs of vintage figure skates as well as speed skates, which scored the ice before Lemieux’s CCMs that also are on display. Check out the bronze plaque dedicated to performer Elvis Presley. A classic Pittsburgh Pennies nylon jacket from the 1970s female team, complete with commemorative patches, is part of the new "A Great Day for Hockey" exhibit at the Senator John Heinz History Center. (Lake Fong/Post-Gazette) Women get a cool 1970s shout-out in a display that includes a nylon jacket covered with hockey patches and other gear from the Pittsburgh Pennies, a program that helped break through some icy barriers long before Brianne McLaughlin went on from minding nets for the Robert Morris Colonials to winning silver medals in the 2010 and 2014 Olympics. Another Olympic story told here is that of Canadian-born Pittsburgher Herb Drury. His actual 1924 Olympics silver medal is probably the rarest and most valuable of the exhibit’s artifacts, says Ms. Madarasz, who notes about acquiring such things, “Sports memorabilia is hard, because some of it is so valuable.” 1127593 Pittsburgh Penguins Teammates, though, are well aware of what the fourth-liners contribute, even though it often is not reflected on the stat sheet.

“I don’t think the average spectator probably appreciates the value of Dave Molinari: What’s my line? If it’s the 4th, you really do matter what they bring,” Sullivan said. “But inside our dressing room – among our organization, our coaching staff, our management team and even our core players – there’s so much respect and so much appreciation for the DAVE MOLINARI role they play and helping our team win.” Post Gazette LOADED: 01.25.2019 Working on a fourth line in the NHL isn’t the worst way to make a living. The pay is awfully good and the perks, like traveling on charter flights and staying in five-star hotels, aren’t bad, either. Still, being a fourth-liner is a pretty low-profile job, relative to most others in the league. Playing time and points are harder to come by, and nobody got into the All-Star Game this weekend by virtue of their work as a bottom-three forward. Which is not to suggest that fourth lines are an afterthought for their teams, counted on to contribute nothing more than giving the other forwards an occasional opportunity to rest and recharge between shifts. “Our fourth line, in my tenure, has played a vitally important role in the success we’ve enjoyed,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. That’s quite an endorsement, considering the Penguins won the Stanley Cup in two of his first three seasons behind their bench. While the composition of the Penguins’ fourth line changes frequently, its basic makeup and duties don’t vary much. “The way our fourth line is (constructed), we have real good, conscientious 200-foot players who have the ability to kill penalties, who have the ability to take faceoffs,” Sullivan said. “Most of the time, we have two center-ice men on that line.” He likes to deploy two centers on that unit because if often does much of its work in the defensive zone, where securing possession of the puck is particularly important. And the fourth line doesn’t necessarily spend so much time in its own end because of any shortcomings on its part. “We utilize them, 5-on-5, in difficult situations,” Sullivan said. “They get a lot of defensive-zone starts, for example, against the other teams’ top players. “What it allows us to do is, if our game plan on a given night is to go power-against-power and we play (Sidney Crosby’s) line against (the opponent’s top line) … by using the fourth line in certain situations – defensive-zone starts, for example – it takes some of the load off Crosby’s line, so that maybe we can utilize them in offensive situations, or get a mismatch. “Maybe we can get (Crosby’s line) against a third defense pair, or against a line that might not be quite as good, and it gives us a competitive advantage. But we have to have the faith and trust in our fourth line that they can get the job done and play against those types of (top-line) players.” Crosby, not surprisingly, has handled a team-high 130 draws in the Penguins’ zone this season. After all, he leads them in overall faceoffs taken with 1,013; that’s 400 more than Evgeni Malkin, who is second on the list. But the guys immediately behind Crosby in defensive-zone faceoffs are Riley Sheahan (101) and Matt Cullen (92), both of whom have spent considerable time on the No. 4 line and embrace the responsibilities that come with playing there. “Sometimes, we’re counted on to take a lot of defensive-zone draws and, at times, play against other teams’ top couple of lines which, to me, is a lot of fun,” Cullen said. “It’s a fun challenge. “You learn to take pride in what you do. If you’re taking all of the (defensive)-zone draws and you win them and go down to the other end and it means the top line can get on with an offensive-zone faceoff, you know you’ve done your job. “Obviously, you score when you can and chip in when you can, but being strong defensively – shutting down other teams’ top couple of lines and being strong on the penalty-kill – those are things that you take pride in. When you evaluate your game at the end of the night, you look at those things.” Not everyone does, of course. Casual fans, for example, might be inclined to overlook the value of a strong fourth line because of the blue- collar job description for the guys who labor there. 1127594 Pittsburgh Penguins 2. Bill Peters, Calgary Flames 3. Jon Cooper, Tampa Bay Lightning PHWA midseason awards released; no Penguins make cut GM of the Year Award - to the General Manager adjusted to have contributed most to his team's success.

1. Brad Treliving, Calgary Flames Jason Mackey 2. Doug Wilson, San Jose Sharks

3. Lou Lamoriello, New York Islanders The Professional Hockey Writers Association released its midseason awards on Thursday, although no Penguins players made the cut. Rod Langway Award - to the defenseman who best excels in the defensive aspect of the game. The closest local hook comes with the Vezina Trophy, where Whitehall’s John Gibson of the Anaheim Ducks was the No. 1 vote-getter, and 1. Mattias Ekholm, Nashville Predators former Penguin Marc-Andre Fleury was second. 2. Mark Giordano, Calgary Flames The Penguins’ top two candidates are their All-Stars, Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang, who could’ve possibly received consideration for the Hart 3. Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning and Selke trophies and the Norris Trophy, respectively. Comeback Player of the Year Award - to the player who returned to a Here’s the full list: previous high level of performance that was interrupted by subpar play, long-term injury or major illness. Sidney Crosby was spotted working out in Jackson, Wyo. 1. Robin Lehner, New York Islanders Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 2. Jeff Skinner, Buffalo Sabres Sidney Crosby skates with locals in Jackson Hole, Wyo. 3. Zach Parise, Minnesota Wild Hart Trophy - to the player adjudged to be most valuable to his team. Post Gazette LOADED: 01.25.2019 1. Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning 2. Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary Flames 3. Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers Norris Trophy - to the defenseman who demonstrates the greatest all- round ability in the position. 1. Mark Giordano, Calgary Flames 2. Morgan Rielly, Toronto Maple Leafs Kris Letang #58 of the Pittsburgh Penguins scores on Carey Price #31 of the Montreal Canadiens in the second half during the 2018 Honda NHL All-Star Game between the Atlantic Division and the Metropolitan Divison at on January 28, 2018 in Tampa, Florida. Jason Mackey Everything you need to know about NHL All-Star Weekend 3. Brent Burns, San Jose Sharks Selke Trophy - to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game. 1. Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins 2. Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers 3. Mark Stone, Ottawa Senators Calder Trophy - to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition. 1. Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks 2. Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo Sabres 3. Miro Heiskanen, Dallas Stars Lady Byng Trophy - to the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability. 1. Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers 2. Morgan Rielly, Toronto Maple Leafs 3. Sean Monahan, Calgary Flames Vezina Trophy - to the goaltender adjudged to be the best at his position. 1. John Gibson, Anaheim Ducks 2. Marc-Andre Fleury, Vegas Golden Knights 3. Frederik Andersen, Toronto Maple Leafs Jack Adams Award - to the coach adjudged to have contributed the most to his team's success. 1. Barry Trotz, New York Islanders 1127595 Pittsburgh Penguins “There’s a bigger purpose,” says Hockey Sticks Together executive director Michele Humphreys.

She said the weekend is also meant to thank the Pittsburgh community Israeli hockey team to play former Penguins and Duquesne team to show for coming together after the Squirrel Hill shooting. It’s about “bringing support people of all faiths and walks of life together through the power of sport and our shared love of the game.” Bob Batz Jr. Where will Mr. Maaravi play? “Good question!” he says. “I was offered a solution by Tom McMillan of the Pittsburgh Penguins to change my jersey on the 30 minutes mark at the Duquesne game” and play for both teams Saturday. Players from Israel’s national ice hockey team — yep, there is one and it’s pretty good — will play Penguins alumni and the Duquesne University On Sunday, he’ll play solely for Israel — with other players and friends hockey team this weekend to show support for the Pittsburgh community, from around North America and a goalie from Israel — because he’s not Jewish and otherwise. a Pens alumnus, he says. “Not yet.” They’re calling it Hockey is Stronger than Hate weekend. Post Gazette LOADED: 01.25.2019 In the first game, the Israel Selects will take on the Dukes ACHA Division 1 club team at their home rink, Alpha Ice Complex in Harmarville, at 7 p.m. Saturday. One of Duquesne’s players is Shai Maaravi, an Israeli citizen and member of the Tree of Life, the Squirrel Hill synagogue where 11 people were killed in October’s mass shooting. In the second game at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at UPMC Lemieux Sports Center in Cranberry, the Israelis will play Pittsburgh Penguins alumni and friends. The Vegas Golden Knights celebrate a goal against Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Casey DeSmith (1) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Jan. 19, 2019, in Las Vegas. Jason Mackey PHWA midseason awards released; no Penguins make cut The Penguins alumni team will include former winger Tyler Kennedy and goaltender J.S. Aubin, plus former Steelers kicker Shaun Suisham and members of the Icemen, the Pittsburgh Police team, including Brad Rupp, son of former Penguin Duane Rupp. Also added: Former National Women’s Hockey League player Ashley Vesci, George Saad (brother of Chicago Blackhawk Brandon) and Josh Getzoff, the Penguins broadcaster. The head coach will be former Steeler Brett Keisel with help from former Pirate Neil Walker. Former Penguins coach Michel Therrien will coach the Israeli team. Sunday’s game will be preceded by a presentation of a check for money raised from “Stronger Than Hate” merchandise sold by the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation and the Hockey Sticks Together Foundation. In November, the foundations and Penguins honored Tree of Life victims, and in particular brothers Cecil and David Rosenthal, during the first- annual USA Hockey Special Hockey Classic tournament for developmentally disabled hockey players from around North America. Mr. Maaravi, wearing his Israeli jersey, was part of the ceremonial opening puck drop. The foundations sold “Stronger Than Hate” logo T-shirts and hoodies ($25 and $45) and helmet decals ($5 or six for $20). Proceeds were directed to ACHIEVA, which works with people with disabilities and their families, and The Friendship Circle “to create more inclusive and welcoming communities for people with disabilities.” The Rosenthal brothers had lived in a Squirrel Hill house supervised by ACHIEVA staff, at least one of whom plays hockey. Before Sunday’s game, the checks — $1,600 each for ACHIEVA’s new Cecil and David Rosenthal Memorial Fund and Friendship Circle — will be presented to Rabbi Mordy Rudolph, Friendship Circle’s executive director. Tickets, $10 for Saturday’s game and $15 for Sunday’s game, are available at https://bidr.co/events/israelhockey and at the door. All proceeds will go to The Edward and Rose Berman Hillel Jewish University Center of Pittsburgh. At the first USA Hockey Special Hockey Classic in Cranberry in November, Shai Maaravi wore a Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation Joe Starkey Joe Starkey: Duquesne's Israeli hockey player the perfect point man in fight against hate There will also be a silent auction of items. Buy merchandise and apparel at https://hockeystickstogether.typeform.com/to/IxCS5y and https://bidr.co/events/israelhockey/items. 1127596 Pittsburgh Penguins second among regular netminders during that stretch. Guentzel is in the middle of a breakout season, with 24 goals and 47 points in 48 games.

As a group, they’re understandably thrilled with the stability. Penguins' contracts make one thing clear: Young core has to perform “It’s nice to know we’re under contract for a while,” Guentzel said. “The younger guys, we kind of hang out with each other, and we’ve gotten to Peter Diana/Post-Gazette know each other. Definitely cool to be under contract with those guys and have them as teammates.”

One neat thing about these four is that they’re all homegrown. Beginning with Brian Dumoulin’s contract extension in July 2017, Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford has identified key members of While Dumoulin was drafted by Carolina, his development occurred in his team’s younger core and moved swiftly to sign them to reasonable Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Rust, Murray and Guentzel are all former third- contracts. round picks for the Penguins who also came up through the club’s minor- league system. It’s been good business for Rutherford, as Dumoulin (six years, $24.6 million), Bryan Rust (four years, $14 million) and Jake Guentzel (five “It is nice to have guys who have had success here and have been years, $30 million) are all proving they’re worth the money, while Matt homegrown to be able to be locked up for a little bit,” Rust said. “These Murray’s previous deal (three years, $11.25 million, expiring after 2019- are guys I’ve become really good friends with, too, so it’s nice to be 20) might be the biggest steal considering how he played during a pair of around them.” Stanley Cup runs and what he’s done lately. The Penguins will need all four to continue playing the way they have to It’s also been — and will continue to be — necessary, given the team’s ensure success during the latter part of this championship window, salary-cup structure into the twilight years of the Sidney Crosby/Evgeni especially when you consider how some of the other players on the Malkin Era. Penguins depth chart may age. If the Penguins are going to keep this window from closing the way it has “I think it says a lot about the organization that we can have guys in Chicago and Los Angeles, this group of younger players must continue throughout Wilkes-Barre and have success down there, come up here to outperform these contracts the same way they did their old ones, and do the same,” Dumoulin said. “It’s fun playing with those guys. whenever the Penguins were winning back-to-back Cups. “We’ve played a lot of years together. It’s good to be with them, hopefully PHWA midseason awards released; no Penguins make cut for a longer amount of time.” “I think it’s great for our organization,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said Post Gazette LOADED: 01.25.2019 of the team’s younger core. “One of the things that’s allowed us to be successful is the chemistry we have within our room. I think having a veteran group like we do that provides the leadership and as talented as they are, when you combine that with some of the younger players that have brought an infusion of enthusiasm and energy into the locker room, it makes for a real good formula. “These guys have played extremely well for us. The young guys have brought that energy, that enthusiasm, the juice you need day in and day out to be at your best. We like the chemistry we have with the group. Those young guys are a big part of it.” The energy and enthusiasm that Sullivan referenced — not to mention production — must continue because of the tightrope Rutherford and the Penguins are trying to walk. They’re not old, per se, but they’ve certainly made some decisions or commitments when it comes to their future. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette examined the contract structure of all NHL clubs as it pertains to the next couple of seasons, to see what other teams had committed to having on their 2021-22 team. That’s a notable marking point for a variety of reasons. Per their contract status, after that season Malkin, Phil Kessel, Rust, Kris Letang and Olli Maatta can become unrestricted free agents, in addition to backup goaltender Casey DeSmith. Patric Hornqvist, Dumoulin and Jack Johnson are up the next year. It’s also when Seattle’s NHL club will begin play, which will throw an expansion draft and protected lists into the mix. But on their books, in total, for the 2021-22 season, the Penguins have 11 players, six of them who are currently 30 or older. Those numbers lead the NHL by a wide margin. The average NHL club has 5.4 players on its payroll for 2021-22, with just 1.7 currently 30 or over. Money-wise, the Penguins are also at the top — or potentially the bottom. They have $59,733,333 committed to their 2021-22 payroll, while the average NHL team has just $31,304,396. Tampa ranks second at $57,791,666, though none of the Lightning’s nine players under contract for 2021-22 are currently 30 or older. What does this mean? That the Penguins better like what they have because, in the NHL, there isn’t much you can do about it. Sure, they could buy somebody out, but it’s not like the NFL where you can cut a guy. And if things go south, chances are your amount of tradable assets will diminish. None of this, of course, is a problem for now. Dumoulin ranks third among all NHL defensemen in plus/minus at plus- 26, while Rust has 10 goals and 15 points over his past 18 games. Murray is 10-1 since returning from a lower-body injury with a 1.81 goals- against average and .944 save percentage — numbers that both rank 1127597 San Jose Sharks Pavelski said Thursday he was thinking about former Sharks teammate Ryane Clowe, who stepped down earlier in the day as head coach of the East Coast Hockey League’s Newfoundland Growlers — an affiliate of Erik Karlsson says he’s good to go for NHL All-Star Game the Toronto Maple Leafs — because of concussion-related issues. Clowe is from St. John’s, Newfoundland.

Concussions prematurely ended Clowe’s playing career during the 2014- By Curtis Pashelka | PUBLISHED: January 24, 2019 15 season, just a year after he signed a five-year, $24.25 million contract with the New Jersey Devils.

Clowe, 36, was drafted by the Sharks in the sixth round in 2001 and SAN JOSE — Erik Karlsson will be playing in the NHL All-Star Game at played 423 regular season games with San Jose over eight seasons SAP Center on Saturday. from 2006-2013, collecting 271 points. The Sharks defenseman said Thursday at the NHL’s All-Star Game “Didn’t like seeing that news because I know how much he cares about media day that despite a lower body injury that kept him out of San the game and the opportunity he had to go coach in his hometown, and Jose’s last three games, he will suit up for the Pacific Division team in just the job that he was doing,” Pavelski said. “It was pretty cool to see Friday’s skills competition and Saturday’s four-team, 3-on-3 tournament. him step in and coach at a high level like that. Karlsson, who didn’t walk with any noticeable limp Thursday, will be “Hopefully he recovers and can have another chance.” joined by teammates Brent Burns and Joe Pavelski, as the three Sharks players received loud ovations from the fans in attendance after they San Jose Mercury News: LOADED: 01.25.2019 were introduced at the City National Civic Auditorium. Karlsson had been dealing with the nagging injury since earlier this month, when he sat out two practices and a large chunk of the third period of his team’s 5-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Jan. 15. “I feel good,” Karlsson said. “It’s the All-Star Game and I’ll able to do everything, so that’s a good start.” While it’s good news for the NHL that one of its marquee players will be able to take part in this weekend’s festivities, it’s even better news for the Sharks that Karlsson’s health has improved since he missed games against Tampa Bay, Florida and Washington before the break. Karlsson has been instrumental in the Sharks’ resurgence over the last six weeks, recording 28 points in 20 games since Dec. 2 — tied with Burns in that time for the most points among all NHL defensemen. Not including the last three games Karlsson missed because of injury, or the two games when he was suspended in December, the Sharks went 15-4-1 from Dec. 2 to Jan. 16. The Sharks entered the break six points back of Calgary for first place in the Pacific Division. The Sharks do not play again until Feb. 2 when they host the Arizona Coyotes. “It’s a good sign for us,” Pavelski said. “After this all-star weekend, we’ll have a few more days of rest. He’s a big part of this team and he will be going forward. It’s just a good sign that things are going in the right direction.” Saturday, the Pacific Division All-Stars will play the Central Division at 5:15 p.m. and the Metropolitan Division will play the Atlantic Division at 6:15 p.m., with the winners meeting in the final. These 3-on-3 games have been played a high tempo at times since the format was introduced at the 2016 All-Star Game in Nashville. For the most part, though, the pace is much slower than it would be for a normal regular season, limiting the chance Karlsson could have a setback. “It’s in San Jose. It’s for this organization, this city, this community and this fan base, and I’m looking forward to that,” Karlsson said when asked why it was important for him to be a part of the event “I want to do my part for this weekend to give them back something.” Karlsson’s long term future with the Sharks, though, remains murky. Karlsson, who would be the NHL’s most attractive unrestricted free agent should he choose to go to market on July 1 of this year, will be able to sign an eight-year contract with San Jose after the league’s Feb. 25 trade deadline. Other NHL teams can only sign him to a seven-year deal. Karlsson is in the final year of a seven-year, $45 million deal he signed with the Ottawa Senators in June 2012. Sharks general manager Doug Wilson reportedly met with Karlsson’s agent, Don Meehan, while the team was in Florida. Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston said on Hockey Night in Canada last week that Wilson and Meehan would meet again sometime, “around the All-Star Game or a little bit afterwards.” “We have no timetable on anything. Whatever goes on is going to be handled privately,” Karlsson said. “Doug Wilson has been great with us ever since we got here. He’s been very respectful. I appreciate that a lot, both me and my wife do. When the time comes for a decision to be made, whenever that is, I think they’ve done everything they possibly can to give us the most information we need to make the right decision.” THINKING ABOUT A FRIEND 1127598 San Jose Sharks By the middle of the second period, Montreal’s Mark Recchi had a hat trick. Lemieux, and Dale Hawerchuk each scored two goals. Messier had a goal and two assists. The best NHL All Star Game ever played? But Nolan ended up stealing the show. In the last two minutes of the In 1997, the last time San Jose hosted, Owen Nolan capped a wild second period, he scored twice in a span of eight seconds against afternoon with a “called shot” hat trick Brodeur. It was an All Star Game record and it set the stage for an unforgettable finish.

Of his goals, Nolan said: “The first one was nothing pretty. (Theo) Fleury By Paul Gackle threw one in front. I just banged it, found its way in the net. The second one might have been a turnover at the blue line. I might have been tired from the shift before. I didn’t feel like skating it in. Just took a shot.” SAN JOSE — The NHL All Star Game is usually about as compelling as Once Nolan scored his second goal, the Western Conference devoted watching a game of bingo at a retirement home. itself to getting the hometown star his hat trick. Head coach Ken Hitchcock doubled-shifted Nolan’s line for most of the third period and his Like the Pro Bowl, hockey’s mid-winter showcase lacks physicality, linemates, Fleury and Tony Amonte, fed him the puck whenever emotion, competition. Without anything tangible on the line, it ends up possible. But Hasek was equally determined to keep the puck out of the being a glorified game of pond hockey with the NHL’s top superstars Eastern Conference’s net. transforming into hockey’s version of the Harlem Globetrotters, a dizzying display of trick plays and tic-tac-toe goals without a sliver of defense. “That guy doesn’t not try. He pours everything into every shot that comes at him, whether it’s the pregame skate or in practice,” said Darren Pang, But when San Jose last hosted the event, in 1997, Sharks fans saw one the former goalie who was part of the Fox broadcast team that day. of the most memorable games in all star history. Hasek stopped the first 20 shots he faced. He stopped Nolan five times, Hometown rep Owen Nolan capped a thrilling afternoon by completing a including a breakaway chance 25 seconds into the third period. hat trick with his best Babe Ruth imitation, calling his shot on Hall of Fame netminder Dominik Hasek and sending the Tank into a frenzy “He was standing on his head like he typically does,” Nolan said. “Just stomping, flip-flopping everywhere and making saves.” “I thought the roof was coming down,” Nolan said recently. With a little more than two minutes left in the game, Nolan got one more The game also delivered one of the most heartwarming moments in all shot at finishing the hat trick. Messier lost his handle on the puck in the star history when the Sharks other all star, Tony Granato, took the neutral zone without being touched, coughing it up to Nolan, who was opening faceoff against longtime pal Wayne Gretzky. trailing behind. To this day, there’s a question about whether Messier Granato, then 32 and in his 10th NHL season, was playing in his first All intentionally left the puck for Nolan like the meatball Chan Ho Park Star Game. He had been a special selection by NHL Commissioner Gary served up to Cal Ripken in his final All Star Game appearance in 2001. Bettman after making a comeback from brain surgery. Granato says there “no chance” Messier did that. “Mess has too much “I was really surprised when I got the call. Usually when the pride to do something like that,” Granato said. commissioner called, it was because I’d done something naughty,” “Mark Messier? He’d never do that,” said Dan Rusanowsky, the Sharks Granato said by phone Monday. “I never thought of myself as an all star. radio announcer who was part of Westwood One’s broadcast team that It was an emotional moment.” day. A year earlier, Granato had undergone surgery to remove a blood clot As Nolan carried the puck down the left wing, he pointed toward the net, from his brain, the result of a head-first crash into the boards. At the time, adding a layer of intrigue to All Star hockey’s most enduring hat trick. his chances of playing again was in serious doubt; no pro athlete had Like Ruth’s “called shot” in the 1932 World Series, debate persists over ever come back to play after neurosurgery. whether Nolan actually picked his spot or just pointed at Hasek as a Granato defied the odds. He signed a contract with the Sharks, then competitive gesture after being stopped five times by the Hall of Fame scored 25 goals and won the Bill Masterton Trophy, awarded annually by goalie. the NHL to the player who “best exemplifies the qualities of “I don’t know if he called his shot. I don’t know what he was thinking,” perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey.” Granato said. “It might have been, ‘OK, here I come again. I’m scoring.'” Even though he played in a Stanley Cup final, skated on a line with Nolan says if it were merely a competitive gesture, he’d have just “shook Gretzky and coached the 2018 U.S men’s Olympic hockey team, his fist” at Hasek. Granato ranks player introductions at the All Star Game in San Jose among the greatest moments of his career. In his home office in Whatever the case, he pointed toward the top-right corner of the net — Madison, Wisconsin, there’s a framed picture of him and Gretzky taking and then put the puck right there, past Hasek. the opening faceoff. “We were having fun,” Nolan. “Take a shot, see if it works out.” “I was thinking where I was the previous February, the surgery. I did think I was done playing,” Granato said. “So many thoughts and emotions go Marc Crawford, an assistant coach on the Western Conference’s bench, through your mind.” backed Nolan’s account of the famous goal. Once the puck dropped, the game turned into your run-of-the-mill All Star “I can remember Owen talking when he got back to the bench saying, ‘I Game, a bout of shinny that produced 18 goals, including a record of 10 knew exactly what I was doing there. I knew I could beat him going up in the second period. there.’ Owen always had a little edge about him,” Crawford said recently. “I thought it was pretty remarkable that he called his shot, then went out “And I didn’t get one,” Granato cracked. and did it.” The offensive assault wasn’t surprising. The Eastern Conference roster As soon as Nolan’s shot hit the netting, the Tank erupted and hats rained featured Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Mark Messier, Ray Bourque and Paul down on the ice. Coffey; Hasek and Martin Brodeur were the goalies. Sportsnet in Canada considers it the greatest all star team ever assembled. “To that point, I hadn’t been in an earthquake, and after the third goal went in, I thought the roof was coming down,” Nolan said. “This place The Western Conference boasted its own cast of future Hall of Famers was so loud.” with Steve Yzerman, Teemu Selanne, Brett Hull, Al MacInnis and Patrick Roy in goal. Although Nolan immortalized himself in Sharks lore with the called shot, Recchi took home the game’s MVP award. The ballots had already been The East won 11-7. submitted by the time Nolan scored his third goal. “The highlight of that game for me was the last shift of the game. I was Recchi isn’t apologizing. just fooling around with lines and I put Messier, Gretzky, Lemieux, Coffey and Bourque on as one line,” Eastern Conference head coach Doug “Nope,” he said good-naturedly. “I’m keeping it. It’s mine.”. MacLean said last week. “There was a buzz in the crowd when they saw those five guys come off the bench. Five of the greatest players to ever Nolan says he’s plenty OK with that. Having shared that moment with play.” Sharks fans and the city of San Jose means more than a piece of hardware. “And that was my only expectation, being able to play an All Star Game in front of the home crowd,” he said. “The way it unfolded was just a bonus.” Curtis Pashelka contributed to this report. San Jose Mercury News: LOADED: 01.25.2019 1127599 San Jose Sharks

What would it cost to go to the NHL All-Star Game on Saturday? Secondary market tickets can be had for the NHL All-Star Game and Skills Competition, but some are pricey

By Curtis Pashelka PUBLISHED: January 24, 2019

SAN JOSE — Some tickets can still be had on the secondary market for the NHL All-Star Game and Skills Competition this weekend at SAP Center — although fans will certainly have to dig deep into their pocketbooks if they want to be close to the action. Both events are sold out, but a few full strip tickets to both Friday’s skills competition and Saturday’s game were available on StubHub and other ticket resale websites as of early Thursday. They ranged in price from $335 (before fees) for a seat in the upper deck, to over $1,000 for one in the lower bowl. Original face values for a full strip ticket — set by the NHL — ranged from $650 for seats along the glass to $179 for the least expensive tickets in the upper bowl, a Sharks spokesman said. For complete Sharks coverage Many more tickets on the secondary market are available just for the game, but they aren’t cheap, either. On StubHub, prices ranged from $178 (before fees) for an upper bowl seat behind one of the nets, 18 rows up, to one in the first row in one corner of the rink for a staggering $5,050. On SeatGeek, ticket prices were in roughly the same range, from $163 for an upper bowl ticket to two along the glass for $4,700 each. At last year’s NHL’s All-Star Game in Tampa, Fla., the event was also sold out, but some resale tickets were listed for less than $200 each. The All-Star Game is one the NHL’s signature events. As such, the league sets aside several tickets for its own constituents, leaving only so much inventory for Sharks to sell to season ticket holders. As the game gets closer, the NHL may release more seats to the Sharks to sell to season ticket holders. The Sharks players participating in the event are defensemen Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson, and captain Joe Pavelski. The skills competition begins at 6 p.m. on Friday and the four-team, 3-on-3 tournament begins at 5 p.m. on Saturday. San Jose Mercury News: LOADED: 01.25.2019 1127600 San Jose Sharks

NHL All-Star Game: Who will sing the national anthems?

