SPORT-SCAN DAILY BRIEF NHL 7/4/2021 1216877 How excited is Sean McDonough to be ESPN’s lead play-by-play voice starting next season? 1216878 What will ESPN’s coverage of the NHL look like next season? 1216879 This Canadiens team looks like it’ll be history soon, and other observations from Game 3 of the Fi 1216880 NHL mock expansion draft: Projecting Kraken’s 30 picks, including 1 from Blackhawks Colorado Avalanche 1216881 Sweeping the Stanley Cup Final is a thing of the past 1216882 Lowetide: Will the Oilers draft from the OHL after a season that never happened? Minnesota Wild 1216883 Wild planning talks with Kirill Kaprizov, Kevin Fiala after signing Joel Eriksson Ek 1216884 Joel Eriksson Ek committed long term to Wild because ‘we can build something really good’ 1216885 Wild GM ramping up talks with Kirill Kaprizov, Kevin Fiala now that Joel Eriksson Ek is committed 1216886 ‘We’re going to fight’: Habs look to reverse course in Game 4 as Bolts seek Stanley Cup final sweep 1216887 Stu Cowan: Odds are stacked against Canadiens winning 25th Stanley Cup 1216888 About Last Night: Semi-Ducharmed kind of life as Habs down 3-0 in final 1216889 Canadiens and Lightning are Stanley Cup foes but have a common motivation for different reasons 1216890 If Viktor Arvidsson wasn't happy, which other Nashville Predators might not be? 1216891 Lightning Close In on the Stanley Cup, and Carey Price Can’t Stop Them 1216892 Adam Fox isn’t buying toughness narrative around Rangers Penguins 1216893 Mark Madden's Hot Take: If Vegas won't trade Marc-Andre Fleury, Penguins should pursue his teammate 1216894 Penguins A to Z: Is Nathan Legare NHL ready? St Louis Blues 1216895 Pat Maroon, who should find his way back to the Blues, is about to enter elite NHL company 1216896 How the Lightning won a Stanley Cup, then got even better 1216897 Lightning’s Erik Cernak much more seasoned in third playoff run 1216898 If the Lightning clinch in Game 4, their families won’t be in Montreal 1216899 ‘A totally different city’: How Tampa has changed since 2004 Stanley Cup win 1216900 Lightning-Canadiens Game 3 report card: Defending the Cup 1216901 It’s okay, Montreal, maybe one day you can play like the Lightning, too 1216902 What does it mean if the Montreal Canadiens get swept in the Stanley Cup final? 1216903 Upgrading power play Knights’ offseason , Bill Foley says 1216904 Canucks promote to director of amateur scouting Websites 1216905 The Athletic / How Tyler Johnson delivered what is potentially the final big moment of his Lightning legacy 1216906 .ca / Will the Canadiens’ lack of offensive punch be their season-ending roadblock? 1216907 Sportsnet.ca / Tyler Johnson gives Lightning apt parting gift amid uncertain future

SPORT-SCAN, INC. 941-284-4129 1216877 Boston Bruins Hockey, because of its pace, is generally perceived as the toughest sport to call. McDonough said it is in some ways, but a lot of times the quality is dependent on the broadcasters’ vantage .

How excited is Sean McDonough to be ESPN’s lead play-by-play voice “In the old Boston Garden’s hockey broadcast position, you were in the starting next season? front row of the balcony,” he said. “That balcony hung right over the ice, You felt like you could reach out and pull the helmet right off the top of the players’ heads. You were that close. It was really easy to identify the By Chad Finn Globe Staff players, the numbers, and really have a sense for what was going on.

Updated July 3, 2021, 10:35 a.m. “Now, the broadcast booth is on the ninth floor [at TD Garden]. It’s much harder to see.

“I’ll tell you, though, I don’t know how anybody does hockey on radio. At Around here, Sean McDonough is probably most renowned for his 1988- least on TV you don’t have to describe every pass and every movement 2004 run as the Red Sox’ superb television play-by-play announcer, of the players. Even on the radio, the best radio guy can’t do that. The mostly on Ch. 38. It feels like a treat to have him calling approximately 40 puck and the players are moving way too fast. It’s not possible. On TV, games on the radio this season, as he has for the past couple of years. we don’t have to do that. Nationally, he’s called so many huge events — everything from World “But it’s fun. The pace of it makes it fun. I think it was NBC that had the Series to “” to premier college football games to ad campaign, ‘There’s nothing better than the Stanley Cup playoffs.’ I golf majors — that chances are his voice is associated with the highest saw that and I was like, ‘Damn right.’ “ level of whatever your favorite sport happens to be. McDonough said he’ll continue to call high-profile college football games McDonough has accomplished so much that, as it turns out, it’s easy to for ESPN and ABC, but his college basketball workload could be overlook his bona fides in another sport: hockey. affected. He wants to continue doing Red Sox games on the radio next “I’ve heard a little bit these last few days, ‘He’s done hockey? When was season, though the schedule may have to lean toward later in the season the last time he did hockey?’ “ said McDonough, laughing, during a since the Stanley Cup playoffs run into the summer. conversation this past week, a couple of days after ESPN announced he “I’d like to be able to continue to do all of the stuff I’m currently doing and would be the network’s lead play-by-play voice next season when the basically add this, but if any of them goes away, it might be the NHL returns to the network for the first time since 2003-04. basketball,” he said. “But that hasn’t been determined yet.” “Well, you can only do what you have, right? I’d love to do hockey, but McDonough chuckled when recalling a recent conversation with Dan ESPN didn’t have it. Neither could [ESPN personalities and hockey Berkery, a legend in Boston media circles from his time as general aficionados] John Buccigross or or any of the other people at manager at Ch. 38 in the ’80s and ’90s. Berkery hired McDonough in ESPN who love hockey and would have loved to have been doing it all 1985 as the Bruins’ between-periods host and made the decision to these years. I’m one of just many people who is super excited that the name him, at age 25. as the Red Sox’ play-by-play voice three years NHL is back.” later. ESPN and the NHL announced in March that they had reached a seven- “Here’s the guy who gave me my start in baseball, who took that chance year broadcast rights deal that includes four Stanley Cup Finals. (Turner on me that launched my career,” said McDonough, “and he tells me the Sports landed the second part of the rights package several weeks later, other day, ‘I really hope you get this hockey thing. I’ve always thought it which includes three Cup Finals.) When he learned about the deal, was your best sport.’ I laughed and said, ‘You know something, Dan. So McDonough almost immediately let the ESPN executives in charge of do I.’ I’m really excited to do this.” such decisions know that he was interested in being one of the play-by- play voices.

“I had been hoping ever since it left that it would come back,’' said Boston Globe LOADED: 07.04.2021 McDonough. “I reached out pretty quickly to [ESPN president] Jimmy Pitaro and [executive vice president and executive editor, studio production] Norby Williamson and told them I’d be very interested to be involved at the highest level I could be involved. They both received that well, said they were happy to hear that, and then I basically waited while they were busy assembling our great roster.”

Other play-by-play voices include Buccigross, former NESN personality Leah Hextall, and Levy, who will also be the primary studio host.

“I think they knew the play-by-play people were basically going to come from within, so I think they were more focused on analysts and studio hosts and people that would be coming from the outside,” said McDonough.

McDonough may be associated with a variety of other sports, but he does have a long and varied background calling hockey, including the NHL on ESPN before it lost the rights all those years ago. He called the men’s Frozen Four several times for ESPN, and his roots in college hockey go back to NESN in the ’80s, when he’d announce the Beanpot and Hockey East championship games, among other assignments.

“When I got to NESN, Hockey East was just starting out,” he said, “and I think NESN was in 3,000 homes, which is basically one neighborhood. It’s obviously changed a lot since then.”

McDonough said it’s a lifelong dream to call a Stanley Cup Final. But what’s his favorite moment broadcasting the sport so far in his career?

“Probably the highlight was the ’98 Olympics at Nagano when I was at CBS,” he said. “It was the first year that the NHL players could play in the Olympics and it was the first year that women’s hockey was on the Olympic menu. It was a great time to do that.” 1216878 Boston Bruins What’s the game-changing idea that will separate ESPN? It won’t be glow pucks and robots (fun as they were for younger fans in the ’90s). What’s hockey’s version of the K-Zone?

What will ESPN’s coverage of the NHL look like next season? “Some people thought the first-and-10 line would be too intrusive,” Gross mused. “Now you can’t really watch a game without it.”

By Matt Porter Globe Staff I consider it a privilege to vote on year-end NHL awards as part of my duties with the Professional Hockey Writers Association. I’m not alone. Updated July 3, 2021, 9:42 a.m. My peers and I want to get it right.

When it came to this season’s MVP, I believe we did.

How will ESPN’s NHL coverage look different from what we’ve seen on Connor McDavid earned all 100 first-place votes for the Hart Trophy, NBC’s networks the last 15 years? becoming the second unanimous MVP ever (Wayne Gretzky, 1982). McDavid’s 105 points in 56 games goes down as one of the most “We’re trying to figure it out,” said Mark Gross, ESPN’s senior vice dominant seasons in league history. He was playing at a different speed president in charge of hockey coverage. “We know what the music is than everyone else. going to be.” In the voting bloc — trimmed from about 175 to 100 members, and The familiar “NHL on ESPN” theme is back. But the network is dispersed regionally to address imbalances created by the divisional-only determined to make a splash in its first NHL games since the 2004 schedule — we saw some refreshingly progressive thinking, and as Stanley Cup Final, beyond the personalities named in this past week’s always, some strange calls. One Edmonton writer voted McDavid’s roster announcement. teammate, , second for the Selke. Draisaitl made strides The network’s coverage starts with the July 21 Seattle expansion draft, this season, but it would be generous to call him an above-average hosted by Chris Fowler on ESPN2. John Buccigross will host the NHL defensive forward, much less elite. Draft two days later. Those shows will be produced by NHL Network. In this space last year, I delved into my methodology, which blends in- When Gross spoke over the phone this past week, ESPN (which person viewings, video study, and number-crunching. Obviously this reportedly paid $410 million a year for seven years of NHL rights) and season, I relied more on the latter two. I was among the few beat writers Turner ($225 million a year over the same period) still hadn’t divvied the who traveled all season, but I only watched the East Division up close. games. The NHL had yet to release its 2021-22 schedule. Its puck- and My ballot, and some quick takes: player-tracking data has not seen the light of day. Hart Trophy — 1. McDavid; 2. Auston Matthews; 3. Nathan MacKinnon; “One thing we’re trying to get our arms around is what analytics teams 4. Aleksander Barkov; 5. Brad Marchand. and coaches use to showcase in our game coverage, our studio coverage,” Gross said. “Camera positions is another thing we’re looking Relatively easy calls. McDavid was incredible, and the other four were at, talking to the league to see how we can showcase and document the the driving forces on good teams. Marchand was ranked as high as No. 2 games.” on six ballots.

Strategy and speed are the buzzwords Gross hears in his daily Norris Trophy — 1. Adam Fox; 2. Cale Makar; 3. Charlie McAvoy; 4. conversations with NHL people. Capturing both, while serving hard-core Dougie Hamilton; 5. MacKenzie Weegar. fans, hooking viewers from the massive pool of casual sports viewers who don’t give hockey much thought, attracting diverse genders and A youth movement, and an ECAC/Hockey East top three. Makar backgrounds . . . all are among Gross’s concerns. (UMass) missed 12 games, or 21 percent of the season, leaving the door open for Fox (Harvard), who was the Rangers’ MVP in his second “There has to be a level of entertainment without it being forced,” he said. season. McAvoy (BU) might be the best five-on-five defender in the “There’s really nothing worse on TV than forced fun. We have to find our game. Weegar opened eyes after Aaron Ekblad’s injury. Eleven blue spots, when we get [Chris] Chelios and [Mark] Messier together, who liners earned top-three votes. Victor Hedman was down-ballot for me, have a relationship. We’ll mix and match with other folks.” after an injury-plagued regular season. Don’t ask me why someone gave Kris Letang a first-place vote. Fun fact: Fox is the first player of Jewish Chelios and Messier, along with Steve Levy, will likely work the major descent to win a major NHL award. events. “We know how that works,” Gross said. Hearing the two Hall of Famers, owners of some sharp elbows, chime in on player safety Calder Trophy — 1. Kirill Kaprizov; 2. Jason Robertson; 3. Alex decisions should be interesting. Nedeljkovic; 4. Josh Norris; 5. Igor Shesterkin.

While he may not be hockey’s answer to Charles Barkley, Chelios does Kaprizov (27 goals and 51 points in 55 games) was a slam dunk, though seem like a straight shooter. In a phone call, he acknowledged he wasn’t Robertson had a brief midseason run that made it interesting. looking for a gig when he reached out to ESPN after the announcement. He was calling as a dad, hoping that his daughter, Lightning TV reporter Lady Byng Trophy — 1. Jaccob Slavin; 2. Jared Spurgeon; 3. Barkov; 4. Caley Chelios, was on the network’s radar. Roope Hintz; 5. Johnny Gaudreau.

“I like to think I’ll call it like it is,” said Chelios, 59, “Even though it’s a little I’ve said before that writers should not vote for this. Referees should. different than when I played, hockey’s hockey.” Slavin, an elite defender playing heavy minutes, committed one all season (for shooting the puck over the glass). Good enough for me. Messier, Chelios, Hilary Knight, , Brian Boucher, and Cassie Campbell-Pascall were among the first names Gross mentioned when Selke Trophy — 1. Barkov; 2. Patrice Bergeron; 3. Joel Eriksson Ek; 4. speaking about his roster, but a lineup has yet to be solidified. He noted Phillip Danault; 5. Joe Pavelski. that women will be featured prominently in on-air roles. Barkov had a strong MVP case, but his 200-foot excellence was properly The list of local connections is long, from Boucher (Woonsocket, R.I.), recognized here. Bergeron is still Bergeron. Could see Danault, after his A.J. Mleczko (Nantucket/Harvard), former Red Sox play-by-play man lockdown playoffs, be front of mind for a lot of voters next season. Sean McDonough (Boston), Buccigross (who has Boston roots), Rick The PWHA does not vote on the Vezina Trophy (the general managers DiPietro (Winthrop/Boston University), ex-Boston College Eagles Blake selected Marc-Andre Fleury), but we do pick the year-end All-Star teams. Bolden and Bob Wischusen, and Emily Kaplan, a former Globie. My goalies, in order, were Andrei Vasilevskiy, Fleury, and Juuse Saros. Gross said another fan favorite from the past, play-by-play announcer We also pick All-Rookie teams. I had Kaprizov, Robertson, and Norris as , remains an option. He spoke with the agent for Thorne, 73, my forwards, Ty Smith and K’Andre Miller as my defensemen, and this past week. Nedeljkovic in goal.

“We’re not done yet,” Gross said. “We want to see what the schedule The alleged cover-up of sexual assault by the Blackhawks was the looks like, and what other decisions we have to make. We still have leading topic in Gary Bettman’s annual pre-Stanley Cup Final news time.” conference this past week. Rightfully so. Bettman said the league learned of the allegations “relatively recently” signed on with the Chicago Blackhawks’ scouting and player and will wait for an independent review. development department.

According to a lawsuit filed in May, a former Blackhawks player alleges They also need a few good forwards. , Carlee Turner, and he and another player were assaulted by then-video coach Brad Aldrich Lexie Laing departed for job and school reasons. Czech standout Tereza during the team’s 2010 championship run. The team’s leadership, which Vanisova signed with Leksands IF in Sweden, which will better help her included current GM Stan Bowman, were allegedly informed of the participate in a demanding Olympic training schedule. incident by then-skills coach Paul Vincent, whom the players had told. League MVP , recovered from shoulder surgery, returns Aldrich later worked at a high school in Michigan, where he was with All-Star linemates McKenna Brand and Christina Putigna, the No. 1 convicted of sexual assault involving a student. He is now on Michigan’s defense pair of (two-time NWHL Defender of the Year) sex offender registry. and Mallory Souliotis, and netminders Lovisa Selander and Victoria Hanson. That crew, plus whomever Mara can lure to town, should keep Multiple ex-Blackhawks, including Nick Boynton, Daniel Carcillo (then the Pride near the top of the standings. with the Flyers), and Brent Sopel, spoke out this past week. One unnamed player told The Athletic that “every guy on the team knew.” Unlike last season, when the Pride got a boost from No. 1 overall pick Captain Jonathan Toews took issue with that, telling that outlet he didn’t Sammy Davis (BU) and six drafted rookies, the draft won’t have a major hear about the allegations until the end of that summer. He said he impact. Because they lost their 2021 first- and second-round picks when couldn’t say for sure if the team “mishandled” the situation. they traded up to select Davis, and dealt their third-rounder to Buffalo for future considerations, the Pride picked in the fourth and fifth rounds Bettman, a former lawyer, pumped the brakes. “Let us see what the (Weston’s Finley Frechette and Beverly’s Abby Nearis, both forwards). investigation reveals, and then we can figure out what comes next,” he said. “I think everyone is jumping too far, too fast. This is going to be The NWHL’s player pool was thinned after the NCAA granted players an handled appropriately and professionally, and done right.” extra year of eligibility, leading many of the top draft-eligible players to return to school. Because of that, Boston isn’t the only team that believes Let’s hope so. next year’s draft will be loaded.

