SPORT-SCAN DAILY BRIEF NHL 9/27/2019 Columbus Blue Jackets 1154245 Kings and Ducks face some tough decisions as final roster 1154276 Michael Arace | Columbus Blue Jackets' season may rest cuts loom on unproven goaltending duo 1154246 Ducks’ battle for opening-night roster spots going down to 1154277 Columbus Blue Jackets need Josh Anderson's total the wire to keep rising 1154247 Ducks defense taking shape, Jacob Larsson rising, Max 1154278 Breaking down the battle for the final spot on the Blue Comtois trying to make a case Jackets’ blue line 1154248 Arizona Coyotes break open scoring in preseason win 1154279 How Miro Heiskanen's versatility will allow the Stars to pair over him with different defensemen based on situation 1154249 What's up with those crazy suits? Five questions with 1154280 Stars goalie Anton Khudobin gets full game under his belt; Coyotes broadcaster Tyson Nash Thomas Harley and Miro Heiskanen show bright future 1154250 Antti Raanta day-to-day as Coyotes recall G Ivan 1154281 Predicting the 2019-2020 Dallas Stars opening night Prosvetov lineup 1154251 Forks up: How Eddie Lack and ASU hockey found a 1154282 Stars 20/20: Thomas Harley shows a bright future despite match made in heaven the Stars’ preseason snoozer 1154252 Bruins waive three players, send nine to Providence 1154283 Detroit Red Wings fit perfectly in 'Hockeyville' Up North 1154253 Bruins cut roster down further before season with 4-1 preseason win vs. Blues 1154254 David Backes puts in work to fight for Bruins job 1154284 What role is feasible for Justin Abdelkader on the Detroit 1154255 Bruins announce next round of camp cuts, getting close to Red Wings now? final group 1154285 Game thread: Red Wings best Blues in exhibition, 4-1 1154256 Bruins Roster Projection 2.0: Players on the bubble make 1154286 Anthony Mantha, Michael Rasmussen lead Red Wings' strong cases charge in U.P. 1154257 Shinzawa: What we learned in training camp about the 12 1154287 Red Wings want Justin Abdelkader to play on the 'edge of players just cut by Bruins reckless' 1154288 Anthony Mantha, Michael Rasmussen lead Red Wings Buffalo Sabres past Blues in Calumet 1154258 Evan Rodrigues proving he's a 'valuable NHL player' for 1154289 Top line leads Red Wings vs. Blues in Calumet preseason Sabres game 1154259 Sabres assign top draft pick Dylan Cozens to Lethbridge 1154290 Red Wings look forward to unique experience in Calumet Flames Oilers 1154260 Flames goalie Talbot sharp in San Jose 1154291 Bear and Jurco score two goals each in Oilers victory over 1154261 Flames defenceman Rasmus Andersson driven to earn Winnipeg top-pairing duties 1154292 Ethan Bear, Tomas Jurco outshine the competition in 1154262 Flames promote Chris Snow to assistant general manager second-to-last Oilers preseason game 1154264 Why the Matthew Tkachuk deal was a win for the player 1154293 Joakim Nygard managing his anger as he eyes spot on and for the team – at least in the short term Oilers Florida Panthers 1154265 Canes reduce preseason training camp roster 1154294 Cut from Panthers, Troy Brouwer hopes to continue NHL 1154266 Ten bold (and not so bold) predictions for the Hurricanes career elsewhere this season 1154295 Kings and Ducks face some tough decisions as final roster 1154267 Just a preseason game? Jonathan Toews expects better cuts loom after Blackhawks’ uninspiring 6-0 loss to the Capitals: ‘ 1154296 PRESEASON FINAL: SD 5, ONT 2 – BOXSCORE, LUFF, 1154268 Blackhawks depart for Europe with 27 players after PHILLIPS, STOTHERS Quenneville, Boqvist, Saarela cut 1154297 COMPETITION HEATS UP IN PRACTICE AND FOR 1154269 Zack Smith finds his niche with the Blackhawks through ROSTER SPOTS; MORE EVALUATIONS love of rock music 1154298 PREVIEW – ONTARIO VS. SAN DIEGO, 9/26 1154270 Blackhawks embarrassed in real preseason test against Capitals 1154271 Can slow and steady win the race? Brent Seabrook and 1154299 Wild edges Dallas in exhibition game Olli Maatta believe so 1154300 Eric Staal's focus is more Wild wins, not him scoring more goals 1154301 Who’s going to make the team? Here’s a breakdown of 1154272 Avalanche sends first-round draft pick Bo Byram back to the Wild roster his junior team 1154302 A week before the opener, the Wild are making a change 1154273 Where does everything stand with the Avs sending Bowen on their second line Byram back to the WHL? 1154303 Q&A: Wild GM Bill Guerin on Kaprizov plans, his feel for 1154274 Bowen Byram’s demotion another example of a flawed the team and final cuts system 1154275 EXCLUSIVE: Mikko Rantanen believes sides are “closing in” on contract 1154304 Confident Cale Fleury not surprised to survive latest 1154333 ‘Snake-bitten’ Joel Farabee virtually earns spot on Flyers’ Canadiens cuts roster in shootout loss to Rangers 1154305 Canadiens' Nate Thompson can relate to five teammates 1154334 Flyers’ Nolan Patrick sidelined indefinitely with migraine put on waivers disorder; Carter Hart shines in loss 1154306 Stu Cowan: Are Canadiens losing patience with winger 1154335 For 5 on-the-bubble Flyers, one more chance to impress Jonathan Drouin? the brass 1154307 Canadiens legend Guy Lafleur has successful heart 1154336 Connor Bunnaman could be the wild card for Flyers’ surgery vacant center spot 1154308 Canadiens Notebook: Dale Weise, Karl Alzner among five 1154337 Flyers' Patrick out indefinitely with 'migrane disorder' put on waivers 1154338 Alain Vigneault isn't going to surprise himself with Joel 1154309 The changing of the guard in Montreal appears to be Farabee decision — and that's a good thing happening sooner than expected 1154339 Joel Farabee brings it, Carter Hart the No. 1 development, 1154310 What it’s like to open training camp under the calm more on Flyers' preseason shootout loss to Rangers intensity of Joël Bouchard 1154340 No Nolan Patrick, no Morgan Frost, so now what for the Flyers at center? 1154341 Nolan Patrick will miss season opener after being 1154311 Have no fear, Predators goalie Juuse Saros' gold pads diagnosed with migraine disorder soon will be here 1154342 Flyers at Rangers preseason: Storylines, game time and 1154312 Expect more of the same from Predators, who should more contend again 1154343 Flyers top pick Cam York is riding the Southern California 1154313 The Predators’ power play will be better because it can’t hockey wave get any worse New Jersey Devils 1154344 How do the Penguins become salary-cap compliant? 1154314 Devils’ roster for preseason finale vs. Columbus Blue 1154345 Alex Galchenyuk remains sidelined for the Penguins Jackets | Ty Smith, Jesper Boqvist on roster 1154346 Tim Benz: 2019 has been one of the worst Pittsburgh 1154315 How Devils’ Cory Schneider, Mackenzie Blackwood have sports years pushed each other in preseason 1154347 Penguins prospect John Marino sits on roster bubble with 1154316 What’s next for Devils’ Pavel Zacha after returning to one preseason game left team? 1154348 How secure is Jack Johnson's spot in the Penguins 1154317 NJ Devils' roster for final preseason game previewing lineup? what lines might like opening night 1154349 Sidney Crosby's junior hockey team retiring his jersey Friday New York Islanders 1154318 Jordan Eberle confident he can bring even more to Islanders 1154350 Takeaways: Sharks’ Lean Bergmann, Mario Ferraro are 1154319 Nassau executive Laura Curran to honor Islanders with the real deal rally, dome-lighting ceremony on eve of season opener 1154351 Brent Burns’ four assists lead Sharks to preseason win 1154320 Staple: As the Islanders take the next step toward their over Flames new home, the future of the team is on solid ground 1154352 San Jose Sharks’ prospect finds new place to play 1154353 Healthy, rested and ready: Sharks’ Erik Karlsson set for New York Rangers 2019 preseason debut 1154321 Tony DeAngelo impresses in debut following Rangers 1154354 How Erik Karlsson felt after preseason debut in Sharks' holdout win vs. Flames 1154322 Joe Micheletti: Rangers’ chances hinge on youth taking 1154355 Why Sharks need Martin Jones to outperform No. 23 step overall goalie rating 1154323 Alain Vigneault takes a look back at his Rangers tenure 1154356 Groin surgery behind him, Erik Karlsson passes his first 1154324 Henrik Lundqvist re-energized for season as Rangers test as he makes his Sharks preseason debut appear to be on the rise 1154325 Back at Madison Square Garden with Flyers, Kevin Hayes St Louis Blues and Alain Vigneault reflect on their time with Rangers 1154357 Faulk finds an old friend in St. Louis as he hits the ice with 1154326 As preseason ends, Rangers’ coaching staff still faces Blues several significant lineup decisions 1154358 Blues notebook: Setting for tonight's game brings back 1154327 For journeyman Joe Morrow, Rangers camp is about memories of small-town hockey playing for his professional hockey life 1154359 Blues' Thomas making his preseason debut in upper reaches of Michigan 1154360 Mantha, Rasmussen help Red Wings beat Blues 1154328 NHL PREVIEW: 10 burning questions on the cusp of a new season Tampa Bay Lightning 1154329 SURPRISE, SURPRISE: Sabourin remains in contention 1154361 Brayden Point returns to the Tampa Bay Lightning (finally) for spot in Senators' opening day lineup 1154362 Tampa Bay Lightning beat Florida Panthers as series gets 1154330 Tkachuk ramps up game in anticipation of regular season chippy 1154331 Nick Paul, Parker Kelly, Marcus Hogberg and Jordan 1154363 Fearless and funny as hell: Teammates share their Szwarz sent to Belleville of AHL favorite ‘G-rated’ Dan Girardi stories 1154332 10 bold (and not so bold) predictions for the Senators this season Winnipeg Jets 1154364 Revamped Leafs power play could feature plenty of 1154381 Oil flows freely in third one-timers this year 1154382 Swedish teen opening eyes at Jets camp 1154365 WARMINGTON: Time for Auston Matthews to man up 1154383 Good just won't do; depleted Jets need great Dane 1154366 Moore hustling to ensure a Maple Leafs depth spot come 1154384 Jets lose game, but Poolman wins job opening night SPORT-SCAN, INC. 941-284-4129 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Golden Knights fans want to see vengeance against Sharks 1154374 World’s biggest sports book runs down this year’s most popular bets Washington Capitals 1154375 For Capitals’ Chandler Stephenson, the stakes are high in preseason’s final week 1154376 Ex-Capital Brett Connolly labels Tom Wilson as his breakout player for 2019-2020 1154377 Backstrom: Ovechkin breaking Gretzky's record is 'doable' 1154378 Capitals to wear alternate third jersey for 12 games in 2019-20 1154379 I Am The Prospect: Martin Fehervary hopes to be worth the wait after staying in Europe 1154380 Capitals’ question: Who gets the second ‘A’ for Washington? Websites 1154391 The Athletic / ‘There’s a very inclusive energy’: Hall of Famer Cammi Granato explains her scouting role with 1154392 The Athletic / The Most Interesting Men on the Waiver Wire: Sept. 26, 2019 1154393 The Athletic / NHL Hot Seat: Who has to prove the critics wrong — or pay a big price? 1154394 Sportsnet.ca / Babcock challenging Trevor Moore to move up in Maple Leafs lineup 1154395 Sportsnet.ca / Five Oilers roster questions that will be answered in coming days 1154396 Sportsnet.ca / Flames name Chris Snow to assistant general manager 1154397 Sportsnet.ca / Hope not lost for Senators to move downtown, but it won't happen soon 1154398 Sportsnet.ca / Matthews incident a reminder of responsibility of being a Maple Leaf 1154399 USA TODAY / Opinion: Auston Matthews' bad behavior shows he might not be ready for captaincy 1154400 USA TODAY / NHL point projections: How we see the 2019-20 season unfolding 1154401 YAHOO SPORTS / OHL earns match with vicious slash to opponent 1154402 YAHOO SPORTS / Flyers' Nolan Patrick week-to-week with migraine disorder 1154245 Anaheim Ducks thinking when he should just be playing. And as a result, he sometimes looks slow. I’m not sure that he’s slow. I think he’s just thinking it and he’s a little hesitant right now.”

Kings and Ducks face some tough decisions as final roster cuts loom Kings defenseman Paul LaDue, center, stops a shot by Anaheim Ducks left wing Max Comtois in front of goaltender Jonathan Quick.

By JACK HARRISSTAFF WRITER SEP. 26, 2019 7:18 AM The Ducks have their own roster decisions to weigh. The team dressed five players age 22 or younger Wednesday, including roster hopeful forward Max Comtois, who recorded three shots and had three others blocked while playing alongside Ryan Getzlaf and Derek Grant. Perhaps the next time the Kings and Ducks meet this year, a Dec. 2 showdown two months into the regular season, their dispositions will be “I wish for the kid — he had a number of chances tonight, which is more distinguishable. For now, the two Southland rivals enter the final encouraging — if one could have gone in for him, that would have been days of the preseason facing similar situations. great for him,” Eakins said of Comtois. “I thought he had a really good game.” New coaches. Uncertain expectations. An awkward transition from aging stars to up-and-coming prospects. Comtois will be one of several players near the final cut line for the Ducks, who begin the season at home against the Arizona Coyotes next Those parallels continued into Wednesday night’s postgame news Thursday, two days before the Kings’ opener at the on conferences as well. After the Ducks’ 2-0 win over the Kings at Honda Oct. 5. Center, Kings coach Todd McLellan and Ducks coach Dallas Eakins were asked about final roster cuts and where their younger players fit into “All those guys in that boat, that are vying for these jobs — and there’s a the picture. good five or six of them — they keep making the decision harder and harder,” Eakins said. “That’s what you want.” No surprise, Eakins’ and McLellan’s answers were almost interchangeable. LA Times: LOADED: 09.27.2019 Said Eakins, who is taking over in Anaheim after four seasons behind the bench of its AHL affiliate in San Diego: “You don’t want easy decisions coming out of training camp. You want those damn hard ones. It looks like that’s how this is shaping up.”

Echoed McLellan, who with the Kings is entering his third stint as an NHL head coach: “With some of these kids, they’ve had tremendous, tremendous camps. We’re going to have to spend some time over the next 48 hours here to discuss where they fit.”

The best players on the ice Wednesday were the veteran goalies. Ryan Miller recorded a 34-save for the Ducks, while Kings netminder Jonathan Quick bounced back from an Adam Henrique goal 1:40 into the game and stopped 27 of 28 shots. Sam Carrick added an empty-netter for the Ducks.

Arizona Coyotes v Los Angeles Kings

HOCKEY

Elliott: Kings goalie Jonathan Quick says he wasn’t ‘nearly good enough’ last season

Most eyeballs, however, were on the young skaters in front of them. Following dismal seasons from both franchises in 2018-19, the Kings and Ducks are giving their youth the opportunity to earn roster spots this year. In what was both teams’ penultimate tune-up game, neither squad fielded full-strength rosters on Wednesday. Instead, they got another long look at the prospects on the fringes of their rosters.

McLellan said the Kings, who have six more cuts to make to get down to their 23-man opening night roster, could trim more players from training camp as soon as Thursday. Of the players who took the ice Wednesday, centers Blake Lizotte, Nikolai Prokhorkin and Jaret Anderson-Dolan were among those who appear to be hovering around the bubble.

McLellan has been impressed by Anderson-Dolan, who made the team out of training camp last season and played five games before being sent back to juniors. But the coach hinted the 20-year-old might be better- served starting the year in the AHL as a center in the Ontario Reign’s lineup rather than squeaking onto the NHL roster at wing.

“Not that he can’t play wing but I’d like to see him play center a little bit more,” McLellan said. “Are we ready for him in the center ice position [in the NHL]? Because you need a little bit of time to play on maybe the top, or maybe the second line, in the American League for a while. I don’t know the answer to that. But he’s making our decisions difficult, where others have made it easy.”

Prokhorkin, 26, also remains something of an unknown. Drafted by the Kings in 2012, the Russian product is trying to jump from the KHL to the NHL. Though he has flashed potential this camp, the 6-foot-3, 190-pound forward is pointless in three games.

“I haven’t seen it yet but I believe he can find a way to finish,” McLellan said. “It’s getting up to the pace. He’s playing on a smaller ice surface. Things are happening a little bit quicker. I think at times we have him 1154246 Anaheim Ducks The five players on waivers must clear before they can be sent to San Diego.

Orange County Register: LOADED: 09.27.2019 Ducks’ battle for opening-night roster spots going down to the wire

By ELLIOTT TEAFORD

ANAHEIM — Ideally, under normal circumstances, Ducks coach Dallas Eakins would like to ice his opening-night lineup when they meet the Arizona Coyotes in their sixth and final exhibition game on Saturday at Honda Center. These are not normal circumstances, though.

Competition for jobs is ongoing.

Evaluations are incomplete.

Nothing has been settled.

“We don’t make the decisions, the players do,” Eakins said. “They do it with their play.”

So, instead of a dress rehearsal for the Ducks’ regular-season opener next Thursday against the Coyotes, their exhibition finale might represent one final chance to determine who makes the roster and who is reassigned to the AHL’s to start the season.

“My senses tell me we may have to look at a couple more guys,” Eakins said. “I think this training camp is going to go right down to the wire.”

For instance, left wing Max Comtois had a strong game during the Ducks’ 2-0 exhibition victory over the Kings on Wednesday night. Although he didn’t record a goal or an assist, he did have several quality scoring chances and was a noteworthy presence near the Kings’ net.

Has he accomplished enough to make the team?

Here’s another example:

Jacob Larsson, a defenseman, assisted on Adam Henrique’s first-period goal and was tied for the team lead with right wing Sam Carrick with four shots on net. Larsson also played a strong defensive game, helping to ensure goaltender Ryan Miller would shut out the Kings on 34 shots.

Has he done enough to earn a spot on the roster?

“You know what’s great?” Eakins asked reporters. “All those guys who are in that boat, who are vying for these jobs, and there’s five or six of them, they just keep making the decisions harder and harder, and that’s what you want. For ‘Murph’ (Ducks general manager Bob Murray) and the rest of our staff, you don’t want easy decisions coming out of training camp. You want those damn hard ones.

“It looks like how this is shaping up.”

EAVES UPDATE

Right wing Patrick Eaves (illness) attended the past two exhibition games at Honda Center, but the Ducks do not expect him to play this season. Said Murray: “I won’t say he’s retiring, but he’s out for the year. … He and the wife have decided that’s enough for right now.

“I totally agree with that at this point in time.”

Eaves has declined interview requests for now. He has played only nine NHL games the past two seasons because of illness and injury.

GULLS TOP REIGN

Left wing Blake Pietila had a hat trick and goaltender Anthony Stolarz made 30 saves in the Gulls’ 5-2 victory over the Reign in an exhibition game Thursday morning at Toyota Arena (formerly Citizens Business Bank Arena) in Ontario. Jack Kopacka and Corey Tropp also scored for the Gulls and Alex Dostie had two assists.

The Gulls and Reign play an exhibition on Monday at Honda Center. Tickets and parking are free.

ROSTER MOVES

Kopacka, Stolarz, Alex Broadhurst, Hunter Drew, Zack Hayes, Justin Kloos, Patrick Sieloff and Chris Wideman were assigned to the Gulls. In addition, Kevin Boyle, Chase De Leo, Jani Hakanpaa, Andreas Martinsen and Andrew Poturalski were placed on waivers. 1154247 Anaheim Ducks At this point, Guhle can be penciled in for opening night. Eakins said he has “grabbed it a little bit” with some assertive play. The jury is out on him being a real point producer from the back-end, but Guhle showed he Ducks defense taking shape, Jacob Larsson rising, Max Comtois trying has a nifty wrist shot in his arsenal in the way he changed his angle on a to make a case rush up ice and went bar down with a rising shot past Sharks goalie Aaron Dell.

Anaheim Ducks By Eric Stephens Sep 26, 2019 ✔

@AnaheimDucks ANAHEIM, Calif. — Three preseason games in three days. Soon they’ll be forgotten when the Ducks start playing for real next week. But the · Sep 24, 2019 exhibitions were not meaningless. Not when there are jobs to be secured or won with just one outing left before it’s time to set the roster.  #AnaheimDucksGoooaaalll @guhles_ with an absolute snipe! It's 3-0!#LetsGoDucks | #NHLPreseason With Saturday’s home game against Arizona left to wrap up the preseason, it is a good time to look at some developments and Anaheim Ducks observations from the corner of Katella Avenue and Douglass Road. ✔ Opportunity opens for Guhle @AnaheimDucks The ship has obviously sailed on Justin Faulk as the Carolina What a #LetsGoDucks | #NHLPreseason defenseman wasn’t coming to Anaheim unless the Ducks were going to make it impossible for him to say no. And while the Ducks obviously Embedded video wanted him with all the reports of a deal that was in place, it became clear they weren’t going to shell out $7 million per season (for seven 102 years, no less) to land the power play quarterback they can still use. 11:09 PM - Sep 24, 2019 Given that Faulk signed on with Stanley Cup champion St. Louis — a Twitter Ads info and privacy team he didn’t have on his no-trade list — for that length at $6.5 million AAV shows that the veteran was only coming to the West Coast if the 25 people are talking about this Ducks were going to overpay for him. That’s if, deep down, he ever truly wanted to come. There are easily apparent tools that Eakins has repeatedly referenced in describing Guhle. So, the search for the righty defender with a big shot reportedly remains on. I’ve still yet to hear a complete denial on any interest in Buffalo’s “I never like comparing him to other guys,” the coach said. “He’ll become Rasmus Ristolainen, although the Sabres aren’t giving him away even if what he becomes. The reality is — and what we’ve talked to him about a parting of the ways seems eventual. But the need for one more to fill — everything’s there. He can skate. He’s got some size. He’s put on out a top four with Hampus Lindholm, Josh Manson and Cam Fowler is some strength. I think he’s got a pretty good head on him. I still think for giving Brendan Guhle the opening he has long craved to have. especially players of that age, there’s always a belief from the organization in the player and sometimes that player just has to believe Guhle looked like someone that can handle important minutes in playing in himself a little bit more.” with Fowler on back-to-back nights against San Jose and Los Angeles. Granted, the competition wasn’t at the highest level as the Sharks and The trade that brought him to Anaheim and sent Brandon Montour to Kings iced lineups with a scant few of their best players. But the 21-year- Buffalo has been a blessing for Guhle. He has the chance to develop and old made an impact in both tests. flourish into an NHL regular after getting passed over in the Sabres’ pecking order on the organizational blue line. In the Ducks’ 4-1 win over San Jose on Tuesday, Guhle scored a goal and assisted on another in nearly 18 minutes of action. And while he “I feel like the management here has been great,” Guhle said. “They’ve didn’t get on the scoresheet on Wednesday in a 2-0 win over the Kings, basically told me after I got traded here to go and play your game. I’m the Edmonton native on a couple occasions hit teammates right in stride just trying to do that as best as I can and not put too much pressure on with forceful stretch passes that created opportunities. It was a glimpse of myself. That’s kind of what I’m going after. the puck-moving skills he has to go along with his tremendous skating. “They’ve got a lot of good defensemen (in Buffalo). I guess I was trying to Keeping up that level of play when things become real and teams put out do my best. Working my way up in Rochester. It didn’t materialize really their optimal lineups is paramount. Maybe general manager Bob Murray at all. I’m happy that I was given this opportunity to come here and show still reels in that power play QB, which Guhle is not. But Guhle took a that I can play. Get an opportunity to play. I’m enjoying it.” significant step toward easing the organization’s concerns about Fowler feels they have a chemistry between them. During a postgame solidifying its second pairing. television interview, the 10-year Ducks veteran didn’t mind putting in a “I’m trying to do my best to take that opportunity,” Guhle said. “It’s hopeful request to play with the kid throughout the season. something I’ve been working for all summer. Coming here now and trying “I’m trying to do my best to help him out as much as I can,” Fowler said. to do that.” “When I made the transition into the league, I had a lot of guys that Coach Dallas Eakins has already shown that he wants to put his helped me along the way. Paul Mara. Toni Lydman. Guys that had been defensemen more in attack mode when in the offensive end. It was around for a long time. Any sort of wisdom I can pass on to him, I’m common to see Guhle or Lindholm or even Jacob Larsson make charges looking to do that. to the net during this week’s three-fest, with a forward circling back to “He’s a kid that has all the tools. And he’s going to be a great player for a help defensively. long time.” “We want to be more aggressive,” Eakins said. “Want the D to be active. The likely third D pairing And then there’s more responsibility on our forwards.” The defense corps has been one of the leading areas of concern after And when it comes to having his forwards playing more downhill, Eakins the Ducks traded away Montour, Sami Vatanen, Shea Theodore and needs his defenders to move the puck quickly and accurately out of their Marcus Pettersson over the last couple of years. end. Guhle thinks that plays right into his skill set. It will be important to watch how Guhle develops this season. Also “I like to be quick in the transition and move it quick and get up there,” important is the need to find a stable third pairing, which never Guhle said. “Obviously, there’s certain times where you got to wait and materialized last season. Part of that was Pettersson was dealt for Daniel hold the puck. But for the most part, if we can move it up quick and we Sprong as Anaheim was in desperate need for someone that could put can get on the rush and get some offense, we’re going to try to do that.” the puck in the net. But it was also the array of options that was either disappointing or just wasn’t a permanent fix. Jacob Larsson and Michael Del Zotto could be that third pair. Del Zotto “I talked to Dallas before the game,” Comtois said. “We just talked about impressed the Ducks enough during his brief stint between Vancouver how I was feeling. Just the way I was playing. He was clear he wanted a and St. Louis last season that they brought him back as a free agent. little bit more.” And the 10-year veteran has been playing on the right side throughout camp. But Larsson could be the real key here. Getting the favorable position of being at the left of Ryan Getzlaf on a scoring line, Comtois didn’t put his first goal into the net Wednesday. But A sign that Eakins could settle on the Larsson-Del Zotto combo is Jani he was far more noticeable than Monday, with six shot attempts and Hakanpää being placed on waivers Thursday. The Ducks, who signed three that forced Quick into making stops. It was a much more positive the Finnish import to a one-year deal worth $850,000, certainly are bid for a roster spot. counting on the 27-year-old to clear and start out in the AHL with their San Diego Gulls. “Maybe the first game with Getzy, I was looking a little bit to pass him the puck and just looking at him instead of playing my game,” Comtois said. Hakanpää got the first preseason game in San Jose but struggled right “I think today I did a really good job of just playing my game. We actually from the opening puck drop. Joe Thornton took him apart and set up a got a lot of chances. With a guy like Getzy, every time you can work hard goal just 90 seconds in. But Hakanpää would find some footing later in and try to get pucks to his blade, he’s going to find you. That’s what I was the contest and then looked like a more confident player against the focusing on.” Kings on Tuesday at Staples Center. It was the kind of game Comtois needed to have. He wasn’t thinking “His first game there, he had a couple hiccups,” Eakins said. “I thought about where he needed to be in Eakins’ system. He was focused on they were honest ones. I thought he settled in as that first game went on. getting into places where Getzlaf could give him the puck and take some But again, he’s over here. He’s on a way smaller rink. He’s been playing swings. over in Europe for some time now. And he was probably nervous as hell. “I wished for the kid,” Eakins said. “He had a number of chances there “It’s amazing how those feelings, that you never forget them. For me, I tonight. Which is encouraging, right? If one could have gone in for him, think it’s always important to remember. I remember my first camp. I was that would have been great for him and it’s obviously great for our team. I crapping my pants. You want to believe in yourself, but that question thought he had a really good game. Obviously fortunate to be playing comes into mind, too. I thought he was real solid (Tuesday).” with Ryan, who can find him. I thought it was a good step in the right direction for him.” Hakanpää never broke through with St. Louis after the Blues drafted him in 2010. After 2½ years of mostly AHL duty, he returned home and Said Comtois: “They gave me an opportunity with one of the best players played in the Liiga for the last four seasons. He has wanted this second in this league. I tried to do my best and just have a good game. Force chance to play in the NHL. How much is he willing to stick it out in the them to make a harder decision.” AHL this time to fulfill that dream? Gibson, Miller ready to roll Right now, Korbinian Holzer — who has a long history with Eakins and has played well in camp — probably has the No. 7 extra defenseman Goalies John Gibson and Ryan Miller are already in midseason form. spot that he’s often held with the Ducks. The two are among the NHL’s best starter-backup duos, and they’ve done nothing to have that narrative suffer. Larsson moves ahead Gibson shut down the Sharks with 27 stops and just one goal given up to It has taken some time for Larsson to mature into the position where he Jonny Brodzinski following an Anaheim turnover. Miller, who likely got the could be a regular part of the Ducks’ blue line, but it’s also easy to forget last of his preseason work Wednesday, was sharp as a tack in turning he is only entering his age-22 season. away all 34 shots he faced against the Kings.

This week was an example of Larsson moving forward. He was one of For Miller, it was a redeeming game. He didn’t play poorly in L.A. on the few on Wednesday who was getting to see how he would do on Monday with just two goals allowed on 29 shots, but the scores by Jeff back-to-back nights. His response: Tying for the team lead with four Carter and Dustin Brown were on shots that got through his pads. He shots on goal, including one highly effective one early in the first that downplayed Wednesday’s outing, saying that some plays in the game created a rebound for Adam Henrique to fire a follow-up shot past Kings went his way but called it “a good step forward.” goalie Jonathan Quick. It followed a strong showing over nearly 21 minutes against San Jose the night before. “I felt like I was a little more in the stance I want to have and I was more balanced in that stance,” Miller said. “Where in the first two games, I was Larsson appears to have moved further with the edge he had on Josh a little wide and kind of moved around too much. Not strong on the shots. Mahura, who got Wednesday off with Holzer after the two played But I was a little stronger on the shots today and I was in the right place.” together Monday and Tuesday. Mahura was nursing a sore thigh after the Sharks’ Dalton Prout delivered an illegal knee hit that got him a game The Athletic LOADED: 09.27.2019 misconduct.

The final preseason game is often a dress rehearsal for NHL teams. Most of the regular lineup that opens the season, if not all of it, usually dresses. But Eakins said he could use Saturday’s game as one where “we may have to look at still a couple more guys.”

“There’s a bunch of guys playing well there right now,” Eakins added. “Whoever makes this team, that is so important that there’s kind of battles everywhere for that extra minute of ice time. That extra shift. That extra penalty kill. That’s how you get better.

“That’s good to see that guys are really positioning themselves and hopefully making the decision hard. And in the end, I always go back to it. We don’t make the decisions. The players do. They do it with their play.”

‘A little bit more’ needed from Comtois

On Henrique’s goal in the preseason opener at San Jose, Max Comtois was the one that found him with a nice pass out of the corner to his linemate right inside the left circle.

Besides that, Comtois had not done much to make a convincing argument for winning one of the spots in a competitive battle on left wing. Even though he’s tending to talk about his young roster hopefuls as a group, Eakins wanted to see more from Comtois. And he told the 20- year-old so. 1154248 Arizona Coyotes

Arizona Coyotes break open scoring in preseason win over Vancouver Canucks

The Associated Press Published 10:37 p.m. MT Sept. 26, 2019

At Vancouver, British Columbia, Victor Soderstrom and Barrett Hayton scored in a 24-second midway through the second period to give Arizona the lead over Vancouver.

Lane Pederson and Carl Soderberg also scored for Arizona, and Adin Hill made 17 saves. Michael Ferland and Zack MacEwen scored for Vancouver, and Jacob Markstrom stopped 31 shots.

Arizona Republic LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154249 Arizona Coyotes not embarrassed by it. He doesn't hide behind anything. Like him or hate him, he is unafraid to be who he is. And he's just a great guy with a big heart. And I'm proud of him. This is a guy who played in the NHL, yes, What's up with those crazy suits? Five questions with Coyotes but he's made a bigger impact on the game of hockey after his playing broadcaster Tyson Nash days. Any player who can do that, I take my hat off to.

Arizona Republic LOADED: 09.27.2019

Richard Morin, Arizona Republic Published 12:15 p.m. MT Sept. 26, 2019

Coyotes insider Richard Morin caught up with player-turned-broadcaster Tyson Nash to ask him five questions about the 2019-20 season, and what's up with those crazy sport coats he wears on game nights?

Question: As you've watched the Coyotes grow over the last few years, what about that process has stood out to you?

Answer: Obviously, a lot of excitement for this season. Every team is very optimistic, but you have to be excited about some of these moves that (Coyotes President of Hockey Operations and General Manager) John Chayka has made to make this team more competitive. I think the thing that I've seen over the last little while is how these young players have evolved and how they've figured out the league and made big steps every year. I think that's going to be the biggest thing, even though it's unreal we got a guy like (Phil) Kessel. These young guys are the ones who have to take a big step this year. The only way this team makes the playoffs is if that second tier of youth takes a big step forward, and I think they will.

Q: When is the last time the Coyotes harbored a player of Kessel's caliber?

A: Keith Tkachuk. The last guy to put up those kind of points was Keith Tkachuk, and we all know how long ago that was. That is how impressive the move was to get a guy like Phil Kessel. Even more than that, when you have guys who are so impressionable, you need guys who can be leaders and have won before to get the job done. There aren't many guys like that better than Phil Kessel. His ability to stay healthy, how he takes care of his body to make sure he's at full capacity energy-wise. How he practices, how hard he works, it's all so important.

Q: Either as a player or broadcaster, what are some of your favorite NHL cities to visit and why?

A: There's so many. Chicago is one of the most incredible places to watch a game with the anthem and everything. "Madhouse on Madison," right? They've got that name for a reason. The environment is incredible. Montreal is up there as well. It feels like you're in Europe, almost. Just with the culture of the city, how people dress. Just all that stuff. And of course New York. Anyone who's been there knows why that makes the list. But for me Vancouver is still one of the most beautiful cities in the world. A lot of times, now that I don't play, we go up and ski and you're back in time for dinner at some of the best restaurants in the world. You're sitting on the ocean. Vancouver has it all.

Q: Tyson, you're well-known for your eccentric wardrobe on Coyotes broadcasts. How did that start, and have you seen young athletes dressing in a similar manner?

A: For me, I've always been an outside-the-box type of guy. I don't group together with other guys. People make fun of me, whatever. I love it. I'm my own person. I definitely have my own style, like it or hate it. I find it so interesting. Anybody can dress up in a black suit, white shirt and a black tie. I don't know. I just think it's fun to explore a little bit and test what works and what doesn't work. And I love the fact that some of these guys are showing their personalities because hockey players are so personable; they're some of the most approachable athletes in pro sports. I love the fact that everyone is buying in now with social media and really showing their personalities. And they should, because they have good ones.

Q: Speaking of outside-the-box type of guys, you've had the opportunity to work with Paul Bissonnette on a number of video projects with the Coyotes. What has that experience been like?

A: It's just fun. That's the best way to describe. There are a lot of things that, when you retire, you miss about the game. But none more than just the camaraderie and hanging around with guys. And 'Biz' is just a guy. He has zero ego. He just is who he is and I just love that. He's a flamboyant guy with a big personality and he isn't afraid to show it. He's 1154250 Arizona Coyotes

Antti Raanta day-to-day as Coyotes recall G Ivan Prosvetov

BY MATT LAYMAN SEPTEMBER 26, 2019 AT 10:24 AM

The Arizona Coyotes recalled goaltender Ivan Prosvetov on Thursday, and the Coyotes announced shortly thereafter that goalie Antti Raanta is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

The news comes following back-to-back seasons in which Raanta dealt with injury issues in his first two years with the Coyotes. The 2017-18 season was the first time in Raanta’s career that he was tasked with starting goaltender duties, and since then, he’s struggled to stay entirely healthy.

He returned to action this preseason and played in one of last Tuesday’s split-squad games against the Los Angeles Kings.

Prosvetov, a goaltending prospect in the Coyotes organization, was sent to AHL Tucson on Sunday in a series of roster cuts, but now finds him back with the NHL squad.

Coyotes goaltending coach Corey Schwab told 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station this month that Raanta has done all that the team has asked of him when it comes to physical preparation and maintenance.

“He’s come in, each year he’s in better shape than he was the year before, each year he’s put on muscle and he’s stronger, adjusted his training and his eating habits, everything about that,” Schwab said. “He’s done what we’ve asked.

“I think looking at last year, freak accident. How do you know? How do you know you’re going to end up in a certain position? And knees are tricky things. It’s not anything he could’ve done to prevent that. Time will tell as far as where he’s at.”

The Coyotes have two more preseason games before starting the regular season on Oct. 3 at the Anaheim Ducks.

Arizona Sports LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154251 Arizona Coyotes Sun Devils head coach Greg Powers had been looking for a way to promote Matheson, who had done an incredible job with now-Ottawa Senators prospect Joey Daccord. He loved the work Matheson did, but Forks up: How Eddie Lack and ASU hockey found a match made in wanted a way to fit him on the payroll — and wanted a way to ensure that heaven the Canadian-born coach didn’t have to worry about his visa status. So Matheson was moved up into a hockey operations role, taking on more responsibility but leaving his old position with the team open for a replacement. By Cat Silverman Sep 26, 2019 Powers didn’t have to spend long searching for the new Matheson,

though. Eddie Lack doesn’t mind the heat. “I was sitting in my office one day and Jon Laughner, our equipment If the biggest draw for moving to Arizona is the amazing winters, perhaps manager, came in with a big grin and laid out why he thought Eddie the biggest deterrent is the summers. It can get up to 48 degrees Celsius would be perfect for the job. I don’t know how long he’d been planning (a cool 120 degrees Fahrenheit, roughly) in the summer and stay well that, but I told him to go ahead and see what Eddie thought and I think above the 100-Fahrenheit threshold for entire week-long stretches. Eddie was in my office the next day ready to go,” said Powers.

Even people born and raised in the desert sometimes struggle with it. For While working with Matheson, Lack had gotten to know Laughner at those who arrive in Phoenix during the summer months, it’s often the ASU’s hockey home, Oceanside Arena. The two bonded over their shock of a lifetime the first time they get to experience the self-described Scottsdale residency and mutual love for golfing, so Lack had already Valley of the Sun’s hottest season. started attending ASU games for fun when Laughner decided it seemed like the perfect opportunity to keep his friend involved in the game while Lack, though, seems to approach the sweltering desert temps the same he was contemplating his future. way he approaches just about everything; with a smile, a laugh, and a witty comment. Laughner started to work on Eddie before he even brought the idea to Powers, nudging the Swedish netminder with suggestions that he’d be a “The heat?” he said, laughing. “It’s not so bad. It doesn’t really bother me great fit to come in and work with the team in some way. By the time he too much.” officially laid the cards out on the table, he had subtly orchestrated a seamless transition from the team’s previous coach to one that already That easygoing personality might be why he’s seemed so jovial through a had a relationship with the team — and had plenty of clout to boot. career road bump that would bring others to their knees. Once heralded as the amicable workhorse who helped get the Vancouver Canucks “I’ve had to take a step away from the game before, I know how it feels,” through the transition to the post-Luongo years, Lack stumbled when he Laughner said. “I thought it would be the perfect way to keep him was dealt first to the Carolina Hurricanes, then the , then involved while he got healthy; keep him around the game, around a the New Jersey Devils all in a span of under three years. team, driving towards a goal, contributing.”

His numbers took dip after dip, and he went from an undrafted goaltender Willie Lack, left, with son Eddie. (Courtesy Eddie Lack) who immediately wowed in NHL action upon his first call-up to a goaltender who couldn’t put up replacement-level numbers back in the The position is Lack’s first official coaching gig. He’s spent time helping AHL. He finally shut himself down in December of 2018 for hip surgery, out at summer camps back home in Sweden, a common practice as a and he’s been recovering ever since — but doing so while maintaining a way to say thank-you to the coaches and rinks that permit players to hilarious, lighthearted social media presence full of individualized practice over the summer — but until he took the ice with the team’s responses to enthusiastic fans and dozens of cheerful emojis. this year, he’d never been one of those goaltenders who had seriously spent much time passing on his knowledge to a younger It seemed like a perfect fit when Lack publicly announced his new generation. position as the volunteer goaltending coach for the Arizona State men’s NCAA hockey program this August. In a sport where personality isn’t In perhaps another unsurprising revelation, though, the long-time fan always viewed as a good thing, the Sun Devils have almost embraced favorite felt immediately at home in a coaching role. their role as the non-traditional interlopers who thrive on being different “It didn’t take much getting used to, no,” he said. and fun. Adding one of the sports most personable, positive names? “Obviously you learn the best ways to help each player with their game, It almost makes too much sense. and I’m still learning all of the ways to coach them. But so much of it is ASU goalie Evan DeBrouwer, left, with Eddie Lack. (Sun Devil Athletics) listening, helping the guys understand things and be confident about them, and that was really easy to get used to. I think it felt comfortable Lack’s arrival at ASU, where he’ll serve as the volunteer goaltending from day one, it was pretty easy to feel at home with it.” coach for the Division I program for the 2019-20 NCAA season, was a combination of good fortune and good people-reading skills by one of the Of course, his carefree embrace of a teaching role doesn’t exactly come team’s already-existing staffers. that easily for everyone. It shows just how perfectly suited his personality is for the role right now, both on and off the ice. Lack had moved to Arizona during the 2018 offseason, building a home in Scottsdale with his wife, Joanna, so they could have a place to settle “Obviously, he brings an incredible level of experience that he can help down close to friends once he retired. our players with,” Powers said.

“We both had friends here, some hockey, some not,” he explained. “My “He’s played in the NHL, and done well; how many guys who are wife is American, and this seemed like a good place.” coaching at this level can say that? But he’s also an incredibly good person, and he’s good to have around the team as they learn to become There’s plenty in the desert to get your mind off of a tough career break stronger individuals, better people. You can sometimes just immediately too, of course. Lack brought his father out to Arizona for a road trip this tell when someone has the right kind of personality to fit a culture you’re past year; they got to see the Grand Canyon together, drive through trying to build. Sedona, and take in the vastly unique landscape of the state he now calls home. “… I’ve tried to be very selective with the kind of culture that we bring into the locker room and that’s a huge part of what makes Eddie such a It made sense to do his rehabilitation in the Valley as well, though, where good fit.” he was able to continue working with ASU’s previous goaltending coach (now the school’s director of hockey operations), Andrew Matheson, after You can see it in the way he’s still treated by fans from just about every skating with him during his home-building in 2018. team he’s played for. He remains incredibly close with a mercurial, passionate fanbase in Vancouver, who aren’t loose with their affections In Division I college hockey, teams are given three paid coaching spots — but still love Lack even years after he was dealt away from their team. and permitted one volunteer coach. That fourth slot is usually reserved His rapport with media from even the Devils, for whom he ended up for the goaltending coach, who is then presented with the unique playing in only four NHL and 22 AHL games over two years, is still strong challenge of trying to shape champions in the crease without taking and positive. Even the Carolina fans, who had been desperate for home a paycheck. consistent goaltending when he arrived with the club, still banter with him on Twitter and cheer him on despite the less-than-perfect body of work he produced for their favorite club.

He’s still happy to talk about his obsession with tacos — a social media jig that he admitted took on a life of its own and has transcended even his own passion for the cuisine — and he’s just as likely to respond to an enthusiastic fan as he is a fellow NHLer when he fires up his Twitter browser.

It’s an infectiously positive way of living, and it rubs off on everyone around him — something from which college goaltenders, who face riveting highs and crushing lows during their grueling student-athlete workloads, can undoubtedly benefit.

“I don’t think I’ve ever met a happier person in my entire life,” Laughner said. “I have never seen him in a bad mood. It always makes me feel like I’m being too negative; it rubs off on you.”

Of course, he amended his overly broad evaluation of Lack’s cheer after some careful contemplation. But the only place that Eddie “The Stork” isn’t full of positive vibes and relentless cheer?

“The golf course,” Laughner said. “If you’ve done something wrong in your game, you can put money on him bringing it up later. I love playing golf with Eddie. … But I hate riding in the golf cart with him during a game.”

Sure enough, there’s a signed stick on the wall of the ASU equipment room.

“Thanks Jon for all of your help,” it reads. “Please work on your golf game … and we will be golden next summer! Love, Eddie Lack.”

Courtesy Eddie Lack

For the Sun Devils, there’s no real way of knowing just how long Lack will be around.

He could feel healthy enough to play again sooner rather than later, and there’s no telling where a spot could open up for a goaltender who put up 41 games in his first-ever NHL season just six years ago. He could find himself healthy — truly, fully healthy for the first time in more than half a decade — and want that last hurrah at the pro level before fully committing to a coaching career.

Selfishly, the team would love to see him stay long-term, of course. As Laughner and Powers both put it: what an asset. It is an incredibly fortunate circumstance for the team, having a goaltender with Lack’s personality and prestige land right in their backyard looking for a way to stay in touch with the game.

But regardless of how long he’s able to stick around, Powers insists that it’s a net positive for the group as they work toward being a college hockey powerhouse.

“So much of this is who you have surrounding you,” Powers said.

“Our goal is to get this program to the top, and some of that is obviously recruiting. But a lot of it is how you construct your team, how you build your character and your identity. And that bleeds into the staff, too, and the coaching.”

Partnering up with the goalie who smiles even through a year-long rehabilitation seems like a pretty good way to do that.

The Athletic LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154252 Boston Bruins Steen, 21, Shen, 20, and Keyser, 20, will make their AHL debuts after strong showings in Brighton. Both Steen, from Sweden, and Shen (Russia) displayed pluck and awareness while seeing narrower North Bruins waive three players, send nine to Providence American rinks for the first time. They’ll join 19-year-old winger Jakub Lauko, assigned to Providence on Wednesday after flashing speed and skill.

By Matt Porter Globe Staff,September 26, 2019, 3:59 p.m. Cassidy was also encouraged by the work of Keyser, who stopped 38 of 39 shots (.974 save percentage) in two exhibition games. He ranked

second only to Jaroslav Halak (.978) among Bruins netminders this GLOBE STAFF With one date left in their exhibition schedule, the Bruins preseason. “I didn’t know him very well,” Cassidy said, “so nice to see made their deepest round of roster cuts yet. that he looks like he’s ready for pro hockey.” Keyser will start his career battling for the Providence net. The club on Thursday trimmed the roster by 12 players, leaving a group of 32 (including the injured). Those still competing for the few open spots Shen, a 2018 seventh-rounder, needs to “get his motor going a little have Friday’s practice, Saturday’s game against the Blackhawks, and no more,” said Cassidy, but showed composure to make plays below the more than four more practices before the Oct. 3 season opener at Dallas. circles, awareness of the ice, and ability to use his body to protect the puck. On the bubble are wingers Anders Bjork, David Backes, Brett Ritchie, and Peter Cehlarik, who are competing for what appears to be two “I think he’ll just learn that in the smaller ice surface, you don’t have time bottom-six jobs. to sort of wind it up; things are happening quicker, but very responsible player for a young guy in the middle of the ice,” added Cassidy. “I think Bjork, impressive in his bid to be the No. 3 left wing, is in a better spot he does a lot of little details. Details for a young guy [are] rare.” than Cehlarik, who was hurt this week (undisclosed lower-body injury). Working in Cehlarik’s favor: He has to clear waivers if the Bruins were to Just in case send him down. Bjork does not. Given his run of shoulder injuries, Bjork Prospects Jack Studnicka and Trent Frederic remain in camp, though also may be best served proving himself in Providence, at least in the they are essentially insurance in case Patrice Bergeron (groin) and David short term. But Bjork was buzzing in Wednesday’s 2-0 win over the Krejci (undisclosed, lower body) cannot play in Saturday’s preseason Devils at TD Garden, riding with center Par Lindholm and Backes. The finale . . . Joakim Nordstrom (foot) is questionable for Saturday . . . The trio combined for one goal and multiple Grade-A looks. Bruins also waived wing Paul Carey, center Brendan Gaunce, and Coach , evaluating two similarly physical, bottom-six right defenseman Alex Petrovic, with the intention of sending all three down I- wingers in Backes and Ritchie, got the former’s best effort on 95 if they clear waivers. Petrovic, who entered camp on a tryout, signed a Wednesday. Backes was physical, hard-charging, and roofed a one-year, two-way contract with a $700,000 NHL cap hit before he was backhand goal on the move in the slot. cut.

Cassidy praised Backes for having “done a nice job here in camp so far,” Boston Globe LOADED: 09.27.2019 but would not commit to playing him in the preseason finale. Ritchie, who sat Wednesday, will get another look.

“It’s not over,” said Backes, 35 and entering his 14th NHL season. “Take [Wednesday night] for what it’s worth. Back to work tomorrow to continue to work my butt off. It’s not going to end for the rest of my career, as long as that lasts.”

Staring at the potential end of a 928-game career, Backes hired a power skating coach — Minneapolis-based Katie McDonough — for the first time since his days as a Blues prospect. He admitted he took his skating for granted, and knows his lack of mobility made him a healthy scratch at the end of the Stanley Cup Final.

Backes called his work with McDonough a “rude awakening” that left his neglected muscles stiff and sore. He feels as good as he has since 2016, after signing a five-year, $30 million deal.

“It’s no excuse for Years 2 or 3,” conceded Backes, who has scored 53 points and missed 37 games over the last two seasons. The former Blues captain produced at least 45 points seven seasons in a row with St. Louis, not including the 2012-13 lockout, and twice topped the 30- goal mark. No longer that player, he feels he is still the player from his 38-point, 74-game Bruins debut.

“I don’t know if it was dropping off or disengaged or whatever it was,” Backes said. “I feel like I’m back to that level . . . a little sand in the face at the end of last year certainly fed that.”

Not quite ready

It’s time up, pencils down for nine understudies sent Thursday to Providence.

Wingers Ryan Fitzgerald, Joona Koppanen, Zach Senyshyn, and Oskar Steen were reassigned, as were center Pavel Shen, defensemen Urho Vaakanainen and Jeremy Lauzon, and goalie Kyle Keyser. Forward Robert Lantosi is on an AHL contract and will report to the farm.

Vaakanainen, 20, is arguably Boston’s top blue line prospect, but he and the rugged Lauzon are blocked on the left side by Zdeno Chara, Torey Krug, and Matt Grzelcyk. They could play big minutes in Providence’s exhibition game on Saturday. Fellow left-side prospect Jakub Zboril remains in Boston camp as an eighth defenseman, though he is likely to spend most of the year in the AHL. 1154253 Boston Bruins

Bruins cut roster down further before season

By MARISA INGEMI

With one preseason game to go on Saturday, the Bruins cut their roster down to close to what the final version will be when they open the regular season in Dallas next week.

With the defense set, they signed Alex Petrovic to a one-year, two-way contract with an NHL cap hit of $700,000 with the intention of sending him to AHL Providence. Petrovic, who split last season between Florida and Edonton, was on a professional tryout agreement.

Petrovic was placed on waivers, along with forwards Paul Carey and Brendan Gaunce, to be sent to Providence.

The Bruins also sent Ryan Fitzgerald, Kyle Keyser, Joona Koppanen, Jeremy Lauzon, Zach Senyshyn, Pavel Shen, Oskar Steen and Urho Vaakanainen to Providence.

Notables who made this round of cuts include Trent Frederic, Jakub Zboril, Jack Studnicka, Peter Cehlarik and Anders Bjork.

Bjork is a hopeful to earn a role, competing with David Backes and Brett Ritchie. Par Lindholm, a center on a team with a glut of players down the middle, is also still with the group.

Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy said after Wednesday night’s game he believes the team will have a seventh defenseman and likely one other forward on the roster when they make their four-game road trip to start the season.

“(We have Steven) Kampfer, (Connor) Clifton with the top five guys, so seven D,” he said. “I don’t anticipate Kevan Miller will be ready to play; we know John Moore won’t be. So, it will probably be one D and – I don’t know; we’ll have to talk about that with (Bruins general manager Don Sweeney). Obviously, the cap matters there, and that’s kind of his responsibility or his area that he’ll determine whether we take one or two extra forwards, but it will definitely be one of each.”

Boston Herald LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154254 Boston Bruins but I feel like I’m back to that level. I needed to be in order earn my spot. A little bit of sand in the face at the end of last year may have fed that a little bit, and maybe rightfully so.”

David Backes puts in work to fight for Bruins job It’s a nice story, but no one is being naive here. Backes isn’t trying out for high school varsity. He’s involved in a big business with an unforgiving hard salary cap, and he’s on the books for a $6 million cap hit this year By STEVE CONROY and next year. That’s too much for a fourth line role in which he would most likely be used. If some team’s GM tells Don Sweeney that they’ll

take that contract off his hands, then the B’s GM certainly has to strongly David Backes is well past his prime as a first line center. That much was consider it if he price isn’t too high. Torey Krug and Charlie Coyle need to apparent when he first signed with the Bruins in the summer of 2016. get paid next summer, as will RFA Jake DeBrusk.

But the notion that his game has deteriorated to the point that he’s no But if an offer comes in with the caveat that Urho Vaakanainen or Jack longer useful to a good team like the B’s in any capacity? Well, that is still Studnicka or a first round pick must be included, then Sweeney has the a debatable idea. It’s Backes’ well-compensating job to fight back against time to say, “No thanks” for now. Krug, Coyle and DeBrusk don’t have to that perception. And in the B’s 2-0 preseason win over a young but be paid till next year. talented New Jersey lineup on Wednesday, Backes kicked the livin’ crap It is still not clear just how much ability to play in the NHL Backes has left out of that notion. in his tank. But he’s showing that he is still filled to the brim with Backes scored one of the two goals, had a game-high five shots on net professional pride, and that should be worth something. and planted his flag at the Jersey net all night. Boston Herald LOADED: 09.27.2019 Every young Bruin prospect who’ll be heading to Providence should keep Backes’ performance in the back of their mind for inspiration the next time they have a shot at making this team. Heck, newly acquired wing Brett Ritchie should take it as a challenge when he laces up his skates for the B’s preseason finale at the Garden.

Like any aging player, Backes doesn’t like being told he’s too old to play this game anymore, but he does catch a glance of himself in the mirror every now and then. That’s what happened this summer.

The end to last season was painful for every Bruin, but it would be especially cruel if it proves to be Backes’ career epitaph. Not only did he see the team he once captained raise the Stanley Cup on his home ice, Backes watched the final three games of the series as a healthy scratch.

As frustrated and angry as he surely was, however, Backes didn’t go home to mope. After meeting with the brass and coaching staff in exit meetings, he was well aware that he had to fight for a job come training camp.

So he rededicated himself. He didn’t take any vacations, he said. He spent extra time in the gym.

But it was a chance encounter with a new skating coach that Backes now calls “divine intervention” that he believes put him on back on the right path.

He was playing shinny with his old high school at an ice complex in his hometown of Blaine, Minnesota on one sheet of ice and he received a text from a friend of his that his sister-in-law’s sister is on the the sheet with a group of 12-year-old kids were on the other rink, asking if he could pop over and say hi. That sister-in-law’s sister was instructor Katie McDonough, a former figure skater who now specializes in instructing young hockey players.

He made an appearance for the kids, and as they were doing drills, he decided to join them.

“And I couldn’t do the drill,” said Backes. “It was maybe the most humbled I’d ever been in my life.”

Backes went home, did some self-examination,and called McDonough for help. He went on the ice with her three or four times a week and also supplemented with drills provided by the B’s training staff.

What McDonough saw is what she sees in a lot of hockey players, that he’s been playing this game for so long that he’d forgotten some of the basics.

“He needed to bend his knees more and let his edges do the work for him,” said McDonough, reached by phone on Thursday. “He was working much harder than he had to be.”

Backes was a little slow to warm up in camp but, judging by his play on Wednesday, the work he did with McDonough is ready to pay dividends. How long it can’t last is still a guess, but Backes felt like he was the player he was when he first arrived in Boston.

“I felt like I was back to moving around and making plays and creating and engaged in the game,” said Backes. “It’s no excuse to years two and three. I don’t know if I was dropping off or disengaged or whatever it was, 1154255 Boston Bruins

Bruins announce next round of camp cuts, getting close to final group

By Joe Haggerty September 26, 2019 4:44 PM

The Bruins have made a bulk of their training camp cuts with one final preseason game left on the schedule this weekend ahead of next week’s start to the NHL regular season.

Young players Ryan Fitzgerald, Kyle Keyser, Joona Koppanen, Jeremy Lauzon, Zach Senyshyn, Pavel Shen, Oskar Steen, Urho Vaakanainen and Robert Lantosi have all been cut from training camp and assigned to Providence. Paul Carey, Brendan Gaunce and Alex Petrovic have also been waived as of noontime on Thursday with the intent that all three players will report to P-Bruins camp as well. Petrovic was signed to a one-year, two-way deal for $700,000 after coming to Boston training camp on a professional tryout and will obviously start the year in Providence with the Bruins well-stocked on the back end.

The 27-year-old Petrovic has played in 263 NHL games for the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers over the course of his career, and had his best season in 2015-16 when he posted two goals and 17 points in 66 games.

Roster Projection 2.0: Who will make B's final cut?

The 6-foot-4, 216-pounder plays a rugged, physical style of defense and certainly will provide some depth insurance while he’s in the AHL. But the Bruins are currently running seven D-men deep on the NHL roster and still also have Kevan Miller and John Moore recuperating from injuries to start the season.

So a great many bad things would probably need to happen for Petrovic to get a sniff of the NHL level anytime soon.

The cuts leave the Bruins with bubble players Anders Bjork, Jack Studnicka, Trent Frederic, Peter Cehlarik and Jakub Zboril still competing for roster spots, and veterans David Backes and Steve Kampfer looking secure in protecting their spots on Boston’s roster. Bjork probably has the strongest chance of cracking the NHL roster to start the season given current injuries to David Krejci and Joakim Nordstrom, but their presence indicates just how strong each of those young players has performed at this fall’s B’s training camp.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154256 Boston Bruins DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS

Zdeno Chara Charlie McAvoy

Bruins Roster Projection 2.0: Players on the bubble make strong cases Torey Krug Brandon Carlo

Matt Grzelcyk Connor Clifton

By Joe Haggerty September 26, 2019 11:34 AM Scratch: Steven Kampfer

GOALTENDERS

With the start to the NHL regular season just a week away, the Bruins' 2- 0 preseason win over the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night was an important final showcase for some of the players on the bubble for the Jaroslav Halak NHL roster. Injured: John Moore, Kevan Miller, Joakim Nordstrom

Players like David Backes, Anders Bjork, Par Lindholm and Jeremy Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 09.27.2019 Lauzon knew that potential jobs were on the line, and they performed like it was time to leave everything out on the ice. Backes threw his body around, skated with better legs than he has in the recent past and scored an important insurance goal in the third period on a nifty backhanded shot from the slot. Bjork (an assist, a plus-1 rating, three takeaways and eight shot attempts) was fast and aggressive, buzzing around the net and creating offensive chances on an evening when the Bruins' best players had the night off.

Lauzon was big and physical, and dropped the gloves in the second period with Devils forward Nathan Bastian while showing that he could be playing for another NHL team that isn’t quite so stocked with quality blueliners like the Black and Gold. Lindholm killed penalties and looked solid centering Backes and Bjork as the night’s best line, and looks like he could be a very useful, versatile piece for the Bruins, particularly if David Krejci needs to miss any time at the start of the season.

For players needing to play well to make Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy’s roster deliberations a little more difficult, they did exactly that. Those final camp cuts, by the way, should be forthcoming on Thursday with the desire for the Bruins to get down to one practice group ahead of this weekend's preseason finale vs. Chicago on Saturday.

Three Bruins make list of Top 50 players

“It’s a good problem. We want good depth. I’m happy with the compete level [on Wednesday night]. We made a few mistakes in the second period, managing the puck, but that’s going to happen. Thought Freddy [Trent Frederic] played hard, and Kuhly [Karson Kuhlman] were better. [David] Backes, [Par] Lindholm had a good game,” said Cassidy. “[Anders] Bjork’s around the puck, that line was excellent. Those guys are all trying to, obviously, they know time’s running out. They were told time was running out, if we’re going to play more of our lineup Saturday. I’m glad they took a good step forward.

“We’ll get down to one group [now] for sure. If we don’t skate tomorrow, then Friday will be pretty much the guys that will play Saturday, maybe a few extras in case [Joakim] Nordstrom and [David] Krejci aren’t ready to go.”

It’s interesting to note that Nordstrom continues to be banged up while recovering from a broken foot suffered at the end of the Stanley Cup Final. That could open up one more space on the NHL roster for opening night if he’s not ready to go, and Bjork might just have done enough to earn a spot based on a strong overall performance in training camp.

Just as well, Backes might get the benefit of the doubt to start the season in the lineup while playing like a motivated, proud player who “got a little sand kicked in his face” last postseason when he was scratched during the Stanley Cup Final. That would leave Lindholm and Ritchie as the scratches to begin the season, and an impressive array of pieces for Cassidy and Co. to begin melding together once the season gets going for real in Dallas on Oct. 3.

With all of that in mind, here’s our Bruins Roster Projection 2.0:

FORWARD LINES

Brad Marchand Patrice Bergeron David Pastrnak

Jake DeBrusk David Krejci Karson Kuhlman

Danton Heinen Charlie Coyle David Backes

Anders Bjork Sean Kuraly Chris Wagner

Scratches: Par Lindholm, Brett Ritchie 1154257 Boston Bruins • Urho Vaakanainen: Does everything pretty well, even if he doesn’t look flashy while doing so … Has to pick up the pace and focus on his skating at all times … His day will come if and when Chara calls it quits.

Shinzawa: What we learned in training camp about the 12 players just Projected next wave of cuts: Peter Cehlarik, Trent Frederic, Cameron cut by Bruins Hughes, Maxime Lagace, Jack Studnicka, Jakub Zboril.

The Athletic LOADED: 09.27.2019 By Fluto Shinzawa Sep 26, 2019

The Bruins cut 12 players from their roster on Thursday, marking their largest batch of trims this preseason. They have 33 players remaining in camp, including injured players Anton Blidh (shoulder), Kevan Miller (knee) and John Moore (shoulder), who will all start the season on injured reserve.

The Bruins will practice in one group on Friday. They will conclude the preseason on Saturday against Chicago at TD Garden. They are expected to dress something close to their final roster, perhaps even Patrice Bergeron (groin), who has yet to play this preseason.

Notes on the 12 who were cut:

• Paul Carey: Needs to pass through waivers to be assigned to Providence … Played his game during camp, but was not going to beat out Brad Marchand, Jake DeBrusk or Danton Heinen … Bruce Cassidy, who coached Carey in Providence, likes the 31-year-old’s game. Assuming Carey clears waivers, he will be in the mix for a promotion when injuries strike up top … Should play on one of the two top lines in Providence.

• Brendan Gaunce: Needs to pass through waivers to be assigned to Providence … Didn’t do much during camp to pop offensively … The left- shot center has 117 games of NHL experience, all with Vancouver, so he could be a dependable call-up if he clears waivers.

• Ryan Fitzgerald: Third-year pro was so-so in camp. Plays with skill in the AHL, but didn’t do much to express his offense… Smart player who could fill a bottom-six NHL role in the future.

• Kyle Keyser: Had a very good camp ahead of his first full pro season. Quick, explosive goalie who covers the ice well … Will have to quiet down some of his game against pro shooters, who will be aiming high … Should be the No. 1 goalie in Providence.

• Joona Koppanen: Vanilla camp for the third-year pro… Should be a bottom-six forward in Providence … Difficult to project an NHL future for Koppanen based on his first two seasons.

• Robert Lantosi: Former Slovakian pro will report to Providence, although he does not have a deal … Lantosi, 24, was serviceable in all situations … Could work himself into a bottom-six NHL player.

• Jeremy Lauzon: Made his willingness known by taking on New Jersey’s Nathan Bastian in a spirited scrap on Wednesday … Not the best skater, but uses his stick well … Too hard to beat out Zdeno Chara, Torey Krug or Matt Grzelcyk on the left side … Will be up when injuries strike.

• Alex Petrovic: Signed to a one-year, $700,000 contract on Thursday … Needs to pass through waivers to be assigned to Providence … Looked fine as a stay-at-home defender. Could be claimed because of the scarcity of right-shot defensemen league-wide … Writing was on the wall after Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo came to agreement.

• Zach Senyshyn: Hard not to notice the right wing’s speed … With experience, the former first-round pick could harness his wheels to become a more effective two-way player … Needs more AHL reps to gain Cassidy’s trust away from the puck.

• Pavel Shen: Not the fastest nor quickest skater, but caught Cassidy’s eye because of his intelligence and awareness to be in the right spots … Will do well as a second- or third-line center in Providence as he acclimates to smaller ice … If he incorporates some offense into his game, could be a No. 3 NHL center in several years.

• Oskar Steen: Showed good wheels, an NHL shot, positional awareness and bite as he begins his North American career… Was originally projected to play right wing, but saw shifts at center too … Has the skating and smarts, if not the size, to play both positions … Will be seen in the NHL sooner rather than later. 1154258 Buffalo Sabres Sobotka] and [Zemgus Girgensons]. It gave us some stability where we needed it on the PK. You always like to have some players that are flexible in the way they can fill roles."