By Jim Harrington | PUBLISHED: January 24, 2019

The National Hockey League (NHL) is set to announce that Lauren Jauregui, from the platinum-selling pop band Fifth Harmony, will sing the U.S. national anthem at the 2019 NHL All-Star Game on Jan. 25 at the SAP Center in San Jose. star Chad Brownlee will be performing the Canadian anthem at the game as well. And, on a local note, the Stanford Band will also entertain hockey fans that evening at the home of the San Jose Sharks. These acts join a lineup that also includes popular vocalist Bebe Rexha, who was previously announced as the entertainment headliner for the game. Rexha will be performing during the second intermission. Jauregui, of course, is best known for her work with Fifth Harmony, the pop band that formed to compete during the TV talent show “The X- Factor” in 2012. The vocal troupe finished third in its competition, but ended up being a major hit on the charts. Fifth Harmony has released three albums — 2015’s “Reflection,” 2016’s “7/27” and 2017’s “Fifth Harmony” — all of which landed in the top 5 of the Billboard charts. The band featured Camila Cabello, who has since gone on to become a major solo artist. Jauregui is now pursuing a solo career as well, having released her debut solo song, “Expectations,” on Columbia Records. People are expecting big things of this 22-year-old singer, who was included as a 2019 member of Forbes’ “30 Under 30” list. Since releasing his eponymous debut in 2010, Brownlee has been one of Canada’s hottest country artists, having scored more than a dozen Top 40 hits and nabbed several Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) Award nominations. He also has a major connection to the world of hockey, having once been a draft pick for the Vancouver Canucks. Alexis Bravo, a student at California School for the Deaf, will sign in American Sign Language both the U.S. and Canadian anthems. San Jose Mercury News: LOADED: 01.25.2019 1127601 San Jose Sharks

7 super SF Bay Area things to do this weekend, Jan. 25-27

By Randy McMullen and Jackie Burrell

The rain is a distant memory (for now) but many around these parts are getting ready for the ice — as in the big NHL All-Star Game in San Jose. But there’s plenty of ways to have fun around these parts whether you’re a hockey fan or not. Here are seven great ways to spend this weekend in the S.F. Bay Area and beyond, from watching Richard Nixon (well, a fake Richard Nixon) duke it out with a perky TV host to a host of mouthwatering culinary adventures involving chicken (mmm …. chicken). And if you’d like to get this delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday morning, just sign up here, and we’ll do the rest: Now, onto the fun stuff 1 SEE: Flying pucks, and a feisty pop star This weekend brings the NHL All-Star Hockey Game to San Jose’s SAP Center with plenty of hoopla and fun stuff to do, including a fan fair Thursday through Sunday, a between-periods performance by singer Bebe Rexha (you know, the one who ripped fashion designers a new one for refusing to fit her for the Grammys because she’s “too big”) and, of course, plenty of icy action. Here’s everything you need to know about it. 2 WATCH: A disgraced president duke it out with a talk-show host Speaking of South Bay excitement, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley is staging “Frost/Nixon,” a gripping stage drama drawn from the infamous 1977 series of TV interviews between British talk-show host David Frost and Richard Nixon, three years after he had been flushed from the White House by the Watergate scandal. The play seems more timely than ever. Here’s our review and deets on the production. 3. HEAR: Le hot jazz, or a budding pop superstar The nimble, bouncy and irresistible guitar licks of Django Reinhardt are still worshipped by musicians and music fans nearly more than 60 years after his passing. This weekend, Berkeley hosts the annual Django Reinhardt Birthday Festival, and it’s chock full of infectious music and joyous talent. We’ve got the details here. If you have a hankering for something more contemporary, how about getting your weekend started early with one of the buzziest indie-rock singer- going? Go here for details. 4 EAT: Fried chicken, chicken and more chicken If you’re in the mood for poultry-centric deliciousness this weekend, we’ve got suggestions, from a new chicken pot-pie shop in Walnut Creek to DIY chicken wings — including the crazy-good ones from San Jose’s District and Hayward’s Playt. And if you just want to dish on the Best. Fried. Chicken. Ever. We’re taking nominations. 5 SEE: Don Quixote in ballet tights? Well, no, not exactly. But San Francisco Ballet this weekend kicks off its 2019 campaign with a revival of its wildly popular adaptation of the classic “Don Quixote,” with its lavish sets and costumes and stunning choreography. Details are here. 6 SIP: Cabstravaganza You already know we’re helpless to resist anything with a name like Lumpiapalooza or Bacon-a-thon. So of course we’re going all out for Charles R Vineyards’ Cabstravaganza. The Livermore winery is celebrating all things cabernet sauvignon on Saturday and you, too, can join the sipping fun for a measly 10 bucks. Details are here. 7 HEAR: A distinctly American music fest The annual PIVOT concert series at San Francisco Performances always books interesting and thought-provoking shows. This year, the event takes stock of the American political landscape, with the gloriously talented Paul West covering Bob Dylan and acclaimed singer- Gabriel Kahane performing music inspired by train passengers talking about Donald Trump. We’re not kidding. Learn more about the series here. San Jose Mercury News: LOADED: 01.25.2019 1127602 San Jose Sharks

Sharks’ Joe Pavelski thriving at age 34

By Ross McKeon Updated 10:07 pm PST, Thursday, January 24, 2019

He’s too slow. He doesn’t have a big shot. He’s undersized. He’s too old. He’s Sharks captain Joe Pavelski, at age 34 an All-Star for the third time in four years, and here to prove he belongs. Pavelski will be joined by teammates Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson for the NHL skills competition Friday and Saturday’s All-Star Game — a series of three 20-minute 3-on-3 contests among the league’s four divisions — all at SAP Center. “As he gets older, the game becomes faster. The game has changed toward younger, faster players,” ex-Sharks forward Tony Granato said. “Well, it hasn’t changed for Joe. He continues to contribute and get better even as he gets older.” How else can one explain 27 goals and 45 points in 52 games this season despite a travel-heavy schedule accented by a revolving door of linemates and frequent flip-flopping between lining up at center and on the wing? Pavelski is on pace to score 43 goals, two more than his career high achieved when he was 29. None of this surprises Granato, who coaches the men’s team at Pavelski’s alma mater, the University of Wisconsin. Granato has watched Pavelski progress from an amateur into a pro, accompanied Pavelski as an assistant coach during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, and has competed against the native of Plover, Wis., while coaching in Pittsburgh and Detroit. “I don’t know if there’s another player who maximizes what abilities he has to make the most out of what he’s got,” said Granato, who was with the Sharks from 1996 through 2001 and was an All-Star in ’97 when the game was last in San Jose. “What he does for a team to contribute offensively, to be the captain, to be a solid two-way player — who bears down when the game is on the line — shows a mental toughness and internal drive that is as good as anyone I’ve ever seen. And that’s special.” Eyebrows were raised when — after leading the Badgers to the NCAA title in 2006 as a sophomore — Pavelski jumped to the pros instead of staying at Wisconsin. Only a seventh-round pick by the Sharks in ’03, Pavelski felt the time was right, and after playing only 16 games in the minors, began to prove he belonged in the NHL. Pavelski’s talents translated nicely into a two-way third-line role. But he had much more to give. Promoted alongside Joe Thornton and asked to provide elite goal-scoring, Pavelski did just that. He and Doug Gilmour are the only seventh-round picks in league history to have at least 10 20- goal seasons. “He has such a great hockey IQ, he can flip a switch and take on responsibilities of a center or a winger,” Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer said. “He can flip a switch and be the best defensive player on the ice in the last minute of a game with the lead. Or he can flip it when we’re down and score a big goal.” And when he feels like he’s struggling, Pavelski relies on his smarts to contribute. “That’s something I hang my hat on, being able to think and get around the ice that way,” he said. “For me, that’s something that has to be there. If everything else is getting exposed, I think I lose a trait of my game that I have a lot of belief in and a lot of commitment to.” Burns and Karlsson, 28, have been as dynamic on San Jose’s blue line as anticipated. Burns, 33, leads the team and all NHL defensemen with 55 points. Karlsson — who is nursing a lower-body injury but will give the non-taxing All-Star Game a go — is fifth among NHL defensemen with 43 points (40 assists). “Being at home, in front of our own fans, representing the team in the city makes it extra special,” said Burns, who — like Karlsson —will play in his sixth All-Star Game. Burns said he has “been a long time in the league and you don’t get that chance often. (I’m) looking forward to it.” Ross McKeon is a freelance writer. San Francisco Chronicle LOADED: 01.25.2019 1127603 San Jose Sharks

2019 NHL All-Star Game: Which hockey clichés do superstars love to use?

By Marcus White January 24, 2019 8:58 PM

SAN JOSE -- Claude Giroux leaned into the microphone placed directly in front of him, and gave an answer he surely has spoken a few times before. “Yeah, we just gotta keep it simple,” the Philadelphia Flyers center said Thursday night. “When it’s not going your way, I guess, you just gotta put it deep.” He hesitated a bit. “I think that’s the one,” he said with a smile. Giroux didn't say this from a podium after a game, but from one inside City National Civic on Thursday night’s media day ahead of the 2019 NHL All-Star Game. And this time, he was asked to give his favorite hockey cliché. Keeping it simple. Getting the puck deep. If you’ve watched a professional hockey player in an interview before, during and after a game, you’re surely familiar with Giroux’s words. And the litany of others he did not say Thursday, such as the pair that were on the tip of Vancouver Canucks rookie sensation Elias Pettersson's tongue. “The first that comes to mind is, 'You get the puck to the net. Get bodies in front,' " he told NBC Sports California, adding that “[getting] the puck deep” is another one of his favorites. The 20-year-old Swede has played in Vancouver for fewer than four months, and all of 40 games. Yet he quipped that some clichés already are starting to become a part of his press-conference vernacular. Anaheim Ducks goaltender John Gibson said he didn’t have a particular cliché in mind. For him, the conversational context is key, as is the result of the game. "Yeah, usually if you there's a win, you have one or two,” Gibson said when asked if he has different clichés in mind if his team is winning or losing. “If there's a loss, I'm sure you've heard it all. 'We didn't get the pucks deep, or turnovers' and all that stuff, right?" All that stuff is so commonplace, and it makes sense as to why. Clichés are quick, catchy and easily repeatable. Perhaps most importantly, though, a good hockey cliché succinctly or accurately describes the action it’s describing. There’s a reason we’ve heard them all before. "It's just something you always hear, so you go with it," Gibson said. The same can be said about the awareness of their mere existence, and the subsequent winking acknowledgement. Hockey clichés are so widespread that knowing them has become, well, something of a cliché. Moments after Giroux divulged his favorite expressions and he was wrapping up his podium session, New York Islanders center Mathew Barzal took the stage with NHL Network host Jackie Redmond. After a few questions, she wrapped up with one more: What’s Barzal’s “favorite, go-to hockey cliche?” “I don’t know … get the puck deep,” Barzal said with a laugh. “Get the legs going.” Those who follow, cover, or play hockey are aware of the oft-used expressions. They know what they mean, when to use them and which ones could line up a bingo card on any given night. That’s not to say you’ll stop hearing them anytime soon. After all, sometimes you just gotta keep it simple. Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 01.25.2019 1127604 San Jose Sharks

2019 NHL All-Star Game: Ranking all 44 players skating in San Jose

By Marcus White January 24, 2019 3:26 PM

Fourty-four of the NHL’s best players will descend upon San Jose this weekend for the 2019 NHL All-Star Game. The usual suspects, such as Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby, headline the whole affair, while the hometown Sharks are as well- represented as anyone with a trio of All-Stars (Brent Burns, Erik Karlsson, and Joe Pavelski) to their name. There is also a litany of fresh- faced phenoms, such as Vancouver Canucks rookie Elias Pettersson and Boston Bruins sniper David Pastrnak. But just who can call themselves the Best Of The Best? Ahead of All-Star weekend, we set out to answer that very question. Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 01.25.2019 1127605 San Jose Sharks school for the summer or for the (hockey) season, the golf season is starting.”

One of his first jobs as a kid, right around his freshman year of high Scratch golfer Joe Pavelski’s game brings ‘a level of calmness under school, was working as a bag room boy, cleaning clubs and putting carts pressure’ to hockey for the All-Star in their proper place. While that must have been an honest day’s work for a kid in his early Kevin Kurz Jan 24, 2019 teens, Pavelski also had an ulterior motive. “That got me free golf at the country club,” Pavelski said. “In the summer there would be weeks we’d play every day, 36 (holes) a day sometimes After the first two days of the three-day American Century Championship with a couple buddies, and spent a lot of time out there. It was just golf tournament last July just outside of Lake Tahoe, Joe Pavelski found always great.” himself atop the leaderboard. Pavelski’s best personal round is a 65, shot at a local course near where The Sharks captain had a one-point lead on former A’s pitcher Mark he grew up, Stevens Point Country Club. But his best moment as a golfer Mulder, the three-time defending champion. (The celebrity tournament came in his senior year of high school when he won the annual Channel uses the modified Stableford scoring system, which awards six points for 7 tournament, held by a local television station in Wisconsin, shooting a eagle, three for birdie, one for par, zero for bogey and minus-two for 67 on the final day of the two-day event. That his father was his caddie double bogey or worse.) made it even more special. Pavelski struggled on that final day, though, falling behind former NFL “Anyone can play in it, so it was a fun tournament,” Pavelski said. “That quarterback Tony Romo. Still, he had a seven-foot putt for eagle on the was the best competition round I’ve probably played.” 18th hole that could have left him tied for the lead. Now, Pavelski is a scratch golfer, or, to be precise, owns a handicap of He pushed it wide. +0.3 — meaning he’s 0.3 better than a scratch golfer. “It feels like nothing went in for me today,” Pavelski told reporters after But Kelly, who has played with Pavelski many times and has earned the event. “But I couldn’t ask for more than to have that putt to tie on the more than $28 million in his career, indicated Pavelski’s better than that. last hole.” “He’s past a scratch golfer. He can break par any day that he tees it up Pavelski finished with 66 points and tied for third overall with former NBA — and I mean any day he tees it up,” Kelly said in a phone interview. “He star Ray Allen. Romo was the winner with 71 points, while Mulder can throw a 66 at you, too. He’s a very good golfer.” finished second with 68. Pavelski reacts to his missed putt on the 18th hole at the American “He definitely should have won that, but we say that as golfers all the Century Championship that cost him a chance to tie Tony Romo for the time,” said Jerry Kelly, a PGA Tour pro since 1996 and a friend of lead. (Tracy Barbutes via ZUMA Wire) Pavelski’s who was exchanging texts with Pavelski with before that final round. That NHL players tend to be good golfers is not news. The golf swing is similar enough to taking a slap shot that there isn’t usually much of an “A couple wayward drives on easy holes coming in, should have had an adjustment to go from one to the other. It helps, too, that the NHL easy look at eagle. But you keep putting yourself in that position and you offseason comes during the summer months. will (win).” Pavelski tries to get out on the course three or four times a week in the Perhaps the most impressive part of Pavelski’s performance that offseason, including a Wednesday game with some friends such as weekend is that he’s still in the prime of his NHL career at 34. He’ll be current NHL forward Nick Schmaltz and fellow University of Wisconsin one of three Sharks representatives at this Saturday’s NHL All-Star alum Tom Gilbert, who played 12 years in the NHL before going to Game at SAP Center. He is leading the team with 27 goals at the break. Europe. It’s been a remarkable, resurgent half-season for a player who was thought by many to be on the decline after posting just 22 goals in 2017- The 52-year-old Kelly is a former hockey player himself who had some 18. scholarship opportunities before he ultimately chose golf. Pavelski has time to golf during the offseason and the local Bay Area “I was a fast skater and had a good shot. And I was never afraid of the climate allows him to hit the links more often during the season than if he corners,” Kelly said, before adding that part of the reason he didn’t want were playing elsewhere in North America. But from September through to further his hockey career was because “I had my head down too the Stanley Cup playoffs — which, for the Sharks, ended in early May much.” last year — his primary focus is hockey. Romo, on the other hand, has A Madison native, Kelly’s been on the ice with Pavelski at the University been retired since 2016 (though he’s currently CBS’ star NFL analyst), of Wisconsin while the Sharks captain prepares for training camp. while Mulder hasn’t thrown a major-league pitch since 2008. In fact, the According to Kelly, one of his personal strengths over his career has only active athletes who finished in the top 20 at the A.C.C. were been the ability to birdie a hole just after a bogey on the previous one. He Warriors star Stephen Curry (tied for 11th) and Packers quarterback indicated that Pavelski’s hockey-playing experience has helped in that Aaron Rodgers (tied for 18th). regard. Former Sharks teammate and current NHL analyst “It’s kind of like taking the golf course’s number after it gives you a bad finished in seventh place, eight points behind Pavelski. He was the one check,” Kelly said. “You don’t have to go right after it right there, you just who originally got his former teammate into the field three years ago, hold that in the back of your head. A few shifts later, you see an opening, when NBC — which broadcasts NHL games and also the Tahoe you’re going to go get him. That’s kind of how you take the next hole after tournament — was looking for more hockey players. a bogey in golf. It’s, all right, well, it’s not like I can take this drive and “Shows you how good of a golfer he is to all of a sudden come out to knock it on in a 450-yard par-4. So you just get the ball to bear right, get such an amazing atmosphere around a lot of people and be able to it on the green and when you get a chance to make that putt, that’s when compete for that championship,” Roenick said in a phone interview this you kill it and make that putt. week. “If he didn’t three-putt the last hole, he would have been tied for “Plus, putting is so much like passing it off the boards. It’s a pretty cool first. visual of things.” “He’s just so natural. He’s got such a great pair of hands and his eye- Roenick is also among the best former NHL players on the golf course. hand coordination is impeccable. Such a great swing and a great golfer.” He spent 18 years in the NHL, scoring 513 goals and posting 1,216 At no point in his life did Pavelski ever think about choosing golf over points in 1,326 games, and he owns a home in Arizona. hockey while growing up in Wisconsin. But around eighth grade, he had Pavelski’s prowess hitting a golf ball undoubtedly helped him to become to decide whether he’d play golf or baseball when he wasn’t on the ice. the NHL player he is today, according to Roenick, who played two years Golf won. with the Sharks from 2007-09 while Pavelski was just breaking into the league. “It’s still one of the best moves I made,” Pavelski said on Saturday morning in Tampa, as the Sharks prepared for a game later that evening “Oh, absolutely. I think (golf) brings a level of calmness under pressure,” against the Lightning. “We played spring golf in Wisconsin back home at Roenick said. “I think your ability to have that eye-hand coordination is our high school. Just when you’re kind of getting ready to be done with really, really important in both sports. And the fact that he can get away from hockey and play a sport that actually lets you relax and not worry about getting your ass kicked all the time, I think is a really important thing. “Golf is one of those inner games where yes, you’re competing against other people, but you’re also competing against the course and you’re competing against yourself and your mind. It makes you a stronger person mentally to help you handle certain things. There’s a specific reason that Joe Pavelski is a captain and I knew he’d be captain, because he has that confidence and that sense of competition in his mind.” So is there any future in golf for Pavelski once he hangs up his skates? That’s at least a few years away, but Pavelski admitted that it’s crossed his mind. “I would love it. That’s the plan is to do a little more hunting and fishing — and a lot more golfing,” he said. “Playing some of those tournaments, state opens, things like that if I can get in. Just kind of enjoy it and play a little bit of tournament golf in the smaller tournaments. Who knows what happens?” But becoming a professional? Pavelski says that’s probably too far out of reach. “It’s one of those things, when the senior tour first came out, everyone was like, thinking (about) the scores you get … but then as time goes (on), you get the PGA guys getting into it and there’s some crazy scores going on out there,” he said. Kelly said: “That’s a different planet. In today’s game, he’s more of an old-school player. Today’s game is completely different. He doesn’t have (the ability) to carry it 320 down the middle (of the fairway) and that’s pretty much what you need to (do) to compete; and there’s 1,000 kids that can do that now.” Kelly, though, said that Pavelski could “absolutely” compete in state open tournaments, as well as make some cuts on the Dakotas Tour, which, according to its website, is “an 18 event professional golf tour played in the Midwest states of Minnesota, Iowa, North and South Dakota. Professional golfers play for a total of approximately $750,000 over the course of a quick 9 weeks in the summer.” Still, “You never count anybody out in this game,” Kelly said. “I’m sorry, but it doesn’t happen. Nobody ever thought I would get there, much less stay there until I’m 50-plus. You can never say never, but that’s one of those really tall orders.” Perhaps not quite as tall as an undersized, seventh-round draft pick becoming one of the NHL’s premier goal scorers, now preparing for his third appearance in the All-Star Game. The Athletic LOADED: 01.25.2019 1127606 St Louis Blues game. If I do that, that’s going to help other guys play better. We all have to do that. We all have to bring our best game and put that forward and when we do it, we can see how dangerous it is and the consistency we’re Blues All-Star O'Reilly always pushing to be a better player fighting for. And as of late it has been better. The game against LA there were opportunities to win. It’s not like we were terrible, it’s just our defensive part of the game killed us and I was a big part of that. By Tom Timmermann St. Louis Post-Dispatch “Growing up, I’ve been always been a guy that got to play a majority of the game and I can’t get mad at anyone else for not doing their job when I’ve had plenty of opportunities. Sometimes I need to get a couple of goals, sometimes I don’t need to. Sometimes I have to play well In the locker room at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Monday, defensively and it’s good enough to win the game. There’s always Blues center Ryan O’Reilly sat in a stall, leaning back as far as he could something you can do different or change or be better at to impact the and looking very defeated because, at that moment, that’s what he was. game and some nights it calls for it more than others. A game where The Blues had lost to the Kings — the Kings! — 4-3 in the kind of defeat we’re beat up and don’t have energy, I look at it as a challenge for myself that is a total downer. It’s two points the Blues desperately needed and to have an exceptional game. That started at a young age and I don’t two points it looked like the Blues would get when they went up 2-0 late think I’ll change that. That’s something that drives me.” in the first period, and two points they didn’t. It’s a drive that shows no signs of letting up, and one he embraces. And As a small group of reporters come over to talk to O’Reilly, the Blues the constant working on his game, the constant practice, comes with one center is about to come face-to-face with his harshest critic: himself. other benefit. To O’Reilly, every game, every win or loss, is a referendum on his play. When O’Reilly spends extra time on the ice at the end of practices, he’s In discussing the game and what went wrong, it does not take long for often joined by younger members of the team. The youngsters like the O’Reilly to come around to himself, and not in a positive way. He has a chance to learn from a veteran; playing with the kids makes O’Reilly feel distinctive way of talking in these situations. He doesn’t just say “I.” He younger. says, “I myself,” a structure that puts an added emphasis on the speaker. “I think you always have to be a student of the game and reinvent “I myself wasn’t good enough defensively,” he said. And later: “I know I yourself and keep that beginner’s mindset as much as you can,” he said. myself at times, I lost my coverage.” “So being around the young guys and feeding off their energy and what That O’Reilly puts this onus on himself is odd because, in this season, they bring helps keep me young. I used to be the young guy and now I’m the one member of the Blues who should get the least blame for any of looking at them and trying to keep up.” the Blues’ ills is O’Reilly. He’s off to the All-Star Game this weekend and, It’s a race that Ryan O’Reilly doesn’t want to lose. until David Perron’s recent point blitz, it’s hard to imagine who else on the team would have possibly been selected. BLUE NOTE O’Reilly has 50 points (18 goals, 32 assists), which is 15 more than The Blues sent Sammy Blais and Mackenzie MacEachern to San Perron, who has the next highest total on the team. His plus-14 is best on Antonio so they can keep playing over the All-Star Game and bye week. the team (Carl Gunnarsson is next at plus-9). His assist on Wednesday Whether or not the two get called back when the Blues resume practice in a 5-1 win over Anaheim gave him a six-game point streak. He’s on Thursday will depend on the status of Perron and Robert Thomas, already had one six-game streak this season and another 10-game both of whom are out with injuries. Blais will have to sit out his first game streak. He’s third in the league in faceoff percentage, a number made with San Antonio for a suspension he got right when he was recalled by more important by the number of defensive zone starts he gets. the Blues. Those feelings are what drives O’Reilly to be one of the first players on St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 01.25.2019 the ice every day and one of the last to come off. It’s why he’s constantly working on something. He needs to be better. The team is counting on him. He’s always been that way. “I think after games, the competitiveness kind of takes over and I get pretty mad at myself for little plays,” O’Reilly said two days later, now sitting more relaxed in his stall at the Honda Center in Anaheim. “There’s times in the game where things don’t go well, you had a chance to score and you don’t, that could have changed the outcome of the game and that’s just what comes to mind first, and after games I get a little emotional. I look at it that way. “I think one of the things I learned at a young age, what my dad always preaches, was you have to self-reflect first. That’s the most important thing. If you get a team with guys who self-reflect on what they can do differently, it’s going to be a good recipe for improving.” But even though he realizes that his emotions may be a bit extreme at times, he thinks that’s an attitude he needs to embrace. It provides him with a blueprint for better play. “I don’t think I should change that,” he said. “It pushes me to grow my game and make adjustments, and I think in every game I play I think I can make an impact to help change the outcome. “When I say I need to be better in a game, I try to work on that area the next time I’m on the ice. I think last game I was disappointed with the way I defended. I wasn’t good away from the puck. … I want to respond with a good defensive performance. Obviously offensively too, to make an impact, but I need to play a lot better away from the puck, especially for a guy that plays a lot of minutes. If I’m doing that, that’s going to make it hard on the other team a lot. It’s one of those things I think I need to do.” All that makes things complex for O’Reilly in his second career All-Star trip. The Blues season has been, by any standard, disappointing. But for the player who is on the ice more than any other forward — by two minutes per game — he sees it all coming back to him. How good can he be playing if the team is struggling so much? “Absolutely,” he said. “I think it’s different if you’re a guy getting called up. I’m involved in every situation. If the penalty kill’s not doing good, I’m a big part of that. If the power play’s not doing good, I’m a big part of that. Five-on-five. I can’t make anyone else do anything. I can take care of my 1127607 St Louis Blues 5. Special teams: Quit taking stupid penalties. Pick up the production on the power play.

2. TRADE WINGS BLOWING? Armstrong says Berube will stay on as Blues coach through remainder of season +4 Blues vs. Islanders By Jim Thomas St. Louis Post-Dispatch QUESTION: Who might be interested enough to trade for Steen? For Bozak?

JT: I don't think Steen has much trade value given his age — he turns 35 A new Blues hockey coach won't be joining the team this season. on March 1 — and his contract status — two more years after this at General manager Doug Armstrong said Thursday that interim coach $5.75 million per season. Also, Steen has a no-trade clause. As for Craig Berube will remain coach of the Blues through the remainder of this Bozak, I don't think he's played poorly. His production before his season. He also said Berube remains a candidate to have the "interim" concussion was pretty much normal for him. And again, you've got tag removed from his job title at the end of the season. contract considerations — $5 million per year, for two more seasons after this. Plus Bozak has a modified no-trade clause (10 teams). "We're tied in with Craig now for the rest of the year, and we're looking forward to working with him and maximizing the most we can out of this QUESTION:L Pietrangelo for Mitch Marner — what does each side have group," Armstrong told the Post-Dispatch. to add for this trade to become possible? "I really enjoy working with Craig and his staff. I don't want to say they're JT: Am I wrong on this? I would think the Blues would have to give more understaffed right now, but they're one (coach) less than they were and than Pietrangelo (who has a no-trade clause). Marner (who's scheduled they're putting in the long hours." to be a restricted free agent after this season) is only 21. Perhaps the Blues would have to kick in a prospect. The Blues are 15-13-2 overall since Berube replaced Mike Yeo on Nov. 19, and 12-8-1 since a 6-1 home loss to Vancouver on Dec. 9. Although 3. ANYBODY SEEN TOM STILLMAN? the Blues remain three points out of playoff position in the Western +6 Conference entering the All-Star break and bye period, analytics and the eye test both say the team is playing better lately. City and business leaders asking for taxpayer help in funding Scottrade Center renovation Overall, the Blues are 22-22-5 following Wednesday's 5-1 victory in Anaheim with 33 games remaining in the regular season. QUESTION: Both DeWitts showed up at the Cardinals Winter Warm-Up and engaged the fan base, which made me think of Silent Tom Stillman. As for being one man short on the coaching staff, the Blues never added Sure, the DeWitts were at a staged event, but DeWitt Jr. usually is an assistant after Yeo was fired and Berube moved up from associate available when things get sideways with the Cardinals and Derrick Goold coach. Larry Robinson helped the coaching staff from the time of Yeo's goes looking for answers to the questions that everybody's asking. Last dismissal until Christmas but has since returned to his senior consultant summer was a prime example. Would it be too much for Stillman to duties for the team. publicly appear just once during this mess of a season and speak to the "I enjoy listening to them talk and debate our performance and our game issues? Does he or his office even bother to call you back to say "No, plan," Armstrong said of Berube and his staff. "(Berube's) direct. He thank you"? doesn't waste words, but you know where he stands. JT: He hasn't been around practice nearly as much this season "At least with me, it's not like he's reserved and quiet where you're compared to last. I requested an interview with him after last season and prodding for information or prodding to find out what he's thinking. He just was turned down. I think Benjamin Hochman has gone 1 for 2 on does it with fewer words than most." interview requests with him since then. Yes, I think the owner of a major sports team should be more available to the media. When asked if Berube was still in the mix to remain as Blues coach next season, Armstrong replied in the affirmative but said the evaluation Follow-up: How present is Tom Stillman with the Blues? Just making an process is ongoing. assumption here, but we all know absentee ownership breeds losing. Is he just giving Army the keys and walking away? "Yeah," Armstrong said. "I think in pro sports at any level, whether you're a coach or a trainer or a (general) manager, every day's an evaluation by JT: Just because I mentioned that Stillman isn't around at practice as somebody. And we're all going through it together." much, doesn't mean he's not around the team. I've seen him in the locker room after several games. I think he's very engaged, and cares a lot Armstrong declined to comment further on the coach search. about the team. 10 Blues questions for Jim Thomas 4. PLAYOFFS OR BUST FOR BERUBE? 1. FIVE THINGS THAT HAVE TO CHANGE FOR THE BLUES? Berube's Blues playing well enough to make run at playoffs +20 QUESTION: If the Blues make the playoffs, is that enough to give Berube the head coaching job? Blues take on the Florida Panthers JT: If they limp into the playoffs due to a weakened Western Conference, QUESTION: Can you give us a list of five things that would need to it's debatable. If they get hot down the stretch and have some momentum change after the break for the Blues to make it into the playoffs? going in, I'd have to say he's a legit candidate. JT: In no particular order: Follow-up: At this point, is it a problem with the coaching staff? You've already fired the head coach. 1. Goaltending. Binnington has provided a spark, the LA Kings game notwithstanding. That has to keep up. Concentrate most of the Jake Allen JT: I think that's a fair question. But a couple of things. Sooner or later, starts on the road, where he has played very well. you have to blame the players, don't you? Also, a new coach — at least any one of stature — brings in his own staff. 2. Some of the Blues top players have to get going. Schwartz has gone 16 games without a goal; Steen has gone 16 games without a goal; 5. STILL TRYING TO FIGURE OUT ALLEN Schenn has no goals in his last 8 games; Pietrangelo needs to get going, as much on the defensive side as the offensive side. Tarasenko has Blues Oilers Hockey picked it up lately, but needs to keep going. QUESTION: Seems like a lot of goalies are closer to .900 save 3. Beat the teams you're supposed to beat. (At least most of the time.) percentage than normal, and while Jake Allen is one of them, if you The Blues are 7-9-3 against teams currently out of playoff position this exclude a few of the early season games when the team didn’t play well, season. Last season they were 25-11-1 against those teams. he’s not off the pace. He also has a strong road history, including big wins in tough places like Winnipeg. How much of Allen’s woes are just 4. Why can't the Blues come back in games? Is there an NHL bylaw home and the team? against this that we're unaware of? They are 1-18-3 when trailing after two periods, and 4-8-5 in one-goal games. JT: The Blues were playing next-to-no defense early in the season. So Allen fell victim to that to a degree. I don't know what it is about his home numbers this season, although it does seem that the home crowd is quick to turn against him. That being said, as a professional who has the fourth line. No team is scared to play the Blues. Your big guys like been in the league a while, he should be able to block that out and play Parayko and Petro won't hit anyone. through it. As you mentioned, his road numbers are among the best in the league, the Boston game notwithstanding. JT: I thought they got outmuscled by the Kings to a degree. The Blues seemed to play with more of a physical edge in the earlier games under 6. CLUES IN THE JADEN SCHWARTZ MYSTERY? Berube. You make some good points, but it seems speed and skill is the ticket to success in the NHL these days, not necessarily the ability to hit +18 someone. St. Louis Blues versus Montreal Canadians 10. DO THE MATH: ALMOST AT .500? OR 6 GAMES UNDER? QUESTION: Is there an injury to Jaden Schwartz that is not being talked Berube named Blues' interim head coach about? He was on the way to being one of the best two-way forwards in all of the NHL, but his play has really regressed. Not sure why, and I QUESTION: How about being the first sportswriter at the P-D to step up realize he is still young and has an opportunity to right the ship. and buck the trend? Stop perpetuating the lie that the Blues are "nearly" a .500 team. They've played 48 games and won 21 of them so they're 6 JT: Not aware of any injury. Obviously, he has lost a lot of confidence in games under .500. It's really a very simple calculation and suggesting his shot/scoring ability. His strange, spinning drop pass to Tarasenko on that they're nearly a .500 team is intentionally misleading. that 2-on-1 in Boston is telling proof of that. When he's on his game, he is so much fun to watch. This is a guy who averaged nearly a point per JT: I beg to differ. Under the NHL's point system, you get one point for an game last season. One of this season's greatest mysteries. overtime/shootout loss. So in 48 games, they have 47 points. That's just under one-half of the maximum attainable point total. Half of the 7. POINT / COUNTERPOINT ON KYROU maximum attainable point value is .500. So the are playing just under +22 .500 hockey. Blues take on the Ducks at Enterprise Center Follow-up: Really disappointed to see that you're going to perpetuate this myth. I'm sure Doug Armstrong is pleased. Listen to the NHL network POINT: It was a mistake to handle Kyrou the way he was. He played one once in a while -- their analysts derisively refer to it as "NHL .500." game up in the lineup and didn’t even take every shift on that line. He made mistakes but players need to be allowed to play through those; JT: I appreciate your frustration. I'm not saying I agree with how they otherwise, the Blues wouldn’t have any players left, because everyone is allocate points. But math is math. making mistakes. He’s not a third-line grinder brought in to get pucks BONUS QUESTION: MISSING FOOTBALL YET? deep, he’s a playmaker and needs to be deployed accordingly. We have so many people not performing they need to give someone like him an +37 actual chance. Sports on Tap in Kirkwood JT: I'm not going to disagree with you on this one. Kyrou frequently gets knocked off the puck too easily. And sometimes his razzle-dazzle moves COMMENT: JT, it looks like you should have moved to LA to continue don't work in the NHL, because in general there's less open ice. But I covering the Rams. You would be covering another Super Bowl instead don't see how playing 5, 6, 7 minutes a game helps him much up here. In of this pack of losers. fact, it might chip away at his confidence some. JT: I had a chance to move to LA and cover the Rams. I did not pursue it. COUNTERPOINT: Dear Kyrou-fluffers: Kyrou is a promising young I love St. Louis. I've covered 25 Super Bowls — so, been there, done that player on a below- average team. Just because fans want him to be the many times over. I covered two Super Bowls involving the St. Louis second coming of Johnny Hockey doesn't mean he is there yet. Berube Rams. Covered one of the most exciting teams in NFL history, the has said multiple times guys are earning their playing time. If he isn't Greatest Show on Turf. I'm really enjoying what I'm doing now. Hockey is playing, must mean he isn't earning the playing time. Most fans aren't at a great sport. Very fast. As I've said many times, I'm liking hockey much practice everyday like the coaches are. Maybe they are seeing things more than I'm missing football. you aren't. St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 01.25.2019 JT: Interesting Kyou debate going on today in the chat. He is still considered a prized prospect, especially for a team where team speed seems to be an issue. My only point is that, if you're not going to give him meaningful minutes here, he should be in San Antonio. Which is where he is. 8. WHY BENCH BORTUZZO? +4 Blues send Philadelphia Flyers to 7th straight loss, 3-0 COMMENT: Benching Bortuzzo makes no sense. The guy at least hits and stays in position. Pietrangelo was a minus 3 in the last game. Dunn likewise weak on D. I simply do not understand what Berube is thinking most nights. JT: Pietrangelo was minus-2, but I get your point. It was one of his worst games. Dunn was plus-1, is your highest-scoring defenseman and is plus-6 for the season. With 7 healthy defensemen, it's a tough decision every night. Follow-up: Watching Monday's game was painful. Quite possibly one of the worst games ever for Petro, out of position and begging the ref for calls. Its time to move on, while other teams value him. It just seems there are too many miles on the tires. JT: Pietrangelo, in general, has looked much more like himself since he returned from the hand injury. But Monday wasn't one of those games. He was on the ice for all four Kings goals. He got hammered by the physical Kings on more than one occasion. 9. NO HITS? NO SUCCESS +21 Blues vs. Capitals COMMENT: Here's why the Blues aren't gaining traction: There is no grit, no toughness. Armstrong let Ryan Reaves go along with the muckers on 1127608 Tampa Bay Lightning — name one. Before the Cirellis, (Adam) Erne, Joseph, Cernak, there was a crop before that. The (Alex) Killorns, Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat, (Nikita Kucherov).