Later in his Q&A, Bettman shared the league’s “real concerns” over The Bruins have promoted from within of late, calling up coaches from whether it was “sensible” to have a two-week shutdown for the 2022 Providence and the player development ranks. It makes sense that Beijing Olympics. fourth-year P-Bruins coach Jay Leach would replace Jay Pandolfo on Wait, what? Bruce Cassidy’s staff, but player development staffers Chris Kelly and Jamie Langenbrunner will also get a look. Like Pandolfo, they were two- After sitting out 2018 — and watching interest in Olympic hockey wane way forwards with long NHL résumés . . . As for Pandolfo, the move to — the NHL and NHLPA last summer collectively bargained to participate BU gives him a shorter path to a head coaching gig. Albie O’Connell, in the 2022 and 2026 Winter Olympics, pending further agreement with who is entering the final year of his deal, has had a spotty run . . . Bruins both parties, the IIHF, and IOC. But there is no plan yet. strength and conditioning assistant Kenny Whittier also made the move to BU . . . A few first-timers joined NHL benches this past week, including COVID-19 variants remain a worry, and NBC isn’t likely to lobby on the two ex-players, Alex Tanguay (Detroit assistant) and Tuomo Ruutu NHL’s inclusion following the expiration of the TV deal. The NHL hopes (Florida assistant), and André Tourigny (Arizona coach). The latter move to release its 2021-22 schedule shortly after the Cup Final. was particularly interesting, for a league that often recycles head “Time is running very short,” Bettman said, which came as disappointing coaches . . . Toews, after a year out of the spotlight with a mysterious news to Tampa Bay’s Victor Hedman. illness, is back on the ice. He posted a video message to fans after a practice, saying doctors told him he has “chronic immune response “The Olympics is one of the biggest dreams of mine and I haven’t been syndrome,” a catch-all term for constant, debilitating stress reactions. Still able to participate in one. This might be the last chance I get. That sucks dealing with a few symptoms, the Blackhawks’ captain believes the to hear,” said Hedman, who was left off Team Sweden in 2014. “When condition was brought on by a nasty bout with COVID-19 in February you get an opportunity to represent your country on the biggest stage, it’s 2020, before the pandemic hit in full; the toll of 13 NHL seasons; and the one of those things that you’ll probably never forget. For me, it’s year-round hockey training schedule he’s followed since he was a young obviously something I’ve been dreaming about my whole life and teenager. “I think there’s a lot of things that just piled up,” he said, “where something I want to do before I hang up my skates.” my body just fell apart.” He hopes to return in October . . . Edmonton trimmed Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’s $6 million cap hit, but took a beating on The NWHL’s are deep into an summer, hauling term, when it locked up the No. 2 center to an eight-year, $41 million deal the trophy from New England lake houses to the Grand Canyon. with a full no-move clause. He will be 36 when it expires. “No contract is As he preps for a title defense, coach Paul Mara is playing his cards perfect,” GM Ken Holland acknowledged . . . Hurricanes owner Tom close. After a few defections, he’s using his newfound salary-cap space Dundon’s take on game jersey ads, which are coming to the NHL sooner — the league doubled the ceiling to $300,000 — to bring in some outside rather than later: “If we look like Formula One or NASCAR, that’d be fine help. with me.” . . . Glad to see college athletes everywhere get a chance to make some cash off their name and image, following the Supreme “Working on a few things,” he said. Court’s hammering of the paternalistic NCAA. A small step, long overdue. The NWHL is feeling momentum entering its seventh season. An influx of sponsorship dollars, visibility from its Isobel Cup playoffs broadcast on NBCSN, and a lot of player raises have elevated the mood. Boston Globe LOADED: 07.04.2021 Since last month, the four franchises under league control — the , Connecticut Whale, , and — were sold to private owners, making it a league of six independent clubs. Expansion is on the horizon, with Montreal a primary target.

Also notable: This past week’s draft, which was streamed on Twitch, included appearances from a range of pro sports personalities, including NHL league and team executives, and USA Hockey reps. The NWHL hasn’t always had such vocal support.

For all the growth, players aren’t yet earning a living wage. Contracts are yearly. Outside opportunities create a talent drain.

The Pride lost president to the AHL (vice president of hockey operations), replacing her with 1998 US Olympian Colleen Coyne. They are searching for a GM, after Karilyn Pilch this past week 1216879 Boston Bruins ▪ That meant Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, who allowed two goals on his first 61 shots of the series, was finally beaten by a shot that didn’t deflect off two of his teammates on the way. He allowed his first bad one This Canadiens team looks like it’ll be history soon, and other of the series with 1:56 left in the second, when Nick Suzuki made it 4-2 observations from Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final with a rush chance off the wing, finding space under the pad.

Overall, the Vezina Trophy finalist was doing what Price was not: fighting through screens, finding pucks in traffic. It helped that Montreal’s attack By Matt Porter Globe Staff was mostly of the one-and-done variety.

Updated July 3, 2021, 6:17 a.m. ▪ More Montreal mistakes: On Kucherov’s 3-1 goal, at 1:40 of the second, Lehkonen couldn’t get the puck in deep as the Habs changed off. Erik

Cernak pounced, sending a stretch pass to Palat, who helped Kucherov Observations and notes from Game 3 of a Stanley Cup Final that (8-24—32 in 21 games) pad his Conn Smythe résumé. probably isn’t going much longer … ▪ The official attendance was 3,500 after Quebec public health authorities ▪ Tampa Bay’s 6-3 win on Friday night saw a team that is playing $18 denied the Canadiens’ request to increase capacity to some 10,500. On million over the salary cap crushing a team that finished 18th in the TV, it looked and sounded like a bunch more sneaked in. “There’s at regular season. The ghosts of the Montreal Forum arrived for the first least 7,000 people here,” remarked NBC’s Ed Olczyk in the second Cup Final game at the Bell Centre, but by the end of the night they were period. some of the loudest fans there. ▪ Trivia: Rutta scored the first NHL goal in July. Hedman became the first The recipe: Two Lightning goals in the first 3:27 of the first. Two more in player to score a goal in all 12 calendar months. Corey Perry repeated the first 3:33 of the second. Suffocate the Canadiens in the third, score a the feat thanks to his roof job in the waning minutes. couple more for good measure. Good luck. ▪ If all this Habsenfreude wasn’t enough for you, one more historical ▪ Tampa is a Monday night win away from back-to-back Cup banners, nugget: The Maple Leafs, without a Cup title for 54 years, on Saturday and this is becoming one of the most lopsided Finals in history. passed the Rangers for the longest drought in history: 19,786 days.

The Bolts haven’t trailed. The aggregate score in the series is 14-5. It’s the largest differential through three games since the 1997 Red Wings Boston Globe LOADED: 07.04.2021 routed the Flyers, 14-5, en route to the first of two consecutive Cup Final sweeps.

▪ There’s always a way to shoehorn the local team in, so here: The team that opened up the largest goal gap through three games was the 1970 Bruins. They went plus-12 on the Blues (16-4 aggregate). The largest goal differential over a full Cup Final? Bruins 23, Canucks 8, in 2011.

(Cue a flood of warm memories.)

▪ You’d have to go back 39 years to find a team that scored more goals in the first three games of a Final: the 1982 Islanders (15). Since then, three teams — these Lightning, the 1997 Red Wings, and 1996 Avalanche — have put up 14 over the first three. The Bruins scored 13 times in the first three games of the 2019 Final, the end result of which won’t be discussed here.

▪ Speaking of history, this Habs team doesn’t look like it will come back from 3-0 down, a feat accomplished only by the 1942 Maple Leafs. Not with Carey Price (.825 save percentage through three games) allowing softies. Not with all the mistakes they keep making.

▪ On the opening shift, returning coach Dominique Ducharme got his preferred matchup: his shutdown line, Artturi Lehkonen-Phillip Danault- Brendan Gallagher, against Tampa’s Ondrej Palat-Brayden Point-Nikita Kucherov power trio.

But off an icing 1:28 in, sent out his top line against a tired Habs unit. Little-used defenseman Jon Merrill was part of the group that screened Price as Jan Rutta’s point shot found the top left corner.

▪ Shortly after, Eric Staal dumped the puck over the glass. Victor Hedman, who set up Rutta’s goal with a nifty backhand feed, hammered a slapper past Price. Two goals on five shots. Ducharme called his timeout, 3:27 into the first Cup Final game in Montreal in 28 years.

NBC’s broadcast crew later ripped him for not switching up his lines early enough, with the game getting away from him, but what was he supposed to do, really? The talent disparity was on display throughout.

Fourth-liner Tyler Johnson scored twice, including one set up by a crafty skate feed by linemate Mathieu Joseph, the 13th forward who entered after Alex Killorn’s Game 1 injury.

Meanwhile, Ducharme is barely using his third defense pair (Merrill and Erik Gustafsson), and his most-deployed defender, Ben Chiarot, has been on the ice for eight of Tampa’s 14 goals.

▪ The Habs had life when Danault, the defensive-minded center, scored his first of the playoffs to make it 2-1. Like a basketball team sagging off the big man who can’t shoot, the Lightning hardly marked Danault on the way into the zone. He clanked it off the left and right posts for his first goal in 21 games. 1216880 Chicago Blackhawks choose between Nikita Zadorov and Riley Stillman among the defensemen, leaving exposed two of those four plus Subban and Calvin de Haan as the Kraken’s viable options.

NHL mock expansion draft: Projecting Kraken’s 30 picks, including 1 Subban isn’t more than a proven career backup, but his selection would from Blackhawks give the Kraken three goalies and more flexibility with their selections from juicier lists.

By Ben Pope@BenPopeCST Blackhawks goalie Malcolm Subban could be picked by the Kraken. Getty Jul 3, 2021, 6:30am CDT Avalanche: D Ryan Graves

Erik Johnson waiving his NMC helps the Avs but won’t save Graves, a In the upcoming expansion draft, NHL general managers likely won’t towering second-pair defenseman. repeat the strategic mistakes they made during the Golden Knights’ formation four years ago. Blue Jackets: F Eric Robinson

But that doesn’t mean the Seattle Kraken, the NHL’s 32nd franchise, Much like William Karlsson — the Knights’ 2017 selection from Columbus won’t be able to assemble a competitive team this summer. The Kraken — Robinson, an underrated power forward, seems primed for a breakout will pick one player from each of 30 other teams — with the Knights in Seattle. excluded — on July 21. Stars: G Anton Khudobin

Teams can protect seven forwards and three defensemen (or eight total Khudobin is 35, but his .920 save percentage in Dallas the last three skaters in any combination) as well as one goalie. All players in the first years (fifth in the NHL) is too good to pass up. two years of their first contract are exempt. The Kraken, meanwhile, must pick at least 14 forwards, nine defensemen and three goalies. Twenty of Red Wings: D Troy Stecher their picks must be under contract for next season, and they must fit within the NHL salary cap of $81.5 million. The Red Wings will focus on protecting their young players rather than Stecher, who quietly had a decent season. The theory seems simple enough — pick the best player each team leaves unprotected — but the reality will be more complicated. Oilers: F Jujhar Khaira

From some teams, the Kraken will select a notable player. From others, Re-signing Ryan Nugent-Hopkins pushes Khaira into the exposed they won’t. They also will be active in the free-agent market. Side trades category. If the Oilers also re-sign Adam Larsson or Tyson Barrie soon, will be made, giving the Kraken picks and prospects for ignoring certain Caleb Jones would become exposed and likely be the Kraken’s pick. exposed players. And a handful of the Kraken’s selected players will be Panthers: D Gustav Forsling flipped quickly for more picks and prospects. The Kraken will have a number of interesting defensive options in That’s because the Kraken will need to build a pool of 19- to 22-year- Florida: Forsling, Radko Gudas, Anton Stralman and Markus Nutivaara. olds. They won’t be able to manage or afford a depth chart with 30 NHL players on one-way contracts. Kings: F Blake Lizotte

Knights general manager George McPhee heavily exploited his GM Acquiring Viktor Arvidsson makes Lizotte and Lias Andersson, two raw comrades in the 2017 process, landing most of his eventual core players but young forwards, available from the Kings. through lopsided trades rather than the expansion draft. Kraken GM Ron Wild: D Francis will hope to do the same but might encounter a shrewder bunch. Unless Ryan Suter waives his NMC, the Wild will have to expose two of With less than three weeks until decision day, here’s a rough projection the best players in the draft: Dumba, who has averaged more than 22 of whom the Kraken might pick from each team: minutes in four straight seasons, and goalie Cam Talbot, a stellar Ducks: F Adam Henrique backup.

Henrique doesn’t fit the Ducks’ youth movement, but he’s an older, Canadiens: D Ben Chiarot expensive player worth gambling on for the Kraken. The Canadiens will have to expose two of three solid, prime-aged Coyotes: G Adin Hill defensemen — Chiarot, Joel Edmundson and Brett Kulak.

Hill is only 24, boasts a .915 save percentage over the last two seasons Predators: F Matt Duchene and is hungry for a bigger role. The Coyotes have little else. Will the Kraken be willing to absorb an Bruins: D Jeremy Lauzon $8 million cap hit for either Duchene or Ryan Johansen and gamble on a The Bruins are likely to expose three relatively young and promising not-long-removed star? Perhaps a sweetener side trade would convince defensemen — Lauzon, Connor Clifton and Jakub Zboril — who would them. make sense for the Kraken. Devils: F Michael McLeod Sabres: F Rasmus Asplund The Devils will expose little of interest, but at least McLeod was a 12th There’s not much in the Sabres’ cupboard, but Asplund at least has a overall pick. little value. Islanders: D Sebastian Aho Flames: D Oliver Kylington Aho, a depth defenseman not to be confused with the Hurricanes star, waiving his no-movement clause rescued the Flames. The might improve with more opportunity. Kraken can pick between old, expensive and good defenseman Mark Rangers: F Colin Blackwell Giordano or the young, cheap and untested Kylington. The Kraken might pick between three middle-six forwards — Blackwell, Hurricanes: D Jake Bean Kevin Rooney and Brett Howden — from the Rangers. Francis drafted Bean 13th overall with the Hurricanes. Bean still could Senators: F Evgeni Dadonov grow into an impactful offensive defenseman. The Kraken will pick between Dadonov, who’s 32 with a $5 million cap hit Blackhawks: G Malcolm Subban but totaled 70 points two years ago, and Chris Tierney, who’s 27 with a Alex Nylander’s exemption allows the Hawks to protect either Adam $3.5 million cap hit and had 48 points two years ago. Gaudette or David Kampf among the forwards. They also will have to Flyers: F James van Riemsdyk One of the best players available, JVR is well into the second half of his career but remains a dynamic offensive talent.

Penguins: F Teddy Blueger

Blueger has been a quietly productive scorer the last two seasons and could be a 2021-22 breakout candidate. Brandon Tanev and Jason Zucker are more established alternatives.

Sharks: F Ryan Donato

The Sharks need to re-sign then expose Donato to meet a team exposure requirement. The Kraken can then pick up his contract.

Blues: D Vince Dunn

The Kraken will find numerous interesting options in St. Louis, but Dunn — a young, talented offensive defenseman with high trade value — is the best of all.

Lightning: F Yanni Gourde

Knowing they’ll lose one good player regardless, the Lightning might protect four defensemen (and thus only four forwards) to secure that position group. Gourde, Ondrej Palat and Alex Killorn would headline the exposed forwards.

Maple Leafs: F Alex Kerfoot

The Leafs also might protect four defensemen and four forwards for the same reason. Kerfoot is a consistent middle-six playmaker.

Canucks: F Zack MacEwen

The Canucks’ exposed list isn’t going to have anyone of value.

Capitals: D Brenden Dillon

The Capitals’ third protected defenseman will be either Dillon or Justin Schultz, two nearly identical players. The Kraken likely will pick the exposed one.

Jets: F Mason Appleton

Appleton, who broke out for 25 points this season, can’t fit into the Jets’ protection plan but looks tempting for the Kraken.

Chicago Sun Times LOADED: 07.04.2021 1216881 Colorado Avalanche Crazy to think that one NCAA team can recruit so much NHL-bound talent, given that so much of the league is stocked with major-junior or European players.

Sweeping the Stanley Cup Final is a thing of the past

Denver Post: LOADED: 07.04.2021 By MIKE CHAMBERS | [email protected] | The Denver Post

PUBLISHED: July 2, 2021 at 12:42 p.m. | UPDATED: July 3, 2021 at 4:17 p.m.

Sweeping the Stanley Cup Final was a thing in the 1990s when five teams — including the Avalanche in 1996 — only required four games to win the championship over a seven-year span.

But it hasn’t unfolded since 1998 when the Detroit Red Wings did it for the second consecutive time, downing the in four a year after doing the same to the . The Pittsburgh Penguins began the trend in 1992, defeating the Chicago Blackhawks in four, and the New Jersey Devils swept the Red Wings in 1995.

Patrick Roy’s brilliant 63-save shutout in Game 4 over the Florida Panthers gave Colorado its first major professional sports championship in 1996.

So the Tampa Bay Lighting is flirting with a thing of the past — something that hasn’t happened this century. The Lightning will sweep the Montreal Canadians with a victory in Game 4 of the Cup Final on Monday at the Bell Centre. Tampa Bay would join the Penguins (2016-17) as the only team to win consecutive Cups since Detroit in 1997-98.

Colorado ties. If Tampa Bay goes on to win its third overall Cup, a veteran guy with significant Colorado ties will again hoist it as the Lightning’s backup goalie to a dominant Russian.

In 2004, it was Denver native John Grahame, who backed up Nikolai Khabibulin. Last year and currently, it’s four-year Colorado College standout Curtis McElhinney, who is in his second season of backing up Andrei Vasilevskiy.

Like Grahame, a ninth-round draft pick of the Boston Bruins in 1994, the 38-year-old McElhinny has carved out a long NHL career by becoming the prototypical backup in his 30s.

A sixth-round pick by the in 2002, McElhinney had brief stints as the No. 1 guy for just two of the eight teams he has played for. But his character and reputation have helped him remain in the league, and perhaps that’s a testament to his upbringing — including his days at CC in Colorado Springs from 2001 to ’05.

Grahame, who played three years at Lake Superior State, retired at age 36 in 2011. He was a depth goalie for the Avalanche at the time, never playing for the NHL club but serving as Peter Budaj’s backup twice.

Coaching carousel. Two former Avs climbed the coaching ranks this past week. Alex Tanguay, who played nine of his 16 NHL seasons in Colorado, was named an assistant coach with the Red Wings. And Andre Tourigny, an Avalanche assistant coach under Roy for two seasons from 2013-15, became head coach of the Arizona Coyotes.

Tanguay, 41, is coming off his first season behind the bench, as an assistant for the AHL’s Iowa Wild under former Avs assistant Tim Army. Tanguay also played under Roy and Tourigny for the Avs.

Wolverines in the draft. The virtual NHL draft is July 23-24 at the NHL Network studios in New Jersey and the University of Michigan will be at center stage with the first 10 picks. The Wolverines are expected to see defenseman Owen Power and forward Matty Beniers go No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, and also have forward Kent Johnson and incoming freshman defenseman Luke Hughes selected within the first hour.

MyNHLDraft.com has Power, Beniers and Hughes as the first three picks and Johnson at No. 9. Powers, Beniers and Johnson have each said they are leaning towards returning to Michigan for their sophomore seasons.

The Wolverines already have two first-round picks in forwards Johnny Beecher (No. 30 to Boston in 2019) and Brendan Brisson (No. 29 to Vegas in 2020). 1216882 Edmonton Oilers Tullio’s points-per-game total suggests he has a chance at an NHL career, and the Oilers were astute to select him at No. 126. It’s rare a point-per-game OHL forward with speed is available that late in any draft.