Evan Rodrigues proving he's a 'valuable NHL player' for Sabres Despite having locked up a roster spot, Rodrigues is expected to play Saturday in Pittsburgh. He was back at center during practice Thursday, skating alongside Scott Wilson and Kyle Okposo. Learning new systems By Lance Lysowski Published Thu, Sep 26, 2019|Updated Thu, Sep 26, on offense and defense has not slowed Rodrigues. Though he has yet to 2019 score a goal during the preseason, Rodrigues has performed like an experienced NHL player.

"Real good," Rodrigues said of his preseason. "I’m confident. I feel better Ralph Krueger tapped the blade of his stick repeatedly on the LECOM than I did last year. I’m obviously looking to get a hot start. I thought our Harborcenter ice Thursday morning, signaling for the Buffalo Sabres to line played really well (Wednesday) and we found some chemistry, increase the intensity of their stride for one final lap before drills began. especially in the third period. I thought we were really feeding off each Krueger's demands didn't stop there. With the regular season one week other." away, the Sabres' coach saw this as another chance to push his players Buffalo News LOADED: 09.27.2019 in training camp. He put them through an intense practice in preparation for their preseason finale Saturday in Pittsburgh, a game that isn't expected to include Jack Eichel, Jeff Skinner or .

Krueger will use the final days of training camp to evaluate players on the roster bubble, including defenseman John Gilmour and forward Curtis Lazar, and what specific roles each will fill at the start of the season.

Evan Rodrigues fits into the latter category. The 26-year-old forward has shown he can play center or right wing, and can contribute on the power play and penalty kill. He proved his value during a season in which he went from a healthy scratch to an invaluable piece of the roster puzzle.

"Trying to continue to gain confidence and a belief in myself," Rodrigues said following practice Thursday. "Continuing to give myself more and more confidence. I know I’m a valuable NHL Player. I have a strong belief in myself that I can go up against anybody in this league."

Rodrigues' offensive production from last season can be deceiving. He scored only nine goals among 29 points with a minus-7 rating in 74 games. However, among Sabres who appeared in at least 70 games, Rodrigues ranked fourth in 5-on-5 shot differential, trailing only Skinner, Reinhart and Jason Pominville.

Rodrigues also ranked fourth and seventh among Sabres forwards in ice time on the penalty kill and power play, respectively. He led the team with four shorthanded points and won the third-most faceoffs on the man- advantage. Those contributions earned Rodrigues a one-year, $2 million contract for 2019-2o, a significant raise from the $650,000 salary he was paid last season.

However, Rodrigues' long-term future with the Sabres seemed uncertain one year ago. He did not score a goal in the team's first 15 games and was a healthy scratch in six of 11 games from Oct. 27 through Nov. 19. Rodrigues' first goal of the season occurred against Philadelphia on Nov. 21, which helped the Sabres extend their win streak to seven.

Although Rodrigues scored only one goal in his next 23 games, he averaged more than two shots and 15:46 of ice time while consistently generating scoring chances during that span. He experienced a breakthrough by scoring six goals during an eight-game stretch from Jan. 14 through Feb. 7.

"Obviously it’s a little frustrating to not be in the lineup," Rodrigues said, reflecting on last season. "You work to not only get back in the lineup but stay in the lineup. You always think you should be in the lineup and I thought I did. From that point on, I made sure not to let my game dip and had a strong finish, a strong second half to the year."

Rodrigues' emergence comes at an opportune time for the Sabres. Krueger is short on experienced options at center. Dylan Cozens is returning to Lethbridge and Casey Mittelstadt has been slow to adjust to a new system. If Rodrigues starts at right wing, he can move to the middle to take an important faceoff, and he's able to handle the defensive responsibilities of a center if his linemate is caught in the offensive zone.

Rodrigues provided that sort of stability Wednesday night against Columbus by allowing Skinner and Marcus Johansson more freedom in the offensive zone. Rodrigues also was an important presence on that line since Johansson is being used at center, a position in which he hasn't played full-time since 2011-12 with the Washington Capitals.

"Evan definitely has that flexibility," Krueger said. "I see him on any of the forward positions, in any of the roles. When asked to do, like yesterday, the penalty killing, he embraces it and he does it wholeheartedly. We thought with Jimmy [Vesey] they were a very good followup on [Vladimir 1154259 Buffalo Sabres than anything, [I want to see] the strengths they can bring, the tools they bring. I’d like to see them in action in the game on Saturday, assuming they feel good after today and tomorrow."

Sabres assign top draft pick Dylan Cozens to Lethbridge Open practice

LECOM Harborcenter will host the Sabres' practice 11 a.m. Friday, which By Lance Lysowski Published Thu, Sep 26, 2019|Updated Thu, Sep 26, is open to the public, and the Rochester Americans' preseason game 2019 against the at 7 p.m. The Amerks open the regular season against the inside Blue Cross Arena on Fri., Oct. 4 at 7:05 p.m.

Dylan Cozens will have to wait to make his Buffalo News LOADED: 09.27.2019 debut with the Buffalo Sabres.

Cozens, an 18-year-old center drafted seventh overall in June, was assigned to Lethbridge of the on Thursday morning. He appeared in three preseason games for Buffalo, most recently a 5-3 victory over Toronto on Saturday in KeyBank Center.

Cozens did not record a point but performed well enough to remain with the team until the final days of training camp. Although the Sabres could have given Cozens a nine-game audition at the start of the regular season, his return to Lethbridge was expected after he did not make much of an impact in the second game of back-to-back contests on Saturday.

Sabres coach Ralph Krueger explained to the media that he and General Manager Jason Botterill were encouraged by Cozens' development but felt another season of junior hockey was necessary.

"Jason and I have obviously been very close on the discussions, and this decision today is about the development and the future of an outstanding young man and athlete," Krueger said following practice Thursday. "I mean, Dylan has been a joy to be around since the draft, when I met him for the first time. ... And here, we thought his first week was as it should be, a bit tentative, he was watching. But in the second he really grew up, became a part of what we were doing. We’re just very confident that this is the right move for Dylan and his future, and I’m excited about coaching him again in the near future. It’s maybe some pain for him at the moment, but there’s a pace and an intensity to a National Hockey League season that we just didn’t feel that he was quite ready for."

Cozens recorded one shot on goal in 8:32 of playing time and did not play on the Sabres' power play Saturday. However, he was impressive the previous night in Toronto, when he had three shots on goal with two takeaways. Cozens also had a strong debut in an overtime win over Pittsburgh at Penn State on Sept. 16.

Cozens faced long odds to make the Sabres after he suffered a thumb injury during the Sabres' prospect development camp in June, which limited him throughout the summer. Still, Cozens returned in time to impress Krueger and Botterill at the Prospects Challenge.

Lethbridge, which began its regular season last week, is expected to be among the best teams in the WHL. Cozens scored 34 goals among 84 points in 68 regular-season games for the Hurricanes in 2018-19, adding eight points in seven postseason games.

Cozens also is expected to represent Canada at the IIHF World Junior Championship, which will be held Dec. 26 through Jan. 5 in the Czech Republic. The Sabres have 18 forwards remaining in training camp with one preseason game to play.

"We’re going to be really close to him here right through the next year and working on his strength, working on his ability to keep the game up at the highest level," Krueger said of Cozens. "He saw it with the Toronto back-to-back games, where in the first game he was outstanding and then he could see how hard the grind is here. We believe he goes away from here a better player than he was when we drafted him, and we believe he’s going to come back and make a very hard push for being a part of this team next year."

Larsson, Sheary return

Forwards Conor Sheary (lower body) and Johan Larsson (upper body) returned to practice Thursday after missing time because of injury and are expected to play in the preseason finale Saturday in Pittsburgh. Krueger said he doesn't anticipate having to recall any players from Rochester for the game, though he acknowledged some of the Sabres' top players won't be in the lineup against the Penguins.

"I need to get to know both better," Krueger said of Sheary and Larsson. "Falling out for a week here, they’ve lost a touch in training camp. More 1154260 Calgary Flames “There are areas that we need to work on, for sure, and we’ll probably thin it out again here in the foreseeable future, and Saturday, we’ll dress close to what will be our regular-season lineup and then go from there. I Flames goalie Talbot sharp in San Jose think it’s been a good pre-season, it’s been real good for the evaluation process, and our guys have played enough that I think they’re going to be ready.”

Wes Gilbertson ICE CHIPS

Freshly-signed Matthew Tkachuk, now the highest-paid gent on Calgary’s player payroll, laced ’em up for Thursday’s morning skate at SAN JOSE — For Cam Talbot, this tuneup couldn’t have gone any the Saddledome. Like the rest of the key pieces, the 21-year-old left- better. winger didn’t travel to San Jose. “I felt good out there and I’m excited to The Calgary Flames backup netminder was perfect in two periods of build off that first practice,” said Tkachuk, who ended his contract action Thursday, stopping all 24 shots fired his direction in what turned stalemate Wednesday by inking a three-year deal worth US$7 million per out to be a 4-1 pre-season loss to the Sharks in San Jose. winter. “I was just myself, I didn’t change anything. I was just the same person I am on the ice — try to keep things light and try to have some The hosts opened the offensive floodgates once Talbot’s evening was fun, but also work hard and get the most out of your practices. it’s just over. good to be back.”

“It’ll probably be my last opportunity before the season starts,” Talbot told Calgary Sun: LOADED: 09.27.2019 reporters earlier in the day. “So I want to make sure I’m sharp.”

He certainly was, and against a Sharks squad that was heavy on star- power — from Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson on the blue-line to Logan Couture, Tomas Hertl, Evander Kane and Joe Thornton up front.

Among Talbot’s best work was a dandy denial on Danil Yurtaykin in the opening period and a sprawling save on Kane in the second.

“I felt pretty good,” Talbot said afterward. “I thought that I was tracking the puck well, controlling the puck when I had a chance to, fighting through screens when they were shooting for those tips and stuff like that they’re so good at. So I felt pretty good about my game.

“I think I saw a little bit of everything, and I think I got what I needed tonight. I feel good, feel confident, going into the season.”

The 32-year-old Talbot was relieved by Artyom Zagidulin for the final frame in San Jose, and the Russian rookie didn’t receive the warmest welcome. Kane put the first ink on the score-sheet, while Dylan Gambrell potted a pair on the same shift and Hertl also tallied for the hosts. All four were deflection goals.

Minor-league forward Justin Kirkland had the only strike for the visitors, burying his own rebound in the late stages.

The Flames recalled eight farmhands from the AHL’s Stockton Heat for the friendly against the Sharks, leaving the likes of Johnny Gaudreau, Mark Giordano and most of the other regulars at home. Thursday’s lineup included only a handful of guys likely to suit up for the crew from Calgary a week from now when they open their regular-season slate in Colorado.

Talbot will be in uniform that night, but probably as backup to David Rittich, who will start Saturday’s exhibition capper against the Edmonton Oilers at the Saddledome.

The summer free-agent signing is anxious to bounce back after his worst statical season in The Show — a woeful 11-17-3 record, a 3.40 goals- against average and .892 save percentage in 32 crease-calls last winter for the Oilers and Philadelphia Flyers.

Thursday’s shutout, even if it was a shortened stint, certainly feels like a positive sign.

“To get to play against pretty much a full NHL roster out there, there wasn’t really anyone that wasn’t really a regular on that team … These are the games that you want to play heading into the season, because they are going to prepare you the most,” Talbot said. “So getting into a game like that tonight and being able to make some big stops and gain some confidence was huge for me.”

It’s hard to say when Talbot will log his first regular-season appearance in the Flaming C.

Whenever that nod comes, he has earned the confidence of his new boss.

“I think everyone has to build their game and feel good going into the regular season. And Talbs should feel real good about his game,” praised Flames head coach Bill Peters, who also worked with Talbot in a golden outcome at the 2016 IIHF World Hockey Championship. “I think he’s been good. Ritter has been good. 1154261 Calgary Flames If the left-handed Kylington — or the still-unsigned MacDonald, for that matter — slots in as the sixth blue-liner, it makes most sense that they would partner with a righty. That would be Andersson, who was slated to Flames defenceman Rasmus Andersson driven to earn top-pairing duties skate with MacDonald in Thursday’s late date in San Jose.

Stone, though, is a right-hander. If he is in the lineup, he’d likely be buddied with Brodie and Andersson would be bumped to the top of the Wes Gilbertson order.

(The second pairing of and Travis Hamonic seems to be written in permanent ink.) SAN JOSE — A year ago, his goal was to simply to secure a spot at the top level. What Andersson doesn’t have to worry about is a return to Stockton, Calif. Now, he’s determined to earn a spot on the top pair. When the Flames finalized their opening-night roster last October, he That sums up the rapid ascent of Calgary Flames sophomore rearguard was among those dispatched to the farm club, although the higher-ups Rasmus Andersson, who was among the final training-camp cuts last fall assured him he wouldn’t be gone long. Sure enough, the calm-and-cool but is now short-listed as one of two potential sidekicks for Norris Trophy- defenceman was recalled just three days later and through 79 regular- winning captain Mark Giordano. season nods, through two goals and 17 assists, proved to himself — and “In my situation, I want to be a guy who can play higher up in the lineup, to everybody else — that he belongs in the bigs. so this is still an important camp for me,” said Andersson, who has a “When Hammer got back from his jaw injury and I still got to play, that grand total of 90 nights of NHL know-how on his resume, including 79 was one thing,” Andersson recalled. “And then when I got on the power loggings last winter. “It feels different with the guys, having played with play and I played a lot of six-on-five (with the goaltender pulled for an them for a full year now. Before, I’d just been up and down so it feels extra attacker) and then obviously when I got to play with Gio too, I knew different when you know everyone really well, you get along with I was doing something well. So it’s those small parts … everyone. We have a really good group. And obviously, you have more confidence, too. “I think I showed a lot of confidence and strength in believing in myself last year. That’s the path I want to keep on.” “But as I’ve said before, I try to go out there every day just to prove I can and I want to play higher in the lineup than the third slot. That’s what I’m ICE CHIPS really trying to prove at this camp, and also that I want to be on the power play when the season starts.” Flames third-string goalie Jon Gillies was put on waivers Thursday. Unless he is claimed Friday by another team, the 24-year-old will likely Training-camp wraps this weekend, but the Flames’ roster is already be reassigned to Stockton. essentially set, especially now that rising-star Matthew Tkachuk has scribbled his signature on a big-money bridge deal. Calgary Sun: LOADED: 09.27.2019

About all that remains undecided is whether any of the free-agent invitees — wingers Tobias Rieder, Zac Rinaldo and Devante Smith-Pelly and defenceman Andrew MacDonald — can translate their PTOs into contract offers and who will be demoted to AHL Stockton to squeeze under the salary-cap ceiling.

If you’re into so-called camp battles, the best remaining is the two-horse race to partner with Giordano.

Smooth-skating TJ Brodie is the incumbent, with several seasons of experience on a lefty-lefty tandem with No. 5.

Poised beyond his years, Andersson auditioned in that role toward the end of his rookie campaign, making a case that maybe he should be Giordano’s right-hand man on a full-time basis.

“That’s what I want,” said Andersson, one of the handful of Flames’ regulars who made the trip to California for Thursday’s pre-season tuneup against the San Jose Sharks. “Am I ready? Yeah, I think so. I did the work this summer, and now it’s about doing the work on the ice and show to the coaches and the management that I’m not satisfied with the third pairing.”

This is a case of be-careful-what-you-wish-for.

Every NHLer is questing for more minutes and more responsibility, but being co-worker to the captain in Calgary comes with the daunting task of facing the opposing stars on a nightly basis. That’s not always good for your confidence … or your plus-minus rating.

The Flames’ top twosome will be trying to silence Colorado Avalanche speed-demon Nathan MacKinnon in next Thursday’s lid-lifter in the Mile High City then matching up with Vancouver Canucks super-sophomore Elias Pettersson two nights later.

In any instalment of the NHL’s Battle of Alberta, they will see a steady diet of that McDavid dude.

“Obviously, there is a lot of competition in that spot,” Andersson agreed. “Playing against the best players every night, that’s the biggest challenge.”

What’s unique about the Flames’ situation is that depth defencemen Oliver Kylington and Michael Stone might ultimately be the biggest factors in deciding who joins Giordano in that workhorse gig. 1154262 Calgary Flames

Flames promote Chris Snow to assistant general manager

Wes Gilbertson

Chris Snow has a hand in contract negotiations on behalf of the Calgary Flames.

On Thursday, he presumably received a raise of his own.

The Flames announced that the 38-year-old Snow has been named an assistant general manager, a promotion after serving as director of hockey analysis at the Saddledome for the past eight seasons.

“I don’t necessarily think that tomorrow is going to look a lot different than yesterday, in terms of his responsibilities, but a lot of this is just reflective of the voice that he has here and the work that he does for us. I wanted to recognize that,” said Flames general manager Brad Treliving. “I think a big strength of our management group is the collaborative effort. Everybody has their own individual skill-set, and it’s a very diverse group. We lean on each other. We collaborate.

“Chris is highly, highly intelligent. Obviously, he comes with sort of an analytical approach, but he’s able to speak it in terms and he’s very relatable to not just talking about numbers behind the date but being able to really articulate that to how it impacts the team. He makes it very easy to understand to our scouts, to our hockey department, to all of us.

“He’s a very important part of our staff.”

Snow was formerly a journalist — including a stint as a Red Sox beat reporter for the Boston Globe — before moving into management as director of hockey operations for the Minnesota Wild, another team he once covered.

He arrived in Calgary in 2011, helping to build a hockey research and development department that, according to Thursday’s press release, “supports several aspects of the Flames’ hockey operation, including player identification, player performance and game strategy.”

Snow is also heavily involved in contract research and negotiations, including a role in hammering out the three-year, US$21-million bridge deal that ended Matthew Tkachuk’s contract stalemate with the club.

The Flames now have a hat-trick of assistant general managers in the staff directory. Snow joins Craig Conroy and Brad Pascall in that capacity.

Calgary Sun: LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154263 Calgary Flames “We want to have a short practice, but practice fast; roll four lines and make sure everyone gets to play and everyone plays the same way. We want everyone to contribute and be consistent.”

Cut from Panthers, Troy Brouwer hopes to continue NHL career Players such as Hunt and Toninato could find themselves, like Brouwer, elsewhere edged out in a numbers game despite solid camps.

Panthers right wing Troy Brouwer has played in 838 NHL games over 11 By George Richards Sep 26, 2019 seasons with Chicago, Washington, St. Louis, Calgary and the Panthers. (Kim Klement / USA Today)

For Brouwer, he plans to fly home to Calgary to see his family for the first CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. — Troy Brouwer says he came to Florida time since he left for another shot with the Panthers. Panthers training camp without any promises but with a good feeling he could make the team. Brouwer has played in 838 NHL games over 11 seasons with Chicago, Washington, St. Louis, Calgary and the Panthers and hopes he gets Although officially announced Wednesday morning, the Panthers told another crack at adding to those numbers soon. Brouwer on Tuesday that he would be released from his professional tryout. Teams will be finalizing their rosters this week with an eye on the players they want to keep. His fight for a spot on the Panthers roster may be over, but the 34-year- old forward says he is not done playing hockey. Brouwer knows a call may not be forthcoming but could after a few games are played and GMs start seeing their roster in real time. This, Brouwer says, is not the way he wants to go out. Brouwer said while he is hoping to land another NHL job, he would not “I thought I had a good opportunity to come in and make the team and rule out “revisiting things” if a team were to offer a two-way contract with they kind of told me that it came down to a numbers thing with all the an initial assignment to the AHL. forwards they have here,’’ said Brouwer, who spent last season with the Panthers. Brouwer’s family lives in Calgary and would have relocated back to South Florida had he made the Panthers. “I was excited to come down and try and be a part of this team because I really believe that they’re headed for good things this year. And it wasn’t He is not interested in uprooting them — or being away from them for an to be. That’s kind of the nature of the business. I took a chance and it extended period of time — for just anything. didn’t quite work out.” “I can say that I am not ready to be done with hockey,” said Brouwer, Brouwer, by all accounts, had a strong training camp but with the who won the Stanley Cup with Quenneville and the Blackhawks in 2010. Panthers just under the salary cap ceiling, there isn’t room to do much of “My wife and my family fully support me because they know I’m a hockey anything. player at heart. This is not something I’m ready to give up, especially The Panthers and Brouwer spoke of a possible return before free agency because I still think I’m good enough to play and have a meaningful role opened in July but will wait and see how everything plays out. Had the on a team. Panthers landed top free agent winger Artemi Panarin, Brouwer would “But (as far as a two-way deal goes), it would have to be a good situation probably be on the Florida roster now. for my family. I’m not terribly interested in signing in a place and being But Panarin went to the Rangers and general manager Dale Tallon used the guy who gets called up and then sent down all the time. To me, at some of that money to add to the Panthers’ forward depth by adding this point in my career, that’s not fair to my family and not really the way Brett Connolly and Noel Acciari. that I want to end my NHL career as well.

Good camps from rookie Owen Tippett as well as Dryden Hunt and “If there was an AHL deal, it would probably have to be the perfect Dominic Toninato did not help Brouwer’s cause either. situation. At the moment, I don’t know if Springfield to South Florida is that perfect situation.” The Panthers have been looking around at trade possibilities, which could have freed up both roster spots as well as cap space, but as of For now, Brouwer says he is going to stay in Calgary and continue Wednesday, it appears they haven’t found any desirable moves. skating and working out, preparing for another NHL season somewhere.

“Nothing budged and we’re right up against the cap,” Brouwer said. “I “Hopefully,” Brouwer said, “someone has my number and wants to give was the odd man out.” me a call.”

As of Wednesday, CapFriendly.com has Florida at just $781,000 under Still around the cap. In the Panthers’ 6-3 win over the Lightning on Tuesday night, Toninato By subtracting defenseman Ian McCoshen’s $700,000 salary (he was scored his first goal of the preseason and was back on the ice the waived Wednesday) and adding rookie Owen Tippett, Florida is about following day. $618,000 under the cap. The former captain of the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs, Toninato knows A trade or two could still be in the offing for the Panthers before the there aren’t many spots left on the opening roster, but every day he opening night roster has to be set next week. remains here means there is still a shot.

“We had too many young kids and too many guys (playing for) the same “I am just trying to keep all of my emotions in check and just play my position,’’ coach Joel Quenneville said after practice Wednesday. game, take it day by day and hope for the best outcome,” Toninato said. “Sometimes there is a business side to that. We’re in a pretty tight spot.” “I think I have given this my all. It is not fully in my hands, but I am hoping Brouwer was not the only player Florida released Wednesday. for the best.”

The team got their roster down to 25 by placing goalie Chris Driedger, • Jonathan Huberdeau, who scored his second goal of the preseason McCoshen and forward Anthony Greco on waivers. If they pass through Tuesday, did not participate in practice Wednesday for maintenance. and do not get claimed, they will be assigned to AHL Springfield. • Quenneville reiterated that goalie Sergei Bobrovsky is scheduled to play With the Panthers so close to the salary cap, if Florida does only keep 22 the entire game Thursday. Bobrovsky made 12 saves off 14 shots in players (one extra defenseman and forward), that means there are three playing about half the game Tuesday. cuts to go with two preseason games against the Lightning remaining. Florida Panthers roster breakdown — Sept. 25

“We are still trying some things as far as line combinations go, but with Forwards (15 in camp, 13 projected to be on opening night roster) — the (smaller) numbers, we can kind of control how we want to play,” Locks (10): Noel Acciari, Sasha Barkov, Henrik Borgstrom, Brett Quenneville said of Florida being close to having a finalized roster. Connolly, Evgenii Dadonov, Mike Hoffman, Jonathan Huberdeau, Colton Sceviour, Vincent Trocheck, Frank Vatrano. Still in the running: Jayce Hawryluk, Dryden Hunt, Denis Malgin, Owen Tippett, Dominic Toninato.

Defensemen (8/7) — Locks (6): Aaron Ekblad, Mike Matheson, Mark Pysyk, Anton Stralman, MacKenzie Weegar, Keith Yandle. Still in the running: Josh Brown, Riley Stillman.

Goalies (2): Sergei Bobrovsky, Sam Montembeault.

The Athletic LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154264 Calgary Flames bonuses), the next year it is $7 million (with $3.5 million in bonuses) and his third year is a $9 million in base salary.

The three-year term brings Tkachuk a season away from unrestricted Why the Matthew Tkachuk deal was a win for the player and for the team free agency. The $9 million salary in Year 3 means the team must offer – at least in the short term Tkachuk a one-year, $9-million deal as a qualifying offer by July 1, 2022 (failing to do so would make Tkachuk an unrestricted free agent). If the player chooses to sign that deal as opposed to a longer extension, his By Kent Wilson Sep 26, 2019 cap hit will jump to $9 million on a deal that will walk him into free agency.

Of course, this by no means guarantees that Tkachuk will opt for this Brad Treliving’s last major action item of the 2019 offseason was actually path down the road. It just gives him a failsafe option (not to mention his top priority when the summer began – sign Matthew Tkachuk. The more leverage in subsequent negotiations). Flames super-pest made the team out of junior and has rapidly become one of Calgary’s core, impact players. That’s the good news. What this means for the Flames now and in the long term

That bad news is that the NHL has experienced a seismic shift when it While it appears that Treliving was unable to free up cap space to comes to the second contracts of young stars, a change that Tkachuk facilitate a long-term contract for Tkachuk, it’s more likely he was simply was able to leverage after a 77-point breakout season last year. The unwilling to accept any of the returns the market was offering for his stage was set for an extended contract negotiation as a result, especially players. Giving away one of Frolik or Brodie would have been fairly easy, with the club’s rapidly growing expectations (as well as shrinking cap but it was likely the issue of getting something valuable in return that space). tripped things up. It’s reasonable to assume Treliving chose the bridge deal plus keeping the team intact as preferable to being forced into a low Tkachuk’s freshly signed three year, $7-million bridge deal was inked just value, desperation type trade. in time for the season to start, a cap number which means Brad Treliving won’t have to make major changes to the roster to fit the young star into While there are varying opinions on the effectiveness of Frolik and Brodie the fold. However, Tkachuk’s contract does have other implications for across Flames fans, the truth is that swapping them with replacement- the organization. level players or raw rookies would almost certainly make the team worse in the short term. Taking a step or two backward would be especially A tight fit galling given the club’s high aspirations. Tkachuk’s $7-million hit brings the Flames cap hit a hair below the ceiling As mentioned, this is an excellent deal for Tkachuk. For the Flames, it is of $81.5 million. If, for example, Dillon Dube is demoted to start the at best, expedient. It gets the player back into the fold before the action season, the club will boast a roster of about $81.4 million (that includes starts and it locks him in for the next three seasons – a period we’ll call Oliver Kylington and Michael Stone). This number will vary a little the “Gaudreau window” (Johnny is a pending UFA in 2022). Plus, the depending other potential minor tweaks (like signing a PTO and deal comes in at a reasonable cap hit. This medium-term flexibility was demoting a different player), but this illustrates just how tight things are. paid for in potential long-term risk, that being Tkachuk signing his QO Calgary will have Juuso Valimaki’s LTIR space available should they and then walking as a free agent a year later. This way, though, Treliving need to go over the cap, but there’s not much there either (slightly less has three years to figure out a way to convince the player to stay and a than $900,000). Here’s how that particular calculation will work for the bit smaller cap hit to work with when it comes to budgeting. Flames according to Cap Friendly: Cap management during the season is going to be tricky, although The training camp equation can be used on the last day of training camp Calgary will have the option to move a support player, (like a Mark in preparation for the first day of the season: Jankowski or Austin Czarnik, for example) for a nominal return and some cap relief down the road if needed. That said, they’ll want to be sure they ACSL (Accruable Cap Space Limit) = Team cap hit – LTIR player’s cap have internal resources that are both cheaper and not a big step hit backward in terms of performance from the player in question to make the deal. Example: The 2017-18 upper limit is $75 million, on the last day of the offseason a team has a projected cap hit of $78 million and places a The Athletic LOADED: 09.27.2019 player with an AAV of $3.5 million on LTIR:

Team cap hit = $78 million

Player’s cap hit = $3.5 million

ACSL = $78M – $3.5M = $74.5 million

To accrue cap space while the team continues to use LTIR, they would need to trade players to get below a projected cap hit value of $74.5 million.

While there’s some wiggle room, it’s not much. Furthermore, it is dependent on Valimaki staying on the sidelines all year, which means the team will likely be relegated to only making minor moves around the edges of the roster, absent a major asset going out via trade.

Of course, this also means that Treliving did not have to deal a major piece like Michael Frolik or TJ Brodie for pennies on the dollar. With the Flames being in “cap prison” this late in the offseason, it would have meant a move made out of desperation, with no real expectation of meaningful return. This way, the club can retain their “full” roster for now.

What this means for Tkachuk now and in the long term

A bridge deal became inevitable when Treliving wasn’t able (or willing) to clear enough cap space to afford a long-term contract extension for Tkachuk. While agreeing to three years lowered the ask enough to get the team just under the cap, it also delivered a big win to the player’s camp.

Tkachuk’s new deal is structured in a way to give him maximum optionality in the near future, potentially at the expense of the team. His income in the first year of the contract is $5 million (with $4 million in 1154265 Carolina Hurricanes

Canes reduce preseason training camp roster

BY CHIP ALEXANDER SEPTEMBER 26, 2019 12:32 PM

A week before the start of the regular season, the Carolina Hurricanes have trimmed their training camp roster to 29.

The Canes on Thursday announced they had assigned forwards Morgan Geekie, Janne Kuokkanen, Steven Lorentz, Eetu Luostarinen and Stelio Mattheos; defensemen Jake Bean and Kyle Wood, and goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic to the of the .

Defenseman Jesper Sellgren has been assigned to Lulea HF of the and forward Ryan Suzuki has been assigned to the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Suzuki was the Canes’ first-round pick this year in the NHL Draft. Forward Colin Markison will report to Charlotte’s training camp.

“It’s time,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said to the media Thursday. “We’ve been saying we’ve got to get closer to where our group looks like. Obviously we’ve got to get the chemistry kind of rolling with the whole group. It’s inevitable we got to this point and now we’ve got to refine it even more, but that was the first step.”

The Canes, who open the season Oct. 3 against the Montreal Canadiens, held one practice session Thursday at PNC Arena. Forward Ryan Dzingel, who suffered a lower-body injury Wednesday in the preseason road game against Nashville, did not practice. Defenseman Jake Gardiner also was off the ice.

Brind’Amour said Dzingel, injured on a faceoff, said he “felt better” Thursday but said his status could not be called “day to day” -- “I think it’s probably longer than that,” Brind’Amour said.

Brind’Amour said Gardiner “had something he didn’t want to risk making it worse” physically, without being more specific.

Among those still in camp are former first-round picks Julien Gauthier and Martin Necas, both competing for forward spots on the Canes’ opening-night roster. The Canes had three goalies at practice: Petr Mrazek, James Reimer and Anton Forsberg, who started against the Predators and played the full game in a 3-0 loss.

Nedeljkovic, the AHL goalie of the year in 2018-19, was the only one of the four with a two-way contract and is waivers exempt. Forsberg, who has NHL experience but played in the AHL last season, was awarded a one-year, one-way contract for 2019-20 after going through an arbitration hearing.

“You want to come in and say we’ve got competition and everybody’s got a crack, but there are other factors that play into it,” Brind’Amour said of sending Nedeljkovic down. “It’s just the business of the game. He really didn’t get a fair shake in my opinion, as far as that goes, but you only play six games and the numbers are what they are.”

Necas took a hard fall Thursday in practice, as did defenseman Brett Pesce, who was in the bottom of a pileup along the boards with Gauthier and Warren Foegele. Neither Necas nor Pesce were injured.

“Every time something like that happens you just take a deep breath,” Brind’Amour said. “We practice hard. I like it. There’s a give and take on that, right? You want to make sure you’re healthy but you’ve got to practice the way you’re going to play.”

The Canes have two preseason games remaining, both at PNC Arena -- Friday against the Predators (7:30 p.m.) and Sunday against the Washington Capitals (1:30 p.m.).

News Observer LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154266 Carolina Hurricanes He’s earned the right to take a breather, enjoy his family, do his crossword puzzles and coach his son. I think he would’ve just called it a career if he thought it was going to be more than just a breather.

Ten bold (and not so bold) predictions for the Hurricanes this season Boldness: 

4. The Storm Surge hiatus will resume unless Williams comes back for a playoff run, then there will be a Surge to end all Surges By Sara Civian Sep 26, 2019 Boldness: 3.5 angry Don Cherrys

5. There will be a goalie controversy between Petr Mrazek and Alex It’s the NHL preseason, y’all, and anything is possible. Nedeljkovic at some point

Your favorite prospect is absolutely going to make the team. The 2019- Curtis McElhinney’s departure could become one of those sneaky tough 20 Carolina Hurricanes will be the first team to go undefeated in the Ls the team couldn’t do much to prevent but still hurts. regular season then sweep the Stanley Cup playoffs. McElhinney was a waiver wire pickup and ended up starting a career- They will finally adopt a team puppy and it will be the cutest one in the high 35 regular-season games at 36 years old. His calm demeanor league. almost became a meme because we discussed it to death last season, All right, let’s not get carried away. but it was exactly what the Hurricanes needed following Scott Darling, who couldn’t string together two consecutive wins in a Hurricanes The best thing about this time of year is that feeling, though. Technically uniform. any of this could happen. Folks around here have learned not to rule out anything after the events of last season. That magic will never be The Hurricanes wouldn’t have even sniffed the second round without Petr replicated, but it set an expectation. Mrazek, but they wouldn’t have made the playoffs to begin with without McElhinney. You have to wonder if Mrazek can handle the full-time I’ve learned never to promise anyone a puppy after childhood starting role on a potential Cup contender, especially when the league is heartbreaks I’m still not fully recovered from, but the 10 predictions below trending toward 1A-1B. fall everywhere on the scale of 1-5 fire emojis, and one is already wrong. Craig Custance’s annual panel of GMs and coaches rating goalies just 1. The Hurricanes will make the playoffs again came out, and Mrazek ranked 26/31.

In a vacuum, the Hurricanes’ roster improved this offseason with major This is always a fascinating read that reminds you these decision-makers haul(a)s and minor tweaks. aren’t omniscient (You “just don’t love” John Gibson? Come on!), but the panel raises fair points about Mrazek. Problem is, so did virtually the rest of the Metro, and most of the Eastern Conference. That’s why a second consecutive playoff run (a feat the “You don’t know if he’s a backup,” one executive said. “You don’t know Canes have only accomplished once since relocation) isn’t a given. what he is. I’m not sure he’s a starter but he’s an above average backup.” The Penguins and Capitals are just two teams you can never count out of playoff contention until Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin retire — full You just don’t know, you know? stop. There’s absolutely no reason to rush Alex Nedeljkovic’s NHL career, The Devils added Jack Hughes (who is already using new age lingo), especially when Mrazek hasn’t given the Canes a reason to. P.K. Subban, Nikita Gusev and Wayne Simmonds. But I’ve liked just about everything I’ve seen out of the reigning AHL The Rangers’ rebuild will accelerate faster than planned with Artemi goalie of the year, and as Rod Brind’Amour put it, “he knows how to win.” Panarin, Kaapo Kakko, Jacob Trouba and Adam Fox in the mix (I’m also I wouldn’t be shocked if the Canes call him up for more than a handful of a big fan of head coach David Quinn). games in the dead of the season, and I wouldn’t rule out a forced controversy. It’s Carter Hart season in Philly (happy belated birthday, Gritty). The Flyers also picked up Kevin Hayes for a large-but-deliberate contract to I do think there’s power in not knowing what to make of Mrazek, and I show their core they want to win now. think he thrives in that mindset. Twenty-sixth on a list of 31 seems unfair.

The Islanders and Blue Jackets are the only teams that don’t outright It’s just that there’s someone enticing waiting for a chance if the make me sweat, and even then you never know. Hurricanes find out what, exactly, Mrazek is and they don’t like it — or if he unfortunately gets hurt. It’ll take the same exact attitude the Canes had last year, a prospect like Julien Gauthier and/or Martin Necas panning out, “league average Boldness:  goaltending” and offseason acquisitions generally going as planned. Warren Foegele (Stephen R. Sylvanie / USA Today) But led by Rod Brind’Amour, the talent assembled can do it. 6. Warren Foegele is the real deal Boldness: There’s been so much to discuss this training camp between the goalie 2. Andrei Svechnikov will score 30 goals* situation, the blue line roster battle and the new-look Top 6 that the depth situation hasn’t been a huge talking point. Now that the roster’s trimmed Does this look like a man who is messing around? to 29, the left wing could look like this:

Book it. Ryan Dzingel (potentially)

*Empty netters count Svechnikov (natural right-winger but has been playing the left)

Boldness:  Brock McGinn

3. If there is a playoff run, Justin Williams will return Jordan Martinook

The Canes have largely backed off Justin Williams and seem to be letting Warren Foegele him enjoy this stage of his life (save for a trip to the golf course with Tom Dundon a few days ago). There’s nothing new on that front for now, but I Max McCormick can’t imagine a playoff run without him. Brian Gibbons I was chatting with someone who has known him forever, and despite There’s a real chance someone who was a roster regular last season how decorated his career already is … could end up an odd man out. This might be a hot take, but I don’t think it “He’s still way too good.” will be Foegele. It was disappointing that his franchise-record four goals in his first five NHL games were followed by a two-month scoring drought, one so frustrating that he did a monkey-off-back goal celebration when it finally ended Dec. 16.

“You kind of question your abilities and things go in your head that shouldn’t,” he said at the time.

That’s unfortunate because although the Hurricanes were dying for a finishing touch just as his drought hit, his talent that arguably impresses me more was being ignored.

Foegele can draw penalties at an elite level.

He ended the season with 29 penalties drawn at even strength. That’s top 10 in the league, in company with No. 1 Nathan MacKinnon, No. 2 Johnny Gaudreau, No. 3 Jeff Skinner, No. 4 Elias Pettersson, No. 5 Connor McDavid, No. 6 Aleksander Barkov, to name a few, and he tied Mat Barzal.

That list is mostly star NHL centers who all get significantly more ice time than Foegele.

He turned on the scoring again in the postseason and it’s obvious he thrives in the big moments. But even if he doesn’t pan out as a Top 6 scorer, he has something special that won him an NHL job in the first place.

Boldness: 

7. A defenseman will get traded, but it won’t be Justin Faulk

The season hasn’t even started yet and I’m already wrong. Gotta stay humble.

Though I’ve been reporting for months since the draft that the Canes have been looking to trade Justin Faulk, it got to the point where it seemed it might never happen and he’d retire a Hurricane. I felt for him throughout the process and he was a really good sport. I hope they serve queso in St. Louis.

Boldness:

8. The lines will look unrecognizable from opening night to the end of the season

Between all the “new guys” and all the young players still figuring out their ceilings, basically the entire Top 6 could be jumbled around every single game. Brind’Amour has been reluctant (dare we say stubborn) at times to move certain players around, but he seemed more comfortable with it as his inaugural season progressed. I’d expect more jumbling this season, and not just the classic last five minutes of a clear loss Blend-O- Rama.

Boldness:

9. Jordan Staal will be named captain

Faulk’s departure cemented this opinion of mine. Jordan Staal, who was once co-captains with Faulk under Bill Peters, is now the most tenured Hurricane. Players look to him on the ice as an example of consistency and off the ice for verbal guidance. Young captains are trending in the NHL these days, but I personally think it would be better for Sebastian Aho and Jaccob Slavin to focus on the career seasons they pretty much need to have for the Hurricanes to return to the playoffs.

Staal can take the heat, and he’s one of those guys every single person you talk to in the league respects.

Boldness:

10. Celebrity shot

Why not ask the Hurricanes themselves which teammate is going to have a big year?

Sebastian Aho, without hesitation: “Svech.”

Lucas Wallmark: *slowly raises finger and points at Aho*

Dougie Hamilton: “You’re really springing this on me. Svech.”

The Athletic LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154267 Chicago Blackhawks The instinct is to not care about a preseason game no matter the outcome. Too many variables are different from what would happen during a regular-season game.

Just a preseason game? Jonathan Toews expects better after But the Hawks haven’t been good enough in recent seasons to have the Blackhawks’ uninspiring 6-0 loss to the Capitals: ‘That’s got to be a wake luxury of wasting opportunities. up call’ "It's got to light a fire for us," Toews said. "Even if you don't have your jump, you don't have your legs, you don't have your speed which was obvious tonight. We got to find to find ways to be better and maintain By JIMMY GREENFIELD puck control, make some simple plays, keep it in their end, just simplify.

"We found ways to make things easy on them, we complicated things for us and then it just kind of went the wrong way for us. It doesn’t help when Something was off. you give up a shorthanded goal and then things just kind of snowball. The stage was set Wednesday at the United Center for what looked to be “We’ll flush that one, but at the same time that’s got to be a wake-up a competitive preseason game. With a few exceptions due to minor call.” injuries, the Blackhawks came out with essentially the same squad that will take the ice on Oct. 4 against the Flyers for the season opener in The season starts in just over a week. The Hawks better make sure they Prague. don’t hit the snooze button again.

The Capitals did them the favor of sending Alex Ovechkin, T.J. Oshie, Chicago Tribune LOADED: 09.27.2019 Nicklas Backstrom, Lars Eller and many others who will be on their opening day roster. It was as close as the Hawks will get to a real NHL game during the preseason.

Instead, they treated it like a Sunday scrimmage against the local high school team. The Hawks lost 6-0 and rarely showed the energy required during the regular season to have a chance at picking up two points.

There was no urgency, no chemistry on any of the lines and no evidence a team reinforced by several offseason acquisitions is improved over last season when they missed the playoffs for a second straight time.

"We were just a little sloppy in all aspects of the game."

Toews after Chicago's loss to the Caps on Wednesday. #CHIvsWSH pic.twitter.com/sqVXstwpX5

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) September 26, 2019

Now there’s concern they only have one more exhibition game in Berlin against a German league team to get things right. There is a preseason game against the Bruins on Saturday but the Hawks are sending all minor-league players.

Jonathan Toews didn’t press the panic button. He didn’t dismiss the lackluster effort, either.

"I don't know if it's a concern but we got our work cut out for us," Toews said. "It doesn't make it easier. We got a nine hour flight (on Thursday) so it is what it is. We're not going to sit here and make excuses, we know our schedule and we just gotta find ways to get our energy and get prepared for the next one. Definitely use that game in Berlin the right way and start building our confidence as a team here to make sure we're going to get started the right way against Philly."

Jeremy Colliton has been positive throughout the first training camp he has run since taking over as Hawks coach from Joel Quenneville last November. Practices have been spirited and there has been no lack of effort.

Wednesday's game was the antithesis of what Colliton has been instilling over the last two weeks.

"We didn’t have it," he said. "You could tell. We couldn’t sustain it. We have a shift here or there where we got going, found a way to get a forecheck, force a turnover, the power play took momentum from us as opposed to building with it. On another night, usually we’d have a good shift, draw a penalty, score on the power play and then everyone’s buzzing, feeling good about themselves, and it was the opposite tonight.

Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby guards the net during Wednesday's game against the Capitals at the United Center.

"So yeah, I’m not concerned that that’s going to lead into the season. I just think tonight guys had a tough time getting going and that’s not what we want and it’s not an excuse. That’s the reality of it."

The Hawks had four power plays to try break into the scoring column. The top unit of Toews, Patrick Kane, Alex DeBrincat, Dylan Strome and Erik Gustafsson barely created any chances let alone scored a goal. They did, however, manage to give up a shorthanded goal in the second period. 1154268 Chicago Blackhawks

Blackhawks depart for Europe with 27 players after Quenneville, Boqvist, Saarela cut

The Hawks will have to cut their roster to the NHL limit of 23 after returning from Berlin and Prague.

By Ben Pope Sep 26, 2019, 1:30pm CDT

The Blackhawks left Chicago on Thursday for a nine-hour flight to Berlin, where they’ll play one last exhibition game Sunday before heading to Prague for the regular-season opener next Friday.

Twenty-seven players boarded the flight, a higher number than anticipated because of the injury statuses of Kirby Dach, Calvin de Haan, Zack Smith, Robin Lehner and Connor Murphy.

That the Hawks brought Dach at all was a good sign, considering the third overall pick in the draft in June has been in the concussion protocol for two weeks and has yet to skate with the rest of the team.

‘‘[It’s] unlikely he’ll be ready to play in a game, but the next step is for him to get into practice,’’ general manager Stan Bowman said Wednesday. ‘‘He’s close. I think it makes sense to bring him with us, and then we’ll have a better feel for when he’s ready for a game.’’

Smith, Lehner and Murphy were hurt in the last few days, but none of the injuries is thought to be serious. They all were held out of the Hawks’ 6-0 exhibition loss Wednesday to the Capitals, a measuring-stick game captain Jonathan Toews described as a ‘‘wakeup call.’’

Despite bringing 27 players, the Hawks will have to be salary-cap- compliant by Tuesday before cutting their active roster to 25 before the regular-season opener next Friday against the Flyers, then to 23 before their home opener Oct. 10 against the Sharks.

That means the bubble players coming on the trip — Alex Nylander on the high-likelihood end of the spectrum, Dennis Gilbert on the low- likelihood end and Brendan Perlini, Anton Wedin, Slater Koekkoek and Carl Dahlstrom in between — still aren’t home free.

‘‘It’s probably easier to have guys there,’’ Bowman said. ‘‘We’re going to have to cut our roster down before the season begins, but [it’s] easier to go over with an extra body or two.’’

The Hawks did make two cuts after the game Wednesday, sending prospects Adam Boqvist and Aleksi Saarela to the American Hockey League, and are expected to make another cut Friday, having placed John Quenneville (currently out with a hip injury) on waivers Thursday.

Saarela requested a trade from the Hurricanes during the summer because he thought he had been stuck in the minor leagues too long. Boqvist going down before Gilbert was a surprise, though it was always likely he would begin his first pro season in the AHL.

‘‘He’s a great skater; he makes a lot of plays,’’ coach said Monday of Boqvist. ‘‘We just want to see continual improvement, and we want to see intention that he’s trying to do what we’re asking of him defensively. And I think we’ve seen that. So when he gets here . . . there’s no doubt in my mind he’s going to help us.’’

As the Hawks make their final and hardest cuts, they’ll need to be mindful of waivers. Of the aforementioned bubble players, only Wedin and Gilbert are waivers-exempt. Other teams will have the same conundrum.

That opens up the possibility of trades, a few of which inevitably will happen around the league. Bowman didn’t give a strong indication about whether the Hawks might participate.

‘‘Our focus isn’t trying to acquire players,’’ he said. ‘‘But sometimes at this time of year, other teams are looking around for areas that have been weaknesses. Nothing’s imminent, but that doesn’t mean something can’t happen quick.’’

Chicago Sun Times LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154269 Chicago Blackhawks But if Ottawa was the worst cultural fit, Chicago — with its seemingly ageless core of veteran stars — might be the best.

Just ask Toews what he thinks about rap. Zack Smith finds his niche with the Blackhawks through love of rock “Kids these days, all they listen to is Drake and whatever pops up at the music top of their Spotify,” the captain said, half-jokingly. “You’ve got to dig a The new Hawks forward, who thinks he’d be in music if he wasn’t good at little deeper than that.” hockey, has quickly bonded with Jonathan Toews and others over their Smith said he considered staying an extra week after Blackhawks shared interests. Convention for Lollapalooza, or hustling from the second day of training camp to Riot Fest — he was especially excited for that because Manchester Orchestra was performing — but decided attending music By Ben Pope Sep 26, 2019, 6:55am CDT festivals wouldn’t be too helpful in his preparation for the hockey season.

Still, he’s determined to find his way to some of Chicago’s many music halls on off-nights this fall, partially because that’s an altogether new Zack Smith arrived at Blackhawks training camp not sure what to expect. option for him. Most Ottawa concerts were in the arena where the For the first time in his NHL career — he spent 10 seasons with the Senators played, and came only during their road trips. Senators — he found himself on a new team, in a new city, and his only He even had a chance to make the Hawks’ workout room his own music past teammate on the roster (Robin Lehner) was also a new addition. venue, but the DJ duties were decided before he realized Toews (the And then, before one of his first practices at Fifth Third Arena, Jonathan typical DJ “by default,” Toews said) liked his taste. Toews noticed his pre-practice attire. “I was a little nervous to step up,” Smith said, laughing sheepishly. “So I “I was wearing a My Morning Jacket shirt and Toews was like, ‘Oh, you didn’t volunteer. I’ll just slowly work my way onto the playlist of the room.” like them? I’m a big fan too,’ ” Smith said. “And I’ve never had anyone in That opportunity could come sooner than he expected. With the Hawks’ the hockey world ever notice my My Morning Jacket shirt.” recent cuts condensing the Fifth Third locker room, Smith is Toews’ new Despite his battles to cement a spot in the Hawks’ highly competitive locker neighbor. It might not be too long before “Touch Me I’m Going to group of bottom-six forwards — and, as of Wednesday, to overcome a Scream” blares during the next team lifting session. new (but minor) injury — Smith quickly has found a niche in Chicago Or maybe it shouId be “Alive” instead. That’s what Currie recommends. because of his music tastes. “If you get ‘Smitty’ singing live Pearl Jam at karaoke,” he needled, “you “I haven’t had that much in common with someone in terms of music won’t see a better performance.” tastes in quite some time, so even just having a few discussions with guys is great,” he said. “Even [Brent] Seabrook and [Duncan] Keith listen Chicago Sun Times LOADED: 09.27.2019 to some of the stuff I do.”

A native of tiny Maple Creek, Saskatchewan, Smith grew up playing hockey and jamming to ’80s and ’90s rock with a tightly knit group of kids.

He eventually made it to the NHL. His friends, not as successful on the ice, decided to form a band. They’re now a hard-rock group called League of Wolves, and they just signed with a subsidiary label of Warner Music Canada and released their first major studio album.

If not for his exceptional skill on skates, Smith — a 6-2, 31-year-old winger-center hybrid who constantly sports a smile — can easily imagine an alternate reality if he joined their League, instead of the National Hockey one.

“I like to think that if I wasn’t playing hockey, maybe I’d be involved in the music side of things,” he said. “I see the guys a lot. I’m always quizzing them — I’m very interested in the music business — but at the same time, I do whatever I can to help them . . .

“The extent of which is pretty much sharing them on social media,” he added, laughing.

Lead singer Dillon Currie attributes much of the band’s early success to Smith: their hockey star friend got League of Wolves songs on the playlist of Ottawa’s Canadian Tire Centre, hosted the band on their tours to eastern Canada and brought Ottawa friends to their concerts.

“Pretty much he’ll do anything for you, so he’s really helped us a lot so far in our career,” Currie said. “He’s kind of a rare bird in that he likes rock- and-roll music. I don’t know how that sits with a lot of his teammates in the locker room, but it’s cool in this day and age.”

So the @TheSadies tonight in Swift Current at #longdaysnight. #PFC. pic.twitter.com/E9cdFgKhff

— Zack Smith (@Smit_Treat15) June 23, 2019

Currie was right on about the Senators players’ distaste, Smith said. Perhaps a franchise undergoing a drastic rebuilding and youth overhaul wasn’t the ideal place for him, even if it did allow his inner renaissance man to come out while he pursued another one of his passions, woodcrafting.

Another one of his passions, for the record, is drawing. During the 2012 lockout, he designed a League of Wolves’ shirt and logo. 1154270 Chicago Blackhawks

Blackhawks embarrassed in real preseason test against Capitals

In their one preseason matchup against a predominantly NHL roster, the Hawks were routed 6-0 by John Carlson and the Capitals on Wednesday.

By Ben Pope Sep 25, 2019, 10:55pm CDT

When the Blackhawks received word that the Capitals were sending many of their big guns — including Alex Ovechkin, Niklas Backstrom and John Carlson — into Wednesday’s preseason matchup, Jeremy Colliton was excited.

The coach didn’t look quite as thrilled at night’s end, as the Hawks received a 6-0 beating at the United Center, recording just two shots on goal in the third period.

“Yeah, not the performance we wanted to have, that’s for sure,” Colliton said. “We didn’t generate anything at all. It’s a sour taste, but you’re not just going to steadily improve every day.”

Teams usually don’t play their stars in road preseason games. The fact that the Caps sent the majority of their likely regular-season lineup gave the Hawks an early measuring-stick game, and their performance placed pretty low on the stick.

The power play looked pitifully inept en route to an 0-for-4 night. The only dangerous chance it created was Tom Wilson’s shorthanded goal for the Capitals,

Erik Gustafsson struggled mightily, leading to a demotion to the third pairing.

And the defense was unable to clear traffic away from Corey Crawford’s crease.

Most concerning of all, the Hawks didn’t look that much better in their prior game against the Bruins’ largely minor-league lineup.

“That’s got to be a wake up call,” Jonathan Toews said. “It’s good that happens now so we can wake up and get going, get our speed, get our legs going and start playing with a little more energy. ... We can carry that one with us for sure.”

The Hawks fly to Europe on Thursday, meaning they’ll field a team of AHL players in Saturday’s preseason game in Boston, and the final exhibition on Sunday is against a German opponent.

In other words, the Hawks’ preseason is essentially finished.

“Obviously, it’s a preseason game, you’re trying to work on your game out there and it’s not perfect,” Olli Maatta said. “But we’ve got to Watch video from it and learn from it what we can do better.”

Chicago Sun Times LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154271 Chicago Blackhawks Yet 90 minutes later, his bags still packed, Maatta was already in Ian Mack’s nondescript South Loop gym. Riley Sheahan had recommended Mack after Maatta was traded and Patrick Kane vouched for him, too. Maatta just wanted to say hi and get a feel for what he’d be working on Can slow and steady win the race? Brent Seabrook and Olli Maatta during the summer. believe so “I wasn’t feeling the best after a long trip, but I wanted to stop in,” Maatta said. “It was kind of funny. I was looking forward to a little run-through, you know, what are we going to do, what’s the mindset.” By Mark Lazerus Sep 26, 2019 Three-plus hours later, jet lag was the least of Maatta’s concerns.

“He went through a full workout,” Maatta said, laughing. “He definitely Inundated with information, with new systems and schemes and drills didn’t go easy on me.” and terminology and all the other little nuances that come with a first-time training-camp experience, the two players, thrown together as unlikely Maatta knows he’ll never be fast (though Colliton called the criticism of defensive partners, have leaned on each other for support — on and off his skating “a little bit overblown”). But he can be faster. More flexible. the ice. They take extra video sessions together. They map out scenarios More fluid. And far more importantly, he can be healthier. His body can before and after practices. They talk through their mistakes between take more punishment. He can better withstand the rigors of the NHL preseason shifts. season. That’s where Mack — the “body evangelist” who talks excitedly and seriously about keeping people healthy and active into their 100s Like a pair of college freshmen trying not to get overwhelmed and fall (yes, 100s) — comes in. behind, they’re putting in the work. Maatta, 25 has made it through a full season just twice in his career — Rookies? Hardly. Brent Seabrook and Olli Maatta have won five Stanley his rookie season of 2013-14, when he looked like a star in the making, Cups between them. and the 2017-18 season, when he was a steadying defensive presence “That’s the way I sort of came into camp this year, just trying to get as for the Penguins. His four other seasons have been cut short by much information as I can,” Seabrook said. “Even from this year to last everything from thyroid cancer to shoulder surgery to a concussion to a year, they’ve changed a few things, added a few wrinkles. And last year, broken hand. learning on the fly was tough. You’re calling me a rookie, but coming into If Mack can make him a little quicker (and Mack is certain he can), hey, camp like that, with that sort of mentality, has really helped me try to that’s great. But what Maatta really wants is to play every game. He’s grasp it and figure it out. And I feel like I’m getting more comfortable with about as old a 25-year-old as one will find, but he’s hoping the trade it, and getting better at it.” gives him new life. “It” is Jeremy Colliton’s man/zone hybrid defensive structure, one the “The big thing is trying to keep the body healthy,” Maatta said. “If you rookie coach tried — futilely, much of the time — to implement after miss time, you’re not able to get better. … I have nothing but good replacing Joel Quenneville midseason without the benefit of a training memories from my time in Pittsburgh, and I really enjoyed it there. But camp or even frequent practices. As a team, the Blackhawks struggled to when I look back on the trade, it was a good move for me to start a new adapt. As an individual, Seabrook seemed to have the toughest time. A page of my career. I think there’s a lot more to me. I like to believe I’ve decade of muscle memory was now a hindrance rather than a help, and got way more in the bank than I’ve showed so far.” he didn’t have the footspeed to make up for any lapses in his own end. The Blackhawks sure hope so. He and de Haan have been — perhaps That makes the pairing of Maatta and Seabrook a curious one. Maatta is unfairly — assigned the task of fixing a broken defense, one that gave up even slower than Seabrook. Both have savvy and smarts coming out 34.8 shots and 3.55 goals per game last season. Only Ottawa was worse their ears, but their feet can’t always keep up with their minds. Heck, in each category. upon the mere suggestion of such a pairing earlier this summer, some Blackhawks fans were apoplectic (just check the replies to this tweet). Maatta shrugged off that pressure and said what excites him is what he saw from the Blackhawks in the second half of the season, when they Yet here we are, just one preseason game left on the schedule, and the played to a nearly 100-point pace and briefly made a run at a playoff spot Maatta-Seabrook pairing has been the Blackhawks’ best. Through three despite their horrific first half. The way he sees it, they’ve already done exhibition games, including Wednesday night’s 6-0 loss to Washington, most of the legwork. He just needs to catch up and keep up. when the two were on the ice together, the Blackhawks out-attempted the Red Wings, Bruins and Capitals 36-22, out-chanced them 16-6 and “Two guys won’t fix it, it’s a team effort,” he said. “But (de Haan and I) didn’t allow a single high-danger scoring chance. Their expected goals- know what we’re here for, for defense and to bring something to the for percentage is a ridiculous 81.48, according to Natural Stat Trick. It’s a penalty kill. The exciting thing is we know as a team how good we can small sample size, of course, but there’s no denying how dominant that be. We already saw it at the end of last year.” pairing was in those first two games, and it still was above water in the loss to the Capitals. It’s why they figure to be together when the season Brent Seabrook will never be fast, but smart positioning can make up for opens in Prague against the Philadelphia Flyers on Oct. 4, regardless of a lack of speed. (Stan Szet / USA Today) whether Calvin de Haan is ready to play or not. Seabrook also spent his summer trying to get a little quicker, a little more So, so much for footspeed. Preparation, experience and a little savvy can explosive, a little more fluid on the ice. He worked with Blackhawks go a long way, too. strength coach Paul Goodman and feels strong through two weeks of training camp. But just like Maatta, he’ll never be a burner out there. He’ll “Everybody talks about footspeed a lot,” Maatta said. “It helps — skating never be able to make up for being out of position by turning on the jets. can definitely bail you out. But I think the game nowadays is a lot about The focus for him in this camp is to not be out of position in the first reading, a lot about just being in the right position to react the right way. place. It’s not necessarily straight-line skating. It’s that smoothness. You want to be able to close on a guy quick, and it’s not necessarily the stop-and- That comes with finally nailing Colliton’s system, which he thinks can be start, it’s more the smooth turns. If you look at (Erik Gustafsson), he’s very effective in the modern NHL, in which skaters are as unpredictable really good at that. That’s the game nowadays, and that’s what I’m as they are fast. working on.” “That was definitely something I worked on this summer, getting quicker And that work started long before training camp opened, on a small patch and trying to be faster out there,” Seabrook said. “But you can definitely of artificial turf in the South Loop. cut down on angles and things like that just by being in the right position and seeing things coming. You look at the forwards in the game today, It’s about a 9 1/2-hour flight from Helsinki to Chicago, and that doesn’t they’re fast, they’re quick, but they’re also creative. Maybe 10 years ago, include getting to Helsinki, the typical delays of commercial air travel and guys would get to a certain spot and chip it in, or they’d stop up or finding one’s way out of O’Hare and into the city. When Maatta touched whatever. Now, they’re taking it deeper, or they’re stopping higher in the down at O’Hare about 6 p.m. on a midsummer day, his legs and brain zone, or they’re cutting across the middle, right? So, I think positioning were mostly mush. can help you cut down on certain things like that.” Maatta is unlike just about any regular partner Seabrook has had. For most of his career, Seabrook was paired with Duncan Keith, one of the smoothest skaters in the league, a puck-moving genius who was the engine that drove the entire Blackhawks offense. Over the last few years, his other regular partner has been Erik Gustafsson, another gifted skater who is even more aggressive than Keith.

As a result, Seabrook frequently played the more defensive role, the safety net. That’s a role that only gets harder as the speed gap increases. Maatta, on the other hand, is an old-school defensive defenseman. Oh, he can move the puck — he had a respectable 29 points in each of his two healthy seasons — but his priority is in his own end.

Now it’s Seabrook who has a safety net.

“Yeah, I think it allows me to be a little more offensive,” he said. “Playing with Dunc and Gus over the years, you’re playing and you’re trying to support them and allow them to let their offensive instincts and their skill take over. You’re trying to be that sort of safety blanket and let them know that they’ve always got somebody back to help them if they get themselves into trouble. With Olli, it’s been a lot of give and take, and learning, and just sort of playing and trying to figure it out. Once we figure out the neutral zone, our gap, and the way we’re playing the neutral zone and the D-zone and stuff like that, I think you’ll see both my and his offensive skill set come out a little more.”

That’s what training camp has been about, learning not just Colliton’s system, but each other. With so many variables still in play — de Haan’s status, potential problems on other pairings, Adam Boqvist’s eventual recall — it could be a short-lived pairing. Those things are rarely set in stone, and Colliton has shown he’s just as quick to hit the line blender as Quenneville was. Seabrook chuckled when he said he’s spent entire camps with one partner, then never saw him again in the regular season.

But Seabrook and Maatta — and perhaps more importantly, Colliton — like what they’ve seen so far out of their pairing, footspeed be damned.

“Olli obviously comes with a great pedigree coming from Pittsburgh, winning Cups and knowing how to play,” Seabrook said. “We’ve been trying to get used to each other. We’ve each played different systems throughout our careers, and now we’re trying to learn Jeremy’s system. It’s good for both of us to go through it. We’re both making mistakes, and we’ve had a lot of time in practice to make those mistakes and get beat or get burned or whatever, and then try to learn from that and be better in games. We’re communicating a lot and we’re working together. It’s been good so far, and it’s only going to get better from here.”

The Athletic LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154272 Colorado Avalanche

Avalanche sends first-round draft pick Bo Byram back to his junior team

By MIKE CHAMBERS | PUBLISHED: September 26, 2019 at 4:48 pm | UPDATED: September 26, 2019 at 7:53 PM

The Avalanche trimmed its roster to 29 players Thursday by reassigning five players to the Colorado Eagles of the American Hockey League and likely parting ways with 2019 first-round draft pick Bo Byram for the season.

Byram, 18, was returned to his junior team, the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League, which plays under the Canadian Hockey League umbrella. He will not be able to play in the NHL before the Giants’ season ends unless he qualifies for several seldom-used rules agreed upon by the NHL/CHL, according to CapFriendly.com.

Byram, the No. 4 pick in the June draft, signed his three-year entry-level contract July 19. That contract will “slide” to begin next season, or whenever he plays nine NHL regular-season games or reaches age 20 and is eligible to play in the AHL.

Byram, who is from Cranbrook, British Columbia, is expected to be a top- pair defenseman for Canada’s World Junior Championship team around Christmas.

“You know the depth we have on the back end (and) Connor Timmins is another young guy that’s played real well here,” Bednar said of the Byram move after Thursday night’s “Fan Fest” at the Pepsi Center. “You got to make sure a young guy like that is playing a lot and playing in a bunch of situations so we just felt it was best for his development to go back. Vancouver is supposed to have a really good team that can contend. There’s the World Junior (Championship). I think it’s a big year for him to take a step as a top player on his team and keep moving his development forward.”

The Avs also got down to 10 defensemen by sending blue-liners Jacob MacDonald and Dan Renouf to the Eagles. Both players must clear waivers before reporting to the Eagles. The other AHL reassignments were forwards Sheldon Dries, Michael Joly, Martin Kaut and Logan O’Connor, and goalie Hunter Miska.

The Avs must get down 23 players in the days leading into their Oct. 3 regular-season opener against the visiting Calgary Flames.

Wilson returns. Veteran forward Colin Wilson completed his first full preseason practice with the Avs at Thursday’s fan fest. Wilson, 29, said he underwent shoulder surgery on May 15 after playing with the injury since last December. He had been skating on his own for the past two months.

“I’m hoping I get in that last preseason game (Saturday at Dallas) and look better for opening night,” Wilson said of the Oct. 3 opener against the visiting Calgary Flames. “I feel good. I feel like myself again.”

Makar wins shootout. Rookie defenseman Cale Makar won the fan fest shootout, defeating forward Tyson Jost in the final of the full-team event in which every player had the opportunity to make one attempt on goalie Philipp Grubauer or Pavel Francouz.

Makar, 20, went 3-for-4. He and Jost began 2-for-2 but Jost missed on his last two chances. In Sunday’s preseason game against Minnesota, Makar lost the puck while skating in on a shootout attempt.

“That’s kind of what we thought we’d see the other night (but) he had a mishap,” Bednar said of Makar. “I liked seeing what he did there today, him and Jost, actually, because we could use a couple guys besides our big three who normally shoot.”