Q&A: In the booth with Lightning GM Julien BriseBois, on the art of You look around and see draft picks all over your lineup, from (Steven) building, developing and dealing prospects Stamkos, Victor Hedman, Kucherov, and middle-rounders like Cirelli (third round), Joseph (fourth round), Brayden Point (third round). How much is homegrown talent and developing vital to your success? By Joe Smith Jan 24, 2019 It’s a combination of, under a cap world, you’re not only looking to acquiring the best players, you’re also building a team and have to look at bang for the buck. To build the best team possible, you can’t afford to SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The steep steps up to the press box at War get the 20 best players. Even if they all wanted to sign with you, you can’t Memorial Arena aren’t for the faint of heart. afford them in a cap system. When you take your seat, there isn’t much wiggle room, either, not for a Good players are hard to acquire; they rarely hit free agency. You can’t bigger guy like me, anyway. But as I ducked through the perch of the count on that to build your team. You can count on that to supplement cozy, near 70-year-old barn Jan. 11 for the American Hockey League your team. Trades, same thing. When are good players available? Not matchup between the Lightning’s Syracuse game with Cleveland, I found that many, and everyone wants them, so you’re paying a hefty price to a spacious suite at mid-ice (built four years ago for Lightning acquire those players. If you want a good team, first thing you need are management). good players, and the best way to get good players is to develop them. There sat Lightning GM Julien BriseBois, who wasn’t buying my wistful Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois (fourth from the right) stands appreciation for the NHL press boxes. next to 2017 top draft pick Cal Foote. “I don’t know who the next guys are “What can be better than this?” he asked. going to be. But I like that we have a great number of them,” BriseBois said. (David Banks / USA Today) BriseBois may be a first-year Lightning GM, but he cut his teeth as a hockey executive in cozy confines like these all over the American You’re also able to find undrafted guys, like (Yanni) Gourde, and now Hockey League. It was while GM of Montreal’s AHL Hamilton that Alex Barre-Boulet (signed to an entry-level deal in summer). How were BriseBois started to believe he could run an NHL team one day. And it’s you guys the only ones to go after a guy like Boulet (CHL’s leading here, in Syracuse, where BriseBois has taken pride in developing the scorer last year)? “next wave” of prospects for the NHL’s best team. His fingerprints are all I don’t know that we were the only ones that saw this, we just happen to over this team and this building, from picking players to the color of paint be the lucky ones he chose to sign with. I always come back to the same on the wall in the weight room. thing, what guides our decisions, we have an identity that we have for our So when BriseBois took over for former Lightning GM Steve Yzerman in team, and Barre-Boulet fits our identity. To the extent he can improve his September, he maintained his position as Crunch GM (at least, for this game to an NHL level, it’ll work for us. He has the speed, the hockey year). Partly because Yzerman’s departure was abrupt, but mostly sense, he can play with pace. That’s what we want. He’s a good guy, he because BriseBois felt he was the right fit, having already established the works hard, it’s worth trying. relationships and routine. BriseBois, who typically attended 40-plus Is it just a coincidence that you were able to find gems like Gourde, Crunch games in previous seasons, is at about a dozen this year Jonathan Marchessault, Danick Martel and now Barre-Boulet? Has there (including Monday’s matinee against Binghamton) and watches the rest been a market inefficiency in undrafted and undersized kids from Quebec on TV or online. you’ve taken advantage of? “I really have a passion for this league,” BriseBois said between periods. They’re all different, and the stories behind them are all different. Yes, “I love this league. I’m excited to be here. It’s a great league, good they are undersized from Quebec, and all three are French-speaking. people. And you see the progression. They’ve got skill and were undrafted. But their stories are different. “The NHL guys, they work their asses off and are impressive because of Marchessault was already an All-Star at this level by the time we how professional … and consistent they are and how talented they are. acquired him. That was a trade. But it’s harder to see the progression when you’re that good. Gourde had performed at the AHL level, not the same as Marchessault, Improvement is there, but it’s incremental. Here, from one month to the but he was on our radar. We were the first to offer him an NHL contract next, there’s a really big change. and signed him. Martel, we passed on when he was getting consideration “You see them at their first camp at 18, when they turn pro, you negotiate to sign an NHL contract as an overage out of junior. I saw him play, liked their first contract. I see the growing pains every year, the development him a lot. Just couldn’t commit at that time to entry-level contract. We process. Eventually, there’s a payoff, they end up being a player in offered him an AHL contract, knowing full well it wouldn’t get it done. Tampa.” Barre-Boulet was in the same spot as Martel, except we signed him to NHL deal. I had learned from not signing Martel. I wasn’t going to do this This time last year, BriseBois was at the War Memorial watching twice. defenseman Erik Cernak grow into the Lightning staple he is today. He helped forward navigate the early scoring slump of his When you talk about your identity — “Is he a Bolt?” — you talk about first pro season; now the speedy fourth-round pick has blossomed with speed, smarts, skills. The word size has never come up. Why? Tampa Bay, earning last-minute and overtime shifts in his NHL debut. There are advantages to being a heavy guy, they have advantages that Center was a key cog for the Crunch last season. Now he other players that are smaller don’t have. But our identity is based on has an influence over most of the Lightning’s wins, according to Jon pace. If you’re a big guy and can’t play with pace, you can’t play for us. Cooper. Really, that’s what it comes down to. So why go after those guys? Now BriseBois is keeping an eye on the pipeline as the Lightning enter Gourde, pound for pound, is arguably the strongest guy in our their bye week and All-Star break with a double-digit lead in the Atlantic organization. He’s a little guy. Division. I sat with him for part of the Crunch’s shootout loss against Utica recently on a chilly Friday night, with BriseBois offering his insights A big guy, former first-rounder Cal Foote. How is he in his progression? into the organization’s development strategy, how it finds gems like Alex Barre-Boulet, and why the Lightning have been open to trading six of Cal is in his first year pro. It’s a big learning experience. Obviously, in their past eight players drafted in the first round in order to find a “missing October we didn’t have a lot of games. Spent a lot of time practicing, piece” in their Stanley Cup quest. That makes Tampa Bay a team to trying to extend his summer. Also, (he) did that first month as if it was still watch ahead of Feb. 25’s trade deadline. summer, extra workouts in the gym, extra skating after practice. I think what we’ve seen there is more calmness to his game, catching up to Do you see guys like Cal Foote and (Alex Barre-Boulet) as the next wave pace of the competition.” for this team? How about Alex Volkov (former second-rounder). He was one of the last I don’t know who the next guys are going to be. But I like that we have a cuts in (Lightning) camp the past two seasons. He obviously made an great number of them that have the potential to move up and be the next impression on the staff. Is he close to NHL? (Volkov has 23 points (10 (Editor’s note: We sat down with Groulx recently to watch a Lightning- goals) in 38 games for the Crunch this season). Stars game, getting his perspective on developing, coaching and his former players now with Tampa Bay). He has all the tools. And with most players at this level, it’s a matter of consistency, bringing your ‘A’ game night in, night out. He certainly has Do you have more pride watching these AHL games than when you the tools. He’s only 20 years old. He’s a young, second-year player in watch in Tampa? this league, and the future is very bright for him. Pride-wise, they’re the same. The experience is different. You’re not Defenseman Slater Koekkoek (29) recently became the latest Lightning looking at things the same way. With the Lightning, you’re looking at how first-rounder to be traded. “Even if they don’t end up playing for you, good are we today? In (the AHL), you’re still looking at how good are we they’ll end up playing somewhere else and you end up moving them and today? That’s part of making sure we have a good program. But it’s also, maybe getting the missing piece to put your team over the top at the NHL ‘OK, how are we trending? How are players trending individually?’ Which level,” BriseBois said. (Kim Klement / USA Today) is also true at the NHL level, only the paradigms are a little different.

With dealing Slater Koekkoek (that day to Chicago for defenseman Jan How many Crunch games do you watch a year? Rutta), you have now traded six of the past eight guys you took in the first round. Before the GM of the Lightning, I’d say 45 Crunch games, give or take. Now, this is like 12. I’ll watch them on TV, every now and then both Really? teams play at the same time, sometimes I’ll watch it later on. Or I’ll watch specific shifts. Sometimes I’ll talk to the coach and if he’s already given Well, Koekkoek (first-rounder in 2012), Jonathan Drouin, Brett Connolly, me the whole story, I may not watch it. … Now all you have to do is talk Steve Yzerman into taking the Crunch GM Connolly was part of our development program, he’s an NHL player. He job, and you’re all set. was part of the connected trade with Boston for two picks, got (defenseman Braydon Coburn) from Philly, he’s still with us and an (Laughs). We did have a stretch there where we went to see (the important member of the organization the last five years. We turned Crunch) three different weekends together. We saw them in Cleveland, Slater into a good asset. Namestnikov, he went through the development saw them in Rochester, and Toronto. (Yzerman) likes coming here, too. program, he’s still in the NHL, traded him for (Ryan) McDonagh and (J.T.) Miller, they’re a big part of our team. (Andrei Vasilevskiy, taken in The Athletic LOADED: 01.25.2019 first round in 2012), is still here. (Anthony) DeAngelo ended up being Libor Hajek (taken with the pick acquired from Arizona in DeAngelo trade), and he was part of the McDonagh-Miller trade. Drouin is (Mikhail) Sergachev. (Brett) Howden, who is in the NHL right now. So the scouts did a good job. There were not too many misses by our scouting staff when you see it that way.

So you can view the first-round picks as assets, too, trade-wise.

Exactly. If you do a good job and develop all the players you’re drafting, which is impossible to do — we haven’t been able to do that. Even if they don’t end up playing for you, they’ll end up playing somewhere else and you end up moving them and maybe getting the missing piece to put your team over the top at the NHL level.

(The former first-rounders) have moved. But now that you mention it, going through those names, I’m impressed with how our scouts have done. They haven’t missed.

It also helps that you hit with your middle-rounders, like Cirelli, Joseph, Point.

That’s huge. (Kucherov) is a second-round pick. Identifying the talent, that credit goes to (scouting director) Al Murray and his team. They’ve done an unreal job. It’s really a collaborative effort. Usually, it’s someone that puts them on the radar. But, regionally, those scouts deserve credit. At that point, Al Murray is going to be involved, (Yzerman) involved, (assistant GM) Pat Verbeek.

You saw Point in junior, right? How did he fall to the third round?

Size. And skating. It’s crazy now to say because of how good a skater he is, but his skating was not what it is today.

You traded for Carter Verhaeghe, who was playing in the (East Coast Hockey League). How is he doing? (Verhaeghe, a former Leafs third- rounder, has 44 points – 17 goals – in 39 games).

He’s really worked on his skating. He’s been a good player here. We’ve had good success with (skating coach) Barb Underhill, our coaches, our strength coaches. Skating, that’s one thing we’ve had the most success improving.

Why do you think (Crunch coach) Ben Groulx will be an NHL coach someday?

A combination. His standards are very high. He gets the players to perform at this standard. His hockey mind is — he’s literally a hockey genius. His hockey mind is incredible. The details he picks up on. He’s been coaching forever. His dad was a longtime coach. Not unlike Bill Belichick, I don’t want to overreach in my comparison, but there’s something to that. (Groulx’s) dad essentially groomed him to be a coach. He’s got an incredible hockey mind. He can read people so well. Has street smarts. 1127609 Toronto Maple Leafs just one goal in his previous six games. But he’s still on pace to become just the third Leaf to score 50 goals in a season.

Now, the phrase “on pace” isn’t a forecast. As Toronto coach Mike For all their critics, these Maple Leafs are pretty good Babcock likes to say, the league “tightens” down the stretch. It’s a rule of thumb that it gets more difficult to score as it does.

But if lower-scoring games will be the order of the coming days, Toronto By DAVE FESCHUK might still find a way to win its share. Andersen, after another night of solid work in Wednesday’s 6-3 win over the Capitals, comes into the break nursing a .923 save percentage. A Maple Leafs goaltender hasn’t Given how hockey fans in Leafland are taught from a young age to detect put up a full-season number more impressive since Jacques Plante led fatal flaws in the local NHL team, Toronto’s pre-all-star-break downturn the league with a .944 mark in 1970-71 at the remarkable age 42. As had the inbox filling with no shortage of definitive diagnoses. reliable as Andersen has been, it made sense that he finished third in midseason Vezina Trophy voting behind Anaheim’s John Gibson and Their defence is undermanned. They’re too easy to push around. They’re Vegas’s Marc-Andre Fleury. The Leafs haven’t boasted the Vezina far too reliant on Frederik Andersen’s excellence in net. Their impending winner since Johnny Bower and Terry Sawchuk shared the award in trip to salary-cap hell will tear this team apart. When June rolls around 1964-65. and only one of the league’s 16 playoff teams hoists the Stanley Cup, chances are some or all of the above will be cited as the death knell of With all the potentially historic milestones hanging in the balance when another post-season run. the season recommences next Friday, maybe it’s only fitting that if the playoffs began today, we’d be watching a series featuring Toronto and William Nylander and Nazem Kadri, centre, help celebrate Nikita Montreal for the first time in 40 years. If the Leafs were to prevail in that Zaitsev’s first goal of the season on Wednesday night. And as the Leafs theoretical first-round best-of-seven (wherein Toronto, as the No. 2 seed headed into the all-star break, there was plenty more to get excited in the Atlantic Division, would enjoy home advantage), it’d be Toronto’s about. first post-season victory over their ancient rivals since the Stanley Cup William Nylander and Nazem Kadri, centre, help celebrate Nikita final in 1967. And if that doesn’t sound like a potential harbinger for an Zaitsev’s first goal of the season on Wednesday night. And as the Leafs extraordinary, legend-making spring — well, with 33 regular-season headed into the all-star break, there was plenty more to get excited games still left to play, clearly we’re getting ahead of ourselves. about. (RICHARD LAUTENS / TORONTO STAR) There’s a lot about these Maple Leafs that’s been good, but there’s a But given the Maple Leafs won’t play again until Feb. 1 in Detroit — and long way to go to great. given they left for vacation on the heels of a win over the defending Toronto Star LOADED: 01.25.2019 champions from Washington that put them on pace to finish with 103 points in the standings, the second-highest total in franchise history behind last year’s 105 — it’s worth taking stock of a few things going right with this season, too. Speaking of that undermanned defence, Morgan Rielly is on pace for an 83-point season, which is notable. A Maple Leafs defenceman has never breached the 80-point mark — Ian Turnbull and Borje Salming coming closest in 1976-77, when they registered 79 and 78 points, respectively. Perhaps not surprisingly, it was announced Thursday that Rielly finished second to Calgary’s Mark Giordano in midseason voting for the Norris Trophy conducted by the Professional Hockey Writers Association. The voting doesn’t count for anything; it’s a conversation starter during what’s traditionally a slow news week in the NHL. Still, last season half of the PHWA’s midseason winners ended up with the actual prize in question when the end-of-season results were tallied in June. Given Rielly’s prominence on a highly scrutinized Toronto defensive corps, it’s hard to imagine he’s going to disappear from the Norris Trophy picture anytime soon. Which is intriguing in itself. A member of the Montreal Canadiens has won the Norris 12 times. Bobby Orr won it eight times as a Bruin. Multiple members of the Red Wings, Rangers and Blackhawks have won it, too. The Maple Leafs remain the only one of the so-called Original Six franchises yet to win it. And Rielly has a chance to win more than one award. He finished second to Florida’s Aleksander Barkov in midseason voting for the Lady Byng Trophy, which goes to the player who combines “the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct” with a high standard of play. Rielly has compiled just four minutes in penalties in 49 games. Toronto winger Mitch Marner has logged 16 minutes in the box. But the team will presumably forgive those indulgences considering the 21-year- old winger finds himself on pace for a 103-point season. A Leaf hasn’t hit triple digits since Doug Gilmour had 111 points in 1993-94. And if you adjust for era — factoring in how Marner is playing in a lower-scoring version of the NHL than the one Gilmour dominated — Marner is flirting with authoring one of the most impressive offensive seasons in the post- 1967 history of the club. So Marner and Rielly, it’s fair to say, are in the midst of special seasons. And they’re not even Toronto’s all-stars. Those would be Auston Matthews and John Tavares, both of whom will partake in the festivities in San Jose this weekend. Matthews, though he scored just two goals in the 14 games that preceded the break, is still on track for a 40-goal season (assuming, after a 14-game absence with a shoulder injury, he plays his maximum 68 games). That’s a 48-goal pace for an 82-game-campaign, awfully impressive. And as for Tavares, though his much-ballyhooed off-season signing and $11 million U.S. annual average salary have made it difficult for him to exceed expectations, you can make the case he’s done exactly that. Tavares, too, will arrive in San Jose riding a minislump, having scored 1127610 Toronto Maple Leafs

All-stars Matthews and Tavares get a kick out of 3-on-3

By KEVIN MCGRAN

Both Auston Matthew and John Tavares seem genuinely excited to head to this weekend’s all-star festivities in San Jose, Calif. And the highlight will be Saturday night’s 3-on-3 games. “The 3-on-3 is fun,” said Matthews, who is appearing in his third all-star game. John Tavares, left, and Auston Matthews are the Leafs’ representatives at this weekend’s all-star festivities. “The competitiveness amps up a little bit,” said Tavares, who is making his sixth all-star appearance, but his first as a Maple Leaf. “Also, with the more space and more room, and with the creativity and the speed of the game ... guys can really go out there and put on a good show for the fans. Because I think that’s what it’s obviously meant to be about.” The format seems to be the best the league has come up with. Gone are the days of a full 60-minute game featuring East vs. West or North America vs. Europe, with the scores getting out of hand and players not really trying. Instead, fans get their 60 minutes of hockey in three mini 20-minute games: Atlantic vs. Metropolitan and Central vs. Pacific with the winners playing off for the championship. It’s a full evening of skills-based 3-on-3 hockey, looking very much like overtime hockey but for a much longer stretch. “You try to score a few goals, make a few nice plays, and try to show that side of the game,” said Tavares. It also makes teammates — for a day — of divisional rivals, who are often friends. Matthews will play with Buffalo’s Jack Eichel. Tavares will line up with Tampa Bay’s Steve Stamkos. “You go to battle so many times against those guys over the years, that sometimes it’s kind of nice to be on the same side for a little bit,” said Tavares. “I think you have to enjoy that, put the competitiveness aside for a day and show that mutual respect you have for each other.” Kevin McGran is a sports reporter based in Toronto. Toronto Star LOADED: 01.25.2019 1127611 Toronto Maple Leafs

All-star weekend a mix of business and pleasure for Leafs’ John Tavares

By MARK ZWOLINSKI

You know that commercial where John Tavares lives at a hockey rink? Part of it is true. Tavares, in his appearance for a mattress company, has flummoxed a rink worker who sees Tavares at the rink at all hours, even sleeping in the middle of the ice overnight. Leafs centre John Tavares will be making his sixth all-star appearance this weekend in San Jose, Calif. It might be a fictional character, but Tavares has some similar real-life qualities — dedication and commitment — that have led to another all- star game appearance With the Washington Capitals in town Wednesday, the all-star weekend and Alex Ovechkin’s decision to skip the festivities became a piece of conversation in the Leafs dressing room. Tavares certainly understood Ovechkin’s decision. Thirteen years into his career, Ovechkin finally won his first Stanley Cup last spring and has played as much hockey over the past calendar year as anyone in the league. At 33, Ovechkin opted out of the game, accepting a one-game suspension for doing so. Tavares, 28 and making his sixth all-star appearance, still relishes the experience. He and Auston Matthews will represent the Leafs in San Jose, Calif., this weekend. “No, never …” Tavares said about opting out of an all-star game. “But for sure, I understand what goes into that decision. One day, I won’t be playing the game anymore, so, just go out and enjoy the all-star experience and the players there. Hopefully I get a few more (appearances). But you also see and know your own body, what it’s been through, so I can understand the feelings that (Ovechkin) has.” Tavares sees the all-star game as another opportunity to grow. He has been celebrated as a player who continually strives to be better, and Leafs head coach Mike Babcock often refers to him as a player others can observe and pick up details to apply to their own games. The all-star weekend, though, tends to be more of a celebration of player’s talents, from the skills competition Frida night to the offence-first 3-on-3 games Saturday. Tavares says there is still a learning experience. “I’ve been fortunate to be around those guys, from my first game, guys like and Martin St. Louis, it was great to be able to talk to them. You want to strive to have that same level of success, the drive, the commitment. I was just starting out in my career but, being around those guys and seeing what they do, it was very beneficial for me.” Tavares also absorbed lessons from Ovechkin, just by being around him and watching how he handles himself. “It’s remarkable what he’s done in his career,” Tavares said. “We can talk about the greatest goal-scorer in our game — and that’s something, when you see all the great players in the game — but in his situation, there’s no doubt he’s that. And then you look at all the distractions and the things that have happened around him, and he’s not let any of it deter from who he is. He’s grown as a person and a player, and it’s something special to see. “He’s always been very competitive. Everyone saw how he was in the Stanley Cup and it’s his drive to play the game … I always thought of him as a great goal-scorer but, for me, as a younger player and watching him and being around him at the all-star game, I realized how much there is to growing your own game, and that growing happens at an all-star game, too. You realize that when you get to the ultimate prize, you will do anything it takes to win that prize ... you saw that in Ovie.” Tavares intends to enjoy the weekend but, true to form, he won’t take his eye off the regular season. “Afterwards, when you are trying to get some R&R, you are still preparing yourself for the second half. I think that stays in the back of your mind, what’s to come.” Mark Zwolinski is a sports reporter based in Toronto Toronto Star LOADED: 01.25.2019 1127612 Toronto Maple Leafs

Maple Leafs' ECHL coach Ryane Clowe exits

Terry Koshan

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS Leafs' ECHL coach exits NHL Let Marner, Matthews have another shot and other thoughts as Maple Leafs take a break TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS First NHL all-star games were anything but tame TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS LEAFS STREETER: Are you worried? Ryane Clowe has stepped down from his position of head coach of the Maple Leafs’ ECHL affiliate, the Newfoundland Growlers, the club announced on Thursday. The move is effective immediately, with medical reasons behind Clowe’s departure. The Telegram in St. John’s reported that Clowe continues to deal with concussion-related issues that date to his NHL career, which ended in 2014. Assistant coach John Snowden has been promoted to Growlers head coach, while the search to hire a new assistant will begin. Clowe will remain in the Leafs organization in a role to be determined. Toronto Sun LOADED: 01.25.2019 1127613 Toronto Maple Leafs Nylander remains on one goal in the 21 games since his return, but count on more consistency from him in February, March and April.

As Kadri said late on Wednesday night: “He is too good not to be Let Marner, Matthews have another shot and other thoughts as Maple productive.” Leafs take a break The bonus for the Leafs is that Nylander as a true threat should allow Babcock, when all players are healthy, to settle on his lines. Terry Koshan 3. If the playoffs started today, the Leafs would play the Montreal Canadiens in the first round, and would have home-ice advantage. Three thoughts on the Maple Leafs as they settle in to enjoy a seven-day Can we close our eyes and dream for this matchup? break: You’re damn right. Fingers crossed and all that. 1. Coach Mike Babcock couldn’t possibly break up Auston Matthews and The Leafs have 62 points to the Canadiens’ 61, and have two games in Mitch Marner after just one game together, could he? hand. Montreal moved past the Boston Bruins on Wednesday night with Yes, he could. a win against Arizona, pushing Boston down into wild-card territory. It’s entirely possible Matthews and Marner — and Patrick Marleau, for If nothing else, a Leafs-Canadiens first round would be nice break for the that matter — won’t be going over the boards as one when the Leafs visit collective psyche of Leafs Nation, as another meeting with the Bruins the Detroit Red Wings next Friday in their first game after the all-star might send Toronto fans over the edge. break/bye week. There’s much more to consider. There’s a fine history between the It’s also possible the trio stays intact to have another crack at Original Six clubs, and the Leafs and Canadiens have met 15 times in demonstrating to Babcock that it’s worthy. the playoffs, but not since 1979. There are a number of factors to consider. Andreas Johnsson could be During regular-season games in Montreal between the clubs — and ready to return after missing one game with a concussion, and Babcock there are two to come, on Feb. 9 and April 6 — the atmosphere in the might not be amenable to simply slotting Johnsson on the fourth line with Bell Centre is unlike anything we’ve experienced in other buildings Par Lindholm and Frederik Gauthier. If he does not do that, there would across the NHL. be an impact on the rest of the lines. There’s something in the air on those nights, and we can’t imagine how Babcock liked the William Nylander-Nazem Kadri-Connor Brown trio in electric the arena would be in the playoffs with the Leafs as visitors. We the win against the Washington Capitals on Wednesday night, for good figure it would be similar in Scotiabank Arena, given the 40 years that reason. The three combined for nine points and was the Leafs’ most have passed since the most recent playoff meeting. effective during five-on-five play. A plea to the hockey gods: Make it happen. Also impactful, but not as often, was the line of John Tavares between 4. Bonus thought: Is the all-star skills competition on Friday night in San Zach Hyman and Kasperi Kapanen. Though only Tavares had a point, an Jose a true showcase of the NHL’s most talented players considering assist on a Matthews goal on the Leafs’ only power play, the three Mitch Marner won’t be anywhere near it? combined for 23 shot attempts. No. Where it gets interesting is taking into account what Babcock said after the Leafs beat Washington. He was complimentary of the Kadri line and Toronto Sun LOADED: 01.25.2019 of the Tavares line. When asked whether he would keep the Matthews line together after the break, Babcock said he didn’t know and would have to watch the game. That doesn’t sound promising. And it was curious to hear Matthews say afterward about playing with Marner: “I’m not sure Babs likes it too much, but I enjoyed playing with him a lot.” Matthews and Marner would have loved to have had a true shot together long ago. Babcock must keep the team’s greater interests in mind, and perhaps he will decide that he has to have more defensive trust in Marner and Matthews before committing to something over the longer term. But Babcock wanted more production going into the game against Washington, considering the Leafs’ piling up of losses in recent weeks, and that’s what he got from his new-look lines. We say let Marner and Matthews have another go at it, at least in Detroit. Do that, and the Kadri and Tavares lines also have another opportunity to gel. 2. Are we finally seeing the William Nylander that we figured we would when the winger signed a six-year contract on Dec. 1? It appears so, yes. What we liked in Nylander’s game versus the Capitals wasn’t just a career-high three assists by the 22-year-old. Nylander hustled, back-checked and made plays happen. Along with Travis Dermott, he chased down Alex Ovechkin deep in the Leafs’ end before the play swung back up the ice and he set up Nikita Zaitsev for the Leafs’ second goal. If Babcock so chooses, he will have plenty of good examples to show Nylander on video from the game once the Leafs are back next week. Nylander jokingly said following the victory that it’s too bad the break comes at a time when he is hitting his stride. Nylander indicated that he has been feeling himself for the past six or seven games; we think he should be able to use that as a springboard into the Leafs’ final 33 games. 1127614 Toronto Maple Leafs ($650 million US for Seattle). I just don’t want the sport to be over-sold. It’s still a good game on its own.”