Lowetide: Will the Oilers draft from the OHL after a season that never The Oilers and the OHL in the first round this year happened? Since Ken Holland arrived in 2019 (Tyler Wright was in Edmonton in time to run the 2020 draft), Edmonton has drafted two speed merchants who By Allan Mitchell are fine athletes in the first round. Philip Broberg was the pick in 2019, and Dylan Holloway in 2020. Both men will be in North America during Jul 3, 2021 the 2020-21 season, playing for the Bakersfield Condors or (possibly) the Oilers.

It’s always difficult to identify exactly what a scouting director is looking It’s safe to say the Edmonton Oilers have benefited greatly from the for, but size, speed, aggression and peak fitness appear to be priorities quality talent produced in the OHL over the past 40 years. for the organization at this time. From Wayne Gretzky to Paul Coffey through Jason Arnott, Taylor Hall If that trend continues, and Edmonton plucks an OHL player in the first and Connor McDavid, Edmonton has enjoyed the best the league has to round, there are two men the Oilers might choose if they’re still on the offer. board. Using high draft picks that landed in the exact summers they could help Francesco Pinelli appears to be the most likely target. He’s a left-handed most, Oilers management has enjoyed several decades of sustained centre who can also play wing and comes with a solid two-way greatness via the most gifted sons of Ontario. reputation. Pinelli is an April 2003 and his draft minus one season implied Why would a team that has been blessed so much from drafting OHL some range offensively. Pinelli held his own during 2020-21 while briefly players pass on the league in any year? Answer: Possibly in a year when playing in Slovenia (11 points in 13 games). He’s a good bet for a future the league didn’t drop the puck at all. top-six role should he make the NHL.

The baker’s dozen chosen by Edmonton includes several men who have Brennan Othmann has significant offensive ability (he can score goals) played in the NHL: Tobias Rieder (2011), Nail Yakupov (2012), Darnell and some things to recommend him as a two-way talent. A great first- Nurse (2013), McDavid (2015). Dmitri Samorukov (2017), plus Evan shot scorer, he played well in Switzerland’s second league (7-8-15 in 34 Bouchard and Ryan McLeod (both 2018) are also pushing for NHL jobs. games) and might have emerged as a riser in the draft rankings in a traditional OHL season. Edmonton’s most recent selection (Tyler Tullio) came from the 2020 draft. I have him a little behind Pinelli, but both men can play and bring solid offence with defensive potential. A fairly complete skill set for both. The OHL didn’t play a game last season, forcing many 2021 draft-eligible prospects to play in different leagues. Even more startling, many didn’t Later rounds play at all, basically losing an entire season of development. Wright’s first draft with the Oilers was challenging due to lack of picks. He Several draft-eligible players (2002 and 2003 born) took part in the PBHH and the Edmonton scouts had to make the first-round pick count, and Invitational in Erie, Pa., last month and that helped those lucky enough to then find good bets later in the draft (the team had just one pick in the top play. Tucker Robertson, a 2003-born right-handed centre, may have 99 selections). benefited more than anyone. A year later, Holloway is signed and appears to be a year or less away Corey Pronman has four possible first-round selections from the OHL on from an NHL job. Carter Savoie posted an impressive season with the his final list for The Athletic. Denver Pioneers of the NCAA, and every selection delivered enough quality to be considered on track for a future NHL contract. Scott Wheeler’s final ranking for The Athletic features four names from the league going inside the top 32. Now, Wright must do it again, with a very similar set of draft picks.

Interestingly, the draft experts have three names that match and each As of now, Edmonton is slated to use picks 19, 115, 179, 185 and 211. ranking has an outlier. I believe that reflects the nature of this year’s There is one major advantage, and it could have an impact on the OHL draft: It is wide open. eligible prospects. Since some played in distant leagues and others didn’t One thing we can gather from Pronman and Wheeler: This is not a strong play at all, the Ontario league’s prospects are likely to be ranked crop for the league. One year ago, the OHL had seven first-round differently across the league. selections, including five inside the top 10. Edmonton could take advantage. Here are some names who might be This year’s draft is closer to 2018, when the OHL had four players available in later rounds (all are right-handed shots): chosen in the first round, all between Nos. 18 and 28. C Connor Lockhart is undersized (5-9, 165 pounds) and did not play in The OHL is the world’s best development league, and because of it, even 2020-21. He can skate well, is an accomplished playmaker and can beat players who don’t rank near the top of a given year have real a goalie clean with his shot. opportunities once they hit pro. D Simon Motew is average in size and played well in the OHL 2019-20 Most of the kids who play their junior in the OHL go through the hockey (34, 1-10-11) in his draft minus one season. He lit up the USPHL Premier melting pot that is the GTHL. It is the most punishing (for the players) and League this past season and Brock Otten from OHL Prospects found rewarding (for the NHL) talent pipeline in the world. John Marino (Oilers 2015 draft pick who emerged with the Pittsburgh Penguins a couple of years ago) as a reasonable comparable. Wright In a normal year, we could line up the top talent based on points per and his staff are going to need to look deep into the junior leagues, game in their draft year and have something close to the most promising Motew may be a worthwhile bet. selections (among forwards) available from the OHL. Using points per game a year ago, I got this list (actual draft number in brackets): W Ty Voit shoots left and is another small forward (5-9, 155) who may fall through the cracks and be available late. He did play during 2020-21, so It isn’t perfect, there are risers and fallers, but it’s a quick and easy way the OHL numbers from his draft minus one season (49, 8-20-28) are all to sift through multiple players and get a range of quality. It also gives us we have. However, he’s a June 2003, meaning there’s plenty of track a chance to estimate Tullio’s possible outer marker with the Oilers. and the missed season may be the only reason he might be available Although comparing these numbers over seasons without factoring in late. years when offense is harder to come by is unfair, it’s a quick and easy way to see where a player should be valued compared with the C Tucker Robertson is a late June 2003 who didn’t get much done in organization’s recent past (2011-20): 2019-20 (55, 8-10-18) but did himself an enormous favour with a strong showing at the recent prospect showcase in Erie. He could go anywhere in this draft, and the Erie tournament may have been a mirage, but I’m guessing he made an impression on scouts desperate to see someone from this year’s draft pool stand out.

The Athletic LOADED: 07.04.2021 1216883 Minnesota Wild "Sometimes it takes three days. Sometimes it takes three months," Guerin said. "There's nothing wrong with that. It's just part of the process."

Wild planning talks with Kirill Kaprizov, Kevin Fiala after signing Joel Guerin said he's confident the team will get a deal done with Kaprizov, Eriksson Ek the NHL rookie of the year who scored a team-high 27 goals.

"I'm confident in Kirill and his wanting to be here and his willingness to By Sarah McLellan Star Tribune play in Minnesota, and I'm confident that [his agent] sees that," Guerin continued. "It comes from both sides. It's not just them not wanting to JULY 3, 2021 — 1:14PM take what we're offering; it's us, too, and we have to see it that way. It takes two sides to make a deal, and it just could take a little bit longer."

As for Fiala, who had 20 goals last season, preliminary conversations Not one, not two, but three blocks on the same shift against one of the have started and the Wild also plans "to dig a little deeper" into the NHL's hardest shots. negotiation in the days ahead, Guerin said. After Joel Eriksson Ek kept getting in the way of Shea Weber's wind-up in Kaprizov, Fiala and Eriksson Ek, respectively, were the Wild's top three a game at Montreal early in Bill Guerin's first season as Wild general goal scorers last season, and Guerin said after the playoffs he manager, Guerin knew the center would help the team win. envisioned all three being with the team long term. But the contract that "That kind of solidified what kind of guy he was in my mind," Guerin said, clicked for Eriksson Ek might not work for the other two. "because you don't do that without having great character [and] great "It's just a matter of finding a fair middle ground and what works best for courage." both sides," Guerin said. "I think that's true with any deal. Ekky signed an Fast forward to the present and there's no mistaking how valuable eight-year deal. That might not be the case for Kevin, and it might be the Eriksson Ek has become to the Wild – not after the team signed him to case for Kirill. We don't know. It could be flipflopped. I don't know. It all an eight-year deal worth $42 million on Friday, the first max contract the just depends on years and dollars and what we can afford to pay and team has awarded since eight years became the limit in 2013. what we can fit in."

"Them showing me the commitment and just the strides we took last year With Eriksson Ek's new contract on its books, the Wild has nearly $17 I really liked," Eriksson Ek said Saturday morning during a video million in cap space for next season, according to salary-tracking interview from his hometown in Sweden. "The team we have, I think we websites CapFriendly and PuckPedia. can build something really good. Of course, I like it there and I like where And while more deals remain to be brokered to fill out the roster, the Wild our team is heading." now has more clarity up the middle of its lineup. The deal runs through 2028-29, making Eriksson Ek the longest-signed "The atmosphere around our team last year felt different," Eriksson Ek player on the Wild. said. "Just want to keep being a part of it." Negotiations lasted three days.

"It just shows how much Joel wants to be here, his commitment to the Star Tribune LOADED: 07.04.2021 team," Guerin said. "So when the team likes a player and the player wants to show that size of commitment, that's just the way it worked."

Eriksson Ek is coming off his best season in the NHL, tallying a career- high 19 goals and 30 points while centering the Wild's most consistent line with wingers Jordan Greenway and Marcus Foligno. That impact spilled over to the postseason, where he tied for the team lead in goals (two) and points (three) in a first-round loss to Vegas.

"When you see the way he played this year, you see how he played in the playoffs, it was kind of a no-brainer for us," Guerin said.

This breakout performance offensively didn't come at the expense of Eriksson Ek's trademark defensive awareness. Instead, he became a stalwart at both ends of the ice and the two-way prowess helped him rank fourth in Selke Trophy voting as the NHL's best defensive forward.

"He just kept getting better and better and asserting himself more and more, and I think he wants even more," Guerin said. "I think he wants more responsibility. I think he wants to show us that he's capable of even more.

"Joel's also got great leadership qualities, and we want him to continue to express those and show those during the year. He's just a good young player for us, and we feel like with an eight-year deal we're getting his best years."

Since he's only 24 years old, the Wild feels Eriksson Ek can still grow his game. Guerin said Eriksson Ek will get more looks on the power play, an opportunity to achieve the evolution the Wild is expecting from him.

"I'm really, really excited," Eriksson Ek said. "The team we have started to build and the strides we took last year as a group I thought was really good. Hopefully, we can do better this year."

Re-signing Eriksson Ek was one of the Wild's offseason priorities; finalizing new contracts for Kirill Kaprizov and Kevin Fiala are the others.

Talks with Kaprizov's camp are "status quo," Guerin said, and the two sides have plans to talk in the coming week. Guerin characterized the negotiation as an "open dialogue" and said communication hasn't turned cold. 1216884 Minnesota Wild

Joel Eriksson Ek committed long term to Wild because ‘we can build something really good’

By DANE MIZUTANI | [email protected] | Pioneer Press

PUBLISHED: July 3, 2021 at 11:51 a.m. | UPDATED: July 3, 2021 at 12:04 p.m.

When Bill Guerin took the job as Wild general manager a couple of years ago, he didn’t know much about Joel Eriksson Ek. In fact, it wasn’t until a road game in Montreal early in his first year in charge that Guerin truly realized Eriksson Ek’s importance.

“He blocked three Shea Weber slap shots in a row,” Guerin recalled. “That kind of solidified what kind of guy he was in my mind. You don’t do that without having great character and great courage, and from that moment on, I really believed that he’s a guy that is going to help us win.”

On Friday afternoon, Guerin put his money where his mouth is, signing Eriksson Ek to an 8-year, $42 million contract that will keep the 24-year- old forward from Sweden with the Wild through the 2028-29 season. Overall, the contract negotiations went very smoothly, and in the end, both sides got what they wanted.

“We didn’t know where it was going to land when we first started talking,” Guerin said. “This took three days. It just shows how much Joel wants to be here.”

Asked why he felt comfortable signing a max deal in terms of length, Eriksson Ek said, “I think we can build something really good.”

And Eriksson Ek is a big reason for that. To say he had a breakout season would be putting it lightly. He continued to star defensively game in and game out while flashing a scoring touch offensively that hadn’t yet been seen in his previous four NHL seasons.

“I’m just trying to get better every day,” Eriksson Ek said. “Hopefully I still develop. Just trying to do my best to do so. I’m working hard and doing the right things in the summer to try to be as ready as I can when next season starts.”

Though there might be some pressure on Eriksson Ek moving forward — especially after scoring a career-high 19 goals last season — he’s taking those expectations in stride, with a smile on his face.

“He’s a real pro,” Guerin said. “At 24 years old, he’s not even a finished product. He’s still a young man. Just the way he takes care of himself mentally and physically and the way he approaches the game and shows up on a consistent basis, (you can see) there’s still more to come.”

While the pressure on the Wild now shifts to signing young snipers Kirill Kaprizov and Kevin Fiala — which won’t be the easiest thing in the world — the fact Guerin was able to lock up Eriksson Ek so quickly is something he can feel good about.

“It says a lot about what we’ve started to build here,” Guerin said. “I think the players are really excited about what’s going on. You’ve seen guys like (Jared Spurgeon) sign long-term deals. (Marcus Foligno) signed before he went to UFA. You saw Ryan Hartman take a three-year deal with a bit of a pay cut because he wants to be here. And Joel takes an eight-year deal because he wants to be here and he believes in what’s going on. For me, as the general manager, it makes me feel good about what’s going on and the type of people we have here. I’m very excited about it.”

Pioneer Press LOADED: 07.04.2021 1216885 Minnesota Wild signed an eight-year deal. That might not be the case for Kevin. And it might be the case for Kirill. We don’t know. … It all just depends on years and dollars and what we can afford to pay and what we can fit in.”

Wild GM ramping up talks with Kirill Kaprizov, Kevin Fiala now that Joel The Wild have roughly $16 million of cap space left with only 15 players Eriksson Ek is committed signed, so it’s clear something’s going to have to give. For the Wild to fill out their roster for next season, they will probably have to free up some cap space. That could come via trade, buyout or an expansion draft By Michael Russo departure.

Jul 3, 2021 On a seven- or eight-year deal, Guerin is willing to make Kaprizov the highest-paid player in franchise history despite playing only 55 regular-

season games and a two-goal, seven-game playoff stint. But it’s also Wild general manager Bill Guerin always planned to get Kirill Kaprizov understandable that Kaprizov might not want to sign for seven or eight signed first. years if he thinks it could be a below-market-value contract in three or four years. He was Priority No. 1 and overtures were made of seven and eight years. So, Guerin insinuated that both sides might have to find a way to But when it became abundantly clear to the Wild general manager that compromise with the Wild coming down in term if Kaprizov comes up. re-signing Kaprizov wouldn’t be as quick a negotiation as he envisioned, Guerin turned his attention to the player he knew would be easiest to In other words, an eventual four-to six-year contract. sign: Joel Eriksson Ek. “I think there’s gotta be compromise in everything,” Guerin said. “You’ve “We didn’t know where it was going to land when we first started talking, got to understand the other side and where they’re coming from. They’re and to be quite honest with you, this took three days,” Guerin said trying to accomplish something and so are we. I think when there’s Saturday, one day after re-signing the Wild’s best center to an eight-year maybe a bit of a disagreement it just takes a little bit more time to come deal totaling what Guerin anticipates will end up being a team-friendly to a compromise, but I do believe there’s a deal to be had there. I’m $42 million contract. “It just shows how much Joel wants to be here (to confident in that, I’m confident in Kirill and his wanting to be here and his make) this commitment to the team.” willingness to play in Minnesota, and I’m confident that (his agent) sees that. Now that the 24-year-old bulldozer who epitomizes the term “200-foot player” has avoided restricted free agency and is locked up, Guerin will “It comes from both sides. It’s not just them not wanting to take what turn his attention back to the Wild’s other two notable pending restricted we’re offering. It’s us, too, and we have to see it that way. It takes two free agents – Kaprizov and Kevin Fiala. sides to make a deal, and it just could take a little bit longer.”

Guerin said the Wild have begun initial contract talks with Fiala, the As for Eriksson Ek, Evolving Hockey projected his market would be a Wild’s fastest player who has scored 43 goals and 94 points in 114 shade north of $6 million annually if he signed an eight-year deal. So, games the past two seasons, and will dig into it deeper next week. $5.25 million per year for a contract that long is a good price if Eriksson Guerin also said that Kaprizov’s agent reached out to him Friday, and the Ek continues on the path he’s on. two sides plan to talk next week. With how difficult it is to find or develop centers and just how much the “It has not gone cold contrary to what some people have reported,” Wild believe in a player coming off a breakout season who’s only 24 Guerin said. “We’ve got an open dialogue going. There’s nothing new to years old, eight years was “a no-brainer for us,” Guerin said. report, but it’s not like things have stopped. We have plans to really get It was also for Eriksson Ek, who scored 19 goals and 11 assists this past going.” season and finished fourth in Selke Trophy voting. Still, Guerin intimated that getting Kaprizov re-signed isn’t something that “We both felt we wanted to get it done. Luckily, we did,” Eriksson Ek said will conclude imminently. It’s believed the Wild’s preference is to sign him from his home in Karlstad, Sweden. “I like what we’re starting to build. for seven or eight years in the $8 million to $9 million range. Kaprizov’s People want to stay around. I think the atmosphere around our team last camp is looking for a shorter-term deal because of the flat, $81.5 million year felt different. … I’m really (grateful) that they kept believing in me. cap and because if the Calder Trophy winner continues on his current The atmosphere, the friendship, the brotherhood we have in this group is trajectory, he conceivably could hit a monster contract north of $10 something different for sure.” million in two or three years. That’s the culture Guerin is trying to create in Minnesota. However, because Kaprizov can become an unrestricted free agent in summer 2024, Guerin doesn’t want to sign him to a term less than four While Eriksson Ek is the first max eight-year deal in franchise history, years and risk Kaprizov walking in three years. defensemen Jared Spurgeon ($7.575 million per) and Jonas Brodin ($6 million per) also committed to eight more years in Minnesota when they “It’s just an ongoing process,” Guerin said. “Sometimes, it takes three signed seven-year extensions with a year left on their prior contracts. In days. Sometimes, it takes three months. There’s nothing wrong with that. recent months, Marcus Foligno (three years at $3.1 million per) and Ryan It’s just part of the process. I’m confident we’ll get a deal done at some Hartman (three years at $1.7 million per) also signed extensions with the point.” Wild. Guerin stressed multiple times that nothing’s “gone cold,” as NHL “The buy-in that we’ve had here, I think the players are really excited Network’s Kevin Weekes tweeted a few weeks ago while also insinuating about what’s going on,” Guerin said. “You’ve seen guys like Spurge sign that Kaprizov was in Moscow because CSKA Moscow was interested in long-term deals. Marcus, signed before he went to UFA. (We) saw Ryan bringing back Kaprizov. Weekes was represented as a player and is Hartman take a three-year deal with a bit of a paycut because he wants represented as a broadcaster by Kaprizov’s agent. While returning to the to be here. And Joel takes an eight-year deal because he wants to be KHL will indeed be Kaprizov’s only option other than re-signing with the here. They believe in what’s going on. For me, as the general manager, it Wild, the truth is Kaprizov was actually in Moscow for a friend’s wedding, makes me feel good about what’s going on and the type of people we has an apartment in Moscow and trains and skates in Moscow each have here.” offseason. The hope with Eriksson Ek is that he has not hit his peak and he “We’ve never cut off talks,” Guerin said. “It’s not like we’re talking every continues to grow. Let’s be honest, there’s nobody who thought a few day, but there’s nothing that’s been cut off or dried up or anything like years ago that Eriksson Ek would be a player on the verge of a max that. … Listen, there are other GMs that have been through a lot worse eight-year term. Heck, a few summers ago, Guerin barely knew his value (negotiations). I’ve been through a lot worse as a GM and as a player. as a player beyond the fact that he was a first-round pick who, in 2016, This is not abnormal. This is something that happens all the time on had a terrific six-goal, nine-point world junior championships for Sweden. every team. We’re not special. We’re not above this sort of thing. It’s just going to take time. But Guerin said he really gained an affinity for the player during his seventh game as GM in 2019-20. The Wild were down 3-0 in a game at “I think it’s just a matter of finding a fair middle ground and what works Montreal when Eriksson Ek was brave enough to put his body in front of best (with Kaprizov and Fiala). I think that’s true with any deal. Ekky three consecutive Shea Weber blasts. “That kind of solidified what kind of guy he was, in my mind,” Guerin said. “You don’t do that without having great character, great courage. And from that moment on, I really believed that he’s a guy that is going to help us win.”