Bednar has usually asked Nathan MacKinnon, Gabe Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen to make shootout attempts. Rantanen remains unsigned and presumably still training on his own in Europe.

Denver Post: LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154273 Colorado Avalanche Zykov. Then, Zykov deked his way onto the net past Sheldon Dries while Byram tried stick checking him with the hopes of breaking up the play only to have Zykov pass it back to Pirri for a tap in.

Where does everything stand with the Avs sending Bowen Byram back to The evening ended with Byram recording 24:50 in ice time (including the WHL? 5:18 on the power play and 1:18 on the penalty kill) while being on the ice for three goals. He recorded one shot on goal. It was the most ice time of any defenseman.

By Ryan S. Clark Sep 26, 2019 Byram played in the next game against the Dallas Stars in a 2-1 loss at the Pepsi Center. He was on the ice for both goals but had more of a role

in how the game-deciding tally unfolded. Knowing the plan itself was rather simple. The Colorado Avalanche He was behind the net looking to play a pass that would help the wanted to use the preseason to see how Bowen Byram would fare Avalanche exit their zone only to have his offer down the boards seized against older and stronger competition before taking any further steps. by Stars left winger Michael Mersch. Byram immediately skated to the And they did just that. Byram received two weeks of training camp front of the net to defend against a Stars skater who was in front of highlighted by a four-game audition in determining if the 18-year-old goaltender Philipp Grubauer. defenseman was ready to open the season on an Avalanche roster. It’s just that Mersch took control between the blue line and top edge of Thursday marked the proverbial next step with the Avalanche opting to the faceoff circle only to launch a shot on goal that went in the net after it send the fourth pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft back to the Vancouver appeared to go off Byram’s sweater. Giants of the Western Hockey League. Byram returns to the Giants for Byram’s final line for the night was 18:45 in ice time in addition to logging what will be his third full season. It comes after he used the 2018-19 a shot on goal plus two hits. Part of that time included 1:23 on the power campaign to score 26 goals and 71 points over 67 games in cementing play and another 2:46 on the penalty kill. his place as the top defensive prospect in the draft. “I’m just trying to improve every day and get better at what I’m doing,” Evaluating Byram has been more than a two-week process that played Byram said after the game. “I feel like I took a step in the right direction in out over training camp. The Avalanche monitored him for at least a year the first two periods here and then, in the third, I kinda fell asleep a before he was drafted only to intensify those efforts last season. It couple times. But I got to learn from it and continue to improve.” continued after they drafted him by charting how he performed at the team’s development camp and how that carried over into the Anaheim Byram said he wanted to keep an even-keel perspective whether he had Rookie Face-off Tournament just before training camp. good or bad shifts with the premise of getting better at making the right plays. He said there were a couple of conversations with the Avalanche’s The team’s top-four defensive situation was settled with Samuel Girard, coaching staff after the game against the Golden Knights. Erik Johnson, Cale Makar and Nikita Zadorov claiming those positions. “Obviously, I’ll have to play tighter on the defensive side of the puck, Gaining a stronger feel for Byram came as part of the team’s need to find which I thought I did well for most of the game,” Byram said. “Minus a two third-pairing defensemen. Why? Ian Cole underwent offseason dual couple times there which resulted in goals, which is too bad. But like I hip surgery that was initially expected to keep him out until December, said, I gotta keep moving forward and keep getting better.” although he could return sooner. And Patrik Nemeth’s departure in free agency. It created a need for the Avalanche to find two defensemen with Bednar said after the loss he thought Byram looked better against the one of those openings in a part-time capacity. Stars compared to his first performance against the Golden Knights.

Bowen was among a pool of candidates featuring Mark Barberio, Kevin “I thought he got better as the game went on the other night and tonight, Connauton, Ryan Graves, Anton Lindholm, Calle Rosen and Conor he looked better out of the gate,” Bednar said. “I thought he took a step Timmins. Lindholm was the first to be cut from the group and was sent to forward here tonight for me. Again, I think just a little more organized with resume his preseason with the Colorado Eagles of the AHL. some veteran players and there’s a little bit more communication. Guys that are in the right spots and in the spots where he expects them to be. It leaves Barberio, Connauton, Graves, Rosen and Timmins battling for So, there was noticeable improvement in a few areas for him. the roles as the season opener against the Calgary Flames on Oct. 3 at the Pepsi Center draws ever closer. “Obviously, he had the turnover at the end for the goal against but we’re a little bit disorganized. … I think that’s a little bit of a learning curve for Preseason camp was going as planned for Byram. Fourth-year him and for our guys to be able to dig in and finish off the game.” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said during media day he wanted to give the team’s newest star prospect “a handful of exhibition games” to see The Avalanche kept Byram out of the third preseason game against the how he would fare. Byram got his chance in the first game Sept. 17 Minnesota Wild at the Xcel Energy Center but he did play in a 3-2 against the Vegas Golden Knights at Pepsi Center. overtime win against the Wild the next day at the Pepsi Center. Byram received 15 minutes of ice time amongst a defensive unit that featured The game itself was a 5-0 loss and it was far from the ideal start Byram Girard, Makar and Rosen, among others. His special teams time also would have wanted. diminished as he received a combined 54 seconds between the penalty Vegas took a 1-0 lead when Valentin Zykov carried the puck through the kill and power play. neutral zone and into Avs territory. Byram was back on defense and tried Byram’s final preseason game with the Avalanche came Wednesday in a prying possession away with a poke check as Zykov was driving toward 4-1 win over the Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena. He logged 13:47 of the net. He was able to get his stick on the puck only to inadvertently ice time while receiving 47 seconds on the penalty kill. It was the least knock into the back of the net. amount of time of the seven defensemen who played, including Byram was on the ice again when the Golden Knights took a 3-0 lead Connauton, Rosen, Timmins and Zadorov. early in the third period. Tomas Nosek carried the puck into the zone And then Thursday came with the Avalanche sending Byram back to the when Byram began closing down to take away his space. Nosek was Giants while defensemen Jacob MacDonald and Daniel Renouf went to going toward the left corner when he fired a shot on net that rebounded the Eagles. off goaltender Adam Werner. Returning Byram to the Giants naturally raises the question concerning Golden Knights defenseman Nicolas Hague was trailing on the play and what is next for both him and the Avalanche. Byram will spend the year in had a clear route to the puck. Byram was caught in no man’s land when the WHL and cannot be called up to the Avalanche until his team’s he skated over with the hopes of using his stick to impede Hague from season has ended barring an emergency situation, per the NHL/CHL getting a clean look only to have Hague maneuver for a backhanded agreement. goal. Piecing together a consistently strong campaign with the Giants is only Late in the game, Vegas scored its final goal on a power play. part of the equation. Byram was one of Canada’s strongest performers at Byram and Barberio were defending an odd-man rush when Byram tried the World Junior Summer Showcase and is believed to be a near-lock to to poke the puck away from Brandon Pirri only to have him slip a pass to make the nation’s U-20 WJC roster for the tournament that runs from Dec. 26 through Jan. 5 in the Czech Republic.

But for now? The Avalanche’s priority is discovering who will make the team out of camp among Barberio, Connauton, Graves, Rosen and Timmins. As for Byram? The idea is an extra year of development should aid him next preseason with the objective of trying to make the NHL roster.

The Athletic LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154274 Colorado Avalanche Had he joined the Eagles, he could have jumped in right away at a level above the one he just had a record-setting year in. It’s obvious (to me, anyway) there’s a need for an adjustment in this agreement.

Bowen Byram’s demotion another example of a flawed system It’s not always in the player’s best development interest to return to a league he already has shown enough excellence to be a top draft pick. Sometimes a player is simply too good for a league.

BY AJ HAEFELE SEPTEMBER 26, 2019 Coming off a year in which he scored 26 goals and became the first defenseman to ever lead the WHL Playoffs in scoring, it’s obvious Byram

doesn’t need another year in the WHL. It was only a mild surprise when the Avalanche sent Bowen Byram back It’s also obvious after four preseason games that Byram isn’t ready for to the WHL for the season. After drafting him fourth overall, general the NHL. manager Joe Sakic said Byram would get every opportunity to stick. It doesn’t seem to make much sense Colorado is stuck with two flawed That Byram played in two of three games in Irvine in the Anaheim Rookie options while there’s a middle ground designed as a stepping stone Faceoff and then four of Colorado’s first five preseason games reinforces between the two for a player to develop in. It would seem the player is that head coach Jared Bednar gave him an extended look. being punished for being too good for his junior league too quickly but not After seeing him play, the organization came to the most logical being quite ready for the big leap. conclusion given his play: not yet. Now, there are plenty of success stories of players who were in similar “I liked what he did in training camp for us,” Bednar said. “He started out situations. Destroyer of RFA markets Mitch Marner is a recent example strong with the rookie camp and got better. He looked a little unsure of a player who went back to his junior club for one year and found when he first got here and joined the big group. He kind of got better and immediate success in the NHL the next year. This is the route Byram better as the exhibitions went on. I thought his workload was pretty heavy hopes to follow. in Las Vegas against a pretty good team in a tough environment and I It just seems senseless to even be in that position. The CHL has a thought that was his best game of camp. His last two were both strong.” process for allowing exceptional players in the league early; why not Byram certainly did seem to improve his play through the preseason but more or less repeat the process for a player to go to the AHL? Especially we saw even with the mitigation of the big mistakes he made early on, he in a case like Byram’s where the player isn’t eligible for two full seasons? still wasn’t quite comfortable being himself just yet. There seem to exemptions for everything these days but the NHL-CHL agreement. Another factor that played into Byram being sent down is where the organization is on their blue line. For the first time in many years, For the sake of players like Byram, the rare player caught in between, it Colorado is looking at a situation where they aren’t one injury away from would seem time to make a reasonable (and ultimately minor) adjustment complete disaster. Simply, Colorado doesn’t need Byram right now. They to an outdated agreement. have the luxury of patience. BSN DENVER LOADED: 09.27.2019 “I just think it was a decision we make as an organization,” Bednar continued. “You know the depth we have on the back end. Conor Timmins is another young guy that’s played real well here in exhibition. We’re seeing some guys step up and elevate their game. You’ve got to make sure a young guy like [Byram] is playing and playing a lot and playing in a bunch of different situations. We just felt as though it was best for his development to go back.”

And with that, Byram is back to the WHL to dominate for the Vancouver Giants. Is it, though, what’s best for his development?

Because Byram comes from the CHL system (the holy trinity of Canadian junior leagues: the WHL, OHL, and QMJHL), he is subject to the CHL- NHL agreement that says players aren’t allowed to play in the AHL until their age-20 season. Byram, fresh off the draft and a late birthday, is ineligible not just this year but next as well.

When the AHL was a dumping ground for bad NHL contracts and failed fourth-line fighters, it made sense to keep teenagers out of the AHL. Now, the league is experiencing a thorough transformation to a more skill-based development league.

More and more European draftees are going straight to the AHL immediately after being drafted. Granted, those guys have been playing pro for years in their native countries but the talent level in the AHL is often the right step up for those guys.

The results have varied on the Euros who have made the leap with some success stories (Rantanen, Mikko) and others with more questionable results (Nylander, Alex).

What’s frustrating is a player like Byram will certainly go back to the WHL and have another good season. He’ll represent Canada at the World Junior Championships and, from Colorado’s perspective, hopefully replicate the success Cale Makar and Timmins had together two years ago. That’s fine!

What is disappointing is Byram’s game really needs to round into form on the defensive end. When he’s out dominating the WHL for the second straight year, how much time will he really get back there?

Because he’s an all-situation monster for the Giants, he’ll see as much as the Giants can throw at him but it won’t be anything like it would have been had he been allowed to make the leap to the AHL. 1154275 Colorado Avalanche to wonder if this is something on the mind of a player who may be facing the same situation if a contract does not get worked soon.

“Not concerned, no,” Rantanen said. “Just go day by day. I know it’s EXCLUSIVE: Mikko Rantanen believes sides are “closing in” on contract going to come sooner or later. Just have to practice and be ready mentally and physically.”

Whenever it does happen, Rantanen is certainly impressed with the team BY AJ HAEFELE SEPTEMBER 26, 2019 he will be returning to.

“With that lineup, we have to think we’re one of the contenders,” Rantanen said. “We’re not the underdog anymore. We want to improve And just like that, there was hope. ourselves and play as best as we can and go deep in the playoffs. That’s As the Mikko Rantanen contract stalemate has continued, there have what we want to do, go even deeper than last year. We were one game been more moments of disappointment than optimism. away from the conference finals but we just want to go deeper this year.”

Until now. After Colorado’s run to Game 7 of the second round against the San Jose Sharks, general manager Joe Sakic got to work upgrading the Speaking to Swiss television station Teleticino reporter Nicola Martinetti roster in a myriad of ways, most notably the Nazem Kadri-Tyson Barrie on behalf of DNVR, Rantanen opened up on topics ranging from his time swap. in Switzerland to the Avalanche and, yes, his contract situation. “It was fun to watch,” Rantanen said of his GM going to work. “Every “I feel good,” Rantanen said. “Obviously, I’m waiting for a contract here offseason you hope your team gets a little stronger and I think that’s and it’s hard. You wish you were playing in some games but you have to exactly what we did. We got some good players in the Toronto-Avs trade. practice hard to be ready when you have to play. It’s been good to You have to give up some good players to get good players back so practice here with the team. It’s a really good team in Europe, one of the that’s exactly what happened. Some other key additions so I think it’s best. The guys have been really good to me.” going to be good for us for many years.”

Rantanen has spent the last few weeks practicing with SC Bern of the Sakic’s strong summer is missing one final, obvious piece. Let’s hope it’s NLA, Switzerland’s top men’s hockey league. He is joined by Patrik about that time. Laine, a fellow Finn going through his own contract standoff with the Winnipeg Jets. BSN DENVER LOADED: 09.27.2019

“I knew the two coaches before I came here so that was easier to come here,” Rantanen said. “Obviously, [Laine] was here before me so he kind of knew what to do and where to go so it was easier to come. It’s been good. The city has been nice. It’s my first time in Switzerland so I’m impressed.”

While Rantanen clearly has enjoyed his time in Switzerland, it will be a short-lived trip for him as he is set to practice with the team one final time tomorrow before returning to Finland.

The plan from there remains unclear but one would think he’s preparing to say goodbye to Finland for a while as he has other things to get to.

Like a playoff run.

In Colorado.

Where he’s kept in touch with teammates throughout the summer.

“There’s been some talk with certain teammates,” Rantanen said. “Not too much about the situation, just asking how they’re feeling and how they’re doing. I was asking about them, just normal chatting.”

Those teammates are in the final stages of their preparation for the regular season. The Avalanche have completed five of their six preseason games and will be done Saturday evening in Dallas, giving them another four days off before opening night. Whatever possibilities of Rantanen signing and getting into a preseason game seem to be dead but that’s not stopping him from trying to be ready to jump into the lineup when he does return.

“You wish you were getting some preseason games under your belt before the season,” Rantanen said. “It is what it is. Can’t complain right now, just have to get ready best as you can and not think about it too much.”

While he’s not thinking about the lack of a contract too much, he still shed a little light on where things may be headed.

“It’s closer than it was in August,” Rantanen said of contract talks. “That’s automatic because the season is a week away. We’ll see what happens. I cannot say that much more but I think it’s closing in.”

Does he prefer a bridge deal or a long-term contract?

“I don’t want to comment on that,” Rantanen replied. “I just want to play and it doesn’t matter really what it is. I just want to get it done and we’ll see what happens.”

While he opened the door for a potential resolution, we saw this situation play out in Toronto last year when William Nylander waited until just minutes before the December 1 deadline to sign. He never recovered from the missed time off and had the worst season of his career. It’s fair 1154276 Columbus Blue Jackets

Michael Arace | Columbus Blue Jackets' season may rest on unproven goaltending duo

Michael Arace The Columbus Dispatch

John Davidson, the old goalie who was the Blue Jackets’ president of hockey operations, used to say, “When you have a goalie, you have a chance.” Or something like that. He was referencing Sergei Bobrovsky, the two-time Vezina Trophy winner.

JD has gone “home” to the Rangers’ front office in New York, and Bob has taken his talents to Mar-a-Lago. Back in Columbus, general manager Jarmo Kekalainen is counting on Joonas Korpisalo, heretofore a backup, and Elvis Merzlikins, who is said to have a very interesting personality, to keep the puck out of the Jackets’ net.

Do they have a goalie? They had better. Goaltending is often compared to quarterbacking in terms of how critical the position is to the success of a team. And since the Jackets are now without game-breaking forward Artemi Panarin, who took his talents to Madison Square Garden — which, by the way, hasn’t been on Madison Square since 1925, but I digress — well, it would seem that the local NHL affiliate is going to need some fine goaltending to have a chance of making the playoffs.

Isn’t it always thus?

Both goalies will be leaned upon. As goaltending coach Manny Legace said Thursday, the days of Martin Brodeur logging 70-plus starts are long gone. We’re going to be hearing Dire Straits’ “Calling Elvis” regularly at Nationwide Arena.

“You can’t score two goals and then lock things down anymore,” Legace said. “The rules changes in ’05 — and the way they cracked down (on obstruction) coming out of the last lockout (2013) — a four-goal lead isn’t safe anymore. If you relax, the other team can score four goals in a hurry. The game is so much faster now. The shooters are so good.”

In 2002, Marc Denis pulled more than 4,000 minutes over 77 games for the Jackets. Try that now and your goalie is mentally fried before springtime. The position is a grind.

From the start of training camp, coach John Tortorella has been preaching the “smart” game, a la the style the Jackets played when they shocked the mighty Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the playoffs last spring.

The stubborn Lightning kept looking for the cross-ice passes they used to shred teams during the regular season, and the Jackets deprived them — in part by pounding the Lightning into submission. You can call this “staying above the puck” or “playing the right way” or “hard to play against.” You’ve heard Tortorella use all of those expressions, and he will use them yet.

Like quarterbacks, goaltenders are often as good — or bad — as the teammates in front of them. Here’s where Kekalainen chimed in:

“You give NHL shooters 10 chances and any kind of time below the hash marks, the best goalie in the world isn’t going to stop all of those shots," he said. "Our goalie that left us (cough, Bob, cough) benefited from good defense in front of him. The goaltenders here will benefit from the defense playing in front of them.”

Legace has been working with Korpisalo at the minor and major league level for six years. He’s just getting to know Merzlikins, who must adjust to a faster, hairier NHL game — with shots coming faster and harder and from different angles, through traffic.

“Korpi took a big step last year, and he’s in really good shape,” Legace said. “He has got to learn to become a starter and learn to fight for his job. For Elvis, it’s a different game here. But he has been adapting well.”

Optimally, Korpisalo will get something like 55 starts, Merzlikins around 27, and with the defense they have in front of them the Jackets will get to the playoffs. Optimally.

Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154277 Columbus Blue Jackets

Columbus Blue Jackets need Josh Anderson's goal total to keep rising

Henry Palattella The Columbus Dispatch

Last season, the Blue Jackets were 20-5 in games in which Josh Anderson scored at least one goal.

For the Blue Jackets to succeed this season, coach John Tortorella knows he’ll need more out of the 25-year-old right winger.

“I think he’s feeling more and more confident making plays with the puck,” Tortorella said. “He’s a huge part of this team. I really like the way he’s grown each and every year.”

Anderson recorded a career-high 47 points last season (27 goals, 20 assists) while playing on the second line with Boone Jenner and Nick Foligno. This season, the three of them are back together, an anomaly on a team whose offseason was defined by change.

“Playing together for all of last year obviously helps,” Anderson said. “There might be a few things that are rusty between us right now, but the more games we play together, the better we’ll feel together.”

Along with his goal scoring, another way Anderson can factor into a game is with his size, as evidenced in a 4-3 overtime loss Wednesday to the Buffalo Sabres in an exhibition game when he served as a screen on Nathan Gerbe's goal. Anderson scored his second exhibition goal in the third period on a short wrist shot from the left side of the goal.

“He brings so many different elements to the game,” Tortorella said. “He can change momentum with and without the puck from the way he can get to people to how he can put his big body on goal.”

Anderson's ability to get to the net and change a game isn’t lost on his linemates. Last season, Foligno and Jenner had 35 and 38 points, respectively, playing beside Anderson. The Blue Jackets went 12-0 when Jenner scored.

“Andy’s got a presence and knows who he is, and I think we can help him excel as a player,” Foligno said. “Boone and I are going to continue to get better as well. I think we pull a lot out of each other in certain ways.”

Although Anderson has been in the league for only five years, he, along with Jenner and Foligno, is one of the elder statesmen in the dressing room. Anderson believes the influx of young talent is something that has helped with competition in training camp.

“It’s made the older guys hungrier because there’s always going to be new guys working their way through the lineup,” he said. “They’re fast, skilled forwards. It's good competition for everyone.”

Last season, Anderson averaged 17 minutes of ice time. If he continues to be a consistent part of the second line, expect that number to go up.

“Take it one game at a time and look at the video after that,” he said. “If you make a mistake, go over it with the line and try to correct things.”

Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154278 Columbus Blue Jackets Speaking of active defensemen, Dean Kukan is the option that brings a more mobile and offensive look to the back end. With him in the lineup, the Jackets project to 97 standings points — the highest of any of the players we’re discussing here. Breaking down the battle for the final spot on the Blue Jackets’ blue line “Kuks provides more skating with the puck, (he) really is a skater first,” Shaw said. “He has a huge ability to get out of his own zone and tough spots with his feet. It starts with his eyes and then he skates to it with his By Alison Lukan Sep 26, 2019 feet; his feet are exceptional.”

Compared with Harrington, Kukan carries the puck into the offensive Training camp is meant to be a battleground for roster spots. And for the zone more (9.23 per 60 vs. 7.81 per 60), and while Harrington has a Blue Jackets, one of the biggest competitions going into this season is better overall defensive zone exit rate (75.9 percent), Kukan completes who earns the sixth spot on the blue line. There is a group of talented more exits with control (33.3 per 60 vs 19.5 per 60). As a result, with defensemen, including Scott Harrington, Dean Kukan and Vladislav Kukan on the ice, the Jackets got 55.97 percent of five-on-five scoring Gavrikov, who are making that question difficult to answer. chances versus 49.81 percent when Harrington was skating.

“We really have three guys battling for one spot,” assistant coach Brad Kukan has gotten more starts in the offensive zone compared with Shaw said. “And all offer (something) a little bit different to the team. Harrington, and Kukan also has seen hardly any penalty kill time. So he Each offers certain strengths and certain weaknesses as well. I think we knows he needs to continue to round out the defensive side of his game have to figure out what is the best fit for our team and what gives us the to gain more opportunity. That means relying on that all-important skating best chance to play at the highest level night in and night out.” ability that allows him to maintain tight gaps and building from there.

So what does each defensive option bring to the table? We decided to “One of the main things is skating ability and the angling of players,” investigate them one at a time, first by using Sean Tierney’s lineup tool to Kukan said. “If you look at (Seth) Jonesy, he’s doing stuff like that really project standings points for each defensive build-out, and then by well — angling players so they have no room. But you need to be a good exploring every player individually. skater to do that and also have confidence in yourself to get up and get the gap. Forwards are so good nowadays, (you have to play) so they (Note, for these lineup projections, we used the top four most commonly don’t get room to bury their stuff.” seen forward lines at training camp) But that doesn’t mean Kukan is abandoning his offensive side either. He The incumbent – Scott Harrington had a blazing goal in the Boston series last summer, one coaches immediately demanded to see more of, and the defenseman smiles when With Scott Harrington in the lineup, Columbus projects to earn 95 asked about working on his shot. standings points this season. The 26-year-old cemented his spot in the Blue Jackets lineup last season, playing in 73 games. That brought the “(I didn’t) really,” Kukan said. “The fun thing is at the end of the season, I rhythm back into his game, provided a level of confidence in his changed my (stick) blade. I noticed a huge difference. My one-timers got offseason work and has him ready to defend his spot on the blue line way better with the new blade than the old one, but the wrist shot is not going into this season. His hallmark is bringing a solid defensive as good as before. But I will stick with the new blade because my one- presence. timer is way harder. It’s about little stuff. Sometimes switching your blade makes a huge difference — it’s fun.” “Harry brings a physicality element,” Shaw said. “He brings a take-no- prisoners sort of attitude. I love how aggressive he is, and that’s why he The new face – Vladislav Gavrikov had good PK numbers last year and it’s another thing that he really hangs his hat on.” Putting Vladislav Gavrikov in the lineup brings the team’s projected standings points to 94 — ever so slightly lower than his two teammates, The ability to play effectively when the team is a man down is an but Gavrikov might be the player most likely to outperform these important part of the lineup equation for the coaches. Shaw points to the predictions because the Blue Jackets organization is still learning what value of having special-teams impact coming from a third pair and says he can be on the ice. While North American audiences saw the Russian that ability is definitely a “consideration” in lineup decisions. Harrington in only two NHL games last season (a ridiculously limited sample size), averaged just under one minute per game of penalty kill time last year as he came to Columbus off a successful four seasons in the KHL. part of the top PK unit in the league. “(Gavrikov) looks like a complete player, he looks like a finished product,” But while Harrington is a stoic defender, he also wants to round out his Shaw said. “We’re not bringing a guy in where we have to plug holes and game to fit even more into the “defensive engine” that John Tortorella hope that eventually, down the road, he can be that complete player. He has built into his club. Harrington laughs when asked whether the head looks like a 200-foot player already in the games we saw him in the coach brings up the north-south statistic that the two-time Jack Adams playoffs.” winner built into the team’s game reports — it’s a number that measures what percentage of plays above the dots in the defensive zone go north- And while two games are hardly conclusive for analysis, Gavrikov did south versus east-west, and it’s what quantifies Tortorella’s “go north” show strong passing abilities among Blue Jackets defensemen in the philosophy. Boston series last season.

“It’s something we’re always thinking about,” Harrington said. “(Tortorella) Visual via Iceberg Sports Analytics said that’s his biggest analytic that he looks at — so we were all kind of In his limited time, Gavrikov helped drive shot quality as well. The chart surprised (at first), but it makes sense that we want the puck to go up the below shows shot quality for (x-axis) compared with shot quality against ice. As a defenseman now in my fourth year here, you’re very mindful of (y-axis), higher and to the right is better. that.” Visual via Iceberg Sports Analytics How do you work on that? Harrington spent much more time this summer on the ice — or even stickhandling in a park — to improve his hands. He The challenge now for Gavrikov and the Blue Jackets is to figure out how says Ryan Murphy is one of the players he watches to study how to get he fits into the defensive corps and what look he brings to the lineup. the puck out of the defensive zone effectively and efficiently. This might be a reason why he fights his way into the lineup rather than starting there. “I think once you upgrade those tools and build confidence in those areas that’s when you look for opportunities to move the puck quicker and Gavrikov spent his offseason working on “everything” because his brief make more plays,” Harrington said. stint in Columbus last season helped him realize he wants to be “better, faster, stronger.” And like any European player coming to North “It’s about having clean exits, moving the puck quickly. That fits with our American ice, he might still be adjusting to smaller ice. systems and how our coaches (want us to play) — they want the puck up the ice and then the D to join and support.” “There’s a tendency for most European defensemen to maybe be not quite as decisive as they could be early on,” Shaw said. “I think with the The puck-mover – Dean Kukan smaller rink, it becomes more important to take time and space away, and that’s something I know he can get better at.” The potential – Andrew Peeke

With Tortorella intentionally whittling his roster earlier in camp this year, it’s a statement that Andrew Peeke remains in camp along with eight established NHL defensemen. While the battle for the final lineup spot is likely among the three players we’ve already mentioned, Peeke has drawn attention for all the right reasons.

“I think it started in Traverse City for him,” Shaw said. “He really stood out in the two games when I watched him play. He tried to take charge and play like a leader, and that’s important up there with so many young guys and so much inexperience. That was a great sign. Here he’s been a good student of the game. He’s been a guy that eager to learn.”

And learn Peeke has. The former Notre Dame captain had always been known for his defensive ability, but in his final NCAA season, he worked on the offensive side of his game, tuning it to the style of play more NHL blueliners are adapting — especially in Columbus. He’s also made sure to show in his first NHL training camp that he’s not going to play it safe.

“I could come in here and make a really easy play and hide under the shadows and just go through it, but, that’s not going to get me to the next level and that’s not going to develop me as a player,” Peeke said. “Watching guys like Zach (Werenski) and Seth (Jones) and seeing how much confidence they have with the puck and what they do in the defensive zone and skating, it’s really made me want to try and do that and really made me want to show what I can do even more.”

Peeke said he wants to play with confidence — know that a pass will connect, know he can transition with the puck on his stick — and having additional preseason games under his belt has helped that. Games have given him continued access to coaches such as Shaw who’ve provided feedback almost play by play as the defenseman comes to understand the demands and pace of the NHL game.

“I think it illuminates for guys what they really have to work on and maybe some things they never thought of,” Shaw said. “It’s great he’s still here, good for him. He’s a great young guy so it’s easy to cheer for guys like that.”

Summary

Having too many good defensemen is a problem most teams would love to have. And the Blue Jackets are definitely up to the challenge. Tortorella and Shaw have acknowledged they aren’t sold on the battle for sixth defenseman being one that is decided once and for all, nor is a possible rotation of responsibilities out of the question.

“As much as it’s great having the eight guys as a safety net, or an insurance policy, it is going to be tough if we all stay healthy,” Shaw said. “And it’s going to be tough getting enough minutes for every player. We’re going to have to be judicious as we hand out the ice time and give the roles out because you can lose guys quickly if they don’t play.”

But this scenario isn’t one that’s foreign to Shaw and the other Columbus coaches. The team has carried eight defensemen for a few years now, and while Shaw acknowledges with a smile that sometimes coaches can make mistakes, he also has trust in the experience of this organization to guide them in building the blue line that can best help the team.

“It’s going to be tough, there’s going to be a couple really good hockey players not playing and that’s great for internal competition and that internal push,” Shaw said. “It’s an interesting process — we’re just starting it out and we’ll see where it all takes us, but there will be lots of interesting decisions along the way.”

— Data via NaturalStatTrick.com, Corey Sznajder, Corsica.hockey and Evolving-Hockey.com. All numbers represent five-on-five play unless otherwise stated. This post relies heavily on shot-based metrics. Here is a good primer on these numbers.

The Athletic LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154279 Dallas Stars -- Shot attempts for: First (62.1 percent) -- Shots on goal for: First (60.1 percent)

-- Scoring chances for: First (63.4 percent) How Miro Heiskanen's versatility will allow the Stars to pair him with different defensemen based on situation -- Expected goals for: First (62.4 percent)

“You’re going to see Miro play with everybody,” Stars assistant coach -- Goals for: Second (69.2 percent) Rick Bowness said. “It’s as simple as that.” But by pairing up the two best defensemen on the roster, the Stars leave holes elsewhere. Last year, the Stars had just 38.7 percent of shots on goal when Lindell and Polak were on the ice together, last among the By Matthew DeFranks same group of pairs that Heiskanen-Klingberg finished first in.

Both Montgomery and Bowness like Sekera, a free-agent signing who For the Stars, Miro Heiskanen is no longer an unknown. But his was bought out by Edmonton over the summer, because of his reliability defensive partner may be. and poise. He was the lone addition to the Stars’ blue line and is a left- handed defenseman that can also play the right side. Sekera will Last year, as a 19-year-old rookie, Heiskanen instantly became one the probably get his fair share of ice time with Heiskanen this season. Stars’ best players and a vital part of their defense that allowed the second-fewest goals in the NHL. He was speedy, he was shifty, and he Not that he needs convincing. was versatile, capable of playing either an offensive or a defensive role. “Well, I think anyone would want to play with him,” Bowness said. “So Heiskanen also played with seven different defensemen for at least an that’s easy.” hour at 5-on-5 last season, and more rotating partners may be in the -- The Stars signed defenseman Dawson Barteuax to a three-year, entry- works for the now 20-year-old. level contract on Thursday morning. Barteaux, a sixth-round pick in 2018, “You’re going to see Miro play with everybody,” Stars assistant coach played in one NHL preseason game before the Stars returned him to Red Rick Bowness said. “It’s as simple as that.” Deer in the Western Hockey League.

In the two weeks of preseason camp, Heiskanen has been paired with a Dallas Morning News LOADED: 09.27.2019 number of players -- Andrej Sekera, Esa Lindell, Thomas Harley and Roman Polak -- as the thought of Stephen Johns’ return hasn’t materialized. Johns would have been an ideal partner for Heiskanen, but is still dealing with post-traumatic headaches.

During the Stars’ 2-1 preseason loss to Minnesota on Thursday night, Heiskanen played with Harley, who registered an assist when Radek Faksa tipped his point shot home in the second period. The Stars started slow Thursday and their first shot of the night came more than nine minutes into the game.

Anton Khudobin played his first complete game of the preseason, making 21 saves on the night, including an array in the first period that kept the Wild goalless.

Last season, Heiskanen’s most common partner was Polak, and the pair spent more than 500 minutes together at 5-on-5. After John Klingberg returned from a broken hand in late December, Heiskanen and Polak started 42 of the final 47 regular-season games together, and all 13 playoff games.

But both Stars coach Jim Montgomery and Bowness said this season will be a lot more mixing and matching with defensive pairs.

“We have a lot more flexibility back there and I think you’re going to see a lot more movement in the pairings,” Montgomery said. “It was pretty steady from the All-Star break on, who our top four was. I think there’s going to be a lot of interchangeable parts, which as a staff, we like just because of matchups. You’re playing a speed team, you might have different pairings than when you’re playing a heavy team.”

“They all have the same job,” Bowness said. “They all have the same responsibility. They all have different skill levels. It’s monitoring the ice time, game situation, game management. Who needs to be on the ice at that particular point?”

Because of Heiskanen’s unique set of skills that allows him to either generate offense from the point or shutdown a chance in his own zone, he’s a lynchpin that allows the Stars to maneuver the rest of their defensive corps.

“If he needs to be out there with John because we need a goal, then he’s out there with John,” Bowness said. “If he needs to be out there with Roman because we’re protecting a lead, then he’s out there with Roman. He’s going to play in all those situations. His partner, a lot of the times, is based on our needs at the time.”

Placing Heiskanen with Klingberg creates arguably the best defensive pairing in the entire league. Or inarguably, if you trust the pair’s advanced stats from last season. Among the 217 pairs that played at least 300 minutes together last season, here is where Heiskanen-Klingberg ranked (according to Natural Stat Trick) in a variety of possession-based categories: 1154280 Dallas Stars -- The Stars could have tied the game in the third period when Devan Dubnyk left a yawning net for Alexander Radulov. But Jason Robertson -- chasing the same rebound -- was in between Radulov and the net, and took the shot off his foot. Stars goalie Anton Khudobin gets full game under his belt; Thomas Harley and Miro Heiskanen show bright future as pairing Dallas Morning News LOADED: 09.27.2019

After playing a complete game for the first time this preseason during the Stars' 2-1 loss to Minnesota on Thursday night, Khudobin is done with the preseason.

By Matthew DeFranks

Anton Khudobin is ready for the regular season.

After playing a complete game for the first time this preseason during the Stars' 2-1 loss to Minnesota on Thursday night, Khudobin is done with the preseason. He made 21 saves against the Wild, including three during a first-period Minnesota power play that kept the game scoreless.

Khudobin, who was troubled by a minor groin injury in the last week, had not played in a game since Dallas' preseason opener on Sept. 16 and is the only player remaining in training camp that did not go on the road for an exhibition game. A longtime backup, Khudobin said he often treats practice like a game if he goes a while between starts.

"Pretty much, I know I'm going to get scored on in practices but at the same time, I'm preparing like I'm playing against our guys," Khudobin said.

The Stars begin the regular season by playing four games in six nights, so Montgomery said the team wanted to wait until Khudobin was completely healthy before he returned to practice.

"To be honest, I wanted to go on the ice because when you come to the training camp, you always are full of energy and everything," Khudobin said. "I tried to go on third practice after that happened and Monty, all the doctors said 'Dobby, just settle down, be healthy, 100 percent and they you will go.'"

Ben Bishop is scheduled to play the whole game against Colorado on Saturday night.

Pairing of the future? Miro Heiskanen and Thomas Harley played together on Thursday night, finishing first and second on the team in ice time (Heiskanen at 26:30 and Harley at 21:42) and allowing the potential of a Heiskanen-Harley pairing to play out live.

"It's pretty fun," Harley said. "He can fly, so just give him the puck and get into an area where he can give you it back."

Heiskanen, 20, and Harley, 18, are the last two defensemen selected in the first round by Dallas (Heiskanen at No. 3 in 2017 and Harley at No. 18 in 2019) and each fit the mold of the modern defenseman: superb skaters with solid puck-moving skills and an ability to play all situations.

Harley had his second assist of the preseason on Thursday night when Radek Faksa tipped home a Harley shot in the second period. Harley also had an assist in Colorado on Scottie Upshall's goal.

"Smart, talented, make good hockey players," Montgomery said of the duo. "I think if you look at the new-age defensemen, I think Miro Heiskanen is that new-age defenseman. It looks like Thomas Harley has a chance to be that as well, and at a really good level at this level."

Harley is expected to spend the season in the OHL with Mississauga, but his place among the final nine healthy defensemen in training camp is noteworthy, as are his team-high five preseason games played.

"The future is bright on the back end," Montgomery said.

No movement: In a game that featured four contestants (Nick Caamano, Jason Robertson, Denis Gurianov and Justin Dowling) for the final two forward spots, Montgomery said none stood out against Minnesota.

"Not really," Montgomery said. "You would have liked to seen a little more of a spark in energy. I think our fourth line was minus-2 tonight."

The fourth line of Caamano, Dowling and Gurianov was on the ice for both Wild goals, though they can hardly be faulted for 's game-winner after a bad line change. The four hopefuls combined for just two shots on goal. 1154281 Dallas Stars

Predicting the 2019-2020 Dallas Stars opening night lineup

Which 18 skaters will Dallas dress against the Boston Bruins next Thursday?

By Matthew DeFranks

Matthew DeFranks, Stars beat writer for SportsDayDFW.com and The Dallas Morning News, answered questions about the team in a live chat Thursday. Here are some highlights.

Q: What is the biggest concern on the ice as preseason is winding down?

DeFranks: The Stars will have to show that they can generate more offense than last season. Their offensive style won't lend itself to a bunch of shot attempts, but they can't be getting outshot consistently like they have been during the preseason (even though many of those players won't be on the Stars roster). Either that or the health of Corey Perry. Other than that, the Stars appear in decent shape when the season starts next week.

Q: Lindell, Klingberg, Heiskanen. Who are the other opening day D-men?

DeFranks: I'm going to take this opportunity to post my projected opening night lineup.

Roope Hintz - Tyler Seguin - Alexander Radulov

Jamie Benn - Joe Pavelski - Jason Dickinson

Andrew Cogliano - Radek Faksa - Blake Comeau

Mattias Janmark - Justin Dowling - Corey Perry

Extra: Denis Gurianov

As far as forwards go, I'd have to think the Stars only carry 13 of them unless they want to invoke LTIR on the first day of the season. And if Corey Perry (fractured foot) is not ready to go, the Stars may be forced to do just that to get an extra body up. But for now, let's assume Perry is healthy, the Stars opt to not use LTIR immediately and Jason Dickinson has shown enough this preseason to claim a top-six spot as a winger. I think Denis Gurianov gets a shot on the NHL roster this season, but he hasn't shown much this preseason despite being given the opportunity to do so. I could also see Janmark as a potential 13th forward.

Esa Lindell - John Klingberg

Miro Heiskanen - Roman Polak

Jamie Oleksiak - Andrej Sekera

Extra: Taylor Fedun

The only question remaining is whether the Stars want to keep Fedun or Joel Hanley as their seventh defenseman. Based on usage last season and also in the playoffs, the Stars favor Fedun and it doesn't hurt that he's a right-hander on a blue line that is dominated by left-handed defensemen.

Q: Are you surprised that Thomas Harley has made it to the final round of cuts?

DeFranks: I am surprised that Thomas Harley has made it this far, even though he hasn't made it through the final round of cuts. I figured he'd get one, maybe two, preseason games, potentially sign his entry-level contract and return to Mississauga in the OHL. But he's shown enough that the Stars want to see more of him. Tonight will be his fourth preseason game and potentially his last before going back to Mississauga.

Just because he doesn't make the team doesn't mean this training camp wasn't a big success for Harley. Anytime you see one of your top prospects perform well in his first taste of the NHL, that's encouraging. Harley will be a nice piece of the future for the Stars and could be a dynamic duo with 20-year-old Miro Heiskanen down the line.

Dallas Morning News LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154282 Dallas Stars That’s typically expected for older players at this stage. They are just counting days until the real thing. However, it’s a bit disappointing younger players didn’t step up and seize the spotlight while veterans faded into the background. Stars 20/20: Thomas Harley shows a bright future despite the Stars’ preseason snoozer “You would have liked to see a little bit more of a spark and energy,” Montgomery said. “I think our fourth line was minus-2 tonight.”

5. It’s preseason and the wins and losses don’t matter, but Montgomery By Sean Shapiro Sep 26, 2019 would like to see better puck possession with a week remaining before the start of the regular season.

He was also willing to take some positives from the loss. DALLAS — The Dallas Stars lost their penultimate preseason game 2-1 to the Minnesota Wild on Thursday evening. “We’ve got to get more clean shots at the net,” Montgomery said. “And I mean off our stick and have people screening their goaltender. But some Radek Faksa scored the lone goal for Dallas, which closes out the of our elements of our game, our neutral zone offense tonight was the preseason Saturday afternoon against the Colorado Avalanche. best we’ve seen it, even compared to 60 regular-season games last year. 1. He won’t play in the NHL this season, but Thomas Harley has proven So, we’re starting to see pieces come together.” he’s a big part of the Stars’ long-term plans during the preseason. “What you want to see throughout the exhibition season is you want to And the 2019 first-round pick played one of his best preseason contests see your team get better. And we’re seeing that, so that’s the positive.” Thursday. 6. Anton Khudobin played his first full game of the preseason and looked He had 25 shifts for 21 minutes, 42 seconds on the Stars’ top pairing and ready for the regular season. played in all situations, looking poised throughout. Late in the second The goalie made 21 saves on 23 shots and was particularly sharp during period, he helped Dallas cut a deficit in half when his wrist shot was a Minnesota power play in the first period. Of the two goals allowed, it deflected by Faksa to make it 2-1. was hard to fault the goaltender after Jordan Greenway got away from It was initially announced as Harley’s goal, but upon further review, Taylor Fedun in front of the net and then a bad change set up a two-on- Faksa tipped it. one for the second goal.

“There was no way that was off my stick. I knew it got it off quick, but it 7. Khudobin could have played earlier this week, but the Stars decided to wasn’t going high,” Harley said. “Good tip by Faks.” be cautious with a minor injury, holding the goalie out of practice on three consecutive days last week. Harley has played a lot of hockey this month. Thursday marked his fifth preseason game, and before that, he played in four games at the “We didn’t want to take a chance with his groin,” Montgomery said. “He Traverse City Prospects tournament. During that span of nine games in wanted to come back and practice Saturday and (we) said, let’s wait until 20 days, he’s gotten more comfortable and avoided slow starts, which Sunday and because we knew this was the game we wanted him to get seemed to be an issue in his first four or five games. ready for the regular season.”

“Each new game you’re better,” Harley said. “You now know some of the “They didn’t want to rush me. To be honest, I wanted to go on the ice situations that are coming at you.” because when you come to the training camp you are always full of energy and everything,” Khudobin said. “So, I tried to go in third practice 2. After Harley is returned to the Mississauga Steelheads, he’s going to after that (injury) happened and Monday all the doctors said, ‘Dobby, just destroy the OHL. settle down, be healthy for 100 percent, and then he will go.’ It’s not crazy that we aren’t going to have you practice at 80 percent or 85, we 3. And for the first time in his life, Miro Heiskanen was the old man on a want you to be 100 percent. So, I really appreciate that. It’s defensive pairing this week. understandable.” The 20-year-old skated alongside Harley, who is 18, in the past two 8. Khudobin’s next start will likely be in St. Louis or Detroit next weekend. preseason games and that pairing that could very well be the top one in The Stars open with three games in four nights, and while he’s the Dallas in the not-too-distant future. backup goalie, Khudobin will play a larger role. Heiskanen has always been one of the youngest players on the ice. Montgomery said ideally he wants a healthy split of starts between Since he turned 10, he’s played with older teams. As a pro, he’s played goalies. He said Thursday morning he’d like to see starting with defensive partners who were sometimes double his age. Having a between 47 and 52 games, which would leave roughly 35 starts for youngster on his flank? That was new. Khudobin. “Maybe five years ago,” Heiskanen said. “I think that’s the last time I had 9. It’s brighter in American Airlines Center this season after the building a (younger defensive partner).” updated the lighting. Heiskanen hasn’t gotten to know Harley too well; Heiskanen, from It’s noticeable when entering the building for the first time, and from the Finland, really isn’t that talkative. But he has been impressed with him. press box, the ice almost seems illuminated compared with past “I think he’s really calm with the puck, he can keep the puck and make seasons. easy passes,” Heiskanen said. “He can skate and has great hands, great The Stars’ goalies have noticed the better lighting, but it hasn’t really shot. He’s really good with the puck.” changed much for them. “I don’t know if you can really get to know him if you don’t speak Finnish,” Khudobin said it doesn’t really change how he sees the puck, but he can Harley said. “But he seems like a really nice guy.” see other things better. Bishop said it’s something he noticed at first but While Heiskanen might not speak much, Harley said playing with him is a forgot about after the Stars’ first preseason game started. blast. Bishop did note the biggest change came on the Zamboni end, the one “It’s pretty fun,” Harley said. “He can fly. Just give him the puck and get to the Stars defend in the second period, and noted that end of the ice used an area where he can give it back.” to be a bit darker than the other side.

“The future is bright on the back end,” coach Jim Montgomery said. 10. With the roster trimmed to 22 healthy skaters, the Stars fielded one of their strongest lineups of the preseason as five NHL regulars — Jamie 4. As far as the game goes, it was a snoozer that never truly woke up. Benn, Mattias Janmark, Esa Lindell, John Klingberg and Roman Polak — While the score situation, a one-goal game, created some simulated were given the night off. urgency in the third period, neither the Stars nor the Wild looked like they Center Rhett Gardner was also given the night off as a healthy scratch, wanted to be playing. which was somewhat surprising considering he’s still in the battle for one of the open forward positions. That left Dallas with the following alignment to start the game: out of position, but Robertson wasn’t able to get out of the way and his skate denied the Russian. Roope Hintz – Tyler Seguin – Alexander Radulov 14. Corey Perry was checked on by doctors Thursday evening during the Jason Robertson – Jason Dickinson – Joe Pavelski game, but Montgomery didn’t have an update.

Andrea Cogliano – Radek Faksa – Blake Comeau That’s good news in itself. Montgomery typically meets with the medical Nick Caamano – Justin Dowling – Denis Gurianov staff after the game only if there is an injury concern that arose that evening. Miro Heiskanen – Thomas Harley Wins and losses might not matter at this point, but staying healthy does. Jamie Oleksiak – Andrej Sekera 15. Cogliano was the player who seemingly came the closest to dealing Joel Hanley – Taylor Fedun with an injury, getting leveled by an elbow from Carson Soucy in the second period. 11. It’s important to note the placement of Robertson and Gurianov in the lineup. It’s a situation concussion spotters may have taken a deeper look at, but Cogliano didn’t miss a shift. Gurianov entered camp as a favorite to win a top-six role and was given extended chances in that capacity during the preseason, but he never 16. The Stars signed defensive prospect Dawson Barteaux to a three- really forced the issue and solidified himself as one of Montgomery’s year entry-level contract Thursday morning. trusted options on the top two lines. The defenseman was one of the more pleasant surprises from the Stars’ At the same time, Dickinson started forcing the issue and laid claim to a Traverse City roster and earned a spot in an NHL preseason game last spot he held in the playoffs as a top-fix forward who can play wing or week before being returned to Red Deer and the Western Hockey center. He was Dallas’ best forward Tuesday night in St. Louis and League. scored a shorthanded goal. It looks like he’s bumped Gurianov into the bottom-six rotation. 17. You may have seen see my story earlier this week on Ty Dellandrea and his NHL training camp experience, where the 2018 first-round pick With Benn out of the lineup, one would have thought Gurianov would get went and bought snacks for Harley after the defenseman signed his first that top-six look. Instead, Robertson was given a chance to impress after NHL contract Monday. winning back the favor of the coaching staff in the past two games. “I tried to pay him back for the snacks,” Harley said Thursday morning. Robertson will acknowledge he was not very good at the Traverse City “He kept saying no. He’d return the money right away if I tried to send Prospects tournament or at the beginning of training camp. He also him some.” conceded that if he didn’t have such a high draft pedigree, he likely would have been one of the earlier cuts from NHL camp. 18. Strong music selection in the Stars’ locker room before morning skate Thursday, starting with Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark” and Robertson thought about that last week and re-adjusted himself last followed up by The Clash’s “London Calling.” weekend. He renewed the focus on his game and made a better effort to make sure he wasn’t wasting an opportunity to potentially play in the NHL 19. Montgomery altered his five-point process slightly this season, this season. removing the criteria for winning 56 percent of the faceoffs and replacing it with achieving an average shift length at even strength of 40 seconds “Traverse City was hard for me, getting right back into it from the summer or less. was tough,” Robertson said. “Coming into main camp, I felt some confidence being around the pro guys and trying to match their level. I This applies to the entire team, not just forwards. think it finally started to show the past couple games and the coaches “If there is an area (of concern), it’s actually the defensemen who took John (Stevens), Nelly (Todd Nelson), and Monty all pushing me to be a too long of shifts for my liking at five-on-five,” Montgomery said. “We better player and to be able to compete with the pros. I really took that to want them to hold pucks in more in the offensive zone, so they’ve got to heart, and I started building on it.” sprint up the ice more in the offensive zone.”

12. While Robertson was getting a top-six shake, Caamano and Gardner Montgomery said the results from last season match up with the new were still on the NHL roster Thursday because of their ability to embrace criteria. a role, according to Montgomery. “Our team in general, when we played our best games we looked at it “I think I’m a big forward that skates well, get in on forechecks and kind of (and) when our shift length was under 40 seconds, it was our best create turnovers and be good on the PK,” Caamano said. “Do all the little games,” Montgomery said. “It means you’re working, it means you’re things. I think having a good detailed game can be part of my game being unselfish and you’re changing at the right times.” moving forward. I know I’m not gonna put 30 goals into the back of the net, but I can help a team win by being good on the forecheck and on the 20. This season, I’ll once again try to track the process. details.” Figuring out the average shift is going to be a working process (do we Gardner was originally supposed to play Thursday, but when Dowling have any mathematicians among our subscribers?), and if you have an was cleared of his upper-body injury, Gardner was removed from the idea for the best formula to tackle this, please let me know. For this lineup. Despite his removal from the lineup, the center has been relishing game, I’ve tried a couple of different methods but don’t feel confident the opportunity to stick around this long in his first NHL training camp. enough in any of the numbers to make a judgment.

“It’s exciting,” Gardner said. “Every day you come to the rink just trying to I do know that Faksa, Comeau, Caamano, Dickinson, Robertson, earn one more day. To be this late in camp is exciting. I think I’ve Dowling, Hanley and Fedun each had an average shift time under 40 definitely earned being here.” seconds.

Because he went the college route, Gardner couldn’t attend NHL training Here is how the Stars managed in the other four elements of the process camp in the past. He said spending the end of last season with the Texas Thursday: Stars really helped launch him toward NHL training camp, and it has been key that he hasn’t had to change his role from North Dakota to Zero undisciplined penalties: Failed. Dallas. Three or fewer odd-man rushes: Passed.

“I think me and the coaching staff are on the same page of what kind of Win net-front battle: Failed. game I’ve got to play,” Gardner said. “I think I’ve been growing into that role every game and every practice. The more I can find that niche and Win special teams: Failed. be reliable and gain more trust from coaches, it’ll be better for me.” The Athletic LOADED: 09.27.2019 13. Dallas had a golden chance to tie the score in the third period when Radulov seemingly had an open net to shoot after Dubnyk was caught 1154283 Detroit Red Wings

Detroit Red Wings fit perfectly in 'Hockeyville' Up North with 4-1 preseason win vs. Blues

Ryan Ford, Detroit Free Press

Published 10:00 p.m. ET Sept. 26, 2019 | Updated 12:17 a.m. ET Sept. 27, 2019

The squad from “Hockeytown” looked quite comfortable in “Hockeyville,” Up North in Calumet, as a pair of youngsters scored two goals each in the Detroit Red Wings’ 4-1 preseason victory over the defending Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues on Thursday.

Anthony Mantha, slated for the Wings’ top line, opened the scoring with a power-play score with a little over 4:30 remaining in the first period. Mantha’s first goal was assisted by young defenseman Dennis Cholowski, who is fighting for a roster spot.

The Blues’ Ryan O’Reilly, who was the MVP of this spring’s Stanley Cup playoffs, tied it up less than a minute into the second, but Mantha, unassisted, gave the Wings the lead for good just 22 seconds later.

Mantha left the rest of the scoring to 20-year-old Michael Rasmussen, the Wings’ top pick in 2017. Rasmussen scored just over 13 minutes into the second period, on assists from Mantha’s projected linemates, Tyler Bertuzzi and Dylan Larkin. Less than two minutes later, Rasmussen did it again, scoring the Wings’ final goal on assists from Cholowski and rookie Taro Hirose, who spent most of last season at Michigan State.

The Blues didn’t muster much of an attack against the Wings and goalie Calvin Pickard, who is likely to start the season in the AHL with Grand Rapids. Pickard stopped 20 of the 21 shots he faced in the 700-seat Calumet Colosseum.

Detroit Free Press LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154284 Detroit Red Wings big hits, and that’s not an easy thing, because when you do play reckless, sometimes you give up chances. So it’s kind of finding that fine line. But I think the physicality, scoring touch, net presence, those are things he can bring to the table that not everybody in the league has and What role is feasible for Justin Abdelkader on the Detroit Red Wings not everybody on the team has.” now?

Detroit Free Press LOADED: 09.27.2019 Helene St. James, Detroit Free Press

Published 1:05 p.m. ET Sept. 26, 2019 | Updated 1:17 p.m. ET Sept. 26, 2019

Early indications are Justin Abdelkader will start the season on what’s expected to be an energy line for the Detroit Red Wings.

He’s coming off the least productive full season of his NHL career in nine years, and three seasons removed from his last one topping 40 points. At 32, Abdelkader is trying to figure out how he can make an impact on the team, what his role can be. An injury delayed his appearance in an exhibition game until this week, but he’s been slotted to play next to fellow veterans Luke Glendening and Darren Helm since the start of training camp.

“Hopefully I can contribute this year whether it’s points, penalty kill, power play, being physical,” Abdelkader said. He drew an assist in Wednesday’s 4-2 loss at Pittsburgh.

The nine-game exhibition schedule, which finishes with four games in four nights, plus injuries have hampered attempts to field desired special teams, but newcomer Adam Erne looks like he’ll challenge for a spot as a net-front presence on one of them. Glendening and Helm are regulars on the PK, and Abdelkader could be challenged for a spot by veterans Valtteri Filppula and Frans Nielsen, along with Christoffer Ehn if he makes the team.

Abdelkader focused on becoming quicker during the offseason, eschewing heavy weightlifting (he was listed as 214 pounds on the training camp roster, his usual weight range).

“I’m working more on explosive training,” Abdelkader said. “The game is so fluid and fast, I’m just making sure I give myself the best opportunity to be the player I know I can be.”

The player he was five years ago was a top-line forward who scored around 20 goals (23 in 2014-15, 19 in 2015-16) and topped 40 points. But back then he was playing with elite playmakers in Pavel Datsyuk and/or Henrik Zetterberg, and averaging around 18 minutes per game, nearly three minutes of that on power plays. Last season Abdelkader scored six goals, went 40 games between Goals 5 and 6, and topped out at 19 points in 71 games while averaging 15:24 minutes per game. He averaged 1:52 on power plays but contributed two power play points.

Blashill made a point of Abdelkader’s history with the team when asked where he might fit in 2019-20.

“He has scored in the past,” Blashill said. “If you look around the lineup, there’s not a long history of guys that are goal scorers. He’s somebody that has. His role was a bit different, I understand that, but he still has. After you get past those first few guys, there’s not many guys that have scored 20 goals. It doesn’t mean they can’t do it this year, it just means they haven’t, and he’s someone who has.

“You can debate whether or not he can score them without those guys, we’ll see. He’s somebody who has had that scoring touch. Let’s just watch and see how he plays. … I’d like to get Abby playing at a super high level, and so would he.”

The immediate question is whether Abdelkader is capable of playing at a good enough level to stay in the lineup. He has four years left on a contract with a $4.25 million cap hit, making for an off-putting buyout scenario even next summer (six years against the books, at between $1 million to $2.3 million annually). He could be put on waivers and sent to the minors, which would leave around $3 million against the cap.

For now, the Wings will wait and watch, hoping to see Abdelkader find ways to be a positive factor.

“He’s a very good net presence,” Blashill said. “There’s times he’s been more physically engaged, really impactful physically than others. … I’d like to have him play teetering on the edge of reckless. We don’t want to give up outnumbered rushes because we’re diving down trying to make 1154285 Detroit Red Wings

Game thread: Red Wings best Blues in exhibition, 4-1

Marlowe Alter, Detroit Free Press

Published 5:59 a.m. ET Sept. 26, 2019 | Updated 9:51 p.m. ET Sept. 26, 2019

Detroit Red Wings vs. St. Louis Blues

What: Kraft Hockeyville USA, exhibition hockey.

When: 7 p.m. tonight.

Where: Calumet Colosseum, Calumet, Upper Peninsula.

TV: NBCSN.

Game notes: Built in 1913, the barrel-roofed barn seats 700, making for an intimate setting that’ll take players back to their younger days. It is one of the oldest continuous-use indoor ice rinks in the world.

Detroit Free Press LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154286 Detroit Red Wings Both struggled at times against the Blues, with their confidence appearing to wane as the exhibition season has progressed.

Both need the experience of playing in Grand Rapids. Anthony Mantha, Michael Rasmussen lead Red Wings' charge in U.P.

Detroit News LOADED: 09.27.2019 Ted Kulfan, The Detroit News

Published 10:09 p.m. ET Sept. 26, 2019 | Updated 4:26 a.m. ET Sept. 27, 2019

Anthony Mantha scored twice in the Red Wings' 4-1 preseason win over the Blues on Thursday.

The Red Wings took their exhibition season to the Upper Peninsula on Thursday — specifically, Calumet — and everyone appeared to enjoy the experience.

Playing the Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues in the annual Hockeyville USA game, the Red Wings prevailed, 4-1.

BOX SCORE: Red Wings 4, Blues 1

Anthony Mantha and Michael Rasmussen both scored two goals, Dennis Cholowski added two assists, and goaltender Calvin Pickard made 20 saves to lead the Wings.

Ryan O’Reilly scored the lone Blues goal.

The game was played in the historic Calumet Colosseum — with seating for approximately 700 fans. The Colosseum was built in 1913 and is considered the oldest operating continuous-use ice rink in North America.

Calumet — with a population of 727 — is located about 30 miles south of Copper Harbor, at the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula.

Both teams appeared to quickly adjust playing in the municipal rink, and the passion of the crowd showed through from the opening puck drop.

Here are other observations, with two more exhibition games left for the Wings, a home-and-home back-to-back against Toronto Friday and Saturday:

►Rasmussen, Cholowski impressing: The two young players made the Wings’ opening night roster last year but struggled, with Cholowski being sent to Grand Rapids halfway through the season.

Both were expected to begin the upcoming regular season in Grand Rapids, gaining pro experience and earning a level of confidence at the minor league level.

That may be changing, especially in the case of Cholowski.

Coach Jeff Blashill has praised Cholowski’s improving defensive game, an area Cholowski struggled last season, and the offensive part has been an impressive as it was at times last season.

With Jonathan Ericsson ailing, and Cholowski playing into a regular spot in the lineup, there is a path to make the roster.

Rasmussen has taken well to a switch to center, and is becoming a physical presence in front of the net.

But the Wings insist Rasmussen will only make the final roster if he’s playing center, not on wing. That’ll limit his chances of making the Wings.

Still, center Frans Nielsen is out with a minor injury although he is being expected to return this weekend. If Nielsen is out, though, obviously it opens up a roster spot, at least in the short term.

►Mantha dominating: If you look at the preseason fantasy hockey magazines and look at the individual projections and predictions, Mantha has been a hot topic for fantasy players.

Many people are predicting a big step forward, possibly 30 or more goals. And the way Mantha is skating and shooting, it’s possible.

Against the Blues, Mantha displayed all his best assets, shooting and skating with authority and looking like a premier power forward.

►Filip Zadina, Joe Veleno update: Neither has shown enough consistently to likely land a spot on the opening night roster. 1154287 Detroit Red Wings “But the physicality, scoring touch, net presence, those are things he can bring to the table that not everyone in the league has – not everybody on the team has.”

Red Wings want Justin Abdelkader to play on the 'edge of reckless' ••Abdelkader changed his workout routine over the summer to get ready for the upcoming season.

The way the NHL is moving toward becoming more of a speed league, Ted Kulfan, The Detroit News with a heavy emphasis on playing fast and quick, has made Abdelkader work to fit in to that evolving style. Published 2:02 p.m. ET Sept. 26, 2019 | Updated 2:04 p.m. ET Sept. 26, 2019 “More focus on speed and quickness,” said Abdelkader of his training. “The game’s so fluid, so fast, I’m just making sure I’m giving myself the

best opportunity to go out and be the player I know I can be.” Detroit – Justin Abdelkader has been a 20-goal scorer in his career, and that’s something not a lot of players on this current Red Wings roster can say. Detroit News LOADED: 09.27.2019 Coach Jeff Blashill believes Abdelkader can still be that type of player, never mind the slide Abdelkader has been on the last three seasons.

“He’s a guy who has scored in the past,” Blashill said. “If you look around, there’s not a long history of a bunch of guys that are goal- scorers. He’s somebody that has. His role is a bit different, but he still has.

“After you get past those first few guys, there’s not many guys who have scored 20 goals in their careers. It doesn’t mean they can’t do it this year. It just means they haven’t.

“He’s somebody that has and I’d like to get Abby playing at a super-high level and so would he.”

Abdekader, 32, only had 19 points (six goals, 13 assists) in 71 games last season. Compare that to when Abdelkader had a 23-goal season in 2014-15, and 19 goals the following year.

Since those two breakthrough seasons, Abdelkader has stalled. He’s scored seven, 13, and last season’s six goals in the last three years.

Abdelkader often skated on lines with Pavel Datsyuk or Henrik Zetterberg during his big offensive seasons, and thrived as a net-front presence for the two offensive stars.

Blashill believes Abdelkader can still flourish, but without playing with prolific offensive players.

"You can debate whether or not he can score without those guys," Blashill said. "We'll see. He's somebody that has had a scoring touch. He had it when he was 16, when I first saw him. He had it when he was at Michigan State. He had it in the minors and he's had it at times here.

"Not only was he playing with good players at that time, whether it was Pavel or Z, or both, but you get more ice time. Let's see how he plays."

Counting this season, Abdelkader has four years left on the seven-year, $29.75 million contract he signed before 2016-17. It’s a contract that has been much discussed and vented about by Wings’ fans on social media.

Abdelkader believes he can rebound from last season’s offensive drop.

“Everyone has off-years in their career, right?” Abdelkader said. “It’s a time that you try to refocus and look back on the season as a whole and what can you do differently to be better?

“I feel good. I’m just going to go out and play the way I can play and hopefully contribute this year. Whether it’s point, penalty kill, power play, being physical, doing all the little things.”

Slowed by a minor injury the last week, Abdelkader made his exhibition season debut Wednesday in Pittsburgh. Abdelkader assisted on Ryan Kuffner’s goal, played 17 minutes 20 seconds, with three shots and a team-high six hits.

The physicality Abdelkader exhibited with the hits, the ability to be a net- front presence, is what Blashill wants to see from his veteran forward and team leader. Abdelkader is one of the alternate captains.

“There’s times he’s been more physically engaged, really impactful physically, than others,” Blashill said. “I’d like to have him play teetering on the edge of reckless.

“We don’t want to give up outnumbered rushes because we’re diving down trying to make big hits – and that’s not an easy thing because when you do play reckless, sometimes you give up chances. It’s kind of finding that fine line. 1154288 Detroit Red Wings

Anthony Mantha, Michael Rasmussen lead Red Wings past Blues in Calumet

Updated 10:40 PM; Today 10:38 PM

By Ansar Khan | [email protected]

Anthony Mantha registered more than one-third of his team’s shots and scored a pair of goals Thursday, and Michael Rasmussen also scored twice, as the Detroit Red Wings defeated the St. Louis Blues 4-1 at the Calumet Colosseum in the Kraft Hockeyville game.

Mantha and Rasmussen each have four goals in the preseason.

Dennis Cholowski, making a bid for a roster spot, picked up a pair of assists.

The Red Wings (3-2-2) led 1-0 after the first period when Mantha scored on the power play at 15:28, blasting in a one-timer from the top of the faceoff circle on a pass from Cholowski.