TWELVE ALL-STAR GAME MOMENTS First NHL all-star games were anything but tame 1934 — The Ace Bailey Benefit, forerunner of today’s ASG, was organized after the Leaf defenceman’s career was ended by head injury Lance Hornby from a deliberate Eddie Shore hit. Much of the drama took place at the opening ceremony where the Bruins’ Shore and Bailey met. No one knew what to expect, until Bailey extended his hand in forgiveness and cheers erupted. When Dick Duff took part in an NHL all-star game, he doesn’t recall much mingling of opposing players and definitely no skills contests, 3-on-3 1947 — To create a new player benevolence fund, the champion Leafs format, photo ops or corporate schmoozing. first met the stars, inviting them to a Hamilton-Toronto CFL football game as part of the festivities. Rocket Richard had two third-period points in the The Hall of Fame winger came from an era when the Stanley Cup NHL’s 4-3 win. champions met the best of the rest of the Original Six, a more fierce affair, with significantly fewer prizes on the line than today’s $1 million for 1968 — Though the Leafs already showed signs of decline after their the winning division. fourth Cup in six years and were about to miss the playoffs, they pulled it together to beat an expanded NHL roster in the last ASG of its kind. “One year, all we got were shaving kit bags,” laughed Duff, who Toronto forward Brian Conacher was among those wearing a helmet appeared in seven all-star games for both the champion Maple Leafs and after the recent death of Minnesota North Stars’ Bill Masterton from a Canadiens, as well as the aggregate of NHL greats. “But with only six game-related head injury. teams, that game still meant a lot. You played each other 14 times in the season, so there were lots of intense rivalries, certainly no love lost 1973 — A few months after the Summit Series, national heroes Paul between the Leafs, Canadiens and Detroit Red Wings. The Cup teams Henderson of the Leafs and Boston’s Phil Esposito hooked up again on didn’t want to lose the all-star game and if you’re on the other side, you Henderson’s second-period goal to lead the East Division over the West, wanted to beat them.” 5-4 at MSG in New York. The 82-year-old Duff said being picked for the NHL squad was 1976 — Toronto defenceman Borje Salming became the first European- considered a huge honour, then and now. Until 1965, the ASG came in trained player in an ASG. October, perfect timing for all concerned to get fired up about the new season. 1980 — Darryl Sittler and Guy Lafleur assisted on a Ron Stackhouse goal at the new Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. A few months later, when “It was a big deal,” he said. “The boss team who’d won the Cup had Terry Fox’s Marathon Of Hope came through Toronto, Sittler gave his some arrogance. We all played that game tough, but there was none of Campbell Conference sweater to Fox. the real cuckoo stuff.” 1983 — At a pre-game reception at the game in Landover, Md., players In the second all-star gathering in 1948 at Chicago Stadium, a young got to meet U.S. president Ronald Reagan. Gordie Howe was in one of the fights that would dot the event through the next 20 years, taking on Toronto’s Gus Mortson. Even perceived 1991 — America was anxious to show its patriotism in the just-begun first gentlemen such as Red Kelly once dropped their gloves. Right up to the Gulf War. The glass at Chicago Stadium shook from the roar of the U.S, 1968 game at , the last one under the champs-vs.- anthem, then Vincent Damphousse of the Leafs netted four goals to win stars format, Howe and Mike Walton of the Leafs went off for roughing. MVP — and a new convertible. “I never really did like the fighting,” Duff said of the times. “Playing 1999 — With a goal and three assists, Mats Sundin was no doubt hockey was demanding enough during the season and fighting took more thinking he’d net the Dodge Durango truck prize. But Wayne Gretzky out of you.” poured it on with a goal and two helpers as North America beat the World team 8-6, the 17th vehicle Gretzky won as ASG and season MVPs. The odd stick call and obstruction minor lingered until the first penalty- free ASG in 1992, ironically at the Philadelphia Spectrum. By then, 2000 — More than half a million people voted for Sundin and Curtis scores were already climbing to the double digits and hitting discouraged Joseph for the first ASG at Toronto’s new Air Canada Centre. Leafs against big-ticket players. That’s also when the showcase element took coach Pat Quinn and predecessor Roger Neilson were behind the precedence and cities, especially expansion markets, competed to host benches. it. The league and its major sponsors brought in a second day of 2011 — Media-shy Leaf Phil Kessel was the last one picked under the activities, an alumni game and other festivities. new player draft system, though he got a car and a $20,000 charitable The new bragging rights for players were all about hardest shot, donation as consolation. His Team Lidstrom nipped Team Staal 11-10 at accuracy shooting and fastest skater. How would Duff have fared in one Raleigh, N.C.. of those contests, or maybe Bobby Hull’s shot with a radar gun or Yvan 2016 — The league moved to the current four-team 3-on-3 tournament. Cournoyer on one lap of the ice? Hefty John Scott, winner of the fan vote, scored two goals and was “There are lots of skilled players now and it’s not fair to compare the carried off the ice as MVP. times,” Duff said. “You look at each decade by itself and judge the Toronto Sun LOADED: 01.25.2019 number of games played and the number of teams in the league. The top players have to deal with different things. And the goalies, too. With curved sticks coming in (during the ‘60s), pucks no longer came at them in a direct line. They’d get hit in the eye or had their nose broken. They lived in fear. “We didn’t have the same (creativity) as today. We’d get locked down into systems, one guy on each side. It was disciplined, kitty-bar-the-door if you had the lead, with two defencemen and at least one forward staying back. But it’s still important today to have a defenceman who can move the puck out quick, whether it’s Doug Harvey, Bobby Orr or like that young guy in Toronto (Morgan Rielly). They took the red line out, it changed a lot of things.” For Duff, the route to success will always be about the blades. “When I was in Toronto, we were able to knock off Montreal a couple of times in the playoffs because we had Dave Keon, Frank Mahovlich, Bob Pulford, the guys who could skate.” Curiosity will likely draw Duff to the TV to watch some of this weekend’s all-star activities. “I realize the game has changed,” he said. “It was a lot of money to get an expansion franchise in 1967 for $2 million and now they’re worth 1127615 Vegas Golden Knights Maurice recalled a buzz in the building that was called San Jose Arena at the time for the five Hall of Famers.

“That was what was great,” Maurice said. “You’re in a southern market Sharks replace Golden Knights in NHL All-Star media spotlight and they still have that awareness of who was on the ice. It was a really big deal.” By David Schoen / Las Vegas Review-Journal LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 01.25.2019 SAN JOSE, Calif. — The Golden Knights were a popular topic at their first All-Star Game when they had three representatives and topped the Western Conference standings. A year later, it was a different scene at Thursday’s NHL All-Star Media Day. Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, the Knights’ lone representative, was one of a handful of players who were not in attendance for the event at City National Civic Auditorium. Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby, Los Angeles’ Drew Doughty and Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon were among the all-stars that were absent. Fleury was unable to attend due to a change in his schedule, according to a Knights team spokesperson. Coach Gerard Gallant, Fleury and James Neal represented the Knights at last year’s All-Star Game in Tampa, Florida, and had media from across Canada and the U.S. asking about the expansion team’s historic 32-12-4 start. This season, the Knights hit the break third in the Pacific Division at 29- 19-4 and were no longer a curiosity. The host Sharks drew much of the attention during the Pacific Division team’s availability, with at least two “Let’s go, Sharks” chants from the teal-clad crowd. San Jose defensemen Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson joined captain Joe Pavelski, and each had a large media throng at their pods. “We definitely want to put on a good show for them and give them something to cheer about,” Pavelski said. “We’re going to go out and have some fun and hopefully score a couple goals and make a few plays and go from there.” Karlsson confirmed he will participate in Friday’s skills competition along with the 3-on-3 tournament Saturday at SAP Center. He missed the Sharks’ past three games with a lower-body injury. “It’s in San Jose. It’s for this organization, and this city, and this community, this fan base, and I’m a part of that,” Karlsson said. “I want to give my part and it’s important for me to be there for this weekend to give them back something. So I’m very happy that I was fortunate to participate and I’m looking forward to this just as much as everybody else, especially my two teammates. “I feel good. It’s the All-Star Game and I’m going to be able to do everything, so that’s a good start.” There were plenty of other storylines from the Pacific Division, with Calgary’s MVP candidate Johnny Gaudreau and Vancouver’s rookie sensation Elias Pettersson stepping into the spotlight. Meanwhile, Edmonton’s Connor McDavid faced questions about fired general manager Peter Chiarelli. “I’m not going to comment on it here,” McDavid said. “We’re here for the All-Star Game, and I want to enjoy that as much as I can. Obviously I understand the situation, but I think personally I want to enjoy the experience and focus on that later.” This is the first All-Star Game in San Jose since 1997, a contest that is best remembered for Sharks forward Owen Nolan’s “called shot” goal against Buffalo’s Dominik Hasek. Winnipeg coach was an assistant coach for the Eastern Conference and shared his memories from that game 22 years ago, including Hall of Fame defenseman Scott Stevens being “wired at the end of the game like it was Game 7.” “He didn’t hit anybody, but he was available if that needed to happen,” Maurice said with a smile. For the final shift, the Eastern Conference sent out defensemen Ray Bourque and Paul Coffey, along with forwards Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Mark Messier. 1127616 Vegas Golden Knights With all the time Marchessault spends on the road, he said he prefers to spend time at home rather than going out a lot.

“I’m a big fan of cooking and staying home with the kids,” he said. He Golden Knights’ Marchessault gives tour of Las Vegas home — VIDEO added that he especially enjoys summertime barbecues held after the children have their in-home swimming lessons. By Susan Stone Real Estate Millions Their community offers a swimming pool and tennis courts, so they haven’t felt the need nor had the time to join the nearby TPC Summerlin Golf Club. One of Las Vegas’ most celebrated new residents, Golden Knights For their first Christmas in the new house, they erected a tall tree in the forward Jonathan Marchessault, has found the perfect place to spend home’s two-story, cupola-topped foyer and invited teammates Reilly time off the ice. Smith, Cody Eakin, Nick Holden and Jon Merrill, who had no family in town, over for Christmas dinner. Marchessault and his wife, Alexandra, graciously invited Real Estate Millions into their Summerlin home, on her birthday, no less. The home When asked how they feel their home stacks up against some of the was buzzing with three children, ages 9 months to 4; family members other Knights’ residences they’ve visited, they disregarded the and a team representative trying to facilitate our interview. opportunity to brag, saying that their tastes are all different. The house, located in Canyon Fairways, is on a one-third acre custom lot “Everyone has a really nice house. I would move in every one. There’s with a greenbelt view and was built in 2001. It has all the space and not a bad one,” Alexandra Marchessault said. What matters, they agreed potential a family of five — soon to be six, they just announced — could is, “everyone makes it their own.” wish for, including six en suite bedrooms, two powder rooms, two fireplaces, formal living and dining rooms, family room, pool and outdoor The home will be theirs as long as the family lives in Las Vegas, she kitchen. insisted. They bought the two-story, 6,600-square-foot house last March after “With the kids, it’s the perfect setup for us. We like it here. It’s a good Marchessault signed a six-year extension of his contract with the Knights neighborhood, there’s a lot of trees. We’re not moving,” she said. worth $30 million, and they say they’re planning to live here for a very long time. They love the area and wanted a home where all their children could have their own rooms. LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 01.25.2019 “We like to do a little design for every kid,” Marchessault said. “They have their own personal space, which we really like about the house.” Their 2-year-old daughter, Victoria, has a room that is painted pink and purple and holds a canopy bed. “She has the biggest bathroom, because at some point, she’s gonna need it, if she’s like her mom,” he said, joking that Victoria walks about the house with a backpack filled “with makeup, a cellphone, a couple credit cards … the usual.” With two of the bedrooms on the first floor, it is a multigenerational house, and family members have already made use of them. All of the bedrooms are a good size, including the master, at 20-feet-by-18-feet. In a Jan. 21 Las Vegas Review-Journal interview, Marchessault said one of his strategies is to not over-think his game, to just stick to the basics. That appears to be the strategy the couple have applied in their approach to making the house their own. They didn’t hire a designer, Alexandra Marchessault said, because: “We know what we want. We have similar tastes, and we used to remodel houses (in their native Quebec).” But they left the actual work to be done by professionals, Jonathan Marchessault said, “because I’m not that much of a handyman.” The family is well into a full remodeling of the house, and they plan tackling a few DIY landscape projects this summer when their children go off to camp. “We don’t know anything about it, but we will try,” he said. Restoration Hardware is their go-to resource for design inspiration. They have updated the two downstairs powder rooms with new cabinets and fixtures and added a black-and-white floral wallpaper. A first-floor gym and office were combined into a large playroom where the children have space to do crafts or shoot hoops. They also created a mini-hockey rink on the patio, where James, their oldest son, butts sticks with his famous father, when he’s not taking lessons at City National Arena, where the Golden Knights practice. The carpeting on the main floor was replaced with wood flooring, blending with the original marble floors and new light fixtures. The kitchen layout works for them, so they kept it intact, but the mahogany cabinets didn’t, so they painted them white. The sink, backsplash and granite countertops were replaced with clean, contemporary choices. Overall, the home has a casual, light feel, expansive but without any sense of clutter — something that’s hard for parents with three children in residence to pull off. They want to redo all of the bathrooms on the upper floor next, especially the spacious master bath, which has the original elevated spa tub with separate shower and original granite countertops. It has an exterior balcony with a lovely view of the backyard pool and greenbelt. 1127617 Vegas Golden Knights

Finger biting in Golden Knights-Predators game in dispute

By Ben Gotz / Las Vegas Review-Journal

The Golden Knights game against the Nashville Predators turned into a hockey version of the viral video “Charlie bit my finger” Wednesday. Predators defenseman P.K. Subban got tangled up with Knights center Pierre-Edouard Bellemare in front of the Nashville net with 27 seconds left in the second period and came out claiming his right hand had been bitten. Bellemare was hunched over and Subban had his arm around Bellemare’s neck and mouth. Subban tried to pull him up, but the French forward denied biting down. “Obviously, when he put his hand there, he removed my mouth guard and he tried to pull me up, so obviously he’s feeling teeth and he’s acting on it,” Bellemare said after the Knights’ 2-1 loss. “He started yelling ‘I bit him, I bit him.’ I mean, if you put your hand all the way in the mouth and you pull up you’re going to feel the teeth.” Tensions flared after the incident as Subban, after shaking his right hand, came back and started to talk to Bellemare. Knights forward Ryan Reaves skated at Subban to protect his teammate and was pinned to the glass by an official. Subban and Reaves both were given unsportsmanlike conduct penalties for the incident, and Subban was also given a roughing minor. “He bit me. My finger was bleeding,” Subban said. “All I tried to do was grab him, I grabbed him by the head to pull him up and he bit me. That’s it, I don’t know what to say. I don’t know how I walk out of there with four minutes in penalties.” Bellemare, who appeared to have cuts on his lip after the game, said he appreciated his teammate sticking up for him. Reaves just said he wanted Subban to “stop shaking his hand.” “I think it’s a teammate sticking up for a teammate,” Knights assistant coach Mike Kelly said. “I think it’s a good thing.” The viral video comparisons continued Thursday when a billboard appeared on East Tropicana Avenue and Swenson Street with a picture of Subban and the caption “BELLEMARE bit my finger….and it really HURT!,” a reference to “Charlie bit my finger.” Subban’s real and imagined protestations aren’t helping his cause though. The NHL Department of Player Safety will issue no extra punishments for the incident, per a league spokesperson. “For me, if it was anything other than that I probably wouldn’t have reacted the way I did,” Subban said. “When you get bit, when someone is biting your finger, I don’t know. It’s completely unexpected and it is what it is.”

LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 01.25.2019 1127618 Vegas Golden Knights

Golden Knights recall Oscar Dansk, reassign Maxime Lagace to AHL’s Wolves

By Adam Hill / Las Vegas Review-Journal January 24, 2019 - 12:18 am

Golden Knights goaltender Maxime Lagace has been reassigned to the team’s American Hockey League affiliate in Chicago in a move announced late Wednesday. Oscar Dansk has been recalled from Chicago to take his place on the roster. The transaction was likely made to allow Lagace, who has not played for the Knights since being recalled on Jan. 9, the opportunity to play while the Knights are on the All-Star break followed by the team’s bye week. Dansk is 14-6-1 for the Wolves this season with a 2.80 goals-against average and a .898 save percentage. The 24-year-old went 3-0-0 with a 1.78 GAA and .946 save percentage in four games for the Knights last season. Lagace, 25, is 9-6-0 for Chicago this season. He has a 2.72 GAA and a .898 save percentage after posting a 6-7-1 record with a 3.92 GAA and .867 save percentage in 16 games for the Knights last season. The Knights return to action on Feb. 1 in Carolina. Chicago plays at Cleveland on Thursday and Saturday. It’s unclear when backup goaltender Malcolm Subban will be able to return from injured reserve. He hasn’t played since recording a 3-2 win over New Jersey on Jan. 6.

LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 01.25.2019 1127619 Vegas Golden Knights expectations demand for a team that shattered records in its expansion season and sought to top it this season.

Fourteen games also remains a relatively small sample size. The Golden Analysis: Predators add to Golden Knights' struggles against top teams Knights still have 10 games left against the apparent elite eight — Tampa Bay, Nashville, Winnipeg, Calgary, Pittsburgh, Toronto, Washington, San Jose and Boston — and it would be no major surprise to see them By Case Keefer reverse the trend and push for a winning record against those teams over the rest of the regular season.

That would be a welcome sight for fans, because if the Golden Knights Advanced metrics and betting odds agree on the Stanley Cup picture as are to reach their goals, they’re going to have to improve against the top the NHL heads into its All-Star break: There are nine primary contenders. of the league. The good news is the Vegas Golden Knights are among that group. The “Tonight, San Jose the other day and Winnipeg I thought were all low- bad news is the Golden Knights have stood about as much of a chance scoring games,” Fleury said. “We had the puck a lot tonight, against San as a small pile of snow against a Zamboni when they’ve encountered Jose and Winnipeg also. I don’t think we’re far off.” those peers this season.

Vegas has routinely gotten flattened against the best teams in the league, going 4-10 versus the eight teams listed at 12-to-1 or less in the LAS VEGAS SUN LOADED: 01.25.2019 futures market at the Westgate Las Vegas Superbook. The latest loss was particularly deflating, as the Golden Knights dropped a 2-1 decision to the Nashville Predators Wednesday night to head into an eight-day vacation having lost two straight games and four of their last six. “It’s tough right before the break to lose like that,” defenseman Nate Schmidt said. The game against the Predators seemed set up to show that the Golden Knights had arrived and reached prime form to defend last year’s Western Conference championship over the second half of the regular season. It was the final nationally televised game ahead of Saturday’s All-Star festivities in San Jose, pitting two teams with identical 29-18-4 records. It drew a crowd of 18,477 fans to T-Mobile Arena, the third largest in regular-season history of a venue that’s turned into one of the NHL’s toughest places to play. And the Golden Knights appeared as hyped as their faithful, zipping to one of its best starts of the season in the opening 10 minutes. Vegas got one goal to show for it, when Max Pacioretty finished off perfect passes from Paul Stastny and Alex Tuch, but nothing else. Everything turned in the second period, as much of the raucous atmosphere drained from the building when Nashville’s Ryan Johansen and Nick Bonino scored in an early two-minute span. Like has happened all too often against fellow teams at the top of the standings, the Golden Knights couldn’t respond. That’s not to say they didn’t try. They controlled possession more often than the Predators, and posted edges in all shot metrics including a lopsided 26-15 in scoring chances. But they simply couldn’t solve Nashville goalie Juuse Saros, a fledgling Vegas villain who’s now 3-0 against the Golden Knights with 113 saves on 115 shots. The Predators had less trouble with Marc-Andre Fleury, as it took sensational late defensive plays from Schmidt and Colin Miller to prevent the margin from swelling beyond one goal. The Predators got fortuitous bounces on each of their two goals, which surely helped fans, and perhaps even players, console themselves after the loss. “I thought we played really hard and played a really good game,” assistant coach Mike Kelly said. “(Saros) was excellent.” That was the consensus in the locker room, though it was a little jarring coming from the same team that railed against the idea of bad puck luck contributing to its slow start of the season. They’ve certainly got some valid excuses for coming up short in some of their biggest games — the back-to-back and rare Fleury rest day in a 7-2 loss at Calgary, a stronger-than-the-score-indicated performance in a 4-1 loss at Winnipeg last week — but they only go so far when the losses are piling up. In the 14 aforementioned games against fellow contenders, the Golden Knights have now been outscored 45-35. “It feels like we’ve lost to good teams but we’re a good team too and we should have won some of those, but sometimes that’s how it goes,” Fleury said. “Overall, we’re in a good spot right now so we’ll relax a bit and get back at it when we come back.” The Golden Knights have every reason to be happy with their current standing. They’re comfortably in the playoffs with a chance to play into at least home-ice advantage in the first round. It’s somewhat petty to isolate how they’ve played against an arbitrary set of opponents and make an issue out of it. But that’s also what the 1127620 Vegas Golden Knights “I don’t know why he’s going absolutely crazy there,” Bellemare said. “I don’t know what to do in this situation. I have a half of a glove in my throat, and playing with the back of it and pulling me up. Inside the dressing rooms after ‘Bite-gate’ incident in Vegas “The ref didn’t say anything to me,” Bellemare said. “He came to me and said (what is) the situation and I told them ‘I don’t know what to tell you. I got choked. Choked and head locked.’” By Jesse Granger Jan 24, 2019 In the end Subban and Reaves received matching unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, and Subban was given an additional two-minute minor for roughing. It’s the most famous biting-related incident in Las Vegas since Mike Tyson sunk his teeth into Evander Holyfield’s ear in 1997. “I wasn’t involved with the referees conversation,” Golden Knights assistant coach Mike Kelly said. “We looked at it in the dressing room In a matter of moments, Nashville defenseman P.K. Subban went from after and it looked like a scuffle. We didn’t get a clear picture of it. As far administering a headlock on Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, to tossing his as I’m concerned it was a scuffle. Tempers ran high.” glove to the ice and shaking his bloody finger in agony, to nearly fighting Ryan Reaves. In the moment it seemed more violence in the third period was inevitable, but very little happened. The scene in front of the Predators’ net during Wednesday night’s contest between the Golden Knights and Predators was bizzare and “(Subban) came a few times and hit me in the back of the head,” chaotic. Bellemare said. “That’s the game. We lost the game and that has nothing to do with it, so it’s a tough loss.” It began with a relatively routine play. Bellemare crashed the front of the net as goaltender Juuse Saros covered a loose puck, and Subban tied The Predators went on to erase an early one-goal deficit to escape T- Bellemare up in front of the net. Mobile Arena with a 2-1 win despite being outshot 48-27. Saros stopped a career-high 47 shots to improve to 3-0 against the Golden Knights and Subban wrapped his right arm tightly around Bellemare’s neck with his help Nashville enter the All-Star break with a huge road win and hand smothering his face. momentum. “I’m in front of the net and I’m trying to get the rebound, and suddenly I’m Meanwhile Vegas limps into the break losing 4-of-6, but with the in a headlock with an entire glove in my mouth,” Bellemare told The confidence that it has played well and controlled play in most of those Athletic, impassioned in the dressing room with cuts around his mouth. games. “I’m choking, so obviously when he put his hand in there he removed my mouth guard, and then he tried to pull me up and he feels my teeth.” Subban immediately pulls away, both gloves falling to the ice, and is The Athletic LOADED: 01.25.2019 waving his fingers and motioning to the officials that he had been bitten. “He started yelling that I bit him, I bit him,” Bellemare said. “I don’t know what you have in your mouth, but if you put your hand all the way in at one point, and you pull up then you’re going to feel the teeth. I don’t know what the fuck he’s doing.” Subban obviously saw the situation differently. “He knows he bit me,” Subban said. “I’m not trying to rip his head off or anything like that, I’m not that type of player. So, it is what it is. He bit me, so, my finger was bleeding. All I tried to do was grab him. I grabbed him by the head to pull him up and he bit me, so that’s it.” After a few seconds of Subban pleading his case to the officials, he made a move toward Bellemare and teammate Ryan Reaves immediately intervened and attempted to fight Subban. “After that he came back and started to talk to me so I was like ‘All right, fuck, let’s go,’” Bellemare said. “Before anything happened Reavo jumped in there to protect me, so respect to him for that. That’s my (linemate) and I know he’s the kind of guy who’s going to jump and take a bullet for me. You have the biggest respect for those guys. ” Subban and Reaves never engaged as the officials quickly separated the two. The linesman clung desperately to Reaves’ waist, pulling him into the boards behind the Predators’ net as another grabbed Subban and escorted him in the opposite direction. “I don’t even know what started it, I just saw Subban coming at Belly with his gloves off, and I’m not going to let that happen,” Reaves said. “I know he had his gloves off before, but either way he’s coming at Belly with his gloves off so I’m obviously going to step in there.” Reaves and Subban exchanged words before Reaves made his way to the penalty box, and Subban to the dressing room. “I told him to stop shaking his hand,” Reaves said, implying Subban was embellishing. “Then he’s acting on it, so I don’t know what to tell you really,” Bellemare said, corroborating Reaves’ point. “He started yelling that I bit him, I bit him.” A frustrated Subban remained adamant after the game that he was unjustly punished for the whole situation. “I mean refs are human, they don’t have X-ray vision,” he said. “But once there’s evidence and there’s blood, I know you can’t assume to do it, but you are giving me four minutes in penalties for what? Because I reacted because a guy bit me? What am I supposed to do?” The officials spoke with Bellemare on the ice, who maintained that he never bit Subban. 1127621 Vegas Golden Knights

Golden Knights Head Into Break With Loss To Nashville and Increasing Attendance

By ALAN SNEL LVSportsBiz.com

Another monster crowd poured into T-Mobile Arena Wednesday evening, with 18,477 fans bearing witness to a red-hot back-up goalie by the name of Juuse Saros walling the Vegas Golden Knights in a 2-1 VGK loss to fellow Western Conference contender Nashville Predators. It was another close loss for the Golden Knights to a Western Conference playoff team as the VGK head into the All-Star Game break and bye week sitting in third place in the Pacific Division behind first place Calgary and San Jose. The crowd, the third biggest regular season gathering in Golden Knights history, watched Saros make every conceivable type of stop. His 47 saves were a personal record and Saros’ record improved to 12-6-1 — a top record for a back-up goaltender. Nashville goalie Juuse Saros was red-hot in the 2-1 win over VGK. I asked Schmidt after the game how a team solves a red-hot goalie. The VGK’s Pierre-Edouard Bellamare got involved with a scrap at the end of the second period. Predators star defenseman P.K. Subban, brother of injured VGK goalie Malcolm Subban and a popular celebrity in Nashville, shoved his gloved hand into Bellamare’s mouth and ripped Bellsy’s mouthguard out. At one point, Subban’s gloved hand was rubbing against Bellamare’s teeth inside his mouth, according to Bellsy. Here’s Bellsy during the scuffle and a video interview after the game. The Golden Knights played their 25th home game out of 52 games so far, showing a record of 29-19-4 for 62 points. The Knights’ attendance has been outstanding in season two, with VGK averaging 18,304 fans a game and filling T-Mobile Arena to 105.4 percent of capacity thanks to standing room only areas near the castle area, the top of upper bowl and the Hyde Lounge. Here’s one of the Knights’ top fans, Christopher Green. Official capacity is considered 17,367 at the Big Ice House on the Strip. The Knights rank 11th out of 31 NHL teams in attendance — but third in percentage capacity, trailing only Chicago (106.2 percent) and Minnesota (105.5 percent). Wednesday’s crowd was so huge that the game posters showing star goalie Marc-Andre Fleury were gone by 6:31 p.m. and the VGK staff were breaking down tables in the arena lobby, a VGK poster collector told LVSportsBiz.com. It was another game that the Golden Knights had a lead — forward Max Pacioretty scored to give the VGK a 1-0 edge in period one –but could not hold the lead. There’s Max Pacioretty getting congrats from his teammates after his goal. The Golden Knights’ popularity in the Las Vegas market makes T-Mobile Arena the place to be and be seen. Raiders owner Mark Davis is a frequent attendee, like he was tonight. Only one day earlier, the Golden Knights released information about season ticket price increases. VGK fans with five-year and 10-year deals will not face a season ticket price increase for year three in 2019-20, but fans with three-year deals faced double-digit-dollar increases per game.

LVSportsBiz.com LOADED: 01.25.2019 1127622 Washington Capitals Cup. At least for now, there hasn’t been so much damage done to their standings position that it can’t be repaired. Going into the all-star break, Washington is still second in the division. As Capitals unravel during losing streak, faltering defense a common “We understand there’s a lot of work to be done when we get back,” thread Reirden said. “I have a lot of confidence in our leadership group and the group in that room that have been through adversity and have shown their true colors when push comes to shove.” By Isabelle Khurshudyan

January 24 at 3:58 PM Washington Post LOADED: 01.25.2019

TORONTO — Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin stood in the dressing room in his usual postgame attire, a red towel around his waist and another around his shoulders, and he had little interest in discussing a losing streak so long it’s been five years since his team experienced one like it. Minutes earlier, center Nicklas Backstrom momentarily forgot exactly how many games the Capitals have lost in a row. It’s seven. “It’s done,” Ovechkin said abruptly to reporters' first question about it. He and his teammates have dissected what’s been going wrong often over the past two weeks, and there just wasn’t much left to say about it after Washington’s 6-3 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night. Over the past four-plus seasons, the Capitals have rarely lost two games in a row, much less seven. They struggled at times, but they developed a trend of responding before a skid got too bad — and that helped them consistently maintain a strong position in the standings. But as Washington now enters a break for the All-Star Game and then the team’s bye week, it’s the defensive struggles that have prevented the Capitals from stopping the bleeding, a concern for a team that won a Stanley Cup seven months ago with its stingy play. During the past five games, Washington has allowed a whopping 30 goals, including two seven spots and one game yielding eight. The Capitals' even-strength save percentage over the past 10 games is .871, second worst in the NHL. It feels like February of last season, when the team wasn’t playing well in front of goaltender Braden Holtby just as his own game was suffering, too. A trade-deadline acquisition of defenseman Michal Kempny and some late-season systematic changes helped turn things around, but Kempny is still on the roster and those changes are still in place. “I think [we] make too much mistakes, all of us,” Ovechkin said. “We know the system, it works.” It was a system that Coach Todd Reirden, then the Capitals' associate head coach, helped put in place when the team had a meeting last March to go over its defensive zone play. One issue was that Washington had gotten away from defending as a five-man unit. Here’s how forward T.J. Oshie explained it in April: “Kind of in the middle of the season, it felt like there was times where it seemed like guys were just man-on-man and guys were going everywhere; a defenseman would just take his forward and follow him all over the ice." It sounded similar to a point Holtby made Wednesday night. “It’s just being off that little bit with our timing and being on the same page,” he said. “When you’re at your best defensively, you do your job and you trust your teammate to do his. We’re trying to make up for one another, and that’s when it gets confusing. That’s when you start spending a lot of long shifts in your end and wearing down. We’ve just got to get back to trusting each other and get on the same page.” While Washington’s five-on-five play has deteriorated, penalties and a struggling penalty kill have compounded some of the miscues. The Capitals have allowed 40 power-play goals through 50 games, second only to the Colorado Avalanche’s 41, and that’s in large part because of Washington being called for 185 minor infractions. That’s the most in the league, and lately the penalties have come at inopportune times, sometimes right after the Capitals score a goal. In the past three games, Washington has allowed a goal within two minutes of its own four times. “Our execution in the [defensive] zone hasn’t been our best, so we need to get back to that,” Backstrom said. “I feel like we’re making it harder on ourselves in the [defensive] zone. Instead of just making the easy play and get going north, we’re sticking around there, so that’s something we’ve got to be better at.” The Capitals can take solace that their struggles aren’t unique for a defending champion. This downturn is potentially just the result of a long playoff run and a short offseason catching up to them, which the week- long break should help. They were a porous defensive team at this time last year, too, and weathering that ultimately helped get them hot just before the postseason, setting up their path to a franchise-first Stanley 1127623 Washington Capitals are battling for the final wild-card berth in the West. There is time to get this right, but it won’t correct itself.