The good news is Eriksson Ek, who is one of the most popular players inside the locker room, is also one of the hardest-working players on the Wild. He keeps himself in such impeccable shape, teammates dub him Mr. September.

So, he should keep getting better.

There’s no doubt Eriksson Ek can improve in the faceoff circle, where he has a subpar 43.8 percent success rate in his career. While he’s a great penalty killer and gets the Wild’s toughest matchups up front (few players in the NHL make opponents lose their cool on the ice more than Eriksson Ek), Guerin said the plan is for Eriksson Ek to bite off more power-play time than his average of 71 seconds per game. And, perhaps, we could even see him elevated in the lineup so he could play between more skilled, top-six wingers.

“I think you can see his confidence grow this year,” Guerin said. “He just kept getting better and better and asserting himself more and more. And I think he wants even more. I think he wants more responsibility. I think he wants to show us that he’s capable of even more. … We feel like with an eight-year deal, we’re getting his best years.

“He’s a real pro. At 24 years old, you’re not even a finished product. You’re still a young man. I just think the way that he takes care of himself mentally and physically and the way he approaches the game and shows up on a consistent basis that there’s still more to come.”

Eriksson Ek echoed that sentiment.

“I’m trying to get better every day,” he said. “Hopefully, I still develop, and (I’ll) try to do my best to do so.”

The Athletic LOADED: 07.04.2021 1216886 Montreal Canadiens in the Bell Centre. Mathieu Joseph, a Lightning winger born and raised in Laval, QC, near Montreal, said the possibility of winning the cup in front of family and friends excites him, but that the thrill is not distracting him ‘We’re going to fight’: Habs look to reverse course in Game 4 as Bolts from the task at hand. seek Stanley Cup final sweep “The fourth game is always the hardest one to win,” said Joseph, who collected an assist in Friday’s game on the Lightning’s fourth goal. “There is still a lot of work to do.” Alex Cyr The 24-year-old was one of three Quebec-born players in the lineup on 5-6 minutes 7/3/2021 Friday, along with centre Yanni Gourde, and defenseman David Savard. Last season, Joseph was a healthy scratch for much of the playoff run.

This year he hopes to be closer to the glory. Dominique Ducharme has led a hockey team back from a 3-0 deficit in a “It’s definitely something you want to a be part of,” he said. “I know the best-of-seven series before. guys want to taste it again.” The Montreal Canadiens’ interim head coach was behind the Halifax

Mooseheads’ bench in 2012, when the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League team won four straight games against the Quebec Remparts en Globe And Mail LOADED: 07.04.2021 route to a 4-3 quarter final series win. Now, he hopes to lead the Habs down the same path as they trail the Tampa Bay Lightning by three games in the Stanley Cup final, and prepare for what could be the final match of the NHL season on Monday night.

“We can’t look too far,” said Ducharme, “you look at the mountain and it looks pretty high, but there are steps to pass. The first step is to win our next home game.”

The mountain he currently faces is far steeper than in the junior leagues. No NHL team has won the Stanley Cup after being down 3-0 in the final round in almost 80 years, and his Canadiens are attempting to pull it off against the defending cup champions. Still, Ducharme maintains that his team is not fazed by the difficult task ahead.

“Those who say we’re just going to let this go, it’s not knowing us well. We’re going to fight.”

Coming off losses of 5-1 and 3-1 in Games 1 and 2 in Tampa Bay, the Canadiens failed to leverage home ice advantage at the Bell Centre on Friday. They lost 6-3, despite outshooting the Lightning 35-30. The Habs have the weekend to prepare for Game 4, when the Stanley Cup will be in the Bell Centre, polished and ready to be awarded in the event of a Lightning win.

A victory on Monday could make Tampa Bay just the second team since 2000 to win two cups in a row, after the Pittsburgh Penguins did it in 2016 and 2017. Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said his team using both the memory of being eliminated in the first round in 2019, and the one of winning the title last year, to motivate them for Monday’s game.

“When you start tasting success, you don’t want to go backwards. It’s like an addiction and the guys are feeling it right now.”

In a press conference after Game 3, Cooper lauded the two-way play and consistency throughout the playoffs of star right winger Nikita Kucherov, who scored early in the second period on Friday, and who now leads all playoff scorers with 32 points in 21 games.

“I hope people realize his game is more than just playing on the power play,” said Cooper of the 28-year-old forward, who missed the entire regular season while recovering from hip surgery. “He can dictate plays, he’s out there when we’re protecting a lead... his growth as a player away from the puck, to me that’s what puts you in the star category.”

Cooper said he and his players, who until this week had spent the entirety of the playoffs in the U.S., are readjusting to life in Canada’s NHL bubble. He said not being allowed to go anywhere but their hotel and the arena, all while seeing people walking around the streets without masks, makes for a strange experience. Yet, he said sightseeing was never on his team’s agenda.

“We’ve spent 65 days in this exact same environment before and thrived,” he said, referring to last season’s league-wide COVID-19 bubble. “We know what to expect... this is a business trip for us.”

Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh said the team plans to lay low and rest on Saturday, before getting back to regular practice on Sunday.

“Tomorrow will be a big work day at the rink and practice day to really fine tune” he said. “When we get to game day, it will be all business again.”

Monday’s game will be the first time the Stanley Cup makes an appearance at a Montreal home game since 1993, and the first time ever 1216887 Montreal Canadiens Price has a 12-8 record with a 2.36 goals against average and a .921 save percentage.

The Canadiens have also been burned by the Lightning’s No. 1 line of Stu Cowan: Odds are stacked against Canadiens winning 25th Stanley Brayden Point between Ondrej Palat and Nikita Kucherov. That trio has Cup combined for four goals and 12 points in the first three games, led by Kucherov, who has 3-2-5 totals. The NHL’s top five scoring leaders in the playoffs are all Lightning players, led by Kucherov with 8-24-32 totals in Stu Cowan • Montreal Gazette 21 games. He is followed by Point (14-9-23), Steven Stamkos (8-10-18), Victor Hedman (2-16-18) and Alex Killorn (8-9-17). Nick Suzuki leads the Publishing date: Jul 03, 2021 Canadiens with 7-8-15 totals.

“That line is good,” Ducharme said. “But I think they’ve been scoring on It has been much longer since a team came back from being down 3-0 in all four lines. I don’t think it’s a matter of one player or one line right now. a best-of-seven Stanley Cup final to win the championship. They’re a deep lineup that they bring offence from the Ds and the forwards, every line. Against any good players you want to take time and The Canadiens’ last championship was in 1993. The last time a team space away. I’m not saying we’re doing a perfect job right now on came back from a 3-0 deficit in the final was 1942 when the Toronto (Kucherov). They’re good players, but we’ve done some good things and Maple Leafs beat the Detroit Red Wings after losing the first three we know that we can be better.” games. The Canadiens have to be a lot better or the Lightning will be hoisting the The Leafs are the only team in NHL history to ever accomplish that feat Stanley Cup Monday night at the Bell Centre.

Twenty-seven times in Stanley Cup final history a team has fallen behind 3-0, and the Leafs are the only team that came back to win the championship. Montreal Gazette LOADED: 07.04.2021

So it certainly doesn’t look like the Canadiens will win their 25th Stanley Cup this year as they prepare to face the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 4 Monday at the Bell Centre trailing the series 3-0 (8 p.m., CBC, SN, NBC, TVA Sports, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM). There hasn’t been a sweep in a Stanley Cup final since 1998 when the Detroit Red Wings won four straight against the Washington Capitals. Only once have the Canadiens ever been swept in a final, losing four straight to the Red Wings in 1952.

“We’re going to come in today, we’re going to be doing the most of this day,” Canadiens head coach Dominique Ducharme said during a Zoom session Saturday morning with an off-ice training session planned for the players at the Bell Sports Complex in Brossard. “Tomorrow we’ll have a practice day, and we’ll do the same and we’ll prepare for Monday.

“Our group has been going through so much,” Ducharme added. “There’s nothing normal about this year. Look at the regular season, look at things that happened in the playoffs with us; there’s nothing normal. We just get into a situation that is again unusual. But we showed that we don’t shy away from challenges and we won’t again.”

Ducharme didn’t rule out the possibility of making lineup changes for Game 4.

“Too early to tell,” he said. “But we’re looking at every situation right now.”

Phillip Danault and Brendan Gallagher have struggled offensively without their regular linemate Tomas Tatar, who has been a healthy scratch since Game 6 of the first-round series against Toronto. Danault scored his first goal in 20 playoff games in Friday’s 6-3 loss to the Lightning in Game 3, and Gallagher has only two playoff goals and hasn’t scored in the last 12 games. It would make sense to put Tatar back in for Game 4 to see if he can provide an offensive spark.

It would also make sense to put Alexander Romanov and Brett Kulak back together as the third defence pairing instead of Erik Gustafsson and Jon Merrill. Romanov and Kulak played well together during the regular season, but Romanov has only played two playoff games, while Kulak has played in 11. Gustafsson and Merrill were both acquired before the NHL trade deadline, so you have to think GM Marc Bergevin has had a strong say in whether they play or not.

Ducharme ruled out the possibility of making a change in goal and starting Jake Allen in place of Carey Price, who has an .835 save percentage in this series and has allowed five goals in two of the three games.

“Carey’s the guy playing Monday,” Ducharme said. “If you wonder or people wonder about who’s going to be in net, Carey’s going to be in net. Yeah, you can talk about one guy or another guy. It’s about all of us. We need to be better in front of him. Everyone, all 20 guys putting on the jersey, are looking for Monday night playing their best game. That’s it.”

Price has been outplayed by Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, who has a .948 save percentage in this series and has a 15-6 record in the playoffs with a 1.94 goals against average and a .938 save percentage. 1216888 Montreal Canadiens

About Last Night: Semi-Ducharmed kind of life as Habs down 3-0 in final

Erik Leijon • Special to Montreal Gazette

Publishing date: Jul 03, 2021

The Montreal Canadiens lost the first Stanley Cup final game in Bell Centre history 6-3 to the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 3 on Friday night, and are now a Game 4 loss away from being swept by the defending champions. The Lightning scored two goals in the opening four minutes of both the first and second periods in coach Dominique Ducharme’s return to the bench.

The Canadiens wanted to take advantage of last change on home ice by putting defensive centre Phillip Danault against Tampa scorer Brayden Point, but Point was in front of the net screening Carey Price on the opening goal 1:52 in the first. Tampa got the matchup they wanted after an icing, with Jan Rutta scoring from the point on a seeing eye shot.

With Eric Staal in the box after flipping the puck over the glass, Victor Hedman was left alone at the point with the Habs penalty killers looking for the cross-ice pass. Hedman’s deliberate slapshot squeezed past Price, putting the Lightning up 2-0 only 3:27 into the contest. Ducharme, coaching for the first time in these finals after a positive COVID test during the Vegas series, called a timeout to calm his group.

The timeout worked, as the Canadiens settled down afterward. Cole Caufield nearly had one, carrying the puck through the middle and ripping one off the post.

Just past the midway point of the first, Danault scored his first of the post- season. He and Brendan Gallagher escaped their zone together and went down the ice. Danault waited for Gallagher to skate in front of Andrei Vasilevskiy and fired through the screen off the post and in to make it 2-1 Tampa Bay. Danault was the first Quebec-born player to score for the Habs in a final since Stéphan Lebeau in 1993. The period ended with the Habs down a goal, but they outshot the opposition 17-12 and recovered after digging themselves an early hole.

The second period proved just as disastrous early on as the first. At 1:40 in the period, Erik Cernak caught the Canadiens on a line change, sending a stretch pass to Ondrej Palat for a 2-on-0. Palat passed to Kucherov, who flipped the backhand over Price to restore Tampa’s two- goal lead.

Less than two minutes later, Tampa Bay extended its lead to 4-1. Mathieu Joseph raced down the left side and made the first attempt. Price made the save, but Tyler Johnson was able to swoop in and backhand the rebound for the quick-strike goal.

With under two minutes left in the second period, the Canadiens made it 4-2. Nick Suzuki carried the puck by himself from the blue line down the right side and caught Vasilevskiy flat footed with a snapshot to give the Habs some life heading into the third.

Unlike the previous two periods, the Canadiens held the Lightning off the scoresheet in the opening minutes of the third. But the Habs also couldn’t generate momentum through the neutral zone as the Bolts clogged the ice. Hard for the Habs to maintain composure with their season on the ropes.

Late in third, the Habs needed to take chances on offence, but an Erik Gustafsson pass up the middle to Johnson was likely not what they had in mind. Johnson entered the zone alone and made the first shot on Price, which the goalie had trouble with, then Johnson potted his own rebound to make it 5-2.

Under a minute later, with Price on the bench for an extra skater, Corey Perry patiently waited out the defenceman by carrying the puck out front from behind the net. His wide angle shot was enough to beat Vasilevskiy high and once again put the Habs within striking distance at 5-3 with just over four minutes remaining.

Montreal Gazette LOADED: 07.04.2021 1216889 Montreal Canadiens Dominique Ducharme doesn’t even have a full season under his belt as head coach. Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield and Jesperi Kotkaniemi are in their early 20s, and for them, this whole experience, no matter what Canadiens and Lightning are Stanley Cup foes but have a common happens Monday or the next game or the one after, can serve as an motivation for different reasons important building block.

But the big difference between these Canadiens and the 2015 edition of the Lightning is that the Canadiens don’t have the time the Lightning did. By Arpon Basu Their core is not 24 or younger. It is older, many of the players in their 30s. Carey Price and Shea Weber and Jeff Petry are not getting any Jul 3, 2021 younger. Same goes for Brendan Gallagher. No one really knows what will happen with Phillip Danault beyond this series, but he’s inching towards 30 as well. Tyler Toffoli is 29. The Tampa Bay Lightning have a sense of urgency in this Stanley Cup Final that is difficult for any team to duplicate. There is a clock ticking on There is not nearly as much runway for this group to compete as the this team, a window potentially closing, at least for this specific group. Lightning had.