After Ryan O’Reilly tied it 43 seconds into the second period, Mantha gave his team the lead for good by scoring on a breakaway at 1:05, after stripping the puck from Robby Fabbri in the defensive zone.

Rasmussen scored twice from the net front in a span of 2:31 in the third period. He banged in the rebound of a shot by Tyler Bertuzzi at 13:18, following a three-on-one rush led by Dylan Larkin.

Rasmussen then showed terrific hand-eye coordination by swatting in a pass from the point by Cholowski at 15:31. Taro Hirose also assisted on the play.

Calvin Pickard stopped 20-of-21 shots for Detroit.

Michigan Live LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154289 Detroit Red Wings

Top line leads Red Wings vs. Blues in Calumet preseason game

Updated Sep 26, 2019; Posted Sep 26, 2019

By Ansar Khan | [email protected]

The Detroit Red Wings’ top line will be intact for the second time in the preseason tonight when they face the St. Louis Blues in the Kraft Hockeyville game in Calumet, Mich. (7 p.m., NBC Sports Network).

Dylan Larkin, in his second exhibition game, will be centering Anthony Mantha and Tyler Bertuzzi, the only line so far that coach Jeff Blashill has confirmed will start the season together.

Larkin had two assists in his lone game. Mantha has scored a goal in each of his two games. Bertuzzi has a goal and an assist.

The Red Wings wrap up the preseason with a pair of games against Toronto, Friday at Little Caesars Arena (7:30, Fox Sports Detroit Plus) and Saturday at Scotiabank Arena (7 p.m., NHL Network).

Michigan Live LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154290 Detroit Red Wings

Red Wings look forward to unique experience in Calumet

Posted Sep 26, 2019

By Ansar Khan | [email protected]

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings will be playing in the oldest arena they will ever skate in, in front of the smallest crowd that will ever watch them in a preseason game.

It’s no ordinary exhibition tonight when the Red Wings face the defending Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues at the Calumet Colosseum (7 p.m., NBC Sports Network).

Calumet, the Upper Peninsula village with a population of 726 (according to the 2010 Census), about 10 miles north of Houghton, was the 2019 Kraft Hockeyville winner. It’s an annual sweepstakes hosted by the NHL, NHLPA and Kraft Heinz designed to support local rinks and promote hockey in communities across the United States.

The Calumet Colosseum is the oldest in-use indoor ice arena in the world (since 1913), with a seating capacity of 700.

Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill, who grew up in Sault Ste. Marie in the U.P., and players from Michigan praised the event.

“We had some opportunities to play in this Kraft Hockeyville before, but our schedule didn’t allow it,” Blashill said. “To be able to play in the UP, and I grew up in the UP, albeit five hours away on the better side of the UP, but nonetheless I played youth hockey in this arena a long time ago. I think it’s awesome.”

The Red Wings will dress a representative lineup that will include their top line of Dylan Larkin, Anthony Mantha and Tyler Bertuzzi, and Jimmy Howard is expected to start in goal.

“I’ve been up to Houghton, played against Michigan Tech, but I haven’t been to Calumet, so it’s going to be a cool experience,” Larkin, who was born and raised in Waterford, Mich., said. “I know the people up there are fired up. They’re big hockey fans in the Upper Peninsula. It’s cool that the Red Wings are part of it in the state of Michigan. I’m proud to be from Michigan and there’s a lot of people that are proud to be from Michigan. I’m excited to go up and share NHL hockey with them.”

The Calumet Colosseum received $150,000 in rink upgrades and $10,000 in new equipment as the winner of the nationwide contest.

“It’s going to be a great event, for the NHL and the NHLPA to be able to come together and put the money back into a town like that,” Justin Abdelkader, a Muskegon native, said. “Obviously, some very passionate hockey fans up there. It’s nice to be able to go up there and for us to represent Michigan and the Red Wings. A lot of those fans don’t get an opportunity to come to Detroit.”

The festivities began on Monday with a public viewing of the Stanley Cup. The Red Wings and Blues arrive this morning to a red-carpet reception prior to their gameday skates. There will be a pep rally at a high school prior to the game.

Michigan Live LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154291 Edmonton Oilers “I felt better than the first game,” he said. “Just the timing and getting used to the speed of the game.”

It’s hard to remember a shorter Stanley Cup window than the one that Bear and Jurco score two goals each in Oilers victory over Winnipeg appears to be closing on the Winnipeg Jets.

They were one of the favourites to win it all last season, only to be one- and-done in the playoffs, losing in the first round to the St. Louis Blues. Robert Tychkowski Now, they are bleeding assets at an alarming rate. September 26, 2019 9:46 PM MDT The Jets defence took a massive hit, losing three of their top five defencemen with Jacob Trouba being traded, Tyler Myers signing in Vancouver and Ben Chiarot signing in Montreal. The enigmatic Dustin WINNIPEG — Opportunities are pretty easy to come by in an NHL Byfuglien might not be back, either, as he contemplates retirement. training camp; everyone gets a chance, at one point or another, to show his coach that he can handle a big promotion. Up front, they could likely start the season without forwards Patrick Laine and Kyle Connor, both of whom are sitting out until they can agree to The rare part is the number of players who actually grab those chances contract extensions. by the throat. It’s pre-season for the refs, too. So, seeing two guys do it on the same night had to bring a pretty big smile to the faces of Edmonton Oilers management. Normally, the referee checks with both goalies to make sure they are ready before he drops the puck to start the game, but this time he didn’t “You can present opportunity, but it’s what you do with it,” said head bother. Oilers goalie Mike Smith, meanwhile, had no idea the game had coach Dave Tippett, after a three-goal third period rally paced his team to started. He had his back to centre ice, his goal stick on top of the net and a 5-3 victory over the Winnipeg Jets Thursday. “We had a couple of guys was dousing his neck with water as the play headed toward Edmonton’s who really took advantage of it tonight.” end. No harm, no foul, but it could have been an embarrassing situation Tomas Jurco, given a chance to show what he could do with Connor for everyone. McDavid and James Neal, had a team-leading two goals and one assist while defenceman Ethan Bear, in the No. 4 spot next to Oscar Klefbom, scored two of his own in the third period comeback. Edmonton Sun: LOADED: 09.27.2019 “(Bear) kicked the door open, which is good,” said Tippett. “He played a really strong game. He’s had a really good camp. He put the work in, he’s changed a lot of his diet and his mindset and how he wants to live. You love to see guys who do that have success because it’s a model of how it works.”

Bear scored one from the doorstep while joining the rush and then put one home from the point to make it 5-3.

“I’m happy the way it went,” he said, adding he knew what was on the line when the night began. “I was just trying to focus on doing the right things, make sure I was moving the puck and the offence will come.”

The Oilers can certainly use more goals from the back-end, but Tippett says there is more to the 22-year-old’s game than just the north side of centre.

“He’s not just a one-dimensional offensive guy,” said Tippett. “He competes hard for pucks in his own end. He’s a good, today-style NHL defenceman. I’m glad to see him really play well. I’m happy for him.”

Jurco’s first goal was a doorstep sitter after a Jets giveaway, but the second was top-shelf beauty from in tight while driving hard to the net. He went a long way toward locking up his spot, and maybe opening in the top six, but he doesn’t dare look that far ahead.

“I’m heading in the right direction, but I don’t want to start thinking about it too much, just keep doing whatever I’ve been doing. It seems like it’s working pretty well.”

Just seeing his name next to McDavid’s on the lineup sheet gave him a huge boost of confidence heading into this one.

“The more comfortable I get, the better I play. Once I see I have trust then I feel way better. It’s the same with every player, once he feels he is trusted everything is just easier. That’s what happened to me. I feel good and it shows.”

McDavid said this is the kind of stuff the organization was hoping for when they gathered for camp this year.

“There’s lots of jobs on the line and guys are pushing,” he said. “They gave the coaching staff something to think about.”

Taking a morning skate in Edmonton, flying to Winnipeg for a 6 p.m. start and then flying home after a pre-season game in Winnipeg is nobody’s idea of a good time, but McDavid wanted to be part of the travelling road show as he gets himself up to opening night speed. He could have easily taken a pass on this one, but lead by example in stepping up and turning in a strong performance that included a second period goal. 1154292 Edmonton Oilers Bear and Jurco were the standouts. Others presumed to be competing for the last few roster spots on the team were more of a mixed bag.

Anton Burdasov had flashes, including a nice little drop pass through the Ethan Bear, Tomas Jurco outshine the competition in second-to-last neutral zone that earned him an assist. He’s big and fast and skilled, but Oilers preseason game coming late to camp put him at a disadvantage and with so many fringe guys playing well, it’s hard not to wonder if it was enough.

Joakim Nygard is one of the 14 forwards in the organization best By Jonathan Willis qualified to play in the NHL this season. A spot on Draisaitl’s line was an opportunity, but he wasn’t able to do a lot with it. Sep 26, 2019 Gaetan Haas had his best game of the preseason between Jujhar Khaira

and Josh Archibald. He was more quietly competent than brilliant, Ethan Bear has been fortunate. He didn’t hire the coach with the although he did pick up an assist and give Bear some traffic on his preference for modern two-way defencemen over old-school cycle- second goal of the evening. He gets better every game and one wonders breakers. It wasn’t his decision to put Kris Russell back on his strong what he’ll look like once he’s really comfortable with the North American side, opening a high-profile right-side job on the blue line. He certainly game. didn’t injure Joel Persson. Patrick Russell played the same way he has throughout the preseason: That isn’t to say Bear found himself next to Oscar Klefbom in Thursday’s energetically. He forechecked, backchecked, won battles, moved pucks preseason contest against Winnipeg by default. The opportunity might out of the defensive zone and kept pressure alive in the offensive end. not have been of his creation, but he was responsible for the preparation On merit, it is hard to imagine him not starting the season on the roster. that made him so well-suited to exploit good fortune when it came. It would be reasonable to think Colby Cave has the edge on Haas for the “First and foremost, he came in great shape, came in great shape, last regular centre job given their respective preseasons. That worked hard all summer,” coach Dave Tippett said Sunday. “I love his competition looked much closer on Thursday than it has at any point. attitude. He’s got a positive attitude; he’s upbeat all the time, wants to get It’s possible that Matt Benning isn’t really on the bubble: on balance, a better right now. single preseason has a lot less heft than three full NHL campaigns. If he “He’s kind of an in-betweener; he can move the puck well, but he still has is, though, he hurt his case with another weak performance. Of particular the thought process that he’s got to be a good defender. He’s an note was Mathieu Perreault badly outworking him on Winnipeg’s 3-2 interesting guy. He looks quicker, his mindset seems really clear, and goal. Might he end up in the No. 7 slot once Persson returns from injury? he’s out there working hard to try and find a position on the team.” If Brandon Manning were 23, we’d say he was “inconsistent” with the Tippett has offered much the same comment whenever asked, including puck on his stick. At 29, it’s fair to say he’s just middling by NHL prior to Thursday’s game. After the win, in which Bear scored two goals, standards: sometimes he calms play in the defensive zone and makes he added something new. good reads offensively; other times he coughs up the puck. That said, he did more good than bad, and did it while playing his weak side. That last “He kicked the door open,” Tippett said. point is important: Manning is thought to be in the running for the No. 7 job on the blue line, and that player has to be able to handle assignments Bear’s two-goal third period made him impossible to miss, but it was the on either side of the ice. culmination of an excellent night rather than a sudden emergence, even as the game was an evolution of a strong camp rather than a one-off. William Lagesson held his own, which might not be enough.

Twice he nearly created goals in the first 40 minutes with clever shot- Much has been made of Tippett’s structural changes to the Oilers: the passes that were tipped just wide by teammates. He broke up a neutral- passing out of the zone, the five men up on the attack (notice all the zone rush, he drew a penalty and he showed an ability to keep aggressive pinches from defencemen) and the five men back on defence possession in the offensive zone with intelligent, aggressive pinches. (notice Draisaitl circling below his own goal line to help with an even- strength exit). Kris Russell’s role in all of it will be intriguing to watch. Then he scored two of the three third-period goals that gave Edmonton its come-from-behind 5-3 victory. The second in particular, which saw On Thursday, Russell was going lower in the offensive zone, looked Bear skate rapidly to the centre of the ice before ripping a vicious more committed to holding the defensive blue line — even under slapshot through traffic, was as skilled a marker as anyone could have pressure — and was more likely to make controlled exits than he usually asked for. was last season. He’s a good skater. He’s more than capable with the puck; despite the struggles of his partner, he played well. On his strong He wasn’t the only hopeful to have a two-goal night. Tippett placed side, in a third-pair role, and with a different tactical approach he could be Connor McDavid and on separate lines, giving an a very interesting player this season. opportunity to three bubble players — Tomas Jurco, Anton Burdasov and Joakim Nygard — to play with a superstar NHL centre. Nobody made Also, although he looked a little unprepared for that first weird bouncing more of the opportunity than Jurco, who scored goals at even strength goal, Mike Smith had a solid outing in net. He is just as aggressive and and on the power play. capable handling the puck as he’s ever been, and is Edmonton’s strongest goalie in that department in forever. Assuming he can stop the If Bear entered camp overshadowed by Persson, Evan Bouchard and puck with regularity, he’ll be a big help in areas like puck retrieval. Caleb Jones, at least he was a legitimate prospect on a generally encouraging development path. Jurco has spent most of the past two years in the minors and is on his fifth NHL organization. At 26, the 2011 second-round pick is probably one season from being permanently The Athletic LOADED: 09.27.2019 pigeonholed as an NHL/AHL tweener.

Jurco is doing everything he can to prevent such a fate. He has played well throughout the preseason, better than most of his fellow bubble players. It wasn’t an accident that he landed on a line with McDavid and James Neal, in the showcase left-wing position, or on the first power play. As with Bear, he got the opportunity, and he took full advantage of it.

Again, of his two goals, it was the second that put an exclamation point on his night. He flashed excellent speed to beat his defenceman into scoring position, and then quick, clever hands in bringing the puck from backhand to forehand and putting it top corner past Connor Hellebuyck. It was one of those moments that served as a reminder of all that scoring skill scouts saw in his draft year. 1154293 Edmonton Oilers Instead, he used guilt as a tactic. Selfish penalties only hurt his teammates, the coach told him.

“We tried to put him in a corner against his own team,” Carlsson said. Joakim Nygard managing his anger as he eyes spot on Oilers If Nygard was on the receiving end of a thunderous or unquestionable hit, Carlsson wanted him to get up and redirect his energy on retrieving the puck. Slowly, the message sunk in. By Daniel Nugent-Bowman The next season, his first full campaign in the SHL, Nygard racked up Sep 26, 2019 just 12 PIMs. He hasn’t surpassed 30 minutes in any campaign since.

“That was the biggest thing for him to overcome,” Carlsson said. “If he kept going like that, he could never take the step up to the bigger team.” Joakim Nygard is quick to flash a smile off the ice, even a couple of days after 10 stitches were required to close a nasty skate gash to his left The next area of improvement was working on upping his offence in cheek. Sweden’s best league. He only netted three goals in 50 games in 2013- 14. Nygard isn’t quite as friendly with his skates on, yet his feisty and speedy play shouldn’t be confused with that of a bruiser or a tough guy. His speed made him a “pain in the ass for the other team,” Carlsson said. His hands, however, looked like they were more useful for punching than It wasn’t always this way. scoring. “I could be a little bit angry when I played,” he said sheepishly before Nygard’s shot was a liability. Carlsson said he’d have at least five scoring laughing. “I’m a very kind person outside the ice – sometimes maybe too chances most games but would routinely miss the net. kind on the ice, too. To help correct the problem, Nygard went out before most practices with “I’ve developed a couple of things in my play. I’m not a bad person the assistant coaches to work on his shot. They started small, asking him anymore.” first to simply hit the net. It took many sessions before he was able to It’s probably a bit of a stretch to call Nygard the Swedish version of Stan successfully pick corners. Mikita for the way he’s reformed his on-ice belligerence. But the 26-year- The extra work paid off. Nygard’s goal total increased annually, from nine old winger was second in the Swedish Hockey League with 21 goals last in 2014-15 to 21 last season. season, a feat accomplished with just 20 penalty minutes next to his name. “That’s why he has taken this step now,” Carlsson said, who worked with Nygard until 2017. Nygard is now in a dog fight to crack the Edmonton’s opening-night lineup in his first NHL camp. He could climb as high as the second-line Johan Pennerborn coached Nygard in each of the last two seasons with left winger next to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and James Neal should he Farjestad. He’s watched Nygard evolve into one of the best scorers in the seize a job this week. SHL.

Nygard signed a one-year contract with the Oilers in May, a move Pennerborn calls Nygard a leader who never complains or has a bad designed to potentially bring more swiftness and potential scoring options word to say about a teammate. He’s also a natural athlete with to the NHL team. tremendous flexibility and lateral movement.

But long before that, the winger was a ticking time bomb ready to go off “I’ve coached a lot of players over the years, but I haven’t seen anybody at any moment. with those skills,” Pennerborn said.

Nygard was far from a hot commodity in Sweden when he was 16. He Nygard said he had opportunities to sign with an NHL team last summer wasn’t on the radar of any of the country’s big hockey programs in his and could have made the jump to North America a year earlier. He opted early junior years. He settled in with his home-town team in Sunne, a tiny to wait until he could put his best foot forward. community of 10,000 residents located roughly 300 kilometres west of Stockholm. “I wanted to develop a couple of things in my game. My thoughts were the best way to do it was in Sweden, then come over here and give He played a ton and the offensive numbers were excellent that season – myself a chance,” he said. 12 goals and 33 points in 24 games – but the time spent in the sin bin was unbecoming of a scorer. Although he said a persistent back injury “Joakim is a guy who wants to be really prepared before he takes that contributed to his ornery ways, Nygard still amassed a whopping 134 next step,” Pennerborn said. minutes in penalties. Nygard is far from a lock to make the Oilers. Contractually, he could be at Stickwork with an issue. His fists were also used to club opponents on a disadvantage because his two-way, entry-level deal doesn’t require him occasion. to be placed on waivers to be sent to the minors.

“I had two fights, I think,” he said, “with my gloves on though. However, Oilers coach Dave Tippett has liked what he’s seen so far though. “You get five plus 20 minutes in Sweden. I think one game I had two plus five, plus 10, plus 20 (minutes) or something like that.” He’s given Nygard practice time with Nugent-Hopkins and Neal. He also played Nygard 12:13 at 5-on-5 time with Leon Draisaitl in last Friday’s 6- Nygard made the jump to the SHL as a part-timer with Farjestad three 2 win over Calgary, a game in which Nygard was credited with a goal. years later after another season in Sunne and one with the Farjestad junior team. He shared the ice at times with current Oiler Oscar Klefbom Nygard could skate with Draisaitl again during Thursday’s road game in before the defenceman made the move to North America. Winnipeg. Tippett said Nugent-Hopkins, who wasn’t scheduled to play again, is nursing a sore leg. It was coach Leif Carlsson who coveted Nygard and his speed for the Farjestad big club. It then became his job to rein in Nygard’s temper and The coach isn’t ready yet to pigeonhole Nygard as a scoring winger or get him to channel it in more productive ways. bottom-six checker – if he becomes a full-time Oiler.

“We were working a lot with his head,” Carlsson said. “We tried to get “I love his tenacity on the puck,” Tippett said. “He’s had some good him calm.” scoring chances. He’s gotten better every day. That’s what you’re hoping for (from) a player like that that hasn’t played much over in North Carlsson would speak to his young player regularly about the importance America. As he gets acclimated to his surroundings, he gets better and of keeping his cool during that half season in 2012-13. better.”

There was the odd scolding if he went astray, but it’s not exactly as if The adjustment to North America hasn’t been easy for Nygard. Carlsson went with the tough-love approach. He never so much as threatened to bench Nygard for any misdeed. On the ice, he’s still learning where he should be at times on the smaller surface. “It’s like another sport in here,” he said. He’s also missing his girlfriend, Lisa Sodergren, and the couple’s three- month-old son, Todd. They plan to join him in Edmonton if he makes the Oilers.

Pennerborn had Nygard and Sodergren over for coffee in August before he left for Edmonton. He told him things might get tough, but he should play to his strengths and keep moving.

In Sweden, Nygard starred on the power play, played first pairing on the penalty kill and was used late in games to protect leads. He hasn’t been able to show his full array of skills over three preseason games. He knows time is running out.

But there’s one thing he can control regardless of the situation or time in the game. It’s a trait he learned to master with Farjestad after he struggled to do so as a teenager.

And it could serve him well as he vies for an NHL job.

“Over here you have to be aggressive,” he said. “You have to be aggressive on the forecheck, the backcheck. Everybody’s stronger here.

“If I can find my way to be a little bit angry here, it may help me.”

The Athletic LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154294 Florida Panthers “We are still trying some things as far as line combinations go, but with the (smaller) numbers, we can kind of control how we want to play,” Quenneville said of Florida being close to having a finalized roster.

Cut from Panthers, Troy Brouwer hopes to continue NHL career “We want to have a short practice, but practice fast; roll four lines and elsewhere make sure everyone gets to play and everyone plays the same way. We want everyone to contribute and be consistent.”

Players such as Hunt and Toninato could find themselves, like Brouwer, By George Richards edged out in a numbers game despite solid camps.

Sep 26, 2019 For Brouwer, he plans to fly home to Calgary to see his family for the first time since he left for another shot with the Panthers.

Brouwer has played in 838 NHL games over 11 seasons with Chicago, CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. — Troy Brouwer says he came to Florida Washington, St. Louis, Calgary and the Panthers and hopes he gets Panthers training camp without any promises but with a good feeling he another crack at adding to those numbers soon. could make the team. Teams will be finalizing their rosters this week with an eye on the players Although officially announced Wednesday morning, the Panthers told they want to keep. Brouwer on Tuesday that he would be released from his professional tryout. Brouwer knows a call may not be forthcoming but could after a few games are played and GMs start seeing their roster in real time. His fight for a spot on the Panthers roster may be over, but the 34-year- old forward says he is not done playing hockey. Brouwer said while he is hoping to land another NHL job, he would not rule out “revisiting things” if a team were to offer a two-way contract with This, Brouwer says, is not the way he wants to go out. an initial assignment to the AHL. “I thought I had a good opportunity to come in and make the team and Brouwer’s family lives in Calgary and would have relocated back to South they kind of told me that it came down to a numbers thing with all the Florida had he made the Panthers. forwards they have here,’’ said Brouwer, who spent last season with the Panthers. He is not interested in uprooting them — or being away from them for an extended period of time — for just anything. “I was excited to come down and try and be a part of this team because I really believe that they’re headed for good things this year. And it wasn’t “I can say that I am not ready to be done with hockey,” said Brouwer, to be. That’s kind of the nature of the business. I took a chance and it who won the Stanley Cup with Quenneville and the Blackhawks in 2010. didn’t quite work out.” “My wife and my family fully support me because they know I’m a hockey Brouwer, by all accounts, had a strong training camp but with the player at heart. This is not something I’m ready to give up, especially Panthers just under the salary cap ceiling, there isn’t room to do much of because I still think I’m good enough to play and have a meaningful role anything. on a team.

The Panthers and Brouwer spoke of a possible return before free agency “But (as far as a two-way deal goes), it would have to be a good situation opened in July but will wait and see how everything plays out. Had the for my family. I’m not terribly interested in signing in a place and being Panthers landed top free agent winger Artemi Panarin, Brouwer would the guy who gets called up and then sent down all the time. To me, at probably be on the Florida roster now. this point in my career, that’s not fair to my family and not really the way that I want to end my NHL career as well. But Panarin went to the Rangers and general manager Dale Tallon used some of that money to add to the Panthers’ forward depth by adding “If there was an AHL deal, it would probably have to be the perfect Brett Connolly and Noel Acciari. situation. At the moment, I don’t know if Springfield to South Florida is that perfect situation.” Good camps from rookie Owen Tippett as well as Dryden Hunt and Dominic Toninato did not help Brouwer’s cause either. For now, Brouwer says he is going to stay in Calgary and continue skating and working out, preparing for another NHL season somewhere. The Panthers have been looking around at trade possibilities, which could have freed up both roster spots as well as cap space, but as of “Hopefully,” Brouwer said, “someone has my number and wants to give Wednesday, it appears they haven’t found any desirable moves. me a call.”

“Nothing budged and we’re right up against the cap,” Brouwer said. “I In the Panthers’ 6-3 win over the Lightning on Tuesday night, Toninato was the odd man out.” scored his first goal of the preseason and was back on the ice the following day. As of Wednesday, CapFriendly.com has Florida at just $781,000 under the cap. The former captain of the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs, Toninato knows there aren’t many spots left on the opening roster, but every day he By subtracting defenseman Ian McCoshen’s $700,000 salary (he was remains here means there is still a shot. waived Wednesday) and adding rookie Owen Tippett, Florida is about $618,000 under the cap. “I am just trying to keep all of my emotions in check and just play my game, take it day by day and hope for the best outcome,” Toninato said. A trade or two could still be in the offing for the Panthers before the opening night roster has to be set next week. “I think I have given this my all. It is not fully in my hands, but I am hoping for the best.” “We had too many young kids and too many guys (playing for) the same position,’’ coach Joel Quenneville said after practice Wednesday. • Jonathan Huberdeau, who scored his second goal of the preseason “Sometimes there is a business side to that. We’re in a pretty tight spot.” Tuesday, did not participate in practice Wednesday for maintenance.

Brouwer was not the only player Florida released Wednesday. • Quenneville reiterated that goalie Sergei Bobrovsky is scheduled to play the entire game Thursday. Bobrovsky made 12 saves off 14 shots in The team got their roster down to 25 by placing goalie Chris Driedger, playing about half the game Tuesday. McCoshen and forward Anthony Greco on waivers. If they pass through and do not get claimed, they will be assigned to AHL Springfield. Florida Panthers roster breakdown — Sept. 25

With the Panthers so close to the salary cap, if Florida does only keep 22 Forwards (15 in camp, 13 projected to be on opening night roster) — players (one extra defenseman and forward), that means there are three Locks (10): Noel Acciari, Sasha Barkov, Henrik Borgstrom, Brett cuts to go with two preseason games against the Lightning remaining. Connolly, Evgenii Dadonov, Mike Hoffman, Jonathan Huberdeau, Colton Sceviour, Vincent Trocheck, Frank Vatrano. Still in the running: Jayce Hawryluk, Dryden Hunt, Denis Malgin, Owen Tippett, Dominic Toninato. Defensemen (8/7) — Locks (6): Aaron Ekblad, Mike Matheson, Mark Pysyk, Anton Stralman, MacKenzie Weegar, Keith Yandle. Still in the running: Josh Brown, Riley Stillman.

Goalies (2): Sergei Bobrovsky, Sam Montembeault.

The Athletic LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154295 Los Angeles Kings The Ducks have their own roster decisions to weigh. The team dressed five players age 22 or younger Wednesday, including roster hopeful forward Max Comtois, who recorded three shots and had three others blocked while playing alongside Ryan Getzlaf and Derek Grant. Kings and Ducks face some tough decisions as final roster cuts loom “I wish for the kid — he had a number of chances tonight, which is encouraging — if one could have gone in for him, that would have been great for him,” Eakins said of Comtois. “I thought he had a really good By JACK HARRIS STAFF WRITER game.” SEP. 26, 2019 7:18 AM Comtois will be one of several players near the final cut line for the Ducks, who begin the season at home against the Arizona Coyotes next Thursday, two days before the Kings’ opener at the Edmonton Oilers on Perhaps the next time the Kings and Ducks meet this year, a Dec. 2 Oct. 5. showdown two months into the regular season, their dispositions will be more distinguishable. For now, the two Southland rivals enter the final “All those guys in that boat, that are vying for these jobs — and there’s a days of the preseason facing similar situations. good five or six of them — they keep making the decision harder and harder,” Eakins said. “That’s what you want.” New coaches. Uncertain expectations. An awkward transition from aging stars to up-and-coming prospects.

Those parallels continued into Wednesday night’s postgame news LA Times: LOADED: 09.27.2019 conferences as well. After the Ducks’ 2-0 win over the Kings at Honda Center, Kings coach Todd McLellan and Ducks coach Dallas Eakins were asked about final roster cuts and where their younger players fit into the picture.

No surprise, Eakins’ and McLellan’s answers were almost interchangeable.

Said Eakins, who is taking over in Anaheim after four seasons behind the bench of its AHL affiliate in San Diego: “You don’t want easy decisions coming out of training camp. You want those damn hard ones. It looks like that’s how this is shaping up.”

Echoed McLellan, who with the Kings is entering his third stint as an NHL head coach: “With some of these kids, they’ve had tremendous, tremendous camps. We’re going to have to spend some time over the next 48 hours here to discuss where they fit.”

The best players on the ice Wednesday were the veteran goalies. Ryan Miller recorded a 34-save shutout for the Ducks, while Kings netminder Jonathan Quick bounced back from an Adam Henrique goal 1:40 into the game and stopped 27 of 28 shots. Sam Carrick added an empty-netter for the Ducks.

Most eyeballs, however, were on the young skaters in front of them. Following dismal seasons from both franchises in 2018-19, the Kings and Ducks are giving their youth the opportunity to earn roster spots this year. In what was both teams’ penultimate tune-up game, neither squad fielded full-strength rosters on Wednesday. Instead, they got another long look at the prospects on the fringes of their rosters.

McLellan said the Kings, who have six more cuts to make to get down to their 23-man opening night roster, could trim more players from training camp as soon as Thursday. Of the players who took the ice Wednesday, centers Blake Lizotte, Nikolai Prokhorkin and Jaret Anderson-Dolan were among those who appear to be hovering around the bubble.

McLellan has been impressed by Anderson-Dolan, who made the team out of training camp last season and played five games before being sent back to juniors. But the coach hinted the 20-year-old might be better- served starting the year in the AHL as a center in the Ontario Reign’s lineup rather than squeaking onto the NHL roster at wing.

“Not that he can’t play wing but I’d like to see him play center a little bit more,” McLellan said. “Are we ready for him in the center ice position [in the NHL]? Because you need a little bit of time to play on maybe the top, or maybe the second line, in the American League for a while. I don’t know the answer to that. But he’s making our decisions difficult, where others have made it easy.”

Prokhorkin, 26, also remains something of an unknown. Drafted by the Kings in 2012, the Russian product is trying to jump from the KHL to the NHL. Though he has flashed potential this camp, the 6-foot-3, 190-pound forward is pointless in three games.

“I haven’t seen it yet but I believe he can find a way to finish,” McLellan said. “It’s getting up to the pace. He’s playing on a smaller ice surface. Things are happening a little bit quicker. I think at times we have him thinking when he should just be playing. And as a result, he sometimes looks slow. I’m not sure that he’s slow. I think he’s just thinking it and he’s a little hesitant right now.” 1154296 Los Angeles Kings

PRESEASON FINAL: SD 5, ONT 2 – BOXSCORE, LUFF, PHILLIPS, STOTHERS

ZACH DOOLEY

SEPTEMBER 26, 2019

Markus Phillips on what differed from the first period to the latter two

Yeah, we got a little away from the gameplan there, but overall I thought the structure was there, just a couple of mental errors that cost us a few goals.

On how Stutts held it together on the bench in the school-day game

It was good….it was pretty loud in there at some points, especially when the Fortnite dances were going. Overall, it was good, it was a good first game, first game action for a lot of the guys. [Reporter: Was it Fortnite that got you dancing, or the Spongebob theme?] No, it was the Fortnite that’s for sure, and I was singing along to the Frozen song too.

Obviously it’s good, it’s getting into a routine, getting the know the facility and whatnot. You look at the fan support today, just for a 10 AM exhibition game, it was pretty awesome.

On his adjustments from the juniors game to the pro game, so far

Overall, I think because I can skate, the pace wasn’t a factor. Just getting used to boxing out the bigger, stronger guys and whatnot. Overall, I thought it was a good adjustment for me and the pace is only going to go up from here.

I never dread when we’re playing, I think it’s fun. 10 o’clock is right in my wheelhouse, I’m an early riser, so I think that’s good. The kids are here, they’re loud, they’re excited so I think that’s a positive for them. It seems like we’ve been having training camp now for an eternity and now we have some kind of semblance of what we’re going to have and get a chance for these kids to play, some of them have’t played any exhibition games at all and it’s been a long time. The end result, yeah you like to win, but more importantly we just want to see these guys play. I think it was good for them and I think it was good for them to see this facility. The comments from the kids were “my god this place is amazing” and it is. When you look at it, I think we’ve got the best place in the American Hockey League. It’s great for them, they’re wide-eyed, they’re probably nervous and I thought it was great.

On putting together today’s roster, balancing rest for guys who played more in NHL preseason versus guys who need a look in Reign camp

Well, we brought 4-5 guys in who I knew nothing about, so we really wanted to see them in game action. Then, you’re right, you look at it and Remp played a game and Mikey played a game or two and we don’t necessarily need to see them, plus they’re returning players. Basically for Sutter, I just asked him which game he preferred to play and I felt it was important, and he agreed, that the captain representing the team should play the home game. Bouma, a veteran guy, we’ve got to make a decision on, so it was nice to see him. Basically, you just fill in the fill in the pieces with the rest of them. Claguer’s played some games so he didn’t need to play today. It was good. It was good to see Markus get some game action, good to see Durzi again and get them a little taste of the rivalry with San Diego, which I think will be exciting once again, it never disappoints.

LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154297 Los Angeles Kings — Neither Rasmus Kupari nor Jaret Anderson-Dolan skated with the team today. I’m not projecting either to open the season on the 23-man roster.

COMPETITION HEATS UP IN PRACTICE AND FOR ROSTER SPOTS; MORE EVALUATIONS LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 09.27.2019

JON ROSEN

SEPTEMBER 26, 2019

A good afternoon to you from LA Kings HQ, Insiders. Several notes from Todd McLellan, who spoke after a spirited practice.

— There was a noticeable battle element that claimed some casualties. Apart from the general bumps and pushes, Adrian Kempe took a stick up high on a power play entry and Toby Bjornfot, while defending on the PK, was struck on the chin by a deflected puck and was still leaking quite a bit after returning to the room.

Between the players leaning on each other and a post-practice conditioning skate, there was a good amount of energy expended as more physical layers were added to the team’s purpose.

“Just another concept that we’re bringing in,” McLellan said. “I didn’t think our play, especially early in the game in Anaheim in and around our net was very good and it wasn’t something that we’ve worked a lot on, so we needed that factor both offensively and defensively, so we brought that into play in practice today, and inevitably that leads to some good grinding time I the paint and it forces the goalies to work real hard in those situations, but more importantly the defenders, so we had that today.”

— Coaches aren’t always keen on individualized player evaluations, but McLellan has been as accommodating as he has been honest. Paul LaDue didn’t have the summer opportunities to skate or participate in hockey activities and was thrown into the fire late in training camp. “In fairness to Paul, I would say Paulie’s a little rusty, but that’s to be expected,” he said. That his course for the season is expedited doesn’t work in his favor, especially as battle elements are applied as he finds his timing. “I don’t think we’ve seen the best Paul LaDue. I’m sure there’s more there.” He blocked three shots and was on the ice for Adam Henrique’s goal against in Wednesday’s 2-0 loss at Anaheim.

The Iafallo-Brown-Kopitar combination drew positive reviews for their attentiveness and standards, and while Carl Grundstrom was praised for his straight line play and his willingness “to skate through bouncing pucks and stay over top of them,” he’s still developing his consistency – as is a trait that all young players have to harness. “The cerebral part, the understanding of where to go positionally is coming, and I think right now, he’s giving us everything he has, and he’s perhaps thinking a little too much rather than reacting. But we have a team full of those people,” said McLellan, who expects such developments to ultimately come naturally. Joakim Ryan has brought veteranship and poise, though he’s still “finding his way with a new team and a new coach and a new system” as the team pushes to get the most out of him.

— Earlier this week, McLellan spoke of the players’ overall body of work when setting the roster, but to what degree is the final group settled?

“I would say that we’re going to move this thing forward day-by-day, and that’s a pretty generic answer, but what we have today and what we’re putting in place today might change tomorrow,” he said. “We feel we have players that are going to push – they’re already trying to push their way in here – and I keep saying ‘we have to be ready for them.’ Some, in my opinion, have pushed their way onto the team already, but we have to make sure they’re getting what they need as individuals to continue to develop ,and some spots have to be available for them to do that. Some players that they’re competing with haven’t given up their spots yet. Some are getting close to giving up their spots. So, it’s ever-evolving, it’s not a ‘hey, this is our team, let’s get going.’ Game 1 we could make a change. Game 2 we could make a change. It’s the only way to keep everybody honest.”

Teams must submit cap-compliant rosters of up to 23 players by October 1. “We’re not going to hurry anything. We’ll use the days that we need and continue to make decisions,” McLellan said. 1154298 Los Angeles Kings

PREVIEW – ONTARIO VS. SAN DIEGO, 9/26

ZACH DOOLEY

SEPTEMBER 26, 2019

TONIGHT’S MATCHUP: The Ontario Reign begin the 2019 preseason on home ice, with the San Diego Gulls in town for the first of two exhibition contests for the Reign.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Ontario and San Diego played a home-and- home set last year in the preseason, with the Reign taking both contests, including a victory on home ice in the shootout. The Reign have several new faces, including Sean Durzi and Markus Phillips, who could make their debuts with the team this morning.

NOT TOO COOL FOR SCHOOL: Today’s game is a morning contest in Ontario, the annual Cool School Game. More than 7,000 students are expected to be in attendance for today’s game, which will feature education themed activities and workbooks for the students throughout the game, all with a hockey flavor. It’s going to be……loud.

CAPTAIN CRUNCH: Forward Brett Sutter returns as Reign captain for the third consecutive season. The veteran forward skated in his 800th career AHL game during the 2019-20 campaign and broke the 20-goal plateau for the first time as a professional. Sutter is expected to make his preseason debut today against the Gulls.

AWAY TO ANAHEIM: The two So-Cal Series rivals will rematch on Monday evening in Anaheim, in their now annual meeting at Honda Center, home of the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks. Puck drops at 7 PM on Friday evening, with game tickets and parking free for all fans.

SCOUTING THE GULLS: Some familiar faces are on the roster for today’s opponent, starting with forwards Corey Tropp, Jack Kopacka and Devin Sideroff, who all skated with the team last season. Many of the Gulls’ top defensemen from a season ago are still in NHL camp with the Ducks, but Patrick Sieloff was a member of the Gulls towards the end of last season after a trade with Ottawa.

LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154299 Minnesota Wild

Wild edges Dallas in exhibition game

Staff Report

SEPTEMBER 26, 2019 — 11:03PM

Jordan Greenway and Jason Zucker scored goals in the second period as the Wild beat the Dallas Stars 2-1 on Thursday night in Dallas in their second to last preseason exhibition game.

Greenway’s goal from in front of the net came at 26 seconds of the middle period. Joel Erikson Ek and Marcus Foligno had the assists.

Zucker made it 2-0 on a rebound at 13:13, with Ryan Hartman and defenseman Louie Belpedio getting the assists.

Dallas got its goal with 49 seconds left in the second. Radek Faksa tipped in a shot by Thomas Harley, the Stars’ first-round draft pick, from the top of the right circle.

Devan Dubnyk had 29 saves for the Wild.

Star Tribune LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154300 Minnesota Wild

Eric Staal's focus is more Wild wins, not him scoring more goals

Of course, if he scored more goals it would help.

By Sarah McLellan Star Tribune

SEPTEMBER 26, 2019 — 10:58PM

The drop in production was the most dramatic Wild center Eric Staal had experienced in his 15-year NHL career.

After scoring 42 goals in 2017-18, tying the franchise record for a single season, Staal finished with 22 in 2018-19 — still the second most on the Wild but a far cry from the output he registered just the previous campaign.

But when he reflected on his play, Staal didn’t put a bow on it by summing up the year as up or down and positive or negative.

He never has.

Instead, he was disappointed the Wild didn’t make the playoffs.

And if the team is to return to the postseason, the offense will undoubtedly have to be better — an area Staal feels he can contribute more to as he begins a new two-year contract.

“I’ve never labeled anything,” he said. “That’s just not how I think. I don’t think fixing your mind on numbers for your own sake is a good thing to do.

“Whether it’s good or bad, just try to play your game every day. I think my game could have been better, but it’s a new year. I’ll get after it this year.”

Not setting numerical targets has worked out well for Staal.

Since his debut in 2003, Staal is fourth among active players with 417 goals. And since he joined the Wild in 2016, only 20 players in the league have scored more than his 92.

“That’s pretty darn good,” coach said.

During Staal’s first two seasons, the Wild’s offense ranked second and 11th, respectively, before it slipped to 27th last season when the team scored 210 goals and averaged 2.56 per game.

While the Wild’s productivity isn’t directly correlated to how Staal performs, the 34-year-old certainly has opportunity to make an impact when he’s on the ice.

Although he was idle Thursday during the Wild’s second-to-last preseason game in Dallas against the Stars, Staal is poised to start the season anchoring the top line between wingers Jason Zucker and Kevin Fiala and is set to resume his regular post on the power play.

“There’s a lot of reasons we didn’t score last year,” Boudreau said. “Eric didn’t score like he could. The team didn’t play as well as it should. But … if he got 22, 25 [goals] this year, I’d be extremely happy. I think he’s ready. He’s going to be fine.”

Even though it’s not in his nature to set benchmarks, Staal doesn’t see a reason why he can’t eclipse the 22 goals he buried last season.

Doing so would help the Wild and continue what’s so far been a fruitful partnership for both sides, one that was sustained when Staal signed a two-year, $6.5 million contract extension in February.

“My goal is to get off to a good start and help our team win games,” Staal said. “At the end of the day if I have the same numbers I did last year and we’re in the playoffs, that’s OK with me. I want our team to find success. I know it’s important for us to score goals, and it’s important for me to create offense to make us do that. [But] there’s other ways to win, too.

“Whether my numbers are what they were two years ago or what they were last year, if our team is having success and we’re doing the right thing in the win column, that’s OK with me.”

Star Tribune LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154301 Minnesota Wild On the fringe: N/A. WILD 2, STARS 1

Devan Dubnyk made 29 saves and Jordan Greenway and Jason Zucker Who’s going to make the team? Here’s a breakdown of the Wild roster scored to help Minnesota win at Dallas.

Radek Faksa scored for Dallas, and Anton Khudobin stopped 21 shots. By DANE MIZUTANI | [email protected] | Pioneer Press

PUBLISHED: September 26, 2019 at 1:29 pm | UPDATED: September Pioneer Press LOADED: 09.27.2019 26, 2019 at 11:20 PM

With the preseason nearing a merciful close, the Wild have some tough decisions to make.

There is one preseason game remaining following the Wild’s 2-1 win over the Dallas Stars on Thursday. That’s one more chance for players on the bubble to make a good enough impression to make the 23-man roster for next Thursday’s season opener at Nashville.

Even if some of those roster hopefuls don’t make the team, they could put themselves in prime position for an early call-up once the regular season gets rolling.

Here’s a breakdown of the Wild roster:

FORWARDS

On the team: Ryan Donato, Mikko Koivu, Zach Parise, Eric Staal, Joel Eriksson Ek, Jason Zucker, Marcus Foligno, Jordan Greenway, , Kevin Fiala, Mats Zuccarello, Ryan Hartman.

Bruce Boudreau is sure to tinker with the four lines, but the group he has seems fairly set in stone. In the most recent practice, the first line was Zucker-Staal-Fiala, followed by Parise-Kunin-Zuccarello, Donato-Koivu- Hartman and Foligno-Eriksson Ek-Hartman. There could be some shuffling but it doesn’t seem as if any of these players are in danger of losing his spot.

On the fringe: Nico Sturm, Drew Stafford, J.T. Brown, Gerald Mayhew, Victor Rask.

This has more or less become a battle to be the extra forward on the roster and right now, Rask seems like the frontrunner — if only because of his big contract. If the Wild are going to be stuck with him for a few more seasons, they might as well try to get something out of him. That leaves veterans Stafford and Brown, and up-and-comers like Mayhew and Sturm in a tough spot. Mayhew has been the most impressive of the bunch throughout training camp and because of that will most likely crack the NHL roster at some point this season.

DEFENSEMEN

On the team: , Matt Dumba, Jonas Brodin, Greg Pateryn, Jared Spurgeon, Nick Seeler, Brad Hunt.

No doubt the blue will be the Wild’s strength this season. With everyone back to 100 percent, it could emerge as the NHL’s best. There’s almost no falloff between the Suter-Dumba pairing and Brodin-Spurgeon pairing, both of which would easily be the top pairing on more than half the teams in the league. Pateryn, Seeler and Hunt will rotate in; it looks like the Seeler-Hunt pairing will get the first crack at it with Pateryn nursing a minor injury.

On the fringe: Louie Belpedio, Carson Soucy.

Both players have made good impressions throughout camp; it just doesn’t look like it’s going to be quite enough to get them on the roster from the onset. But there’s little doubt that Belpedio and Soucy will be here at some point. There are always injuries over the course of an 82- game regular season, and both players have proven they can handle playing on the blue line if they need to.

GOALTENDERS

On the team: Devan Dubnyk, Alex Stalock.

Boudreau likes this goaltending tandem and there’s no reason to expect it to change this season barring a major injury. After leading the league in games played last season, starter Dubnyk is expected to get more rest this season, meaning Stalock, a career backup, could be thrust into action a little more than he’s used to. Of course, that’s what any goaltender wants. 1154302 Minnesota Wild It may be difficult for Sturm, Mayhew and fellow prospects Louie Belpedio and Carson Soucy to make the team, but one reason they accompanied the team to Vail for a three-day retreat was because they’d be first in line to be call-ups this season. A week before the opener, the Wild are making a change on their second line “We wanted everybody here to feel part of it,” Boudreau said. “You can only carry so many guys, but we still want them to feel part of it because no matter how you look at things, people are going to get hurt over the course of the year and we’re going to need them. Sometimes you call a By Michael Russo guy up and (the players) don’t really know him. Now, everybody has a Sep 26, 2019 chance to feel part of the team.”

The Wild will also have to decide before Tuesday whether they offer Stafford, who is on a pro tryout, a contract. EAGLE, COLO. — With one week to go before the Wild open the regular season in Nashville, the Wild are suddenly auditioning another player in “He’s done a good job while he’s here,” Boudreau said. “He’s not just the second-line center position. here because he had nothing to do for three weeks. He wants to make the team.” It sounds like the Ryan Donato experiment in that role is over for now as coach Bruce Boudreau has returned to his thinking prior to training camp Defenseman Greg Pateryn left the road trip prematurely and returned to and is now giving Luke Kunin a look in the spot. Minnesota so he could be examined by team doctors. Pateryn has missed most of training camp with a lower-body injury. He returned to Kunin, who played center last season after Mikko Koivu was injured and practice Tuesday but wasn’t able to practice again Wednesday. during Iowa’s postseason, is expected to center Zach Parise and Mats Zuccarello in Thursday night’s exhibition game against the Dallas Stars. “He’s not feeling any better, so we just decided to send him home,” Boudreau said. “We want to get him better and our doctors will look at The lineup tweaking in the past two practices came after Donato had a him.” rough game Sunday night in Denver and hasn’t produced at center during training camp. Defenseman Brad Hunt has also been dealing with back spasms, so at a minimum Pateryn’s absence could open the door for Belpedio or Soucy “I thought he felt way more comfortable on the wing. It’s like something’s to make the opening night roster. Hunt did return to practice Wednesday off his back,” Boudreau said of Donato, who played center growing up after missing Tuesday’s. but mostly wing as a pro. “I see (Donato) as a possible guy to fill in right now, but we’re just trying different things and we wanted to make sure we didn’t spring this on the guys next Tuesday. The Athletic LOADED: 09.27.2019 “Kunin will play center the last two preseason games, (Kevin) Fiala will play right wing and Donato will play left wing. All on different lines, but we’ll see how it works out.”

Donato isn’t asking too many questions.

“I think we’re just in the process of trying to figure out where everybody fits best,” he said. “I don’t mind playing either position, to be honest. I like the wing. I got used to it playing in pro and I also started to like center, too. I think you’re trying to get as many different looks as you can and see what they want to do before the season starts. My versatility is something that I take pride in. I’ve learned, there’s not many opportunities in this league. So the more positions that you could put yourself in, the more you show you can go in the lineup every night in any spot, the more your chances you have to succeed.”

In the past two practices, Donato played left wing on a line with Mikko Koivu and Ryan Hartman. Fiala is expected to start the season at right wing next to Jason Zucker and Eric Staal. Staal will be given the night off Thursday and Victor Rask will receive his best opportunity to prove himself in training camp.

“It would most benefit him if he had a really good game, I think, but I don’t know how a veteran of his stature (that) one game is going to make the biggest difference in the world,” Boudreau said.

Joel Eriksson Ek is expected to center Marcus Foligno on the left and Jordan Greenway on the right in Thursday’s game.

“The unfortunate thing, (by moving the right-shot Kunin to center), we have to move another left shot on the right,” Boudreau said. “So now we have three left shots on the right side (Fiala, Zuccarello and Greenway), which isn’t ideal. But Greener is confident enough now that he felt good about it. He didn’t feel comfortable at right wing (at the start of last season). But this year he was really accepting on it. He said, ‘Absolutely.’”

The extra forwards in practice this week include Nico Sturm, Gerry Mayhew, Drew Stafford, J.T. Brown and Rask.

“(Sturm) reminds me of (former Washington Capital) Jay Beagle,” Boudreau said. “Because Jay Beagle pushed every practice. He made every practice better by working harder than everybody else. (Sturm) doesn’t take anything off. Mayhew doesn’t take anything off. They work, work, work. I don’t know if I’m seeing things and I don’t know how it’s going to make for the games, but doesn’t the pace look a lot faster than we’ve seen from this team in the past? They’re helping push that pace, so that’s really good.” 1154303 Minnesota Wild Guerin took part in almost everything. Often a guy who kept things loose in the locker room as a player, Guerin, 48, did the same thing with his new role. He talked with players like they were teammates, joked around with them, got to know them, even heckled them on the golf course. Q&A: Wild GM Bill Guerin on Kaprizov plans, his feel for the team and final cuts “I am what I am, I guess,” Guerin said. “There are times where we can let our hair down a little bit and have some fun. I like to do that just as much as anybody else. It was great to get to know these guys a little bit better in a different setting. By Michael Russo “I’m really comfortable with the team. We have good players, and it’s just Sep 26, 2019 a matter of getting together on the ice and playing as a team. This trip has been really good for me to see these guys in a different setting and get to know them a little bit better personally, but more importantly, to see DALLAS — With less than a week until the Wild open the 2019-20 them interact with each other. These guys care. They get along, and season in Nashville, Bill Guerin’s first training camp as general manager they’ve been working at the team-building stuff, and it’s been great.” is coming to a wrap. Guerin hasn’t hidden the fact he took this job with the impression that the The roster was essentially set in stone when he arrived on the job in the Wild locker room needed to be mended. The hockey world is small, third week of August, but he was able to conclude a seven-year, $53.025 people talk and there’s a perception out there that there are some million contract extension with defenseman Jared Spurgeon just a day fractures. into camp. Now, he’s a few days from gathering his front office staff and the coaching staff so they can finalize his first opening night roster as That’s the reason Guerin tried to meet with as many players as he could GM. before the season, especially the veteran leaders, to ensure there was a buy-in factor. That’s the reason Guerin’s pre-training camp address was There are tough decisions to make. all about doing things for the good of the team, not individual agendas. That’s why the Wild brought in motivational speaker Gian Paul Gonzalez The top-12 forwards are pretty much set in stone, but Victor Rask, Drew to discuss the importance of being “all in.” Stafford, Nico Sturm, Gerry Mayhew and J.T. Brown are vying for the 13th and perhaps 14th forward openings. With Greg Pateryn hurt and “They’ve worked hard. They have,” Guerin said. “They’ve put the time in, Brad Hunt dealing with back spasms, the door is open for Louie Belpedio and they’re doing the right things that they need to do to be a better or Carson Soucy to make the team on the blue line. team, and it’s been nice to see. I think it’s big for all of us — the coaching staff and management staff, but again, it always goes back to the Both played well in Thursday’s 2-1 preseason win against the Dallas players. It’s most important that they’re putting in the work. And they are. Stars with Belpedio and Ryan Hartman collecting assists on Jason Zucker’s second-period winning goal. Coach Bruce Boudreau also “The speaker was absolutely fantastic. I think all the guys left seeing concocted a new line with Marcus Foligno, Joel Eriksson Ek and Jordan what a great message it was, and it wasn’t just about hockey. It was Greenway, and Eriksson Ek teed up Greenway for a goal during what about life and how you’re going to approach your everyday life and your Boudreau called a “dominant” night for the big line. commitment. That’s important.”

“The line itself was really, really good,” Boudreau said. “All big, all strong, During Wednesday’s practice in Eagle, Colo., The Athletic had a chance dominated the boards.” to catch up with Guerin about his impressions of the Wild with the season upon us and what his first month on the job has been like. It’ll be interesting to see how Guerin proceeds with the roster. Let me ask you the most important question first: You told me the day Rask got a heck of an opportunity against the Stars when he got the nod after your news conference one of your first calls was to agent Dan to center a line with Zucker and Kevin Fiala, who was rusty in his Milstein to convey how much you value Kirill Kaprizov and that you want preseason debut. to visit him in Russia. Have you set up a trip to visit him yet? How did Rask look? I actually talked to Dan today about it. I’m going to go over in late “I know where Eric Staal is playing,” Boudreau said in a stinging deadpan November, early December, like maybe go over there Nov. 30 and come of Rask, who did not have a good game. back Dec. 3. I’ll meet Dan over there. I don’t have my plans set yet, but that’s what we’re looking at. “He tried,” Boudreau continued with a more sympathetic tone. “Didn’t get a lot done. It’s something that I’m worried about. He’s probably lost a lot When you’ve seen all that Kaprizov has accomplished, from all his KHL of confidence and if he could get a goal or two, I think it would really accolades to starring in the Olympics and winning gold to leading the boost him a lot. He’s playing tentative. He still made a couple nice plays KHL in scoring again this season, it’s got to whet your appetite and make out there, I thought. you …

“It is what it is. I hate that phrase, but he’s fighting an uphill battle to Make sure we have a good relationship. Yeah, you know what? It’s make the top 12 on a daily basis, but he’ll be there if we need him.” exciting.

That sounds like Rask, who has three years left on a contract that When you talk to Milstein, are you confident Kaprizov plans on signing averages $4 million a year, will likely make the club as the 13th forward. with you guys and coming here next year? That means if Guerin decides to keep 14 forwards, the last spot will come I’m pretty confident. We’ve had good discussions. Dan and I have a good down to Stafford, Sturm, Mayhew and Brown. relationship, and there are no games being played, you know what I It would seem unlikely Sturm makes the team if he’s not going to be in mean? We want him. He wants to come, but it’ll be a big culture shock. the top 12, so it could come down to whether Guerin wants to offer So we need to let him know that the transition’s going to be as Stafford, an almost 200-goal scorer, a contract because Mayhew doesn’t comfortable as possible. need waivers to get to Iowa, and Brown hasn’t separated himself in When you say that, does that mean you may have to consider adding a camp. Russian player or two, maybe adding a Russian to the staff or hiring a Thursday, the Wild capped a five-day road trip that included a preseason translator to work for the team? game in Denver and a retreat to Beaver Creek in the Rocky Mountains To be honest with you, that’s too off in the distance, but I will say signing for a little team bonding. another Russian just to have him there doesn’t really make sense. It’s got The odyssey up in the Rocky Mountains included a motivational speaker, to be the right guy, and those are things, yes, that we have to discuss a golf tournament, a whitewater-rafting excursion, a bunch of team meals internally. We want to make sure our guys are taken care of, and if and a whole lot of time for players to share laughs, tell stories and have a somebody needs help with a second language or getting adjusted to couple of drinks together in front of the campfire or the resort’s watering North America, then we can help. hole. On to the team, we’re two weeks into training camp and Bruce Boudreau just ended the Ryan Donato second-line center experiment and moved Luke Kunin to second-line center against the Stars and what looks like I’ll be around the team a lot, especially at the start. But then, there are Sunday’s preseason finale against Winnipeg. How concerned are you certain tournaments and things like that that I’d like to see. I’d like to see about the center position right now and is this an area that you’re going some of the amateur stuff to start narrowing down, get an idea of where to have to address? we would be picking, see the first-round picks in that kind of area. So, sometimes, I don’t know, it’s good for me to get out and make sure I don’t No, I’m confident that Luke can do it. I think it’s one of those things where shut myself off to the rest of the hockey world. we just have to put him in a position where he can succeed. If we didn’t feel like he could do it, then we wouldn’t put him in it. You said three or four weeks ago that you want to get to know your staff and then you’d start making decisions. It seems like so far you have a Kevin Fiala is debuting Thursday. We talked before camp how it’s time great relationship with assistant GM Tom Kurvers and I’ve seen you for Kunin, Fiala, Donato, Jordan Greenway and Joel Eriksson Ek to step hanging out a lot and talking with director of hockey operations Chris up, to take on more responsibility, to break out this season. What have O’Hearn and director of hockey analytics Mat Sells. It seems that you like you thought about their camps? what you see so far?

I am very happy with all of them. I am. You can tell that they’re hungry to Yes. I’m really comfortable with it. I’m liking it. I have confidence in these take a step, and now it’s just a matter of putting it on the ice and doing it. guys, and it’s been really good. They’re really talented people and did a I’ve been really happy with their camps, and they’ve got good work ethic, lot of the work before I got here to help make my transition easier. It’s and they’re playing hard. been really good.

You just came from Pittsburgh, where you had a multitude of stars and It looks like you haven’t hired anybody new yet? game-breakers. You played on several teams with star power. This team historically has lacked that and is a score-by-committee team. Can that Nope. I’m taking my time with that stuff, and there aren’t really a lot of win in today’s NHL, and is this another area you’re going to have to holes I need to fill. I’ve been very comfortable with everybody, so I’m not address? going to just do things to do things. You know what I mean? It has to make sense. I don’t buy into the fact we can’t score goals. I don’t buy it. I think part of it is just getting confident, and you score goals by going to the net and by On the amateur side, does that mean directors of amateur scouting P.J. shooting the puck and by paying the price. If we pay the price, we’ll score Fenton and Darren Yopyk will co-run the draft again? goals. And from what I’ve seen so far, we have a lot of guys willing to pay the price. I really like what (Mats) Zuccarello brings to this lineup and I Yup. think he’s going to help a lot of guys generate more offense this year. I Let me ask you about final cuts. Rosters have to be in Tuesday. Will you also see us generating a lot of offense from our blue line. They all can make cuts between Thursday’s game and Sunday’s finale against skate. They all can move the puck. It’s one of the strengths of our team. Winnipeg, or after Sunday’s game?

Matt Dumba’s openly talking about scoring 30 goals. This is your first It’ll be afterwards. time seeing him up close and personal and he certainly doesn’t seem to be showing any ill effects from his season-ending injury. How excited are Do you think you’ll keep 23, or could it be 22? you with his prospects this season? It’s kind of the question mark. I’ve always liked him. The energy that he brings as well, even outside of What do you think of Drew Stafford’s camp so far? the game that he plays, I like his energy and what he brings to the table every night. On the ice, he is a fantastic player with one of the best slap It’s been good, it’s been good. He’s added to the group, and he’s a shots in the NHL. I’m very excited about what he can maybe bring us this veteran guy that’s been around for a long time, so he’s been good. As for year. whether we’ll offer him a contract, I don’t want to go there because I don’t want him reading anything. That wouldn’t be fair. Let him just keep Goaltending, analytically, Devan Dubnyk had a tough year last year. Are playing and then we’ll make a determination. you comfortable right now with what you’re seeing from your goaltenders? Nico Sturm, if he’s not going to be in the top 12, you’d want him in the minors, right? Absolutely. Oh, my God, yeah. Absolutely. Goalies need help, and we’ve got to play better in front of him. We have to score goals to alleviate Yes. The last thing we want to do — and I’m not saying he’s going there some pressure, too. If we do that, he’ll be better, but I’m very confident in or not, but he’s got to play. So, we’ll see. But he’s done very well. He our guys. He carried a big load last year. works hard, his speed is effective. He’s a good player.

Your first month on the job here, what’s been the biggest thing, the Victor Rask and J.T. Brown, are those two more decisions that are still to biggest eye-opener, so far? come or would you be willing to put them in the minors?

I think just the other things that come with being GM. It’s not just hockey. No decisions have been made. Nothing. We’re giving them a good The media stuff, things on the business side that I’ve not been a part of opportunity. They’re good players. They’ve just to keep doing what before. There are a lot of other things that you have to do, but I enjoy it. they’re doing. They both have had good camps, I think. Lots of meetings and calls, but I like it. From a personal standpoint, how long will you continue to stay at the In talking to a lot of your 31 other colleagues, it’s clear how respected hotel? you are amongst your GM counterparts. What’s it been like having trade conversations from the big chair now with a lot of more experienced I just got an apartment. Kara and I will live there, and that way, we can GMs? take our time and figure out where we want to live full time.

They’ve been good (laughing). I started getting a lot of calls from other GMs around the league when I first got the job, and they’re all very The Athletic LOADED: 09.27.2019 supportive. To a man, every one of them said, “If you need advice on anything or anything like that, give me a call.” It’s been great, yeah. It’s fun. It is, but you also have to do your homework and make sure you’re not doing something stupid. We’re not playing fantasy league. These are people’s lives that we’re talking about, and it’s taken very seriously. Like I said, no knee-jerk reaction stuff. I’m going to be patient and watch the team and learn the team and identify strengths and weaknesses. That doesn’t happen overnight and certainly not without playing any games.

No GM has tried to take advantage of the rookie yet, or they have?

I don’t know. Maybe they have (laughing).

Are you the type of GM that’ll be around the team a ton? Or do you see yourself doing a lot of pro and amateur scouting? 1154304 Montreal Canadiens

Confident Cale Fleury not surprised to survive latest Canadiens cuts

STU COWAN, MONTREAL GAZETTE

Updated: September 26, 2019

Defenceman Cale Fleury was still wearing a undershirt at practice Thursday with the Canadiens.

“I don’t want to jinx myself yet, so I’ll wait until I can get a Habs one later,” the 20-year-old said with a smile.

Fleury survived another round of cuts on Thursday as the Canadiens placed five players on NHL waivers: forwards Dale Weise, Matthew Peca and Philip Varone, along with defencemen Karl Alzner and Xavier Ouellet.

Fleury, who was selected by the Canadiens in the third round (87th overall) of the 2017 NHL Draft, played 60 games last season with the AHL’s Rocket, posting 9-14-23 totals and a minus-16.

“Laval last year, Cale had a really good start,” Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin said Thursday in Brossard. “But as a first-year pro, after Christmas a lot of these young players kind of tail off, which he did. But he had a good summer, came to training camp in good condition and he has played well and he earned the right to get probably another game on Saturday.”

The Canadiens will play their final pre-season game Saturday at the Bell Centre against the Ottawa Senators (7 p.m., TSN5, RDS, TSN 690 Radio). They will open the regular season next Thursday in Carolina against the Hurricanes (7 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN 690 Radio).

Fleury said he wasn’t surprised to still be on the Canadiens’ training- camp roster.

“I’ve been working for it all summer and my whole life so far,” he said. “So I think I’ve been doing pretty well and I’m going to try to continue to do that.”

When asked what he’s most proud of so far about his training-camp performance, the 6-foot-1, 201-pounder said: “Just my consistency so far, I think. I keep saying that especially for a young guy it’s the biggest thing you can show in camp is that you’re ready and you’re ready every night and I feel like for the most part I’ve done that.”

Top forward prospects Nick Suzuki and Ryan Poehling also survived Thursday’s cuts, meaning they will continue to live at the same Brossard hotel near the team’s practice rink.

“It has its perks, for sure,” Suzuki said with a smile when the fact he doesn’t have to make his own bed was mentioned. “The hotel is pretty good. There’s a few places to eat around, so we’re making the most of it. We’ve been to the same restaurants a bunch of times since we’ve been here. So we got to change it up … We’ve been trying to spread it out as much as possible, but there’s only so many options for around three weeks.”

Poehling practised with the team for the first time Thursday since suffering a concussion during a 4-3 pre-season win over the Florida Panthers last Wednesday in Bathurst, N.B. While Poehling and Suzuki have been battling for a job, the two 20-year-olds have also become good friends off the ice.

“Both of us want each other to make the team,” Suzuki said. “We want to come in together. I think both of us have a real good shot of starting with the team now. We’ve been hanging out every single day, video games, going out to dinner. It’s been a ton of fun getting to know him a lot more and hopefully we can play together for a long time in the future.”

Montreal Gazette LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154305 Montreal Canadiens

Canadiens' Nate Thompson can relate to five teammates put on waivers

STU COWAN, MONTREAL GAZETTE

Updated: September 26, 2019

Nate Thompson knows what it feels like. That’s why he can relate to what happened to five of his Canadiens teammates on Thursday when they were placed on NHL waivers.

“It’s tough,” Thompson said after forwards Dale Weise, Matthew Peca and Philip Varone were placed on waivers, along with defencemen Karl Alzner and Xavier Ouellet. “I’ve been there before … I had to go through the waiver process a couple of times.”