Two quotes from two key players jumped out in colleague Isabelle What’s wrong with the Capitals? They have a week to figure it out. Khurshudyan’s game story from Toronto: “We’ve got to put the work in,” goalie Braden Holtby said. By Barry Svrluga “This is a work thing,” veteran Nicklas Backstrom said. Sports columnist Look, we knew parts of this post-Cup season would be difficult. When January 24 at 12:11 PM you have played the most meaningful games of your life, how do you get up for St. Louis on a Monday in January (4-1 loss) or San Jose on the following Tuesday (7-6 loss in overtime, which came after a buzzer- beating goal from the Sharks)? Five years ago Thursday, Alex Ovechkin sat out because of a lower body injury, 41-year-old Jaromir Jagr dished out two assists for New Jersey, The answer: You better figure out a way. And if a lack of work is the and the Washington Capitals lost to the Devils, 2-1. Their seventh problem, well, that’s unacceptable. These Caps are afforded some straight defeat left them seventh in the Metropolitan Division. The season leeway because of all they have accomplished. But they’re not allowed to — and even the franchise — felt on a precipice, and it was. That ignore the basics of their job. summer, Adam Oates was out as coach, and George McPhee was out as general manager. This isn’t five years ago. The wheels aren’t about to come off the franchise. Shoot, they’re still in second place in the Metro, just three Until Wednesday night, the Caps hadn’t lost seven straight since. Now points behind the Islanders. they have, and that fact will sit with them for more than a week as they scatter around the globe for the NHL’s all-star break and their Seven games in January don’t make the season. Seven games in subsequent bye week. January don’t take away the Cup. But these seven games in January have given these Capitals much to think about during their break. They When they return, the jobs of their coach and general manager won’t be are playing lousy hockey. A week from Friday, that needs to stop. at stake as they were that night in New Jersey. This might not be disarray. But they have allowed 30 goals — 30 goals! — in the past five games. That’s unbefitting a Stanley Cup champion, and the skid brings Washington Post LOADED: 01.25.2019 up some uncomfortable questions about the state of the team. The first is this: The coach with whom the Caps won the Stanley Cup not only is no longer coaching the Caps, but he is coaching the team ahead of them in the division. Barry Trotz’s New York Islanders dealt Washington the fourth of these seven losses, a 2-0 defeat last Friday at Capital One Arena that marked a lovely homecoming for Trotz, who delighted in the tribute he received but delighted more in stomping on the throats of the team that offered the tribute. I’m not going to get revisionist here. I understood at the time why the Caps and Trotz came to an impasse on a new contract for the coach who won the Cup. (To review: Trotz was nearly fired twice during the 2017-18 regular season and understandably wanted a five-year, $20 million contract after winning the Cup, which made some members of the Capitals’ hierarchy uneasy.) Let’s not make this about, “Well, if they only had Trotzy . . .” But the issue of the coach also can’t be ignored. Todd Reirden was a well-liked assistant on Trotz’s staff, considered a head-coach-in-waiting. But before this season, he had never run an NHL team and taken on all the responsibilities that come with that. His first squad: the defending Stanley Cup champions. That’s a lot to deal with, and when the Capitals navigated the travails of the early part of the season — a suspension to Tom Wilson, injuries to T.J. Oshie, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Brooks Orpik — it seemed Reirden and his veteran leaders had endured the widely predicted Stanley Cup hangover. Except here they are, wheezing and stumbling through January, carrying a massive headache into the break. “The break is coming at a good time for us,” Reirden told reporters in Toronto following Wednesday’s 6-3 loss to the Maple Leafs. “We understand there’s a lot of work to be done when we get back.” The work also must include some sort of return to the defensive concepts that won the Caps the Cup. Their recent style could make fans half- expect to see Alexander Semin up front and Mike Green at the point on the power play with Bruce Boudreau behind the bench. That made for fun hockey nearly a decade ago. But these scores — losses by 7-2, 8-5, 7-6 and 6-3 in an eight-day span — are junk. It’s not a style they’re built to play. It’s not a style that’s sustainable in April, let alone May and June. It must be purged immediately upon their return. That’s on the veterans, who ought to know better. But it’s also on Reirden, who is tasked with pulling the strings. Some notes about when they get back: Their first game is Feb. 1 against Calgary, which carries the best record in the Western Conference. They will face the Flames without Ovechkin, who is skipping the All-Star Game to rest his body, a decision that comes with an NHL-mandated one-game absence. Ending the skid starts with one hand tied behind their back. Beyond that: Five more home games in a row. The first is against Boston, whom the Caps own. Two are against lowly Florida and Los Angeles. And the other two are against Colorado and Vancouver, who 1127624 Washington Capitals

Anatomy of a collapse: 7 reasons for seven straight Capitals losses

By Matthew Paras - The Washington Times Thursday, January 24, 2019

The All-Star break is coming at the right time for the Washington Capitals. The team is in the midst of a midseason swoon that has everyone wondering what the heck has happened to the defending champions. The story behind the collapse? Simple as one, two, three (plus four, five, six and seven). Seven reasons for seven consecutive losses. Ice-cold Holtby Braden Holtby suffered an eye injury nearly two weeks ago, and since then, the Capitals goaltender hasn’t been able to stop the puck consistently. In four games since the injury, Holtby’s save percentage is just .843. Backup dropoff Unfortunately for the Capitals, Holtby’s backup, Pheonix Copley, hasn’t been much better. Copley allowed seven goals in one game during a 7-2 loss to Nashville. Passive Kuznetsov General manager Brian MacLellan said earlier this month that Evgeny Kuznetsov could be among the league’s best “if he chose to be.” Well, can he choose to be now? Kuznetsov, who has two goals in January, was briefly demoted to the third line during this skid. Birds and bad mojo Think of the most troubling ways to lose, and the Capitals have probably done it. Brutal collapses (San Jose scoring with .9 left to force overtime) and other moments (Columbus players imitating Kuznetsov’s bird celebration) have led to frustration. Cold sticks and dry spells This hasn’t been a case for the last few games, but Washington’s offense went through a dry spell — scoring just four goals in four games at the beginning of this streak. They were shut out Jan. 18 against the New York Islanders. Wrong moves Mental mistakes have also been costly. In a 7-6 overtime loss on Tuesday, Alex Ovechkin attempted a reckless shot on an empty net instead of making a safe pass. San Jose blocked the shot and scored to tie the game with less than a second left. The buttons that go unpushed Let’s slow down before pegging this collapse on first-year coach Todd Reirden. But NBC’s Keith Jones suggested Wednesday the Capitals “don’t win a Cup if Barry Trotz doesn’t push all the right buttons last year.” With Trotz gone, Reirden will have to find the right mix to turn things around. Maybe this is part of the learning curve.

Washington Times LOADED: 01.25.2019 1127625 Washington Capitals That was obvious in Sunday’s 8-5 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks where the Caps were content to trade chances with an inferior team that still has enough top-end skill to make you pay for playing that way. Last year, No panic yet, but Caps desperate for answers at NHL All-Star break Washington smothered teams in the Stanley Cup playoffs with forwards helping their defensemen. It’s difficult, in the middle of January, with 32 games to go before the playoffs, to match that intensity. But it’s also no excuse. By Brian McNally The situation is unnerving, but not yet dire. The Caps are still in second January 24, 2019 4:22 PM place in the Metropolitan Division even after this recent 0-5-2 stretch. The New York Islanders are a Cinderella story in first place, but Washington

has yet to get passed by the Columbus Blue Jackets or Pittsburgh SAN JOSE — The Capitals need a break. Penguins. A seven-game winless streak, the worst since the disastrous 2013-14 Even the unthinkable – slipping out of a playoff spot all together – is six season, has left the defending Stanley Cup champions reeling heading points behind them in the Buffalo Sabres and Carolina Hurricanes. The into this weekend’s NHL All-Star break and next week’s schedule bye. dog days for any defending champion, which played two full months of extra hockey at the highest level last spring, don’t have to lead to They will not meet again as a group until Jan. 31 for a 2 p.m. practice. disaster. But the Caps need a break – and then a win. Now. Then comes a critical six-game homestand with a game every other day against a mix of division leaders (Calgary), playoff contenders (Boston, After eight days off, that begins Feb. 1 against the Calgary Flames at Colorado, Vancouver) and also-rans (Florida, Los Angeles). Capital One Arena. The rest won't cure all of their problems and it's unrealistic to think a long homestead will do that right away, either. But But who they play matters far less than how they play and right now – they have to stop the bleeding first. after a 6-3 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday – that is nowhere near good enough for a team that has set a standard for “It doesn’t matter how many meetings we have,” Ovechkin said. “It’s all excellence the past four seasons. about us and we know how to play hockey. We know when we play the right way we’re going to get success...There’s no panic.” “We’ve put ourselves in the playoff race, but it’s a bigger picture,” goalie Braden Holtby said. “If we’re going to focus on getting better we can’t look at those [standings] points, we’ve got to look at our game. If we play Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 01.25.2019 like this in the playoffs, we’ll be going home early.” Holtby included himself with that critique. His numbers since Dec. 31 are poor (.873 save percentage, 4.35 goals-against average). Backup goalie Phoenix Copley isn't much better (.877, 3.84). The defensive play in front of them was concerning enough that the coaching staff switched the top pairs with John Carlson and Dmitry Orlov joining forces and Matt Niskanen playing with Michal Kempny. The Capitals have gone through every cliché of a struggling team. They held a players’-only meeting on Sunday and a full review with the coaching staff on Monday. After a deflating 7-6 overtime loss to San Jose – a game where the tying goal came with one second left – an angry coach Todd Reirden lit into his players. “Stand up to the person that you respect and you play with and say that you did something wrong. That’s character to me,” Reirden said. “If it means that we lose these games like this to learn those character lessons at this point in the year…am I happy we lost? Absolutely not. But if that helps us in those last 20, 30 games of the year and pushes us into the playoffs then this was worth it. Because until you reach that accountability in your room from player to player and coaches involved then you’re going to continue to come up short. That I know.” That didn’t seem to be a problem in public. Alex Ovechkin took the blame for not scoring on an empty-net opportunity before the Sharks tied the game late. Holtby was critical of his own play. T.J. Oshie lamented a penalty he took in the offensive zone that led to a San Jose goal. But it is also curious why a defending champion would need a character lesson. All but two players are back from last season. It’s a veteran, experienced team up and down the lineup. Yet something is missing and the search for that has become a struggle. “It seems like in a lot of instances, we’re like 90, 95 percent all-in, and that extra five or 10 percent that we don’t bring, right now they’re ending up in goals-against,” Oshie said. “We’re doing a pretty good job staying in it and staying positive and trying to work through this, but it doesn’t feel that easy right now. We’ve got a great group that I know we’re going to get out of this, but nothing’s really coming too easy for us.” But a break for everyone except Holtby and defenseman John Carlson, who are in San Jose for the All-Star game this weekend, is no panacea. Multiple Caps players said this week that if they couldn’t win against San Jose and Toronto, their “vacations” would simply leave them stewing on the beach about what’s gone wrong. They then blew a two-goal lead to the Sharks, giving up that late goal before losing in overtime, and a 2-1 lead in Toronto lasted well into the second period before goals 3:08 apart gave the Maple Leafs a lead they never gave up. Since Dec. 31, their record is 3-7-3 over 13 games. "I like our mental state right now, if I'm being honest,” Carlson said. “We're a positive group. Practices lately have been some of the best we've had all season. We're trying to work ourselves through it. It's not coming, turning around quick as we would like, obviously. That doesn't mean that you throw that out and try to be someone you're not, try to be a team that you're not.” 1127626 Washington Capitals player can provide an NHL team when you recall him. Just how much would Barber be able to produce at the NHL level with no power play time? Capitals prospect report: No, Ilya Samsonov is not the answer to the With 19 goals, Mike Sgarbossa has equaled a career high he set in Caps’ problems 2012-13 in 57 games. He has played only 43 this season. With 35 points, he is just nine shy of his career high of 44. By J.J. Regan Aaron Ness had his first career three-assist game on Saturday in Hershey’s win over rival Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. That game brought him January 24, 2019 1:29 PM to the century mark for points while with the Bears. Ness is tied for second among AHL defensemen in assists with 25.

Ilya Samsonov’s four-game winning streak came to an end on Wednesday in a 2-1 shootout loss to Lehigh Valley. While he may not Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 01.25.2019 have gotten the win, it was another impressive performance for the young netminder who really seems to have suddenly figured out the AHL. During his four-game winning streak, Samsonov had a 0.99 goals against average and a .950 save percentage with two consecutive shutouts. Hershey may have lost on Wednesday, but Samsonov made 25 saves on 26 shots and allowed only one goal on the night. Samsonov’s numbers for the season are not great, but thanks to this recent run he has improved a 3.83 GAA to 3.14 and a .862 save percentage to .878. Based on how the season started, his stats for the season may be beyond repair. But if you evaluate his play over the course of a season, the drastic improvement is a very encouraging sign for a player who had to adjust to the North American game. Having said that, don’t take these past five games to mean Samsonov is clearly NHL ready. The Caps are struggling right now with seven straight losses and fans are desperate for some kind of solution for how to snap the team out of its current funk. What’s that? The team’s top prospect is suddenly playing lights out in the AHL? Problem solved! No, the problem is not solved. While Samsonov’s numbers have improved, the fact is that he still has a 3.14 GAA and a .878 save percentage because it took time for him to adjust to the AHL. To think there would now be zero adjustment for a 21- year-old goalie in his first season in North America going to the NHL is crazy. Plus, have you seen the way the Caps are playing defensively right now? Calling up Samsonov just to feed him to the wolves would not be good for the team or the player. Some people may point to the Philadelphia Flyers who recalled AHL prospect Carter Hart. He was thought to be the goalie of the future, but the Flyers finally recalled him and he has performed admirably in 12 games with a 2.66 GAA and .918 save percentage. First, the Flyers are the absolute last team you want to emulate when it comes to how you handle goalies. The history of mismanagement at that position is staggering. Second, Hart is playing because there literally is no one else in that organization who can. They have cycled through an NHL record seven goalies this season already. Third, look at the standings. The Flyers are one point out of last place in the NHL so it is not as if Hart has magically solved all of Philadelphia’s issues. Hart may be playing well, but if you have problems in front of the goalie, finding a goalie does not magically solve those problems. Yes, Braden Holtby and Pheonix Copley have not played particularly well during this losing streak, but the Caps are also playing terrible defense, they are not producing offensively and they are making horrible decisions with the puck. Recalling a goalie after five good games in the AHL solves none of those problems. Other prospect notes Given the Caps’ recent struggles, a question I get asked a lot is if the team should recall anyone from Hershey to boost the roster. There are a few problems with this. First, the Caps have no cap room and no roster space so any recall would mean sending someone down and exposing them to waivers. Second, since the Caps have drafted low in recent years, there are no game-changing players in Hershey to call up. Samsonov is the team’s top prospect and is just starting to figure out the AHL. He’s not ready for the NHL just yet. Washington’s problems are not going to be solved by recalling a Nathan Walker or Shane Gersich and plugging them into the bottom six. If the Caps do decide to recall a skater, my pick would be Riley Barber. He has 17 goals and 37 points in 39 games this season. There’s just one problem and that is Barber leads the AHL in power play points with 22, so the majority of his production is coming with the extra man. He would not be getting power play time in Washington. You have to ask what a 1127627 Washington Capitals

Capitals enter All-Star break on sour note in Toronto as losing streak extends to seven

By J.J. Regan January 23, 2019 10:20 PM

The Capitals enter the All-Star break losers of seven straight after a 6-3 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday. In desperate need of a win before the All-Star Break, the Capitals kept Alex Ovechkin in the lineup delaying his one-game suspension and started Braden Holtby for the second consecutive night. Yet, the result was the same as they gave up six goals for the third straight game and for the fourth time during the current losing streak. Washington has been outscored 36-18 during the streak. Here are four reasons the Caps lost. Nazem Kadri Kadri is always a thorn in the side of the Caps, most notably for his knee- on-knee hit on Alex Ovechkin in the playoffs back in 2017. He was again a pest against Washington with a hat trick for the Maple Leafs on Wednesday. The Caps scored late in the first period, but Kadri scored with 26 seconds remaining to even the game at one. Kadri also extended Toronto’s lead to two goals for the first time at the 2:10 mark into the second period of a one-timer from the high slot. He completed the hat trick later in the third as William Nylander shot the puck, hit both posts and the puck went straight to the stick of Kardi who had an empty net yawning. Washington has now given up a hat trick in three straight games and in four of their last five. A quick response A growing problem for Washington during this losing streak is allowing quick response goals. Nicklas Backstrom put the Caps on the board with less than 90 seconds remaining in the first period. Great, Washington is headed to the locker room up 1-0, right? Not so fast. Morgan Reilly dumped the puck and tried to pass it to the middle. Nylander kicked it back behind the net and the play should have been dead, but Michal Kempny tipped it back out to center and no one seemed to know where it was except Kadri who came streaking in and tapped it past Holtby to tie the game. The goal came just 47 seconds after Backstrom put Washington on the board. An untimely penalty Ovechkin is doing just about everything he can to keep the Caps in this games and he scored again on Wednesday. But this game really turned on an Ovechkin penalty in the second period. Ovechkin was called for cross-checking Kaspari Kapanen about two minutes after Nikita Zaitsev tied the game at 2. At that point, Washington had never trailed in the game. They had yielded leads of 1-0 and 2-1, but overall were playing significantly better than they did on Tuesday against the San Jose Sharks. Auston Matthews would go on to score on the resulting power play. That would be the first of three unanswered goals for Toronto. A rough penalty kill for John Carlson The Leafs were able to cash in on the penalty kill because of a rough shift for defenseman John Carlson. With the puck on his stick behind the net, Carlson did not try clearing the puck around the boards. Instead, he turned up ice and fired it right to John Tavares. Tavares blocked the clear and kept the puck in. Later on in the shift, Matthews was skating in looking for a shot. Carlson dropped to a knee looking for the shot block, but he was too quick. Matthews curled it around him a now helpless Carlson then fired the puck through Holtby to give Toronto a lead they would not relinquish.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 01.25.2019 1127628 Winnipeg Jets Second period Is there anything more exciting than a tie game? Jets on a break, but we're not Be still your beating heart, right? Of course, NHL fans no longer have to worry about that after the league introduced three-on-three overtime followed by the shootout to ensure By: Mike McIntyre and Jason Bell every game has both a winner and a loser. Posted: 01/24/2019 7:00 PM Not so in college hockey, where a dreaded draw is still a potential outcome. And in this absolutely fantastic clip, Air Force coach clearly has his tongue firmly planted in cheek as he discussed The Dump & Chase administrative staff somehow missed a memo. the merits of sending fans on their way with nothing actually settled. Because of that, Mike and Jay made their way downtown Monday and This heart-warmer needs very little explanation. Tuesday mornings to check out Winnipeg Jets practice and were met by an empty building. Then they headed west and battled heavy traffic on The other day, Tomas Rittich, the younger brother of Calgary Flames Portage Avenue en route to the Iceplex. Again, no Jets. goalie David Rittich, had the chance to meet Harvey the Hound, the team mascot. Finally, we remembered Wednesday the NHL club is off for seven-days for some kind of league-mandated bye week that also includes a break David says he draws strength every day from Tomas, who has autism for players not participating in the All-Star Weekend in San Jose, Calif. along with other developmental issues, and just wanted to do something special for him, so he set up the surprise meeting. The memories aren’t as sharp as they used to be, but neither was Winnipeg (badum-CHING) in its final game prior to the respite. "It was a nice video, but I didn’t want to make it too public and didn’t want to show it to everyone," David told reporters. "I wanted to make it a Sputtering on takeoff, the Jets fell behind 3-0 to the Stars after two surprise for him and just meet with Harvey the Hound because he loves periods Saturday and scored a pair of goals in the final frame but him. Right now, (the video is) kind of all over the place." eventually fell 4-2 in Dallas. The defeat came 48 hours after an impressive 5-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. We get it if you’re not a Flames fan, but appreciate and respect David Rittich not just for his top-quality performances between the pipes (he’s Still, no hand-wringing’s required when it comes to the Central Division won seven of his lasts eight starts, he’s 19-4-4 with a 2.47 goals-against leaders, who possess a 31-15-2 record and have four games in hand on average and .918 save percentage), but for being a top-quality big the Preds. Winnipeg is back at it Monday in Philadelphia against a pretty brother. dreadful Flyers squad and then head over to Boston for a game against the always-testy Bruins on Tuesday. A couple hours to the north of Calgary, the Edmonton Oilers finally pulled the plug on general manager Peter Chiarelli Tuesday night -- during the The Jets are finally back on home ice on Thursday, Jan. 31 when the second intermission of what would a 3-2 loss to the lowly Detroit Red Columbus Blue Jackets pay a visit. Wings. Jay and Mike will both be there, assuming one doesn’t wind up at Ouch. Marshalls department store on Maroons Road looking for the media entrance. Of course, for many fans of the once-proud franchise, it was a move they've been waiting a long time for. The Oilers have become the Pre-game warmup laughing stock of the league. Who's ready for the All-Star game???!!! Mike weighed in on the mess as well, taking a look at Chiarelli's downfall from a Winnipeg perspective. As he noted in his column, there was a If you just yawned and shrugged your shoulders, know that you're not time not very long ago where Chiarelli and Jets GM alone. The annual event has lost a lot of its lustre, if it really had any to were in similar situations. Of course, look at them now. begin with, but we found at least one person who's pretty pumped about this year's showcase in San Jose. Third period That's right, everyone's favourite mascot Gritty is bringing his A game to The Moose are on a roll these days, going 6-0-2 over the past Northern California, not to mention a whole lot of other items that are eight games to get back into the playoff hunt after a slow start to the bordering on the absurd. season. For what it's worth, Gritty might want to see a medical professional if that A big part of that is the play of Eric Comrie, as Mike wrote about earlier rash doesn't go away soon. this week. The fourth-year pro could be an interesting trade chip for the Jets going forward. Jets head coach Paul Maurice had quite the audience Monday. Manitoba has also been getting plenty of contributions from several Maurice, who’s closing in on his 1,500th game behind the bench as an newcomers they've brought up from the ECHL and signed to pro tryouts NHL head coach, was a featured guest on the Jim Rome syndicated following injuries and call-ups. radio show out of Los Angeles. Rome is one of sports radio’s most recognizable and respected personalities, and his show is heard by One of them, Chris Collins, made quite the impression this past week. millions on CBS Sports Network. No, we're not talking about his first-ever AHL goal he scored for the Moose, but rather his incredible celebratory GIF posted by the team's During the nearly 12-minute segment, Rome asked Maurice to discuss Twitter account. his upcoming gig as coach of the Central Division team at the All-Star Weekend, the state of the high-flying Jets, winger Patrik Laine’s recent Mathew Maione is well past the point of playing his way into the NHL, but struggles to score, his coaching resume and the hockey-crazed he played his way into the hearts of Russian hockey fans recently. community he and his family now call home. By playing guitar, that is. You can listen to the full segment here. The 28-year-old from Toronto, a defenceman with Riga Dynamo of the First period Kontinental Hockey League, was participating in the league’s all-star skills competition and literally stole the show when he performed a cool Mike and Jay are both proud, card-carrying members of the Professional rendition of The Lumineers’ tune Hey, Ho at centre ice. Hockey Writers Association, and as Uncle Ben once told Peter Parker, a.k.a. Spider-Man, "With great power comes great responsibility." Separated at birth, perhaps? And so the dynamic duo put a lot of thought earlier this week into their Mathew Maione can shoot and strum. ballots for the PHWA mid-season awards, which took the pulse of hockey writers across North America. Full results were released Thursday, which Overtime you can read about here. New York slugger Aaron Judge has his own section at Yankee Stadium, In the meantime, and in the interest of full transparency not to mention aptly named "Judge's Chambers." Now some creative fans in Dallas the fact they were desperate for space-filling content this week, here's have come up with their own version, sort of, for No. 1 goalie Ben how Mike and Jay voted. Bishop. That's right, meet Ben's Bishops. With these guys cheering on the Stars, opponents don't have a prayer. Speaking of baseball, the Jets ventured into Dallas on a night when the Stars paid tribute to the Texas Rangers of MLB’s American League West division. During the pre-game skate, the Stars wore special blue Rangers jerseys, while Texas players Joey Gallo, Delino DeShields and Rougned Odor showed for the game in Stars sweaters... The Stars announcer had some fun when he introduced Odor, noting the second baseman has a "sick right hook." Toronto Blue Jays fans know exactly what he was referring to. Morgan Wood was just there to watch a Minnesota State hockey game, but at her boyfriend's urging, she entered an in-game contest to win a chance to shoot for $30,000 at the intermission. When her name got called, she tried to get her boyfriend to take her spot. He encouraged her to go for it, saying there was nothing to lose and everything to gain. The rest, as they say, is history. We love quality trash talking. And so we had to tip our caps this week to Jack Eichel, who had a good line when he came across former teammate Evander Kane during the pre-game warm-up. In a nutshell, No. 9 wasn't captain material until Kane vacated the jersey and Eichel took it over. Remember when 36-year-old accountant Scott Foster became a household name last season when he was forced to dress as the emergency backup goalie for the Chicago Blackhawks, then actually pressed into game action against the Winnipeg Jets and stopped every shot he faced in the third period? It was a great story, of course, and while this isn't quite the same, it's every bit as heartwarming. Meet Bill Parsley, an 85-year-old netminder who still plays recreational hockey and was honoured last week prior to a Boston Bruins game. Parsley skated out with the team prior to their game and stood side-by- side with Tuukka Rask as part of Hockey Is For Everyone night.

Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 01.25.2019 1127629 Winnipeg Jets while Aleksander Barkov of Florida and Mark Stone of Ottawa round out the top field.

The Norris Trophy for top defenceman features a pair of Canadian blue- High-altitude Jets not on hockey writers' awards radar liners with Calgary's Mark Giordano just ahead of Toronto's Morgan Rielly. San Jose's Brent Burns is third. By: Mike McIntyre Had he not gone down with injury in December, it would have been interesting to see whether Dustin Byfuglien would have earned some Posted: 01/24/2019 5:08 PM votes. The veteran defenceman was certainly tracking in that direction and sat eighth in scoring among blue-liners at the time of his injury with four goals and 25 assists through 32 games. Byfuglien, now 18th among defencemen in scoring, is expected to return to action as early as next First in the Central Division. Third in the Western Conference. Fourth in week. the entire league. Barry Trotz leads the pack for the Jack Adams Award as top coach, and And nowhere to be found when it comes to the NHL's most prestigious who can quibble with that given the job the Dauphin native has done in individual awards. his first year with the Islanders, coming off last season's Stanley Cup win Just like Rodney Dangerfield, the Winnipeg Jets got no respect from the with Washington. Trotz has the team on the top of the Metropolitan Professional Hockey Writers Association, which released its annual Division, playing a terrific defensive game and they've managed just fine midseason award results on Thursday. despite losing top sniper John Tavares to free agency. The top three vote-getters in 10 different categories were unveiled, and Bill Peters of Calgary and Jon Cooper of Tampa finished second and not a single member of the local club made the cut. In fact, I've confirmed third. It's a bit surprising that Maurice didn't at least make the top five, that no Jets cracked the top five. Ballots were cast by more than 125 especially after being named to coach the Central Division all-star team writers in all 31 markets, including yours truly. this weekend in San Jose. While the Jets didn't get any love despite their on-ice success, which Hellebuyck likely won't be repeating as a Vezina finalist this year, as his includes a 31-15-2 record going into the all-star break, there's still plenty rather pedestrian numbers (2.85 goals-against average and .910 save of Canadian content. Of the 30 players and executives in the top three of percentage) have him well back of the pack. Brossoit's brilliance has the 10 categories, a dozen are from clubs north of the border. Calgary been in limited starts, taking him out of any consideration for the award. has six, Toronto three and Edmonton, Ottawa and Vancouver have one John Gibson of Anaheim, Marc-Andre Fleury of Vegas and Frederik each. Andersen of Toronto lead the way, for now. But this is a category where So who got snubbed from Winnipeg? things could change in a hurry. The only obvious one would be the architect of the team, Kevin The Calder Trophy for rookie of the year features the runaway favourite Cheveldayoff, who isn't in the running for the GM of the Year Award in Elias Pettersson of Vancouver, followed by a pair of first-year despite building a Stanley Cup contender almost entirely on draft picks, defencemen in Buffalo's Rasmus Dahlin (last summer's No. 1 overall plus a handful of strong trade and free-agent acquisitions. pick) and Miro Heiskanen of Dallas. At this point, the race is to see who finishes second to the slick Swede. I had Cheveldayoff No. 1 on my list. He was a finalist last June in the year-end voting, ultimately losing out to Vegas GM George McPhee, and There's nothing wrong with being a gentleman, and a trio of players who his work this year includes signing free-agent goalie Laurent Brossoit would need GPS to find the penalty box are in the running for the Lady (10-0-1 as a starter) and getting contributions from sixth- and seventh- Byng as most sportsmanlike. Aleksander Barkov of Florida (one minor round draft picks in Mason Appleton and Sami Niku, the reigning AHL penalty in 48 games), Rielly of Toronto (two minors in 49 games) and rookie and defenceman of the year. Sean Monahan of Calgary (five minors in 51 games) have certainly been on their best behaviour this season while playing big minutes and big Cheveldayoff also locked up the heart and soul of the team, captain roles on their teams. Blake Wheeler, to a long-term extension and got Vezina Trophy finalist Connor Hellebuyck under contract as well, along with several other The PHWA also votes on a pair of so-called "non-traditional" honours — important deals to keep the Jets under the salary cap and largely intact awards that don't officially exist — in the Rod Langway Award for best for sustained success. defensive defenceman, and the Comeback Player of the Year Award. Calgary GM Brad Treliving is at the top of the results — I had him second Mattias Ekholm of Nashville, Giordano of Calgary and Victor Hedman are — and it's hard to quibble with some of the moves he's made to build the in the running for the Langway. This is one where I would have strongly Flames into a powerhouse. The trade that delivered Elias Lindholm and considered Josh Morrissey and/or Jacob Trouba among my top five, Noah Hanifin to town, not to mention the impressive work from undrafted given the role the top pair for the Jets play in shutting down opponents on free-agent signing David Rittich in net, have complemented strong a nightly basis. drafting in recent years. Robin Lehner of the New York Islanders, Jeff Skinner of Buffalo and San Jose's Doug Wilson and Lou Lamoriello of the New York Islanders Zach Parise of the Minnesota Wild are on the comeback trail. All three were second and third in voting. For the record, I had McPhee third as are putting together nice stories this season, but Lehner's terrific the Golden Knights continue to impress with new additions, including campaign is especially heartwarming given his well-documented Paul Stastny and Max Pacioretty having an impact. struggles with addiction and bipolar disorder. Cheveldayoff's exclusion is the only one I can really quibble with. I didn't Of course, there's still plenty of hockey to be played, so many of the have any other Jets in my top three for the other awards — my full ballot above categories could change by the time the regular-season schedule appears below — although a few were knocking on the door. Had we wraps up in early April. been able to expand our list beyond three, I would have given Mark And as nice as these personal awards would be, there's one trophy that Scheifele some Hart Trophy consideration as most valuable player to his trumps all others and every player in the game wants more than team, and had Paul Maurice in the running for top coach. anything. And the race for Lord Stanley is shaping up to be another Scheifele and his right-hand man, Blake Wheeler, are clearly in tough doozy. against some elite competition despite sitting in the top 12 of overall league scoring. Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 01.25.2019 Nikita Kucherov (22 goals, 56 assists), Johnny Gaudreau (29 goals, 44 assists) and Connor McDavid (29 goals, 44 assists) formed the top three for the Hart, which is pretty much in line with what I had. A strong second half from Scheifele (25 goals, 34 assists) or Wheeler (nine goals, 52 assists) could potentially put them on the voting radar, but I wouldn't hold my breath on that. I'm told Scheifele did get a few top-three Selke votes as league's top defensive forward — including one from Free Press colleague Jason Bell. But not enough of them to put him on the podium. Boston's Patrice Bergeron leads the race despite missing a chunk of games with injury, 1127630 Vancouver Canucks Will the next GM of the Oilers have a Canucks connection? We’ll see.