Though it is not quite the same, the Canadiens should have some of the As much as the Lightning players see a window closing, as much as they same concerns, even if they may not be willing to say them out loud quite are aware of the circumstances outside their control that will not allow like the Lightning are. Which is why being down 3-0 in the Stanley Cup them to continue this way, the Canadiens players must see the same Final should create a similar sense of urgency for them. thing, just for different reasons. It is not necessarily the salary cap standing in the Canadiens’ way, but rather the simple notion of time and For the Lightning, it is easier to discuss what is happening to them age and peak performance in athletes. General manager Marc Bergevin because it is related to the salary cap. knows it as well, which is why he was so aggressive last offseason in adding the players he did, because he saw an opportunity this season to Difficult decisions were supposed to be coming for this team last do something special. offseason before major hip surgery was required for Nikita Kucherov, an unfortunate piece of news that the Lightning used to their advantage to Next year, it will get harder. Price and Weber and Petry will be a year push this thing one more year, to give them one more chance at one older, with a short offseason to prepare for the grind of a full 82-game more Stanley Cup with the basic structure of their group intact. season again. The divisions will go back to normal, which means the Canadiens need to battle whatever version of the Lightning we see next Lightning coach Jon Cooper, after their emphatic 6-3 win in Game 3 put season, along with the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida his team up 3-0 in the Final, made note of the reality his team is living Panthers. Getting out of the division will be significantly more difficult through. He said that for the first Cup a year ago, it felt like the first day of than it was this year. school, whereas this feels more like the last day of school. The Canadiens’ window to win, a concept Bergevin insists he does not He said that because neither he nor general manager Julien BriseBois believe in, has long been a concern. First, it was tied to Price’s contract nor — and this is most important — the players themselves have any — the one that was a bargain, not the current one — and then it was Max idea what the Lightning will look like next season. Pacioretty’s contract, or how that core of Price, Pacioretty and P.K. “This isn’t just myself and the coaching staff. This is the players,” Cooper Subban could get it done while all fitting under the cap. Then Subban said Saturday. “The players are aware of it. It’s almost player-driven. It’s was traded and the window became tied to Weber and Price and how not that we make a big deal of it, I think we all know the realities of the long they could remain at a highly competitive level, which is where we sport. Our team has been well documented. Getting over the hump last are now. year and remarkably being able to stick together for one more crack at it. Price had a tremendous playoffs right until he reached the Final, and I don’t see the circumstances of what happened last year happening Weber has been consistently solid throughout, logging massive minutes again. I know the players don’t see that. against top players and serving as the backbone of the defence. But both “I think you guys all knew what I meant by ‘last day of school.’ It’s a bond had regular seasons that were quite ordinary. How much longer can they that this group has carried together for the last two years. It’s special. It continue doing this? For how many years? just doesn’t come around very often. I think the players, they know this. It should be made clear that Bergevin has not invested everything he has That’s why it doesn’t take a whole ton to motivate this group.” in this version of the team. While he spent cap space to put it together, The Lightning have earned this sense of urgency because of how long it he essentially left the future untouched. The Canadiens have 11 picks in has taken this core to reach this point. If you look at the 2014-15 the draft in a few weeks, including eight in the first four rounds. He’s Lightning, who lost in the Final to the Chicago Blackhawks, you see the made 29 draft picks in the three years since he announced the names of Kucherov, Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman, Ondrej Palat, Alex Canadiens would be undergoing a reset, so expecting to have three or Killorn and Tyler Johnson. None of them was older than 24. They are all four of those players helping the big club in the coming years would not still there, and they are all hovering around 30 now. Cooper was in his be outrageous. second full season as an NHL head coach — he called it the toughest But that is of little concern to the current group, despite how quickly moment of his career back in 2018 — and now he’s the longest-tenured Caufield went from 2019 draft pick to top-six forward in the Stanley Cup coach in the league. Final. It has taken the Lightning time to get here, which is what makes their No, this group should have a certain urgency to it as well, very different urgency to win this Stanley Cup that much more intense, the knowledge from the Lightning’s urgency, but also in many ways the same. that a group that has been through so much probably won’t get another shot as it as currently constituted. The Canadiens have been through a lot this season and have done many things no one expected them to do. They are down 3-0 in the The whole notion of needing to learn how to lose before you can learn Stanley Cup Final against a highly motivated, battle-tested team, but just how to win couldn’t apply more to this Lightning group, because it did a as Cooper said it doesn’t take a ton to get his group going, it shouldn’t lot of losing after that first Cup Final appearance and stuck with it to take a ton for Ducharme to do the same with his. reach this point. “There was nothing normal about our season, and it feels as though “It’s a journey, right? I’m sure that there were a couple of teams out there there’s nothing normal about the playoffs, either. There are things that went right into winning, but I can’t think of any of them off the top of happening to us that never happened to anybody,” Ducharme said my head,” Cooper said. “You’ve got to remember, whether there are 31 Saturday. “So now we’re facing something different. We will use the teams in the league or 30 or 21 going back, only one team can win. So, experiences we lived before, and we’re not going to simply fold. We’re there’s a lot of teams in there that get gut-punched.” going to fight. And the first thing we’ll do is fight on Monday night to go The Canadiens, at least these specific Canadiens, are in the Final for the get a win.” first time, just like that Lightning group was in 2015. They’ve been gut- The Canadiens have not had the type of playoff gut punches the punched plenty, but not quite in the way Cooper is talking about. Lightning have had, so they will need to improvise. They will need to take these first three games as their gut punch and try to use that to fuel a historic comeback.

They don’t have the time to look at it any other way.

The Athletic LOADED: 07.04.2021 1216890 Nashville Predators Goaltender Juuse Saros was the biggest reason for the turnaround after a terrible start. Not far behind, though, was the infusion of energy from prospects who were forced into duty – after Poile had said he wanted a If Viktor Arvidsson wasn't happy, which other Nashville Predators might youth movement before the season and then got cold feet. The kids not be? could play, though.

And as it turned out, a rash of injuries to veteran players may have saved the Preds’ season. When the lineup was cleared for new talent was when Gentry Estes the Preds started playing better and winning.

Nashville Tennessean That oddity was never really explained, either. We heard a lot from the Preds about how hungry and driven the young players were to prove

themselves, which was true. Didn’t hear nearly as much, though, about Viktor Arvidsson was a popular Nashville Predators player, inside the why some of the veteran players lacked that intensity in the first place. team and out. Along those lines, something else happened last season. We can say that with certainty. Because this is what it looks like when Coach John Hynes proved himself in the turnaround, too. He did well to such a player gets traded for draft picks. Fans are disappointed. rescue a lost team and finally get players to buy into his message. It Teammates grumble disapprovingly on social media. The general seemed a change in culture as well as mentality. In the process, you had manager doesn’t waste time explaining himself. to start suspecting that what Hynes values most in players – effort, All that happened Thursday once the Preds dealt the 28-year-old physicality, toughness, not just skill and talent – might not have meshed Arvidsson – a prominent forward for the past five seasons – to the Los with everyone he inherited in Nashville. Angeles Kings for a second-round and a third-round pick. This wasn't a All along, we’ve assumed the Preds’ looming rebuild – or reset, if you bad move for the Preds, but you understood why it wouldn't be well-liked. prefer a softer term – had to do with players that the team would want to Interestingly enough, guess who wasn’t angry about it? drop. What if it’s the other way? What if some of the veteran players are the ones wanting a breakup? Arvidsson. If that’s the case, a significant transition might be landing on the Preds' That’s according to GM David Poile, who appeared on the Preds’ flagship doorstep whether they want it or not. radio station, 102.5 FM, and told the hosts of “Darren, Daunic and Chase” rather plainly of Arvidsson, “I think he’s OK with this. He needed something different." Tennessean LOADED: 07.04.2021 "He was not happy with where he was at,” Poile said.

Wait, what?

You’re talking about an undersized fourth-round pick who became a front-line NHL player in Nashville making more than $4 million a season. He scored at least 29 goals in three consecutive seasons. Clearly, teammates liked him and wanted him around.

He has been injured a lot, sure. But that didn’t mean he was benched, far as we know.

Not happy? Why?

“I just felt in talking to him,” Poile said, “and I think he would acknowledge this, that (he) just didn't think it was going to work here anymore for a variety of reasons.”

That comment, assuming it’s true, should grab your attention.

Because it’s unlike what you normally hear from Preds land. This franchise is carefully adept at controlling messages and portraying itself as a happy place full of players who are happy to be there – especially those players who received tenure by nearly winning the Stanley Cup in 2017.

Poile has chipped away at peripheral contributions in recent years, but rarely had he touched the key players who fueled that run. Until now. Arvidsson was definitely a member of that core group.

If you’re looking at Thursday’s trade with 2018 glasses, you don’t like it. But if you put on your 2021 glasses, it looks a lot better. Arvidsson’s production has dipped dramatically these past two seasons.

Poile did well to deal him for something – and clear his salary under a flat cap – rather than lose him for nothing to Seattle in the expansion draft.

That explains why the Preds would trade Arvidsson, but it doesn’t explain why Arvidsson would have wanted to be traded.

If he didn’t “think it was going to work” in Nashville, who else on the team doesn’t?

Fair to wonder what else we don’t know about the current psyche of these Preds after this past COVID-19 season, during which NHL teams had total control over who spoke to media via Zoom and no reporters were allowed into locker rooms to take the temperature. Those Preds would have been an intriguing case study, too, given their wild swings of fortune. 1216891 New Jersey Devils Canadiens coach, who returned on Friday from a 14-day quarantine after contracting the coronavirus, and wondered why many thousands more fans were permitted to congregate outside.

Lightning Close In on the Stanley Cup, and Carey Price Can’t Stop Them “As much as it could have been a way to reward people for getting their two doses, it could have been an incentive to increase vaccinations,” Ducharme said in French on Friday morning. “It could have been a way By Ben Shpigel to reward fans who have spent 14 or 15 months in isolation and have the chance to participate in a moment like this.” July 3, 2021 Those who did make it inside watched the Lightning score twice within Updated 10:18 a.m. ET the first three and a half minutes or so of each of the first two periods. There were moving screens and passiveness on the penalty kill, slow line changes and odd-man rushes, a soft goal that trickled past Price. When Reasonable minds can disagree here, but: The most scrutinized position Tampa Bay added a fifth, late in the third period, the sequence began in sports just might be the starting goaltender in Montreal, where praise with an egregious Montreal turnover and ended with a rebound Price and criticism and comparisons to legends are doled out by the minute, in couldn’t corral. two languages, without so much as a break for lunch. “We made too many mistakes,” Ducharme said. “And they make you pay Jacques Plante lived this life, and so did Ken Dryden, and so did Patrick cash on those mistakes.” Roy, and so have so many others, and so, too, has Carey Price, who has played more games with the Canadiens than them all, and more Considering how they cling to history in Montreal, it has not gone seasons. unnoticed how these Canadiens have echoed the city’s last Cup winner back in 1993. That team also finished low in the standings — third in the Beneath the Coupe Stanley banners that they helped raise but he has old Adams Division — but rode Roy to a record 24th championship. not, Price skated onto the ice Friday for the first Cup finals game in Montreal in nearly three decades to a rousing ovation at Bell Centre. He By 27, Roy had hoisted two Cups. By 27, Price had won the Hart Trophy, skated off about two-and-a-half hours later, after a 6-3 defeat to Tampa given to the N.H.L.’s most valuable player; a Vezina; and an Olympic Bay, ever further from adding his name to the only trophy that has eluded gold medal. Now 33, and deep into a luminous career with the same him, and the only one that matters. fabled team, Price is still seeking his first championship. Unless he — and his team — start playing better, unless he, too, can steal a win or two All three games of the finals have ended the same way, with Tampa Bay or four, beginning with Game 4 on Monday night, Price will have to defer scoring more goals than Montreal, and though there are other, nuanced that dream another year. reasons that explain why the Lightning are on the precipice of winning their second consecutive Cup in nine months, a prevailing one is rather “We don’t have a choice,” he said. unfamiliar to the Canadiens: They have the inferior goalie.

“I can definitely play better,” Price said afterward. “It’s just not good New York Times LOADED: 07.04.2021 enough so far.”

Until Friday night, Price had not been made available to the news media since last Sunday, the day before the series started, when his responses in sum contained roughly as many syllables as goals allowed this series. That total now stands at 13, or eight more than allowed by his Lightning counterpart, Andrei Vasilevskiy, who has faced 18 more shots than Price at even strength, but has saved a far higher percentage in those circumstances (.954 to .840).

The difference between them was most pronounced in Game 2, which Vasilevskiy snatched from the Canadiens, saving 42 of 43 shots, while Price seemed to misplay ever so slightly the game-turning goal in the second period, anticipating a backhand shot from Barclay Goodrow instead of a cross-circle pass that Blake Coleman poked in while falling.

Discussing Vasilevskiy’s evolution, Lightning Coach Jon Cooper praised Price’s consistency and his calm demeanor, and how it took time for him to grow into that.

“It’s still his time, but he’s been in the league for 15-plus years,” Cooper said. “I think torches get passed. I think Carey is still carrying the torch, but it’s getting passed.”

Even by pandemic standards, this has been a tumultuous season for Price, whose longtime goaltending coach, Stephane Waite, was fired in March. After missing the final 13 games because of a concussion, Price actually played fewer games (25) than his backup (29).

But he opened the playoffs by rescuing the Canadiens, muzzling Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner in overcoming a three-games-to-one deficit against Toronto. Then he outplayed the last two winners of the Vezina Trophy, awarded to the league’s top goalie — Connor Hellebuyck of Winnipeg and Marc-Andre Fleury of Vegas — to advance to his first finals.

Just once before had Price reached as far as the league semifinals, and he lasted barely two periods of Game 1 against the Rangers in 2014, doomed by a knee injury sustained when Chris Kreider thundered into him. He had waited 14 seasons for his first finals appearance, and when the series finally shifted to Montreal on Friday, not many fans were there to watch it.

Despite pleas by the Canadiens to increase capacity at Bell Centre, public health authorities in Quebec continued to restrict attendance to 3,500. The decision exasperated players and Dominique Ducharme, the 1216892 New York Rangers New York Post LOADED: 07.04.2021

Adam Fox isn’t buying toughness narrative around Rangers

By Mollie Walker

July 3, 2021 | 3:24pm | Updated

When Adam Fox, the Rangers’ first Norris Trophy winner since Hall of Famer Brian Leetch in 1997, looks at the young Blueshirts squad, the 23- year-old defenseman sees the abundance of skill and talent that is apparent to everybody else in the NHL.

Though many think that finesse and pretty play — at the expense of grit and tenacity — are all the Rangers have, Fox disagrees.

The Rangers have the right pieces to become playoff contenders, according to Fox, but the players are still learning how to assume their individual roles in order to accomplish that.

“People are going to see a team how they want to,” Fox told The Post in a recent phone interview. “But I think we have guys that play hard and want to win. We have guys that care about winning. Obviously, we’re a younger team, so we’re still learning. We have some older guys who have been through it, they play a playoff type of hockey, and I think we’ll lean on those guys when that time comes.

“I wouldn’t say we’re a weak team — I think people saw how we defended ourselves after [the Tom Wilson incident], a lot of guys stepped up. We definitely have a tough team, we obviously have a lot of skill, but I think guys compete and want to win.”

The Wilson debacle, in which the notorious Capitals agitator went rogue and rag-dolled star Rangers winger Artemi Panarin into an early offseason on May 3, fed into an already existing narrative that the Rangers weren’t tough. Though the Blueshirts engaged in a retaliatory line brawl the following game, which included Brendan Smith taking on Wilson, the notion that the team severely lacked physicality only grew when team president John Davidson and general manager Jeff Gorton were dismissed that same day, partially because of CEO Jim Dolan’s disappointment in how the team was designed.

It’s a narrative of which the Rangers are well-aware, and one they will be hearing about all summer as they prepare for the 2021-22 season, which is set to begin in October.

“It lights a fire under people and makes the guys on the team just want to work that much harder in the offseason, improve the type of team we have and the type of skill,” Fox said. “Just let that take over and just prove people wrong and show what we can do out there.”

Under new leadership, the Rangers will be looking to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2016-17. Fox said he believes the team took strides this past season, but acknowledged that with such a young team there were some frustrating moments.

What matters, the Jericho, N.Y., native said, is that they went through it together and can utilize their experiences in this upcoming season to take that next step forward.

After dismissing former head coach David Quinn and a majority of his coaching staff four days following the conclusion of the regular season, new president and GM Chris Drury hired a new coach, Gerard Gallant, who Fox said he and his teammates have heard is a “player’s coach” and will “backup the guys on the team.”

Though Drury said during Gallant’s introductory press conference that making the playoffs this upcoming season wasn’t necessarily a “mandate,” it is likely the only way the Rangers can determine if they’re heading in the right direction.

“I definitely think every guy in our locker room is thinking about making the playoffs next year, for sure,” Fox said.

“Nobody likes to have your season end right after the regular season. I think all of us want to make the playoffs and we’re gonna do everything we can to make the playoffs and obviously see where that takes us.”

1216893 Pittsburgh Penguins Whether the next 2-3 years constitutes a still-open championship window for the Penguins is a sketchy proposition. But they can be good. They can make the playoffs.

Mark Madden's Hot Take: If Vegas won't trade Marc-Andre Fleury, After those 2-3 years, it burns down organically. Bad. Penguins should pursue his teammate

Tribune Review LOADED: 07.04.2021 MARK MADDEN

Saturday, July 3, 2021 10:49 a.m.

Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Robin Lehner makes a save against the Montreal Canadiens during the third period of Game 4 in an NHL Stanley Cup playoff hockey semifinal in Montreal, Sunday, June 20, 2021.

When the Pittsburgh Penguins drafted Sidney Crosby in 2005, it wasn’t long before the future became now. It’s been the case ever since.

But the Penguins have never been more about right now, than right now.

The word is that the Penguins won’t burn it down. Won’t rebuild. Why should they? Despite a gratuitous playoff disappointment, they finished atop the very difficult East Division.

The commitment to right now will be confirmed when Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin sign extensions to their current deals, which are set to expire at the end of the next season.

So, it’s very clearly about right now. Tweaks will be made. Few major changes.

But one major change must be made to stay true to the pursuit of right now.

The Penguins have to get a legitimate No. 1 goaltender.

Tristan Jarry fell apart in the playoff loss to the . But this goes beyond that.

Even when Jarry played OK, it was only OK. He can’t shake certain flaws, like a vulnerable glove hand and sitting too deep in the net. It was like Matt Murray got Xeroxed at 95%.

Jarry might get better. He’s 26.

But when your chances of being good revolve around two 34-year-olds and a 33-year-old, that risk simply can’t be taken. “Might” isn’t acceptable.

The Penguins can’t wait for Jarry to further develop. Murray only got worse.

Penguins fans fantasize about re-acquiring Marc-Andre Fleury. But he’s too popular in Vegas and just won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s best goalie.

Fans of local hockey fantasize about getting Whitehall’s John Gibson from Anaheim. But he’s signed through 2027 at a reasonable cap hit of $6.4 million. The Ducks are bad, but Gibson is one of the NHL’s top five goalies. He gives Anaheim credibility.

Few legit goalies will be available in free agency. So, those who are — like Colorado’s Phillip Grubauer or Boston’s Tuukka Rask — seem unaffordable.

Perhaps upgrading isn’t possible.

But if Vegas won’t trade Fleury, maybe Robin Lehner could be had.

The Golden Knights are contenders but have holes to fill, most notably at center. That’s not going to be easy when goaltenders tie up $12 million of Vegas’ salary cap.

Vegas coach Peter DeBoer wastes no excuse to go to Lehner, even though Fleury played most of the games. What the Penguins might trade in return for Lehner isn’t obvious, and they have their own cap issues to deal with.

But, still, inquire within. He was just out of the NHL’s top 10 for goals- against average at 2.29. His other stats were respectable. Lehner was a Vezina finalist just two years ago. 1216894 Pittsburgh Penguins Is he NHL ready? Considering his only exposure to the NHL has been a handful of games

in the 2019 preseason, Legare could stand to benefit from refinement at Penguins A to Z: Is Nathan Legare NHL ready? the level with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton next season.

Plus, if Penguins general manager Ron Hextall’s track record during his SETH RORABAUGH stint as the Philadelphia Flyers’ general manager is any indication, he tends to play the long game with prospects, allowing time for Saturday, July 3, 2021 9:18 a.m. development instead of forcing them to prematurely fill holes at the NHL level.

In 19 QMJHL games with the Val d’Or Foreurs in 2020-21, forward (Note: As a pending first-year professional, Legare is not eligible to be Nathan Legare had 24 points (11 goals, 13 assists). Legare was the selected in this month’s expansion draft.) Penguins’ third-round pick (No. 74 overall) in 2019. Legare’s time with the Penguins will come, it just might not be this fall. With the Penguins in the midst of their offseason, the Tribune-Review is looking at all 48 players currently under NHL contracts to the organization in alphabetical order, from mid-level prospect Niclas Almari Tribune Review LOADED: 07.04.2021 to top-six winger Jason Zucker.