Thompson, 34, is heading into his 13th NHL season with his seventh team after stints with the Boston Bruins, New York Islanders, Tampa Bay Lightning, Anaheim Ducks, Ottawa Senators and Los Angeles Kings. The Lightning claimed him off waivers from the Islanders on Jan 21, 2010.

“It’s tough,” said Thompson, who was acquired by the Canadiens from the Kings at last season’s NHL trade deadline. “My only advice to them, I think, is since I’ve been through it … I know it’s hard to say and easier said than done, but just stay positive and just wait for your next opportunity, whether it’s getting picked up off waivers or getting a chance wherever.”

If the five players aren’t claimed by another NHL team by noon on Friday, they will all report to the AHL’s Laval Rocket.

“They’re all unbelievable guys and great in the room,” Thompson said. “Obviously, it’s the nature of the business.”

There are now 26 healthy players in camp — three over the NHL limit — including 15 forwards, eight defencemen and three goalies. Players on the bubble, judging by the lines and defence pairings at practice Thursday, include forwards Nick Cousins, Charles Hudon and Ryan Poehling, along with defencemen Mike Reilly, Christian Folin and Cale Fleury. Goalie Charlie Lindgren will remain in camp while Carey Price recovers from a slightly bruised left hand.

“I’m taking care of myself right now,” Hudon, who would have to clear waivers if cut, said after practice. “I’m just trying to do my stuff. The other players, it’s not my responsibility on stuff like that. So focus on myself, focus on what I’m doing when I’m jumping on the ice. That’s it. I’m going day by day. I get an extra day, so I just need to do my job and be ready every time I go on the ice.”

“At this moment, we’re more than 23,” GM Marc Bergevin said when he met with the media at noon Thursday in Brossard. “So we still have some cuts to make. We’ll probably make our final decisions on Sunday or Monday to submit our roster to the league. Some youngsters stood out, so that’s music to our ears. To have young players pushing and battling for jobs is good news.”

When asked about the possibility of making a trade before the season starts, Bergevin said: “Right now, around the league, mostly teams have extra players as you see the waivers every day. And usually those players who are available, we already have those (type of) players in place. So I would say it’s pretty quiet for me and I would say around the league right now. There’s a few RFAs that still need to be signed and the few teams who need to sign those guys are sitting tight and waiting (to see) what it’s going to cost them.”

Montreal Gazette LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154306 Montreal Canadiens Drouin has become a target for frustrated Canadiens fans and he must feel the weight of the city on his shoulders at times. It can’t be easy. He spent the summer watching video from last season with assistant coach Dominique Ducharme looking for ways to improve his game. Stu Cowan: Are Canadiens losing patience with winger Jonathan Drouin? “There’s not one thing I’ve learned … it’s a bunch of stuff that you take in,” Drouin said. “Look at other players, look at other things they do and know what you want to improve in your game and, for me, it’s just being STU COWAN, MONTREAL GAZETTE more around the puck. The one thing I’d have to tell you is to be more Updated: September 26, 2019 around the puck, if it’s with it or without it. Make sure if it pops out or something and it goes somewhere I’m right on it and I’ll be more active around there.”

Remember playing shinny on the outdoor rink and there always seemed Drouin could learn a lot by watching teammate Max Domi, who has elite- to be that one kid nobody could get the puck off? level skill but also works as hard as Brendan Gallagher. It’s why Canadiens fans fell in love with Domi last season. Jonathan Drouin was one of those kids. Drouin is only 24, but you have to wonder if he will ever really grow from Drouin didn’t like to skate as a kid, but he’d play road hockey for hours that kid playing shinny on the outdoor rink. and go on the outdoor rink in his boots and work on his stickhandling.

“I would just stand in front of the net and wait for passes or play goalie,” Drouin recalled in an interview before the start of the 2017-18 season. “At Montreal Gazette LOADED: 09.27.2019 one point, my dad said, ‘If you want to play, you’re going to have to take your boots off and put some skates on and go out there.’ Eventually, he just threw me out there on skates and said: ‘You’re not coming off, no matter what.’ I got used to it and kept going.”

Drouin didn’t play organized hockey until age 8, starting out at the Novice B level, but his skating quickly caught up to the other kids and then they couldn’t catch him or take the puck off him.

Drouin’s natural talent must have made the game seem easy as he moved up the minor hockey ranks, eventually selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning with the No. 3 overall pick at the 2013 NHL Draft.

No one has ever doubted Drouin’s talent, but his work ethic and desire have been questioned — and for good reason. It can frustrate fans, coaches and general managers, and that’s happening again before the NHL regular season even starts.

“He had some good moments, but overall we need more,” Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin said Thursday about Drouin’s training-camp performance. “He’s a skilled player, he has talent, he has a lot of attributes. I know last year he had a tough finish.”

That’s putting it mildly as Drouin went pointless in 16 of his last 18 games, producing only one goal and two assists during that span as the Canadiens missed the playoffs by two points. He has only one assist in four pre-season games.

“He had a good summer,” Bergevin said about Drouin. “Training camp is training camp. I mean, he’s not the only one who’s not up to par right now. So I know we’re picking on Jo — or you guys asked me about Jo — but I can name you a few guys that are not up to par. That’s what training camp is all about.”

Head coach Claude Julien has been moving Drouin around on lines and from right wing to left wing. At practice Thursday, he was at left wing on a line with Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Jordan Weal.

“We’re looking for the best fit for Jo so that he and the team can have success,” Bergevin said. “I expect more, the coaches expect more and I think Jo does, too.”

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported this week that the Canadiens are looking to trade a forward and that Drouin was a player to watch because he had only 11:57 of ice time in Monday’s 3-0 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, the lowest on the team.

When Bergevin was asked about the report on Thursday, he said: “I don’t know where they come from. Most of those reports are from somebody in his basement in Toronto. So I don’t pay attention to them, to be honest with you.”

When Drouin was asked for his take on the report, he said: “I don’t have a take on it. That’s your job. That’s not mine.”

Former Lightning GM Steve Yzerman seemed to have run out of patience with Drouin when he traded him to the Canadiens two summers ago in exchange for defenceman Mikhail Sergachev and you have to wonder if the same thing is happening with Bergevin, who signed Drouin to a six-year, US$33-million contract after acquiring him. 1154307 Montreal Canadiens

Canadiens legend Guy Lafleur has successful heart surgery

STU COWAN, MONTREAL GAZETTE

Updated: September 26, 2019

Canadiens legend Guy Lafleur underwent successful quadruple-bypass heart surgery Thursday morning in Montreal.

“Guy Lafleur underwent quadruple bypass heart surgery earlier this morning at the Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM),” the Canadiens said in a statement released at the request of the Lafleur family. “This procedure was necessary after a routine examination detected a cardiac issue. The operation was successful, and doctors predict a full recovery after several months of convalescence. The family wishes to thank the entire medical team, as well as the personnel at the CHUM, and will not issue any further comment.”

Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin met with the media at noon Thursday in Brossard after placing five players on NHL waivers — forwards Dale Weise, Matthew Peca and Philip Varone, along with defencemen Karl Alzner and Xavier Ouellet — and started his news conference with a message for Lafleur.

“For behalf of the Montreal Canadiens family I’d like to wish Guy Lafleur the best in his recovery and we hope to see him soon at the Bell Centre healthy,” Bergevin said.

Montreal Gazette LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154308 Montreal Canadiens have another game against Ottawa on Saturday and the evaluation process continues for our young players.”

Bergevin was asked about the balancing act team management has to Canadiens Notebook: Dale Weise, Karl Alzner among five put on waivers do when deciding whether it’s better for a young player to be sent down to Laval and play a lot, or stay with the Canadiens in a more limited role.

“If these young players could help the Montreal Canadiens and at the STU COWAN, MONTREAL GAZETTE same time keep progressing, then we’ll keep them around,” the GM said. “If at some point we see that they’re tailing off or the pace is getting too Updated: September 26, 2019 fast for them as the level of NHL players — the vets get in better shape — not shape, but their mindset changes. Guys who played 10 years in the league don’t come to training camp the same way as a kid. So as it The Canadiens made more cuts to their training-camp roster on picks up the first 10 games, if they can’t keep up and they don’t get the Thursday, placing five players on waivers. ice time that is going to help them in different situations then we’ll have to make a decision and that would be a possibility. As we know, the young Forwards Dale Weise, Matthew Peca and Philip Varone, along with players don’t need waivers, so that’s easy. But again, if they could help defencemen Karl Alzner and Xavier Ouellet were placed on waivers at the Montreal Canadiens and be good we’ll keep them.” noon, giving other NHL teams 24 hours to claim them if they wish. If they aren’t claimed, the players will report to the AHL’s Laval Rocket. Paul Byron (upper body) and Ryan Poehling (concussion) were both on the ice for Thursday’s practice after recovering from their injuries. “We made some cuts today,” GM Marc Bergevin said when he met with the media at noon in Brossard. “We have two days of good practices, “Good, really good,” Byron said when asked how he was feeling after good game on Saturday and then we’ll get going.” suffering his injury during last Thursday’s 5-4 shootout win over the Florida Panthers at the Bell Centre. The Canadiens play their final pre-season game Saturday night when the Ottawa Senators visit the Bell Centre (7 p.m., TN5, RDS, TSN 690 “Not a concussion,” Byron said about his injury. “Safe to say that. Just Radio) and then open the regular season next Thursday in Carolina had a little neck soreness. against the Hurricanes (7 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN 690 Radio). “The team kept me out for precautionary reasons,” he added. “I think I’m “Last couple of games, I thought we were a little flat,” Bergevin said a guy who battles pretty hard every shift. I don’t think they needed me out about back-to-back 3-0 pre-season losses to the Toronto Maple Leafs. there every game. They wanted to make sure everything was good to go. “We didn’t play with the pace that we played last year. But other than The whole purpose of training camp is to make sure you’re ready for that, I thought early on we did. Again, training camp we give players Game 1 of the season and I’m going to prepare these next two days to chances to show what they can do and with the cuts today we made, make sure I’m in the lineup Saturday. It’s an important game for our team that’s why I wanted to make those cuts ASAP so we could get some to jell and make sure we’re doing the right things for Game 1. That’s my good practices with lower numbers and have the last (pre-season) game only focus right now is make sure every day I get a little bit better to be and get going for our opener in Carolina. ready for Game 1.”

“At this moment, we’re more than 23 (players),” Bergevin added. “So we When asked if he would have been able to play through his injury if it still have some cuts to make. We’ll probably make our final decisions on were the regular season, Byron responded: “One hundred per cent.” Sunday or Monday to submit our roster to the league. Some youngsters stood out, so that’s music to our ears. To have young players pushing Bergevin started his news conference with a message to Hall of Famer and battling for jobs is good news.” Guy Lafleur, who underwent a successful quadruple-bypass heart surgery Thursday morning in Montreal. Nick Suzuki is still at training camp and it looks like the 20-year-old forward will earn a spot on the team after skating at right wing on a line “For behalf of the Montreal Canadiens family, I’d like to wish Guy Lafleur with Max Domi at centre and Artturi Lehkonen on left wing during practice the best in his recovery and we hope to see him soon at the Bell Centre Thursday. healthy.”

“When you look at young players, especially in Nick’s case, you look at Lafleur, 68, won five Stanley Cups during his 14 seasons with the where was he a year ago, where he is this year,” said Bergevin, who Canadiens and won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player acquired Suzuki from the Vegas Golden Knights last September as part in 1976-77 and 1977-78. He also won the Art Ross Trophy as the of the Max Pacioretty trade. “So for me personally — and I could speak league’s leading scorer in 1975-76, 1976-77 and 1977-78. for our coaching staff — his training camp last year and today, it’s light In 2017, Lafleur was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players in years (difference). I think going to Owen Sound, having that (OHL) history. playoff run … correct me if I’m wrong, I think he won the OHL scoring (title) in the playoffs. I mean, that really brought his game to a new level Alzner is heading into the third season of his five-year, US$23.125-million and what we’ve seen so far of Nick is we see the Nick that is maybe contract and will earn $4.625 million this season whether he plays in quicker than I thought we would get there. But again, he still has one Laval or with the Canadiens. (pre-season) game but he has played very well.” Last season, Alzner played only nine games with the Canadiens, picking Defenceman Cale Fleury, 20, is also still around and was paired with up one assist and posting a plus-1. In 34 games with the Rocket, the 31- Brett Kulak at Thursday’s practice. year-old defenceman posted 1-5-6 totals and was plus-2.

“Laval last year, Cale had a really good start,” Bergevin said. “But as a “The buyout window is closed (as of June 30) so he’s going to go to first-year pro, after Christmas a lot of these young players kind of tail off, Laval if he clears waivers,” Bergevin said about Alzner. “Again, knock on which he did. But he had a good summer, came to training camp in good wood, I’d like to stay healthy for the whole year on defence, but it’s not condition and he has played well and he earned the right to get probably going to happen. When I send somebody down, I always say when I another game on Saturday.” make the call to (Rocket coach) Joël Bouchard down in Laval and we need a defenceman: ‘Who could help us? Who’s playing the best?’ And if Jesperi Kotkaniemi hasn’t had a great training camp, but Bergevin isn’t his name comes up, he’ll be up. If it’s somebody else, it will be somebody overly concerned. else.” “A bit of a slow start,” Bergevin said about the young centre. “Again, it’s Bergevin acquired Weise from the Philadelphia Flyers on Feb. 9, along that famous second year. But Claude (Julien) and the coaching staff with defenceman Christian Folin, in exchange for Byron Froese and have had conversations with him. It’s a process, he’s only 19. For sure David Schlemko. Weise, 31, is heading into the final season of his four- he still has some things to work on, but he’s going in the right direction. year, US$9.4-million contract with a $2.35 million salary-cap hit. He will “Yes, he still belongs,” the GM added. “But things could change as actually earn $1.75 million this season, according to CapFriendly.com, certain dates approach. We will put together the best lineup that gives us whether he plays in the NHL or the AHL. the best chance of winning right from the start of the season. I still have Peca, 26, is heading into the final season of his two-year, US$2.6 million until Oct. 1 to make decisions on our 23 players. I’m going to wait. We one-way contract he signed with the Canadiens last summer as a free agent and will earn $1.3 million this season whether he plays in the NHL or the AHL.

Bergevin signed Varone as a free agent on July 3 and gave the 28-year- old a one-year, two-way contract that will pay him $700,000 in the NHL and $450,000 in the AHL.

Ouellet, 26, has a one-year, two-way contract that pays him $700,000 in the NHL and $300,000 in the AHL.

NHL teams do not receive full cap relief when a player on a one-way contract is reassigned to the AHL. Here’s how CapFriendly.com explains it:

Teams do not receive full cap relief when a player on a one-way NHL contract is reassigned to the American Hockey League, or is loaned to a team in another professional league.

The players salary cap hit, minus the sum of the minimum NHL salary for the respective season and $375,000, still counts towards the team’s salary cap total. The cap hit relief is therefore equal to the minimum salary of the respective season + $375,000:

2019-20: $700,000 + $375,000 = $1,075,000

2020-21: $700,000 + $375,000 = $1,075,000

2021-22: $750,000 + $375,000 = $1,125,000

Montreal Gazette LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154309 Montreal Canadiens assertion need look no further than Claude Julien’s remark earlier in camp that size is among the desirable elements in a balanced forward group. It was a clear reference to Poehling.

The changing of the guard in Montreal appears to be happening sooner None of which is to say any of the trio are guaranteed anything. It could than expected be that one, two, all or none make the team out of camp; and if they do it doesn’t imply they’ll stick.

“If these young players can help the Montreal Canadiens and at the By Sean Gordon same time keep progressing, then we’ll keep them around,” Bergevin said. “If at some point we see they’re tailing off or the pace is getting too Sep 26, 2019 fast for them as the level of NHL players – you know, the vets’ mindset changes, guys who have played 10 years in the league don’t come into training camp the same way as a kid – so as it picks up in the first 10 A few moments after he consigned five veteran players to the waiver list games and they can’t keep up and they don’t get the ice time that’s going – Karl Alzner, Dale Weise, Matthew Peca, Phil Varone and Xavier to help them in different situations, then we’ll have to make a decision . . . Ouellet – Marc Bergevin stepped up to a lectern and said some stuff we know the young players don’t need waivers so that’s an easy about the trio of 20-year-old rookies that remain in camp. (decision). But if they can help the Montreal Canadiens and be good, we’ll keep them.” Shall we parse his remarks to within an inch of their lives? We shall indeed. It’s precisely the youngsters’ ability to help by being good that has upended the pre-season game plan somewhat. Wording and tenses can be revealing, and when Athlétique colleague Marc Antoine Godin asked Bergevin in French about what goes into As the final cuts loom, Fleury, also 20, practiced on Thursday to the right deciding whether to keep 14 forwards and seven defencemen, for of a Brett Kulak who is already pencilled into the opening day lineup. It is example, or 13 of one and eight of the other, he answered thusly: hazardous to read too much into line combinations at practice, but with the final preseason game two days away it’s possible to draw “Injuries are a factor in the decision. Also, if you’re going to keep a young conclusions with a tiny bit more confidence. guy, you’re not going to keep him if he’s not going to get good ice time. You can do that for a short period, but eventually if I see that ice time “He’s played well,” Bergevin said of Fleury, “he’s earned the right isn’t enough of an opportunity for our young players – you have training probably to get another game Saturday.” camp, then you have the first 10 games, and then the pace goes up, and if they’re not able to keep up we’ll take a decision. It doesn’t mean they If Fleury and/or Poehling stay with the club, it will be at the expense of a won’t eventually keep up. Otherwise we can keep them, again it depends player who is signed to a one-way NHL contract. on them and their performances.” At this point it’s not news that Suzuki, who practiced on the right wing The second half of that answer (“if I see that ice time isn’t enough” and “if beside Max Domi and Artturi Lehkonen on Thursday, has almost they’re not able to keep up”) assumes the young guys in question – plural certainly carved himself a spot on the opening day roster. – are going to be there from the start. He qualifies it by referencing As The Athletic’s Arpon Basu wrote after Wednesday’s exhibition tilt “good” ice time and including the usual caveat about performances, but against the Maple Leafs, Suzuki has conclusively dispelled whatever that’s a tell nevertheless. doubts existed as to his readiness for the NHL. He’s been used at centre The decisions are not yet final, and the Canadiens general manager and on the wing, he’s played on the power play and killed penalties, he’s could have hammered that point by being noncommittal. That’s not what been leaned on by bigger, stronger players and responded in kind. None he did. of it has felt like a stretch.

A few moments later he was asked about the possibility Ryan Poehling, Bergevin didn’t exactly play coy as to his impressions of the 20-year-old who returned to practice eight days after suffering a concussion in his former Ontario Hockey League standout. first exhibition game against Florida, could begin the year as a fourth-line “When you look at young players, especially in Nick’s case, you look at option – for what it’s worth he spent Thursday in the same powder blue where was he a year ago (and) where is he this year,” he said. “For me, jersey as Charles Hudon and Nick Cousins, who are in the mix for a job personally, and I can speak for the coaching staff, his training camp last on the fourth line. The operating assumption being it’s preferable for a year and today, it’s light years. I think going to Owen Sound, having that 20-year-old who was a two-way star in the NCAA to play heavy, top-six playoff run, correct me if I’m wrong but I think he won the OHL scoring in minutes in Laval than it is to shoulder a lighter load as a depth player in the playoffs, that to me brought his game to a new level. What we’ve the NHL. seen so far of Nick, we see the Nick (we expected) maybe quicker than I “Fifteen years ago the fourth line guys played five or six minutes, that’s thought he would get there, but he still has one game. He has played the past,” Bergevin said, once again en français. “Now the fourth line very well.” plays 10-12 minutes, so it’s good ice time. I have no problem, if Claude Suzuki’s play has been so solid, in fact, it appears to have elbowed and the coaching staff decide that Ryan’s utilization should be on the Jonathan Drouin out of the top six (Drouin’s largely uninspired play hasn’t fourth line, and even if he misses a game here or there it’s not the end of helped his cause). the world, it’s the overall picture. You don’t want to have a kid who plays two minutes or doesn’t play, that’s not going to feed his progression. But Drouin is suddenly the subject of trade chatter again; in response to there’s an old expression, never will (a GM) say ‘I left a guy in the questions on the rumours the GM lobbed a zinger: “I don’t know where American league too long’.” they come from. Most of those reports are from somebody in his basement in Toronto, so I don’t pay attention to that to be honest with Notice how he clarified what he means by “good ice time”? He ends his you.” Bergevin, it would seem, is already in mid-season form. He then answer with a caveat but there isn’t much semiotic analysis required, no stood up for the player, saying that while he, the coaches and Drouin all enveloping mystery to crack. expect to see more from the creative winger, “he’s not the only who’s not It appears plain that if Poehling is cleared to play on Friday and gives a up to par right now.” decent account of himself in the final exhibition game against Ottawa on Drouin, when asked about the speculation, said, “I don’t have a take on Saturday night, the Canadiens won’t let the prospect of slotting him in the it. I’ll let you guys tweet about it and talk about it. That’s your job, it’s not fourth line mix deter them from putting him on the flight to Carolina for the mine.” Oct. 3 opener. If a move is in the offing, Bergevin didn’t let on. That’s not unexpected, Bergevin likes to say it’s up to players to make his decisions easy by but he went so far as to qualify the trade market as quiet, at least as far being too good to ignore. That certainly sums up Nick Suzuki’s camp to as he’s concerned. The impression he left is it would count as a surprise this point, and to a lesser extent Cale Fleury’s. Poehling was terrific in the if the Canadiens were to make a significant move in the coming days. one game he played, and he brings an added physical dimension to what remains a relatively undersized forward group. He might be better served Assuming the official roster is composed only of players currently in with an apprenticeship in the minors, but it’s a more well-rounded lineup camp, it’s at least theoretically possible the Canadiens will open the with him than without. Those looking for a hook on which to hang that season with eight players aged 24 and younger. That would qualify as another milestone in the don’t-call-it-a-rebuild Bergevin is executing.

Thursday’s roster pruning was intended to set the stage for two final days of practice before the last pre-season tune-up. The final cuts will be made Sunday evening or Monday morning, and the current numbers are these: the training camp roster has 15 forwards, eight defencemen and three goalies.

Charlie Lindgren will be sent to Laval once Carey Price, who took to the ice for the first time since bruising a finger earlier this week, is pronounced fit. That will almost certainly happen before Monday.

Beyond that, three blueliners are fighting for two jobs: Fleury, Mike Reilly and Christian Folin. Fleury and Folin are righties, Reilly is a lefty who looked, ahem, not entirely comfortable playing the right side in Toronto on Wednesday. Folin was similarly underwhelming. But, like Reilly, he’s not waiver exempt, while Fleury is.

Three forwards are also battling for two jobs: Poehling, Hudon and Cousins. Of the three, only Poehling won’t require waivers to be demoted. In other words, the kid needs to be demonstrably better than one of the other two in order to make the risk of losing that player for nothing palatable. In limited showings, he has been.

It would appear a lot hinges on Saturday’s game against the Senators.

Suzuki said he and Poehling have been palling around since the beginning of camp, sharing meals and playing Fortnite. A plan has also been hatched.

“We want to come in (to the NHL) together,” Suzuki said.

In theory that’s up to the GM. But if Bergevin’s words hold true, at least part of the decision still belongs to them.

The Athletic LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154310 Montreal Canadiens still very much the most important aspect of a hockey player’s foundation. You can only get so far by listening and working hard.

Coming off a season that featured a severe scarcity of talent on the farm, What it’s like to open training camp under the calm intensity of Joël Bouchard and company are gearing up for an influx of quality prospects. Bouchard It will be a nice change of pace for the Canadiens’ farm team, whose development factory has collected dust for the better part of a decade.

“They won’t all be Hall of Famers, but it’s something to work with, and By Marc Dumont that’s exciting,” said Bouchard. “And it’s not just talent, but it’s young talent, which is even better. Sep 26, 2019 “Exciting players are coming, but we don’t quite know who, so I’m going

to focus on who’s in Laval,” he said, before adding, “Success isn’t a The community rink at Place Bell sits idle, awaiting the start of the magic trick. It takes time and hard work. It took 365 days for Cale (Fleury) Rocket’s training camp, scheduled for 10 a.m. on Monday morning. and Alex (Belzile) to be ready for (Canadiens) camp.

A new, yet familiar face jumps on the ice. Sean Burke, a professional “We’ll see what the next 365 days bring.” scout for the Canadiens and former NHL goaltender, joins goaltending That’s Bouchard’s way of reducing the ever-growing hype surrounding coach Marco Marciano, and they quickly get to work on rebound control the Canadiens prospects, but there’s no avoiding it; the development with Michael McNiven, Cayden Primeau and Connor LaCouvee. that’s about to place in Laval is nothing short of the most crucial aspect of At 9:30, Michael Pezzetta is the first skater to hop on the ice, with the the organization’s future success. No one will play a more important role rest of the team in tow. Within five minutes, all 22 players are on the ice. than Bouchard in guiding these young players to the NHL.

Ten minutes later a red helmet emerges from the passage under the You could even argue, rather easily, that Bouchard is the most important stands, the first sign that things are about to get serious. Joël Bouchard person currently employed by the Canadiens. is here. When pressed about his importance or the incoming high-end players, He slams his stick on the ice to get things going. Practice is underway 12 he’s quick to shift the subject onto a team-wide commitment by his minutes before practice is scheduled to be underway. All players stand at skaters. If you bring up Cale Fleury, he’s quick to point out Alexandre attention while Bouchard gives his orders. An intense game of follow the Alain or David Sklenička’s progress. If you mention Nick Suzuki or Ryan leader unfolds, featuring assistant coach Daniel Jacob at the head of the Poehling, he’ll name six others that deserve attention. It’s not that he’s pack. Lunges at centre ice are the first test, followed by quick passes and uncomfortable giving praise to the high-end players, but he wants to a warmup lap or two. A few minutes later, Bouchard’s whistle announces spend as much time talking about Lamarche as he does speaking about the first of many water breaks. Josh Brook.

The Laval Rocket hopefuls line up by the bench and there’s already clear “I want these guys to play to their full potential. Is it always good enough? separation between the groups. Those who have previously practised Of course not!” he said, before adding, “But if they’re giving their all, under Bouchard are standing tall, smiling and sipping water at their they’re usually taking steps in the right direction, and that’s the ultimate leisure. The others are hunched, guzzling water and realizing that they goal as a coach. We want to win, sure, but we want these guys to do woefully underestimated the intensity that would take place at an AHL their best, without hurting their individual development. practice. “If they fall, we’ll pick them back up and continue to guide them.” As quickly as the first drill starts, it ends, with Bouchard blowing his As usual, everyone is on the ice 20 minutes early. By the time Bouchard whistle while simultaneously shaking his head. blows his whistle to announce the actual start of practice at 11:00 on “I need you guys to be better by Thursday,” he bellows, after giving a Tuesday morning, a few players are already lagging behind. They’ll catch detailed list of instructions to his players. up, eventually, but for now, they’re focused on their breathing and are probably counting down the seconds to the next water break. The group of players, many of whom were hastily added to the training camp list due to a lack of warm bodies, aren’t good enough, and so Always the first to hit the ice, Pezzetta is flying out there. Newcomer Bouchard calls an end to practice at 10:40, an incredibly short period of Cayden Primeau is talking to Burke at the half-boards. Decked out in new time by his standards. Laval Rocket-themed pads, Michael McNiven robs LNAH tryout André Bouvet-Morrissette. Lukas Vejdemo fools LaCouvee with a great wrist There’s no point in pushing them any further. They dipped their toes into shot. the frigid waters, and that’s a start. Thankfully, reinforcements are on their way, because this militia is not ready for battle. The whistle is heard once more and a series of intense two-minute drills begin. Bouchard stops the third drill just a few seconds into it to clarify his “I understand we’re in the business of winning, but as a coach, and a orders. There’s no time to waste. While Bouchard and Alex Burrows human, we have to be fair,” explained Bouchard. “There’s only so much teach the forwards to evade their defensive coverage, Jacob is at the we can ask from certain players. No one likes winning more than other end of the rink teaching the opposite drill with the defencemen. coaches, but you have to be able to know when to pull back.” One more hot lap and it’s time for another water break, the second of the He’ll never admit it, but Bouchard is talking about talent, a word he morning. seems wary of. It’s 11:08. He prefers to look at it another way: he wants to coach players that want to be coached, regardless of their pedigree. To him, listening is on par Practice won’t be over until almost 1:00 p.m., though the players, who with stickhandling when it comes to hockey talent. are monitored via high tech equipment throughout practice, are given a relatively lengthy break to ensure they’re not overexerting themselves. That’s why the first thing he asked me on Monday morning was whether I had a chance to watch Maxim Lamarche play with the Canadiens When they return from the break, Bouchard holds court. It’s time for instructions. There’s no more yelling. The ice becomes a classroom. Sure, he looked good, but what about the … “The turnover!” he interrupted. “He’s intense, but he cares, and that’s exactly what I need,” said Otto Leskinen following his first practice with the team. “Who cares? That puck had eyes! Max had a great game, was never on his heels, and everyone knows it. He was the guy I was cheering for the It’s a recurring quote from newcomers in Laval. I’ve yet to speak to a most in the press box. I was going nuts. He listened to our instructions player that doesn’t immediately acknowledge Bouchard’s intensity, while and worked hard to improve himself. ” adding the caveat that they crave well-intentioned intensity.

Everyone wants to be taught by someone who believes in them, no Bouchard’s greatest skill may very well be his ability to walk the line matter their potential and the Lamarche story is a perfect example of the between friendship and coaching. He sees himself as a mentor for these pride Bouchard takes in all his players. But in the long run, raw talent is players and he wants nothing more than for them to take the next step in explain the drill to their group of players, Evans is doing the same to the their hockey careers, wherever that may bring them. four players lined up on the boards in front of him.

For some, like Alex Belzile, it has brought them to their first NHL contract “You have to stand right there, and as soon as you hear the whistle, you at the age of 28, for others, like Jake Evans and Cale Fleury, it has drive to the net,” he says, before jumping into the ongoing drill to replace placed them at the front of the line when it comes to prospects ready to a player that missed his cue. The trio scores and Evans cheers, a take the next step. reminder from the second-year pro that practice can be fun, despite the demands in terms of tempo and effort. “You have to be a sponge around him,” said Belzile. “I was working hard, but I wasn’t working smart. The coaching staff wants to help us get The energy level slowly rises from that point, until Bouchard’s whistle better, we’d be crazy not to embrace that.” makes its nth appearance of the morning. The players form a semi-circle around him and tap their sticks vigorously following Bouchard’s speech, “Calm but intense” is how Belzile describes Bouchard. And though that which was too quiet to hear from the stands. may seem like an oxymoron, it’s probably the aptest description of the Rocket coach. A very intense hour later, practice is over.

From the outside, he may seem a little unhinged. “Practice was a lot lighter than other days, eh Nicky?” Bouchard quipped to Nikita Jevpalovs, the Latvian forward who spent three years with He’s often caught yelling at his players, though the message varies. Bouchard in Blainville.

“One of the biggest misconceptions is that my intensity is negative. It can Jevpalovs responds with the kind of smile children give their father after a be very positive,” explains Bouchard. “I remember a situation with Joël terrible joke. Teasdale when he played for me in Boisbriand. The game was televised, and when Teasdale reached the bench I bent over to speak directly in his “Tomorrow will be easier,” he promised. ear. Following the game, people were asking me why I was being so tough on Joel.” There’s been a lot of praise sent Bouchard’s way, even though there have only been hints of success from a team standpoint. “He had a great game!” they said. A lot of it is based on potential. From a fan point of view, much of it is “Of course he did,” Bouchard answered. “I wasn’t yelling anything based on hope, something that’s been missing in Montreal in recent negative. I was telling him, with my intensity, how proud I was of him, and years, though it’s starting to re-emerge, slowly yet surely. that he was doing exactly what I asked.” The signs are there when it comes to Bouchard’s coaching prowess, but Calm intensity. the proof will be in the results down the road, not the minor prospect success stories that look good relative to the past, when the bar was set “I’m very emotional, but people don’t know about the other side of me,” so low that it was located somewhere in the Mariana Trench. he said “The side that walks into the room after a big loss and remains calm. People don’t see that side of me. I’m tough, but I’m very close to If this is a road trip, Bouchard and the Rocket haven’t even hit the first my players. My door is open all the time.” mile marker.

It doesn’t always work. Some players don’t buy in, at least not They’re still gassing up. immediately. Daniel Audette was one of those players. He managed to get more than 40 players to buy into his system last “December 13th!” he immediately says when I bring up Audette’s rocky season, which instilled a much-needed strong work ethic in Laval. But season. That was the date of Bouchard’s third meeting with Audette, a Bouchard has yet to prove he’s the right person to lead the meeting in which he claims Audette finally bought in. Judging by developmental rebuild, mostly because he hasn’t had the right tools to Audette’s lack of enthusiasm when questioned about his relationship with get the job done, which makes this pivotal season that much more Bouchard at the end of year media availability, it was clear that the 22- interesting. year-old did not particularly enjoy his last season in Laval. He said all the right things, but his body language betrayed his words. The stakes, along with the pressure, have risen, not to mention the fans are hungry for a little taste of success. “He had bad habits and we were seeing no progression. But he eventually bought in,” said Bouchard. Fortunately for them, so is Bouchard.

Audette would go on to sign an AHL contract with the Springfield “I don’t want to coach a playoff team. I want to coach a championship Thunderbirds on Sept. 19, which led to Bouchard sending him a team,” he said. congratulatory text. A lot hangs in the balance this season, including what may eventually “I love that kid,” he said. hang in the rafters at the Bell Centre.

I believe him, but actions speak louder than words. There was no contract offer from the Canadiens at the end of the season, unlike The Athletic LOADED: 09.27.2019 Michael McCarron, who agreed to a one-year, two-way contract with the team following his injury-shortened season.

He too struggled at first, but he quickly bought in. There was no third meeting.

Part of the buy-in includes homework, which Bouchard doled out to every single player, with the exception of Belzile, as a parting gift at the end of the season. It’s not homework in the traditional sense; no one is studying the Pythagorean theorem. We’re talking about exercise plans, weight- loss instructions and a list of weaknesses they need to work on during their off months.

For Evans, the homework included taking shots on his brand new shooting tarp and shooter tutor, which was purchased by none other than Bouchard himself.

“Hey! At least he’s shooting!” joked Bouchard as Evans’ stick explodes on an awkward slapshot attempt half an hour into practice.

Evans, Brook and Belzile are taking part in their first Rocket training session of the season on Wednesday morning, following their strong training camps in Montreal. Though he’s just 23, Evans has taken on a key leadership role on the farm. While Bouchard, Burrows and Jacob 1154311 Nashville Predators

Have no fear, Predators goalie Juuse Saros' gold pads soon will be here

Paul Skrbina, Nashville Tennessean

Published 4:55 p.m. CT Sept. 26, 2019 | Updated 4:58 p.m. CT Sept. 26, 2019

Out with the gold, in with the new?

Not so fast, Predators goalie Juuse Saros said.

Saros' gold goalie pads created quite a stir last season. They returned this preseason, as recently as last week during practice. But the old golds had seen better days.

Littered with black scuffs from all the pucks they'd absorbed, the pads had lost their cushion.

So Saros moved on to a pair of white blockers, which he wore Wednesday before a 3-0 win against the Hurricanes in the team's final preseason home game, when Mattias Ekholm scored a goal with his face. Saros did not play, but his pads drew some attention.

"I have gold coming, so people can calm down," Saros said with a laugh Thursday after practice at Centennial Sportsplex. "You guys don’t have to worry."

The inspiration for the gold pads came from a fellow goalie, Saros said last season.

"I remember watching (Marc-Andre) Fleury growing up. I loved his yellow stuff in Pittsburgh," he said.

Though he plans to wear his new gold pads when they arrive, he said he also plans to employ the white ones in the future.

"I like those too," he said.

Saros said a pair of pads typically lasts him two to three months.

Saros' change in equipment wardrobe inspired his teammate and mentor, Pekka Rinne, to do the same. He switched to navy blue pads about a month-and-a-half later.

Tennessean LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154312 Nashville Predators If there’s a particular difference this season, Rinne said, it’s that “we have more depth nowadays.”

“The most important thing with this preseason is how we take over Expect more of the same from Predators, who should contend again games,” defenseman Mattias Ekholm said. “… I feel like we wear teams down. We weather the storm in the first (period), and we just keep coming at them and they can’t handle us in the second and third. This team is well built.” Gentry Estes, Nashville Tennessean Far from rebuilding, this team also hasn’t had to reload. Published 5:00 a.m. CT Sept. 26, 2019 | Updated 1:56 p.m. CT Sept. 26, 2019 If there's a reason to like the Predators' chances after a tough postseason end to what had been another strong season, it'll again be so

many of them remaining together. They’re supposed to be good again. “We haven't fulfilled our ultimate goal,” Ellis said, “but overall, it just That seems a consensus in the hockey world outside of Bridgestone seems like we come to play each year. Nothing changes. Arena. “A couple of new faces, and we continue on our path to being It’s certainly the expectation inside it, too. champions.”

“We were a good team last year. We've been a good team for the last couple of years,” Predators defenseman Ryan Ellis said. “We expect Tennessean LOADED: 09.27.2019 nothing less than just getting better every year.”

As unpredictable as the NHL’s postseason tends to be, as Nashville’s team has learned, the Predators have continued to be a reliable fixture in the sport. Their playoff streak under coach Peter Laviolette is at an impressive five years entering the 2019-20 season, which starts for the Predators next Thursday.

What can be expected this season? More of the same, really.

A new season is again supposed to end in the playoffs with a run at the organization’s first Stanley Cup.

The Predators aren’t exactly a Cup favorite this season, but they’re not far from it. ESPN listed Nashville fifth in its July preseason NHL power rankings, behind only Tampa Bay, Boston, Toronto and Vegas.

A site called Oddsshark.com had the Predators at 18-1 odds to win the Cup this season, which is behind eight other teams, only two of which are better than 10-1.

Something called The Sports Geek listed the over-under on the Predators’ point total this season at 97.5 (last season’s team earned 100, which won the Central Division).

You get the idea.

“It’s a pretty confident group going into the regular season right now,” goalie Pekka Rinne said after Wednesday night’s 3-0 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes, which made four victories in five preseason games for the Predators.

Even after P.K. Subban was dealt to New Jersey in a move to cut salary costs this offseason – and the subsequent signing of center Matt Duchene – things really haven’t changed that much.

In Smashville, they seldom have. For its relative youth, this has been a franchise of remarkable stability and low turnover, from the front office to the roster. These players actually have resisted change in the recent past, asking for something that isn’t broken to not be fixed.

Of the 26 players listed on the Predators’ training camp roster entering Wednesday night’s preseason game against Carolina, all but four were listed as being a part of Nashville’s 2018-19 team.

Subban will be missed, of course. But as much as that trade might have grabbed headlines, the Predators’ top eight points scorers last season are all back: Ryan Johansen (64), Roman Josi (56), Filip Forsberg (50), Viktor Arvidsson (48), Mattias Ekholm (44), Ellis (41), Craig Smith (38) and Nick Bonino (35).

Along with Rinne, that’s a lot of familiar names and faces still in the Predators’ locker room with a lot of time together.

Such continuity, players say, has been a reason for lasting success.

“I think so,” Rinne said. “Any team wishes they have a really strong core that stays together and you can build your team on that. I think this team has had it for a long time. … It also helps the new guys. When you have the same group, for the most part, there's already that culture and that atmosphere in the locker room.” 1154313 Nashville Predators shot, it’s easy for him to be deceptive with his passes to me and easy for him to touch it over for (Forsberg’s) one-timer, so there’s a bunch of different things we can do with that. There’s a lot of different recipes that come along with the hands that are on the power play now.” The Predators’ power play will be better because it can’t get any worse In its first taste of live action against the Tampa Bay Lightning last week, the Predators’ revamped top unit demonstrated Johansen’s points. On the first goal, Josi received an around-the-back pass from Johansen, By Adam Vingan then slid the puck to Forsberg in the left circle. Sep 26, 2019 Later in the game, Johansen, Duchene and Arvidsson combined on a tic- tac-toe goal.

The frustration seeped through Dan Lambert’s computer screen. “The execution has been a lot quicker,” said Predators associate coach Kevin McCarthy, who ran the power play until late last season. “The guys The sagging body language. The hesitancy with the puck. As Lambert are moving pucks quicker. That’s one thing that (Lambert) has talked studied the Predators’ NHL-worst power play over the summer, it was about since day one is that we want to make sure we create lanes to clear to him that the lack of success had taken its toll. shoot. You’ve got to do things quickly in order for that happen.

“We were all guilty of it,” Predators forward Filip Forsberg said. “I think “I think the biggest thing that (Lambert) talks about all the time is even if the confidence was obviously lost.” you don’t score on the power play, if you can create the momentum, it allows you to keep the pace going when you go back to five-on-five after It wasn’t just the players. Predators coach Peter Laviolette tried a power play. If you had a good one and don’t score, the guys are still everything to fix the stagnant power play, detailing the fruitless process at upbeat and positive from it.” the end of last season in a rare display of vulnerability. The Predators’ power play will be better this season because it can’t get Enter Lambert, whom the Predators hired as an assistant coach in June any worse. So how much improvement would be considered a success? to return the power play to respectability. “Mid-pack is great,” Ellis said. “I think if you’re a mid-pack team, it’s a “It’s amazing how when things go sideways, sometimes it just snowballs goal every other game that puts you either ahead or ties it up or and you lose confidence,” Lambert said. “Confidence is a big thing with whatever. Last year, we had a great record and struggled, so I imagine everybody. It doesn’t matter what your profession is. … We want to with relatively the same team and a halfway decent power play, we’d create more shots, and we want to create momentum on the power play. really like the results. But I think the goal for the group is to be much The biggest message is we don’t want to lose momentum on the power better than that, to be a top five team and have that be a strength of our play. We want to gain it or keep it if we have it in the game.” group.” The Predators’ 12.9 percent success rate last season was the seventh- worst in the league since 2005-06, becoming the first team in 10 years to reach the playoffs with the worst power play. The Athletic LOADED: 09.27.2019 The reasons for that are plentiful. For starters, their shot quantity and quality were among the worst in the league, finishing 28th with 65.3 unblocked shot attempts per 60 minutes and 29th with 5.5 expected goals per 60 minutes, respectively, according to data compiled by Meghan Hall. That will come as no surprise to those who were subjected to watching the Predators pass the puck around the perimeter and settle on long-distance shots from defensemen.

The good news is that the Predators have moved away from using two defensemen on the power play, which they did 57 percent of the time last season, behind only the Arizona Coyotes, according to Hall. (The league average was 27 percent.)

“It becomes a real threat when you’ve got five guys that are willing to shoot the puck and willing to work together and outwork the opposition on the power play,” Lambert said. “The perception sometimes when you’re on the power play is that you want to be cute, you want to be fancy. The reality is you’ve got to outwork the PK. … It all depends on the mindsets of the individuals. You’ve got to have a certain mindset. Five guys have to be willing to be threats out there.

“When you look around the league, it seems like 4-and-1 is what has had success. We’re going to be 3-and-2 every once in a while depending on game situations, but at the end of the day, we’ll go with whatever works.”

To start the season, the Predators have loaded up their top unit with Forsberg, Ryan Johansen, Viktor Arvidsson, Matt Duchene and Roman Josi. (The second unit appears to be Kyle Turris, Mikael Granlund, Calle Jarnkrok, Nick Bonino and Ryan Ellis.)

Duchene is stationed along the goal line, where he can hunt for rebounds and set up plays down low with assistance from Johansen on the right half wall. Duchene’s presence also frees Arvidsson to patrol the slot, which adds another dimension. For most of his career, Arvidsson has been the Predators’ primary screener on the power play, preventing him from having much impact on the scoresheet. Over the past three seasons, Arvidsson has 21 power play points, the fewest among 115 forwards with at least 500 minutes of playing time in those situations, and 69 shots, tied for 110th.

“The way we’re setting up to start, Duchene’s a left-handed shot, so that creates a lot more options with (Arvidsson) being a right-handed guy in front compared to last year and not being able to have that low option for plays,” Johansen said. “And then (Josi) up there being a left-handed 1154314 New Jersey Devils

Devils’ roster for preseason finale vs. Columbus Blue Jackets | Ty Smith, Jesper Boqvist on roster

Updated Sep 26, 2019; Posted Sep 26, 2019

By Chris Ryan

The Devils’ roster for their finale preseason game will be heavy on returning NHL talent, but it won’t feature any of the prospects still fighting for jobs on the final team.

Taylor Hall, P.K. Subban, Kyle Palmieri and Sami Vatanen will all play when the Devils visit the Columbus Blue Jackets at 7 p.m. on Friday at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Prospects Jesper Boqvist and Ty Smith are both included on the roster, but Michael McLeod and Nathan Bastian will not play.

Forward Pavel Zacha, who just returned to the team on Wednesday after getting his work visa approved, will be in the lineup for his only action of the preseason.

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Star Ledger LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154315 New Jersey Devils

How Devils’ Cory Schneider, Mackenzie Blackwood have pushed each other in preseason

Updated Sep 26, 2019; Posted Sep 26, 2019

By Chris Ryan

While lineups have been shuffled on a nightly basis, one this has been a consistent presence for the Devils during the preseason.

Both Cory Schneider and Mackenzie Blackwood have posted solid numbers over the course of training camp, giving the Devils some reassurance about their goaltending situation entering the 2019-20 season.

Blackwood ended his preseason run on Wednesday with his final appearance, and while he didn’t get any offensive support, he gave the Devils a shot to win in a 2-0 loss to the Boston Bruins at TD Garden in Boston, where he made 30 saves on 32 shots.

Blackwood started three games and played eight total periods in the preseason. He allowed six goals total while making 62 saves for a .912 save percentage. Meanwhile, the Devils have won all three games Schneider has appeared in, with the goalie making 82 saves on 88 shots for a .931 save percentage. Schneider will play one more time in the Devils’ preseason finale against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday.

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Preseason numbers don’t mean much in the grand scheme of things, but after battling through injuries and his own struggles over the past two seasons, a strong camp was important for Schneider.

“Just compared to how I felt over the last few years I think it matters to me to have good performances and make saves that I wasn’t making last year, even if it is preseason,” Schneider said. “So I think for me it’s all positive, and, again, still things I can clean up and improve upon but I think the base is there, the compete level’s there, the body, the movement and function is there, which is nice to know, and just the workload, to put yourself through it and know you can do it.”

It’s not entirely clear how the Devils’ goalie breakdown will work during the regular season. Coach John Hynes said the team’s “starter” would ideally play around 50 or 55 games, with the second goalie taking the remaining 30 or so starts. Those numbers could end up changing, but it’s clear the Devils won’t lean too much on one guy.

Having both playing well will be important, and the Devils will need them both quickly. The season starts with two back-to-backs, so both Schneider and Blackwood will get two starts right out of the gate.

“If guys are giving us a chance to win every night, then the ability to play them and get them in a set rotation is something that is very beneficial because you’re not overtaxing guys,” Hynes said. “They stay mentally fresh, physically fresh. They stay sharp with their habits. They also have a chance during those times to spend times on the fundamentals and practice with those, particularly, probably, over the first half of the year. I think when it gets to maybe the last 20 games, it’s a different story. And we’re going to be the both right away.”

Star Ledger LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154316 New Jersey Devils

What’s next for Devils’ Pavel Zacha after returning to team?

Posted Sep 26, 2019

By Chris Ryan

Travel is usually limited in the preseason for NHL players. Pavel Zacha might be the exception.

During his journey to get his U.S. work visa approved, the Devils forward went from Newark to Toronto to Ottawa, and then finally back to New Jersey after everything was settled.

He originally went to Toronto for an appointment to finish the process, but following four days there and a few delays, he scheduled an earlier appointment, all the way in Ottawa. After another flight and nearly another week, it was settled.

Now Zacha is in the process of getting up to speed in training camp. He skated in Wednesday’s morning skate, but the workload was lighter than a typical practice, so Thursday will be his first true test. While he was up in Canada, he did what he could to stay sharp.

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“I know I wasn’t in training camp there, but I tried to get as close as I could,” Zacha said. “Guys here were sending me stuff to do in the gym, so I was trying to be ready when I got back. I know it’s going to take me a little bit, a couple practices to get back at it. Some guys told me the practices were pretty hard. But I’m happy I’m back now and was able to work out there.”

Zacha found a couple of college teams to train with while north of the border, so he had that luxury compared to skating on his own.

It was a surprise to see Zacha on the game roster for Wednesday’s preseason contest against the Boston Bruins, since coach John Hynes made it clear the forward wouldn’t be playing on his first day back at camp. But his inclusion allowed Zacha to travel with the team to Boston while sitting in meetings and getting a close look at what the Devils are doing so far.

From Zacha’s perspective, it also allows him to simply be part of the team again.

“I can talk a little bit on the plane, see them in the locker room, spend some time with them,” Zacha said. “Because it was a long summer.”

When he gets fully integrated on the ice, Zacha has some ideas about what he’ll be facing. His goal, along with the team’s, will be to see if they can get him into the preseason finale on Friday against the Columbus Blue Jackets. If he’s not ready for that, he’ll have another week to get ready for the season opener on Oct. 4.

“Just to get my legs back,” Zacha said. “I think the guys did a lot of work here, and I’ve just got to get a little bit of the skating back and the rhythm of jumping in a lineup and trying to jump in with the team.”

Star Ledger LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154317 New Jersey Devils

NJ Devils' roster for final preseason game previewing what lines might like opening night

Abbey Mastracco, NHL writer

Published 7:42 p.m. ET Sept. 26, 2019

When the Devils travel to Columbus for the final preseason game of the 2019 slate Friday their lineup will be a preview of what it might look like come Oct. 4, when they host the Winnipeg Jets on opening night.

There was some brief panic when the team initially released its roster Thursday afternoon. The first release had the club’s two top prospects, Jesper Boqvist and Ty Smith, omitted. P.K. Subban was also left off but John Hynes had already indicated he would play but had made no such promises for Smith and Boqvist. However, two players will not dress and those very well could be Smith and Boqvist.

Hynes said he wanted to take a look at a few more of the non-regulars and that could mean forward John Hayden and defenseman Matt Tennyson. Hayden has drawn high marks for his physical play in a fourth-line role and Tennyson, who was signed for leadership and depth at the American Hockey League level, has also impressed Hynes.

“He’s a big strong player,” Hynes said. “He plays with some nastiness, he’s physical, he moves the puck simple, so he’s made a real strong case for himself. He’s provided some things we feel our 'D' corps need.”

Taylor Hall #9 of the New Jersey Devils celebrates his power-play goal at 11:55 of the first period against the New York Rangers at the Prudential Center on September 20, 2019 in Newark, New Jersey.

Forwards Kevin Rooney, Nathan Bastian and Michael McLeod will not make the trip to Columbus, but if Hynes wants to look at some newcomers, they aren’t it. They’ve seen heavy action during the preseason and in the NHL last year and the club knows what they’re getting in those three players. But still, that doesn’t mean they won’t be sent back to Binghamton.

Pavel Zacha will also get into his first preseason game after missing most of camp while waiting on his visa.

Ultimately, this final preseason game is for management to reconfirm some successful lineup combinations and gauge whether or not they’ll work next week when the regular season begins.

“Maybe there could be someone who could make the team but there’s one game left,” Hynes said. “Tomorrow is more, who is playing with who? Who is playing where and what roles will we see them in? And what our special teams might look like in a game and our overall 5-on-5.”

Bergen Record LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154318 New York Islanders

Jordan Eberle confident he can bring even more to Islanders

By Brian Heyman

Special to Newsday

Updated September 26, 2019 5:33 PM

Jordan Eberle walked out the door and headed in the direction of his offseason last May as an unrestricted free-agent-to-be after the second round of the playoffs was done. But he wasn’t thinking it was the end of his Islanders run.

“As soon as the year ended, we had year-end meetings,” Eberle said after practice Thursday. “It was communicate with Lou [Lamoriello] and let him know I wanted to be here. He felt the same way. Just trying to get a deal with him at that point.”

Eberle got one in June — five years, $27.5 million. The 29-year-old right wing is on the top line with Anders Lee and Mathew Barzal, and Lee thinks Eberle is primed to have a big season after watching him score four goals across his four preseason games.

“I think he’s extremely primed,” the captain said. “I think just in the preseason you’ve seen how comfortable he is and already in his game form, regular-season form.”

After scoring at least 20 in the previous five seasons, Eberle just made it to 19 last season. He closed with five in his final seven games, then delivered four more and five assists over eight postseason games.

He said that Barzal “and I found some confidence together.” But he also had to adjust in his second season here after coming over from Edmonton — his first with defensive-minded Barry Trotz as the coach.

“I don’t want to say he didn’t trust me,” Eberle said, “but he just didn’t see me in the way I saw myself.”

Eberle felt he finally earned some. Combine that with the Barzal chemistry and it added up to a fast finish.

“That was a big reason I wanted to sign here,” Eberle said. “I think I was playing some of the best hockey of my career near the end of the year and into the playoffs. I think part of that’s Barry and just finding good ways to play defensively, trying to find his trust.”

Listening to Trotz now, it sounds like it’s still there.

“I think he’s taken the next step,” Trotz said. “I think with him the offense and the skill and all that is there. But I think his game in wanting a little more weight as a player, that he knows if he’s going, we’re going — I think he’s taken a little bit bigger piece of the pie on both sides of the puck.”

The new contract hasn’t led to any complacency.

“For me, personally, I just wanted to pick up where I left off in the playoffs last year and continue to play that way,” Eberle said. “So far, I have.”

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Nassau executive Laura Curran to honor Islanders with rally, dome- lighting ceremony on eve of season opener

By Nick Klopsis [email protected] @nickklopsis

Updated September 26, 2019 3:18 PM

The Islanders' season doesn't start until Oct. 4, but the party for Isles fans will begin a day earlier.

Nassau County Executive Laura Curran announced Thursday plans to honor the team with an "Islanders Day" beginning at 6 p.m. on Oct. 3 at the Theodore Roosevelt Executive and Legislative Building in Mineola. Curran will host the Islanders organization and fans for a rally, and the county dome will be lit blue and orange at the end of the event.

“Our Islanders are coming back home, and Nassau County is ready to celebrate,” Curran said in a statement. “Ahead of the start of the new season and in celebration of the team’s return to Nassau, we’re welcoming fans of all ages to join us for a family-friendly rally where we will wish the team well and light the County Dome blue and orange.”

The team announced earlier this week at the groundbreaking ceremony for its new arena at Belmont Park that seven more home games would be played at NYCB Live's Nassau Coliseum, bringing the total for the 2019-2020 season to 28.

Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154320 New York Islanders high-profile former players and current executives. That “listening tour” also included a few job offers to the likes of Wayne Gretzky and Brisson to be president of hockey operations while Snow held that title.

Staple: As the Islanders take the next step toward their new home, the They made a push to add a big name via free agency, with Snow waiting future of the team is on solid ground for a chance to schmooze Steven Stamkos in the run-up to July 1, 2016. That led Frans Nielsen out the door and left the Isles with Ladd, who hasn’t lived up to his seven-year deal.

By Arthur Staple And of course, there was the year-long dance with Tavares, with Snow pushed aside and Malkin handling the interactions with Brisson. Sep 26, 2019 None of those will stand out as positives. But when they finally decided to

fire Snow, that desire for a big name led them to Lamoriello — who took ELMONT, N.Y. — Take a look at the two photos we’ve got here. The command of hockey operations in a way that Snow could not under the first, from Monday’s groundbreaking for the Belmont Park arena, is a owners who inherited him. Lamoriello hired Trotz, and here we are. sight to behold: shovels in the dirt, bulldozers and cranes and excavators Malkin and Ledecky have gone big on their push for a new arena from in a sea of moved earth in the background. day one, enlisting major power players in the New York arena market as The governor, the NHL commissioner, the Isles co-owner and a raft of partners and the governor and commissioner as allies. It’s not players all smiling through the hot, sticky day, with a slew of fans and coincidence that Cuomo and Bettman are the two front-and-center folks media on hand. It was an important day for everyone who cares about at both of these Belmont press conferences, since they’re the ones who the Islanders, the next step in a long, long process to get this team into have the most clout. its own new building in time for the 2021-22 season. So now, the dream is that much closer to reality. In another 21 months, The other photo, from 21 months earlier, featured the same sort of the Islanders could again look very different — Mathew Barzal needs a optimism. It was taken in a VIP room not far from the second picture and new contract next season and the analytics projections are once again it was the first step in this arena process, when New York Gov. Andrew down on this team with one star and a host of good, hard-working fellas. Cuomo, commissioner Gary Bettman and Isles co-owner Jon Ledecky But by then, this mass of earth will have a state-of-the-art building atop it, made the initial announcement that the Islanders, in partnership with a just months away from opening for business. host of heavy hitters, were going to build an arena here. A lot can change in 21 months, as those two pictures show. But the Of course, you’ll notice a few faces in that December 2017 photo that future of the Islanders, on and off the ice, seems quite hopeful now. That stand out for other reasons. Billy Joel didn’t make the cut this time looks like it’s here to stay. around, replaced by Ralph Macchio and Kevin Connolly, Long Island natives who also happen to be big Islander fans. Garth Snow and Doug Weight were there and they’ve moved on, still on the payroll but no The Athletic LOADED: 09.27.2019 longer running the show.

Let’s see, what else is missing … Cal Clutterbuck and his facial hair? To be fair, he was getting ready to play a game Monday, so he’s excused. Andrew Ladd was at both press conferences, but his status has waned a bit.

That leaves John Tavares. We’re not going to rehash the JT saga again; that’s over and done with. But seeing him there, alongside Gov. Cuomo, it’s worth remembering that day in December of 2017 was about hope — not just for the long-term future of the franchise, but for hanging on to Tavares for the long term. Scott Malkin and his co-owners didn’t partner with the Wilpons and Oak View Group just to keep Tavares in the fold, of course. But, at the time, it didn’t seem to hurt their chances, not when Malkin was also showing Pat Brisson, Tavares’ agent, blueprints and plans for the arena site.

That day 21 months ago was about hope and certainty for the Islanders. Seven months later, they had a new GM, a new coach and no captain. Hope wasn’t exactly in huge supply when Tavares left and the Belmont arena still seemed like a mirage, something too far in the distance to take away the sting of the only true star on the Island leaving.

Monday’s groundbreaking didn’t restore that hope, but it didn’t have to. Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz, along with new captain Anders Lee, restored that last season. As Lamoriello has said since the day he was hired, the Belmont Park arena was necessary to keep the Islanders local; without Lamoriello hiring Trotz, there might not have been enough fans who cared to fill that new building when 2021-22 rolled around.

Ledecky told me on Monday, as the bulldozers and excavators started to back up and with most of the crowd gone, that the Isles were at 7,000 season tickets, double what they were at this time a year ago. The skepticism that surrounded the team when Tavares left has turned back to positivity and hope.

Ledecky, the ultimate hype man to Malkin’s behind-the-scenes operating, talked excitedly about the season-ticket holder email that was about to go out. It would invite all those with season tickets or those who want to pull the trigger to come here to the construction site at Belmont and have their own groundbreaking party, with photo ops, shovels and all the rest.

Malkin and Ledecky have experienced some real highs and lows in their three-plus years as majority owners. They have been a little too enamored of big-name associations at times, which hurt their credibility their first year in the league as they very publicly spoke to a number of 1154321 New York Rangers

Tony DeAngelo impresses in debut following Rangers holdout

By Brett Cyrgalis

September 27, 2019 | 1:39am

Rangers youngster working on being 'better two-way player'

It was a stellar return for Tony DeAngelo, the Rangers defenseman who played his first game of the preseason following his contract holdout and was impressive during a 2-1 shootout win over the Flyers on Thursday night at the Garden.

“I thought Tony played very well,” said coach David Quinn, who gave DeAngelo 22:53 of ice time, paired next to Marc Staal. “I thought he defended well, I thought he had great passes. I just liked a lot about Tony.”

DeAngelo arrived at camp only late last week after the 23-year-old restricted free agent finally signed his one-year, $925,000 deal. The Rangers have one more preseason game, Saturday in Bridgeport, Conn., against the Islanders, before the regular-season opener on Oct. 3. It’s likely DeAngelo will play again just to make sure he’s ready.

“I think for his sake we should play him again,” Quinn said, “but we haven’t come to that conclusion.”

Kevin Hayes, the former Ranger who signed a seven-year, $50 million deal with the Flyers this summer, thought some of his comments from this past Saturday in Philadelphia were “misunderstood.” He had jokingly said the Rangers “got rid of all the good guys,” adding: “I’m sure it’ll come back to them, but we’ll find out.”

On Thursday, Hayes wanted to clarify.

“I made a couple jokes that didn’t go over too well,” Hayes said. “I think [the Rangers] kind of thought that I was coming at them a little bit. I have no hard feelings with anyone on this team.”

Goalie Henrik Lundqvist ended his preseason on a high note, making 32 saves while playing the whole game. Since the first period of his first game, when he allowed three goals to the Devils, he has surrendered just one goal on the next 56 shots he faced.

“I feel very good technically and physically right now,” Lundqvist said. “I feel ready for the season.”

It’s likely Alex Georgiev will get the whole game in the exhibition finale on Saturday.

Forward Danny O’Regan was assigned to AHL Hartford after he cleared waivers.

New York Post LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154322 New York Rangers

Joe Micheletti: Rangers’ chances hinge on youth taking step

By Justin Terranova

September 27, 2019 | 1:01am

MSG Network analyst Joe Micheletti talks with The Post’s Justin Terranova about the Rangers’ potential, New York’s impending love affair with Kaapo Kakko, and what will make or break Jack Hughes’ rookie season.

Q: How difficult is it to lay out expectations for this Rangers team after so many changes?

A: They added some certainties. (Jacob) Trouba is a top-four defender, will eat up those minutes and be on your power play. You add (Artemi) Panarin and that obviously changes the whole dynamic, because he’s a fabulous player. Now, you’re thinking that if you can just get some of these kids to step up. (Adam) Fox, (Filip) Chytil, (Brett) Howden, (Libor) Hajek. If these guys can take that next step, you got more than hope, you have a team that has a chance. In my estimation, I am looking at four or five positions that need to be filled. The question is: Are these players able to fill them?

Q: What have been your first impressions of Kaapo Kakko?

A: This kid is a special, special player and I think he’s going to have a 15- year career in this league and people in New York are going to fall in love with him. He is well beyond his years. I can’t believe he’s 18. You watch him on the ice, he’s like a star player who has been in the league for seven years. That’s the way he plays, that’s the way he acts, that’s his maturity level. The kid is a star in the making and may be a star this year.

Q: What about off the ice?

A: He’s got a little shyness to him off the ice and no shyness on the ice. That’s the 18-year-old part of the equation, just finding his way around. I would say he is an extremely respectful kid who is just trying to find his comfort level here. That is so typical even for a veteran who comes in, so you can imagine for the second-overall pick who is coming in from Finland. That’s all going to take care of itself.

Q: Are you ready for years of comparing him to Jack Hughes?

A: I just think the next 15 years we are in for such a treat. These are two different players. When you’re talking about size and strength, Kakko, to me, is the one who is more ready for the grind of the NHL. Hughes has such a high IQ and some players like that, they are just hard to hit because they know what they are doing on the ice. … The Devils have a team that will try and protect him because they have plenty of toughness. But he’ll get hit and the question is, can he physically deal with the demands of that?

Q: How can the Islanders build on last year’s improvement?

A: They are going to be right there again. They had 103 points last season and not many changes to their current roster. Barry Trotz feels like they have better depth than they had last year up front. They feel they are going to have more scoring with those kids who are just getting better. It was interesting to see how the goaltending thing played out, but (Semyon) Varlamov is a good goaltender. I just think Trotz’s quality as a person rubs off on everybody in the organization.

New York Post LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154323 New York Rangers “The first four years, we were always trying to win,” Vigneault said. “We sacrificed some future.”

Now the Rangers have entered that future, while Vigneault begins his run Alain Vigneault takes a look back at his Rangers tenure with the Flyers. A lot has changed since he left, but the memories will always remain.

“I wish them nothing but the best,” Vigneault said. “I hope it works out. By Brett Cyrgalis I’ve got a lot of respect and a lot of love for the people that are there that I worked with for five years. I hope they do well — except against us.” September 26, 2019 | 11:19PM

New York Post LOADED: 09.27.2019 Rangers youngster working on being 'better two-way player'

Reminders come along every now and again, raising memories of the past and giving perspective to the present. Kind of like that high-pitched squeal — “Go! Go! Go!” — coming from behind the bench and echoing around the Garden.

But that signature sound emanating from Alain Vigneault was coming from the visitors’ bench on Thursday night, as his new team, the Flyers, lost to his old team, the Rangers, in a 2-1 preseason shootout.

Vigneault was the Rangers headman from 2013-18, this being his first time back at the Garden. With all that has gone on with the Blueshirts in the past year and a half, Vigneault’s tenure seems like a long time ago. But it was one of the most successful runs in franchise history, seasons in which they were oh-so-close to winning, but just couldn’t get it done.

“There’s a lot of great memories,” Vigneault said before the Rangers’ penultimate preseason game. “I had a real good time here, worked with real solid people. I had good players that were fun to coach.”