In the lineup of candidates for Oilers GM, a few Canucks-connected ones Vancouver Province: LOADED: 01.25.2019 are sure to be found

Patrick Johnston

Judd Brackett, left, is the Canucks' director of amateur scouting. The Oilers need a new GM. Three names with Canucks connections could interest them. It really should not be a surprise that Judd Brackett, Canucks director of amateur scouting, is a name that might interest other National Hockey League clubs. He’s done strong work running the Canucks’ draft since 2017 and his work is highlighted by the selection that year of Elias Pettersson. He’s clearly got a smart, forward-thinking hockey mind, one that uses a highly effective mix of traditional scouting methods and data. More and more teams are integrating data into their processes. They may not be getting to baseball or football levels in the depth and breadth of their analysis, but leave no doubt, there’s way more of it being done than even a couple years ago. That said, Brackett has only ever been a scout. Making the leap up to general manager is a big one. Most people see a stint as an assistant general manager before, to get a dose of all the other things that a club’s top hockey-operations leader has to deal with day to day. And there’s also the little matter of his status with the Canucks. Given the strong reviews the last two drafts have received from the outside and the internal move to put him in charge of amateur scouting, the team would be very resistant to the idea of him leaving. Plus the team just had their amateur scouting meetings, setting their priorities on how to finish up the season, leading into their prep window ahead of the hometown draft. Letting their head scout go ahead of a big event like that? It’s hard to fathom. That said, there are two other names with Canucks connections who would be interesting: former GM Mike Gillis and his former assistant, Laurence Gilman. Whether either would have interest in the job is a question mark but it’s not a slammed-door “no.” Gilman, of course, landed with the Maple Leafs last summer, adding his two decades of hockey experience, his understanding of the salary cap and his interest in outside-the-box thinking to a progressive front office. He’s been in the mix in the past for NHL GM jobs — the Carolina Hurricanes made a strong push last summer — and getting to run a team with Connor McDavid on it would be enticing. But that mess, oh, that mess. Would he want to leave a great situation in Toronto for what awaits in Edmonton? His old boss, Gillis, has been mostly out of hockey since he was dismissed by the Canucks in 2014. He has interest in a Swiss team, but most of his sports focus has been elsewhere. Last year he told TSN 1040 he’s been learning lots about Australian rules football, for instance. Still, you know that his competitive nature would love the chance to do it again in hockey. A former high-profile player agent, his name has also been mooted in connection with the Seattle NHL expansion team, though it should be noted that there are a few big names that have been connected to the Emerald City. Plus, they already have Dave Tippett in the mix as an adviser. Like Gilman, Gillis would surely be intrigued by the chance to build a team around McDavid. But would he get the power to remake the organization, something that most outside observers agree is badly needed? For now, the reins are in the hands of Keith Gretzky. CEO Bob Nicholson will lead a search. If he’s smart, he won’t rush the process. Too many hockey teams still do that, passing up a chance to look around and see how things are done elsewhere while also developing a list of people they should be interested in. 1127631 Vancouver Canucks To close February, after the trade deadline, there’s the game against the Ducks on Feb. 25, hours after the noon trade deadline, as well as games on consecutive nights in Colorado and Arizona. Patrick Johnston: Canucks hope to do a lot of ‘meaningful’ chasing for In a busy March, the Canucks play 17 games: a home and away pair of playoff position games with Vegas, a home game against the Maple Leafs, a game in Edmonton, home games against the Rangers, Devils, Senators, Flames, Blue Jackets, Ducks and Kings, plus a visit to Chicago and a home-and- Patrick Johnston away series with Dallas. April has just three regular-season contests: a final home game against the Sharks, then two games on the road, in Nashville and St. Louis. The Canucks' playoff dream isn't ridiculous, and GM believes no matter what happens, his team will benefit in the long run. Out of those 20 games, the must-win games are the ones against the Ducks (twice), Oilers, Coyotes, Kings, Stars (twice), Blackhawks, Even if they don’t make the playoffs this season, the chase will be worth Rangers, Senators and Blues. That’s 11. If they win all 11, they’d still it, Jim Benning insists. need to find a win from the other nine games, which all feature teams that currently hold a playoff spot. The Vancouver Canucks general manager woke up Thursday to see his team still in the playoff hunt, just a spot out of the second Western Now, some of those must-wins won’t go as planned, but it’s possible the Conference playoff wild-card berth. Canucks could steal more than a couple games. The Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche, which occupy those berths, Hang on, it should be interesting. actually have the same number of points as Vancouver (52). The Canucks won’t play again until Feb. 2 when they face the Avalanche in Denver. Vancouver Province: LOADED: 01.25.2019 From there it’s a 23-day, 11-game sprint to the Feb. 25 trade deadline. (The Canucks host the Anaheim Ducks on D-Day.) As it stands, HockeyViz.com currently projects the Avalanche to grab that final wild-card position with only 88 points. That would be down seven points from what got Colorado in a season ago in that same final spot. HockeyViz has the Canucks finishing with 83 points, five points shy of the postseason party. They rate Vancouver’s chance of outperforming this projection and making the big dance as about one in five. In other words, the Canucks will need to pick up the pace to have a realistic shot at qualifying for the playoffs. If the target remains 88 points, the Canucks will need 18 wins in their final 31 games of the season. That’s a big ask for a team that’s been hovering around the .500 mark for much of the year. And the last three games have an important caveat in all this: the defence needs to get back to what it’s been doing well for most of the past seven weeks, keeping the opposition out of the prime scoring areas and giving goaltender Jacob Markstrom more support. “It’s important that our young players get that experience,” Benning said Thursday of the playoff chase, or what he and head coach Travis Green have been describing more calmly as “meaningful” games down the stretch. “I’m happy we’re going to be doing that.” In the long-term development curve, you can understand why. Being in the playoff hunt signals progress from last season, built on the backs of a youthful crew of scoring talent. Of course, in two of the past three seasons the Canucks reached this part of the year with the same point total and then faded from the playoff picture. A collapse doesn’t feel as likely this season — surely it’s the Elias Pettersson effect — but the team is playing on a knife’s edge. After playing in Colorado, the Canucks play three road games in four nights in Philadelphia, Washington and Chicago. Then it’s home for games against Calgary and San Jose. Then there’s a three-gamer in California. Then there are four days off, followed by a pair of games at home before the trade deadline, against Arizona and the Islanders. Just to maintain their pace, the Canucks need to win six of those 11 games. They would then need to win 12 of their final 20 games. But where will those wins come from? In the crucial 11 games, the ones that will surely guide the Canucks’ approach to the trade deadline, you figure the road games against Philadelphia, Chicago, Anaheim and Los Angeles, plus the home game against Arizona, are all must-win contests. That means finding a win in one of the other six games. (And as for the trade deadline, Benning was adamant: “We’re not going to give up picks or prospects to add a player.” Also, “I’d love to have more picks because we’re picking at home. But that’s not an easy thing to do.”) 1127632 Vancouver Canucks “He’s a great teammate, a good example for our young guys,” says coach Travis Green. “He’s not the only one, but there’s a difference between a guy in his second year and how he gets ready to play, and a Ed Willes: Beagle digs into old toolbox to modify leadership role with guy in his seventh or eighth year. Canucks “And he’s won everywhere he’s been. That means something.” Beagle, in fact, is the only player in NHL history to win a Kelly Cup, a Ed Willes in the AHL and the Stanley Cup. Think about that for a moment. As for the roots of that success, you don’t have to dig too deeply into his backstory to understand its origins. “There’s a lot that Jay Beagle brings to our group that people don’t see. If ever a player’s personality reflected his game, it’s Beagle, who’s older He’s almost like a playing assistant coach.” — Jim Benning, Canucks GM than old-school. Growing up in Calgary, he worked in his father Al’s garage and actually dug ditches for a spell. Jay Beagle is asked if he has ever been a goal scorer in his long and interesting hockey career and he begins to think. He and his wife Ashley — his high-school sweetheart, of course — have three kids and he’s blissfully unaware of social media. Another shocker, There was that year with the Tier 2 Calgary Royals when he scored 28 he loves hunting and the great outdoors, which was one of our city’s goals, so that kind of counts. Two years at the University of Alaska- selling points for the Beagles. Anchorage? He scored 10 one season but that was the high-water mark. The East Coast league’s Idaho Steelheads? Small sample size but even Being a mechanic’s kid, he has a dream a car, an ’86 GMC Jimmy that in their Kelly Cup run, he scored once in 18 playoff games. he lovingly restored with his dad, and it will be a working vehicle on the farm he just purchased north of Calgary. ? Well, there was that one year when Beagle lit it up — 19 goals after 64 games — then he got hurt. His Hershey days led to the Leaving Washington wasn’t easy. In eight years he’d grown tight with Washington Capitals where he spent eight seasons and never scored Braden Holtby, another Westerner who battled long odds, and formed a more than 13 — and never accumulated more than 30 points. relationship with Alex Ovechkin, who singled out Beagle’s contributions in the Caps’ Cup run last season. So that’s the back of Beagle’s hockey card: 15 seasons and he’s topped the 20-goal mark once in the Alberta Junior Hockey League. As for this But, as a UFA, he’d also priced himself out of the Caps’ budget. season, we’ll break the suspense. He has two goals for the Canucks after 27 games. This isn’t going to be his breakthrough year. “It was my family,” he said, with emotion in his voice. “But I’ve found a home here.” Still, it’s a funny thing. Despite the comical scoring totals, despite never being drafted by any team at any level, despite an illogical journey that And the Canucks found something in return. should never have ended in the NHL, Beagle has played 498 career NHL games, while winning a Stanley Cup in Washington and cashing in with a four-year, $12-million free-agent deal this summer. Vancouver Province: LOADED: 01.25.2019 If ever there was a player who does things that don’t show up on the scoresheet, it’s the 33-year-old Albertan. And that’s good because if he was going strictly by the numbers, he’d be back working at his dad’s garage in Calgary. “Even when I was a kid I was a defensive guy, a third- or fourth-line guy,” says Beagle. “I was never on the top line. I always had that defensive mindset. It’s what I’ve done my whole life. “At every level I’ve loved coming to the rink and playing. Whatever role the team needed, that’s what I did.” And it looks like he’s carved out a role with the Canucks. “There’s a lot that Jay Beagle brings to our group that people don’t see,” says Canucks GM Jim Benning. “He’s almost like a playing assistant coach.” While conveniently ignoring the Canucks’ collective sheet soiling Wednesday night against the Carolina Hurricanes, Beagle’s presence has been notable on a couple of fronts since returning to the lineup after missing 24 games with a fractured forearm. For starters, he’s centred a reliable fourth line with Loui Eriksson and Tyler Motte (working title, the Motte-ly Crew. Thank you, I’m here all week!) that can handle any matchup. In the Canucks’ 3-2 win against Detroit on Jan. 20, that line played more than 14 minutes and was instrumental in shutting down Dylan Larkin and friends. Two games before that, Beagle and Eriksson both played more than 17 minutes in the shootout loss to Edmonton while seeing a lot of Connor McDavid. If the concept of a solid fourth line is unfamiliar to Canucks fans, it’s because they haven’t seen one in 20 years. Beagle has also helped solidify a penalty-killing unit that has blown hot and cold all season but had killed off 15 straight and 46 of 51 over the 20 games before Wednesday’s whipping. But his larger contribution — and the reason he was offered both term and compensation this summer — is in those vague, ill-defined areas on which Beagle built his career and reputation. The Canucks wanted his leadership and professionalism for their rebuilding team. They wanted the example he’d provide for their young players. As it happens, the Canucks were 8-13-3 in the 24 games Beagle missed. They’re 12-7-3 since his return. Turns out you can put a price on those qualities, and if $12 million sounds a little steep, you don’t hear the team complaining. 1127633 Vancouver Canucks Pettersson started the play with a behind-the-back pass to Brock Boeser, who got the puck back to the star rookie down in front of the ‘Canes net.

Instead of shooting, Pettersson sliced a pass to Baertschi, who tipped it Canucks outplayed by Hurricanes in 5-2 loss in through a hole on Nedeljkovic’s blocker side to put Vancouver up 2-1. Carolina responded with four unanswered goals all in the second period. Gemma Karstens-Smith “We got down 2-1 and just stuck to the game plan, got pucks in deep, got pucks to the net and got on them,” said McKegg. “And it paid dividends in that period.” Bo Horvat says the Vancouver Canucks simply need to play better if they want a chance at a spot in the postseason. Carolina is a “really, really fast” team, said Vancouver’s goalie. The team ended a five-game points streak on Wednesday with an ugly 5- “They forecheck really hard and they were all over us in the second. 2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. They won the most battles. And their scoring chances paid off too,” Markstrom said. “That wasn’t very good,” Horvat said after the game. “We gave ourselves a chance there in the second period. And right after that, I think we just “They wanted these two points more than we did.” kind of took our foot off the gas.” Carolina’s victory caps a three-game road swing that saw the Hurricanes The Canucks (23-22-6) sit just outside of a wild-card spot in the Western take five points from Canadian teams. Conference as they head into the all-star break. Both the Canucks and Hurricanes are now off for the all-star break Wednesday’s loss will linger during the time off, Horvat said. followed with a bye week. “We can take this as a fresh start and come back mentally tough and The Hurricanes will be back in action on Feb. 1 when they host the play that much better,” he said. “Over the break, it’s definitely going to be Vegas Golden Knights. The Canucks return on Feb. 2, kicking off a four- in the back of our minds that we weren’t good enough and we’ll have to game road trip in Colorado against the Avalanche. push that much harder.” The Hurricanes (24-20-6) outplayed the Canucks on Wednesday, said Globe And Mail LOADED: 01.25.2019 Vancouver centre Brandon Sutter. “Our (defencemen) were working in the corners and we were kind of punching pucks at the wall,” he said. “And their (defencemen) were coming down, we just couldn’t seem to get the puck by them. And it kind of changed the momentum of the game.” The Canucks knew going in what kind of team they’d be facing, Horvat said. Carolina leads the league in shots per-game with 35.8. “We knew they were going to come out hard, be a fast team and put lots of pucks on net. We didn’t execute well enough to stop that,” he said. Sven Baertschi and Josh Leivo scored for Vancouver. Canucks goalie Jacob Markstrom stopped 29-of-34 shots. Teuvo Teravainen had a goal and a pair of assists in the Hurricanes win. Teammates Greg McKegg and Dougie Hamilton also found the back of the net. Nino Niederreiter notched two goals and now has four since the Minnesota Wild traded him to Carolina for Victor Rask last week. The 26-year-old right-winger said his new teammates have been creating opportunities for him to score. “They are great playmakers, you try to find the hole, you have to move around,” he said. “You can’t stand still and wait for something happens, you have to open areas so guys can find you, that’s what has been working well.” Alex Nedeljkovic made 24 saves for the Hurricanes in his first NHL start on Wednesday. The 23-year-old netminder has been playing for the American Hockey League’s Charlotte Checkers, posting a 20-5-2 record this season. He was called up earlier this month when Curtis McElhinney suffered a lower-body injury. Nedeljkovic’s parents flew in to watch him play and he picked them out of the crowd early. The young goalie said he was excited to get the opportunity to play, but kept some sage advice in the back of his mind. “One of my goalie coaches told me growing up ‘play every game like it’s the biggest game of your life so when you play the biggest game of your life it’s just another game.’ So that’s just kind of how I looked at today,” he said. “Just another Wednesday night game and we came out on top.” Nedeljkovic’s first real test of the night came early in the second period after Canucks rookie Elias Pettersson made a no-look pass to Baertschi in front of the Hurricanes net. Baertschi took the shot but Nedeljkovic was there to gobble up the puck. The Swiss left-winger went on to score the Canucks’ second tally of the night midway through the second period. 1127634 Websites “It has to be straight to the point,” said Avalanche forward J.T. Compher. “Usually there’s some Xs and Os talk, but they have to make sure guys are re-focused going into the next period, no matter what happened in The Athletic / The evolution of the dressing room speech, from emotional the period before.” outbursts to tactical adjustments According to many players interviewed for this story, an effective intermission speech from their coach ensures players flush any mistakes made in the previous period and then go into the next period with a clear By Joshua Kloke conscience. And that’s something Avalance coach Jared Bednar does well. Jan 24, 2019 “He doesn’t waste a lot of time,” Compher said.

Panthers defenceman Mike Matheson said head coach Bob Boughner Down 1-0 to the Panthers, Mike Knuble sat in the Capitals dressing room uses the time between periods to critically analyze how the Panthers are during the second intermission. The veteran forward knew coach Bruce executing their own approach. The intermission speeches Matheson has Boudreau was going to be upset, given the team’s three-game losing heard from NHL coaches differ from those he heard in college. streak. But he couldn’t have predicted what came next. “It has to be,” said Matheson, “because it’s such a systematic way of With the HBO cameras rolling for the “24/7: Road to the Winter Classic” playing.” series, viewers were treated to what Knuble calls “one of the all-time great rants” he’s heard from a coach. And considering Knuble has been In an age when players utilize short videos to gain a better understanding coached by some of the game’s greats, that’s saying something. of the strengths and weaknesses in their game, simply spouting off mantras as a means to inspire a team often rings hollow. Players now “So shit’s not going right. It’s not fuckin’ working the last 10 days. Fuckin’ demand evidence-based constructive criticism, including the use of get your heads out of your ass and fuckin’ make it work by outworking effective and often personal communication. Verbal lashings, or, “the the opposition,” Boudreau said in a speech that included 15 expletives. hairdryer treatment,” a term often associated with famed Manchester United coach Sir Alex Ferguson who would scream at his players so “It just felt like it was your Dad up there, disappointed in you,” said heavily that players felt like their hair was being blown back, simply Knuble, now an assistant coach with the AHL’s . doesn’t resonate. As memorable as Boudreau’s speech was, expletive-filled intermission “Why hammer the screw if you don’t have a nail?” asked Predators speeches that offer no constructive feedback or specific instructions are forward Craig Smith. “Dealing with people is the way to go. If you know becoming a thing of the past. your players, and know what makes everyone tick, that can work to your “I honestly think that’s on its way out,” said 25-year-old Canucks advantage.” defenceman Ben Hutton. Smith said Predators head coach Peter Laviolette tends to be very As the NHL skews younger, one by-product is the fact that coaches must motivating between periods and can lift the room by maintaining a pulse now be more attuned to more effective communication methods with on the team. younger players. Simply echoing clichés and screaming in the middle of “He can go around the room and get a great sense of how everyone the game does not motivate, or benefit players. To effectively connect feels,” said Smith. with players in the middle of a game, young players insist coaches must be aware of a player’s emotional intelligence and how that can impact Another effect of players emerging in the NHL in a digital age is a their play. shortening attention span. In that sense, an effective intermission speech also needs to possess an economy of words. “For younger guys to come in and just get carved apart, it might kill their confidence,” Hutton said. “Whereas older guys have been around the “The shorter the better in that sense,” said Matheson. “If a coach comes block, they have experience so they can handle it.” in and gives you ten things to focus on…you can’t remember ten things.” In today’s NHL, players insist coaches cannot waste the little time they Maple Leafs centre Nazem Kadri has played for four different head are afforded in-game to garner the attention of an entire team. Instead of coaches in Toronto. What sets current coach Mike Babcock apart, spouting platitudes, many NHL players believe the best dressing room according to Kadri, is how tight he keeps the message he delivers speeches from coaches should focus on how a team can implement their between periods. own tactical adjustments in a game. “You’ve always got to be prepared and on your toes because you never “It’s more systematic and figuring out what the other team is doing,” said really know what (Babcock) is going to say. He might ask you a question. Maple Leafs forward Tyler Ennis. He usually gets everyone’s attention,” said Kadri. “That’s important because as a player, if you’re sitting in a film room or listening to a coach What works in today’s NHL is a far cry from what worked for Ennis and for too long, you might fade in and out. Babs does a good job at keeping others in junior hockey. As a rookie with the Medicine Hat Tigers in 2007, them slim.” Ennis and the Tigers were down 2-1 in the second intermission of Game 7 of the WHL finals. Head coach Willie Desjardins walked into the middle Babcock has perhaps had to tighten his intermission speeches and keep of the room and placed a 2004 championship rings on a table. The them positive to cater to a young roster. It’s one of many changes in message was clear: “This is what we’re playing for.” Toronto during the club’s rebuild. The Tigers won in double overtime. Babcock was asked how his own work with mental health initiatives has influenced his approach to coaching. His awareness of the importance of Blue Jackets forward Riley Nash remembers playing in a provincial final individual communication and players feeling supported by their coaching in minor hockey. His coach, in an attempt to motivate players, turned the staff is compelling. lights off in the dressing room and played the audio from the iconic speech from Al Pacino’s character in “Any Given Sunday.” “One of the questions I ask a guy when we meet is, ‘What are you thinking?’ And usually, you know what they say? ‘Nothing.’ So then you “I was ready to run through the wall for him,” said Nash with a smile. ask again. And if you ask enough, usually you get a pretty good dial on But in today’s NHL, coaches are not leaned upon to inspire players. it,” Babcock said. “But I think it’s the same when you’re thinking of your kids. When you’re thinking about anybody in your family. You want “You hope that you don’t need to motivate guys quite like that,” Nash people to be doing well. You want them to feel good. No athlete performs said. at his highest level when he’s not feeling good. You want everyone to be feeling good” Many players, including Nash, now believe that for the vital time between periods to be used well, coaches should give players specific instructions Babcock’s approach is perhaps at odds with former coaches. Another to change the course of a game. long-serving Leaf, Jake Gardiner, contends that of all the Leafs coaches he’s played for, Randy Carlyle would give the team the most verbal “Most coaches now are Xs and Os focused,” Nash said. “They want to lashings between periods. make a couple of adjustments to our game plan and look at trends that they’re seeing.” Leafs forward Patrick Marleau, who currently leads the NHL in games played among active players, has heard thousands of intermission Timing is important too. Players insist intermissions must be used to speeches from coaches. The “rah rah” speeches meant to inspire players deliver concrete and concise messages to ensure that every player is do not stick out to Marleau. Instead, it’s speeches that don’t complicate aware of their specific tasks before they head out on the ice. the message. “Sometimes the simplest ones are best,” said Marleau, providing a basic example of an effective message: “We’ve put ourselves in this position so if you put in the work, you can get yourself out.” That trend of keeping intermission speeches brief while focusing heavily on analytical discourse could very well continue. Knuble now coaches one of the AHL’s best teams, one stocked with talent that could change the course of the Red Wings future. Having been involved in professional hockey for well over 20 years now, Knuble sees a massive generational shift in the way coaches treat players. “Back in the day, there was a general ‘My way or the highway’ attitude, where the coaches were the be all and end all. And the players were asked to conform to how the coaches wanted them to play as a group or as individuals,” said Knuble. Now, Knuble contends that players understand how much their influence on a team has grown. “The players make up the game,” said Knuble. “They know they’re the talent.” Coaches now possess much more empathy for players, according to Knuble. And that shift is manifested in dressing room speeches that cater to players demands instead of coaches. “You’re almost a little more partner-ish,” Knuble said. And more readily available technology makes detailed review of plays much easier between periods. “That ability to get immediate feedback has led to players who now really like getting feedback,” said Knuble. “They want to know immediately what’s just happened. Coaches now have that ability.” This isn’t to suggest that anger or frustration now has no place in a coach’s message during a game. Those emotions just have to be delivered in a genuine manner, is all. Knuble remembers having a coach, who he didn’t want to name, that would purposefully set up fans throughout the dressing room just to have something to kick in anger during intermissions. These days, Knuble insists players won’t respond to that kind of vitriol if it isn’t on display day in and day out. “You can’t have a guy who never swears coming in and kicking a fan,” said Knuble. “Guys will get a chuckle out of that.” Coyotes defenceman Jakob Chychrun believes while coaches will express anger if a team is “laying an egg,” that approach pales in comparison to a coach that uses positivity in his messaging. “More often than not, coaches try to focus on the positives,” Chychrun said. “Obviously you touch on things you could do better but at the end of the day, you don’t want to only focus on negative ideas and then you go out there with negative thoughts in your head. You need to focus on what you do really well and continue to do those things well and just touch on areas you need to do better. That seems to be the best tactic.” It’s clear that every coach possesses a different approach when it comes to communicating with players in the middle of games. According to Nash, Canadiens head coach Claude Julien’s intermission speeches are lengthier than other coaches. And Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella’s speeches can be animated, but also incredibly honest to the point that every player knows where they stand with their coach. “I think (the media) zero in on him at his absolute best,” said Nash. Yet anger as a means to inspire players seems to be just another element of bygone time in the NHL. As young players become more empowered, there’s an increased understanding of how important clarity and specific instructions is in the feedback they receive during a game. “That’s when you execute the best,” said Kadri, “when everyone knows what they’re doing.”

The Athletic LOADED: 01.25.2019 1127635 Websites screamed superstar? As it has been in the last two decades where there have been zero seasons with more than 20 such players, three with 15 or more, and just seven with 10 or more? This year, it’s almost one per The Athletic / The Surge: The NHL’s influx of 100-point scorers and why team on average. There are only 10 teams without a point-per-game it’s unlikely to end anytime soon scorer and nearly half have a 90-point scorer. Eight of those teams have two, and five of those teams have three.

The scoring surge has led to some astronomically silly scoring By Dom Luszczyszyn leaderboards. The question now is will it continue? Jan 24, 2019 The important thing to remember with a player’s current pace is that it doesn’t always last, not with two-and-a-half months of hockey left to play. It was at this time last season that Josh Bailey was on pace for 96 points (with 54 points in 46 games). He closed the season with 17 points in his Today’s goalies are probably getting real tired of the red light behind last 30 games to finish with 71 in 76, a 77-point pace. A career high, yes, them constantly flashing; constantly flashing at the hands of the same but far off from the pie-in-the-sky numbers he had going into the All-Star players night after night. break. For Bailey, a player who’s never scored at that level, regression The goals keep coming — 6.12 per game for those counting at home, the was obvious, but it effects all players, not just the expected targets like highest mark since 2005-06 — and it’s because players are finding ways him. to score outside the power-play. The league is currently averaging 4.9 My current projections have six players maintaining their 100-point pace goals-per-game there, the highest figure since the 1992-93 season. More and 16 players at 90 points. Both marks would be the highest since importantly for the NHL, it’s the league’s best and brightest, the 2006-07, but perhaps too far off the current numbers shown this season, superstars, that are leading the way. a year that looks poised to be a special one for high-end scoring totals. Fans pay to see the stars shine and the NHL’s most talented players While I adjust my projections for higher scoring rates, it’s difficult to have delivered this season. Going into the All-Star break, there has been account for teams leaning on their stars much more than usual. On a surge of potential 100-point scorers this year with 14 players currently average, a team’s highest scoring player has accounted for over one- playing at a 100-point pace or higher: third of a team’s offence this season, peaking at a mind-boggling 52 percent for McDavid. That figure has risen over the last five years, Nikita Kucherov, TBL – 130 points another likely factor accounting for this year’s surprising rise. Connor McDavid, EDM – 123 points 2018-19: 34.5% Mikko Rantanen, COL – 122 points 2017-18: 32.3% Johnny Gaudreau, CGY – 120 points 2016-17: 31.0% Nathan MacKinnon, COL – 117 points 2015-16: 30.9% Patrick Kane, CHI – 117 points 2014-15: 30.4% Brayden Point, TBL – 109 points 2013-14: 30.5% Blake Wheeler, WPG – 104 points While my projections might be a bit too conservative, it is still fair to expect a small drop-off over the remainder of the season, at least based Mitch Marner, TOR – 104 points on past season’s scoring marks at the All-Star break. Sidney Crosby, PIT – 104 points In terms of pace, there is a high retention rate at both 100 and 90 point Patrice Bergeron, BOS – 102 points paces, with about 87 percent of players staying the 100-point course and 93 percent for 90 points. That means by season’s end you can expect Auston Matthews, TOR – 102 points roughly 12 players at a 100-point pace and 27 at a 90-point pace. But actually hitting those marks? That’s where things change much more Mark Scheifele, WPG – 101 points drastically as many players don’t get into enough games to reach the Sean Monahan, CGY – 100 points required marks. The retention rate there is 56 percent for 100-point players and 65 percent for 90-point players, meaning that based on This assumes every player plays all 82 games and while that won’t historic scoring rates since 1990 at this point of the season, the 2018-19 happen (and for Bergeron and Matthews missing over 10 games each, campaign should see about eight 100-point scorers (two more than my 100 points is very improbable), the fact these players are playing at this model projects) and 19 90-point scorers (three more than my model rate is still a magnificent feat, one that is nearly unprecedented in the projects). salary cap era. If those figures come to pass, the end of this season could see one of the Since the 2005-06 season, there have been 46 players who have scored most prolific scoring seasons for the NHL’s best since 2005-06 (7/19 at a 100-point pace or higher, or 3.8 per year. What’s more is that 33 of split) or maybe even 10 years before that in 1995-96 (12/22 split). those were in the first five seasons after the cancelled season. Since then, there have been 13 players in seven years (one less than this year) Either way, the 2018-19 season has and looks to be a truly magical year on pace for the mark and only eight actual 100-point seasons. The — and hopefully a sign of things to come for the league. century club has been the gold standard for scoring for most of hockey’s history, but has felt almost unattainable since 2010. That’s changed drastically this season, leading to an explosion of potential 100-point The Athletic LOADED: 01.25.2019 seasons. The 14 players currently playing above a 100-point pace would be the most since the 1995-96 season where there were 16 such players (with 12 actually earning 100 points or more). The 2018-19 season has been a renaissance, back to the days of the high-flying early-90s, representing a shift from where the game was trending just five seasons ago. It was then that the league sensed it needed change and it seems to have found the right path thanks to being proactive (goalie equipment changes are likely a big part of this) as well as the natural development of the next generation. It’s likely no coincidence that many of the potential 100-point scorers are part of the NHL’s next wave of stars, with the median age of the group being 24.5- years-old and 10 of the 14 being 25 or younger. That extends a bit to the 15 others on pace for 90-or-more points. Of those 29 players, 17 are 25- or-younger and the group has a median age of 25. On top of the influx of 100-point seasons, 90 points has become the expectation for a team’s best player – the new normal. Yes, that’s 29 players who are on pace for 90 points or more, the most since the 1992- 93 season when there were 31. Remember when a 90-point season 1127636 Websites tips. Everything is happening. It’s why one of Waimon’s principles is expanding the window of gathering information.