Nathan Legare

Position: Right winger

Shoots: Right

Age: 20

Height: 6-foot

Weight: 206 pounds

2020-21 QMJHL statistics: 33 games, 38 points (16 goals, 22 assists)

Contract: Three-year entry-level contract with a salary cap hit of $809,167 that has yet to begin.

Acquired: Third-round draft pick (No. 74 overall), June 22, 2019

2020-21 season: While most leagues in North America were on hiatus this past fall due to the pandemic, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League forged on and opened play in October.

Things did not go smoothly as the league had multiple stoppages and delays for obvious reasons.

But the eastern corner of Canada was one of the only places you could see high-end competitive hockey in the Western Hemisphere for most of the autumn.

For the Penguins’ concerns, that meant two of their top prospects, Legare and forward Sam Poulin (the club’s first-round pick in 2019) were furthering their development on this continent.

Legare opened the season with the Baie-Comeau Drakkar. Serving as that team’s captain, he averaged a point per game with 14 points (five goals, nine assists) and 14 contests.

But as Baie-Comeau struggled in the standings, Legare was traded to the powerful Val-d’Or Foreurs on Dec. 20, joining Poulin.

In 19 regular season games with Val-d’Or, Legare collected 24 points (11 goals, 13 assists).

He thrived in the postseason. Skating on a line with Poulin and Jakob Pelletier, a first-round pick in 2019 of the Calgary Flames, Legare led the QMJHL postseason with 14 goals while putting up 18 points in 15 games as Val-d’Or fell in the President’s Cup final, 4-2, to the .

In the middle of his disjointed QMJHL season, Legare was invited to the Penguins’ brief training camp in early January.

The future: With his junior career complete, Legare is going to make his professional debut in 2021-22.

Which end of will that debut take place? That’s a good question.

Just based on his raw attributes, Legare possesses a lot of the assets the Penguins need.

That’s to say he’s a power forward who offers a physical element, forechecks and backchecks like a demon and he can put pucks on net as he has a knack for finding soft areas in the offensive zone for linemates to set him up with shots. The only real knock against him is a need to spruce up his skating ability. 1216895 St Louis Blues teams that you sit there and say, ‘Gee, they were a pretty damn good team,’ but you really don’t get that moniker if you don’t win Cups.

“I know we’ve won one (with this nucleus) and no one can take that away Pat Maroon, who should find his way back to the Blues, is about to enter from us, but the determination of this group to get another one is elite NHL company amazing to watch. Like I said, we are not there yet, but we are so proud of this maturity level of this group and their sheer determination to get another one.”

Ben Frederickson Maroon helped stoke the desire for another championship by telling his Tampa teammates how last season’s COVID-impacted celebration of the

Lightning’s championship did not compare to the massive bash the Blues “Hometown hero” is about to be pushed down a line on Pat Maroon’s were able to have before the pandemic. Defending champs can get business card. complacent. Maroon found a carrot to dangle: Let’s earn a real party.

“Cup catalyst” could take its place as soon as Monday night. As his minutes on the ice have slipped, his agitation-per-minute average has escalated. This postseason has featured Maroon instigating Hard work pays off. Good teammates get rewarded. Do the little things opponents’ benches and sticking his beard into any sign of a scrum. He right, and you like where you land. has mastered the art of living beneath skin. He doesn’t even have to fight, but never seems to mind if one breaks out. All of the clichés hockey players hear from the first time they pull on skates are coming true for the local success story who is closing in on his Maroon’s lone playoff goal this season came 15 games ago. His lone third consecutive NHL championship. playoff assist this year came in the previous series. He’s been using his 15 or so shifts per game to dole out hits, snare some takeaways, block Thanks to their 3-0 lead against the Montreal Canadiens in the Stanley some shots and pester as many opponents as possible. No one should Cup Final, Maroon’s Tampa Bay Lightning now have four chances to get confuse his lack of stats for lack of impact. one more win. Parade routes are being prepared in Florida. So is Maroon’s official invitation to an elite club. No one should be surprised if he comes up big Monday night.

You have to go all the way back to the ‘80s New York Islanders, winners Maroon’s fingerprints are about to be all over the Stanley Cup for the of four consecutive championships from 1980-83, to find the last players third year in a row. who lifted the Cup three consecutive times.

Throw in Maroon’s two-team variable and the list shrinks fast. St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 07.04.2021 Already one of just eight players in NHL history to lift the Cup in two consecutive seasons while playing for different teams, Maroon is on the cusp of becoming one of just three players — and the first in the post- 1967 expansion era — to win three consecutive NHL championships with two teams.

Ed Litzenberger, who was with Chicago and Toronto did it (1961-63). Eddie Gerard, who was with Ottawa and Toronto, did it (1920-22), then won again in 1923. That’s it. That’s the entire list. Maybe Maroon’s personal Cup marathon can grow to match that of Gerard, one of the inaugural Hockey Hall of Famers. Who’s going to bet against him at this point?

“Job’s not done yet, but it’s cool to be in that category,” Maroon told reporters during his appearance at Stanley Cup Final media day. “I’m blessed to have that opportunity to be a part of two really good runs the last two years and now the third one this year. It’s been fun to play with teams that were trying to get over the hump.”

The Blues should consider attempting to bring him back. It would have to be a trade. He’s got one more year worth $900,000 left on his deal with Tampa. But the Lightning could need to do some retooling after their second consecutive championship.

Maroon’s net-front presence, leadership and grit sure seemed to be missed in St. Louis last season. It has to mean something that Maroon is almost always is in the playoffs no matter which sweater he wears. Monday’s Game 4 will be his 120th career playoff game. His teams are 75-44. Pretty good for the chunky kid from Oakville, who some thought would never make it past playing St. Louis roller hockey. Another Blues- Maroon season would be nice, even if it’s most likely a pipe dream.

First Maroon has business to tend to in Montreal. Lightning coach Jon Cooper has described last season’s run to the championship as a first- day-of-school feeling for Tampa. He compared this one with a last-day- of-school vibe. Maroon has been an important part of both.

While Maroon was helping the Blues push the right buttons to win their first Cup, in 2019, the Lightning were reeling after becoming the first Presidents’ Trophy winner to be swept in the first round. Maroon helped stomp out the pity party when he arrived as a free-agent addition. Cooper has credited him with turning the page. Then, after the Lightning rebounded to win the Cup in the 2020 bubble, Maroon helped the team maintain its edge.

“This year, it’s primarily the same guys,” Cooper said after the Lightning pulled ahead of Montreal three games to none with a 6-3 win Friday. “It was that inner drive, that maturity level they have to understand. You start throwing ‘legacy’ around, and a lot of these words that describe 1216896 Tampa Bay Lightning games and have lost all three. That means they are a ridiculous 15-3 in regulation against some of the best teams in the NHL.

They are scoring a little more than last year (3.4 goals per game How the Lightning won a Stanley Cup, then got even better compared to 3.2) and giving up a little less (2.0 compared to 2.2). The power play has been much better and the overall shooting percentage is up. They have fewer turnovers handling the puck, and have made fewer trips to the penalty box. In every way a team can be smarter, the By John Romano Lightning are. Published Yesterday Maybe that’s because Steven Stamkos has been in the lineup every night compared to his memorable cameo in 2020. Maybe it’s because Cernak, 24, and Mikhail Sergachev, 23, have grown as defensemen. One of the more interesting moments from Game 3 had nothing to do Maybe it’s just the realization that what they did last season could be with any action on the ice. replicated if they were not derailed by ego or selfishness.

It was during the second intermission when Lightning defenseman Victor “It’s easy to throw out, ‘Well they’re winners and they work hard,’ and all Hedman was being interviewed by NBC’s Kathryn Tappen. Hedman and that stuff. But let’s be honest, we changed the makeup of our team,” Jan Rutta had already scored, and Erik Cernak had set up another goal, Cooper said. “We did that, we got a little grittier. Then the ‘skill’ guys so she asked if this was the deepest defensive unit he had been a part changed their games as well to a winning formula, a winning way to play. of. “And when they started getting rewarded for it, they didn’t cheat and say, Typically, these in-game interviews are not terribly nuanced and players ‘Okay, we’ve done that. That’s fine. Let’s go back to the way it was.’ No. go on auto-pilot because they’re in a hurry to get back into the locker the individual accolades got pushed to the side. I know it’s a cliché, but room. But Hedman did not. When given a simple opening to praise his it’s true.” teammates, he instead recalled Kevin Shattenkirk, Zach Bogosian and Braydon Coburn, all of whom were on last year’s team but no longer wear Lightning colors. Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 07.04.2021 It was a sweet gesture. Also, kind of fascinating.

Is there a difference between the 2020 and 2021 Lightning?

We tend to think of this journey as one giant step forward. The Lightning got thumped by Columbus in the first round in 2019, decided they needed to grow up and play a more team-first style of hockey, acquired a few tougher players and became Stanley Cup champions in 2020.

Score, rinse, repeat in 2021.

But is it really that clear-cut? Should there be a distinction between the group that won the Stanley Cup in the bubble last fall, and the team that is one victory from closing out Montreal this summer?

In terms of personnel, the difference really is minimal. Of the 20 players the Lightning have used this postseason, 17 were part of last year’s run. The only additions are Ross Colton, Mathieu Joseph and defenseman David Savard. Shattenkirk, Bogosian, Coburn, Cedric Paquette and Carter Verhaeghe are the significant departures.

Yet, there is a different feel. The 2020 team was on a crusade. Those players were hellbent on proving they were not some fancy-pants collection of scorers. They needed to put the ghosts of past failures behind them, and validate all the work they had done to reach that point.

This time around, the players seem more at ease. There is a difference between a team that believes it is good, and a team that understands why it is good. Last year, the Lightning believed. This year, they understand.

Coach Jon Cooper described it as the difference between the first day and last day of school. The Lightning were excited by the possibilities in 2020, and now realize the salary cap will inevitably change their makeup and vibe when 2021 ends.

“This year, it’s primarily the same guys. If there are new guys in there, they were in the organization so they kind of knew what we were all about,” Cooper said. “It’s that inner drive, that maturity level they have. To understand when you start throwing legacy around — a lot of these words that describe teams — you sit there and say, ‘They were a pretty damn good team.’

“But you really only get that moniker if you win Cups. I know we’ve won one. And nobody can take that away from us, but the determination on this group to get another one is amazing to watch.”

So how do the two Cup runs compare?

On the surface, they seem fairly similar. The Lightning went 16-6 last postseason and were stretched to six games twice. Tampa Bay is 15-6 this postseason, has gone six games once and seven games once.

But if you look a little deeper, the Lightning are actually a better team. They were fortunate last season to win a ton of close games, in particular going 6-2 in . This year, they’ve only played three overtime 1216897 Tampa Bay Lightning better partner, especially because McDonagh “makes doing (my) job much easier.” Their bond has grown stronger, too.

It’s a big part of why Cernak feels more comfortable in his skates this Lightning’s Erik Cernak much more seasoned in third playoff run year.

Cernak has gotten a good grasp of what it takes to be a consistent NHL player game in and game out. By Mari Faiello “I’m always focusing on my D-zone and being good in our zone, winning Published Yesterday battles and being physical,” Cernak said. “And here in Tampa, everyone’s helping each other.” Updated Yesterday At the start of the postseason, McDonagh said he noticed his partner

talking a lot more on the ice and helping his teammates with what he TAMPA — When former Lightning forward Ryan Callahan looks at this sees, letting them know where he is and if he’s open. year’s postseason lineup for Tampa Bay, the gritty third line led by Yanni Hedman has noticed Cernak’s growth, too, calling him a “beast on the Gourde immediately catches his attention. ice.” When his eyes roam to the blue line, his attention is caught by Erik “It’s fun to watch Cerny develop into the player he is,” Hedman said. “And Cernak, who, Callahan says, probably doesn’t get the notoriety he he’s still young and still improving.” deserves.

“I love the way he plays,” Callahan said. “He’s a hard-nosed guy; he blocks everything out there. He’s just a thorn in your side to play against Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 07.04.2021 in the playoffs.”

Cernak, at 24 years old with only three years of experience in the league, has added a lot to Tampa Bay’s blue line in a short time.

Often, though, it’s hard for him to stand out against defensive standouts Victor Hedman and Ryan McDonagh, and rising star Mikhail Sergachev.

“Watching (Cernak) this year, especially, he’s one of those defensemen you’re like, ‘I don’t want to be on the ice with him. I know he’s going to finish me, I know he’s going to punish me,’ " Callahan said. “He kind of goes under the radar because he’s not putting the puck in the net, but without him, that’s a big piece of why (the Lightning have) been so successful. (They have) that deep, deep D-core.”

Through 19 games this postseason, Cernak is second among Lightning defensemen in points with 10, behind Hedman (18).

It’s even more impressive given Cernak had only four points through 25 playoff games last year en route to the Stanley Cup.

It’s safe to say few knew what potential Cernak had in 2017 when then- general manager Steve Yzerman traded fan-favorite goaltender Ben Bishop to the Kings for Cernak, then a prospect; backup goalie Peter Budaj; and a pair of draft picks.

Now Cernak plays on the Lightning’s top penalty-kill unit with McDonagh and forwards Barclay Goodrow and Blake Coleman. He’s not afraid to sacrifice his body to keep a lead or prevent a goal.

This postseason, Cernak has 56 hits, with a playoff-game-high nine in Tampa Bay’s Game 3 overtime loss to Carolina in the second round, and blocked 23 shots. He has also taken 33 shots on goal.

In the Stanley Cup final opener against Montreal on Monday, Cernak scored his first career playoff goal. It also helped set the tone in the Lightning’s 5-1 win.

“‘Cerny’ has taken a huge step this year, even more so than in years past,” said McDonagh, who skates with Cernak in the second defense pair. “He has an understanding that he has an ability to make those kinds of (offensive plays) happen. He’s such a great skater, has a great vision out there and a big shot, as well.

“The best thing about him is he doesn’t force plays or force things to happen offensively. He lets the game come to him there, and for him to step up in Game 1 of the finals and find a way to get a goal, that’s a great moment for him, and I’m sure there’ll be many more to come.”

General manager Julien BriseBois said the coaching staff feels confident placing Cernak in any situation against any player, knowing he can get the job done, which has added “tremendous value to the team.”

It’s why it was critical for BriseBois to find a way to re-sign him in the offseason, when he was a restricted free agent.

Since Cernak made his NHL debut with the Lightning in 2018, McDonagh has been a huge help to his growth as “one of the best defensemen,” teaching him the ways of the game. Cernak said he couldn’t ask for a 1216898 Tampa Bay Lightning

If the Lightning clinch in Game 4, their families won’t be in Montreal

By Eduardo A. Encina

Published Yesterday

As the Lightning close in on their second straight Stanley Cup, they are essentially back in the bubble environment where they won last year’s Cup.

They traveled to Montreal on a strictly-monitored charter flight, are restricted to their hotel when not at the Bell Centre, and on Saturday, their families’ request to gain a special exemption to travel too Canada for a potential Cup-clinching Game 4 on Monday was denied by the league.

With Canada still under firm quarantine rules, the NHL worked out a deal with the Canadian government to allow teams to travel to and from Canada for the postseason. The Lightning are considered a fully- vaccinated team by the league.

Now, with the Lightning up 3-0 on the Canadiens in the Stanley Cup final and able to potentially clinch on Monday in Game 4, the team’s families were seeking an exemption to travel to Montreal for that game. There was discussion about flying them on a private charter for the game and returning afterward, but that request was denied.

Last year, the Lightning lived in isolation in the bubble for 65 days in Canada — their playoff run began in Toronto, then moved to Edmonton — on their way to a Stanley Cup title.

“We’re just back in the bubble scenario again,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said Saturday. “It’s just a different hotel. Hats off to where we’re staying right now. They’ve been wonderful to us. If we were going into this the first time, it would most certainly be different. But we spent 65 days in this exact same environment and we thrived in it.

“We know what to expect. There’s no complaining. There’s no, ‘I can’t believe we can’t go outside, especially when we look outside and everyone is walking around maskless and living their lives,’ especially, to me, in one of the greatest cities in the world.”

The Lightning’s hotel transformed a ballroom into a team lounge with games that Cooper compared to a Dave & Buster’s.

Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 07.04.2021 1216899 Tampa Bay Lightning

‘A totally different city’: How Tampa has changed since 2004 Stanley Cup win

By Jay Cridlin

Published Yesterday

Updated Yesterday

Pam Iorio likes to tell the story of the night the Tampa Bay Lightning won their first Stanley Cup.

It was June 7, 2004, the end of a thrilling seven-game series against the Calgary Flames, played before 22,717 fans at what is now Amalie Arena.

“Everyone spilled out onto the plaza there,” said Iorio, Tampa’s mayor at the time, “and no one really had anywhere to go to celebrate.”

Seventeen years later, the Lightning are chasing their third Stanley Cup, and second in a row. If they win, they’ll celebrate in a city that barely resembles the Tampa of 2004.

Between the Buccaneers’ and Lightning’s first championships in 2003 and 2004 and their stunning title runs of 2020 and 2021, Tampa has become a city transformed. It’s a region-wide thing, really, with downtown St. Petersburg also sprouting up alongside the American League champion Rays and USL Championship conference champion Rowdies.

But the change is particularly evident in downtown Tampa, home to rising towers, luxury hotels, museums and sparkling parks — almost none of which existed way back when.

How much credit sports should get for that is debatable. But it’s not nothing. Jeff Vinik’s purchase of the Lightning in 2010 was the first step toward his $3.5 billion Water Street Tampa development around Amalie Arena. The Bolts’ and Buccaneers’ championship boat parades drew viral, international attention to the city’s Riverwalk, a popular community asset years in the making.

Tampa Bay’s epic 18-month run of sports success has pushed this remade region into the zeitgeist like never before, from this year’s Super Bowl and WrestleMania to the pandemic-displaced Toronto Raptors and Blue Jays — not to mention all those trophies. After years of development following that first Stanley Cup, city leaders couldn’t have planned the timing any better.

“I don’t think it’s an accident that the sports teams are all doing well at the same time the entire Tampa Bay area is exploding in terms of economic growth and opportunity,” Vinik said. “People follow what’s going on in sports, and they know that at least right now, Tampa Bay is kicking ass.”

That message is splashed across Visit Tampa Bay’s latest travel guide, the book that sells the region to the world.

Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 07.04.2021 1216900 Tampa Bay Lightning Cole Caufield beat Vasilevskiy off the rush with a shot from the high slot, but the puck clanged off the left post.

Not long afterward, Phillip Danault put the Canadiens on the board with a Lightning-Canadiens Game 3 report card: Defending the Cup shot off the same post and into the net from the left circle with Brendan Gallagher driving hard to the net.