Vigneault said all the right things about having respect for the organization, but it was clear he was a lame-duck coach once the front office sent out The Letter on Feb. 8, 2018, declaring their intention to rebuild. The Rangers were ready to get younger, and Vigneault’s demeanor of being imminently professional — if not hands-off — did not fit with what the team would need.

“There was a decision made above me about rebuilding, so I respect that,” Vigneault said. “Jim [Dolan] owns the team, and if he feels that’s the right thing to do for the team and the fans, he’s allowed to do that. My job was to coach the players that I had available, and that’s what I tried to do the best I could.”

Vigneault’s final moments as the Rangers’ coach will always be memorable, as he went on a strange rant after the season finale in — of all places — Philadelphia. But trying to sell the organization on his ability to lead the rebuilding fell on deaf ears. So he spent his year off playing golf in Florida, working on his tan and his beard and spending time with his grown children.

But there will always be that run to the 2014 Stanley Cup final — including the epic conference final against the Canadiens and his buddy Michel Therrien — along with the roller coaster 2015 conference final against the Lightning. But just as it was for Vigneault in Vancouver, when he lost in Game 7 of the Cup final, he could never get his hands on that coveted silver chalice.

“The thing that sticks out is how close we got,” said Marc Staal, one of only four holdovers from the team that went to the final, along with Henrik Lundqvist, Chris Kreider and Jesper Fast. “A lot of success, a lot of fun hockey. Just shy of closing the deal. That’s the thing I remember the most when you bring up his name.”

Those teams so often turned the other cheek, in the image of their cool and collected coach. But the lessons he instilled remained.

“I learned a lot about professionalism,” Staal said. “He had extremely high expectations of you, every shift and every game. That kind of attitude and pressure he put on you individually, it puts you on edge and pushes you to get better and more conscious of what you’re doing every day.”

There is a different type of motivation from Vigneault’s replacement, David Quinn. There is more teaching done in practice — and more raspy voices afterward. But the roster is almost entirely unrecognizable — young and skilled, with very little idea of just how it’s all going to work once the regular season starts on Oct. 3. Under Vigneault, the expectations were clear even if the ultimate goal was never realized. 1154324 New York Rangers

Henrik Lundqvist re-energized for season as Rangers appear to be on the rise

By Colin Stephenson [email protected] @ColinASteph

Updated September 26, 2019 10:41 PM

Henrik Lundqvist is excited again. After two years of missing the playoffs, the face of the Rangers has a sparkle in his eyes that wasn’t there a year ago. It’s a reflection of the general optimism that has been around the locker room this entire training camp, a feeling that the worst part of the rebuilding stage is over now, and the team is on the rise now.

“You look at the guys came in here – (Jacob) Trouba, and (Adam) Fox. And (Artemi) Panarin,’’ Lundqvist said at Thursday’s morning skate, before he and the Rangers played the Philadelphia Flyers at the Garden. “Some guys that really are going to help this group, for sure. And the young guys last year, they're a year older, and I think have a better understanding. And when you start adding all these pieces, yeah, I definitely believe that we're going to be a better team this year.’’

Rangers coach David Quinn has noticed the difference in Lundqvist’s demeanor this year, as compared to last.

“He's much more at ease with where we're at, you know, as we're moving forward -- not still in the teardown stage, like we were last year,’’ Quinn said. “I think it's a much better place mentally; and it's a process for guys like him and Staalsie (defenseman Marc Staal), guys who have been here a long time, to go through we've gone through. Both those guys certainly are re-energized and feel good about where we're at the direction we're going because we're moving forward.’’

Both Staal and Lundqvist were in the lineup Thursday against the Flyers. Staal was playing for the first time this season with his defense partner from late last season, Tony DeAngelo, and Lundqvist, who blanked the Islanders for half of Tuesday’s game (stopping all 13 shots he faced) played the entire game in what would be his dress rehearsal for the regular season opener next Thursday. He made 32 saves in the game, including four in the three-on-three overtime, and stopped all three Flyers shots in the tiebreaker.

“It was a good test,’’ said Lundqvist, who might have been the only guy in the building who was hoping for overtime and a shootout. “It was perfect to get a little extra action as well, in a preseason game. We covered everything, so it was great.’’

Lundqvist said personally, his game is in a good place, though there are still things he is working on and will be looking to tighten up over the last week of practice before the season starts. But he is pleased with the fact he’s made a few small adjustments in his technique, he said, and they seem to be paying off.

“I made some changes to help my overall game,’’ he said. “I’m not going to tell you what, but me and Benny [Allaire, the goaltending coach] were talking about it for a couple weeks, working on it. I don’t think you could really see it, but I feel it. I feel a difference, and that’s important.’’

Notes & quotes: Mika Zibanejad, the third and final shooter, scored the only goal in the shootout. Tony DeAngelo and Kaapo Kakko missed for the Rangers… Lias Andersson scored the only regulation goal for the Rangers, and Travis Konecny scored for the Flyers… D Tarmo Reunanen was recalled from AHL Hartford and practiced with the non- game group in the morning. He is scheduled to play in Saturday’s preseason finale against the Islanders in Bridgeport… RW Danny O’Regan was assigned to Hartford.

Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154325 New York Rangers

Back at Madison Square Garden with Flyers, Kevin Hayes and Alain Vigneault reflect on their time with Rangers

By Colin Stephenson [email protected] @ColinASteph

Updated September 26, 2019 8:02 PM

On his first visit back to Madison Square Garden as a visiting player, Kevin Hayes had something he needed to get off his chest.

Before his new team, the Philadelphia Flyers, played his old team, the Rangers, Hayes, the 27-year-old center who was dealt away by the Rangers at the February trade deadline, felt the need to clear up some remarks he’d made on Saturday in Philadelphia, when he said of the Rangers: “I don’t even know half the team anymore to be honest . . . They got rid of all the good guys – good locker room guys.’’

Hayes, who spent the better part of five seasons with the Rangers before being traded to the Winnipeg Jets, said he was only joking Saturday when he said that. He meant no offense.

“I think some stuff got taken out of context or misunderstood,’’ he said. “I made a couple jokes that didn't go over too well. But I mean, I just wanted to say that the teammates that I played with my five years here are still some of my best friends. There's guys in that locker room that I entered this league with, in ‘Staalsie’ (Marc Staal), Hank (Henrik Lundqvist), ‘Quickie’ (Jesper Fast) and ‘Kreids’ (Chris Kreider) — I think those are the only four left — that helped me shape the person I am today.

“There's staff that has been here the whole time I was here … there's management people that I was friends with before I even got to New York. I think what I said definitely got misunderstood,’’ he said. “I think they kind of thought that I was coming at them a little bit. I have no hard feelings with anyone on this team especially with ‘Gorts’ (GM Jeff Gorton). I've known Gorts for a long time. I expect to be friends with him when my career is long over. I think that kind of got blown out of proportion a little bit.’’

Hayes wasn’t the only former Ranger making his first visit back to the Garden. Flyers coach Alain Vigneault also found it a little odd going into the visiting coach’s room because he coached the Blueshirts for five mostly happy years.

“There’s a lot of great memories,’’ a relaxed-looking Vigneault said. “I had a real good time here – worked with real solid people. I had good players that were fun to coach and there’s no doubt that the New York fans are very special.’’

Vigneault, who was fired after the final game (in Philadelphia, ironically) of the 2017-18 season, said he “enjoyed every moment of my time’’ with the Rangers. He was hired by the Flyers in April, agreeing to a reported five-year, $25 million contract.

Vigneault said he stayed away from hockey during his year between jobs. He played a lot of golf and tennis, and spent time with his kids, until, around January or February, he said, he learned – through third parties, he said – that he’d be able to get back in the game if he wanted to.

Vigneault reminisced about his time with the Rangers – the one Stanley Cup Final, the Conference Final they lost, all the close calls in the playoffs. In his final year, the Rangers decided to rebuild, and they decided to make a coaching change. Vigneault said he is at peace with that.

“When the decision was made to pull out, we were three points out of a playoff spot,’’ Vigneault said. “I tend to believe that we would have probably gotten in, and as St. Louis proved last year, once you’re in, you never know what can happen. But I totally respect the decision of management and the owner.’’

Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154326 New York Rangers Observations 1. Kevin Hayes wanted to get some earlier comments, um, re-stated. He

ribbed his former team on Saturday. I was there. There was definitely As preseason ends, Rangers’ coaching staff still faces several significant some bite in his remarks, though he mostly did sound like he was joking lineup decisions and jabbing.

Before the game Thursday, the new Flyers forward said they were meant as jokes and were taken out of context. An exaggeration? By Rick Carpiniello “I made a couple of jokes that didn’t go over too well,” Hayes said. “I just Sep 26, 2019 want to say that the teammates that I played with in my … five years here are still some of my best friends. There’s guys in that locker room that I

entered this league with — (Marc Staal), Hank (Lundqvist), (Jesper Fast) NEW YORK — I’ve lost count on how many times Rangers coach David and (Chris Kreider) — that helped shape me into the person that I am Quinn has said “don’t read too much” into this lineup decision or that one today. There was staff that was here the whole time I was here … and during training camp and the preseason. management people I was friends with before I even got to New York. I think what I said definitely got misunderstood. They thought I was coming But he’s said it enough that you should know, for sure, to not read too at them a little bit. I have no hard feelings there, with anyone on this much into line combos, defense pairs and which forward is playing team, especially with (Rangers GM Jeff Gorton). I’ve known Gorts for a where. long time and I expect to be friends with him when my career’s long over. I think that kind of got blown out of proportion a little bit. A couple of That’s just the way it is in the preseason, particularly this preseason. articles were written. Nothing I can do about it now. But my five years That’s why the jumbled lineup for the final home preseason game at the here were epic. We had some serious runs. We had some highs and we Garden on Thursday — a 2-1 shootout win over Philadelphia — won’t be had some lows when I was there. I loved my time here, I loved the fans, I anything close to the lineup for the season opener against Winnipeg in a loved the city.” week. I told him that I thought he was joking at the time, but that he also Still, there was plenty for the Rangers’ coaching staff and front office to seemed to be intentionally making those cracks. ponder. “Obviously, I wasn’t happy with everything that was said,” Hayes said. “A First things first: Moving Filip Chytil, 20, to the wing from center — he couple of jokes that didn’t go over too well. … They asked about (Jimmy) played with Mika Zibanejad and Vitali Kravtsov — was most interesting. Vesey and everyone knows how tight me and Vese and Brady (Skjei) Quinn has more than hinted Chytil may not be grasping the opportunity to were. I made a quick joke that didn’t go over too well. There’s nothing I be the second-line winger, and a bit part of me wonders if Quinn is simply can do about that. After reading it, what was said, it made it sound like I not pushing Chytil’s buttons, trying to make him pick up the pace in his had no fun here, and that wasn’t the case. I had a blast with those guys own game. Because, honestly, the Rangers are better off with Chytil and had a blast going to war with them. … I have memories there that I’ll (albeit Chytil playing better than he has, especially without the puck) at have forever. I have guys in that locker room who will be friends for my center, and not Ryan Strome in the top six. whole life.” I don’t think Chytil would mind playing the wing, but if Strome is the 2. Back to Kravtsov, who will force a legit decision by the Rangers. Is he second-line center, presuming Chris Kreider and Kaapo Kakko are the better off going to Hartford and playing for a while before being called up, wingers, Chytil is a bottom-six winger. That’s not ideal for anybody. or better off being with the Rangers and coached by Quinn? Zibanejad is going to start the season between Artemi Panarin and Pavel Buchnevich, neither of whom played Thursday. “I’ve liked his progression,” Quinn said. “He’s gotten better and better since (the prospects tournament in) Traverse City and better throughout Likewise, don’t read much into the defensive pairs, though Libor Hajek the preseason. He’s played a lot of hockey. I thought (Thursday) was just looked more than just fine with Jacob Trouba on Thursday. Trouba is OK for him. But there’s a lot to like about him, not only what you see from going to start with Brady Skjei and Hajek will very likely start with fellow a skills standpoint, but he certainly seems willing and able to do all the rookie Adam Fox. things that he’s probably never had to do. I get the feeling when he As the days dwindle, the Rangers still are carrying too many players doesn’t get it deep, it bothers him, or when he misses a defensive zone because they won’t play a full lineup against the Islanders on Saturday responsibility, it bothers him, where a lot of guys his age don’t really think and didn’t against the Flyers. But Sunday should be cut-down day — and of those things. And I like the fact that those seem to be a priority for him that could include Kravtsov. right now, and you add that to the skill and you have a chance to have a very good player.” “I think, with the younger guys, you could tell a little bit about the nerves coming to the end of training camp,” Zibanejad said after he scored the 3. Assuming Chytil eventually does earn the No. 2 center spot and the only goal in the shootout for the win. “I thought they were fine. But you first two lines are Panarin-Zibanejad-Buchnevich and Kreider-Chytil- could tell a little bit in some situations that they maybe tensed up a little Kakko, some thoughts on the nicknames for those lines: the ZAP line or bit.” the MAP line for the first line? The KFC line for the second? And if last night’s third line remains intact (Brendan Lemieux-Lias Andersson-Vlad For journeyman Joe Morrow, Rangers camp is about playing for his Namestnikov), I present the PITA line. As in “Pain In The Ass” line. professional hockey life. 4. These games stink because, largely, there’s no forecheck. Probably Zibanejad has played only one game with both of his projected wingers, because there’s no passion … so the whole game is being played and that’s fine. between the blue lines and off the rush. There’s no zone time — “It’s preseason,” he said. “So, it’s fun to play with the guys you haven’t especially for the Rangers, in that second period. played with and see how it works. You try to get into somewhat of a 5. Lundqvist was solid again, stopping 32 of 33 shots on goal and all game shape and get the timing back and get the feel for it again, and three shootout attempts. From the first period of his first start in New start doing the things you usually do, and get those, I guess, the good Jersey until the Flyers’ goal in the second period, Lundqvist stopped 41 habits back into your game. consecutive shots, and finished his preseason stopping 55 of the last 56 “I think it’s been good. I think the camp itself has been really competitive. shots he faced. Thursday’s game marked his last appearance until Obviously, there’s a lot of opportunities for new guys to come in, not only opening night. Alexandar Georgiev goes in Bridgeport, Conn. on crack the roster but move up and I think that’s been good because it Saturday. Lundqvist said the overtime and the shootout were fun and actually looks like the guys have been motivating each other, not just the made a great point about how many games the Rangers lost in OT and young guys but the guys who’ve been here before, coming back, as shootouts last season, and how much of a role those played in where the well.” Rangers finished. They played in 23 games that went to OT and were 3-9 in OT and 6-5 in shootouts. That’s a lot of points on the table. He added, with a smile, “I’m super excited with this group. There’s a lot of talent, a lot of hard work, so it’s going to be a fun year.” By the way, Zibanejad led the NHL with 11 shootout attempts last season and tied for the league lead with five shootout goals. 6. In the OT, Strome took a penalty and Zibanejad, Skjei and Brendan Smith killed nearly the whole thing. Quinn called it a “nutsy performance … sucking it up for that four-on-three for that extended period of time, a pretty ballsy effort by those guys to hang in there and fight through being tired and then getting the puck out and getting off the ice.”

7. Another good three-zone game for Andersson. With 12.1 seconds left in the first, Tony DeAngelo’s shot got through and the rebound went off Namestnikov and rolled up over goalie Carter Hart, and as it threatened to enter the net on its own, Andersson batted it out of the air and in. 1-0.

“I thought it was his best game of the preseason,” Quinn said about Andersson. “I liked his game a lot of ways. He’s been going in that direction. We’ve all talked about how he’s changed his body, his commitment. We’re all very proud of him, the way he’s gotten the shape that he’s in, and it showed tonight.”

8. In the second, Hayes sent a pass from an angle toward the net. Zibanejad had Travis Konecny tied up. But the puck caromed off Konecny’s skate and past Lundqvist. 1-1. “They took it to us in the second period,” Quinn said. “I didn’t like anything about our second period other than our goalie.”

9. In case you missed it, The Athletic’s Joe Smith did a great story about the retiring Dan Girardi, his guts and his hilarious personality.

10. Kakko-Meter: He had a shot blocked in the second that ended up as a breakaway for Carsen Twarynski (and I’ve already typed that name too often during the preseason). Lundqvist bailed out Kakko, but he also did plenty of creative stuff with the puck. Overall, not a stellar game for him. I think he’s still getting comfortable, but he’s going to be a ton of fun to watch when the games count. He had opportunities on three-on-three and was stopped in the shootout.

11. Daily Bread: Not applicable. Panarin DNP.

12. Good Tony, Bad Tony: Except for an icing during a power play, I thought it was a fine preseason debut for DeAngelo. “I thought Tony played very well tonight,” Quinn said. “I thought he defended well. He made great passes. I just liked a lot about Tony.” Quinn figures to play him again Saturday in Bridgeport against the Islanders.

13. In the second, DeAngelo faced a two-on-one and stayed on his feet, preventing the pass and allowing Lundqvist to handle the shot. That’s almost always a snow angel and if the pass gets through, it’s almost always an uncontested goal. Later in the second, Skjei chose the down- on-the-ice method and Lundqvist had to make a terrific diving save on Joel Farabee’s one-timer.

The Athletic LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154327 New York Rangers Morrow’s career has been, well, interesting. A first-round pick by Pittsburgh in 2011, he was traded to Dallas in a deal that brought back Brenden Morrow (no relation). He was then dealt to Boston in the Tyler Seguin blockbuster, signed by Montreal, traded to Winnipeg, and then For journeyman Joe Morrow, Rangers camp is about playing for his unsigned as an unrestricted free agent this summer. professional hockey life Still, he’s just 26, with a birthday in December.

“My career has definitely been pretty tough,” Morrow said. “It’s been a bit By Rick Carpiniello of a roller coaster. I think it definitely has helped me as a person. I’ve met a variety of different people throughout my career, with different Sep 26, 2019 organizations, different teams – historic players and leadership roles of people I’ve been able to learn from over the years. I think it’s given me a lot of experience in the hockey world. It’s given me a lot of people to GREENBURGH, N.Y. – For a few players in NHL training camps, it’s contact for advice. It’s given me just a confidence of knowing what needs more serious. For those, it’s about survival. About continuing an NHL to be done after seeing so many people do it. It gives me another career. About playing for your hockey life. solidified aspect of being the person that you want to be, the person that everybody can look up to, and a guy that – I mean, I wouldn’t view myself And it most surely is not easy. as old but being able to relate to kids that come in that are 18, 19, 20 Defenseman Joe Morrow is in Rangers camp – still here for the moment years old, to be able to relate to them just as much as being able to – on a professional tryout contract (PTO). He is running low on chances relate to the guy who’s 34 and has two or three kids and is a family man. in a career that has yet to take off, trying to convince the next person that So I put a lot of onus on that, as being a good character person, along his time will still come. with being somebody that can be a key asset to a hockey team. So I think my career has molded me into a person that is adaptable to those But will it? Morrow doesn’t know. He believes it will. He hopes it will. situations.”

Most of those throwing on the Rangers’ practice jerseys in daily camp His play in practices and in two preseason games so far has been fine, sessions, and most of them putting on the Blueshirt for preseason games almost exclusively as a right defenseman, of which the Rangers are short aren’t living and dying, metaphorically. They have contracts or jobs or (he joked that if you make it to the NHL, you should be able to use your spots, or at least futures. backhand). He’s in the mix, even if the end might come at any moment. For Morrow – and for tough guy forward Micheal Haley, who is also in on The Rangers will probably be down to their opening-night roster by a PTO – it’s different. It’s about gutting it out. Sunday or Monday, after preseason games against Philadelphia at home on Thursday and the Islanders in Bridgeport on Saturday. “You’re playing to continue on in your career, and continue on your life,” Morrow said last week. “Essentially you’re coming out here to fight for a Morrow has no deal in place beyond the PTO. If he impresses enough, job and to fight to keep your career alive. You know, this is all I have, perhaps a two-way offer will come his way, allowing him to play in this, being a hockey player. You’ve done it for so long and made it so far Hartford. Perhaps not. that you’ve given up a lot of other things to be in this position. “I think it’s going pretty well,” Morrow said. “I feel like I’ve played quite “So yeah, I guess it could be a little more strenuous for some than it is for well and it’s obviously kind of tough coming into a situation where you others having a solidified spot. But that’s not the case for some people haven’t played in five or six months. You can’t really simulate a game-like and some people have to grind it out and do what they can do. But scenario. So to put your best foot forward right off the get-go is pretty obviously you have to believe in yourself and believe in what you’re tough. But I think you just keep your nose to the grindstone here and do capable of. If you can come in and help an organization win, that’s kind of everything you can to show them a good work ethic, a good skill set, and the No. 1 key to being here.” something that they can utilize throughout the year. The onus is on yourself to just keep being consistently good here and showing them that There is math involved in that the Rangers have their six defensemen they can’t live without you.” pretty well lined up for opening night: Brady Skjei and Jacob Trouba, Libor Hajek and Adam Fox, Marc Staal and Tony DeAngelo (whose Morrow has his one little piece of history, too. Because of injuries to a contract squabble might have cracked the door ajar for Morrow, but now pair of defensemen, he was called upon in a 2018 playoff series for the that he’s signed and ready to play Thursday night, his job is pretty solid). Jets and scored a late third-period goal – a shot that ricocheted off Minnesota’s Charlie Coyle and past goalie Devan Dubnyk for the That leaves room for one more. No doubt Ryan Lindgren, the rookie franchise’s first playoff win since returning to Winnipeg. prospect, is still a better choice and a better player, but the organization probably will prefer that Lindgren plays a lot of minutes and games in “That’s definitely one I’ll never forget,” Morrow said. “You keep a couple Hartford rather than sitting around and watching the other six play, of pieces of equipment from that. You keep the jersey. And in this day especially in a spread-out early schedule. Likewise for other young and age, you’ll be able to watch that video for a long time. So, yeah, I defensemen such as Yegor Rykov. have had some cool moments and to be able to be part of that was really special. Hopefully I can go back to Winnipeg at some point and people There is Brendan Smith, the incumbent No. 7, whose versatility includes will still remember that. That would be pretty neat.” that he can play the wing and still kill penalties, if the Rangers want to go that way. Maybe he’ll get an opportunity to one day score one for the Rangers. That’s a longshot, probably. Like Smith, though, Morrow is a lefty shot who can play both sides – and he played some on a pair with Trouba at his last NHL stop in Winnipeg. So Morrow goes about his business, unsure where he stands or where Morrow’s a solidly-built, good-skating two-way defenseman who’s not it’s headed. He hasn’t even spoken to his agent, instead focusing on going to take anybody’s breath away. what he needs to do to win a contract.

But maybe, just maybe, he can help. More likely, he can’t. “I wouldn’t say it’s difficult to go out and play,” he said. “I would say it’s a difficult scenario for somebody to come in from the outside and try and “He’s a guy we brought here because we thought we might be able to crack a team that has a lot of kids that have been invested in here and a use some depth on the blue line,” Rangers coach David Quinn said. lot of draft picks and a lot of players here who have earned the right to be “He’s a smart player. He’s a guy that can skate and he’s got a lot of skill. here. I think he’s looking for the consistency that will allow him to play more consistently in the league and his camp is reflective of that.” “Any situation is difficult when you’re trying to be better than the next person, whether that would be working in an office job or being a As one of the decision-makers who will decide Morrow’s fate, Quinn is professional athlete. It’s just proving yourself, that you are capable of still able to step back and admire a guy who’s playing with so much on contributing a little bit more than somebody else is. That’s just kind of the the line. world that you walk into and that’s what you sign up for.”

“No doubt about it,” Quinn said. “The human element always kicks in when you’re going through this process and evaluating people and making decisions. That’s the hard part about this job.” The Athletic LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154328 Ottawa Senators “After two years, let’s talk,” he said at the annual players’ media tour last month. “We’ll see what’s going to happen in two years. Of course I want to play ’til I can’t play. I don’t want to be the guy who goes out there and just plays (like) a joke. If I’m going to be in the same level, yeah.” NHL PREVIEW: 10 burning questions on the cusp of a new season Do the Pittsburgh Penguins have one more in them?

Lest we forget, the Penguins have won two of the past four Cups, going Don Brennan back-to-back in 2016 and 2017. With an aging core of stars, do they have enough left for one last hurrah?

Sidney Crosby is still the best all-around player in the NHL. After four When will stars align in Winnipeg, Colorado? straight seasons in which his point totals were in the 80s, The Kid Three important RFAs were still holding out in contract disputes as the scored 100 points last season to reach triple-digits for the sixth time in his season approached: Patrick Laine and Kyle Connor in Winnipeg and 14-year career. Now 32, can he hit that plateau again while once more Mikko Rantanen in Colorado. How long will the players and their teams drawing consideration for the Selke Trophy? continue to stare each other down? Evgeni Malkin is 33 and coming off another injury-plagued season that If the Jets and Avalanche think they can’t afford to meet the demands of saw him score just 21 goals, his lowest total since 2012-13. Will he pull these goal scorers, well, as serious contenders in the West, they can’t the numbers back up now that his wish to have Phil Kessel traded was afford to be without them, either. granted? Kris Letang is 32 and has also battled injuries the past few years. Can he still be an elite defenceman? And will newcomer Alex It’s important to remember that any RFA not signing before Dec. 1 cannot Galchenyuk rediscover the 30-goal form he had in Montreal with yet play for the remainder of the season. Surely none of them want to another fresh start? become another Alexei Yashin. But what kind of an impact — on the player and the team — will there be by them missing camp, and maybe Only other addition to the Penguins is former Jet Brandon Tanev, who the first month? through camp was on one side of Malkin, while Galchenyuk was on the other. How did it work out for William Nylander and the Leafs? Who wins the race for the Lafreniere Cup? Is this the season Lightning strikes twice? The Senators are the heavy favourites to finish dead last for the second Everybody expected Tampa to end a 15-year drought and win its second straight year and have the best shot at the No. 1 pick in the draft lottery. Cup last season. Nobody predicted what happened after the Lightning They might play better defensively under D.J. Smith (it’s impossible to claimed the Presidents’ Trophy — a first-round sweep at the hands of the get worse), but their goaltending is sub-par and they won’t score a lot. Blue Jackets. Their season is a success if they don’t embarrass themselves with off-ice The Bolts once again look to be the consensus choice to hoist the mug in news again and if they wind up with Rimouski Oceanic left winger Alexis June. But do they want to push themselves to finish first overall in the Lafreniere, who was last season’s Canadian Hockey player of the year. regular season again? Challenging, but falling well short of the Senators, for best odds in the Lafreniere sweepstakes are the Detroit Red Wings in the East and the None of them averaged 23 minutes of ice time, so it wasn’t a case of Anaheim Ducks in the West. being exhausted. So why did they make such an early exit from the post- season tournament, and what will their bright coach, Jon Cooper, do to Can the Habs avoid the dreaded three-peat? make sure it doesn’t happen again? Only twice in their history have the Canadiens missed the playoffs in The only significant roster changes see J.T. Miller and Anton Stralman three consecutive years: 1920-1922 and 1999-2001. To avoid it again, being replaced by Patrick Maroon and Kevin Shattenkirk. If the Lightning they need Carey Price to stay healthy. He played 66 games last season gets off a slow start, is Cooper on the hot seat? and they missed the playoffs by two points. The year before, he played just 49 games and they fell 26 points shy. In 2016-17, Price played 62 What do Blues do for an encore? games and the Habs finished first in the Atlantic. The previous season he Does the St. Louis surge continue? Or do the Blues suffer a Cup played just 12 games and they missed the playoffs by 14 points. hangover? Having captain Shea Weber around for 82 games would also help the The NHL’s worst team for the first three months miraculously turned into cause tremendously. They haven’t had that luxury the past two seasons. the league’s best squad in the final six months, capping the most Up front, Max Domi had a breakout year (72 points) in his debut with remarkable comeback in history. But what now? Has the Gloria magic Montreal, but can he match that kind of production again? And will worn off? Jonathan Drouin ever be the player he was projected to be when he was selected third overall in 2013? This is Drouin’s third season in Montreal, It looks like the roster has actually improved with the addition of and while he’s only 24 with time still on his side, the Habs need him to defenceman Justin Faulk in the trade that sent blue-liner Joel significantly improve on his career best 53 points. Edmundson and a prospect to the Hurricanes. Up front, they’ve lost some muscle with the departure of Maroon, but that should provide more Will moving pieces around help Flames and Oilers? opportunity to talented youngster Robert Thomas. Eyebrows were raised with the off-season activity within Alberta, first on Is Jordan Binnington the real deal? He went from being an AHLer to a July 1 when Flames goalie Mike Smith signed as a free agent with Cup holder in the same season, but can he establish himself as one of Edmonton and Oilers goalie Cam Talbot inked a deal with the Flames, the top puck stoppers over a full schedule? and then on July 19, when the Oilers traded their expensive problem, Milan Lucic, to the Flames for theirs, James Neal. Can any of the four What next for the Great 8? help their new teams this season?

How long can Alex Ovechkin keep this up? He has won six of the past Neal should rediscover his scoring touch (he went from 25 goals in seven Rocket Richard Trophies and, in 2018-19, surpassed the 50-goal Vegas to seven in Calgary over the course of a year) before Lucic finds mark for the eighth time in his career. Shouldn’t we expect a decline in his (a drop from 10 to six last season), particularly when he gets a his production soon? Maybe not. chance to play with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

While joking to reporters that he weighs “the same 260” going into his But what about the goalies? Can a 37-year old Smith be the answer to 15th camp, Ovechkin did say he used different training methods over the Edmonton’s problems between the pipes, or does he become a backup summer to get leaner and quicker. He also remained uncommitted to his to Mikko Koskinen, who was recently rated the worst starting goalie in the long-term future. Sitting 12th on the all-time list with 658 career goals, he NHL by a website that polled coaches and GMs around the league? could catch Wayne Gretzky’s once-unapproachable record of 894 with six more years of excellence. No way? Ovechkin thinks he has a chance. And with Talbot and Dave Rittich, do the Flames have a No. 1 or just two guys that represent the weak spot on an otherwise contending team? Who will ‘C’ the big letters?

Three of the seven Canadian teams have yet to name a captain heading into the final weekend of camp, and nowhere is that more of a focus than in Toronto. Unlike the other two clubs, the Leafs could actually need someone to take the Cup handoff from Gary Bettman this spring.

The Vancouver Canucks have four assistants — Bo Horvat, Brandon Sutter, Alexander Edler and Christopher Tanev — and probably would like their best player, Elias Pettersson, to be their official leader. But he is 20, only has one year of experience under his belt, and English is his second language. In other words, he’s not ready for the role. Horvat is another good choice and will likely get the ‘C’ before the season starts, or soon into it.

Ottawa has given an ‘A’ to three veterans — Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Mark Borowiecki and Ron Hainsey. Ultimately, the Senators’ captain will be Brady Tkachuk, although Thomas Chabot would be another good choice and could prove to be the recipient of the big letter once Smith has a chance to work with both for a season.

The Leafs were poised to give the ‘C’ to Auston Matthews before Drop- Your-Pants-Gate. Now, they’re expected to hand it to one of the alternates, John Tavares or Morgan Rielly, if they don’t go without for another year. The Hurricanes, Rangers, Golden Knights and Red Wings are the only other teams without an official captain as training camp winds down. And really, does it even matter?

When will it end?

Now that the Blues have won their first Cup, the focus falls to other droughts. The Maple Leafs own the longest at 51 seasons without a Cup or Cup final appearance. The Canucks and Sabres have never won a Cup in their 48 years of existence, but they did make it to the final, in 2011 and 1999, respectively. So by getting that far, at least they gave their fans hope.

Now that the Hurricanes have ended their drought at nine seasons missing the playoffs, the spotlight falls on other spans of ineptitude. Will this be the year the Sabres qualify after watching the past eight post- season tournaments on TV? Do the Coyotes have a chance at making the playoffs after missing the past seven? The Canucks are next on the first-to-the-golf course list, having missed the playoffs the past four seasons. Is this the year they get back?

Ottawa Sun LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154329 Ottawa Senators From a bigger-picture perspective, Smith was impressed with the Senators work ethic during the two-game trek to British Columbia, which also included a 6-4 loss to the Canucks on Monday in Abbotsford.

SURPRISE, SURPRISE: Sabourin remains in contention for spot in If not for the work of goaltender Craig Anderson, however, the Senators Senators' opening day lineup wouldn’t have been able to rally from their early 2-0 deficit in Wednesday’s contest.

“In the first half of the game, we were a step slow and I thought they took Ken Warren it too us pretty good,” Anderson said. “But right around the nine-minute mark of the second period, we flipped it and got the momentum going a

bit. VANCOUVER — A week ago, longshot Ottawa Senators winger Scott “Our aggressiveness was much better than in years past. Guys are Sabourin was receiving attention primarily because Toronto Maple Leafs making good (defensive) reads and committing to those reads. There’s star Auston Matthews made him the brunt of a joke that played out in the no hesitation, no confusion about who has got who in the one on one social media video world. battles right now. And for the most part, we did a good job of winning Matthews, you might recall, mocked Sabourin by grabbing his shirt during those battles.” a pre-season clash at Canadian Tire Centre, looking at his name in a In terms of the new-look defensive pairings, it was a mixed bag of a “who are you?” gesture. performance. Oh, how times have since changed for the two, both on the ice and in the Nikita Zaitsev, playing his second game with Thomas Chabot, was sound world of cyberspace hockey talk. in his own end. Ron Hainsey, who is being asked to mentor 20-year-old Hard-wired and hard-hitting, the 27-year-old Sabourin, an Orleans native Erik Brannstrom, had a rough night, including coughing up the puck on attending Senators training camp on a professional tryout offer, has since the Canucks’ game-opening goal. evolved into the biggest organizational surprise. Overall, there was a positive feeling that the club has made some steps He’s still around after the four-pack of cuts Thursday morning that saw in the right direction. fellow wingers Nick Paul and Parker Kelly, along with centre Jordan “That’s a good sign,” defenceman Mark Borowiecki said of not giving in to Szwarz and goaltender Marcus Hogberg, assigned to Belleville of the the early Canucks lead. “In those games, it’s easy to just fold up and say AHL. ‘it’s just a pre-season game,’ but that’s not what the message has been. Paul and Szwarz need to clear waivers before reaching Belleville. There We’re laying that good foundation in the pre-season. If we build off that, I is a remote possibility that Paul, who has had a decent camp of his own, think we’re on the right track.” could be plucked by another NHL team. Ottawa Sun LOADED: 09.27.2019 Which brings us back to the intrigue surrounding Sabourin, a seven-year AHL veteran who has clearly impressed Senators coach D.J. Smith with his determined forechecking game.

There he was on the ice in the latter stages of Wednesday’s 6-2 pre- season comeback win here against the Vancouver Canucks, helping protect the lead by banging bodies to the end.

Sabourin hasn’t won a spot on the opening day roster just yet.

The Senators still have 27 players in camp, including injured forwards Rudolfs Balcers, Vitaly Abramov and injured defenceman Christian Wolanin.

The Senators must be down to a maximum of 23 players before the season opener next Wednesday against the Maple Leafs.

With only one pre-season game remaining, Saturday against Montreal, Sabourin is presumably in a battle with Drake Batherson, Logan Brown and Filip Chlapik, fuelling a lively debate about whether the Senators need more skill or more sandpaper at the bottom end of the depth chart.

Sabourin makes no apologies for his throwback style.

“I’ve been around for seven years as a pro now, so I’ve learned what you’ve got to do out there,” he said following the tete-a-tete with Matthews last week. “Some people like it, some people don’t. That’s just the way it is.”

The roster discussion is further complicated by the uncertainty surrounding Abramov, who is in concussion protocol, and Balcers, who suffered a leg injury Wednesday.

“They are going to re-assess (Balcers on Thursday),” Smith said following the game.

“Hopefully, he’s OK. I thought he has played well. If he can’t play (against Montreal), certainly someone else will get an opportunity.”

When asked if any of the prospects stood out against the Canucks, Smith mentioned Brown, who played limited minutes.

“I thought he did a good job,” Smith said. “We moved him to the wing a little bit, just to see if he could do that with the (other) four centres we have. I thought he was good. He was big. He has good hands. I thought he worked hard.” 1154330 Ottawa Senators

Tkachuk ramps up game in anticipation of regular season

Ken Warren

VANCOUVER — For those who might have turned in early, Brady Tkachuk was the thing that went bump late into the night Wednesday.

Proving once again that the only thing silent about him is the first letter of his last name, Tkachuk was in the middle of just about everything in the 6-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks.

There was a first-period gaffe, leading directly to Sven Bartschi’s goal that handed the Canucks a 2-0 lead.

Then came the turnaround, which included a pair tap-in goals from his office in the crease, some slick playmaking with linemates Colin White and Connor Brown, along with the wall he created, not allowing Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko to see the Thomas Chabot shot that counted as a power-play goal.

Between the whistles, he was routinely engaged with the Canucks in shoves, stick whacks, gloves to the face and an assortment of other pleasantries.

“It doesn’t really count now, but it’s good for the confidence moving forward into the regular season,” Tkachuk said of the victory. “It’s winding down, so we really want to play our best hockey leading into the regular season. It was a really good effort and (goaltender) Craig Anderson stood on his head, as usual.”

Tkachuk also turned some heads, including that of coach D.J. Smith.

“He had a tough first period,” Smith said. “I think he was frustrated, but then he started to play the way he has to. He’s such a big kid who owns the front of the net, it’s going to be hard to stop him. He’s such a high- end competitor.”

White knows what to expect, having spent a healthy portion of the 2018- 19 season on a line with Tkachuk and Mark Stone.

For Brown, though, there continue to be some eye-opening moments.

“He’s so strong and he’s got really good hands, which makes him really hard to defend when he’s below the (faceoff circles),” said Brown, clearly relishing the opportunity to play first-line minutes after spending years as a depth forward in Toronto. “He’s too strong to box out. I think he’s going to be a star for a long time. He’s starting to be at the net a little more.”

As a line, Brown is hoping the chemistry continues to develop. The Senators are likely going be starved for offence, putting additional pressure on the top line.

“That was a massive step forward,” Brown said. “In practice, we’re feeling better and better, starting to understand each other’s tendencies, working to each other’s strengths.

“It’s important for us, mentally, to feel good about our game.”

Ottawa Sun LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154331 Ottawa Senators

Nick Paul, Parker Kelly, Marcus Hogberg and Jordan Szwarz sent to Belleville of AHL

Ken Warren

VANCOUVER – The Ottawa Senators inched closer to their opening day roster Thursday morning.

The Senators sent forwards Nick Paul, Parker Kelly, Jordan Szwarz and goaltender Marcus Hogberg to Belleville of the American Hockey League. Paul and Szwarz must clear waivers.

The decisions were complicated by the leg injury suffered by winger Rudolfs Balcers in Wednesday’s come from behind 6-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks.

The Senators conclude the pre-season Saturday against the Montreal Canadiens and must be down to a maximum roster of 23 players before opening the regular season Oct. 2 against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Thursday’s moves came after an impressive showing in the second of two games against the Canucks on the west coast. The Senators lost 6-4 on Monday in Abbotsford, B.C.

Coupled with the off-ice, team building exercises held Tuesday on the grounds of the University of British Columbia, there was definitely a positive mood as the club prepared to fly back to Ottawa early Thursday.

ALSO: Chris Tierney says sorry for the hit that led to Brock Boeser concussion

Speaking after Wednesday’s game, Senators coach D.J. Smith didn’t have an update on Balcers’ status.

“They are going to re-assess him (Thursday),” said Senators coach D.J. Smith. “Hopefully, he’s okay. I thought he has played well. If he can’t play (against Montreal), certainly someone else will get an opportunity.”

When asked if any of the prospects stood out against the Canucks, Smith volunteered the name of centre Logan Brown, who saw limited minutes.

“I thought he did a good job,” he said. “We moved him to the wing a little bit, just to see if he could do that with the (other) four centres we have. I thought he was good. He was big. He has good hands. I thought he worked hard.”

Nobody should get carried away with much that happens in the pre- season, but the Senators certainly didn’t fold after falling behind 2-0 in the first period against the Canucks – a deficit that was self-induced following atrocious early giveaways by Ron Hainsey and Brady Tkachuk.

Tkachuk helped lead the rally back, a dominating presence offensively and physically as the game wore on.

“It doesn’t really count now, but it’s good for the confidence moving forward into the regular season,” he said. “It’s winding down, so we really want to play our best hockey leading into the regular season. It was a really good effort and (goaltender) Craig Anderson stood on his head, as usual.”

Anderson did allow the Senators to hang around to work their way back into the game. Once the Senators shook off their poor start, they took advantage of the shaky goaltending from the Canucks Thatcher Demko to take the game away from Vancouver.

Connor Brown, Tkachuk, Thomas Chabot (on a power play), Filip Chlapik and Artem Anisimov (shorthanded) scored for the Senators. The ex- Maple Leafs crew of Connor Brown, Tyler Ennis and Nikita Zaitsev were particularly noticeable with their effort level.

“The first period we gave up a couple of freebies, a couple lay-ups,” said Connor Brown. “Other than that, they were throwing in a lot of pucks from bad angles and there weren’t too many Grade A (chances) that we gave up.”

Ottawa Sun LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154332 Ottawa Senators getting minutes in the offensive zone, Brown should be able to do just that.

3. Ron Hainsey will once again lead the league in shorthanded minutes 10 bold (and not so bold) predictions for the Senators this season In 2017-18 Hainsey was the only player in the NHL to log 300 minutes shorthanded, which was 52 minutes more than the next closest player, Zdeno Chara. By Hailey Salvian and Chris Stevenson Sep 26, 2019 But last season, the Leafs took almost a minute off of his penalty-killing duties, taking him down from a massive four minutes a game to around three minutes. Leafs head coach Mike Babcock mixed in opportunity on The Ottawa Senators have committed to a rebuild over the past year and the penalty kill for Travis Dermott and kept Zaitsev on the first unit. a byproduct of that course of action is a team that carries very little hype (Zaitsev ended up edging Hainsey for shorthanded minutes last year). surrounding their expectations this season. But on this young Senators team, Hainsey is going to be relied on heavily There is some excitement around Thomas Chabot and Brady Tkachuk, on the penalty kill, as well as Zaitsev. Smith is comfortable and familiar some young prospects in the pipeline and the idea of getting the first- with both rearguards and has spoken very highly of the veteran Hainsey overall pick at the 2020 Draft. And whether or not the Senators are a and the role he will play on this team. team in contention, hockey is back. At 38 years old, it’s hard to believe Hainsey will beat out younger star With less than a week until the regular season opens in Toronto, here are defencemen for additional minutes at 5-on-5, but if the last few years is 10 bold predictions about the Ottawa Senators. any indication, Hainsey will live on the penalty kill for the Senators. 1. Thomas Chabot will lead the team in points 4. Craig Anderson will rebound and have a save percentage of at least The Athletic’s analytics guru, Dom Luszczyszyn projected that Tkachuk .920. would lead the team in scoring with 27 goals and 59 points, while Chabot The 38-year-old has had save percentages of .898 and .903 the past two would come second with 15 goals and 54 points, only one more goal and seasons. He faced 1,588 and 1,513 shots in each of those seasons. one less point than last year. But since we are making bold predictions here, let’s ignore the analytics, and put it in writing here that Chabot will Anderson has typically had his best seasons in terms of save percentage lead the team this season. when the shots he faces have been limited to about 1,000. He had his best save percentage in seven seasons (.923) in 2016-17 when he was Through the first half of the season last year, Chabot was among the limited to 40 games (he left the team to be with his wife Nicholle during best defencemen in the NHL. Through games in mid-December last her cancer battle) and faced 1,047 shots. season, he led all defencemen in 5-on-5 minutes and topped 28 minutes in a game three times. Those numbers show just how much the Senators Recognizing that fact and getting to the 1,000-shot range are two were relying on No. 72. And they will continue to do so this season. different things. The Senators have given up a staggering 8,538 shots at 5-on-5 over the past two seasons, the most in the NHL and 424 more He was also battling for the scoring lead among defencemen with 38 than the next team, the New York Rangers. points in 38 games. However, after taking a high hit from New New York Islanders forward Matt Martin and sustaining a shoulder injury on Dec. Two things could help Anderson: One of Smith’s goals is to cut down on 28, he missed eight games and didn’t have the same form upon his the shots allowed and he’s been saying he is looking for more a 50/50 return. Through the remaining 32 games, Chabot only tallied 17 points. split between Anderson and Anders Nilsson. That could position Even still, he finished third on the team in points with 55 points behind Anderson to be closer to that 1,000-shots range, which should bode well the now-departed Mark Stone and Matt Duchene. for him this season.

Throughout training camp, Chabot has been paired with new Senator 5. Anthony Duclair will be a Senator past the trade deadline Nikita Zaitsev, who is more of a defensive, stay at home kind of player. Having a defensive anchor with him, Chabot will be able to jump in on the At only 24, Duclair is on his fifth NHL team in eight seasons since being rush more often and get his offensive touch back. drafted by the New York Rangers in the third round in 2013. Its been a bumpy road for the left-winger to say the least. With two of the top scorers on the team from last season gone, if Chabot can stay healthy and get back to that early-season dominance from last In 2015, the Rangers traded Duclair to the Arizona Coyotes. He was year, he will lead this team in points. demoted to the AHL Tuscan Roadrunners in 2017 due to lack of production and later requested a trade out of Arizona in 2018. Duclair 2. Connor Brown will score 20 goals again landed in Chicago for a year, but was not tendered a qualifying offer by the Blackhawks and was released to explore free agency. That led After being traded from Toronto to Ottawa, Connor Brown will now have Duclair to sign in Columbus, who later traded him to Ottawa, while head an expanded role compared to the one he’s had the last few years on a coach John Tortorella publicly criticized Duclair saying he “doesn’t know very talented Toronto team. how to play.” Since training camp opened, Brown has been skating on a line with Colin In Ottawa last season, Duclair finished with eight goals and 14 points in White and Tkachuk, a trio that could serve as the club’s No. 1 line, a far 21 games and signed a one-year $1.65-million contract on July 1. cry from the checking and penalty-killing role Brown was deployed in last year in Toronto. Putting Brown on that line, head coach D.J. Smith said Duclair has said he is comfortable in Ottawa and hopes to pick up where he hopes to reignite his right winger’s scoring touch that has been he left off last year and continue to improve. Smith also seems happy dormant. with Duclair, who has said on multiple occasions how impressed he has been with the winger’s speed. He even called Duclair one of the And Brown has proven that he has some offensive chops. Senators’ best players through the first few days of training camp while In in his final year in the OHL with the Erie Otters, Brown tallied 128 playing on a line with Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Drake Batherson. points in 62 games playing with Connor McDavid. And in his first full year On that line, Duclair will have an expanded role and seems to have in the NHL in 2016-17, Brown scored 20 goals. The last two years his already built some trust and a relationship with Smith and the rest of the scoring has dipped to 14 goals and eight goals respectively as his role coaching staff. If he stays happy and comfortable and continues to has decreased. produce on offence, Duclair will undoubtedly last the year in the nation’s In Ottawa, on the top line, Brown will hopefully get his production back capital and perhaps sign a longer contract extension. up, and the team needs it. 6. Jean-Gabriel Pageau will have a career year Last year, the Sens were 17th in the NHL with 242 goals, but Stone, A year ago, the 26-year-old was in a cast after surgery to repair his Duchene and Ryan Dzingel combined for 77 of those goals. And without Achilles tendon which he tore during fitness testing on the first day of them, who is going to produce? The Senators are going to rely on Brown camp. and his line, and with the confidence of his coach, talented linemates and This season he is centring what looks to be the Senators’ second line The 15th ranked team in the NHL last season was the San Jose Sharks with Duclair and (for now) Batherson. He has been named an alternate at 80.8 percent. captain, a nod to his experience and the fact he doesn’t take a night off. If Capuano can get the Senators to perform up to the level of his His best season as far as scoring goes was 2015-16 when he had 43 Islanders’ teams (and those teams weren’t exactly stacked), it will be points (19 goals, 24 assists). Given his elevated role in the lineup and interesting to see how much they can improve. The Senators were 23rd Duclair has looked like he’s poised for a big year in a contract season, in the league last season at 79.2 percent, so it’s a matter of earning a few Pageau will have the opportunity to have the best offensive output of his decimal points. career. Easier said than done. If he stays healthy, he’ll top 50 points for the first time. 10. The team will finish with more points than last year (64), but will still 7. Senators attendance will increase this season finish last in the division

That might sound like a counterintuitive statement given it’s expected the Last season the Senators finished eighth in the Atlantic Division with a Senators will be battling tooth and nail to stay out of last place for the record of 29-47-6 for a league-worst 64 points. second season in a row. They lost a number of their top players in Karlsson, Duchene, Stone and The other way to look at it is the Senators attendance might have Dzingel via various trades, and this year the team is in full rebuild mode. nowhere to go but up. However, with a new coach in Smith who brings in positive energy and a focus on hard work and high paced play, the team should see The Senators average attendance last season was 14,553, their lowest improvement. average since moving to the Palladium/Corel Centre/Scotiabank Place/Canadian Tire Centre in 1996. Attendance has been in a steady And while the Senators may lack the star power from season’s previous, decline since the 2014-15 season and has dropped precipitously in the they have at least filled out the young roster with veterans like Hainsey, past three seasons: Brown, Tyler Ennis and Zaitsev to provide some scoring and leadership in the room. 2015-16: 18,086 In a season preview piece, Luszczyszyn projected that the Senators 2016-17: 16,745 would finish in the bottom five again this year, but will improve on the 2017-18: 15,422 dismal 64 point season. By his model, he projects the Senators will finish with around 71 points this year. 2018-19: 14,553 With a new coach, a new message and some veteran guidance, the (Figures according to Ottawa Senators media guide) Senators should improve on last year, but will likely still finish in eighth place in the Atlantic, as teams like the Buffalo Sabres and Detroit Red What could turn it around? You can argue the most painful part of the Wings project to be, not good, but better than Ottawa this year. rebuild — the trading of the team’s stars like Erik Karlsson, Stone and Duchene — is over. There was a lot of negativity around the team last The Athletic LOADED: 09.27.2019 season as the anticipation and finally, the execution of those trades took place.

The rebuild is underway now and the signing of franchise defenceman Thomas Chabot and centre Colin White to eight- and six-year deals respectively brought fans some much-needed good news.

If new coach D.J. Smith can get the team off to a competitive start, more fans might be willing to check out the team in person.

8. The over/under for the number of NHL games played by Erik Brannstrom this season will be 23

The 20-year-old has been making a case to be on the opening night roster with his performance in training camp. The shoulder injury sustained by defenceman Christian Wolanin — which is expected to keep him out for four months — has certainly opened the door for Brannstrom.

At this point, it looks like only the second spot on the last pair is up for grabs if you concede Chabot, Zaitsev, Hainsey, Dylan DeMelo and Mark Borowiecki are your top five.

At his age and for what is expected of a blue-chip prospect, it doesn’t make sense to have him playing somewhere around 10 minutes a night in the NHL. Therefore, over the long term, having him be the No. 1 defenceman in Belleville would seem to be the best experience for him this season.

But there are going to be injuries and if Brannstrom has the kind of season that’s expected of him, he should be the first guy the Senators turn to on the depth chart. That means he should get a chance to play those NHL games.

9. The Senators penalty killing will be in the top half of the league

You wanted a bold prediction, right?

The Senators gave up seven power-play goals in just two preseason games against the Montreal Canadiens and the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday and Monday. Predicting PK success after a performance like that would seem to be a stretch.

But Senators associate coach Jack Capuano, who will be responsible for the penalty killing, has a decent track record. His New York Islanders teams averaged 80.9 percent on the PK in the six full seasons he was head coach. 1154333 Philadelphia Flyers In the preseason, Hart stopped 56 of 57 shots, a .982 save percentage. ... Vigneault praised the work of defensemen Phil Myers, Samuel Morin, and Robert Hagg (seven hits). He called it Morin’s best showing of the preseason. “He moved the puck well; he was physical,” Vigneault said. ‘Snake-bitten’ Joel Farabee virtually earns spot on Flyers’ roster in shootout loss to Rangers Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 09.27.2019

by Sam Carchidi,

NEW YORK -- Rookie Joel Farabee did everything except score in Thursday night’s preseason game at Madison Square Garden.

He took 10 shots, put five of them on net, and hit two posts in the Flyers’ 2-1 shootout loss to the New York Rangers. He also made a deft move but was denied by Henrik Lundqvist in the shootout.

No matter. The 19-year-old right winger seemed to lock up a spot on the Flyers’ opening-night roster.

Coach Alain Vigneault was asked whether he would feel comfortable having Farabee in the lineup when the season starts Oct. 4 against Chicago in Prague.

“Well, if he’s not in the lineup the first game, it’ll be a surprise,” Vigneault said. “We still have one more exhibition game [Monday in Switzerland], but he’s played extremely well. In my mind, if we would start tomorrow, he’d probably be in our lineup. But we still have one more exhibition. I think we’ll play that out and see where it all falls into place."

Vigneault added: “He played extremely well tonight; he got some good looks. He’s having a hard time finding the score sheet, but it’s not for a lack of trying.”

The Flyers (1-2-3) controlled the first two periods but were locked in a 1-1 tie. The Blueshirts outshot the Flyers in the third, 11-2, but couldn’t solve Carter Hart.

“I really loved our first two periods. We made some plays, and we were on the puck,” Vigneault said. “In the third, I loved Carter Hart. He played the best I’ve seen so far in training camp. He made the difference in the third period.”

As for Farabee, third-line center Scott Laughton shook his head at his linemate’s tough luck.

“He’s snakebitten,” Laughton said. “He’s hit five posts from what I remember in the preseason. The kid’s smart and a really good player.”

Farabee, who didn’t collect a point in the preseason, was asked how much he would pay for a goal.

“Probably a lot,” he said. “It’s definitely frustrating when goals [are] not going in, but at the end of the day, I’m getting chances. That’s all I can ask for right now.”

Farabee, a freshman standout at Boston University last season, said he felt better Thursday than in any preseason game.

“I’m getting more comfortable with the speed and where plays are going to be made,” he said.

The Flyers were 0-for-3 in the shootout (Jake Voracek, Claude Giroux, Farabee). Mika Zibanejad won it in the third round.

As he prepared for the shootout, Farabee was “getting a lot of encouragement” from his teammates, Vigneault said. “I think everybody is seeing the same thing. The kid’s got a lot of upside, a lot of potential. He’s a little bit snakebitten, but he’s working extremely hard, and that’s a good sign for him and a good sign for us.”

Lundqvist made 32 saves, including a two-on-one when he denied Farabee after he took a nice pass from Laughton.

The fourth line had three players trying to earn spots: Connor Bunnaman centering wingers Carsen Twarzynski and Chris Stewart. They each played only about seven minutes.

“It was a different game tonight for them," Vigneault said. "I didn’t think they were as strong maybe as the last game they played in Boston, but they did have some good moments, also.”

Breakaways 1154334 Philadelphia Flyers Fletcher said all the players in Thursday’s lineup will go to Europe. That means 25 players will probably be taken, and the Flyers will make decisions after Monday’s exhibition. Rosters must be reduced to 23 players by 5 p.m., Tuesday. Flyers’ Nolan Patrick sidelined indefinitely with migraine disorder; Carter Hart shines in loss Of the players battling for spots, right winger Joel Farabee stood out the most against the Rangers; he had five shots and hit the post twice. Defensemen Phil Myers and Samuel Morin played well. Robert Hagg (seven hits), who is batting Myers for the No. 6 spot on defense, had a by Sam Carchidi, strong game.

Afterward, Vigneault said Farabee would probably be in the lineup for the NEW YORK — Nolan Patrick, the Flyers’ third-line center, has a migraine opener. disorder and will be sidelined indefinitely, general manager Chuck Carter Hart (31 saves) was outstanding, and he stopped 56 of 57 shots, Fletcher announced Thursday. a .982 save percentage, in the preseason. Patrick has not taken part in training camp, but he has been skating on In the second period, Kevin Hayes’ pass from a sharp angle bounced off his own, working out, and watching video of the Flyers’ new system. The Travis Konecny’s skate and past Henrik Lundqvist to tie it at 1-1. 21-year-old will not make the trip to Prague for the Oct. 4 season opener against Chicago. Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 09.27.2019 Fletcher said doctors didn’t believe the headaches were related to the concussion Patrick suffered late last season, causing him to miss the final two games.

“Our medical staff believes with the proper treatment, it’ll be under control,” Flyers coach Alain Vigneault said before Thursday’s exhibition game against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. “Hopefully, it’ll be sooner rather than later. But, the young man has to get healthy, and I have to deal with the players that are healthy right now, and he’s not one of them."

Officially, Patrick is listed as “week to week.” He was diagnosed after consultation with the Flyers’ medical staff and specialist Dr. Jeffrey Kutcher from the University of Michigan, Fletcher said.

“Some time in the summer, he let us know he was having headaches from time to time,” Fletcher said. "Nolan spent time trying to get to the root of it. I think we feel comfortable now that it’s a migraine issue. It’s not a concussion, according to the doctors. Nolan does have a history of migraines back when he was younger. There’s a family history as well. I think, at this point, he feels relieved to know what it is.”

Patrick was getting “periodic migraines and cluster headaches throughout the summer, and he was concerned, and we were concerned,” said Fletcher, adding doctors feel he can control the situation with medication.

“There were times in the summer he felt great, and times he didn’t feel great. That was the confusing part,” Fletcher said.

Drafted with the No. 2 overall pick in 2017, Patrick scored 13 goals in each of his first two seasons. The Flyers signed Kevin Hayes as the No. 2 center in the offseason, dropping Patrick to third unit and hoping he would get better matchups.

With Patrick out of the lineup, Scott Laughton will be the No. 3 center. Rookie Connor Bunnaman, who has had a strong preseason after scoring 19 goals for the AHL’s Phantoms last year, has a good chance to make the team as its fourth-line center. Down the road, there is a chance Claude Giroux will move from left wing to center.

On Friday, the Flyers will head to Switzerland, where they will play an exhibition game Monday.

Frost headed to Phantoms

Rookie center Morgan Frost, who played well in camp when not hindered by a groin injury, will be sent to the Phantoms in a couple days, Fletcher said, and the plan is for him to be ready for their opener Oct. 5 against Providence.

“I’m a real firm believer of young, skilled players playing in the American League, unless they’re in your top nine,” said Fletcher, echoing former GM Ron Hextall’s philosophy.

Fletcher praised Laughton’s work on the third line and said it “doesn’t make any sense” to play Frost on the Flyers’ fourth line.

Preseason action

The Flyers (1-2-3) ended their preseason against NHL competition with a 2-1 shootout loss to the host Rangers. 1154335 Philadelphia Flyers * Connor Bunnaman centering Carsen Twarynski and Chris Stewart. Defense : Ivan Provorov and Travis Sanheim; Robert Hagg and Matt

Niskanen; and Sam Morin and Phil Myers. For 5 on-the-bubble Flyers, one more chance to impress the brass Goalie: Carter Hart, who is scheduled to play the entire game.

Philadelphia Inquirer / Daily News LOADED: 09.27.2019 by Sam Carchidi,

For 5 on-the-bubble Flyers, one more chance to impress the brass

Five players battling for roster spots — Joel Farabee, Carsen Twarynski, Connor Bunnaman, Chris Stewart, and Phil Myers — will be in the Flyers’ lineup Thursday when they face the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.

Out of that group, Twarynski, a 21-year-old winger, has had the best preseason, scoring two goals and being physical around the boards and in front of the net.

“As long as I play hard and simple, the chances are going to come,” the 6-foot-2, 205-pound Twarynski said. “I was fortunate enough the last couple games to get nice bounces.”

Twarynski almost made the team in camp last season.

“I’m in a lot better shape than last year,” he said. “I had some complications during the offseason last year, but I had full training this summer and I was here for a couple months. I skated with the guys and got some good training, and it’s paying off. I feel good.”

Twarynski said he wasn’t able to train as much in the summer of 2018 because of “wrist issues. It was just building up from my previous years in hockey. I’m a hard guy to play against, so it takes a little beating on your wrist sometimes. It was nothing serious, but my training was a little altered last year. This year, being able to hit it hard was a good feeling."

Farabee and Bunnaman have played very well in the preseason, and Stewart has contributed two assists and a pair of fights. Myers, a 6-5 defenseman, has had an uneven camp, starting strong but struggling in the last couple games. It seems as if whenever Myers has made a mistake, the puck has ended up in the net.

Carsen Twarynski on the ice against the Bruins in a preseason game last week.

The 6-3, 214-pound Bunnaman, who could make the team as a fourth- line center, scored 19 goals in 62 games last season for the AHL’s Phantoms.

“I learned a lot from the older guys who have been there for a while like Colin McDonald and Greg Carey," said Bunnaman, 21. “All those guys talked to me everyday and I learned how to be a pro, on and off the ice. That was huge.”

Myers, 22, would not have to clear waivers if the Flyers wanted to send him to the Phantoms, so that remains a possibility. He is battling Robert Hagg, a two-year veteran, for the No. 6 spot on defense. If Hagg wins it, Myers might be sent to the minors because the Flyers want him playing.

On Thursday, Myers will be paired with Samuel Morin, who is expected to make the roster as an extra defenseman. Morin would have to clear waivers if the Flyers tried to send him to Lehigh Valley, and another team probably would claim him.

“I think my camp has been pretty good overall,” said Myers, who, based on his late-season play with the Flyers last year, was favored to win a spot before camp started. “Obviously you make some mistakes, but you just have to learn from them and keep working hard."

Thursday’s contest will be the Flyers’ last preseason game against NHL competition. They’ll have an exhibition game Monday in Switzerland against Lausanne HC. In that game, coach Alain Vigneault plans to use a lineup that will play in the Oct. 4 regular-season opener against Chicago in Prague.

Here is the Flyers’ projected lineup for Thursday (no TV):

* Sean Couturier centering Claude Giroux and Travis Konecny.

* Kevin Hayes centering Oskar Lindblom and Jake Voracek.

* Scott Laughton centering Michael Raffl and Joel Farabee. 1154336 Philadelphia Flyers Short shots Carter Hart will start in goal for Thursday night’s game at the Rangers

and play the full 60 minutes. ... Tyler Pitlick (wrist surgery) continued to Connor Bunnaman could be the wild card for Flyers’ vacant center spot intensify his workouts on Wednesday and said he hopes to be ready in time for the season-opening game in Prague vs. Chicago on Oct. 4.

Burlington County Times LOADED: 09.27.2019 By Wayne Fish / www.flyingfishhockey.com

VOORHEES — Persistence can pay off, particularly in this Flyers training camp for someone not named Joel Farabee or Morgan Frost.

Those two former first-round draft picks could both make the opening night roster and no one would think twice about it.

But a fourth-round pick from 2016 named Connor Bunnaman might just raise a few eyebrows if he’s on board the Flyers’ jet to Europe this Friday.

The 21-year-old center has impressed the Flyers coaching staff to the point where he could see action in Monday’s final preseason game against Lausanne in Switzerland.

And given the fact head coach Alain Vigneault announced on Wednesday that third-line center Nolan Patrick (upper-body injury) probably won’t be on the trip overseas, that only enhances Bunnaman’s chances of making the roster.

“Right now, because Nolan is not here, there might be a spot in the middle,″ Vigneault said after practice. “There are a couple decisions to be made.

“He’s got a big body (6-foot-3, 214 pounds). I spoke to (Phantoms coach) Scott (Gordon) and he got close to 20 games in the middle last year. Came to camp in great shape and has skated extremely well.″

Bunnaman, who hails from Guelph, Ont., posted 19 goals and 32 points in 62 games last season.

“He impressed us right off the hop,″ Vigneault said. “He got our attention. We’re going to try him in the middle tomorrow (vs. the Rangers) and see how he does.″

Bunnaman knows this could be an opportunity to stick with the Flyers, especially if Patrick is out long-term.

He’s gratified to hear people like Vigneault and general manager Chuck Fletcher are bringing up his name during interviews.

“It just shows I’m doing well,″ he said. “All my hard work is being paid off. Knowing your coach got your name in there, it’s kind of huge. It’s a confidence-booster for me.″

Bunnaman doesn’t mind operating outside the spotlight.

“That’s kind of the way it’s been with me,″ he said. “I’m not really the fastest guy. I just keep my head down and do my job.″

Having a new coaching staff isn’t so bad either. It’s a clean slate for everybody.

“I haven’t been here that long,″ he said. “But a new coach is a great thing.″

What would it mean if he’s on the plane to Europe?

“It would be amazing,″ Bunnaman said. “It’s going to be the memory of a lifetime. I hope I get on that trip.″

Myers could be odd-man out

In the battle for the sixth defenseman spot, Philippe Myers appears to have fallen a bit behind incumbent Robert Hagg, with rookie Sam Morin still in the mix.

“I’m not sure if we’re going to keep seven or eight,″ Vigneault said. “Myers is not a shoo-in right now. I think he can play better than he has. I think he’s been a little bit nervous, wants to do a little too much on the ice.

“We’re spending a lot of time with him off the ice, showing him some areas where he could be a little bit more high-percentage. At the end of the day, he’s only played 20-some games. ... He’s a young guy and he’s only going to get better.″ 1154337 Philadelphia Flyers third line right wing, while the Flyers are hoping Tyler Pitlick can man a fourth line wing role as soon as his wrist is healthy.