“The No. 1 thing I’m about now is reading longer,” Waimon told his The Athletic / Goaltending, weaponized: How the next generation of students. “I’m not saying ‘patient’ anymore. It’s, ‘read longer.’ If you skim goalies is ready to dominate a page — I’m assuming a couple of us can read — versus read a page, you know the difference. The only way to do that is invest time in it. So off the play, we’re going to read longer. Off the shot, we’re going to read By Fluto Shinzawa longer. We’re going to push ourselves to wait it out for more. Results of that should be longer on the release, holding your edges more, more Jan 24, 2019 shuffles, hopefully some lateral release, and no slides.” Waimon’s coaches were well aware of the latter. Before the clinic began, Waimon distributed printouts detailing the drills of the day. AVON, Conn. — A warning to shooters: You are in trouble. For one drill, a two-pass scenario across the middle of the ice, Waimon The next wave of goalies is approaching. They are equipped with tools dispensed with subtlety when describing how he wanted his goalies to granted to no other generation. play the situation. Today’s teenage puckstoppers are holding their edges, reading plays to “NO FUCKING SLIDES,” read the instructions. “GET BETTER AND their conclusion, stickhandling brashly, attacking pucks with their hands, FASTER.” studying video and building resilience. They are not going down automatically, camping out in reverse vertical-horizontal (RVH) position, Waimon, like most goalie coaches, is leading a movement away from sliding needlessly from side to side on limited threats, or hanging their previous teachings. As recently as five years ago, they were telling their heads after an early goal. netminders to take away the ice. By going down, and often staying there, goalies could close off low pucks, remain tall enough to obstruct high Meanwhile, NHL teams are learning that sky-scraping size is no longer a shots, eliminate the holes that open by standing back up, and block priority. Shorter goalies once bypassed without a second thought are everything that approached. now given proper consideration. Shooters and their sticks have since progressed. Elite attackers think The result: a deeper pool of smart, technical, athletic and confident nothing of popping a puck past a goalie’s ear when parked in RVH. They goalies. are good at exposing the goalie that slides to meet an expected shot and “Now we have all this other information. Now we have all these other cannot recover when a pass cuts across the grain. tools,” said Jared Waimon, founder of Pro Crease Goaltending and Sliding captures what goalies are doing wrong. goalie coach at Quinnipiac University (currently ranked No. 6 in the NCAA). “How can we use those? What’s the emphasis? The emphasis is There are times to slide. Waimon is OK when a goalie slides to track a on reading longer, having great skating, having patience, having edge pass that travels below the hashmarks. control. Then you can use all these other things we have developed over the past years.” But in today’s speed game, a slide should be a last-ditch save, not a crutch of a technique. Sliding and going down early are like a goalie So dangle, one-time, and go bar down as much as you want. The goalies crossing his or her fingers, hoping to arrive at the same time as the puck. of the future will stop most of them. The pucks that slip through will not bother them. “Being down is becoming more of a style instead of a save selection. I think it’s becoming a problem at the younger ages,” former AHL veteran If anything, they will be more determined to keep everything that follows Scott Munroe, a Pro Crease instructor and assistant coach at Trinity out of the net. College, told the students. “I really like how at Pro Crease, we’ve worked on holding edges longer. The one thing I’ve been talking a lot about in Thumbs down to being down practice is making sure we see the puck leave the blade of the stick Steve Mason is 30 years old. Only two years ago, Mason was before we make any kind of reaction. Then we can go to the puck instead Philadelphia’s No. 1 goalie. But one reason Mason is unemployed is of dropping and having our hands come down. Then we have to react up because the NHL’s speed and skill ran him out of the league. from it.” Like most goalies of his generation, the 6-foot-4, 210-pound Mason was Every year, the NHL spits out goalies who cannot keep pace with taught to take away everything down low. He slid from side to side to modernity. Mason is a recent casualty. Cam Ward could be next. Part of make spectacular last-second stops. Mason incorporated RVH into his the reason is that they were not raised on principles being taught today. game, keeping his lead pad down and trail pad cocked at 45 degrees to By contrast, when the 18 Pro Crease pupils execute their drills, going seal strong-side posts and negate low-flying threats. down and sliding are not common maneuvers. They are up. They are But today’s turbocharged game has blunted these tools. Skaters fly. reading plays. They are slamming their pads down only when necessary. Passes are accurate. Pucks zoom off blades over shoulders or slip These are the new-school goalies. through slivers that bigger gear once sealed shut. Hockey sense matters It’s why goalie coaches like Waimon have turned their teaching manuals upside down. Stay up, they say. Shuffle, don’t slide. Think through the Waimon likes Arthur Smith. He believes the 14-year-old has the potential game instead of executing pre-programmed technique. to play for USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program. Waimon notes Smith’s athleticism and tracking. He saves his highest praise for Older goalies raised on going down are struggling to adjust movements the most critical component of any successful goalie: intelligence. long baked into their games. Younger goalies such as John Gibson (25) and Andrei Vasilevskiy (24) have had to relearn some of their tactics. One of the critiques Waimon has about goalies, in general, is their tendency to lean on prescribed movements. They are programmed to Teenage goalies have the least to rewire. select saves that can be predictable. On Dec. 21, 18 youngsters, from bantams to collegians, attended Pro Modern shooters incorporate deception to add another layer of devilry on Crease’s one-day clinic at Avon Old Farms, a boarding school and their targets. Waimon believes goalies should respond in kind. longtime hockey powerhouse in central Connecticut. During two on-ice sessions, the goalies worked at six separate stations positioned around It’s why he likes to remind his charges they are hockey players first and the rink, overseen by Pro Crease coaches and targeted by shooters. goalies second. So when he runs clips of Mike Smith, Calgary’s puckhandling wizard, Waimon wants his goalies to process the game Pro Crease students stretch after their second on-ice session at Avon similarly. Look to one teammate and pass to another. Use the net as Old Farms. protection from forecheckers. The goalies were accompanied by one hockey reporter who is wobbly, at “Your chance to impact the game might not be a save,” Waimon told his best, on his skates. But from the ice, instead of my usual seat in the goalies. “It might be a touch. It might be a stop, a quick up, and now press box, I could process some of the factors in play when it’s time to you’re going 200 feet. Your guys score, or you have a chance.” make a save. Mike Smith handles the puck like he’s Sidney Crosby. But the 36-year- There are plenty: defensemen joining the rush, forwards driving to the far old veteran could not stickhandle like he does without reading what’s post, passes crossing the middle of the ice, attackers parked in front for happening and thinking about what he’d like to do. His brain is at work. Young puckstoppers are taught to mimic this trait. Quick thinking is what Matt Michno, University of Connecticut goalie coach and Pro Crease director of coaching, explains to the students after the morning session. With the sweaty goalies stuffed in a locker room, Michno connects his laptop to a TV and breaks down a clip of Adam Huska, his No. 1 goalie at UConn. On a play against the University of Massachusetts, Huska reacts to a pass out front to an initial attacker. Huska drops into RVH to play the threat. But when the puck pops over the attacker’s stick and onto the blade of a second-wave forward, Huska has to react to the broken play. Instead of staying down, Huska gets back on his feet, giving himself more options. As he reads the release, Huska is square to the shooter. When the shot arrives, he goes down and gobbles up the puck. “When he’s back on his feet, everything is tracking toward where the puck is,” Michno explained. “These are really basic things. What are we looking for you guys to do? See the thing, not chase it. Not get crazy, reaching and sprawling for pucks. We want to see us put all the pieces together because our eyes are telling us what to do. When we get so caught up in, ‘I need to go into RVH here, I need to keep my feet here,’ we lose sight of the simplicity of the game. Which is, ‘Where’s the puck in relation to my body? Where’s my body in relation to the net?’ That’s what we’re looking for you to do with this theme of reading plays, reading longer.” Reading plays is not the only activity required of a goalie’s brain. Building resilience After the first on-ice session, the Pro Crease goalies gather for a presentation by Dr. Jason Emery, founder of Northeast Psych. The theme of the psychologist’s talk is about fortifying the muscle that is regularly under attack from bad goals, surging crowd noise, teammates’ misplays and equipment malfunctions. The trick for every goalie is to maintain performance when things go sideways. “It’s not a trait you’re born with. It’s just not,” Emery tells the students. “Anybody can develop this. It is a process.” Emery presents a checklist for the goalies to follow to build resilience: be optimistic in problem-solving, be motivated, be robustly confident amid stress, practice selective focus, and insist on social support. “Not doing this part,” Emery said, “is not training.” Prior to the second on-ice session, which Emery joins for one-on-one chats with the goalies, he reminds the students it’s OK to fail. This aligns with Waimon’s approach. During the clinic, Waimon wants his goalies to try a technique that isn’t comfortable, read a play a hair longer, or play a puck that might lie outside a comfortable perimeter. In fact, Waimon tells his coaches to take away the net if any of the goalies boil over after allowing too many goals. So when the goalies return to the ice, they are pushing the boundaries of their abilities. As Waimon watches over Arthur Smith and fellow bantam Brendan Holahan, nodding his head forcefully in sync with every expected save, some of the pucks they should be stopping slip through. He has no problem with goals allowed at his clinic. “Where do you want success?” Waimon asks Holahan with a smile. “Now, or at nationals?” Holahan does not need to respond. The answer is obvious.

The Athletic LOADED: 01.25.2019 1127637 Websites He declined comment on Chiarelli’s firing, saying this weekend was for fun. That he and teammate Leon Draisaitl, whom the fans voted into the exhibition, have earned that right. Sportsnet.ca / Oilers' Connor McDavid: 'I'm here to be part of the He wants to relax. Breathe. solution' “He deserves that. He needs that,” Nicholson said. “He’s fully on-board, he wants the team to get better. We just gotta take a little of the pressure Luke Fox | @lukefoxjukebox off him. He’s the best player in the world.” January 25, 2019, 12:15 AM A weekly deep dive into the biggest hockey news in the world with hosts Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek. New episodes every Thursday.

So even though McDavid couldn’t quite hide his annoyance for the line of SAN JOSE, California – Connor McDavid had skillfully stick-handled questioning, he dutifully got through another long shift. through more than seven minutes of uneasy questions about the tenuous state of the Edmonton Oilers, the franchise luck gave him to save, when He described his relationship with new interim GM Keith Gretzky as finally, mercifully, a reporter floated a softball about how fun he thinks 3- “basic”: “I know him a little bit. I don’t know him a tremendous amount, on-3 hockey is. but that [the case] with a lot of GMs.” “Oh. My God,” he exhaled, half-smiling for the first time. “I was gonna get He touched on Wayne Gretzky’s involvement as a mentor: “Wayne’s off the seat, it was so hot. I love the 3-on-3.” around for sure once a month, every couple weeks. He’s obviously a busy guy. He does what he can to be around the team and offer advice McDavid’s first meeting with reporters since the man who drafted him but where he sees fit.” failed to surround him with enough working parts, Peter Chiarelli, was fired just happened to coincide with Thursday’s All-Star Media Day — And he answered, briefly, some hard questions on how he feels about typically a session made for lighter topics. the incongruity between a sagging team and a soaring superstar. But these are dark, confusing, angry days in the city McDavid captains: Does Connor McDavid feel let down personally by what he’s been given another round of coaching and GM overhaul, enforced in a backwards to work with? order; another round of chatter about something rotting the water; “I’m not going to comment too much on that at all. I’m just as much a part another rebuild refusing to acknowledge itself as one; another season of this group as anyone, if not more,” McDavid said. “It’s on all of us as where the most awe-inspiring player in the game is on the outside of the players. It’s on me being part of that. It’s on me being the captain.” playoff picture looking in. Has he reached a point, as some have speculated, where he no longer The Oilers are at risk of missing the playoffs in three out of four seasons wants to be part of the losing? Maybe taste some other water? with McDavid. A waste. “That’s just not the case at all,” McDavid said. But maybe it’s lazy of us on the outside to paint the whole thing black when McDavid sees hope. “I’m here to be part of the solution, and that’s all I’ll say on that.” “What positives? We’re three points out of a playoff spot. I think that gets lost. I think that really is lost. We’re going through a lot of different changes but we’re three points out and have a chance to make the Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 01.25.2019 playoffs,” said McDavid, looking forward to a chance to make the haters eat their words after a much-needed bye-week. “Things seem pretty down on us. There’s a sense of negativity within media, within everyone around the team. We get to prove people wrong. We get to decide how we’re going to finish the second half. That’s what I’m looking forward to.” Sportsnet NOW gives you access to over 500 NHL games this season, blackout-free, including Hockey Night in Canada, Rogers Hometown Hockey, Scotiabank Wednesday Night Hockey, the entire 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs and more. He’s right. The West’s wild-card spots are wide open for the two subpar clubs who decide they actually want them down the stretch. McDavid is encouraged by the impending return of a healthy Oscar Klefbom, noting that the one year he did make the post-season, Klefbom and Andrej Sekera were the Oilers’ best two defencemen and they’ve been out for the bulk of the past two losing seasons. But Oilers CEO Bob Nicholson, who has spent much time speaking with McDavid over the past 24 hours, came clean that the issues with the 23- 24-3 club go beyond a dearth of skill. “We need to get the character straightened out,” Nicholson told Hockey Central at Noon Thursday. “We have to build a real positive environment here when the players get back.” McDavid, riding for his friends like a good captain should, sees things differently. “Character-wise, I think it’s easy to think we have turmoil in our locker room or we have this and that. We don’t have that at all. We’re a tight group. Guys love to play for each other. So it’s not that,” he asserted. “Losing isn’t fun. It’s not fun for anyone. I’m no different. You want to win. You want to build something special, something you’re proud to be a part of. We gotta still build that. “You’ve got to believe. We have to believe that we’re going to turn it around.” McDavid arrived in California with a fresh haircut, free of his flowing hockey hair (“It was getting a little bit shaggy and a little bit long,” he explained, “so it was a good time to get it cut”) but, as is too often the case, looking like he’d just made more room for the weight of the world on his shoulders. 1127638 Websites The Senators sent two of their young players, Wolanin and Rudolf Balcers, back to Belleville to get some playing time this weekend during Ottawa’s eight-day break. Sportsnet.ca / Last-place Senators stumble into all-star break with UFAs Wolanin will likely rejoin the NHL club for Ottawa’s Feb. 1 game in unsigned Pittsburgh. The best news for Senators fans after the all-star break will probably Wayne Scanlan January 24, 2019, 1:11 PM arrive in an off-ice development, rather than a win here or there — or the shallow victory of keeping Colorado from getting a lottery pick.

1. A Stone signing would go a long way toward lifting spirits, signalling The Ottawa Senators vowed to go into the all-star break on a strong that this franchise can keep the occasional star player, after letting such note. luminaries as Karlsson, Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza, Zdeno Chara and Marian Hossa get away, for one reason or another. Instead, the final game before the break squelched like a whoopee cushion, beneath the seats of a small and quiet crowd announced as 12, 2. Positive news from the LeBreton Flats bid would warm the hearts of 236 at the Canadian Tire Centre. hockey fans throughout the National Capital Region. Mediator Warren (Don’t call me Henry) Winkler has until Feb. 28, just three days past the After 50 games, the Senators are dead last in the NHL with 43 points off trade deadline, to find a resolution for the stalled RendezVous LeBreton a record of 19-26-5. For comparison, in the 2017-18 season that proposal of Melnyk and his RendezVous partners John Ruddy and registered historic disappointment, Ottawa also had 43 points after 50 Graham Bird. games (17-24-9). The wild card in this last-minute pitch to get the project approved, which So, this team is keeping pace with that snail. Then, there was worry would involve a downtown NHL arena, is the involvement of Devcore about losing defenceman Erik Karlsson at the deadline (he was moved in Canderel DLS, backed by Quebec billionaires Guy Laliberte and Andre September instead). This year, one month ahead of the trade deadline Desmarais. Devcore appears willing to take on responsibility for financing Ottawa’s top three forwards are all pending unrestricted free agents – and building the arena, with the Senators as tenants. It’s also possible winger Mark Stone, centre Matt Duchene and winger Ryan Dzingel. Devcore could take an ownership stake in the franchise or buy the team outright. As the rebuild ensues, it is expected that two of the three will be moved at or before the deadline, with Stone considered most likely to remain These kinds of life-giving developments would put this lousy hockey with the organization. season in a very different light. Regardless, the final 32 games will be a challenging exercise in maintaining some level of professionalism and focus for a rebuilding team that doesn’t have its 2019 first round draft pick (traded to Colorado Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 01.25.2019 in the Duchene deal). Veteran defenceman Mark Borowiecki admitted it will be difficult for players to battle the distraction of potential trades and their fallout, heading into the deadline and beyond. "Arguably, the core of our team, two guys especially (Stone, Duchene) are big, huge names on this team — foundational pieces — they’re in contract years where, we haven’t had quite the team success we would have liked to have had," Borowiecki says, putting it politely. "And that leaves a lot of questions unanswered. "As a player you work and work and get that chance at free agency and what do you do? It can be a distraction personally, individually, but as a group too. Whatever happens, we have to do what we can as players to help this team grow and win more games." That 26th regulation loss of the season, and 31st in all, was telling. A weekly deep dive into the biggest hockey news in the world with hosts Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek. New episodes every Thursday. Against an Arizona Coyotes team with few recognizable names and several players injured, including starting goaltender Antti Raanta, the Senators got outworked, outplayed and were full value for the 3-2 defeat. The Coyotes lost captain and top defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson to an injury in the second period. And still they beat Ottawa to nearly every loose puck, putting on a work ethic clinic, just as the Coyotes did in Toronto against the Maple Leafs two nights earlier. Arizona doesn’t have a single player with as many as 40 points, yet head coach Rick Tocchet has the team playing as though the players won’t get fed after the game if they don’t display a degree of hunger within it. No category better defines work ethic and coaching than the PK stats and the Coyotes are the best penalty killers in the NHL with a success rate of 86.9 per cent. The Senators are 29th in PK (75.5 per cent), which shows that Duchene’s infamous Uber video chirp about Ottawa’s lame penalty killing strategy continues to ring true. Much like the first 50 games, the final 32 will be about assessing and developing young players, that is if head coach can forget about trying to save his job long enough to let the kids play. Against Arizona, Boucher and defensive coach Marc Crawford played veteran Cody Ceci 21:11 and rookie Christian Wolanin all of 8:08, despite the Senators trailing for most of the night. Wolanin has offensive upside, evidenced by his recent nomination for the AHL all-star team. Ceci is among those who could be moved at the deadline. 1127639 Websites Should the Oilers be trying to make the playoffs, or become sellers with an eye to next season? How far should they go in attaching assets to bad contracts in order to shed some of the awful, awful contracts that Chiarelli Sportsnet.ca / New Oilers GM will inherit tall task, but it won't be Mission: managed to collect? Impossible "We’re not trading away our first (round) pick," Nicholson promised. "When you look at some of our other top prospects, we’re not giving them away unless we get some really good pieces back." Mark Spector | @sportsnetspec The Oilers have some pieces around which a very good team can be January 23, 2019, 4:59 PM built. McDavid, Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Klefbom, Adam Larsson, Darnell Nurse … a few other NHL pieces like Jujhar Khaira, Russell and EDMONTON — "There is something in the water here in Edmonton." Caleb Jones — players who are just fine when playing minutes and roles they can handle. As the latest CEO stepped behind the latest microphone to announce the latest firing which will lead to the latest rebuild in Edmonton, these were Filling in the bottom-six forwards, finding a couple of defencemen who the words that really stood out. can pass the puck, grabbing a veteran to share time with Koskinen, it’s not Mission: Impossible. "There is something in the water," said Bob Nicholson. But Chiarelli has crippled this team with his scorched earth approach to After missing the playoffs for 11 of the last 12 years, the Oilers are soon the salary cap, so the new GM had better bring a shovel, and be ready to to hire their fifth general manager in a dozen seasons. He will trade some draft picks to move out some money. subsequently hire the ninth head coach in the same time frame. And then, they’ll need to hire a plumber. To figure out what’s the matter By my count, it is Rebuild 4.0. Though Nicholson begs to differ on that with the water in Edmonton. count. "The way that you figure that out is to talk to people," Nicholson said. "I’m "We’re not into a rebuild, I truly believe we’re not into a rebuild," he said. going to try and open up more doors, in all aspects of this organization, "We have the best player in the world, we have other really good players to find out those little things that just haven’t been fixed over the last in that dressing room." number of years." Ex-GM Peter Chiarelli, fired during the second intermission of Tuesday’s If it is true that bad things come in threes, then welcome to Rebuild 4.0. loss to Detroit, will go down in hockey history as the guy who was gifted Connor McDavid yet managed somehow to make his team worse. The water can only taste better from here. Failure cum laude — he’ll never work as a GM again.

But even though his name is attached to inexplicable transactions that landed players like Ryan Spooner (dispatched to Bakersfield, where he’ll Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 01.25.2019 earn his $4 million this year and next), Brandon Manning (a sixth or seventh defenceman who makes $2.25 this year and next), the $6-million Milan Lucic, or paid all of Leon Draisaitl, Mikko Koskinen and Kris Russell at least $1 million too much annually, Chiarelli had help. He has a pro scouting department full of men who haven’t helped enough. Scouts who haven’t done the extra work to find a gem in someone else’s minor league system; who aren’t connected enough to have heard from a colleague about a player who was available for some reason, who could be acquired quietly. Scouts who didn’t have the eyes or the courage to tell Chiarelli that the Spooners of the world can’t play. "And by the way, Pete. You’re killing Jesse Puljujarvi and Kailer Yamamoto by playing them in the NHL." Were they yes men? Or would Chiarelli simply not listen? Whatever — the Oilers pro evaluation team needs an overhaul, big-time. The proof of their work lies in the lack of depth in Edmonton lineup, where one injury to Oscar Klefbom is somehow insurmountable. And after nearly 20 years of rushing young players before they’re ready — organizational DNA that makes us crazy — if it happens even one more time this reporter will be calling for Nicholson’s head. "We’re going to push back," Nicholson promised on Wednesday. "We want our younger players to develop more in the American Hockey League." Really, that’s a metaphor, isn’t it? If you keep smacking your head against the wall in ruining young prospects, in watching Puljujarvi fail nightly in the NHL but never making a change, in what other areas are you making the same mistake, over and over and over again? "We have to look at all parts of this organization," said Nicholson. "We have some really good players. We have some really good staff. But there’s something in the water here in Edmonton that we don’t have right and we have to get that figured out." When they hired former Boston GM Chiarelli, and he brought in former San Jose coach Todd McLellan, we celebrated the break from the history of nepotism that is woven into the fabric of this organization. But with both having been fired within a couple of months of each other, now what? Does a deeper cleanse of the Old Boys Club need to occur, or should the next GM be allowed to hire or retain whomever he sees fit, regardless of where they played their hockey a couple of decades ago? 1127640 Websites Just 19 months later, the Canucks wouldn’t trade Pettersson for both Nico Hischier and Nolan Patrick, the forwards drafted first and second overall in what was considered a two-horse race. Sportsnet.ca / 'Hockey over strength' mantra fuels Pettersson's rise to all- Pettersson’s size has rarely been an issue this season. He is smart and star agile enough to avoid big hits, yet plays a two-way game and goes into traffic. Iain MacIntyre | @imacSportsnet But all those questions about his size and strength helped him become a star. They’re why he’s at the All-Star Game. January 24, 2019, 6:23 PM "Oh, yeah," he said of the motivation. "I was doubted that I could play because I’m not a big person. ‘Too skinny.’ But I came up with a way to use that as an advantage – to think hockey before strength. So far, it’s VANCOUVER – Everyone has a favourite Elias Pettersson story, and going good." Vancouver Canucks teammate Erik Gudbranson didn’t need to wait long for his. Pettersson’s linemate, Brock Boeser, was only a West Coast story until he went to last year’s All-Star Game and became the first rookie to be It was Pettersson’s first National Hockey League pre-season game, long named its MVP. Boeser won the target-shooting competition and before the Swedish rookie scored with a rocket on opening night against returned to the Canucks as an NHL sensation. Calgary. Pettersson is already there. He has changed the landscape in It was the first period of his first game on NHL ice, the Canucks’ second Vancouver. He is the Canucks’ best player and has accelerated the power play against the Edmonton Oilers. Gudbranson was watching from team’s rebuild by a year. The Canucks are challenging for a playoff spot the press box, keeping his eye on the new kid, when Oilers penalty-killer this season instead of next year. Ryan Strome pressured Pettersson near the top of the right-wing circle. "It’s just kind of humbling to be in the same room as all of these older The teenager fooled Strome so badly with a lateral puck dangle that the guys," Boeser said of his all-star experience. "When I got to meet Sidney Oiler lost his balance and literally fell over. It hardly mattered that a few Crosby and other guys – Brent Burns, Anze Kopitar and other guys on seconds later, Pettersson swung so hard and missed on a one-timer that my team – it was an eye-opening experience. Just enjoy the whole he, too, dusted the ice. thing." He made Strome look ridiculous. Asked if the shooting accuracy competition should be Pettersson’s event, too, Boeser said: "I sure hope it is. But he’s so skilled at everything, I "That was the first moment where you go, ‘Oh, my God,’" Gudbranson don’t know what events they’ll put him in." said. "He nearly broke Ryan Strome’s ankle. I was like, ‘Whoa.’ The days when Pavel Datsyuk would literally throw guys for a loop are pretty much Pettersson said he doesn’t know what to expect, but he’ll be nervous over. That was the first time where I was like, ‘Wow, that was pretty walking into a dressing room filled with NHL stars he grew up watching. nice.’" "Yeah, of course I get nervous," he said. "I’m nervous a little before Canucks winger Sven Baertschi could feel Strome’s embarrassment. games and important games. But like my dad told me, when you’re nervous that’s a good thing because that means you’re ready." "I didn’t expect him to just come into camp and tear some of our players apart," he said. "Even I was like: ‘Holy, what is going on?’" There have been plenty of "holy" moments since then for Pettersson. Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 01.25.2019 Sportsnet NOW gives you access to over 500 NHL games this season, blackout-free, including Hockey Night in Canada, Rogers Hometown Hockey, Scotiabank Wednesday Night Hockey, the entire 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs and more. On Thursday, as most teammates boarded flights to Hawaii or Mexico or drove up to Whistler for the Canucks’ week-long schedule break, Pettersson flew to San Jose for the NHL’s All-Star Game. Selected as a rookie to join the best players in the world, the lanky centre competes in the skills competition on Friday and the three-on-three tournament Saturday. Pettersson became the fifth NHL player in 100 years to score 10 goals in his first 10 games. Then he turned 20 on Nov. 12. He reached the all-star break as the Canucks’ leading scorer with 23 goals and 45 points in 40 games, and has a 19-point lead in the rookie scoring race despite missing six games with a concussion and another five due to a sprained knee. Unless he is injured again or Buffalo Sabres defenceman Rasmus Dahlin plays like Ray Bourque in the final third of the season, Pettersson will win the Calder Trophy by a landslide. "I don’t expect anything," Pettersson told reporters this week. "I work hard. I believe in myself, believe in the team. I do my best to win hockey games. And then, of course, I’m happy with my personal prizes, but it’s a team game and that’s what I focus on most." Later, in possibly his most revealing moment so far, he said: "I always believe in myself. But when I was growing up, I didn’t think I would play in the NHL. I was just practising hard, always working, took it step by step, and now I’m here living my dream. But nothing has come easy. I will still continue working although I had some success lately. There’s a lot of work behind it." At six-foot-two, Pettersson is listed in NHL game notes as weighing 176 pounds – about 20 pounds more than he weighed two and a half years ago at the start of his draft season in Sweden’s second division. Had he been heavier, Pettersson wouldn’t have slipped to the Canucks with the fifth pick of the 2017 draft. 1127641 Websites organization who respected his stuff. He grew up an Oilers fan. Why let him help someone else?

2. On Monday, McDavid told assembled media, “If there’s guys that Sportsnet.ca / 31 Thoughts: What’s next for Oilers after Chiarelli firing believe [this group can’t get it done], they should get out of the room. If you don’t believe in this group and you’re in the locker room then you need to leave.” Elliotte Friedman Apparently, he told his teammates the exact same thing he said publicly. January 24, 2019, 11:58 AM There’s a lot of Mats Sundin in McDavid — goes about his business, loyal to the cause, determined to succeed no matter the circumstances. There’s a lot of debate about his mood. He despises losing, but it is not DEFCON 1. “There’s something in the water,” Oilers CEO Bob Nicholson said Wednesday, “here in Edmonton that we don’t have right.” 3. The thing I liked most about Nicholson’s presser was that, given the chance to throw Peter Chiarelli under the bus one final time for the Mikko It’s time to start swimming in a different lake. Koskinen signing, he didn’t do it. He called it a collaborative effort. The I’m not buying the “old Oilers are interfering” narrative. Oh, they’ve got Oilers checked in on Washington’s Andre Burakovsky, but a couple of opinions, but how much did they really stand in the way of anything sources threw cold water on that. They like Detroit’s Andreas Athanasiou, Edmonton did or didn’t do the past four seasons? I’m not convinced it whose speed seems a perfect complement to McDavid, but there’s no happened often, if at all. And it will be important for the organization to guarantee the Red Wings want to do anything and the price would be line up in support of Nicholson during this search, rather than splintering costly. There were also rumblings they were talking to Chicago about into separate fiefdoms. something bigger and are trying to move Tobias Rieder to open some cap room. Whatever the case, it should be a smooth transition for Keith But, what must be addressed is if there is a comfort zone with familiar Gretzky, since he’d be part of the group working on these files. ideas. Or, more importantly, if the organization falling further and further behind what other teams are doing in the areas of scouting, sports 4. There was a rumour flying around yesterday that, in all the craziness science, analytics, draft research or whatever else you can think of. You of the last few weeks, at least one team asked about Evan Bouchard. It don’t have to believe in everything, but you have to know about them. I went nowhere. have a theory: that there are more “quiet hirings” in these positions 5. A final one on Chiarelli: In the fall of 2016, a few sources indicated he across the NHL than anyone wants to admit. came close to a blockbuster at the 2016 NHL Draft, days before the For Edmonton, this is more than just a GM search. This is an audit, an Taylor Hall–Adam Larsson deal. Asked about it, he laughed but said he investigation into every pore of the Oiler way. For several months now, wouldn’t tell. Believe me, I tried. The Oilers had the fourth selection, this has been happening throughout the business side of the operation. snaring Jesse Puljujarvi after Columbus grabbed Pierre-Luc Dubois. Now it is time to extend into hockey. Nicholson made one immediate There was a potential three-way that would have moved the Flames to change in philosophy: more AHL time is coming for younger players. But third, the Blue Jackets down a spot and the Oilers to sixth. That obviously why stop at that? The timing allows him the opportunity to talk to a wide never happened. swath of people. Information is powerful currency. Interview lots. Ask In Monday’s 31 Thoughts: The Podcast interview, Arizona GM John about best practices. Find what else is out there. There is plenty to Chayka admitted the Coyotes were working on something with the Oilers discover. to make sure they got Clayton Keller. (They succeeded, staying in the No matter what you think of the situation, there is going to be no shortage seventh spot.) There are two teams suspected to have taken big swings of interest. The Oilers are resource-rich, featuring a nuclear weapon as as well: the Rangers and St. Louis. New York did not have a pick until the number-one centre. (A “Weapon of McDavid Destruction,” as NHL 81st, but, as Jeff Marek has said several times, loved Keller. The Blues Network’s Stephen Nelson called him.) were picking 26th. Someday, it will all shake loose. As Doug MacLean said Wednesday, Nicholson has to gauge Steve A weekly deep dive into the biggest hockey news in the world with hosts Yzerman’s interest. It’s unlikely to be a fit, but you have to shoot your Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek. New episodes every Thursday. shot. Nicholson has a long history with the Hall of Famer, although one 6. Koskinen’s extension will have an effect down the highway in Calgary. executive joked, “Doesn’t everyone have history with Nicholson if they Because that’s a contract for a pending unrestricted free agent, it cannot are Canadian?” be used as an arbitration comparable for David Rittich. The Flames’ Potential first-time GM options include Bill Guerin, Mark Hunter and Kelly rapidly improving goalie is a year from UFA status, but if he keeps McCrimmon. Sources indicate all have been discussed internally, and not trending in this direction, they’re going to be happy to take care of him. just in the last few days. Hunter (a serious candidate) could be an 7. On Burakovsky: The Capitals have asked for a couple of mid-to-high immediate hire if that’s what the Oilers wanted to do. I don’t know if round draft picks in exchange (seconds and thirds would be a good get) Winnipeg assistant GM Craig Heisinger desires the job, but if I’m for him. That would give them more flexibility and assets to chase what Nicholson, I’m asking. The Jets, in an intense market, held off pressure they need. Even with a seven-game losing streak, absolutely no one is to deviate from process and are reaping the benefits. The Oilers should writing them off. be asking how Winnipeg management sold its vision and stayed on path despite criticism for doing so. 8. How to interpret Toronto GM Kyle Dubas’s proclamation that the Maple Leafs are having good dialogue with Auston Matthews? My take is Nicholson promised not to trade their young players and assets for short- this: both team and agent Judd Moldaver see an eight-year deal as term fixes, but the playoffs are not merely an option. They are an extremely unlikely. The salary would be too high for the team, which expectation, a directive from ownership. Daryl Katz has made that very wants to keep the best possible team around him and knows Mitch clear, even to the players themselves. There will be temptation to do Marner’s agent, Darren Ferris, is waiting to see Matthews’s cap number. what you don’t want to do. A four-year contract walks him right to unrestricted free agency, so that’s That is also Ron Hextall’s strength. There is some doubt he wants to not happening. We’re looking at a five- or six-year contract. That puts the jump back in so quickly, but, again, no harm in asking. Nicholson’s number under Connor McDavid’s $12.5 million, but exactly where is history with Doug Armstrong and Ken Holland puts them into the picture what’s still to be decided. Dubas’s proclamation that they’d like to know if their current situations change. I’m not sure if Mike Gillis is a candidate, before the deadline means February will be an important month in the but it would be a waste if the Oilers didn’t reach out. He brought a lot of process. different ideas to Vancouver, an organization with similar location-related 9. The highest five-year contracts in the salary-cap era belong to Sidney issues as Edmonton. Why not hear what worked, what didn’t, and what Crosby (2008–09 to 2012–13) and Evgeni Malkin (2009–10 to 2013–14), he’d do differently? at $8.7 million. The largest six-year deal went to Dany Heatley (2008–09 You know the old saying: “Good artists copy; great artists steal.” Time for to 2013–14) at $7.5 million. Assuming Matthews and the Maple Leafs the Oilers to commit some grand larceny. choose either of these lengths, we’re going to have a new record. This term — rather than the max eight — will be the choice for some teams 31 THOUGHTS and their restricted free agents. 1. Tyler Dellow, who worked for Edmonton from 2014 through 2016, is 10. Why? One reason is the choice to keep the AAV down as younger going to be hired by another NHL team. The question is not if, but when. players increasingly grab a larger share of the salary pie. Another is If there’s one thing I believe, it is that we are always being judged and speculation on the next U.S. television deal. (NBC has two more seasons graded by the right people. He’s blunt, but his work in The Athletic is not on its current contract.) If the NHL gets a spike, some will want the ability going unnoticed by those people. And I’d bet there are still some in the to capitalize sooner. Not every player (or their agents) feel this way, but What a first half for the Islanders, the NHL’s most pleasant surprise — others do. leaders of the Metropolitan Division. Asked about All-Star Weekend vacation plans, Lee said, “I’m going to be with half the league in the 11. The CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game Wednesday in Red Deer gave Bahamas.” teams a choice the night before: either the similar CJHL event in Okotoks, Alta., or the Hurricanes/Flames in Calgary. The Maple Leafs But you’re going there much happier than most, right? chose Option B, but I don’t believe the scouting target was Dougie Hamilton. Process of elimination indicates Brett Pesce, but I can’t say it “Yes, we’ll have bragging rights,” he replied with a laugh. “We’re going to for sure. walk around proudly.” 12. If Dubas chooses a left-handed option, the top target is Jake Muzzin. What would he have said if told in September this would happen? But he has made it clear to those who have asked that Kasperi Kapanen “‘Where do I sign?’” is a no-go and 2018 first-rounder Rasmus Sandin has similar status. 23. Another NHL executive said the Islanders’ strength is that they play 13. Nick Kypreos reported Ottawa’s eight-year, approximately $64-million their system so well they keep themselves in games. That increases the offer to Matt Duchene last week. We all know tampering does not exist in chances of finding a way to win. the National Hockey League, but those numbers getting out allows other potential suitors to decide how that fits in their plans. According to a “Every night we have a feeling that there’s not much to worry about,” Lee couple of sources, Mark Stone’s situation is slightly different. The said. “We’re poised on the bench. Calm. If you stick to the plan and play Senators did not initially present an offer as much as a “concept” of what the right way, you’re in a good spot. Getting production from different they’d be comfortable with. I believe that cap number is higher than guys every night is a huge part of the morale. A lot of us believe in the Duchene’s. There is a quiet optimism Ottawa can keep Stone, but guys in our room and who we have. The work we have done is validating hurdles always exist. that. It’s different. Things are different.” 14. As of earlier this week, didn’t sound like there was much negotiation 24. Did any of Lou Lamoriello’s rules surprise him, or seem unusually with Ryan Dzingel. Contenders always look for scoring. Ottawa should difficult? get some nice assets if that’s the route they choose. “Well, I can barely grow a beard, so that’s not much of an issue for me,” 15. I think a few contenders (Calgary makes a lot of sense) are he laughed. “You just do it. Don’t argue.” considering Chicago’s Chris Kunitz. It makes a lot of sense. Another Blackhawk being watched is John Hayden. He’s had nine straight games Lee paused. under 10 minutes, and Drake Caggiula’s arrival affects his role. He’s got “We needed it in a way. If you understand what I’m saying here, the rules an edge, and someone else might see some value. were easy to follow because they are perfect timing for us.” 16. Tuesday night, Vancouver GM Jim Benning told Sportsnet 650 radio 25. Lee is unrestricted this summer. “This is my home. I don’t see hosts Scott Rintoul and Andrew Walker that he will begin conversations anything that makes me want to do anything different. I’m not worried with Alexander Edler about the defender’s future with the team upon about it.” returning from the two prospect games. 26. Whenever I’d ask Garth Snow or Doug Weight about prospects to 17. The mystery of Sergei Bobrovsky’s future continues in Columbus. come, both would mention Devon Toews. That prediction is looks better The Blue Jackets are wisely playing this very close to the vest, and by the day. there’s an understanding he will consider other situations — but has he actually committed to them on paper? One of the theories was that he Ryan Dixon and Rory Boylen go deep on pucks with a mix of facts and and agent Paul Theofanous verbally considered some possibilities, but fun, leaning on a varied group of hockey voices to give their take on the didn’t want to give Columbus an actual written list. Once you agree to country’s most beloved game. that, the team has more control. 27. In the weeks after All-Star, the league will bring something new to the 18. BSN Denver’s Adrian Dater reported that Rangers scouts three iPad Pros on each NHL bench. Currently featuring real-time video consistently tailed the Avalanche over the last little while. Unless that’s highlights, what is called the SAP-NHL Coaching Insights App will be about something Colorado would want the Rangers to take from their added to the system. These will be data-based, eliminating the wait for roster to facilitate, say, a Kevin Hayes trade, I don’t think New York’s printed sheets for updates. Done in consultation with the teams and their primary interests would be at the NHL level. The obvious connection is coaches, each staff will be able to customize what they wish to see. Shane Bowers, who Rangers bench boss David Quinn coached at Boston University. But the Rangers will be seeking much more. The “For example,” said David Lehanski, the NHL’s senior vice-president of Avalanche will zealously protect their most appealing draft assets. business development & global partnerships, “a team could set up notifications for a certain amount of time on ice. Once a player reaches 19. Colorado, however, will see what Nikita Zadorov can return. the threshold set by their team, his name could turn red or be highlighted.” 20. Alexander Radulov did Dallas a huge favour, accepting blame for his first-period benching last Thursday against Los Angeles. The last thing Another thing the app can do is show faceoff results in each circle as the Stars needed was more controversy, especially as GM Jim Nill works opposed to each zone. on repairing the relationships with Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin. According to a couple of sources, Nill wants to show them the last few “Our job is to put the information out there, and [teams] can decide what weeks “are not who the Dallas Stars are.” If Radulov reacts negatively, it and how much to access,” he said. is another five-alarm blaze. Instead, they recover with a great win over 28. Lehanski said most teams were curious about ice time and faceoff Winnipeg and get their schedule break at a perfect time. No one needs a numbers. Were there many disagreements? refresh and reset more than the Stars do — it’s an excellent opportunity for a mental clean-out. “Shootout stats,” he replied, after thinking about it for a few seconds. 21. In addition to Valeri Nichushkin and Brett Ritchie, Dallas is also “Some teams said they knew who their guys are. T.J. Oshie, for example, dangling Mattias Janmark. A couple of years ago, they felt his injuries is going out no matter what, whether he’s hot or cold. Some teams removed sorely needed speed from the roster. Janmark scored 14 even- wanted more histories… current streaks or certain player versus certain strength goals in 2015–16, and, after returning from injury, 13 more in goalie. Tendencies versus each other.” 2017–18. He’s got just three in 49 games this season. He’s better than Do teams ever say, “Oh my God, enough with the iPads, we want our he’s shown. guys watching the game?” Stream over 500 NHL games blackout-free, including the Flames, Oilers, “There was concern in 2017 when we launched before the playoffs…. Leafs and Canucks. Plus Hockey Night in Canada, Rogers Hometown Nobody wanted to change what they were doing. But it got back to us the Hockey, Scotiabank Wednesday Night Hockey and more. behaviour was not as bad as feared. Players came back with interesting 22. For about 10 seconds, Anders Lee admitted, the Islanders were insights into what they were looking for. Sometimes it is different than annoyed at themselves for losing a point Tuesday night in Chicago. what coaches look for. Players and coaches want to be the best they can Then, the players remembered Mathew Barzal lining up on the wrong be.” side of the ice to take his shootout attempt. 29. You guys want to know, so I always ask: Will this be available to the public? “How could we not laugh and razz him?” the’ captain asked, the smile obvious through the telephone. “Yes,” Lehanski says, “but we don’t know exactly what. We haven’t sat down and completely gone through this with the NHLPA and the people here. But it is part of the plan.” 30. Saskatoon Blades forward Kirby Dach — who played for Kelly Hrudey at the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game — is No. 2 among North American skaters on the Central Scouting 2019 NHL Draft list. But that’s not the most impressive thing about him. Dach joined with the Howe Foundation to create a program called First Blades, giving kids the opportunity to skate. The initiative gifts a pair of skates to those who might not otherwise be able to purchase them. It’s a great thing. 31. Twenty-Five years ago, I was a young magazine reporter looking for an interview with Calgary Stampeders quarterback Doug Flutie. I was new. The startup publication I worked for, The Sports Pages, lasted two issues. But I called the Stampeders, who were going to Hamilton, and made a request. A few days later, following their day-before walkthrough, I was talking with Flutie for five minutes in the middle of Ivor Wynne Stadium. It was definitely not what I expected, and it was appreciated. Most people remember Peter Watts as a reporter. I didn’t know him too well in that role, but I was always thankful how, in a brief stint as Calgary’s media-relations contact, he was generous to a young reporter. All the best to his friends and family.

Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 01.25.2019 1127642 Websites Ducks want to hang on to most, but if they’re truly going to revamp their team there are probably a couple scenarios where Lindholm could be had. Sportsnet.ca / Four left-shot defencemen the Canadiens should target in Oscar Klefbom may be more of a long shot to target, but considering the a trade Oilers are in chaos right now after firing Peter Chiarelli, you have to think all options are on the table. Klefbom’s name has regularly appeared in trade rumours since signing what can only be seen as a bargain $4.167 Andrew Berkshire million (AAV) contract and it’s not as though Edmonton is overflowing with tradeable assets to change its look. January 24, 2019, 12:10 PM Klefbom is currently injured, but in terms of differentials he looks to be having a very strong season. With the Oilers still seeing themselves as a playoff team this would be a very expensive trade to make right now, but The Montreal Canadiens have had a resurgent season, one that almost maybe that’s why they should at least explore it. If it’s a possibility at all, no one expected, especially after Carey Price struggled for a large part of Klefbom would be a great fit for the Habs. Edmonton has already the first half of the season. Depth, speed, and a never-say-die attitude contributed one of Montreal’s best defencemen over the past decade in seems to be the secret sauce so far. The Canadiens have subsisted on Jeff Petry, so why not another? about league average levels of goal scoring, winning tight games and regularly coming from behind. The player having the strongest season of this group is Los Angeles’ Jake Muzzin, who is at or near the top of every trade list right now. The As the Toronto Maple Leafs have cooled and the Boston Bruins haven’t Kings want a huge haul for him, and you can see why. Los Angeles is a returned to last season’s heights, the upstart Habs are within reach of different team when Muzzin is on the ice, breaking even or better pushing out of a wild card spot and into a seeded position in their everywhere while they get absolutely pounded when he’s on the bench. division. Now you have to wonder if they’ll add at the deadline. Differentials can tell us how things are going while each player is on the General manager Marc Bergevin has been abundantly clear that the ice, but the Canadiens’ needs on the left side are relatively specific. They direction now is to be patient, and he has repeatedly claimed he will not need puck movers and players who can stop passes in the defensive mortgage the future for a rental, and that the Canadiens’ first round pick zone, especially passes into and through the slot. Allowing dangerous specifically would not be on the table. passes has been Montreal’s biggest weakness the past two seasons and The operative word in his quotes is rental. The Canadiens have more is a large reason why Price has struggled over that time. than $9 million in cap space this season, but according to CapFriendly With that in mind, let’s look at these players and see who stands out in Montreal can add more than $23 million in contract value by the deadline, pass suppression and defensive zone control. given the percentage of the season that has passed. All four players are on the ice for fewer passes to the slot than the Next season they have just $63 million in committed salary, with only average Canadiens blueliner, which is impressive because all four play Joel Armia, Artturi Lehkonen, Brett Kulak, Mike Reilly, and Charles tough minutes and passes to the slot is an area where quality of Hudon up for contract as restricted free agents, and Antti Niemi, Jordie competition matters a lot. Benn, and Kenny Agostino up for unrestricted free agency. Klefbom and Muzzin are the more aggressive pass blockers, getting in The only looming big contracts they have in the next two years are Max lanes and changing possession at higher rates than any defenceman on Domi and Victor Mete who will both be up after next season, so you have the Canadiens. to think the Canadiens have the cap flexibility to add any contract in the short term. Bergevin isn’t looking for a rental, but he might be willing to In recovering loose pucks, Muzzin stands out as a premier battle winner. deal for the right player with term. He aggressively takes pucks away from opponents and relatively few of his loose puck recoveries come on dump-ins, meaning he’s more likely to Bergevin has been attempting to address the left side of his defence for be defending the blue line and forcing those dump-ins. almost two years now, adding players with at least some term on a consistent basis. But so far they’ve all been third-pair guys — Karl In recovering rebounds, Fowler and Klefbom stand out, but we’re talking Alzner, Jordie Benn, David Schlemko, and Mike Reilly. Each acquisition small samples with that statistic and there isn’t a ton of variability. has failed to address the problem the Canadiens face in their top-four. In moving the puck out of the defensive zone once possession is gained, It seems like Mete is either ready or almost ready to take one of those Muzzin seems to struggle a bit more, while both Ducks defencemen look spots next to either Jeff Petry or Shea Weber, but the Canadiens still stronger, especially Lindholm. need another left-handed shot who can play tough minutes. Lindholm’s biggest standout in this area is his ability to skate the puck out Their cap flexibility and the glut of solid prospects they’ve accrued in of danger, but he also leads the group in dump-outs, which shows that recent drafts gives Montreal a real chance to fix that problem. Let’s look he’s not going to hesitate to clear the zone and play simple when under at some players who could be available from teams that should be pressure. sellers, and who fit the bill as top-four defencemen on the left side with term remaining. Ultimately any of these four players would be a drastic upgrade for the Canadiens on the left side of the ice, but Muzzin is probably the biggest Unfortunately, of the teams that are currently out of a playoff spot, there impact player for the immediate need the Canadiens have – and perhaps just aren’t many great left side options. Most of the defensive talent the most attainable. He’s an aggressive player in his own zone and, at available are right shots, which Montreal already has, but I did find four the same time, capable of staying in good position, which is relatively names who would fit the Habs. rare combination. The caveat is that all of these guys would require serious packages to Muzzin wouldn’t necessarily personally make the Canadiens a better acquire. team at exiting the defensive zone, but his ability to shut down opposing cycle plays creates more opportunity for his teammates to control Obviously, Cam Fowler is having an extremely difficult season – he and breakouts and launch counter attacks, which shortens opposing Josh Manson form one of the worst defensive pairings in the league so possessions drastically. far, not to mention he missed a bunch of time due to injury. Fowler is a controversial player in the analytics community because he’s historically There’s a reason the Kings want a huge package in return. played with horrible partners and had poor on-ice numbers, but the individual metrics make him look like an all-star. I hold him in higher esteem than most, but considering he’s having such Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 01.25.2019 a bad go at things with a much better partner this season I’d be a little gun shy if I were trading for him. And despite a history of great transition play and a personal skill set that looks like it would mesh extraordinarily well with Shea Weber, Fowler’s contract that runs through 2025-26 is a real risk. Hampus Lindholm hasn’t been immune to the terrible play of the Anaheim Ducks, and while his on-ice numbers are generally positive, his slot pass differential is still bad. Like Fowler, Lindholm has a long history of strong play and he’s been one of the best neutral zone defenders in the NHL for the past three seasons. He’s probably the blueliner the 1127643 Websites 3. Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers I gave serious consideration to Sidney Crosby, Mark Scheifele, Patrice Bergeron (the injury hurts) and Ryan O’Reilly here, but Stone — a Sportsnet.ca / Revealing My PHWA Mid-Season Awards Ballot takeaway monster — plays in all situations and finding a way to be a plus-15 player on a minus-31 train wreck is some kind of special. A rare Selke vote for a winger! Luke Fox | @lukefoxjukebox Vezina Trophy January 24, 2019, 9:45 AM 1. Marc-Andre Fleury, Vegas Golden Knights

2. Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning For the second year, the Professional Hockey Writers Association voted on its mid-season awards Tuesday ahead of the all-star break. The 3. Frederik Andersen, Toronto Maple Leafs winners were announced Thursday morning. Using 25 appearances as my minimum, the potentially overworked It should be noted that the Hockey Writers do not receive an end-of- Fleury leads the ballot with his league-best 27 wins, and Flower’s six season vote on the actual Vezina, Jack Adams, or GM of the Year shutouts doubles that of anyone else. Sustainability is a question here. trophies, but we do here for fun and to infuriate fans of teams that got Vasilevskiy’s save percentage (.925) is tops among undisputed No. 1s, snubbed. and Andersen is the most important Maple Leaf. The Islanders’ Robin Lehner (15-7, .930 save percentage) has popped on the radar of late, but Also of note: The Rod Langway Award (best defensive defenceman) and he needs more starts. Comeback Player of the Year acknowledgements are purely creations of the association. Jack Adams Award Here, in full, is my ballot and some brief reasoning for why I voted the 1. Barry Trotz, New York Islanders way I did. 2. Claude Julien, Montreal Canadiens Hate me in the comments! 3. Jon Cooper, Tampa Bay Lightning Hart Trophy What Trotz is doing in the wake of John Tavares’ departure — guiding 1. Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary Flames the red-hot Islanders to the Metropolitan penthouse — is remarkable. Julien has made the most out of the least; Cooper has made the most 2. Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers out of the most. But it takes a good coach to motivate a proven team that could afford to coast but instead has a shot at the best regular season in 3. Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning the salary cap era. The Oilers would be a lottery lock without McDavid, Johnny Hockey is I gave serious consideration to Bill Peters for his role in the Flames’ having an otherworldly campaign, and Kucherov is running away with the resurgence as well as Travis Green, but his Canucks have lost more scoring race — and still I was tempted to replace his name with Brayden games than they’ve won. John Tortorella gets an honourable mention for Point’s. This debate is far from settled. I could see Nathan MacKinnon, his work through the dramatics in Columbus. Sidney Crosby, Mark Scheifele or Jack Eichel surging onto my ballot by year’s end. GM of the Year Norris Trophy 1. Brad Treliving, Calgary Flames 1. Mark Giordano, Calgary Flames 2. Doug Wilson, San Jose Sharks 2. John Carlson, Washington Capitals 3. Jason Botterill, Buffalo Sabres 3. Kris Letang, Pittsburgh Penguins Highlighted by the Jeff Skinner heist, Boterill’s moves have jolted the Sabres into relevance. Wilson found a way to acquire the purest blueline Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson are the victims of each other’s talent of our time. And Treliving’s bold off-season has paid off in spades, awesomeness, and leaving Morgan Rielly off my ballot was a tough overhauling his bench and making critical tweaks to his top-six and his decision, but workhorses Carlson and Letang are getting taken for top-four. granted. As for Gio? He’s topping all D-men with 1.08 points per game, leads the world in plus/minus (+29), plays in all situations, and is the best Rod Langway Award explanation for the Flames rising to the top of their division without a clear No. 1 goalie. 1. Mark Giordano, Calgary Flames Calder Trophy 2. Mattias Ekholm, Nashville Predators 1. Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks 3. Brian Doumolin, Pittsburgh Penguins 2. Miro Heiskanen, Dallas Stars Giordano is a force all over the ice, so I opted not to punish him for his offence. Ekholm and Doumolin don’t get enough credit for how solid they 3. Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo Sabres are at their jobs, and they’ll never win the D-men scoring race. Petterson’s points per game (1.13) crushes all comers (Ottawa’s Colin Comeback Player of the Year Award White ranks second at 0.59). Heiskanen and Dahlin are already top-four defenders and power-play contributors on teams in the wild-card mix — a 1. Jeff Skinner, Buffalo Sabres ridiculous accomplishment for a couple of teenagers. 2. Cam Atkinson, Columbus Blue Jackets Lady Byng Trophy 3. Joe Pavelski, San Jose Sharks 1. Morgan Rielly, Toronto Maple Leafs I was very tempted to give this award to Laurent Broissoit, who went from 2. Sean Monahan, Calgary Flames 3-7-1 in Edmonton to 10-1-1 in Winnipeg and raised his save percentage by 60 (!) points year over year, but his 12 appearances felt too tiny. 3. Alexsander Barkov, Florida Panthers Skinner and Pavelski — both in platform years — are scoring in bunches. In which I (sort of) make it up to the uber-humble Rielly, whose shoulda- Skinner has flipped from a minus-27 to a plus-13 and already has six been-an-all-star season is all the more remarkable when you consider more goals (30) than he did in 82 games last season with Carolina. he’s taken two measly minor penalties despite shutting down the Atkinson is humming above a point-per-game and a top-line threat; he opposition’s best forward line most nights (he’s plus-23 with 48 points). had hit a three-year low in his injury-plagued 2017-18. With 27 goals already, he should set new career bests at age 29. Frank J. Selke Trophy

1. Mark Stone, Ottawa Senators Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 01.25.2019 2. Brayden Point, Tampa Bay Lightning 1127644 Websites “We have to take some ownership as players. We haven’t been good enough,” Draisaitl said. “We have to figure out how to get this team playing the right way. We’ve got to figure that out really quick here.” TSN.CA / McDavid: ‘I look forward to proving people wrong’ Meanwhile, McDavid is choosing to remain positive. What is keeping him going is the fact that as bad as it’s been, the Oilers are somehow still within striking distance. Frank Seravalli “We’re three points out of a playoff spot. I think that gets lost,” McDavid said. “We’re going through a lot of different changes, but we’re three points out and have a chance to make the playoffs.” SAN JOSE, Calif. — The fastballs were coming in at rapid fire on Connor McDavid at All-Star Weekend Media Day, as you’d expect for the face of His message was clear. McDavid hates losing as much as anyone, but the game less than 48 hours after his GM was whacked. he isn’t going to run for the hills. He is digging in. He’s going to stare this down head on, just like the bullets he took on Wednesday for his Bang. Bang. Bang. manager’s failures. Then there was the mother of all questions, when one intrepid reporter “Losing isn’t fun. It's not fun for anyone. I’m no different,” McDavid said. wondered aloud whether McDavid wanted out of Edmonton, whether all “You want to build something special, something you’re proud to be a of this losing has just been too much. part of, and we’ve got to still build that. I’m just as much a part of that as anyone else.” No. 97 just shook his head.

“That’s just not the case at all,” McDavid said. “I’m here to be part of the solution. That’s all I’m going to say on that.” TSN.CA LOADED: 01.25.2019 With that, after eight minutes of grilling, a local reporter threw McDavid a welcomed lifebuoy asking about the All-Star Game itself. “My god, I was going to get off the seat it was so hot,” McDavid said, laughing. McDavid looked different on Thursday night. No, literally different, he cut his shaggy hair –joking that he didn’t want it flopping around on his face to obstruct his vision without a helmet during the fastest skater contest in Friday night’s Skills Competition. But this is all different for McDavid. These are uncharted waters the Edmonton Oilers’ 22-year-old captain is navigating. In a span of two months, the only coach and general manager he has known in the NHL have been fired. The entire organization is in a state of disarray. This weekend in San Jose is the beginning of a nine-day break, supposed to be his refresh, but McDavid is already looking forward. “I look forward to coming back from the break and trying our best to prove everyone wrong,” McDavid said. “We have an opportunity here. Things seem pretty down on us. There’s a sense [of] negativity with the media and with everyone around the team. “We get to prove people wrong and we get to decide how we finish the second half.” McDavid and the Oilers’ leadership group met with CEO Bob Nicholson after Tuesday night’s loss to the Red Wings and were informed of the decision to fire GM Peter Chiarelli. He said the message from Nicholson was similar to the one shared with the media on Wednesday, that Nicholson “didn’t like the way we were heading and wanted to make a change.” One of the other things Nicholson addressed in Wednesday’s press conference was the chemistry within the dressing room, trying to fix some of that. McDavid seemed to bristle at that notion. “I think it’s easy to think we have turmoil in our locker room or we have this and that. We don’t have that at all,” McDavid said. “We’re a tight-knit group. Guys love to play for each other. It’s not that.” McDavid addressed the team directly in the last week, sharing the same message that he did publicly, one that generated headlines. “You gotta believe,” McDavid said. “You have to believe that we’re going to turn it around. If you don’t, you don’t have to be here. It’s nothing new. No teammates watched that interview and were surprised.” His frustration has been both evident and understandable. Even as one of the few players who has shown up every night for the Oilers, everyone is looking to him for answers that he does not have. “We’ve obviously strayed pretty far from where we were at,” McDavid said. “We need to get back to it. I don’t know how else to explain it.” The hard truth is there is no easy fix for the Oilers. Yes, Oscar Klefbom and Andrej Sekera are soon returning from injury, but interim manager Keith Gretzky – or whoever Chiarelli’s successor is – won’t be able to simply wave a magic wand and fill the substantial holes on the roster. Fellow All-Star Leon Draisaitl, voted by fans as the “Last Man In” for the Pacific Division, said the onus in the meantime is on those who are in the lineup. 1127645 Websites question now is whether McDavid can change the stance of voters should the Oilers fall short again.

TSN.CA / Expect the McDavid MVP debate to rage again TSN.CA LOADED: 01.25.2019

Frank Seravalli

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Worthy or not? The hot-button debate about Connor McDavid’s worthiness of the Hart Trophy raged up until ballots were distributed last April. It’s only January, but that discussion is beginning to percolate again. Because if this season’s standings are any indication of how the rest of the campaign will play out, fellow voters from the Professional Hockey Writers Association may have some soul-searching to do about McDavid’s candidacy for the top individual honour. Last year, voters spoke loudly and clearly with a mandate that has historical precedence: no playoffs, no Hart Trophy. The Edmonton Oilers finished 17 points back of the pack for the second time in three seasons. McDavid finished six points clear of every other skater in the Art Ross race, but received just five first-place votes for the Hart. Former teammate Taylor Hall took home the honour; McDavid finished fifth in voting. But his fellow players awarded him the Ted Lindsay Award for most outstanding player. This year, the Oilers limped into the All-Star break just three points out of the playoffs. Yes, it’s a historically low bar in the West this season. Yes, McDavid doesn’t lead the league in scoring. But McDavid still did not appear on nearly half of the ballots (62 of 127) submitted by members of the PHWA this week in their annual Midseason Awards. Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov was the midseason Hart winner for the second year in a row, followed closely by Calgary’s Johnny Gaudreau. McDavid was a distant third to close out the group of finalists. My midseason Hart Trophy ballot was the inverse order. I felt McDavid was the clear No. 1 choice because without him the Oilers had no chance of even sniffing the Stanley Cup playoffs at the halfway point. He has singlehandedly kept them in the race, practically dragged them to this point, kicking and screaming. McDavid has 29 goals and 73 points in 49 games. He is four points off Kucherov for the scoring lead, already 19 points more than he had at the All-Star break last season. He has done all of that with a revolving door of linemates – flanked by Jujhar Khaira and Zack Kassian for a stretch this season – on a one-line team. “The other team can sit back against one line and defend,” Oilers coach Ken Hitchcock said postgame Tuesday when asked if he has enough talent to coach a winning team. That hasn’t stopped McDavid, who has no quit in his game. He doesn’t take nights off, even when most of his teammates fail to show up. The question now for McDavid’s candidacy for the Hart is: If the Oilers don’t make the playoffs, how far out of it is too far? The line was drawn at 17 points last year. Anything double digits will probably derail his campaign. The last player to win the Hart Trophy on a non-playoff team was Mario Lemieux in 1987-88, when the Pittsburgh Penguins fell one point short of the playoffs. There are a lot of parallels between the start of Lemieux’s career with a disastrous Penguins franchise – one that didn’t make the playoffs in each of his first four seasons – and McDavid’s early run in Edmonton. But what if the Oilers finish five or six points back? What then? That will make for a fascinating conversation. The Oilers have a lot of work to do to make it one. But if McDavid’s recent second-half surges are any indication, he could well haul them into the playoffs on his own. As the games get notoriously tougher to win, McDavid gets better. He has torched the NHL after the All-Star break in each of the last two seasons. Last year, he closed with 53 points and 26 goals in 33 games. There is plenty of time for ballots to change. For proof, Hall was not on anyone’s Midseason Awards radar at this same time last year. The 1127646 Websites question now is whether McDavid can change the stance of voters should the Oilers fall short again.

TSN.CA / Expect the McDavid MVP debate to rage again TSN.CA LOADED: 01.25.2019

Frank Seravalli

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Worthy or not? The hot-button debate about Connor McDavid’s worthiness of the Hart Trophy raged up until ballots were distributed last April. It’s only January, but that discussion is beginning to percolate again. Because if this season’s standings are any indication of how the rest of the campaign will play out, fellow voters from the Professional Hockey Writers Association may have some soul-searching to do about McDavid’s candidacy for the top individual honour. Last year, voters spoke loudly and clearly with a mandate that has historical precedence: no playoffs, no Hart Trophy. The Edmonton Oilers finished 17 points back of the pack for the second time in three seasons. McDavid finished six points clear of every other skater in the Art Ross race, but received just five first-place votes for the Hart. Former teammate Taylor Hall took home the honour; McDavid finished fifth in voting. But his fellow players awarded him the Ted Lindsay Award for most outstanding player. This year, the Oilers limped into the All-Star break just three points out of the playoffs. Yes, it’s a historically low bar in the West this season. Yes, McDavid doesn’t lead the league in scoring. But McDavid still did not appear on nearly half of the ballots (62 of 127) submitted by members of the PHWA this week in their annual Midseason Awards. Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov was the midseason Hart winner for the second year in a row, followed closely by Calgary’s Johnny Gaudreau. McDavid was a distant third to close out the group of finalists. My midseason Hart Trophy ballot was the inverse order. I felt McDavid was the clear No. 1 choice because without him the Oilers had no chance of even sniffing the Stanley Cup playoffs at the halfway point. He has singlehandedly kept them in the race, practically dragged them to this point, kicking and screaming. McDavid has 29 goals and 73 points in 49 games. He is four points off Kucherov for the scoring lead, already 19 points more than he had at the All-Star break last season. He has done all of that with a revolving door of linemates – flanked by Jujhar Khaira and Zack Kassian for a stretch this season – on a one-line team. “The other team can sit back against one line and defend,” Oilers coach Ken Hitchcock said postgame Tuesday when asked if he has enough talent to coach a winning team. That hasn’t stopped McDavid, who has no quit in his game. He doesn’t take nights off, even when most of his teammates fail to show up. The question now for McDavid’s candidacy for the Hart is: If the Oilers don’t make the playoffs, how far out of it is too far? The line was drawn at 17 points last year. Anything double digits will probably derail his campaign. The last player to win the Hart Trophy on a non-playoff team was Mario Lemieux in 1987-88, when the Pittsburgh Penguins fell one point short of the playoffs. There are a lot of parallels between the start of Lemieux’s career with a disastrous Penguins franchise – one that didn’t make the playoffs in each of his first four seasons – and McDavid’s early run in Edmonton. But what if the Oilers finish five or six points back? What then? That will make for a fascinating conversation. The Oilers have a lot of work to do to make it one. But if McDavid’s recent second-half surges are any indication, he could well haul them into the playoffs on his own. As the games get notoriously tougher to win, McDavid gets better. He has torched the NHL after the All-Star break in each of the last two seasons. Last year, he closed with 53 points and 26 goals in 33 games. There is plenty of time for ballots to change. For proof, Hall was not on anyone’s Midseason Awards radar at this same time last year. The 1127647 Websites

USA TODAY / Opinion: Don't blame the coach for Capitals' recent slide: This is on players to fix

Kevin Allen, USA TODAY Published 11:02 a.m. ET Jan. 24, 2019 | Updated 1:18 p.m. ET Jan. 24, 2019

Washington Capitals defenseman John Carlson believes it wasn’t only last season’s Stanley Cup success, but also years of failing, that gives his team a reasonable shot at being repeat champions. With the Capitals sputtering lately, Carlson has a collection of bad playoff memories to remind him what the team needs to do to return to the playing level they were at last spring. “When you have that swagger you can get over stuff a lot quicker,” Carlson, a first-time All-Star, told USA TODAY Sports last week. “In a playoff series, it seems like you really need to shelve whatever happened in the game before and start fresh.” What the Capitals, who are 27-17-6 and second in the Metropolitan Division, have to get over are some bad defensive habits that have led to a seven-game losing streak heading into the All-Star break. The Capitals don’t seem to have the same attention to detail they had last spring when won the first Stanley Cup in franchise history. The question people are asking is whether the team’s struggles reflect a case of Stanley Cup hangover or the loss of coach Barry Trotz, the architect of last year's successful playoff run. With his contract expiring, Trotz left the team last summer and agreed to coach the New York Islanders. They have the NHL’s sixth-best record. The Capitals’ recent problems can’t be blamed on an adjustment to a new coach because Todd Reirden was an associate coach under Trotz. This isn’t a case of a coach dramatically changing the way the Capitals do business on the ice. The players know what must be done. They just aren't executing. The recent swoon can’t be blamed on Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin, who has scored 37 goals. At 33, he is on pace for more than 60 goals. He has eight goals and 12 points in Washington’s 12 January games. According to Carlson, the key is simply rediscovering their push-back. He says “mental strength” is paramount. “In (past years) it seemed like one bad thing wouldn’t go our way and we’d pile on with the next game,” Carlson said. “I remember a lot of being up 3-1 (in a series), being up 3-2 and lose one game and I didn’t like our responses the following game. I think last year we put an end to that.” Trotz changed the Capitals’ attitude even more than their defensive scheme. “It was more about being aggressive,” Carlson said. “When things were going our way, we would play ourselves into a good position in the game, a good position in the series." The Caps, who have advanced to the playoffs in 10 of the past 11 seasons, came to realize they were trying not to lose, more than they were trying to win. “We were a lot more aggressive last year than we were in year’s past,” Carlson said. That carried us through those scenarios that we used to get stumped on.” This is on the players. They won’t have Ovechkin for a game when they come from the All-Star break and bye week because he has chosen to sit out the All-Star Game. The penalty is sitting out one regular-season game directly before or after the break. “We’d like to be playing a lot better right now,” Carlson admits, adding “(But) I think the confidence is there and that’s what carries you through tough times toward the end of the season and playoffs.”

USA TODAY LOADED: 01.25.2019