Just like that, the Canadiens, who outshot the Lighting 17-12 in the By Frank Pastor period, had new life.

Published Yesterday Grade: B

Updated Yesterday Near-replica

It didn’t last long.

Is there a better defense corps in the NHL than the Lightning’s? In a near repeat of the first period, Kucherov and Johnson scored in the opening 3-1/2 minutes of the second period to extend the Lightning’s I don’t mean a shutdown pair or a top four. I’m talking one through six, at lead to 4-1. both ends of the ice. Kucherov scored backhanded off a pass through the crease from Palat at The Lightning blueliners took control of Game 3 of the Stanley Cup final 1:40. Less than two minutes later, a Joseph shot from the left circle went right from the start, imposing their will on the Canadiens physically, off his own skate to Johnson in the slot, and he swept it into the net from keeping pucks to the outside and spearheading the offense with two his backhand. quick, tone-setting goals. Kucherov nearly scored a second time in the period, but Price made a Largely due to their efforts Friday in Montreal, Tampa Bay finds itself one spectacular right to left save to stop his wraparound attempt. victory from repeating as Cup champion. The pushback came late in the period this time, as Nick Suzuki scored off Victor Hedman, the Conn Smythe winner during last season’s Cup run, an end-to-end rush with less than two minutes remaining to make it 4-2. was back at the forefront with a power-play goal and an assist. Jan Rutta scored the opening goal, and Erik Cernak and David Savard had assists. That was as close as Montreal would get.

Cernak, recognizing a Montreal line change, sprung Ondrej Palat on a Grade: A-plus breakaway with a heady stretch pass to help set up Nikita Kucherov’s second-period goal. Ryan McDonagh teamed with forward Patrick Playing to his strengths Maroon and Savard to get the puck quickly up the ice to Mathieu Joseph Cooper made a lineup change late in Game 2 that might have gone on the first of Tyler Johnson’s two goals. unnoticed at the time but paid huge dividends in Game 3. And those were their offensive contributions. Cooper moved Johnson, a natural center, from the second line, where he The Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Montreal Canadiens 6-3 in Game was playing on the left wing with Alex Killorn out of the lineup, back to the 3 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup finals in Montreal after Tyler Johnson fourth line between Maroon and Joseph. scored two goals and Jan Rutta, Victor Hedman, Nikita Kucherov and The change allowed Johnson to take better advantage of his creativity, Blake Coleman had one apiece. and it was on full display as he put four shots on goal, scoring twice, in Defensively, the six pushed everything to the outside, keeping Montreal’s just over nine minutes of ice time. He nearly picked up an assist, as well, forwards out of the high-scoring areas and making things easier on as Maroon hit the post after receiving a Johnson pass in the slot early in goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy. the third period.

They blocked shots down low (eight, led by three from Savard and Johnson’s second goal was sheer willpower, as he intercepted an Erik Mikhail Sergachev) and cleared pucks from the front of the net, Gustafsson pass in the neutral zone, beat two Canadiens players to the preventing second-chance opportunities. They were physical throughout, net and shot from the slot. Price made the first save, but Johnson beat with 10 hits (four from Cernak), never more so than when Savard Gustafsson to the rebound, scoring on the backhand. slammed Corey Perry hard into the end boards in the second period. After the game, Cooper, Johnson’s only pro coach, gave him the ultimate Heavy hitters with great sticks who squeeze you up against the boards, compliment, calling the ninth-year veteran the “ultimate team player.” knock you off the puck and make it difficult to get to the net, they’re no Grade: A-plus fun to play against. Which is a big reason Tampa Bay has allowed just five goals in the first three games of the series, an average of 1.7 per game. Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 07.04.2021 That’s how you defend a Stanley Cup.

Grade: A-plus

Here’s how we graded the rest of the Lightning’s performance in their 6-3 win in Game 3:

Tale of two halves

The Lightning came out like gangbusters in the first period, scoring twice in the first 3-1/2 minutes, both by defensemen.

Rutta scored from the right point through a moving screen from Kucherov less than two minutes into the game, and Hedman, left wide open at the center point, fired a shot past goaltender Carey Price for a power-play goal just over a minute and a half later.

Before the fans at Bell Centre had settled into their seats, the Lightning had a two-goal lead and all of the momentum.

At that point, Canadiens interim coach Dominique Ducharme, behind the bench for the first time in the series after spending 14 days in isolation after testing positive for the coronavirus, used his one timeout. Montreal settled down, rediscovered its game and, shortly thereafter, got back into it. 1216901 Tampa Bay Lightning So, technically, Montreal has far more history than Tampa Bay when it comes to this sport. But Montreal also used to have a baseball team, but we haven’t seen the Expos in almost 20 years either.

It’s okay, Montreal, maybe one day you can play like the Lightning, too And, the truth is, this has been Tampa Bay’s easiest postseason series of 2021. Or 2020, for that matter. It’s the first time the Lightning have jumped out to a 3-0 lead, and it’s the first time they haven’t had a one- goal, nail-biter in the first few games. By John Romano “At the end of the day, we’re not there yet. We need to win one more Published Yesterday game,” Hedman said. “We’ve put ourselves in a good position, obviously, Updated Yesterday but the fourth one is the hardest one to get.”

Here’s a thought:

I’m sorry, but this isn’t right. Who treats a potential in-law so callously? Perhaps the Lightning could take it easy on the Canadiens in Game 4. Oh, I don’t mean throw the game. I’m not even suggesting they don’t try The Rays have been courting Montreal for years now and, like it or not, their hardest. we must face the fact that Tampa Bay may eventually be wedded to the good people of Quebec. But maybe Hedman doesn’t need to shoot a rocket launcher from near the blue line. And maybe the fourth line can go back into defensive mode And that means we should help them when we can. Teach them about instead of putting two goals in the back of the net. Maybe Nikita things with which they might be unfamiliar. Kucherov can work on the rough edges of his Conn Smythe speech.

Like hockey. And then everyone comes back to Tampa Bay for Game 5 next week and show the Canadiens what a 21st century party looks like when you You know, not every market can be as proficient in the game as Tampa raise the Stanley Cup. Bay. The way I understand it, the Canadiens have not won a Stanley Cup, or had even made it to the finals, since the year the Lightning were born. Tampa Bay, of course, has won two Cups and is on the verge of hogging it for yet another year. Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 07.04.2021

So perhaps the Lightning could take it a little easier on the Canadiens in this Stanley Cup final. Maybe not punk them in front of their tiny little crowd. After beating the Canadiens 6-3 in Montreal in Game 3 on Friday night, the Lightning moved to within one victory of the first Stanley Cup final sweep in 23 years.

The Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Montreal Canadiens 6-3 in Game 3 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup finals in Montreal after Tyler Johnson scored two goals and Jan Rutta, Victor Hedman, Nikita Kucherov and Blake Coleman had one apiece.

Meanwhile, the Canadiens are down to their last chance to win a game in the final since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was a college student in Montreal just about a mile down the road from the Bell Centre.

“We have a gameplan, right? And everybody is buying in and everybody is doing their job,” said wing Nikita Kucherov, who had a goal and an assist in Game 3. “When everybody is doing their job, it makes it easier. We play a full 60 minutes the right way.”

Honestly, it wouldn’t be that difficult for the Lightning to give these guys a few tips. Nothing too fancy, just some pointers for hockey novices.

For instance, it’s totally okay for defensemen to score. No, seriously, this is true. The Lightning were up 2-0 in Game 3 because the Canadiens didn’t bother to cover either Jan Rutta or Victor Hedman, and both defensemen blasted in shots from more than 50 feet away.

Also, you kinda want to score on power plays. I know each team only had one opportunity with a man-advantage in Game 3, but the Lightning scored on their chance and Montreal did not. Make sure you write that tip down, because it’s pretty important.

Finally, it helps to maybe score early. Or at least before the other team does. Or, really, anytime in the first period. Tampa Bay has scored the first goal in all three games and, in fact, has not trailed for even one moment since this series began.

“They all just pull in the same direction,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “It’s amazing to listen on the bench, for instance like four years ago compared to today, of what is being said and how everybody speaks up.

“It’s been marvelous to watch, I mean to watch this team grow. It took us some time but now we’re starting to (see) some dividends. We’ve still got a ways to go here, but regardless they really put the team first and that’s why we’ve having success.”

Now, you might be surprised to learn that during the NHL’s Paleozoic era, Montreal was actually considered a hockey hotbed. I am not making that up. Turns out, the Canadiens won the Stanley Cup more than any other franchise back in the days when goalies wore Friday the 13th masks and the skaters all looked like failed porn stars. 1216902 Toronto Maple Leafs Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield, who have been the team’s best forwards in the playoffs, are both under the age of 22. Jesperi Kotkaniemi, who has shown flashes of being a top-two centre, is only 20. Alexander Romanov, who got lost in the numbers game on defence, is 21. There’s a What does it mean if the Montreal Canadiens get swept in the Stanley bright future there. But there is also a window that is closing. Cup final? As good as Price has been in the playoffs, he will be 34 next month and has struggled for years to put together a solid regular season. Defenceman Shea Weber, who also turns 35 next month, is on borrowed Michael Traikos time. Publishing date: Jul 03, 2021 And with a large chunk of the roster heading to unrestricted free agency, including Phillip Danault, Joel Armia and Corey Perry, no one knows who will even be on the team next season. If the Montreal Canadiens become the first team in more than two decades to get swept in the Stanley Cup final, does that change how we “It’s a journey, right?” said Lightning head coach Jon Cooper, whose think about them? team before getting over the hump, lost in the Stanley Cup final, lost in the conference final and got swept in the first round. “I’m sure that there It’s a complicated question. were a couple of teams out there that went right into winning, but I can’t think of any of them off the top of my head. You’ve got to remember: On one hand, the Habs did something no other Canadian team has done Only one team can win. So, there’s a lot of teams in there that get gut- since 2011 by reaching the final in a year when few expected them to punched.” even make the playoffs. That’s something to be proud about. Right now, it’s the Canadiens who are doubled-over, gasping for breath. On the other — and here is where the jokes come in — down 3-0 to the Once they recover, maybe they will punch their way back here. Lightning, it’s still been 28 years since they actually won a game in the final. Or maybe, we’re in for another 28-year wait.

Ba-dum-TISH.

That’s the fear now — that if the Habs get swept in a series in which they Toronto Sun LOADED: 07.04.2021 have looked overwhelmed and overmatched, they will have something to be embarrassed about. That four games will essentially wipe out what they accomplished in the previous three rounds of the playoffs. That they have gone from being put on a pedestal to being the country’s punch line.

Obviously, it shouldn’t be this way. In a normal situation, reaching the final is worth celebrating. Win or lose, it’s a sign of growth and an indication that the team is on the path to something special. Except, as Canadiens head coach Dominique Ducharme said on Saturday morning: “There’s nothing normal about this year.”

Because of the new divisional alignments in this post-pandemic season, a Canadian team had a 50% chance of making the final. That Montreal happened to be the team to do it was a bit lucky — if not fluky.

The Canadiens were the lowest-seeded playoff team in a North Division that was widely considered as the weakest in the NHL. Had they been in the Central, East or West, the Habs would not have qualified for the post- season. Even in the North, they finished with fewer wins than Calgary and probably would have been passed by Vancouver if not for an outbreak of COVID.

That doesn’t take away from what the Habs accomplished. But if we’re going to be real, they mightily overachieved. They got hot at the right moment and got some help from the hockey gods.

They were an overtime goal away from losing in five games to the Maple Leafs in the first round and they might have lost in the semifinal to Vegas had Marc-Andre Fleury been better at playing the puck behind his own net. They benefitted from playing teams that were without a top centre, whether it was Toronto’s John Tavares, Winnipeg’s Mark Scheifele or Vegas’ Chandler Stephenson.

Yes, Carey Price has been fantastic. And their youngsters have taken a huge step forward in their development. But with Tampa Bay leading 3-0 in a series in which Montreal has been outscored 14-5, the Cinderella run is finally running its course.

The question is what this means going forward.

Is this the start of something special in the way that it was for an Edmonton Oilers team that got swept by the Islanders in 1983, and then won five championships in the following seven years? Or, like the Canucks team that lost to the Bruins in 2011 and then went eight years without winning a playoff round. Is this another one-off?

It’s quite possible that it could be the latter. After all, Montreal will be back next year in an Atlantic Division that had four of the top10 teams. On paper, the Habs are not better than Tampa Bay, Toronto, Boston or Florida. There’s no guarantee that they will be able to build on this season’s success — much less even qualify for the playoffs.

And yet, it doesn’t mean that the team is turning back into a pumpkin. 1216903 Vegas Golden Knights “That’s all going to be up for discussion when we start talking with the pro scouts in two weeks or so,” Foley said. “I like having our two goalies. They’re both skilled. They’re both great guys. Alternating two top goalies like that, really getting into a tandem situation, I believe really helps. But Upgrading power play Knights’ offseason goal, Bill Foley says we’ll just have to see how things evolve over this next few weeks or so.”

The Knights are projected to have a little more than $5 million salary cap space. One of their other key pieces of business is figuring out whether By David Schoen Las Vegas Review-Journal they can afford to re-sign defenseman Alec Martinez, who will be an July 3, 2021 - 11:53 am unrestricted free agent and is due a hefty raise.

Free agency begins July 28.

Don't miss the latest VGK news. Like our Golden Edge page Foley also is high on the team’s prospects for next season. That includes forward Peyton Krebs, the 2019 first-round pick who got a cup of coffee Bill Foley will meet with the Golden Knights’ front office and pro scouting in the NHL late in the regular season before he sustained a broken jaw. staff in the coming weeks to draw up their plan for the offseason. “Anything we do, we’re going to try to make the team better. We’re not The team’s majority owner believes one area will get extra attention giving up,” Foley said. “I’m not disappointed in anyone on that team or when the Knights explore the trade and free agency markets this month. the effort they put forth. I just feel like we got a little unlucky. It’s as simple as that.” “Obviously we really want to improve the power play. We’ve got to do better there,” Foley said. “That’s a problem we’ve had historically, really, is a power-play problem. I would guess you’re going to see a lot of work toward power-play improvement.” LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 07.04.2021

The Knights finished the regular season tied with Colorado for the most points in the league and advanced to the third round of the playoffs for the third time in their four seasons.

But similar to their loss against Dallas in the bubble last year, the Knights struggled to break down a stingy defense and bowed out in the Stanley Cup semifinals to underdog Montreal in six games.

“We all expected us to go further. It’s really true in the playoffs in hockey, anything can happen. And it does,” Foley said. “You kind of just accept it. A couple things happened that maybe turned the series against us.”

Foley didn’t mention the play specifically, but he clearly was alluding to the misplay by goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury late in Game 3 that led to Montreal’s tying goal. The Knights went on to lose that game in overtime and two of the next three.

First-line center Chandler Stephenson also was injured in the opener of the series against the Canadiens and missed three games, which had a trickle-down effect and slowed the offense.

The Knights produced nine goals in the final five games against Montreal and failed on all 15 of their power plays in the series. They finished the playoffs an unsightly 4-for-43 (9.3 percent) one season after their power- play shortcomings also cost them against Dallas in the Western Conference Final.

The difficult travel schedule and playing every other day in the postseason also took its toll, according to Foley.

“We got kind of clogged up against Montreal, so we’ll have to figure that out,” Foley said. “But we have the talent. We have some really, really good players and when they’re all healthy we have an awesome team. We really have four great lines and our defense is good.

“It’s just timing and little things like that that can really turn a series around.”

The Knights also must decide this offseason whether to keep Fleury and goalie partner Robin Lehner. Only the Canadiens allocated more salary cap space to the goalie position during the pandemic-shortened regular season than the Knights’ $12 million.

Foley advocated for Fleury’s return last offseason after the team explored trading the face of the franchise and has said he wants the popular goalie to end his career with the Knights.

Fleury won the Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goalie and combined with Lehner to earn the Jennings Trophy for fewest goals allowed during the regular season.

The trend around the league is to share the workload more evenly. But coach Pete DeBoer made it clear in his exit interview the Knights will enter next season under different circumstances and may decide keeping two starting goalies is a luxury they can’t afford.

Fleury has one year remaining on his contract. Lehner signed a five-year, $25 million extension before this past season. 1216904 Vancouver Canucks

Canucks promote Todd Harvey to director of amateur scouting

Patrick Johnston

A year after Judd Brackett departed the Vancouver Canucks’ scouting staff, the NHL team has finally formally named his replacement.

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Todd Harvey is the new director of amateur scouting, the team confirmed Friday, a few days after quietly updating his title on the team website.

Harvey, 46, was hired as a scout by the team in 2017 after spending four years as an assistant coach with the OHL’s . He played 671 NHL games for the , New York Rangers, and Edmonton Oilers.

“It was formalized on the website because of the start of a new season and signing a new contract, but for us ever since Judd left he’s been filling that job,” Canucks assistant general manager John Weisbrod told Postmedia on Friday.

“He has ability on both sides of the fence, a guy who’s good in the rink and knows players and knows attributes and what it takes to play in the league. And he was involved in the OHL for a long time. So he’s got the hockey piece. And the other piece is he’s really good with the guys (the scouts). He’s really personable, he’s really good at getting everyone involved.”

Weisbrod, who has also been more involved in scouting the last two seasons, added that Harvey really stood out in the difficult circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“He’s done really well with the culture of the scouting group. It’s been hard circumstances. He inherited the role with COVID conditions. When you’re having 15, 16 guys involved on Zoom, it’s a real challenge and he’s done great with it. Todd’s had to deal with the double challenge of not really seeing players (in person) and having to deal with meetings via Zoom.”

Scouting this past season was especially difficult, with varying amounts of games being played around the junior and collegiate hockey world.

“Because of all the lockdown, you’re not seeing as many players in person as you normally would,” Weisbrod acknowledged. “The USHL and U.S. National Team Development program played a good number of games, but Europe had a lot of shutdowns and the OHL didn’t play at all.

“I told him this is some entrance into dealing with all this, that once we’re back to normal it’ll be a piece of cake.”

Harvey and his Dallas Stars teammate , along with two other men, were accused in 1996 of sexually assaulting a 20-year-old woman at a Winnipeg house party, but Crown prosecutors dropped the charges before a preliminary hearing was even held. At the time in Manitoba, police were obliged to automatically make arrests and file charges following a sexual assault complaint.

Bates moves on

The team also confirmed the departure of New England-based scout Jonathan Bates, 36, who first worked for the Canucks in 2008-09 after two years as director of hockey operations at the University of Vermont.