Delaware County Times LOADED: 09.27.2019 Flyers' Patrick out indefinitely with 'migrane disorder'

By Rob Parent

Nolan Patrick's latest medical mystery was solved earlier Thursday when the Flyers finally released a definitive statement on what went from "upper body injury" to "condition" very quickly.

That is, quickly in hockey medical time frame.

Patrick, the Flyers' third-year center, is essentially out indefinitely after being diagnosed with "migrane disorder." Patrick did skate on his own at the Skate Zone practice complex Thursday but is officially listed as "week to week" by the club.

Patrick was thus ruled out of being part of the traveling party to Europe for the final exhibition game Monday in Switzerland and the regular season opener against the Chicago Blackhawks in Prague Friday. It's likely Patrick will also miss the home opener Oct. 9 and probably the subsequent three-game swing through Western Canada.

In a statement, Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher said Patrick has been under the care of specialist Jeffrey Kutcher with the University of Michigan Medical Center. As for his prognosis, the statement said only he won't be traveling to Europe and "we will provide additional information once the team returns."

Asked about Patrick Thursday prior to the Flyers' exhibition game against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden, head coach Alain Vigneault said Patrick had been "in all the video sessions; he's been skating, he's been working out. "Unfortunately," Vigneault added, "he has that condition. Our medical staff feels with the proper treatment that it should be under control. Hoepfully it'll be sooner, than later. But the young man has to get healthy and I've got to deal with the players that are healthy right now and he's not one of them."

Nor is Morgan Frost.

The Flyers' most exciting forward prospect is a natural center, and with an NHL that essentially demands three scoring lines now, teaming him with another (very) young forward such as Joel Farabee and a worker bee like Michael Raffl could have been an intriguing Plan B.

Instead, Frost has been sidelined with a groin issue. And even though his bosses had listed him as day-to-day, they also put him on the cut list on this Thursday.

Or at least Vigneault thinks that's where Frost is going.

"I would say, I'm not 100 percent sure, but I think they sent him down today," Vigneault said. "He still has a couple of days here for recovery and we're going (to Switzerland Friday night). So yeah, I think he'll be going down."

Not that it was an easy decision.

"He was right there," Vigneault said of Frost. "He was in the mix. He was battling hard, he was playing well. Unfortunately, he didn't get on the scoresheet with a number of opportunities that he's had, whereas some of the other kids have been able to do it. Right now you have tough decisions to make and that's what we're doing."

Vigneault said Scott Laughton would start the season as the Flyers' third- line center, with surprising Phantoms grad Connor Bunnaman seemingly having a good shot to stick as a fourth-line center. Vigneault said he also had options of moving others into a center role, including Raffl and his top line left wing, Claude Giroux.

"I could decide to play Claude in the middle at some point," Vigneault said. "That's a possibility moving forward."

• • •

NOTES >> Travis Konecny scored the only goal for the Flyers and Carter Hart had another fantastic game but the Rangers won on a successful Mika Zibanejad shootout attempt. ... Not that they care but the Flyers are 1-4-1 in the preseason. ... Farabee should have a real shot to stick at 1154338 Philadelphia Flyers

Alain Vigneault isn't going to surprise himself with Joel Farabee decision — and that's a good thing

By Jordan Hall September 27, 2019 12:21 AM

NEW YORK — Remember when Alain Vigneault asked for surprises at the beginning of training camp?

Well, the head coach isn't about to surprise himself.

The 19-year-old Joel Farabee more than played the part of an NHL player Thursday night at Madison Square Garden in the Flyers' 2-1 exhibition loss to the Rangers (see observations).

The Flyers fly to Switzerland Friday night and open the 2019-20 regular season next Friday against the Blackhawks in Prague, Czech Republic.

If he's not in the lineup that first game," Vigneault said of Farabee, "it would be a surprise.

He's played extremely well. In my mind, if we would start tomorrow, he would probably be in our lineup.

Farabee has shown everything in his arsenal except actually putting the puck in the net. But, yeah, suffice it to say the Flyers know the 2018 first- round pick can score. He did so prolifically with the U.S. national team development program and then in one year at Boston University.

"Kid's got a lot of upside, got a lot of potential," Vigneault said. "He's a little bit snakebitten."

Aside from being snakebitten on the score sheet, Farabee has exhibited why he's been such a quick riser at every stage. He can scale a lineup as he fit in with Claude Giroux and Sean Couturier, and supplemented Scott Laughton and Michael Raffl in a third-line role Thursday night. Laughton, Raffl and Farabee combined for nine shots, with the teenage prospect leading the team overall at five.

What coaches love, though, is Farabee's max effort, which augments his versatility. During the second period against the Rangers, Farabee was knocked on his butt in the slot with a blindside hit. He bounced right back up and immediately looked ready to deflect any shot that was going to come his way.

"Kid's smart and a really good player," Laughton said. "I enjoyed playing with him tonight."

Laughton very well may see him on his wing next Friday.

The Flyers have one more preseason game remaining — next Monday overseas.

Farabee, of course, will be on the trip.

Does he feel like he's done enough to win a spot?

"That's tough to say," Farabee said modestly. "I think that's a question for a couple of other guys, not me."

On Thursday night at the world's most famous arena, it sure sounded like Vigneault had his answer.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154339 Philadelphia Flyers • Nolan Patrick on Thursday was diagnosed with a migraine disorder. Here's a look at the development/treatment and how the Flyers will adjust down the middle.

Joel Farabee brings it, Carter Hart the No. 1 development, more on • Connor Bunnaman could be key in helping the Flyers get by through the Flyers' preseason shootout loss to Rangers early stages of Patrick's absence. When Fletcher was asked if Bunnaman could center the club's fourth line, he responded: "Absolutely."

By Jordan Hall September 26, 2019 10:03 PM "He's been the best player in training camp," Fletcher said. "He was outstanding in the practices. His first game wasn't great, but he's gotten

better and better and better. By best player, I mean in terms of NEW YORK — Goodbye, New York. Hello, Switzerland. expectations. He's come in and blown them away."

The Flyers suffered a 2-1 shootout loss to the Rangers Thursday night at Bunnaman and Carsen Twarynski have become important pieces to Madison Square Garden in their sixth preseason game out of seven. open the year.

Next up is Europe. • Chris Stewart, with the Flyers on a pro tryout, will accompany the team to Europe but no decision has been made on if they'll sign the 31-year- The Flyers' roster is at 27 players and needs to be down to a maximum old forward. of 23 by next Tuesday at 5 p.m. With injuries, the Flyers' roster decisions are becoming somewhat easier. • The Flyers fly out to Switzerland Friday night ahead of its preseason finale next Monday against HC Lausanne (2 p.m./NBCSP+). Let's get into observations from the sixth exhibition game: They open the regular season next Friday against the Blackhawks in • Joel Farabee just looks like he belongs. His size really hasn't been a Prague, Czech Republic (2 p.m./NBCSP). factor and his effort is often second to none. Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 09.27.2019 During the second period, he got knocked on his butt in front, hopped right back up and continued to look for a shot to deflect.

The winger has done everything this preseason but score. Farabee has been robbed on a number of chances, including Henrik Lundqvist turning away the 19-year-old with a lunging save to elicit a "Hen-rik" chant during the middle frame.

Farabee also rung two posts and was active throughout.

Alain Vigneault said he would be surprised if Joel Farabee is not in #Flyers’ opening night lineup.

— Jordan Hall (@JHallNBCS) September 27, 2019

• Kevin Hayes returned to Madison Square Garden and notched an assist by slinging a pass off the skate of Travis Konecny for a second- period goal.

Hayes has been superb this preseason. Konecny has two goals in three exhibition games.

• Philippe Myers played well. Thanks to his mobility, he kept up with a forward and broke up a chance during the second period. He's looked better his last two games.

"I think he's been no different than a lot of guys," Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher said before the game. "I don't think he's on top of his game right now but I thought last game he was particularly good defending. I thought he had a good stick. I thought he did some really good things 1-on-1.

"It's obvious that his puck play could be a little bit better but that's not unusual this time of the year."

• Robert Hagg didn't look good on the Rangers' first goal. He was screening Carter Hart in front and then a shot from the point clanged off the defenseman's leg, leading to the goal. Lias Andersson put it home as Myers, to the left of Hagg, got caught watching a bit.

Both Hagg and Myers are competing for a spot in the season-opening lineup. And credit to Samuel Morin, who performed nicely Thursday night and was a plus-1.

• Hart allowed the goal that really wasn't his fault. He has stopped 56 of 57 shots through the preseason. He denied two of the three shootout attempts.

Hart's sharpness might be the team's most refreshing development of the preseason.

• The first period was chippy. Sean Couturier and Scott Laughton both dropped the gloves, while Konecny got feisty battling in front of the net.

Things you love to see:

This. pic.twitter.com/pcaoqKDM0c

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) September 26, 2019 1154340 Philadelphia Flyers "He's been the best player in training camp," Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher said. "He was outstanding in the practices. His first game wasn't great, but he's gotten better and better and better. By best player, I mean in terms of expectations. He's come in and blown them away." No Nolan Patrick, no Morgan Frost, so now what for the Flyers at center? Once again, the Flyers need some help down the middle, or at least through the early stages of 2019-20. Imagine if they didn't get Hayes?

By Jordan Hall September 26, 2019 6:06 PM Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 09.27.2019

NEW YORK — The Flyers are ready to help Nolan Patrick.

And now they'll need their available players to help down the middle.

Patrick, the 2017 second overall draft pick, was diagnosed with a migraine disorder Thursday afternoon. He remains week to week and will not travel with the team to Europe for the preseason finale or Oct. 4 season opener (see story).

"He's been as involved as he can be," Flyers head coach Alain Vigneault said at Madison Square Garden before the team's preseason game against the Rangers. "He's been in all the video sessions, he's been skating, he's been working out.

"Unfortunately he has that condition. I read the statement like you did. Our medical staff feels that with the proper treatment, it can be under control. Hopefully it will be sooner than later but the young man has to get healthy and I have to deal with the players that are healthy right now and he's not one of them."

The 21-year-old Patrick was slated to be the Flyers' third-line center in 2019-20 behind Sean Couturier and Kevin Hayes. The Flyers need to adjust their plan.

One prospect no longer in the picture is Morgan Frost. The exciting playmaker played only two exhibition games because of a groin strain and will be sent to AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley. The injury to Frost came at an unfortunate time in multiple ways. Not only are preseason games precious opportunities to prove yourself, but Patrick's ailment also opened the window for Frost, who has been able to play just three exhibition games over the past two preseasons.

The 20-year-old's time with the Phantoms will be his biggest chance yet to show his offensive upside at the pro level. If he does, he'll be knocking on the door for a call-up during this season.

"He was right there," Vigneault said. "He was in the mix. He was battling hard. He was playing well. Unfortunately, he didn't get on the score sheet with the number of opportunities that he had whereas some of the other kids have been able to do it."

As a third-line replacement, Vigneault will turn to Scott Laughton, who has developed into a critical bottom-six guy for the Flyers. In 2018-19, Laughton delivered career highs in goals (12), assists (20), games (82) and ice time per game (14:51). He was also second on the Flyers in shorthanded ice time (183:52), behind only Couturier (184:51).

"The way Scotty Laughton has played in the middle, he's played very well, extremely dependable, hard worker and that's sort of what I'm looking for in that position," Vigneault said. "At this time, he's sort of got that role locked down."

The underlying question is can Laughton provide enough offense? The 25-year-old could have a talented winger like Oskar Lindblom or James van Riemsdyk — maybe even Joel Farabee — on his line.

It would be somewhat surprising to see Claude Giroux return to the middle, given his preference for the wing and his career-best success at the position. However, it's an obvious option to provide a significant boost at center and have a winger step up.

"The ultimate card, but I could decide to play Claude in the middle at some point," Vigneault said. "We tried him there in the exhibition and that's a possibility moving forward. I've got a feeling it's going to take us a little bit of time here to figure all of this out, there will be some moving parts for quite a bit of time I think."

Connor Bunnaman is the sleeper in this equation. The 21-year-old is a big body with a fourth-line makeup. He's played just one year of pro hockey in Lehigh Valley. If Bunnaman can hold his own and show he belongs in a fourth-line center role at the NHL level, the Flyers won't have to make as many positional tweaks. 1154341 Philadelphia Flyers The Flyers' roster is at 27 players. Forwards

Connor Bunnaman Nolan Patrick will miss season opener after being diagnosed with migraine disorder Sean Couturier

Joel Farabee

By Jordan Hall September 26, 2019 3:20 PM Morgan Frost (injured)

Claude Giroux

NEW YORK — Nolan Patrick will miss the Flyers’ Oct. 4 season opener Kevin Hayes after being diagnosed with a migraine disorder. Travis Konecny The 21-year-old center had been doing solo work on the ice but hadn’t participated in training camp practices or played in any of the team’s Scott Laughton preseason games. Oskar Lindblom

He remains week to week. Nolan Patrick (injured)

Here is a statement Thursday afternoon from general manager Chuck Tyler Pitlick (injured) Fletcher: Michael Raffl After consultation with the Flyers’ medical staff and with specialist Dr. Jeffrey Kutcher from the University of Michigan, forward Nolan Patrick Chris Stewart has been diagnosed with migraine disorder. Patrick will not be going to Europe and we will provide additional information once the team returns. Carsen Twarynski He will not be ready to start the season and is listed as week to week. James van Riemsdyk

Going back to when he was drafted second overall in 2017, Patrick has Jakub Voracek battled injuries, including a sports hernia issue, concussion and other upper-body ailments. Defense

Patrick reached out to the Flyers in June about his concerns and the Justin Braun team worked with him throughout the summer. Shayne Gostisbehere "Without getting into all the details, there were times this summer he felt great and there were times he didn't feel great," Fletcher said Thursday Robert Hagg night at Madison Square Garden. "That was kind of the confusing part of Samuel Morin it from a medical perspective." Philippe Myers Are the migraines connected to previous hits? Matt Niskanen The doctors don't believe so. I can't fully speak for the doctors. Clearly at the end of last season, he took a slap shot in the neck area, back of the Ivan Provorov head area, in Long Island. He felt good after that and some time in the Travis Sanheim summer, he let us know that he was having headaches from time to time. It wasn't constant. We've spent time, Nolan spent the time, trying to get Andy Welinski (injured) to the root of it. I think we feel comfortable now that it's a migraine issue. It's not a concussion, according to the doctors. Goalies

Nolan does have a history of migraines, going back to when he was Brian Elliott younger — he had some in minor hockey, in junior hockey. There's a Carter Hart family history, as well. I think at this point, he feels relieved to know what it is. It's been periodic migraines and cluster headaches throughout the Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 09.27.2019 summer and I think he was concerned and we were concerned. The doctor feels that there's a regimen you can put him on and with medication, we can control the situation and we're hopeful.

- Fletcher

Fletcher said there's "a whole host" of things that can help with treatment.

"I'm not 100 percent sure," Fletcher said. "I know there's medication, there could be some dietary things. ... I don't want to speak too much because I don't know that I have all the answers.

"He's taking the medication now. We're hoping that settles down the migraines and gets him to feeling 100 percent from a health perspective. And then after that, he's skated a bit, but he's essentially missed all of training camp. He hasn't played games, he hasn't been in any battle drills, and we're going to have to make sure we get him the conditioning work that he needs.

"Hopefully by the time we get back from Europe, we'll have a better sense of where he's at from a health perspective. And then from there, all going well, it's just a matter of conditioning.

"We consulted a lot of different people and I think we feel we're in a good place medically and we'll hope for the best."

The Flyers have options at center. Claude Giroux and Michael Raffl can play the middle, and Connor Bunnaman is in the picture. 1154342 Philadelphia Flyers Robert Hagg-Matt Niskanen Samuel Morin-Philippe Myers

Goalies Flyers at Rangers preseason: Storylines, game time and more Carter Hart

Brian Elliott By Jordan Hall September 26, 2019 Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 09.27.2019

The Flyers will have some final auditions on Broadway.

The team visits New York Thursday night to play the Rangers in its sixth preseason game. The Flyers' roster is at 27 players and must be trimmed down to a maximum of 23 by 5 p.m. next Tuesday.

On Friday night, the Flyers fly out to Switzerland before their preseason finale next Monday against HC Lausanne.

First, let's look at the essentials for tonight:

• When: 7 p.m. ET

• Where: Madison Square Garden

• Broadcast: NHL Network

• There's an update (sort of) on Nolan Patrick. The 21-year-old center skated with the non-game group Thursday morning at Flyers Skate Zone.

Recovering from an upper-body injury, Patrick has missed all of training camp/preseason and had been limited to solo work on the ice.

Nolan Patrick, still out with upper-body injury and considered week to week, getting work in. pic.twitter.com/POxlH54vG8

— Jordan Hall (@JHallNBCS) September 15, 2019

There is no timeline for his return and his status for the Oct. 4 season opener is in serious doubt.

Update: 3:33 p.m. — Patrick has been diagnosed with a migraine disorder. He will not travel to Europe and will miss the season opener. He's listed as week to week.

• The roster hopefuls playing against the Rangers: Joel Farabee, Carsen Twarynski, Connor Bunnaman and Chris Stewart (see story).

Also, keep an eye on how Robert Hagg performs with Matt Niskanen. He is battling with Philippe Myers and Samuel Morin for a spot in the season-opening lineup (see story).

• Alain Vigneault coached the Rangers from 2013-18, leading New York to a Stanley Cup Final appearance and four playoff berths. He was fired following the 2017-18 season.

"The Rangers did what they had to do," Vigneault said last weekend. "I wish them nothing but the best. I had a great five years there and I want them to have success against everybody but us."

Kevin Hayes played parts of his first five NHL seasons with the Rangers. He has been honest about how things ended in New York (see story).

• Carter Hart will play the full game. The 21-year-old goalie has stopped all 25 shots he's faced through three-plus periods of preseason action.

Quotable

Right now, because Nolan is not here, there might be a spot in the middle, there might be a spot on the wing, there's definitely a spot on D.

- Vigneault on Wednesday

Projected lineup

Forwards

Claude Giroux-Sean Couturier-Travis Konecny

Oskar Lindblom-Kevin Hayes-Jakub Voracek

Joel Farabee-Scott Laughton-Michael Raffl

Carsen Twarynski-Connor Bunnaman-Chris Stewart

Defensemen

Ivan Provorov-Travis Sanheim 1154343 Philadelphia Flyers The Ducks got their start in 1993. The York family became season-ticket holders, and the kids made it clear hockey was their first love, not football or volleyball, which their father and mother, respectively, had played.

Flyers top pick Cam York is riding the Southern California hockey wave Jeff embraced his boys’ burgeoning interest in the sport, joining them in nightly 2-on-2 backyard pickup games. What started as a little safe fun with no gloves or pads quickly became an exercise in self-preservation for Jeff as the boys rapidly rounded out their skills. By Charlie O'Connor Sep 26, 2019 “If you happened to get the puck in the air (with a shot) and somebody

was in the way … we tried to discourage that,” Jeff said, laughing. It’s become the classic “growing up hockey” story for countless future Just as the Yorks were becoming fully immersed in the roller version of NHL players: a frozen pond in a tiny Canadian town or the coldest parts the sport, the Ducks were ramping up their efforts to grow the game in of Minnesota. Hockey has always celebrated its myths, and few are more the region. Henry and Susan Samueli purchased the team in 2005 and prevalent than kids trying to squeeze out a couple more minutes of play expressed an immediate interest in building up everything from new ice amid the snowflakes. rinks to new tournaments to even new leagues — all with the goal of Growing up in the sweltering heat of Anaheim Hills, Calif., young Cam pushing hockey deeper into the SoCal consciousness. York seemingly had little chance of playing out that particular myth. Then The result? Nine hockey facilities operate today in the region under the his parents took a long look at their new house’s backyard and had a stewardship of the Ducks-affiliated The Rinks, including a new $110 stroke of inspiration: What about a roller hockey rink? million building called The Great Park Ice in Irvine, which will serve as the “You get into hockey, and as a West Coast family, you look at pond NHL club’s practice facility and also be open to the public. Hutchinson, hockey and how cool that is,” York’s father, Jeff, said. “It’s a special who is also director of hockey for The Rinks, marveled at the extent of sport, no doubt. We thought, we have the property here that we can do expansion since he first took a leadership role in the hockey community it.” more than 25 years ago. He credits the Samuelis for helping him and his colleagues build the type of robust infrastructure that previously existed Suddenly, 5-year-old Cam and his two older brothers didn’t have to play only in their dreams. in the driveway or travel to a rink. They had their very own storybook 80- by-40-foot hockey pond — SoCal style. “I kind of pinch myself every time I walk in,” Hutchinson said. “Like, ‘Wow, I couldn’t imagine this building here 25 years ago.’ Not a chance.” “That’s how it started for me,” York said, recalling his hockey roots. “I had a roller rink in my backyard, and I would go out there for an hour and a But what gave York the final push to transition from roller hockey to ice at half after school every day.” 7? Was it the Samuelis’ investment in the sport? It certainly helped, as the 18-year-old raved about the new rinks during the Flyers’ development When the Philadelphia Flyers picked the defenseman 14th overall in camp. Was it the Ducks’ exciting 2007 title run? It surely played a part. June’s NHL Draft — the highest a Southern California born-and-raised York witnessed his favorite team hoist the Stanley Cup in person when player had been selected — they didn’t just add a promising young talent he was 6, just before committing to full time. But neither event with top-pair potential. They added a player shaped by a nontraditional was the true driving force. hockey market, one that appears to be growing larger, more vibrant and more promising on the national level every year. No, the biggest reason York and his family switched from roller to ice hockey involved the most California of reasons: traffic. The York family roller hockey rink in Anaheim Hills, Calif. (Courtesy of Jeff York) “The thing that really got him into ice hockey was that the (local) roller rink moved from Anaheim to Corona, which for us, it was 8 miles away,” As many California hockey tales do, our story begins (but certainly does Jeff explained. “(The new rink) was actually very close to where we lived, not end) with Wayne Gretzky. but the way traffic works here, it could have been an hour-, hour-and-a- half drive to get there for practices at 5 o’clock (in the morning) during the The Los Angeles Kings may have played their first season in 1967 — the week. So, we made the decision to … we asked (Cam and his brothers), same year as the Flyers’ — but any account of the sport’s growth in ‘Hey, do you guys want to play ice?'” Southern California would be incomplete without acknowledging the Gretzky Effect more than 20 years later. The Edmonton Oilers’ trade of The rest, as they say, is history. Gretzky — the unquestioned best player in the sport — to the Kings in 1988 sparked a massive surge of local interest in hockey, particularly at Cam York at Flyers development camp in June. (Courtesy of Kate Frese) the youth level. While the York backyard roller rink still received heavy usage — for late- But it wasn’t merely interest in the NHL-preferred version of the sport night practice sessions and those epic 2-on-2 battles — ice hockey took “The Great One” inspired in SoCal. As Rick Hutchinson, one of York’s center stage for York. And his entry into that world launched him toward youth hockey coaches and a pivotal figure in the recent growth of hockey a new set of influencers, including Hutchinson and eventually Craig in Southern California, pointed out, roller hockey also exploded in the Johnson, a longtime Los Angeles Kings player and a veteran of 557 NHL early to mid-1990s. games.

“The Kings became super competitive (with Gretzky), obviously, and When Johnson’s NHL career ended in 2004, he wasn’t quite ready to even though we didn’t (win) a Cup when he was here, it really started the give up the pro game. He headed to Europe, first playing in Germany and roller hockey (trend),” Hutchinson said. “We had Gretzky’s Roller Hockey then Austria. It was there, in his final year as a professional hockey Center in Irvine, which now is (one of) the rinks we own, but Wayne player, where his interest in coaching spiked. Johnson’s club was aiming Gretzky opened that (in 1997). And that was huge. That was a big part of to raise Austrian hockey to the level of the rival Swiss and invited Southern California growth for hockey was him owning a roller rink.” coaches from Finland, the Czech Republic, Russia and Sweden to elevate the team’s play. Johnson quickly gravitated toward the Swedes’ In the mid- to late ’90s, roller hockey was a sport on the rise in the United way of thinking, which emphasized creativity and activity in player States. Not only was it far cheaper for families than its colder counterpart, development. but there were also national leagues like Roller Hockey International, and made-for-TV productions such as California-based Pro Beach Hockey, When he returned to California after his playing days ended, Johnson put which aired on ESPN2 for three years and boasted colorful uniforms and the concepts to work at the youth level with the Jr. Ducks, where both team names like Salsa and Xpress. It’s not hard to draw a straight line York and Craig’s son, Ryan (taken 31st overall by the Buffalo Sabres in from Gretzky’s emergence in the region directly to the York boys — June), learned a decidedly modern way of playing defense. Garrett, Cole and Cam — and their roller hockey obsession as kids. York “I think that’s also part of the success of why we have two first rounders spent the first three years of his competitive hockey career on this year,” Johnson said. “Kids that are defensemen, but we let them Rollerblades, not ice skates. play. We played in groups of five, we let them join the rush, we let them Ice hockey, however, was never far away from the boys, in the form of a … when they left the D spot, they became forwards, and they’d skate second Southern California hockey team: the Anaheim Ducks. forward more often. They weren’t just asked to defend.” Today, many of those concepts are ubiquitous in youth hockey, and the From backyard roller hockey games with his brothers to first-round draft need for youngsters to develop into coveted “puck-moving defensemen” pick, Cam York is proud to represent Southern California hockey. means creativity from the back end is encouraged more than ever. But in (Courtesy of Kate Frese) the late 2000s, California was, if anything, ahead of the curve stylistically with blueliners. As a result, when York was asked to switch from his As with most hockey communities, the SoCal scene is close knit. But the original position of forward to defense in an emergency situation, the feeling that the region’s best hockey days are still ahead sets it apart circumstances were perfect for him to fall in love with the traditionally from more established communities. Hockey people — from the coaches less-flashy position. down to the youngest players — believe they are in the process of building something special. They delight in the idea that they’ve pushed “I remember actually the specific (time); it was in Toronto,” York recalled. the game forward for those who have just begun to lace up their own “It was literally me, Ryan (Johnson) and his name was Zac McNeese, skates. and we were rolling three D for a whole tournament. We had to be playing 35 minutes a game. We were down a few guys and I just decided Craig Johnson said as much when discussing both York and his son’s … (my) coach wanted me back there, and from then on, it was just kind place in the first round of June’s draft. of a thing that I loved to do, and it stuck with me, and I’m here today, so “To see California kids make it, it’s gonna be an inspiration to other kids,” it’s been a crazy ride, but it worked.” he said.

York thrived in his new position. Under the tutelage of coaches like And don’t think that the York family roller rink has been retired. York Johnson and Hall of Fame defenseman Scott Niedermayer, York remains enthusiastic for his home hockey community and he still likes to impressed in tournaments all over the country, slowly establishing strap on Rollerblades every time he returns home to work on the finer himself as one of the more promising young players in the 2001 birth- points of his game. year class. It was his on-ice calmness that stood out to observers, his ability to make the right play without panic or hesitation. He might make a new home for himself in Philadelphia in the coming years, but don’t expect him to neglect the region that helped turn him into It’s a trait Johnson believes is natural to York, but was also encouraged the player he is today. He’s a standard-bearer for Southern California over time. hockey — and he’s taking up the mantle gladly.

“I think that when a player has composure, he has to be in an “I’ll walk into the rink and everyone knows my name, they know who I environment that allows him to be composed,” Johnson said. “If a kid am,” he said. “I know there’s a lot of people looking up to me, and I need makes a mistake when they’re young, and they’re told they can’t do that, to be a leader, and set an example for the next generation.” they’ve got to get rid of the puck, then it’s going to be hard for a kid to develop composure. But when a kid is told, ‘You know what, it’s OK, let’s The Athletic LOADED: 09.27.2019 keep playing, it’s OK to make mistakes,’ I think you can develop that.”

The hockey world took notice. At 14, York was recruited to attend the prestigious Shattuck-St. Mary’s School in Minnesota, where future NHL superstars Sidney Crosby and Jonathan Toews (and many others) thrived. For the York family, it served as the final bit of confirmation their son was one of the top prospects of his age, even if the decision to leave California — and his family — wasn’t an easy one.

“(It was) extremely tough,” York said on draft night. “You know, at a young age like that, it sucks seeing your mom cry as you walk out the door at 14. It’s super hard. It was a big sacrifice for me, but I credit Shattuck a lot for where I am today. I think for me, it was the right move.”

Twenty-five years ago, when Hutchinson was getting his start in the Anaheim organization, a school like Shattuck may not have even given a SoCal prospect a look.

“Obviously, we’ve grown with USA Hockey and we’re a model association under their program,” Hutchinson said. “And the feedback I get from them is that they use us as a model when they do seminars. ‘Look at what the Anaheim Ducks and The Rinks have been doing.’ And they kind of use that. So, are we getting recognition for that from them? Yeah. It used to be in the old days … ‘Come to California and watch hockey players,’ like what, are you kidding? And now, they all want to come here — and not just because it’s a nice place to go anyway — but they know that it’s kind of a hockey hotbed.”

And that hotbed can now say it has produced a player taken in the top 15 of an NHL Draft.

Although York may have left California for the final years of his pre-draft development — first to Shattuck, and then to the U.S. National Team Development Program — he hasn’t forgotten his roots.

A naturally soft-spoken teenager, York is at his most passionate when discussing the future of hockey in his state, and his impact upon it. In fact, the highest-drafted Southern California product looks forward to the day he no longer holds that title. He relishes the idea of being a model for the next generation of Southern California players.

“Yeah, it means a ton to me,” said York, who will play for the University of Michigan this fall. “I take a lot of pride in it. I hope there was a kid watching from SoCal, watching me get drafted, and saying to himself, ‘One day, I’m going to be in Cam’s shoes.’ It means a lot to me. I know that there’s going to be a kid that eventually gets drafted higher than me from the SoCal region, so it’s exciting. I can’t wait to see what the next generation of kids do.” 1154344 Pittsburgh Penguins Note: The Penguins acquired Marino’s signing rights from the Edmonton Oilers in a trade this past offseason.

How have your new forwards — Alex Galchenyuk, Dominik Kahun and How do the Penguins become salary-cap compliant? Brandon Tanev — looked this preseason?

When we talked about trying to change the dynamic of our team and get back to some more speed and playing with a higher tempo, Tanev has SETH RORABAUGH | Thursday, September 26, 2019 6:24 p.m. clearly done that for us. Certainly when (Sullivan) balances out the lines with (Bryan) Rust on the one line and (Jared) McCann on the other line

and when we had (Sam) Lafferty here, our team certainly seems to be With their season opening in less than a week, the Penguins still have a playing with more pace. So that’s been good. handful of issues to sort out, most prominently their salary cap. Alex just got the one game. He had the goal. Basically in that game, (he) As their roster stands, they are projected to be $331,625 over the NHL’s played the way we would expect him to play. He’s working through this limit of $81.5 million according to Cap Friendly, a website that tracks NHL injury and working through some time to have chemistry with (Evgeni salary information. Malkin), which seemed that they were gaining on that.

That overriding quandary will dictate how the Penguins sort out their Then Kahun’s case, he’s been on different lines and moving around. (It’s) roster, most notably their backup goaltending position and their defense. hard to get with two players to get comfortable with. But you can certainly All NHL teams must be compliant with the salary cap by Monday. How see that he has a high skill level, and he’s doing fine. will the Penguins accomplish that over the weekend? Marcus Pettersson appears to be in a position to take a considerable General manager spoke by phone with the Tribune- step forward this season. Review on Thursday afternoon and addressed a number of subjects He hasn’t hit his ceiling yet. He took a big step forward when he came including backup goaltenders Casey DeSmith and Tristan Jarry, here in the trade last year. Played in the third pairing and did an defenseman Jack Johnson, defensive prospect John Marino and his extremely good job. Now, he’s taking another step because at this point critique last spring of the roster being too content. in time, he’s playing with (Justin) Schultz, which puts him on the second Yourself and head coach Mike Sullivan have said the battle for the pairing. It gives him more responsibility. But he’s a good player with a backup goaltending job is open between DeSmith and Jarry. How has very, very high ceiling. that competition progressed this preseason? During your season-closing press conference last spring, you suggested I think it’s progressed well from the fact that everybody has played very the roster at that time may have been too content with the success it had well. So, if you’re looking for an answer of who’s separated from who enjoyed. Do you feel that has been properly addressed with the roster based on the play, I don’t think there was any separation. you have at this time?

It doesn’t sound like they’ve made your job easy in the event you need to It’s too early to tell, but I certainly see a difference around the team off trade one. the ice. I see a difference on the ice in the approach. I didn’t like our game against Detroit (Wednesday) night, quite frankly. We won the No. Part of what will dictate this decision will be the interest in one of game, but we got into some of our old habits, a little bit too loose and them and how it plays out within our cap, which is very tight, as you that’s got to be tightened up. But overall, if you’re asking me just about know. people being content, I don’t see that same level of content. I see a little bit more urgency to the point that we understand that with the parity in Jack Johnson is always a point of fierce discussion among media and this league, there aren’t any easy teams, there aren’t any easy games fans. How have you assessed his preseason? and we better come to play every night. It’s been OK. I think for some reason, right from the start when he got Tribune Review LOADED: 09.27.2019 here, there was more of a microscope on him. When you watch defense play on both sides of the rink in the games that we’ve played, there’s mistakes made. When Jack makes a mistake, it seems to get magnified like on the one goal in Detroit. But overall, I think Jack has played fine. He supposedly trained different, and it shows up in his mobility. I believe he’s more mobile. He’s had some times where’s he’s been paired with certain guys that he’s looked good. When he’s been with (prospect John) Marino, there seems to be some chemistry there. The coach is moving guys around, trying guys with different guys. I would say that his camp has been fine.

It sounds like you still view him as potentially having a future with this team. Has any decision been made regarding his status with the club moving forward?

No. In the meetings that I have with the coaching staff, they like what he does. They believe that he can do some things that other guys don’t do as well such as penalty killing and things like that. We’re going to have to do something with our defense because we like the way Marino has played. When you look at the cap and you look at the numbers on defense, we have to do something. But it doesn’t necessarily have to be Jack.

You mention Marino. Has he surprised you in this camp and preseason?

I had limited knowledge on Marino. (Director of player development) Scott Young and (special assignment scout) Kevin Stevens were the guys that followed him very closely last year. They were the guys that recommended we acquire this player. Not only recommended, but kind of pounded the table. They were (passionate) about his future as an NHL player. Everything they talked about in how they described this player has been accurate to the point that they felt that if we could acquire him and bring him out of school early, that he could play in the NHL this year. To this point, that’s been accurate. 1154345 Pittsburgh Penguins

Alex Galchenyuk remains sidelined for the Penguins

SETH RORABAUGH | Thursday, September 26, 2019 2:11 p.m.

Penguins forward Alex Galchenyuk was absent from Thursday’s practice in Cranberry because of an undisclosed injury that held him out of the lineup during a preseason game Wednesday.

Galchenyuk, 25, was sidelined for precautionary reasons during a 4-2 victory against the Detroit Red Wings at PPG Paints Arena. Coach Mike Sullivan labeled the ailment as “nagging” and described Galchenyuk’s status as day-to-day.

He has appeared in one game this preseason and scored one goal.

Expected to line up on the left wing of a line with star center Evgeni Malkin, Galchenyuk could re-establish the goal-scoring touch that allowed him to reach the career-high of 30 goals he scored in 2015-16 with the Montreal Canadiens. Last season, Galchenyuk, the third overall selection in the 2012 draft, had 19 goals with the Arizona Coyotes.

“It’s my job to try to do my best to put (players) in positions where they can be successful,” Sullivan said. “We’ve had that discussion as a coaching staff internally, with Alex in particular. That is one of my main responsibilities is to do my best to help him and put him in positions where he can play to his strengths.

“When you look at Alex’s body of work in the NHL, he’s shown an ability to score goals. He’s been a 30-goal scorer in the league. Some would consider his season last year maybe not his best. For a guy that didn’t have what a lot of people deem a great year, he scores 19 goals. So if he has a good year, what is he capable with this group? We’re excited about this opportunity to work with Alex.”

The primary return in an offseason trade that sent forward Phil Kessel to the Coyotes, Galchenyuk is not being compared to Kessel in the eyes of Sullivan and his staff.

“We’re not asking him to be any player or replace any player,” Sullivan said. “We’re asking him to bring his strengths to the table. We want him to be the best Alex Galchenyuk that he can be for the Penguins. That’s all we’re asking, just like we’re asking of any player. We think he can do that. What I’ve really liked about Alex to this point is his enthusiasm to be a Pittsburgh Penguins has been palpable. For a coach and a coaching staff, that’s exciting because we want guys that want to be here.”

Tribune Review LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154346 Pittsburgh Penguins Not to mention the quarterback landing on injured reserve in September. Not only were the Penguins fecklessly swept out of the playoffs by the

New York Islanders. But then the Isles were swept away themselves in Tim Benz: 2019 has been one of the worst Pittsburgh sports years the next round.

On top of that, the team had to shed popular winger Phil Kessel amidst a litany of stories regarding him feuding with the coach and sulking in the TIM BENZ | Thursday, September 26, 2019 6:38 a.m. locker room.

Then there are the Pirates. Oh, the Pirates.

Let’s just skip Halloween. We’re used to them losing.

Forget Thanksgiving. No city is used to ineptitude like this, though. It’s 91 losses and counting for a team that was just a game under .500 at the All-Star break. Fast forward through Christmas and get to New Year’s Eve! On top of that, it’s the disgusting charges against Felipe Vazquez. It’s his I’m dying to flip the calendar to 2020. Because 2019 has been one of the fight with Kyle Crick. It’s Keone Kela getting suspended. It’s Crick fighting worst Pittsburgh sports years in recent memory. with coaches. In fact, unless the Steelers turn things around and scramble to make the It’s the whole big mess. playoffs, 2019 will go down as the first time in 13 years that Pittsburgh didn’t see a single playoff victory from any of its three professional sports Maybe the Penguins can get off to a good start this fall and turn things teams. around. Maybe Bob Nutting will announce he’s selling the Buccos to a billionaire with free-agent dollars and money to burn. And maybe the Chew on that. If you are in your first semester of your freshman year of Steelers can do the unthinkable and gut their way into the postseason. college right now, the last time you went through a Pittsburgh sports year like this, you were starting kindergarten. Until then, you have fun at the Halloween parties and Turkey Bowl games. The Penguins didn’t win a playoff game while being swept by the New York Islanders in the first round of the NHL playoffs. The Pirates were I’ll be camping out downtown getting my “First Night” spot ready. eliminated by, well, pretty much the end of July. And the Steelers may be Because I can’t wait to ring-out 2019. staring at 0-4 if they trip up against the Cincinnati Bengals Monday night. Tribune Review LOADED: 09.27.2019 Don’t laugh. It could happen.

That’s on top of the Steelers blowing a 7-2-1 record and missing the playoffs in 2018, which kinda got the downward spiral going for the Pittsburgh sports fan base before the holidays started.

Chris Boswell slipped in Oakland, and it’s been a city-wide downhill turn from there.

This year-long run of disappointment is unprecedented in Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby-Evgeni Malkin era. As a tandem, starting in 2007, those two have never missed the playoffs and — until last year — have never failed to, at least, win a playoff game.

So you’ve got to go all the way back to 2006 to see a full season where the Penguins, Pirates, and Steelers all ended a season without a playoff victory.

Yeah, I know Super XL was technically played in February 2006. But the Steelers’ next season ended out of the playoffs at 8-8 on Dec. 31 of that year.

Oh, and you had Roethlisberger’s motorcycle accident that June as well.

Meanwhile, the Pirates limped to a 67-95 record, one game out of last place in the National League Central. And the Penguins’ 2005-06 season collapsed with only 58 points at 22-46-14.

But that was Crosby’s rookie year. He had 102 points. Malkin was on the way for the next season and optimism abounded.

A year later, in their first season together, Nos. 87 and 71 would qualify for the playoffs and win one game against the Ottawa Senators before getting bounced in the first round to start the streak we have enjoyed as a city.

A streak that would stay intact until this year — barring a massive Steelers turnaround the likes of which we have never seen.

I guess 2003 was even tougher. The three pro franchises all fanned on the playoffs that year, too. Making it worse, Roethlisberger was still in college. Crosby was still in junior hockey. And the 87-loss Pirates made the Aramis Ramirez-and-Kenny Lofton-for-Bobby Hill trade.

Those were dark times. Especially if you bought a Hill No. 17 jersey.

Our local sports depression of late, though, isn’t limited to bad win-loss totals.

It’s been the storylines accompanying the teams. The Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown sagas dominated Steelers headlines even more than blown leads, missed kicks and hidden X-ray machines. 1154347 Pittsburgh Penguins or Brandon Tanev, who have both found the back of the net in the preseason.

Kahun described his camp so far as a bit “mixed.” Penguins prospect John Marino sits on roster bubble with one preseason “I got good times,” Kahun said. “But I’ve also got to get used to all the game left new stuff. I give it my best, obviously. It takes a little bit of time.” The last remaining "prospect" at camp has made a good first impression The Penguins thought Kahun would be a player who could add versatility to their roster when they acquired him from Chicago in the Olli Maatta trade. They expected him to play multiple positions with multiple different MIKE DEFABO lines.

Already in camp, he’s doing just that.

Penguins defenseman John Marino took his fair share of challenging After starting on the Crosby line, Kahun played in Columbus last courses during three years at Harvard. weekend with Jared McCann and Nick Bjugstad on what would normally be the team’s third line. Then, with Alex Galchenyuk day-to-day with a The psychology classes for his major were anything but easy. The lower-body injury, Kahun was inserted on Evgeni Malkin’s left wing in economics classes? Brutal. But the worst of all was Statistics 104. Wednesday’s exhibition and in Thursday’s practice. “Anything with numbers for me,” Marino said. “I wasn’t a numbers guy.” It’s an opportunity. It’s also a bit of a challenge to go from Crosby’s right He might want to become one. wing to Bjugstad’s right wing to Malkin’s left wing all in the matter of a couple weeks, all while trying to learn a new system. How secure is Jack Johnson's spot in the Penguins lineup? “We’re exploring where he might best fit with the group,” Sullivan said. The Penguins trimmed their training camp roster to 27 players earlier this “We’re doing that with a number of guys. Dominik is no different. week. The average NHL team typically carries 22 or 23 players on opening night. “He’s everything we thought we were getting when we acquired him. He’s got good offensive instincts. He’s elusive in tight space. We’re going to It doesn’t take a rocket scientist — or in Marino’s case, someone with a continue to work with him in other areas of his game. His play away from 28 ACT score — to realize those numbers put Marino squarely on the the puck, things of that nature. We think he’s getting more familiar with bubble of making the team or, at minimum, proving he should be one of how we play. That’s always an adjustment process for a player. But his the first call-ups. camp has been pretty good.”

The 22-year-old was acquired from Edmonton this offseason in exchange What can the Penguins expect out of Galchenyuk? for a 2021 sixth-round pick. But what looked at the time like a low-risk move to add some young depth to a farm system that needed it might Sullivan said that the Penguins are trying to err on the side of caution turn out to be more than that depending how these numbers shake out. when it comes to Galchenyuk’s “nagging” lower-body injury. The Penguins held Galchenyuk out of Wednesday’s exhibition. He was also Dating back to the Prospects Challenge in Buffalo, Marino has made a not on the ice during Thursday’s practice. good first impression. He’s currently the last remaining “prospect” left at camp with the season opener just a week away. Sullivan said that the injury remains “day-to-day.”

“They never really say if you’re on the team or off the team,” Marino said. But when he does come back, what can the Penguins expect? “I guess if you hear nothing, that’s probably the best thing possible. “When you look at Alex’s body of work in the NHL, he’s shown an ability Hopefully I can keep that going.” to score goals,” Sullivan said. “He’s been a 30 goal-scorer in the league. Let’s crunch the numbers a little further. Currently, the Penguins have Some would consider his season last year not his best. For a guy who nine defensemen left in camp. Kris Letang, Brian Dumoulin, Justin had what a lot of people would deem a not great year, he scores 19 Schultz and Marcus Pettersson have all settled into top-four roles. Their goals. place on the team seems secure, assuming there are no major personnel “If he has a good year, what is he capable of with this group?” changes. Post Gazette LOADED: 09.27.2019 While Juuso Riikola could be giving Jack Johnson a run for his money on the left side, Marino is in a slightly different competition. Because he shoots right-handed, Marino’s most direct competition is, at least in theory, against Erik Gudbranson and Chad Ruhwedel. Mostly Ruhwedel, probably.

Sidney Crosby's junior hockey team retiring his jersey Friday

After sitting out on Wednesday with a minor lower-body injury, Saturday’s final preseason game will be Marino’s last chance to make his closing argument.

“The experience of the preseason games has been great,” Marino said. “I’m just trying to build off of every game and keep progressing.”

Another new role for Kahun

When Dominik Kahun walked into the Penguins facility for the first time a few weeks back and found out that he’d begin training camp on the Sidney Crosby-Jake Guentzel line, the undrafted second-year NHL-er couldn’t help but feel a bit star struck.

“It’s like a dream come true,” Kahun said.

Then, reality started to sink in.

Earning a first-look on the Crosby line is one thing. Producing on it? That’s another matter.

While coach Mike Sullivan praised Kahun’s training camp, the new forward’s performance hasn’t necessarily jumped out on the box score — at least not the same way it has for newcomers like, say, Alex Galcheyuk 1154348 Pittsburgh Penguins The Penguins have publicly praised Riikola, who in his second NHL preseason has turned heads with booming slappers and old-school hip checks. He is still trying to put it all together in Pittsburgh, but he looks more comfortable now. How secure is Jack Johnson's spot in the Penguins lineup? “Of course it’s different,” he said a few days ago. “Now I know what the game is like for real. I know what kind of things you need to do there. Last year, it was so different. … Now I know better and I think the playing MATT VENSEL is easier that way.”

Riikola was a relative unknown this time a year ago. He earned a roster Jack Johnson looked really sharp Wednesday at PPG Paints Arena. spot right away but his play plateaued during the regular season. The left-shot defenseman had two goals, three assists and a plus-3 rating in As his Penguins teammates unbuckled sweaty equipment after a 4-2 37 games before finishing out the season in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the preseason win against the Detroit Red Wings, the 32-year-old American Hockey League. defenseman leaned on the wall in the hallway outside the locker room. A healthy scratch that night, he wore a well-tailored blue suit and a smile as Sullivan believes Riikola is “much more familiar with his surroundings.” he chatted with a team staffer. On the ice, he has a better handle on the NHL game. The rinks here are That Johnson was not in the Pittsburgh lineup for the penultimate smaller than in Europe, and the players are much better, so the action preseason dress rehearsal raised eyebrows. Instead, he perched in the happens faster. press box to watch Juuso Riikola partner with Erik Gudbranson on the Off it, Riikola now knows his way to the airport and the nearest third defensive pair. Starbucks. Afterward, in the hallway, Johnson didn’t seem overly concerned about “It’s never an easy thing for a player to come over from Europe and get his status. Maybe the Penguins are just planning to play him in used to all of the changes in a player’s life, never mind on the ice,” his Saturday’s preseason finale. After all, in his two preseason games, he coach said. skated with young John Marino, who was back at practice Thursday after sitting out Tuesday’s with a minor injury. Has Riikola, who stylistically speaking is a better fit with Gudbranson if the Penguins plan to keep Schultz and Marcus Pettersson together, Penguins prospect John Marino sits on roster bubble with one preseason grown enough to overtake Johnson? Whether Johnson is back in the game left lineup for Saturday’s preseason finale at PPG Paints Arena may be Earlier this week, Mike Sullivan sidestepped around a forecheck from telling. reporters asking if there was an open competition between Johnson and And what happens to Riikola in the short term if the Penguins stick with – Riikola. or are stuck with – Johnson? His salary is only $850,000. But with the “I wouldn’t suggest that,” the Penguins coach said. “All the guys that are team needing to pinch pennies to become salary cap compliant by here are in competitions for positions. It’s not about one guy vs. another Monday, he could start with the AHL club. guy.” The Penguins will keep seven or eight defensemen. Marino and Chad But as the Oct. 3 season opener looms, there appears to be a legitimate Ruhwedel are currently jockeying for position on the right side of the chance that Johnson, who is owed $13 million over the next four depth chart. seasons, will remain in formal wear and not be one of six Penguins “We’ve got nine defensemen here right now that are all pretty good defensemen in uniform. hockey players,” Sullivan said Thursday. “So we’re going to have some Zooming out, that shouldn’t come as a surprise. Johnson was a healthy difficult decisions to make. But we appreciate all of them and what they scratch for Game 1 of last year’s first-round playoff matchup against the bring to the table.” New York Islanders. Then he was nearly traded to the Minnesota Wild in Post Gazette LOADED: 09.27.2019 May, only to remain with the Penguins because Phil Kessel used his no- trade clause to veto the deal.

Zooming even further out, Johnson had a minus-109 rating in 12 seasons before signing with the Penguins last summer. He was in the black in plus-minus just twice. He has been on some bad teams, for sure. But the Penguins wildly splashed a sizable stack on the table by betting that he would thrive here.

This week, Johnson said he hopes to make “more of a positive impact in games” in 2019-20. Last season, he explained, he was fitting in with new teammates, learning a new system and getting his family moved into a new city. Plus, he was forced to play on the right side quite a bit after Justin Schultz went down.

Johnson does bring a physical dimension to the blue line. And his work on the penalty kill was decent. But from a puck possession standpoint, playing Johnson was like strapping a washing machine onto Sidney Crosby’s or Evgeni Malkin’s back.

Only 14 of 124 NHL defensemen who played more than 1,000 minutes last season had a lower 5-on-5 shot share, per NaturalStatTrick.com. Among current Penguins forwards, everyone had a worse Corsi rating with Johnson on the ice.

During camp and his two preseason appearances, he looks like the same sluggish defenseman. He had trouble keeping up with the Buffalo Sabres in open ice in the Oct. 16 preseason opener in State College. In the defensive zone, Johnson can get caught in quicksand, unable to halt the other team’s cycle.

That, probably more than anything, has created an opening for Riikola, though the 25-year-old Finn deserves credit for darting in the past two weeks. 1154349 Pittsburgh Penguins

Sidney Crosby's junior hockey team retiring his jersey Friday

JOSHUA AXELROD

Another day, another honor for Sidney Crosby before regular season hockey tips off in 2019.

Recently, these accolades have come in the form of ESPN praising his past and present greatness or retail entities announcing that his jerseys and merchandise are still the most popular sellers in the NHL.

This one, however, is probably a lot more personal for the Penguins’ star.

On Friday, Rimouski Oceanic — Crosby’s QMJHL team — will retire his No. 87 jersey during a game against the . His will be only the sixth jersey Oceanic has ever raised to its rafters.

Penguins prospect John Marino sits on roster bubble with one preseason game left

The Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, native played for Oceanic from 2003-05 and scored 303 points in 121 games, according to The Chronicle Herald, a newspaper based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He spent two years with the team and won Canadian Hockey League player of the year honors both seasons and the President Cup in 2005.

Crosby clearly still has a relationship with his former club, as evidenced by him bringing the Stanley Cup there two years ago.

“Sidney is one of the greats from our league,” Oceanic head coach and general manager Serge Beausoleil told The Chronicle Herald. “But it’s also the way he is as a human being, how he is so kind with everyone. You cannot invent that kind of thing. It’s honest and it’s [genuine].

“The way he is as a person is from the heart. You can feel it. There’s nothing fake about Sidney Crosby and, for me, that’s the best thing we can teach our kids.”

Unsurprisingly, Crosby is a huge deal in Canada. He’s so beloved that the sign welcoming folks to Cole Harbour also has an inscription reading, “Home of Sidney Crosby.”

Crosby still has plenty of high-level hockey to play in Pittsburgh before he retires and the Penguins make sure no one ever wears his jersey again either.

How secure is Jack Johnson's spot in the Penguins lineup?

Until then — especially with other Pittsburgh sports teams reeling — maybe the city should also consider making “home of Sidney Crosby” its official motto.

Post Gazette LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154350 San Jose Sharks In 12:08 of ice time Bergmann had three shots on goal and was credited two blocked shots and a game-high six hits.

Bergmann started the game on a line with Barclay Goodrow and Melker Takeaways: Sharks’ Lean Bergmann, Mario Ferraro are the real deal Karlsson, but was moved up to the third line with Thornton and fellow rookie Danil Yurtaykin for the third period. Barring the unexpected, San Jose Sharks rookies look like they’ll be in the lineup Oct. 2 against the Vegas Golden Knights “He was good tonight. He plays hard, he plays the right way,” Couture said of Bergmann. “He’s a guy that can move up and down the lineup. He can fill voids on the top two lines and right now he’s playing on the third and fourth line. I thought he did a really good job again.” By CURTIS PASHELKA | PUBLISHED: September 27, 2019 Ferraro certainly didn’t hurt his own cause. Building on what’s already

been a solid preseason, Ferraro, paired with Tim Heed, had two shots on SAN JOSE — This was a night for reassurances. goal in 14:48. More than that, he remained aggressive, but was less erratic. After the Sharks’ 4-1 win over the Calgary Flames on Thursday, there was reassurance that Erik Karlsson can look like his former self again, With Radim Simek doubtful for next Wednesday, Ferraro looks like a safe that Martin Jones is headed in the right direction, that rookies Lean bet to be in the lineup on the third defense pair against the Golden Bergmann and Mario Ferraro belong in the NHL. Knights when the games start to count.

Certainly the Flames, the defending Pacific Division champion, didn’t “I think what (Bergmann and Ferraro) have done is they’ve given us the dress a lineup anything close to what they’ll go with in the regular same thing every shift they’re out there,” DeBoer said. “You see energy, season. Still, the Sharks needed to get all of their veterans into a game at you see the work, you see the compete. I think those two guys the same time to help build some cohesion going into the regular season particularly have brought that the entire camp.” opener Oct. 2 against the Vegas Golden Knights DeBoer was perhaps less enthusiastic about Gambrell, who didn’t have a Brent Burns assisted on two goals by Dylan Gambrell and one each by shot attempt for the first two periods when he was on a line with Kane Evander Kane and Tomas Hertl — all in the third period — in the Sharks and Hertl. Lukas Radil was moved into that spot for the third period, and next-to-last preseason game. The Sharks’ four goals came in a span of Gambrell was moved to the fourth line with Goodrow and Melker 10 minutes and 34 seconds. Karlsson.

Jones made 24 saves in his second preseason start, including 11 in the “He got it going in the third. I didn’t think there was much going on in the second period, as the Sharks improved to 1-4 in the exhibition season. first two periods,” DeBoer said of Gambrell. “He found a way in the third The preseason ends in Las Vegas on Sunday, when most of these same to get inside and get his stick on a couple pucks. That’s what he’s got to players will be back in uniform. do. Just looking for a little more consistency in that game.”

“It was nice to get a win. It’s been a while since we won a game,” DeBoer 3. Martin Jones has another solid night: Again, this wasn’t the type of said. “There was some good stuff. I thought we got a little loose at times lineup Flames will dress once the regular season begins. Calgary didn’t too. We’ve got to obviously fix that. But it was good step to get the whole bring Johnny Gaudreau or Sean Monahan, or even 2019 Norris Trophy group out there.” winner Mark Giordano. In their place were the likes of Tobias Rieder, Zac Rinaldo and Devante Smith-Pelly, who are all on professional tryouts. Takeaways from Thursday night. Still, Jones was tested at times. He stopped Rieder on a shorthanded 1. Erik Karlsson takes a positive first step: Karlsson looked sharp in his breakaway in the second period and helped kill three Sharks penalties first game of any kind since Game 5 of the Western Conference Final with five saves on Flames power plays. against the St. Louis Blues on May 19. Playing pain-free, Karlsson skated for 21:50, had four shots on goal, made some sharp cuts, and “I thought Jonsey was really solid,” DeBoer said. “I thought he was our several tape-to-tape passes. best player.”

There may have been a miscue or two, sure, but there was also a lot to Jones will likely get the start again Sunday, one final tuneup before the like. regular season begins.

“First game is always about trying to feel it out a bit,” Karlsson said. “You “I felt good. You get better as it goes on,” Jones said. “After the first don’t worry too much about specific things, you try and get through it and game, you feel a little bit clumsy out there, but I felt pretty good tonight.” get the timing, doing small things here and there. Felt good out there. San Jose Mercury News: LOADED: 09.27.2019 Felt like it was the first game of the year.”

Sunday against the Golden Knights, the pace is expected to be closer to what one might expect in a regular season game.

“He looked good. Obviously he wasn’t going full tilt,” Couture said of Karlsson. “He let up, but I don’t think that’s anything injury-related. It’s his first preseason game.

“When he wants to go, he can go. That’s a positive.”

2. Lean Bergmann, Mario Ferraro continue their roster push: Bergmann and Ferraro were each asked the same question Thursday morning. Do you allow yourself to think about what it will be like if you’re in the Sharks’ lineup Oct. 2?

They were on the same page.

“It’s hard not to think about that,” Bergmann said. “But I think it’s best right now just to keep your head down and go day-by-day.”

“As someone who’s had a dream of playing in the NHL like myself for a very long time, it’s hard not to think ahead a little bit,” Ferraro said. “But something that I’ve been focusing on is staying in the now.”

It certainly looks like Bergmann and Ferraro will be on the 23-man roster come opening night. Quite frankly, they’ve been the story of training camp. 1154351 San Jose Sharks

Brent Burns’ four assists lead Sharks to preseason win over Flames

By CURTIS PASHELKA

SAN JOSE — Brent Burns assisted on two goals by Dylan Gambrell and one each by Evander Kane and Tomas Hertl — all in the third period — as the Sharks topped the Calgary Flames 4-1 on Thursday at SAP Center in their next-to-last preseason game.

Stationed in front of the Flames’ net, Kane redirected a Burns shot past Flames backup goalie Artyom Zagidulin 3:17 into the third period. Hertl scored at the 10:59 mark before Gambrell added two goals 24 second apart, with the first coming with 6:33 to go in regulation time.

Martin Jones made 24 saves in his second preseason start, including 11 in the second period, as the Sharks improved to 1-4 in the exhibition season. The Sharks close the preseason Sunday in Las Vegas against the Golden Knights.

Sharks coach Pete DeBoer played nearly a complete NHL-type lineup Thursday. The included defenseman Erik Karlsson, who playing in his first game of any kind since Game 5 of the Western Conference Final against the St. Louis Blues on May 19.

Karlsson, playing with defense partner Brenden Dillon, had three shots on goal in 15 minutes and six seconds of ice time through two periods.

The Sharks finished with 36 shots on goal.

San Jose Mercury News: LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154352 San Jose Sharks

San Jose Sharks’ prospect finds new place to play

Ryan Merkley leaving San Jose Sharks camp Thursday after he was reportedly traded by the Peterborough Petes to the London Knights

By CURTIS PASHELKA

SAN JOSE — Sharks prospect Ryan Merkley is heading back to the Ontario Hockey League.

Merkley, the Sharks’ first round draft choice in 2018, was reportedly traded by the Peterborough Petes to the London Knights on Thursday. Merkley was scheduled to leave the Bay Area later Thursday evening to return to Southern Ontario and join his new team Friday, Darren Dreger of TSN first reported.

Merkley, 19, played in one preseason game, collecting two assists in the Sharks’ 4-3 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Sept. 17. More recently, Merkley had to miss time in training camp as he went through concussion protocol. He practiced with the Sharks on Tuesday and was with the Barracuda for their practice on Wednesday.

“It’s been good,” Merkley said Tuesday when there were mostly NHL veterans left in camp. “Practicing with these guys is pretty incredible, the pace out there. The high-end talent we’ve got out there is pretty exciting.”

Since Merkley will not turn 20 until next August and ineligible to play games for the Barracuda of the AHL, the Sharks’ only options for him at this point were to either keep him to start the season or return him to junior.

Merkley’s chances of cracking the Sharks’ roster this season were slim at best. A right shot defenseman, Merkley was behind Brent Burns, Erik Karlsson and Tim Heed on the Sharks’ depth chart. The Sharks also signed veteran NHL defenseman Dalton Prout to a one-year contract in July.

Still, the Sharks had been happy with Merkley’s camp and the way he had grown as a player since he was drafted over a year ago.

“He shows enough certainly on the hockey IQ and skills part that he fits with the NHLers,” Sharks assistant general manager Joe Will said of Merkley earlier this week.

At 5-foot-11 and 175 pounds, Merkley will never be a bulky defenseman, but he still needs to add strength to compete at the NHL level.

“You’re going to have to bear down and defend in front and in your own zone, take care of pucks,” Merkley said. “If you get sloppy in junior, guys don’t always take advantage. Here you’ve got (Evander) Kane, (Joe) Thornton, (Erik) Karlsson, (Brent) Burns and it’ll be in the back of your net, and you’ll be watching from up top.

“That all comes with age, time and experience.”

Eaerlier this month, it was revealed that the Petes were looking to trade Merkley to another OHL team. Peterborough had acquired Merkley from Guelph in December. In 35 games with the Petes, Merkley had 32 points in 35 games.

Will said the Sharks did not want to get involved in what was happening at the junior hockey level.

“We’re Switzerland,” he said. “We don’t get in involved in that junior team stuff. In the Ontario League, there’s always movement.”

The Knights, under coach Dale Hunter, have won four OHL championships since the 2004-05 season and the Memorial Cup in 2005 and 2016.

“I’ll be taken care of once I get sent back. Can’t really do anything here but wait to get sent back, whenever that is,” Merkley said Tuesday.

San Jose Mercury News: LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154353 San Jose Sharks going to take a lot of work. I do think this year is going to be harder than last year.”

If the Sharks can have a healthy Karlsson for the next seven months and Healthy, rested and ready: Sharks’ Erik Karlsson set for 2019 preseason beyond, even if he doesn’t reach those type of point totals, it figures to go debut a long way in replacing the production they lost after Joe Pavelski, Gus Nyquist and Joonas Donskoi departed via free agency. Erik Karlsson joining Brent Burns, Joe Thornton and Logan Couture in San Jose Sharks’ lineup Thursday vs. the Calgary Flames The Sharks set a team record with 289 goals last season. With some experienced forwards gone, does more offense have to come from the back end?

By CURTIS PASHELKA PUBLISHED: September 26, 2019 at 1:00 pm | “No. We’re going to play exactly the way we did last year,” Karlsson said. UPDATED: September 26, 2019 at 1:26 PM “I don’t think we’re going to score as many goals as we did last year. I think we would have done that even if the team had stayed exactly the

same. We’re going to have to involve some other guys to be successful.” SAN JOSE — It’s been a while since anyone has seen a healthy Erik DeBoer agreed. Karlsson skate in a game at SAP Center. About eight months, to be more exact. “Our defensemen are always going to be a part of our offense. That’s the way we’re built,” DeBoer said. “You can’t ask for unrealistic things. You That’s what will happen Thursday as Karlsson will make his 2019 can’t ask them to score every night. But I think they can start a lot of preseason debut with the Sharks hosting the Calgary Flames in their next offense for us and hopefully help our forwards contribute to levels we to last game on the exhibition schedule. need to get to in order to be competitive. Karlsson will be paired with Brenden Dillon as the Sharks are expected to “You look at the teams and there’s not many in the bottom half of the dress nearly a full regular season-type lineup. Goalie Martin Jones, league in scoring that go very far.” defenseman Brent Burns and forwards Joe Thornton, Logan Couture, Evander Kane and Tomas Hertl will all play in their second game of the Thursday morning, Burns was paired with Marc-Edouard Vlasic and preseason. Mario Ferraro was with Tim Heed.

“He looks totally different than he looked the last couple months of the Radim Simek skated with the Sharks for the first time in training camp year,” Sharks coach Pete DeBoer said of Karlsson. “He was obviously Thursday morning, but will likely not be available to play in the Oct. 2 battling through some pretty significant things. He looks like he’s moving season-opener in Las Vegas. Ferraro is playing in his fourth preseason effortlessly again, not thinking about it. So, it’ll be nice to have him back game as he continues his strong push for a spot on the Sharks’ 23-man at that level.” roster to start the year.

Karlsson was hurt in mid-January and had to miss 26 of the Sharks’ final Up front, Thornton will be skating with rookie Danil Yurtaykin and Lukas 32 regular season games. After he gutted through 19 playoff games, Radil, Hertl and Kane will have Dylan Gambrell on the right wing. The averaging close to 25 minutes of ice time per night, Karlsson had groin Sharks’ fourth line will feature Barclay Goodrow with wingers Lean surgery in late May. Bergmann and Melker Karlsson.

Karlsson was on the ice from the first day of training camp on Sept. 13 Bergmann has one goal in two preseason games. He didn’t score in his and has skated just about every day since. Now, with the start of the last game Saturday at home against Vegas, but finished with five shots regular season less than a week away, it’s time for Karlsson and other on goal and five hits, making something happen on just about every shift Sharks veterans to fine tune his game. he played.

“Get everybody going a bit, get used to playing again,” Karlsson said of San Jose Mercury News: LOADED: 09.27.2019 using the preseason. “The preseason isn’t about the end result. It’s about getting each and every individual line, d-pair and goalie ready for when the season starts.

“No matter what the score is tonight, you look at how you’re feeling yourself and getting your body up to game speed as much as possible.”