Bates’s work focused on scouting collegiate hockey free agents; he worked alongside Stan Smyl for many years and was credited with helping to sign the likes of Chris Tanev, Troy Stecher, Aaron Volpatti, Marc Michaelis, Griffen Molino, Mike Zalewski, Brogan Rafferty, Josh Teves and Jake Kielly — a real mixed bag of players.

Vancouver Province: LOADED: 07.04.2021 1216905 Websites having to be scratched for the unveiling of the banner at the home opener due to being on (for cap purposes).

“For me, it would have been crushing,” Ryan said. “If I was him, I would The Athletic / How Tyler Johnson delivered what is potentially the final have been bitter about the first game, not being dressed when the big moment of his Lightning legacy banner goes up. But it’s part of the business, and Tyler understands that. With the cap being what it is, it doesn’t mean the team thinks any less of him. And he absolutely loves it in Tampa.

By Joe Smith “He never wanted to leave.”

Jul 3, 2021 Johnson has been reluctant to address anything from the offseason, quickly putting it in the past and saying he was focusing on the task at

hand: winning another Cup with this group. “They’re my family,” he said. It was mid-April and Tyler Johnson was struggling. His eight goals this season were his lowest since a 14-game cup of coffee with the Lightning in 2012-13, his 13:40 average time on ice The veteran Lightning center was in the middle of a 21-game goal roughly four minutes fewer than his “Triplets” days in 2015. drought. The same Johnson who once carried this team on his back in the run to the 2015 Stanley Cup Final, the same Johnson who was an Remember that on a line with Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat, Johnson All-Star No. 1 center, had been relegated to fourth-line duties. He was the ringleader. He was the rock star that summer. Former assistant averaged the lowest ice time of his career. The game before? He had a George Gwozdecky has said he’ll go to his grave believing that had turnover and missed a backcheck that led to a loss. Johnson not broken his wrist in the ’15 Cup Final against Chicago, they would have won the Cup. Fans were all over Johnson on social media. “He was our (Brayden Point),” former wing Ryan Callahan said. Scratch him. But no matter how much Johnson has been moved around, from center Enough! to wing, second line to fourth line, he didn’t complain or get sour in the dressing room. And the rest of his teammates took notice. Lightning coach Jon Cooper knew better. He’s been the only pro coach Johnson has ever had. They won a championship — and 28 straight “I think Johnny handled the situation really well,” veteran Pat Maroon games — for AHL Norfolk in 2012. They won a Stanley Cup last year. said. “A lot of guys would have been pissed off and took it a lot Had Johnson, 30, not pulled off his heroics in a first-round series against differently. He manned up and missed the first game of the year, he the Red Wings in 2015, who knows how the core, or coaching staff, came in and played pretty much every single game, put his head down might have changed? and worked. He was a big part of this team. During this playoff run, he’s been playing his best hockey. So Cooper pulled Johnson aside after an April 21 morning skate ahead of their game against Carolina. He’s said that some players need a kick “I’m very proud of Johnny. It goes to show you what kind of guys we have in the ass, others need you to put your arm around them. This moment in that locker room, and (with the) situation handed to him, he could have was the latter. taken a different route. But he stood in, we all supported him. He was there for us every step of the way.” “I trust him as a player,” Cooper said that day. “He’s had many, many, many more ups than downs. And when you go through this, you’ve just Kucherov, Brayden Point and Andrei Vasilevskiy have been Tampa Bay’s got to stand with your player and try to have to work his way out of it.” biggest stars in this postseason, and top Conn Smythe Trophy candidates if they do finish it off. But it’s really been a group effort, with I thought of that exchange on Friday night after watching Johnson deliver no one caring who is the hero that night. In Game 2, it was Blake potentially one last big moment in a Lightning legacy full of them. He Coleman’s Superman-like diving goal that was the difference-maker. Jan scored two times in Tampa Bay’s 6-3 victory over the Canadiens at the Rutta scored the first goal on Friday. Bell Centre, doubling his total for the postseason. Johnson symbolizes part of what makes this team so special, a group that is one win away “We have a game plan and everyone is buying in, everyone is doing their from back-to-back Stanley Cups and a place in hockey immortality. job,” Kucherov said. “When everyone is doing their job, it makes it easier.” Teammates have admired Johnson’s selfless attitude this whole season. Instead of pulling apart the group, he helped bring them closer together. Johnson’s job on Friday, initially, was to fill in for injured wing Alex Killorn Everyone has bought into a defined role — they’re all connected. And on the second line. But Cooper quickly moved Johnson back to his they couldn’t have been happier for him to get rewarded. natural center spot, believing it can get the most out of him.

“There’s a reason Tyler Johnson’s trophy case is fairly full,” Cooper said. “It’s just a different game,” Cooper said Friday morning. “When I get him “And it’s because he’s the ultimate team player. He’s selfless. There was back in the middle, it’s best for him and our team. You never question the a time in this organization where we needed to take another step, and size of Johnny’s heart. He’s a gamer through and through. What I like Tyler Johnson was one of the guys that was a big part of it. He’s carried about him this year, though, in particular, is that he’s really getting to the that on. As the team changes, they evolve — and the salary cap, there’s inside, getting a lot of pucks on net, going to some of those areas you issues with guys going up — but one thing is we never lost faith in Tyler have to go to win.” Johnson. He never lost faith in himself. Roles change and you have to adapt. And no one has done it better than Tyler. Fittingly, that’s where Johnson scored both of his goals from on Friday. On the first, Johnson was trailing on a rush, and a rebound off linemate “I’m extremely happy for the win. I might be happier for Tyler Johnson.” Mathieu Joseph’s skate bounced right to him in the slot for a backhand. On the second, which gave the Lightning a three-goal lead with four Johnson didn’t think he’d be on the Lightning team this season. He minutes left, Johnson picked off a pass near mid-ice, then cruised in for a hoped he would. But GM Julien BriseBois, facing salary-cap hell, started shot from in tight. He pounced on his own rebound for the goal, which a sobering and awkward conversation with Johnson a couple of weeks essentially sealed the win. Johnson played the least amount of ice time after they hoisted the Stanley Cup together. He brought up the idea of of any Tampa Bay forward (9:08), but he had some of the biggest impact. potentially moving Johnson, asking about his full no-trade clause. Johnson gave Tampa Bay a list of 8-9 teams to work with. “Hell of a game,” Kucherov said. “He’s that type of player that likes to play under pressure.” “It’s not personal,” BriseBois said. The Lightning are playing like one of the best teams of this generation, You have to imagine that stung. So did the fact that, a few days later, while the Canadiens are playing like — well — underdogs. Tampa Bay Johnson was put on waivers. None of the 30 other teams put in a claim, has outscored Montreal 14-5 through three games, displaying the type of no doubt scared off by his $5 million cap hit for four more seasons. He maturity and determination befitting a champion. They’re executing with reached out to buddy Bobby Ryan, whom he’s worked out with each surgical precision, a little less emotional than last year’s Cup run in the offseason in Idaho the past four years. Ryan had just been bought out by bubble. Ottawa, but he marveled how Johnson handled the situation, including Cooper tried to explain it this way, that last year felt like the “first day of school,” with several new faces on the team trying to gel and win their first title together. Now that everyone is back, potentially for the final time, there’s a certain appreciation for the moment, for the legacy that they can lay.

“We don’t know what our team is going to look like next year, if we’ll all be together again,” Cooper said. “There were some crazy circumstances that had to happen for this team to stay together. I know these guys understand that and they know that, and are well aware of what they can cement with one more win.”

Johnson is heading into what’s likely his final game(s) in a Lightning uniform. Whether Johnson goes to Seattle in the expansion draft or is traded somewhere else, Tampa Bay has to create cap space (it is already $5 million over with just 19 players under contract). Ryan said Johnson is very accepting of the fact that this is probably his last dance with the Lightning. It’s weighed on him. But Ryan has been impressed by how Johnson has been able to compartmentalize in their conversations the past few months. “I just let him be and let him chase down another Cup,” he said.

“I know how fun it was last year when we won, and I want to do it again,” Johnson said. “You don’t know how many chances you’re going to get. Each time you get this close, you really feel it. I think winning last year makes you want to win it more. We’re really excited. But there’s still a lot more to do. We still have one more game.”

The Athletic LOADED: 07.04.2021 1216906 Websites Did you know Mathieu Joseph was on pace to score 18 this season? Did you know that Ross Colton was on pace for 25, scoring nine times in just 30 games? (It’s a lot to presume he would’ve kept that up, but he has scored in bunches at other levels.) The guy they put on waivers twice Sportsnet.ca / Will the Canadiens’ lack of offensive punch be their who toiled in their bottom six – Tyler Johnson – has a couple seasons season-ending roadblock? around 30 goals in the NHL (the last was recent, in 2019), skills which he flashed in scoring twice to put the Lightning over the top in Game 3.

Usually from your bottom-six goals are gravy, but Tampa Bay can count Justin Bourne @jtbourne on some.

July 3, 2021, 12:22 PM Those names above, all six guys mentioned in the previous two paragraphs, would tell you that while they like to and want to contribute offensively, their primary objective on this Lightning team is to be reliable defensively by being hard on the opposition, fast, and persistent. They On Friday night Phillip Danault scored his first goal of the playoffs in his have the luxury of not having to score thanks to their place in the lineup, 20th game, a run of time that’s seen him play 18:45 seconds per contest, even though they have the ability to do it at times. which is a total well north of six hours of total ice time. That’s the most ice time of any forward on the team not named Nick Suzuki, who’s played all It’s a lot harder for me to look at a line in a team’s top-six and say they of five seconds more per game than the Habs pizza-munching defensive don’t need to score, and to qualify success is simply stopping the other centre. team from scoring.

In that time, Suzuki has scored seven times and put up 15 points, which Danault has garnered Selke Trophy votes for years now, and the players is a point-per-game average of 0.75, which is just inside the playoffs’ top- who play as well as him defensively and score? They’re all-stars, hall-of- 20 list among players who’ve played at least 10 post-season games. The famers, they’re Selke Trophy winners, they’re franchise cornerstones. point is, it’s good, but it’s not huge offensive output. And Danault trails They’re Patrice Bergeron, they’re Ryan O’Reilly, they’re Jonathan Toews, him by 11 points. they’re Anze Kopitar.

But you know that – Danault’s job has been to be a shut-down centre, Nobody is saying Danault is that. He wasn’t (and won’t be) paid to be full-stop, and so the case can be made that it’s disingenuous to point out that, and it may be unfair to expect that of him. his utter lack of offence. After all, he’s excelled at shutting down the opposition’s top centres. Auston Matthews only had five points in seven But that doesn’t mean we should ignore the greater story it tells us about games, the Winnipeg Jets didn’t really have a top centre after Mark this Canadiens lineup, which can defend and compete like hell. The Schiefele got suspended (their big-name wingers were limited though), whole is greater than the sum of its parts because of belief and team play and Mark Stone was undeniably shut all the way the heck down. He’s and of course, goaltending, and for that, they should be lauded. But it’s been great in his role. not just Danault. It’s a team that finished just in the bottom half of the league in regular-season goals. Finding “pop” has been a problem. Two things on Danault, and the bigger Habs picture. That story it tells us, which is being highlighted in the Final, is simply that One is that this is relevant because he’s not Sami Pahlsson, some third- you have to be able to win a number of ways to beat a number of teams line centre the Habs are only deploying to shut down the opposition until to win hockey’s greatest prize. In Game 3, the Habs lost for the first time their all-star scorers can get back on the ice. He’s out there in the top-six when they scored two or more goals in the entire post-season to date, with Brendan Gallagher, one of the teams’ few true offensive weapons. having previously been 11-0. That’s pretty insane. Up until now, it’s been That “offensive weapon,” by the way, has two goals and four assists in 20 OK to just defend their way to victory. games alongside him and Artturi Lehkonen. On their way here, the Lightning scored two or more goals in 18 of 21 It’s not Danault’s fault that he’s not deployed in a more Pahlsson-like games. They hung six on the Florida Panthers one night, six on the fashion (instead of something more comparable to a true 1C), nor is it one night, and eight on the New York Islanders exactly his coaches’ fault, because who else should they put in that spot? another. They got another six on Friday. It’s just reflective of a Habs shortcoming that he’s not able to be used the way he seems perfectly tailored to being used: farther down the lineup in Against a Tampa Bay team that scores like they do, Montreal has been fewer, more hyper-specific defensive minutes. asked to try to win a different way, and that’s by scoring with the best of them. That may not be a tool this Habs team has in their bag four times The second thing is that it’s not just instructive of where the Habs lineup in seven games. is weak – its overall offensive punch – but it’s also reflective of their lineup as a whole. They have players who see real minutes who are The Lightning are just so well-rounded, it’s hard to see a way out for the reliable all throughout the group, and some who pop up for a goal here Habs. We’ve said that before, of course, and nothing is over until it’s and there, but few players are exactly expected to score. over. But if you’re a Habs fan now and think it’s unfair to levy criticism around the teams’ lack of offensive punch, well to that, I’d say you’re Yes, they can be viewed as “built for the playoffs,” and it’s inarguably being awfully defensive. gone well for them with this group this season. They can be patient and reliably in position and keep the game close and minimize mistakes. But when it comes time to score, they’re kinda left to look around and wonder Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 07.04.2021 “Who’s job is it to do that, exactly?”

I guess Cole Caufield’s?

I’m reflecting on that today not just as some epiphany, but because, when contrasted with Tampa Bay — an extraordinarily well-constructed team — it’s a clear shortcoming. And we’re not holding the Habs to the standard of the rest of the league here. They’re knocking on the door of a Stanley Cup, so I think it’s fair to highlight where they lack when stacked up against the best.

The Bolts also have defensively-sound players throughout their lineup, those who see real minutes who are reliable all throughout the group. But almost to a man, there’s offensive upside that underlies each position. And we’re talking about bottom-six guys here.

Their shut-down group of Blake Coleman–Yanni Gourde–Barclay Goodrow was on pace for regular-season point totals of 46-52-30 points, respectively, which is marginally better than the regular-season paces of the Artturi Lehkonen-Danault-Gallagher group (23-37-54, respectively). That’s Tampa’s third line. 1216907 Websites Game 2 due to injury, but Cooper elected to return Johnson to his more natural position centring Maroon and Mathieu Joseph on the fourth line for Game 3 and saw him generate four shots despite the limited usage.

Sportsnet.ca / Tyler Johnson gives Lightning apt parting gift amid Johnson has always been a player that finds a way. He’s listed at five- uncertain future foot-eight, which is why NHL teams passed on him in the draft despite the fact he’d won a world junior gold medal with Team USA and a Memorial Cup with the Spokane Chiefs.

Chris Johnston @reporterchris He didn’t let it stop him from carving out a career that most players would envy. July 3, 2021, 12:17 PM “There’s a reason Tyler Johnson’s trophy case is fairly full and it’s

because he’s an ultimate team player,” said Cooper. “He’s selfless and There was a time last October where Tyler Johnson figured he’d never there was a time in this organization when we needed to take another get another game with the Tampa Bay Lightning, let alone an extended step and Tyler Johnson was one of the leaders of that and he’s just playoff run that left him on the verge of a second Stanley Cup. carried that on for years now.”

He was earmarked as a salary-cap casualty following Tampa’s Here he is now with a bonus championship within reach and also an championship in the bubble, getting placed on waivers 11 days after the understanding that his place with the Lightning is again in doubt. Lightning sipped champagne from Stanley. Even when Johnson went Tampa’s tight cap situation is guaranteed to cost them more players this unclaimed by 30 teams — entirely due to his $5-million annual contract in summer and Johnson’s no-trade clause has since converted to a 20- a flat-cap environment — the Lightning engaged in trade talks involving team trade list, leaving the soon-to-be 31-year-old with a little less control one of the organization’s longtime heartbeat performers. over his situation.

Business simply trumped sentiment, which is why Johnson’s unexpected Perhaps the native of Washington State will get an opportunity to play two-goal performance in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final brought close to home with the Seattle Kraken through the expansion draft forward some sentimental feelings from head coach Jon Cooper on process, or elsewhere. Friday night. If that winds up being the case, his Friday performance should serve as a “I’m extremely happy for the win,” said Cooper. “I might be a little happier pretty nice parting gift to the Lightning. The organization is in a much for Tyler Johnson.” better position today than the day he first entered it.

This was not just any win, remember. “There’s been a little bit of success with our team and sometimes when you’re the head coach you get some praise, but it’s really on the players,” It put the Lightning within reach of another Stanley Cup. They’ll have a said Cooper. “It’s guys like Tyler Johnson that have really taken our team chance to complete a four-game sweep over the Montreal Canadiens on to a new level. Now, in a little bit of a different role, he’s still having a Monday night. positive impact.

To understand why it meant so much inside the Lightning dressing room “Good guys get rewarded and he’s being rewarded.” to have Johnson rewarded on this stage you must also account for everything that came before his near departure from the organization last fall. Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 07.04.2021 He was a culture-changer for the Lightning, signed as an undrafted free agent in March 2011 and a monster performer on Cooper’s 2012 Norfolk Admirals team that set an American Hockey League record by winning 29 straight games on the way to lifting the Calder Cup.

When Tampa reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2015, it did so with Johnson centring the dynamic triplets line between Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat. The fact he played most of that series against the Chicago Blackhawks with a broken wrist is a major reason why they fell short.

In the intervening years, he’s been surpassed on the depth chart by Brayden Point, Anthony Cirelli and Yanni Gourde. That made him expendable when general manager Julien BriseBois was forced to explore difficult cap-related decisions.

Johnson owned a full no-trade clause last fall and worked with the Lightning on potential destinations that would be considered favourable to him. That deal never materialized in large part due to the fact Kucherov wound up requiring hip surgery that carried a five-month recovery and allowed him to be placed on long-term injured reserve for the duration of the regular season.

He did, however, have to sit out the season opener after again clearing waivers and being assigned to the taxi squad as part of BriseBois’ January cap gymnastics. That meant Johnson was in a suit when the Lightning unveiled their 2020 Stanley Cup banner at Amalie Arena.

But he didn’t let any disappointment or bitterness show to those around him and he ended up dressing for the remaining 55 regular-season games and all 21 so far in these playoffs.

“A lot of guys would have been pissed off and took it a lot differently,” said teammate Patrick Maroon. “He manned up and missed the first game of the year, he came in and played pretty much every single game, put his head down and worked.

“He was a big part of this team.”

His first career two-goal performance in the Stanley Cup Final came in the game he saw the fewest minutes — playing just 9:08 on Friday night. He’d been bumped up to a second-line winger when Alex Killorn missed