For now, Karlsson and Brent Burns are both on the Sharks’ No. 1 power play unit with Hertl, Couture and Kane.

“The reality is we’re going to have multiple looks and it’s going to include one guy and sometimes (Burns and Karlsson),” DeBoer said. “If you get a power play and a guy’s been on the ice for a minute, you’re not leaving him out there for the (whole) power play. So, we’ve to be interchangeable and have different looks.

“That’ll be one look where you’ll see both guys but there’s going to be some other looks where it’ll be just one of them.”

The Sharks and their fans must be salivating at the prospect of what a healthy Karlsson can do over the course of an 82-game season. Karlsson had 45 points in 53 games last season, which included a franchise record 14-game point streak from Dec. 7 to Jan. 8. The Sharks went 10-3-1 in those games.

Karlsson also had ankle surgery in the summer of 2017 and really didn’t start to look like his younger self until about midway through the 2017-18 season.

The last time Karlsson played 82 games was in 2015-16, when he led all NHL defensemen with 82 points, including 66 assists, and skated a remarkable 29 minutes per game.

What are Karlsson’s own expectations for this season?

“Start off pretty good and try to go from there,” Karlsson said. “We had a good year last year. To have a great year, I think we all recognize that it’s 1154354 San Jose Sharks

How Erik Karlsson felt after preseason debut in Sharks' win vs. Flames

By Chelena Goldman September 26, 2019 11:06 PM

SAN JOSE -- It's difficult to pinpoint the last time Erik Karlsson looked 100-percent healthy while playing in a Sharks sweater. Sure, he had a couple of good games in the playoffs. But really, the San Jose blueliner was at his best at the halfway point of the 2018-19 season.

More of those good days could be on the horizon, though, if Karlsson's return to the ice in Thursday's preseason game against the Calgary Flames was any indication.

It was only his first game back, but Karlsson looks like he's ready to rebound from an injury-hampered first season in San Jose and start off the 2019-20 season on a high note.

"The first game is always about trying to feel it out a bit," Karlsson told the media after the Sharks' 4-1 victory over the Flames. "But it felt good out there. It was the first game of the year."

It's understandable that Karlsson or anyone else on the team doesn't want to jump to any conclusions regarding his health. Nevertheless, it was nice to see how much he was able to contribute in Thursday's game.

"For him, a guy that sees the ice as well as he does and makes plays like he does, I think he was getting better and better as the game went on," teammate Brenden Dillon said.

New Sharks captain Logan Couture agreed with that assessment.

"When he wants to go, he can go," Couture said. "And that's a positive. You just hoped he recovered fully from that surgery and it looks like he has."

There were, of course, some questions before the preseason opened up as to how Karlsson would play in his return to the ice after he had surgery early in the offseason. Then Karlsson showed up to work on on the first day of training camp and was a full participant. Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer even admitted on the first day of camp that he was surprised to see the two-time Norris Trophy winner participating so heavily.

"I think if you'd asked me a month ago if he'd look like he did right now and he was participating full-out, I'd probably be a little reluctant to say yes," DeBoer said when camp opened up on September 13. "But that wasn't even a question. I thought he looked great out there."

Karlsson put the speculation further to rest on Thursday when he took the ice for his first preseason contest. He was one of the team leaders in ice time and looked especially speedy on the power play. Granted, Calgary didn't put their usual regular-season lineup on the ice. Regardless, Thursday's game proved to be a good jumping-off point for Karlsson and the rest of the Sharks.

"He looked good. His composure, some of his passes were great," DeBoer observed. "It was an exhibition game. It was nice to win, it's been a while since we've won a game. There was some good stuff."

The strong return to game action sets the stage nicely for Karlsson to contribute on a more regular basis this upcoming season -- and in a season that will be unlike the last. Roster changes have made the Sharks a different team than they were last season, and Karlsson and his teammates know they will have new challenges to face and overcome if they're going to remain one of the biggest threats in the Western Conference.

"It feels like a new year," Karlsson said. "You're going to have to adapt and figure things out as early as possible -- what you need to do this season to be successful within the team. We all know this year is going to be extremely different from last year. That's how it is."

At least, for starters, Karlsson's first game back went well.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154355 San Jose Sharks

Why Sharks need Martin Jones to outperform No. 23 overall goalie rating

By Brian Witt September 26, 2019 7:11 PM

It's no mystery what the Sharks' weakness was last season.

San Jose set a franchise record with 289 regular-season goals, tied for the second-most in the league. The problem was, they allowed 258, the most of any playoff team.

Martin Jones is coming off the worst season of his career, in which he posted an .896 save percentage and 2.94 goals against average. He wasn't much better in 20 postseason games, with a slightly better save percentage (.898) and slightly worse GAA (3.02).

So, it comes as no surprise that Jones didn't rank highly in The Athletic's 2019-20 Goalie Tiers.

An anonymous 17-person panel consisting of seven NHL general managers, four NHL head coaches, three assistant GMs and three goalie coaches rated every starting goalie on a scale from 1 to 5, with 1 representing a goalie who should challenge for the Vezina Trophy, and a 5 representing goalies who shouldn't be starters. The results were averaged, then sorted into tiers.

According to that panel, Jones was rated as the No. 23 overall netminder in the league, closer to the bottom of tier 3 than the top of it.

"He had the lowest save percentage in the NHL last year. Where would you rank him?” One of the anonymous executives questioned. “Jones is a better goalie than we’ve seen. I was surprised how his year went last year."

"It’s amazing what San Jose did with him (in goal)," a head coach responded.

"They played good defensively and he was (bad)," another coach summarized. "He’s had good moments. But he just didn’t stop pucks. I like the way he looks but he just doesn’t stop pucks."

Like I said, no mystery.

If San Jose is going to compete for the Stanley Cup this coming season, chances are the Sharks will need Jones to perform better than the No. 23 overall goalie in the league. They have lost more than 20 percent of their regular-season goal total from last season after Joe Pavelski, Joonas Donskoi and Gustav Nyquist departed in free agency, and with little in the way of obvious replacements on the roster, it seems unlikely San Jose will find the back of the net as often as it did a year ago.

Assuming the Sharks don't, they'll have to make up the difference elsewhere, and that's where Jones comes in.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154356 San Jose Sharks Bergmann began the game on the fourth line with Barclay Goodrow and Melker Karlsson, and it was arguably the Sharks’ best through two periods. In the third, Bergmann was promoted to Joe Thornton’s line with Danil Yurtaykin on the other wing. Yurtaykin had a few good moments in Groin surgery behind him, Erik Karlsson passes his first test as he makes the early going and even got power-play time as he stakes his claim for a his Sharks preseason debut spot, too.

Regarding Ferraro and Bergmann, DeBoer said: “I think what those two guys have done is they’ve given us the same thing every shift they’re out By Kevin Kurz Sep 26, 2019 there. You see the energy, you see the work, you see the compete. I think those two guys particularly have brought that the entire camp.”

Moments after the Sharks downed the Flames 4-1 in a preseason game Dillon and Logan Couture were also complimentary of Bergmann, who at SAP Center on Thursday night, Erik Karlsson was in a playful mood. In might have secured his place on the opening-night roster already. his postgame media scrum, he took a lighthearted jab at teammate Brent “He was good tonight. He plays hard, he plays the right way,” the captain Burns, who posted four assists in the third period. said. “He’s a guy that can move up and down the lineup. I think he can fill “He’s trying to win Player of the Month. He’s on his way right now,” voids on the top two lines and right now he’s playing in the third or fourth Karlsson quipped, as the Sharks get ready to close out their preseason line, and I thought he did a really good job again tonight. They didn’t slate on Sept. 29 and open the regular season on Oct. 2. “Hopefully, he dress their best lineup, but if he plays Sunday against Vegas, I’m sure gets that award and feels good going into the first game of the regular they’ll dress a pretty good lineup, so it will be a good test.” season.” Dillon said: “Those guys, a lot of them were playing in different leagues Karlsson had reason to be in good spirits. Thursday marked his first time (and on) different ice sheets (before) coming over and adapting to a new in a game setting since offseason surgery to repair a torn groin muscle system and new styles of play. For Yurtaykin, a different language that visibly hindered his play in the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs, skating (Russian). I think you can see the skill and the hard work. I think for nearly 22 minutes and looking like his old self for much of the night (Bergmann) he’s kind of made that his M.O., and he’s been rewarded for against the Flames, who dressed a prospect-heavy lineup. He breezed it on a nightly basis. … I think top to bottom guys are going to have through the neutral zone, sidestepped defenders attempting to get in his opportunities this year up front, and we’re going to need those guys to way and found open teammates despite not ending up on the play well.” scoresheet. Dylan Gambrell posted a pair of goals in the third period, both on The game was a continuation of what Karlsson’s teammates and coach deflections of Burns shots from the point. Although he’s found the Pete DeBoer have seen from the two-time Norris Trophy winner scoresheet in each of the past two games, including setting up Jonny throughout training camp. Brodzinski with a nice backhanded pass for a goal in Anaheim on Tuesday, DeBoer is still looking for a bit more from the 23-year-old. “I think for him, the first preseason game he’s coming off a fairly major injury. I think he spent all summer rehabbing and working on it … I think “He got it going in the third. I didn’t think there was much going on in the he was getting better and better as the game was going on,” defense first two periods, but he found a way in the third to get inside and get his partner Brenden Dillon said. “I think for myself and him, we’re just starting stick on a couple pucks, so that’s what he’s got to do,” the coach said. to get the rhythm and timing back on things. Again, I feel like as the “Just looking for a little more consistency in that game.” game went on we were getting better and better.” While the Sharks’ forward group still looks thin just a few days before the On Thursday morning, DeBoer said: “He looks totally different than he season opener, having guys such as Karlsson and Burns at full tilt looked for the last couple months of (last season). He was obviously creating offense from the back end can help to mask that lack of battling through some pretty significant things. He looks like he’s moving firepower up front. There are no concerns with Burns headed into the effortlessly again and not thinking about it. So, it will be nice to have him season. As long as Karlsson continues to build on what he did Thursday, back at that level.” there won’t be any about him, either.

Nice, and probably necessary if the Sharks are going to seriously “Just hope he recovered fully from that surgery, and it looks like he has,” contend for the Stanley Cup this season. Karlsson will have to play more Couture said. than just the six to eight strong weeks he did last season from mid- The Athletic LOADED: 09.27.2019 November through his original groin injury in mid-January, when he and the Sharks looked virtually unstoppable for a brief stretch.

Step 1, playing a full game without any issues, is complete.

“First game is always just about trying to feel it out a bit and you don’t worry too much about specific things,” Karlsson said. “You kind of just try and get through it and get the timing in a little bit, do small things here and there and not worry about when things don’t go the way you want them to.

“It felt good out there. Felt like it was the first game of the year. They didn’t dress a very good team so I don’t think the pace out there was not remotely close to what it’s going to be, but luckily I’ve been around for a while so I know how it’s going to work. It’s just nice to get this first one out of the way.”

There were more positives to come out of Thursday’s game, the Sharks’ first preseason win in five tries as they dressed their most veteran lineup to date. Goalie Martin Jones was particularly strong, stopping 24 of 25 shots.

“I thought he was our best player,” DeBoer said.

But perhaps even more encouraging was that some of the young players who have impressed throughout camp were effective once again. On defense, Mario Ferraro played nearly 15 minutes while paired with Tim Heed, and it seems likely he’ll be in the lineup for the Sharks’ opener in place of an injured Radim Simek.

Up front, Lean Bergmann was again all over the ice, landing six hits and recording three shots (and eight shot-attempts) in just 12:08 of ice time. 1154357 St Louis Blues game in Wilcox’s backyard, Wilcox crosschecked him in the mouth, knocking out four teeth.

“I was going in on the forecheck and didn’t like what he was doing so I Faulk finds an old friend in St. Louis as he hits the ice with Blues gave him a little crosscheck to the mouth and he went off,” Wilcox said. “He said if it was anyone else he probably would have punched them. I got lucky there.

By Tom Timmermann St. Louis Post-Dispatch “He went off to the bathroom, and I kept dangling the other friends.”

How the Blues will deploy Faulk, who he’ll be partnered with, and where he’ll be on the power play might not be clear until the weekend. He gives Justin Faulk was one of the few people not surprised on Tuesday by his the Blues three quality righthanded defensemen — Alex Pietrangelo, trade from Carolina to the Blues. Because one of the conditions of the Colton Parayko and Faulk — which raises another matter. Faulk said he trade was that he sign an extension with his new team, he had a chance hasn’t really played on the left side since he was in college, at to process what was going on for a few days before the deal was done. Minnesota-Duluth in 2010-11. But if he’s needed on that side, he says The big surprise for Faulk came after the deal was announced when he he’s ready. learned his best friend since childhood, goalie Adam Wilcox, was in the “I played with Brett Pesce a lot last year,” Faulk said. “He’s a righty but Blues’ training camp. he slid over to the left. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I have no “I saw a group text going between myself and him and our moms,” Faulk clue and if I’m asked to go to the left, I’ll figure it out eventually. It’s a little said Wednesday, “and I didn’t read it right away — I was busy — and I different but we’ll be OK.” saw he was texting me and I had a moment there and I took a peek and St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 09.27.2019 it was like, ‘I’m still here.’ Then it keyed in. I didn’t even process that he was here at the time and I had no idea and he sent that text and I started laughing. I thought it was pretty funny.”

“Yeah, good friend, huh?” Wilcox asked with a chuckle after a small skate for the Blues at Centene Community Ice Center. “Real close. I follow him but he has no idea where I am around the country.”

The reunion of the two kids from South St. Paul, Minn., won’t last long. Wilcox is slated to be Ville Husso’s backup at San Antonio, and once the Blues get through the run of three games in four days, Wilcox will be headed for Texas and the minor leagues.

But in the meantime, the buddies can hang together.

“We took a quick little picture out there at the end (of practice) for our mothers, Faulk said. “I think they would appreciate that and we were able to grab a bite to eat last night. I used his car services to get me to the rink this morning.”

Faulk signed a seven-year contract extension on Tuesday, a deal running through 2026-27. On Tuesday, he flew from Raleigh, N.C., to St. Louis, dropped off his bags and went to the arena and arrived by the second intermission of an exhibition game. He met many of his new teammates after the contest and met the rest of them on Wednesday at Centene. The Blues did off-ice work on Wednesday with only a few players taking the ice, including Faulk and Wilcox.

“I had some new gear I needed to get comfortable with and get a feel for,” he said. “Out on that ice sheet, it’s still hockey. Just because there are a couple new guys . . . it’s still the same game and I treat it the same whether I’m here or anywhere else. It was just nice to get out there and get the first one under my belt.”

Faulk isn’t on the roster for the exhibition game with Detroit on Thursday in Calumet, Mich., meaning he’ll probably make his Blues debut at Enterprise Center on Friday against Washington. Then he would likely play again on Sunday, in Columbus, in the final preseason game. Faulk played in only one exhibition game with Carolina.

“I should probably get in another one here soon,” he said.

No one knows Faulk better than Wilcox. They grew up a few blocks from each other — Faulk on Dwane Street, Wilcox on 19th Avenue; “I could bike or walk to his house. It was pretty easy,” Faulk said — played together growing up and in high school, until Faulk left South St. Paul High to go to the U.S. development camp. (“He was pretty good so he left early,” Wilcox said.)

Last summer, Faulk was best man at Wilcox’s wedding. Next summer, Wilcox will be Faulk’s best man.

“He’s obviously a good physical, shut down ‘D,’” Wilcox said. “He works his (tail) off. He’s a super hard worker. In the summertime he’s always in the gym, always working hard, so he’s a good consistent ‘D.’ He’s obviously got a super hard shot from what I’ve seen, unfortunately for me, taking it all my life. He’ll be a good player for them.”

Being the best man for each other is one measure of their friendship. But in hockey terms, there is a better one. When they were kids, during a 1154358 St Louis Blues • Forward Vladimir Tarasenko, after missing three days of camp to an illness, was back on the ice on Wednesday. He’s not on the roster for Thursday.

Blues notebook: Setting for tonight's game brings back memories of • Defenseman Derrick Pouliot was sent to San Antonio and Mitch Reinke, small-town hockey who was sent down on Sunday, was recalled. Reinke is on the roster for the trip.

St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 09.27.2019 By Tom Timmermann St. Louis Post-Dispatch

The Blues will travel Thursday to Calumet, Mich., to play Detroit in the annual Kraft Hockeyville game, which celebrates small-town hockey and its rinks. Every year, the Kraft Heinz company chooses one American and one Canadian city and gives them $150,000 to update its rink, and it gets an NHL exhibition game.

Calumet sits in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, far from just about everything, and is the oldest continuous-use indoor hockey rink in the world. The building, which opened in 1913, seats about 700.

While no one on the Blues has played in Calumet, everyone on the team has played in some place just like that. The life of a young hockey player takes them to a lot of places, often very early in the morning, and most of the time they are not palaces. They are small buildings in small places with idiosyncratic quirks, such as Carl Gunnarsson’s in Sweden, whose side boards curved in and out.

“Nashwaaksis Arena,” recalled goalie Jake Allen of one of the places he grew up playing in Fredericton, New Brunswick. “It was a real tiny rink, you can almost touch the roof with your stick. . . . A lot of the rinks would have instead of glass, it would just have boards that go up eight feet high. That happened a lot in the province I grew up in.”

“I grew up in Edmonton,” said defenseman Jay Bouwmeester, “and there were a lot of rinks in the city and a lot of them were old. . . . Some of them you really wouldn’t want to play a game in anymore because the boards are pretty much concrete.”

One rink that stands out to Bouwmeester was the Moose Jaw Civic Centre, known locally as the Crushed Can because the roof took a large dip in the middle, like someone had stepped on an aluminum can. It was one of those rinks you had to be careful flipping the puck out of your own end because the ceiling was about 12 feet high.

“You showed up and it looked like a half pipe,” Bouwmeester said. “The sides of the rink went up and the roof came down. If you sat on one side, all you could see was the other side of the ice because of the roof line.”

But there’s a certain nostalgia for those places.

“Everyone one of those rinks had a unique feel,” Allen said. “I sort of miss that. When you go into most NHL rinks now, they’re all similar. They feel the same. I know it’s a business, but the uniqueness was what made it cool. I sort of still wish there were some arenas left like that.

“Those rinks, they bring back a lot of memories for sure.”

GAME 6

The Blues will take a young lineup to Calumet, with only two skaters, Ryan O’Reilly and David Perron, over the age of 26. Nine of the 19 skaters on the trip probably will start the season in San Antonio.

Four of the forwards on the trip will be playing for the fifth time in six exhibition games: Sammy Blais, Robby Fabbri, Klim Kostin and Austin Poganski. Forward Robert Thomas is expected to make his preseason debut.

Also on the roster is Tanner Kaspick, who hasn’t skated with the full team much after suffering a concussion at the Traverse City prospects tournament.

The Blues are bringing goalies Jordan Binnington and Adam Wilcox.

The game, starting at 6 p.m. (St. Louis time), is on NBCSN, making it the only Blues exhibition game to be televised.

NOTES

Forward Ivan Barbashev, who didn’t play in the third period Tuesday after being shoved into the boards by Roman Polak, is day to day because of a lower-body injury. 1154359 St Louis Blues Back in St. Louis, where the players who didn't make the trip practiced, Ivan Barbashev was back on the ice after sitting out the third period of the Dallas game on Tuesday after being shoved into the boards by Roman Polak. Vladimir Tarasenko was there too, skating for a second Blues' Thomas making his preseason debut in upper reaches of Michigan straight day after missing three days to sickness. Most of those guys figure to be in the lineup on Friday for the Blues game with Washington

at Enterprise Center. By Tom Timmermann St. Louis Post-Dispatch 16 hrs ago 0 Defenseman Robert Bortuzzo was the one guy not on the ice in either location.

CALUMET, MICH. — Robert Thomas will make his preseason debut "He'll be fine," Berube said. "More of a precaution from last game. He got tonight when the Blues face Detroit in the Hockeyville game in the nicked up a little bit so we kept him off the ice today." historic Calumet Colosseum, the world's oldest indoor hockey arena. St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 09.27.2019 Game time is 6 p.m., and will be televised on NBCSN. There is no radio tonight.

Thomas missed the first five preseason games after offseason wrist surgery and is on a line with Robby Fabbri and Oskar Sundqvist. Also making his debut in the preseason is Tanner Kaspick, who suffered a concussion during the prospects tournament in Traverse City.

"It's unfortunate he got hurt in Traverse, but he's worked hard and got himself back," Blues coach Craig Berube said of Kaspick. "It's important for a guy like that to give him a game and see what he can do."

The day began with festivities for the Blues, as they got a police escort in from the airport and then, outside of town, they were joined by a fire engine, both with lights flashing. Along the road in, residents stood to watch the very limited parade roll by, waving and taking pictures. In front of the Colosseum, hundreds of fans were waiting, and players signed autographs on their way to the very, very tiny locker room. The stands - the building seats about 700 - were filled for the morning skate and, afterwards, a question and answer session with Zach Sanford and Jake Allen of the Blues and Danny DeKeyser and Dylan Larkin of the Red Wings.

While this is an NHL game, it's not an NHL rink, and it's a bit shorter than what teams normally play on. The neutral zones are pretty small, which will affect play.

"I don't expect a lot of clean, flow play with the rink being that small," Blues coach Craig Berube said. "Not going to be a lot of time to do much, being how quick guys are. You're going to have to move the puck quick, make simple plays out there."

In the lineup tonight for the Blues is defenseman Mitch Reinke, who went to college at nearby Michigan Tech and forward Mackenzie MacEachern, who grew up in the Detroit area. Neither have been to Calumet before, though when MacEachern was in high school, he played against Calumet High.

"You see the fans are very passionate, that was my experience at Michigan Tech," Reinke said. "It's exciting. I saw a couple of signs out there for me and people I recognized so it's been cool. You see how passionate the fans are, that's something I really liked at Michigan Tech."

Reinke was sent down to San Antonio on Sunday but was recalled by the Blues on Wednesday, in time to make the trip.

Here are the lines and defensive pairings:

FORWARDS

Blais-O'Reilly-Perron

Fabbri-Sundqvist-Thomas

Walker-Olsen-Kostin

MacEachern-Kaspick-Poganski

DEFENSEMEN

Mikkola-Parayko

Dunn-Reinke

Borgman-Walman

GOALIE

Binnington

Wilcox

Meanwhile ... 1154360 St Louis Blues Radek Faksa scored for Dallas, and Anton Khudobin stopped 21 shots. OILERS 5, JETS 3

At Winnipeg, Manitoba, Tomas Jurco and Ethan Bear each scored twice Mantha, Rasmussen help Red Wings beat Blues in Edmonton's victory over Winnipeg.

Connor McDavid also scored, and Mike Smith stopped 18 shots for the THE ASSOCIATED PRESS SEPTEMBER 27, 2019 12:05 AM Oilers. C.J. Suess, Tucker Poolman and Gabriel Bourque scored for the Jets. Connor Hellebuyck made 21 saves.

SHARKS 4, FLAMES 1 Detroit Red Wings player Dylan Larkin signs autographs for fans outside the Calumet Colosseum on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019, in Calumet, Mich. In San Jose, Martin Jones made 24 saves to help San Jose beat The Colosseum, built in 1913 and the oldest continuously used indoor ice Calgary. arena in the world, hosts an NHL preseason game between Red Wings Dylan Gambrell scored twice, and Evander Kane and Tomas Hertl added and St. Louis Blues on Thursday night. a goal apiece. The Sharks did all their scoring in the third period, and Detroit Red Wings player Dylan Larkin signs autographs for fans outside defenseman Brent Burns assisted on every goal. the Calumet Colosseum on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019, in Calumet, Mich. Justin Kirkland scored for Calgary. Cam Talbot and Artyom Zagidulin split The Colosseum, built in 1913 and the oldest continuously used indoor ice time in goal. Talbot stopped 24 shots in the first two periods. Zagidulin arena in the world, hosts an NHL preseason game between Red Wings allowed all four San Jose goals on 10 shots. and St. Louis Blues on Thursday night. THE DAILY MINING GAZETTE VIA AP ADAM NIEMI Belleville News-Democrat LOADED: 09.27.2019 CALUMET, MICH.

Anthony Mantha and Michael Rasmussen each scored twice to help the Detroit Red Wings beat the Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues 4-1 on Thursday night in a Kraft Hockeyville preseason game.

Mantha opened the scoring in a power play with 4:32 left in the first period and added the winner 1:05 into the second period. Rasmussen scored both of his goals nearly two minutes apart later in the second.

Ryan O'Reilly tied it at 1 for St. Louis 43 seconds into the second period.

Kraft Hockeyville is a yearly event in which the NHL and Kraft bring an exhibition game to a non-NHL city in Canada and the United States. Earlier, Florida played Montreal in Renous, New Brunswick. The cities that host the games also receive funding designed to be used to improve and modernize rinks.

RANGERS 2, FLYERS 1, SO

At New York, Henrik Lundqvist made 32 saves and stopped all three shots he faced in the shootout in New York's victory over Philadelphia.

Mika Zibanejad was the only skater on either team to score in the shootout, using a backhander to beat Carter Hart.

Lias Andersson scored in regulation for New York, and Travis Konecny connected for Philadelphia. Hart made 31 saves.

Prior to the game, Philadelphia general manager Chuck Fletcher said center Nolan Patrick has been diagnosed with a migraine disorder, and will not travel with the team to Europe, where they will play Swiss National League team Lausanne on Monday night in the preseason finale, before beginning the regular season Oct. 4 in Prague against the Chicago Blackhawks.

LIGHTNING 4, PANTHERS 2

At Sunrise, Florida, Curtis McElhinney made 30 saves to lead Tampa Bay past Florida.

Down 1-0 after a period, Tampa Bay scored four straight goals spanning 26:34 of the second and third. Cedric Paquette, Yanni Gourde, Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos scored for Tampa Bay.

Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 21 shots, and Owen Tippett and Evgenii Dadonov scored for the Panthers.

COYOTES 4, CANUCKS 2

At Vancouver, British Columbia, Victor Soderstrom and Barrett Hayton scored in a 24-second midway through the second period to give Arizona the lead over Vancouver.

Lane Pederson and Carl Soderberg also scored for Arizona, and Adin Hill made 17 saves. Michael Ferland and Zack MacEwen scored for Vancouver, and Jacob Markstrom stopped 31 shots.

WILD 2, STARS 1

At Dallas, Devan Dubnyk made 29 saves and Jordan Greenway and Jason Zucker scored to help Minnesota beat Dallas. 1154361 Tampa Bay Lightning

Brayden Point returns to the Tampa Bay Lightning (finally)

The star center, still recovering from off-season hip surgery, skated with the team for the first time Thursday.

By Diana C. Nearhos

SUNRISE — Sticks tapped against the ice, calling Brayden Point to the center of the circle. Luke Schenn gave Point a light shove, sliding him to center ice.

The Lightning’s star center is back (though not ready to play) and Thursday morning, his teammates insisted he lead the post-skate stretch.

“It’s awesome to be back," Point said. “It felt long. It’s tough to see guys playing games. You want to be there, but sometimes contracts take time."

MORE LIGHTNING: Don’t miss any of our coverage as the season starts! Get three months of unlimited digital access for just $14 using promo code GO BOLTS

Point missed most of training camp as he and the Lightning negotiated his contract. He signed a three-year deal worth $6.75 million a season on Monday and flew from Calgary to Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday, arriving in time for a team dinner.

“He was getting it pretty good from the guys," coach Jon Cooper said. "It’s tough seeing him in the red jersey, but you can tell he’s happy to be back.”

The red jersey indicates Point is not ready to play yet. He had hip surgery in the spring and will miss the beginning of the season. He doesn’t have an exact timeline (that will come after a few more practices), but said he is on track and doesn’t expect to miss much of the season.

He’s in no-contact red (and a little blurry) but Brayden Point is on the ice with the #TBLightning pic.twitter.com/j8QlsVE5rF

— Diana C. Nearhos (@dianacnearhos) September 26, 2019

The injury had been nagging throughout last season and Point said it was good to “go in and clean it up.”

Point has been skating by himself in Calgary, rehabbing his hip and spending time with family. Though he wanted to be on the ice, Point tried to take advantage of the extended summer.

He acknowledged general manager Julien BriseBois’ comments about players working with the team. The tricky part of the negotiation was wanting to leave the team in a good place but also put himself in a good spot.

“You don’t know how many contracts you’re going to sign,” Point said. “So when you get the opportunity to sign one, you want to, not get as much as you can, but make sure you get a good deal.”

This contract, he said, achieves that, calling it a great deal for both sides.

Point was one of about a dozen restricted free agents who went late into the offseason, or even into training camp, without contracts. Colorado’s Mikko Rantanen and Winnipeg’s Patrik Laine highlight the remaining players. He’s surprised to see negotiations go so long, but at the same time understands why the process can exceed expectations.

“It’s such a tricky thing,” he said. “I’m just happy that mine’s over with and looking forward to playing hockey.”

Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154362 Tampa Bay Lightning

Tampa Bay Lightning beat Florida Panthers as series gets chippy

Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos score typical goals after the Lightning’s slow start in a preseason win.

By Diana C. Nearhos

SUNRISE — The Lightning started off with a pretty meh preseason game and ended with Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos doing Kucherov and Stamkos things.

The Lightning’s top scorers landed nice goals late in a 4-2 win over the Panthers on Thursday at BB&T Center. Kucherov scored on a nice wrist shot and Stamkos on a one-timer on the power play. Stamkos’ shot came outside the left circle, not quite his usual happy spot but close.

“We has a really strong second and another strong third,” coach Jon Cooper said. “It was a good step forward for our team.”

After missing a few practices and sitting out Tuesday’s game against the Panthers in Tampa, Cedric Paquette made a nice return. He capped off one of the fourth line’s best shifts with the Lightning’s first goal. He picked off a pass coming off the boards in the offensive zone and quickly put a shot on goalie Sergei Bobrovsky.

The second of five straight games between the teams got a bit chippy. It started with a few scrums and shoving matches, the kinds that tend to build. Then in the final minutes, the Lightning’s Luke Witkowski dropped the gloves for the second time in as many games, dueling with MacKenzie Weegar.

The Lightning and Panthers close out the preseason at Amalie Arena on Saturday and then open the regular season with games at Amalie Arena next Thursday and in Sunrise on Oct. 5.

Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154363 Tampa Bay Lightning Rangers coach John Tortorella, who demanded everyone — including the likes of Marian Gaborik — to throw their body in front of the puck.

“Even when he’d get hurt,” Derek Stepan said of Girardi, “he’d find humor Fearless and funny as hell: Teammates share their favorite ‘G-rated’ Dan in it.” Girardi stories That’s where Stepan’s favorite Girardi story comes in:

“He blocked a shot when we were playing Dallas. It was actually Goose’s By Joe Smith Sep 26, 2019 shot (Alex Goligoski, now with the Coyotes). Goose got him with a fake dump-in then took a slapper from the neutral zone. Dan opened up and it hit his ankle and it blew up. Totally swollen. They had to drain it so he basically had a hole in his ankle. He had to put in this drain thing — I A few years ago, the Rangers were playing against Pittsburgh, and don’t know what it’s called — that he had to wear all day and he had this defenseman Dan Girardi was doing what he does best: fanny pack around his waist. The drain would come up his leg, sucking Talking to himself. stuff out of his ankle, and empty into this pack. He had to wear that for like three, four days. G being the guy he is, he put a little Gucci symbol Girardi, whose sense of humor is as well known as his shot-blocking, on the fanny pack, right in front. was skating toward the Penguins bench when he caught his heel on the boards and fell. Girardi got up slowly and before he moved on to the play, “I just remember his compete level. He blocked everything. Since they he muttered: started keeping that stat, he’s No. 1 on the list (1,954). That goes a long ways, carries a big torch in the room. He taught me a lot about the “Sober up, Dan.” techniques of blocking or just being able to go every night when you’re hurting. Even when we weren’t sure he was going to be able to make it, The entire Penguins benched erupted in laughter. he found a way to suit up. Even with that ankle, he would put his skates Then-Penguins center Jordan Staal turned to brother Marc, a Rangers on like an hour before he had to just to get the ankle to shrink a little bit defenseman: “What’s up with this Dan guy?” before the game. He was tough as nails.”

Marc laughed: “That’s ‘Danny G’ for you.” The eye-patch puck

With Girardi, 35, announcing his retirement last week, the former Stepan said there was no punchline to this story: Lightning and Rangers defenseman was lauded for his fearlessness, a Girardi and the Rangers were playing in Dallas when a puck got well-earned reputation for his NHL-record 1,954 blocked shots. “Eating deflected and popped underneath his visor and got stuck. pucks” for a living is how he describes it. “It looked like he had an eye patch,” Stepan said. “He just laughed it off. “If I ever got to see an X-ray of his body, I don’t know how many broken If you gave the guy 100 pucks, I’ll bet he couldn’t ramp it and get it stuck bones I’d see floating around in there,” said Michael Grabner. in the shield again. It didn’t even hurt him. It couldn’t have happened to a But when The Athletic polled a dozen or so of his former teammates for better guy.” their favorite Girardi stories, another side of him shined through. “He didn’t know what to do,” said Ryan McDonagh, a teammate in New Girardi may have been the funniest teammate they ever played with. York and Tampa Bay. “He’s like, ‘It’s stuck.’ We were all just laughing about it. “I’ve got a thousand stories,” Ryan Callahan said. “He’s just hilarious. He’s got a great feel for the locker room. He really “None that you can print online,” Steven Stamkos joked. enjoyed every day whether it was good or bad. Always happy-go-lucky.”

Well, we gave it a shot. Here are our favorite “G-rated” Dan Girardi Even in the scariest moment of Girardi’s career. Two years ago in stories. Detroit, Girardi went down to one knee to block a shot by Martin Frk, who The YouTube session has one of the harder slap shots. The puck struck Girardi in the neck. Though he said he didn’t lose consciousness, he felt pain and a tingling The last few years, when the Lightning were in Buffalo, Girardi would sensation and didn’t know what was wrong. You could hear a pin drop at invite the team over to his house. Little Caesar’s Arena.

He grew up in Welland, Ontario, which isn’t too far away. The time Tyler He ended up skating off the ice with the help of a few teammates before Johnson remembers, Girardi took teammates to The Keg near Niagara getting checked out at a local hospital. Girardi ended up being OK, no Falls. serious damage done (he played again a few days later). When his teammates, who were initially terrified, walked into the dressing room But not until after the show. after the game, they saw Girardi sitting down, in his suit, eating a pizza. It was a Saturday, so they all watched football together at Girardi’s place. He couldn’t move his neck well, but it didn’t stop him from easing the Then Girardi took control of the remote. mood with a few one-liners.

“We watched a half-hour of YouTube videos of all Girardi’s highlights,” “I don’t even remember everything he said,” Victor Hedman quipped. “But Johnson recalled, laughing. “It was a playlist he has. He loves showing he may have went back to ‘Old School’: ‘You’ve got a dart in your neck.’ those. His first goal. When the puck got stuck in his face mask. All we “That was G, always chirping himself or others. There are not many guys watched were Girardi highlights. like him.”

“He can replay in his mind every single one of them. It was pretty fun.” The Captain Morgan dance

It wasn’t in a cocky, showy way. It was more self-deprecation, one of Girardi was not what you would consider an offensive defenseman. Girardi’s specialties. He scored only 56 goals in 927 career games. So when Girardi did, there “I think when you say his name, you automatically get a smile on your were times when he took those rare chances to celebrate. Like the time face,” said Anton Stralman, Girardi’s teammate in both New York and in New York when he started doing Captain Morgan-type poses when he Tampa Bay. “He’s just naturally funny. It’s not just the jokes, but the way scored (hand on hip, one leg in the air, like the caricature on the liquor he carries himself. He’s great at making fun of himself. And that’s one of bottles). the funniest things you can do is that ability to kind of make fun of yourself, and he’s the best at it.” “Jim Schoenfeld (when he was an assistant coach) and (goalie coach) Benny Allaire actually started doing that quite a bit,” Marc Staal said. “So ‘Gucci’ Girardi we would do it to them in kind of a mocking way. Then it started Girardi didn’t go up dreaming of blocking shots. becoming something that if you did something good at practice, if you beat someone or scored, it was kind of like a showboat thing. It was He actually was a goal-scoring forward as a kid. He got moved to funny.” defense as a teenager, and his shot-blocking identity was formed under But Girardi did it in games? “Lot of people can say what they want, that he doesn’t show up on the scoresheet. But if I would pick a team, he would be right up there as one “Yeah, yeah, sure he did,” Staal said. “There was no ‘off’ for him. He had of the first I would pick.” a lot of fun, so ….” Biggest decision There is also the “old-man walk” gag. When it came to Callahan’s favorite story, it wasn’t a funny one. Girardi is known for it. He’ll walk around the dressing room, his back stiff, with his arm grabbing at it. His slow “old-man” skate as he got onto the It was a career-defining one, though. ice would crack teammates up. Girardi was never drafted but was trying to catch on during a camp tryout “At first, I didn’t know if he was serious or not,” said Lightning with the Rangers in 2005-06. He was offered a two-way AHL deal with defenseman Braydon Coburn. “Good old G for you.” Hartford, with the thought he could also play in the ECHL. Girardi, around 20 years old, was deciding between accepting the offer or going to “It was infamous,” Alex Killorn said. “I even tried it once.” college at Brock University.

Mic’d up “I remember getting a call from him,” Callahan said. “He was torn. It was Girardi has a future in broadcasting — or stand-up comedy. 50-50 whether he’d go to Brock University or signing there (with Rangers). And what resonates with me is that it’s unbelievable to think he The five-minute clip of Girardi “mic’d up” for a Lightning game against the was that close to playing university hockey and going down a different Rangers was pure gold. The way he celebrated, pumped his fists and path. Then he ups and signs with Hartford. threw a hat on the ice after Steven Stamkos’ hat trick. The way he chirped J.T. Miller for his pregame hair, pumped out nicknames for every “I think it’s absolutely amazing that you never know if you continue to teammate as they lined up. (He’s the one to come up with Andrei follow your dream. It’s a testament to the road he took. It’s unreal to play Vasilevskiy’s “Big Cat” moniker.) 900-plus NHL games and have the career he had and it was a split- decision to go to university. Nobody would have questioned that. “G-Money?” forward Mathieu Joseph said of Girardi. “He had a couple nicknames for everybody.” “I have no idea how it would have turned out. I can only picture him playing hockey. Obviously, he made a good call.” “Think he called me ‘C-dog,'” said Cirelli. Next chapter Yanni Gourde laughed thinking about all the times he’d hear Girardi talking to himself on the ice during shifts. Callahan said he and Girardi have talked for years about going to “Drink Around the World” at Epcot in Orlando. You stroll through the dozen or “He’d say, ‘That was a good gap,'” Gourde said. so countries, each with their own theme, cuisine and adult beverage of choice, make a day of it. “He’s talking to himself, loud, as he’s playing, as he’s babbling,” Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist said. “You can be on edge and then “We never do it,” he said. suddenly start laughing because you hear him talking to himself. If he makes a good play, a bad play, it doesn’t matter. That was kind of his But now that Callahan’s playing career is over, having suffered a thing.” degenerative back disease, and Girardi announcing his retirement, the two buddies decided to finally give it a shot last weekend. Callahan and The key was Girardi’s impeccable timing. He knew when to lighten the his wife, Kyla, along with Girardi and his better half, Pamela, left the kids mood on the bench or in the room with a one-liner, but he also realized at home and experienced it all. when to lock it in. Italy was Callahan’s favorite country — “I love the food there,” with “He could be joking with a guy on the faceoff,” said former Rangers France’s deserts to die for. teammate Chris Kreider. “And the next second he’s sticking his stick in the guy’s teeth. He’s just a special guy.” “It was cool,” Callahan said. “We had no idea until we got there that the food and wine festival was also there.” Defenseman Dan Girardi scored only 56 goals in 927 career games. but when he did, he liked to celebrate — sometimes with a Captain Morgan Callahan said he hasn’t touched his hockey gear since taking it off for the pose. (Winslow Townson / USA Today) final time after Game 4 of their first-round loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Watching preseason highlights and reading articles, it’s finally The planner sunk in that his career is over. “Eventually, it has to come to an end,” he said. Marc Staal said Girardi had to have everything in an itinerary form. Callahan plans to do some studio work for NHL Network, and continue “He was a guy that was meticulous that way. I remember him asking me with his pediatric cancer foundation, not to mention spend quality time — it was like May, and we were still playing and he was asking me and with his three children. It’s a transition Girardi will soon make, too, and it (Callahan) for rides to the rink like (it was) training camp,” Staal said. will help them both that they’ll have each other. “Stuff like that, we’d just give him a hard time. He was a funny guy.” “You don’t feel like you’re completely secluded from the guys — I’ve got Said Kreider: “The thing that resonates with me is when I first got here in my buddy living five minutes down the road,” Callahan said. “We can 2012 (during the playoffs), we’d be sitting in the room and Dan Girardi hang out and have that camaraderie. It’s the biggest thing I’m going to would be pulling up to practice 30 minutes early — put a bucket of pucks miss and I miss right now, is just going to the rink and being in the room right by the boards, peel the puck out, fire it down, go get another one, with the guys, the training room with the guys. peel the puck out, fire it down. And I think it was a testament to who he was as a guy, where he could always have that sense of humor, could “I don’t miss camp, I don’t miss the injuries, I don’t miss blocking shots. always joke around, but it was never at the risk of his performance on the You miss those times with the guys, on the road and on the plane. To be ice. He could separate it so well and so quickly. I mean, one minute it’s a around them for so many years and all of a sudden it comes to an abrupt crap bounce over his stick at the blue line, the next he’s skating by the end. It’s the hardest part, getting past that. Having (Girardi) is going to bench, ‘Oh, boys, I’m in trouble.’ Then he’s backchecking and laughing help us both and has helped us right now.” and putting his face in front of the puck because it took a bad bounce. It was awesome playing with that guy. I mean, he was so good to me, so So while the Lightning were playing in exhibitions Friday at home and good to everyone. Treated everyone great.” Saturday in Nashville, Girardi and Callahan were cutting loose, bouncing from country to country and then to the piano bar. They were probably Mats Zuccarello, now with the Wild, credits Girardi with teaching him how laughing their heads off. And, from what their former teammates heard, to be a pro. singing John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads.”

“He was not there for the fame — he was just there to win hockey “They were singing ‘West Virginia!'” Johnson said with a smile. “They games,” Zuccarello said. “He didn’t care if he scored. But he’d have 10 were screaming the entire time, not even singing. Just living their blocks in a game. I really appreciated him, he taught me a lot on how to retirement lives.” be a teammate and sacrifice yourself for the team. The Athletic LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154364 Toronto Maple Leafs Toronto Star LOADED: 09.27.2019

Revamped Leafs power play could feature plenty of one-timers this year

By Mark Zwolinski Sports Reporter Thu., Sept. 26, 2019

When Auston Matthews scored off a one-timer in Wednesday’s 3-0 win over Montreal, he gave a view into a potential new weapon in the Maple Leafs’ attack this season.

Matthews’ power-play goal came after a terrific cross-ice pass from the corner by Mitch Marner. Matthews, looking like Alex Ovechkin, the NHL’s most deadly practitioner of the one-timer, unloaded his shot in one motion, leaving Montreal goalie Keith Kinkaid no chance to stop it.

That’s the point of the one timer — it’s a play and shot that’s a tick too quick for the opposition to defend. Toronto, though, has not utilized the one-timer to any degree of consistency or effectiveness since Matthews arrived four seasons ago.

The fact all of the team’s top offensive players have been practising one- timers during camp may be an indication that things are changing, particularly on the power play.

“It’s a work in progress,” Matthews said. “Our power play is a work in progress.”

The potential windfall for the Leafs is a built-in feature of their roster. With some of the game’s best young players, they have several candidates for the one-timer, including Matthews, William Nylander, Marner, John Tavares and defenceman Morgan Rielly.

It appeared the Leafs were featuring the one-timer in Wednesday’s game: Matthews also unloaded one during a set play on the power play. It started with a faceoff win by Tavares at the left faceoff circle, with puck going back to the point, then over to Matthews on the right side for a quick release.

It’s part of what could be a key theme to the Leafs’ attack this season: get shots on goal right away, and be creative once you have the defence reacting.

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And if the one-timer is a work in progress, as Matthews indicated, then it’s a reflection of the thinking that’s coming to the offence, and the power play, with new assistant coach Paul McFarland.

McFarland was the architect behind a very successful power play with the Panthers over the past two seasons. Florida’s success rate last season was second only to Tampa Bay.

Toronto’s power play exploded over the first month last season, but cooled the rest of the way to finish eighth in the NHL. Toronto ranked at or near the bottom of the league in drawing penalties.

The Leafs certainly haven’t had a one-timer that could match Ovechkin’s success with the Capitals.

The NHL, in a wide-ranging breakdown of Ovechkin’s one-timer in February, discovered that 277 of his 644 career goals to that point were scored from the left faceoff circle, the spot where he unloads his one- timer. And 92 of Ovechkin’s 239 power-play goals were scored on one- timers from the left circle.

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Other teams, like Tampa Bay with Steven Stamkos and Winnipeg with Patrick Laine, also feature the one-timer prominently in their attack.

Matthews sounded like the one-timer at least has been discussed with the Leafs. Nylander worked on it in practices last year, while Tavares is a firm believer in changing speeds on offensive plays, and working on his shot.

“Me and Mitch (Marner) haven’t played a lot on the sides yet,” Matthews said, referring to the fact both he and Marner are in new spots on the power play — working the half boards. “We’re getting used to it, and Mitch has great patience with the puck. I have to get into a spot and get the shot off.” 1154365 Toronto Maple Leafs Tie Domi set the standard by inviting a fan he got into a fight with in the penalty box in 2001 in Philadelphia to come to Toronto for a game.

Classy. WARMINGTON: Time for Auston Matthews to man up And this is what needs to be done now.

Have Dozithee and her family flown up here first-class to attend both a Joe Warmington Leafs game and a Raptors game.

In addition, when the teams announce the game’s veteran in attendance, introduce Dozithee so she can feel the love from a city that doesn’t put 'I FLOOR THE PEDAL': Excerpts from Minassian's statement someone earning $11 million US a year over someone earning minimum wage. Auston Matthews is not more important than security guard Fayola Dozithee. Also, the team could consider suspending and fining Matthews and donate any withheld income to American and Canadian veterans When he puts on a military uniform and goes to war for his country, they suffering from PTSD. will be equals. Of course MLSE and Matthews have the power to not do any of this and No sports icon outranks any military veteran. just power through it. But it doesn’t mean they should. And no matter how much more power, money, fame and influential Make this right Auston. friends Matthews may have, there is one fact he can’t influence his way out of. GRAPES COMES TO AUSTON MATTHEWS’ DEFENCE

It’s wrong to treat a woman the way it has been reported. It’s Don Cherry has seven words for those who are coming down on Auston horrendous to disrespect a veteran of any era. Matthews for his alleged disorderly conduct.

It’s also selfish to allow for the Toronto Maple Leafs organization to hear “He without sin cast the first stone.” about an alleged disorderly conduct incident that happened in May through twitter. The coach has come to the Maple Leafs star’s defence.

Security guard Fayola Dozithee, a U.S. military veteran, has accused “He’s just a kid,” said Grapes. Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews of disorderly conduct in May, Cherry said the security guard should have never complained. 2019, in Scottsdale, Ariz. (social media) “I am flabbergasted she would report something like that,” said Grapes. “I However, that’s the past. The future is what matters. Some good just hope she wasn’t looking for publicity.” decisions need to be made now. That said, Cherry said he supports the idea of making John Tavares the What has to happen is for Matthews — who I still considered innocent Maple Leaf’s next captain. until proven otherwise — to step up and properly apologize to security guard Fayola Dozithee for the alleged behaviour outside his Scottsdale, “He has been one before and it is a tough job in Toronto. Mats Sundin Ariz., condominium. started every interview with a sigh,” Cherry said. “Making Tavares the captain is the right call. This will allow Auston Matthews to focus solely Make amends. on playing.” Forget any lawyers and agents trying to cover your butt, which you Toronto Sun LOADED: 09.27.2019 allegedly used to moon this veteran.

Stand up like a man and fix this.

'HOW DARE YOU LIE': Security guard explains complaint against Maple Leafs' Auston Matthews

'DISAPPOINTING': Maple Leafs GM not happy with Auston Matthews allegations

None of this has to hurt his brilliant career or take anything away from what is a decent young man who is adored by millions of Maple Leafs fans in Canada and in his home country of the United States.

We still love Auston. But he needs some tough love here, not coddling.

He knows what he (allegedly) did. He needs to show contrition — not after it’s sorted out in court but now, before the NHL season begins.

What’s wrong is wrong.

From all the information I have been able to gather, not only did Dozithee serve in the American military in Iraq, she told police she had indicated to Matthews and his friends she suffered from PTSD.

She alleges Matthews dropped his drawers to his boxer shorts in response.

There’s no part of that a woman who has served her country should have to face and those suggesting otherwise have not walked a mile in her shoes.

“I regret my actions or whatever put a distraction on the team,” Number 34 told reporters Wednesday, adding his regret for “distress on the individual.”

Regret is not an apology. And, if the allegations are proven in court, one is warranted.

But Matthews and the Maple Leafs need to go further. 1154366 Toronto Maple Leafs season. We will know at practice whether Babcock uses what should be his opening-night roster in Motown or at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday against Detroit.

Moore hustling to ensure a Maple Leafs depth spot come opening night The Leafs on Thursday returned goaltender Kasimir Kaskisuo to the Toronto Marlies. It’s probable that and Michael Hutchinson each will start one of the final two pre-season games. Joseph Woll also remains with the Leafs. Terry Koshan Babcock after star defenceman Morgan Rielly was credited with 28

minutes 41 seconds of ice time on Wednesday: “I don’t know if that’s Trevor Moore didn’t bat an eye on the afternoon of July 24. right. It’s exhibition for everybody (including the off-ice stats people). That wasn’t the plan, we’re trying to run our guys out the door a little more The Maple Leafs that day announced the signings of seven players, often.” Rielly has been logging plenty of minutes in the pre-season, including six forwards, ostensibly for the sake of depth on a roster top- averaging 26 minutes 26 seconds a game. That’s not going to last. In six heavy with talented forwards. previous NHL seasons, Rielly has topped an average of 23 minutes in just two of them. After appearing in 25 games for the Leafs last season, and then playing in all seven Toronto games in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, There shouldn’t be much internal debate on whether Rasmus Sandin Moore had the taste of the NHL that he coveted, but he was not about to makes the team. If he’s good enough, he should stick, even though he assume he had a role for 2019-20 sewn up. doesn’t need waivers to be sent to the Marlies. Sandin has been head- and-shoulders better than the journeymen competing for a spot. As it Never mind any of those players the Leafs signed in late July — Pontus stands now, one of Ben Harper, Justin Holl, Kevin Gravel, Jordan Aberg, Kenny Agostino, Tyler Gaudet, Kalle Kossila, Nick Shore and Schmaltz or Teemu Kivihalme will earn the right to watch from the press Garrett Wilson, who has been hurt and unable to participate in camp — box on opening night as the seventh defenceman, provided the Leafs Moore is in familiar territory. carry seven to start. Following a slow start to training camp, Moore finds himself where he Toronto Sun LOADED: 09.27.2019 departed back in April when the Leafs were eliminated by the Boston Bruins, filling a depth role with determination and a bit of a touch around the net.

“Competition is always good — good for the organization, good for me, it pushes us and it makes us all better hockey players,” Moore said this week, referring to the off-season signings. “If you don’t like competing, you’re in the wrong line of business.

“Of course, there is stress (in keeping a job). There is stress every day, right? But everyone has stress. It’s just a part of it.”

Moore has been skating on the third line with centre Alex Kerfoot and winger Ilya Mikheyev, scoring in each of his past two games while providing bursts of energy.

“I don’t know if Moore’s on the fourth or third (line) or where we’re going to use him, but I thought he was strong,” Leafs coach Mike Babcock said after the Leafs beat the visiting Montreal Canadiens 3-0 in a pre-season game on Wednesday night.

With Mikheyev looking fine through camp and ready to make an impact, the lone forward spot that could be up for debate for the Oct. 2 season- opener against Ottawa is on the wing on the fourth line with Jason Spezza and Frederik Gauthier.

Dmytro Timashov was there on Wednesday night, and after the players had a day off on Thursday, we should have a better idea on Friday once practice resumes whether Timashov has kept that spot.

It could be possible that none of the forwards brought aboard in late July will be on the opening-night roster, though Kossila, injured in Ottawa last week and inactive since, has not had a proper opportunity.

It’s not yet clear whether the Leafs, tight to the salary cap, will carry more than the minimum of 12 forwards.

None of that is a concern for Moore. His focus has not gone off-track.

“Third line or fourth line, you could be in worse spots, that’s for sure,” said Moore, who could work his way into some penalty-killing time.

“I know that when I’m not competitive and not urgent, I’m not as useful as I can be. You see the skill on this team and I know my role would have to be a hard-working guy who wins battles and I think it’s something that suits me perfectly.”

LOOSE LEAFS

Still no good reason why no one in the Auston Matthews camp — and really, it falls on the player himself or agent Judd Moldaver — told the Leafs of the disorderly conduct charge brought against Matthews during the summer. It’s inexcusable that no one in Matthews’ inner circle picked up the phone and called general manager Kyle Dubas.

After practices on Friday morning, the Leafs will head to Detroit to face the Red Wings on Friday night in Toronto’s penultimate game of the pre- 1154367 Toronto Maple Leafs 'I REGRET ANY OF MY ACTIONS': Leafs' Matthews addresses allegations

Reaction to Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews' disorderly conduct 'HOW DARE YOU LIE': Security guard explains complaint against Maple charge Leafs' Auston Matthews The Leafs were caught off-guard when the charge came to light on Tuesday.

Terry Koshan Matthews, general manager Kyle Dubas, coach Mike Babcock and other players addressed it on Wednesday. Matthews played in a pre-season game Wednesday night against the Montreal Canadiens, scoring one goal in a 3-0 Leafs win. The woman who is pressing a charge against Auston Matthews might have had second thoughts had the alleged incident been taken more The Leafs have Thursday off before playing in a pre-season game in seriously initially. Detroit against the Red Wings on Friday night.

In a body-cam video of a police interview with security guard Fayola Toronto Sun LOADED: 09.27.2019 Dozithee, recorded on May 28 and published by Arizona’s 12 News on Wednesday, Dozithee recalls what she said happened in the early morning hours of May 26 at Matthew’s condo building in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Toward the end of the body-cam video, which lasts 30 minutes 25 seconds and during which the audio drops at time, Dozithee says to the officer conducting the interview:

“I had no intention of doing any of this … Thank God they had (video) footage (of the incident), because the father (Brian Matthews) was acting like my son would never do something like that and he said he never did anything like that (and) everything that she is saying is not true.

“Now you’re calling me a liar. And now I take offence to it, now I’m pissed off, now it’s going to be my goal to show you that your son did do this and if he can start doing this now, and you’re covering for him, then what’s to say it’s not going to get worse when he gets older?

“That’s what rubbed me the wrong way. How dare you lie? Maybe if you were drunk and you don’t recall, I’m pretty sure you remember some of it because your friend stressed to me, don’t tell management. Right there, you already know that you were in the wrong.”

The Leafs star has been charged with disorderly conduct. A pre-trial conference took place on Wednesday, and a continuance was issued for the next court date on Oct. 22.

In the original police report, Dozithee alleged that Matthews and two friends tried to get in the back seat of her car as she was parked at the condo building doing paperwork.

When she got out to confront them, telling them she was a military veteran with severe PTSD, she said the three indicated it would be funny to see how she would react if they got into her back seat. As Matthews and one of the other men moved away, one stayed back to try to apologize and persuade Dozithee to not tell the building’s management.

“I said, ‘I really just want you to get away from me,’” Dozithee tells police on the video.

“I understand you guys are drunk, and he’s like, ‘Yeah, we’re really fucked up.’ While he is saying we’re really fucked up, the resident at this point in time pulls his pants down … when he gets to the (building) door, one that was with him goes inside, he bends over with pants down at the entrance and then the guy who is talking to me trying to persuade me to not tell management, he turns around and he’s like, ‘See that shit he is doing, he has been doing that up and down Scottsdale Road. I keep telling him he can get arrested by the cops, but he’s like, he doesn’t give a shit,’ and he is laughing because he thinks I would laugh at the fact that his pants are down and I really just want you to stop talking to me. So I said, ‘You need to get your friend in his apartment and have him pull his pants up.’”

Later, Dozithee said: “I spoke to one of the board members who was walking his dog and he told me if you decide to press charges, we will support you because this resident has been an issue for us anyways.”

Dozithee said she did not see Matthews’ buttocks, and “I think he had his boxers on. I didn’t see his butt.”

At the end of the interview, Dozithee said: “The minute you tried to invade my space, what the f*** were you thinking, saying, ‘We want to see how you would react if we got into the back of your car?’ Are you serious right now? None of this sh** is funny.”

SIMMONS: Matthews and agent made things worse by not telling Leafs 1154368 Toronto Maple Leafs “(Be) more like a cat,” Froberg said. Proof of Johnsson’s work was evident in last Friday’s preseason game

against the Buffalo Sabres. As he chased a loose puck in the corner, How Andreas Johnsson plans to use gymnastics and breakfast to Johnsson quickly pushed off a Sabres defender while stopping dead in prevent another slow start his tracks. He maintained control of the puck and flipped a pass to Nylander behind the net.

Nylander then sent a pass to Matthews in front of the net for a goal. By Joshua Kloke Sep 26, 2019 “It’s in every situation,” Johnsson explained. “When you come to meet someone (along the boards), if you can come out with your balance, then you’re giving yourself a chance to put the puck where you want to.” Andreas Johnsson won’t debate who the strongest athletes in the world are. Nylander has noticed a difference.

It’s not hockey players. He used to think MMA fighters were. But after “You see how tenacious he is on the puck, how hungry he is and how he two-and-a-half-months worth of gruelling summer training with his wins pucks back,” Nylander said. “He makes small little plays that open personal trainer Peter Froberg in Gothenburg, Sweden, the Toronto up space for (Matthews and himself).” Maple Leafs winger can say with confidence that gymnasts are the strongest athletes out there. Johnsson wants to make those types of plays, more often.

For four-to-five hours a day, Johnsson was subjected to gymnastics With a new contract (four years, $13.6 million), the Leafs see Johnsson activities designed to improve his balance. And they were memorable. as part of the team’s future. It’s a commitment to a player who, at times, has struggled with where he fits on the roster but who now says he’s “I’d only do five or six gymnastic drills and I’d be dead,” Johnsson said, ready to “take a bigger responsibility (on) the team.” shaking his head. Johnsson also hopes to earn more special-teams ice time so the Leafs After a slow start to 2018-19 – three points in his first 18 games – the coaching staff “know they can trust you.” former point-per-game AHL player was willing to try new things in an effort to improve. In 2018-19, Johnsson averaged 1:34 of power-play time per game. Through his three preseason games this fall, Johnsson has logged 2:10, Slow starts have become a thing for Johnsson. In his first year with the 2:50 and 3:46 of power-play time as part of the top unit. Marlies, he had just four points in his first 16 games. But, above all, Johnsson says he will try to understand that there is value Johnsson is currently pencilled in to start the season on a line with is staying levelheaded through the peaks and valleys of an 82-game Auston Matthews and William Nylander, and as such, he simply can’t season. afford to have another slow start. The sample size for the trio is small, but there’s good reason to believe Johnsson could have a positive impact on “I felt like my highs were high and my lows were too low,” he said. two of the club’s highest-paid players. Another area of focus for Johnsson this past summer was his diet as he Last season during their limited time together, the three players logged a seeks to improve his energy levels. Johnsson came to Froberg this 5-on-5 expected goals-for percentage of 60.4. Without Johnsson, summer complaining about a lack of energy throughout the past season. Matthews and Nylander’s 5-on-5 expected goals-for percentage dropped Soon after, a nutritionist began advising Johnsson. to 44.2. A year ago, Johnsson’s days began with nothing more than two cups of It can be easy to forget that, despite the fact Johnsson is 24 years old, coffee. Now it’s a full breakfast consisting of cottage cheese, oatmeal, 2018-19 was his first full NHL season. The travel and the demands of the and fruit. 82-game schedule wore on him at times. Many rookies experience a “It will give me more energy during the day,” explained Johnsson. “I bumpy transition to the NHL and Johnsson was no different. haven’t been napping as much as I usually do.” This season, however, much is lining up in Johnsson’s favour. Playing It’s just another indication of how he’s taking his preparation more with Matthews is an opportunity but one with high expectations. seriously and how he hopes it will all lead to more success on the ice. What the Leafs need from Johnsson is what he does best: creating “I feel like a better player than I was at this point last season,” said offence by hunting down loose pucks and using his speed. So that is Johnsson. what he set out to work on over the summer. All that’s left now is for him to show that his slow starts are a thing of the This past summer was the third one Johnsson trained with Froberg, but past. this time he wanted to do something different. “It’s still up to me,” said Johnsson. “I want a bigger spot in the team. It’s Much of what Froberg focused on with Johnsson was standard fare for still up for me to show that I can prove it there on the ice.” offseason training: strength, endurance and explosiveness. But another area in which Johnsson sought to improve, and one Froberg said The Athletic LOADED: 09.27.2019 became a focal point of almost every training exercise, was agility.

Johnsson wanted to change how he shifts his weight on the ice to improve his balance.

The hope is that the work will allow Johnsson to avoid more hits, which would come in handy when chasing and digging out pucks along the boards.

Froberg determined gymnastics would be the best activity to help Johnsson attain his desired balance and agility.

“In every way you need to control your body,” Froberg said of how gymnastics could help. “If you’re upside down, if you stand on your hands, if you stand on one foot, you build a big base. And if you build a big base, it’s easier to learn the next step.”

Froberg wanted Johnsson not to favour one part of his body over the other. The hope is that Johnsson will not only start the season stronger but that he’ll also be able to pivot faster and get to different areas of the ice much quicker than he would in the past. 1154369 Toronto Maple Leafs Locks (4): Rielly, Barrie, Muzzin, Ceci Near locks (2): Sandin, Marincin

Bubble (3): Harpur, Schmaltz, Holl Mirtle: Projecting the 23 players who will survive the Maple Leafs final cuts Marlies (3): Gravel, Kivihalme, Liljegren

LTIR (1): Dermott

By James Mirtle Sep 26, 2019 Thoughts: The story of this camp and preseason has been Rasmus Sandin.

That I debated putting him in the lock group, at 19 years old, is pretty “We’re going to use all the time we have, until the second (of October). incredible. But he has deserved all the praise he’s received. You could Just because we’re going to have seven or eight new players. That’s a lot argue he’s been this team’s third or fourth best defenceman over the past of change and we’ve got to get up to speed. But I like some of the steps two weeks. we took here today.” You can debate whether he’ll be ready to play top four minutes this – Mike Babcock after the Leafs sixth preseason game Wednesday season. The second of October is the opening night of the NHL season. The “He moves the puck real good,” Babcock said of Sandin after league’s roster cutdown deadline, to 23-man max, comes on Oct. 1, Wednesday’s game. “He gets the sifter (shot) through from the blueline. however, at 3 p.m., so we should have a very real sense of the Leafs He’s got intelligence. He just seems to have a real feel for the game. You opening night lineup within the next four or five days. don’t think of him as a kid cause he’s not making jittery mistakes. He just At some point, they’re going to have to waive someone of consequence. seems to be out there playing.”

There are two exhibition games left, against Detroit. One of them will be I can’t see a scenario where he doesn’t make the team, which probably the NHL group and one of them will be a throwaway game played by a means the Leafs put both Hyman and Dermott on LTIR to start the bunch of Marlies. season and free up enough cap space to carry eight defencemen. That’ll mean that, when those two come back, the Leafs will have some hard So there’s one more chance for the bubble players to impress and decisions to make in November, but it’ll give Babcock another month or change someone’s mind. But I think Leafs management has largely so to evaluate what he has on D. made their decisions, save for a couple around the fringes. Given the need for someone on the penalty kill, it feels like Martin Here’s how things are shaking out currently for the 43 players remaining Marincin is sticking around for third-pair duty. The front-runners for the in camp. two extra D spots would seem to be Ben Harpur and Jordan Schmaltz, even though neither impressed in games. Forwards (28 for 13 spots) The one caveat to that is that Justin Holl may still get a look as one of the Locks (10): Matthews, Tavares, Marner, Nylander, Kapanen, Johnsson, eight D, although I can’t imagine he’s keen to sit in the press box for a Kerfoot, Mikheyev, Spezza, Moore long stretch again after doing so for the majority of last season. But he Near locks (1): The Goat remains in the decision-making mix after a mixed bag of a preseason.

Bubble (5): Petan, Agostino, Timashov, Korshkov, Shore Goalies (3 for 2 spots)

Marlies (12): Aberg, Kossila (injured), Brooks, Gaudet, Engvall, Locks: Andersen Marchment, Wilson (injured), Bracco, Clune, Read (PTO), Archibald, Near locks: Hutchinson Elynuik Marlies: Woll LTIR (3): Hyman, Horton, Clarkson Thoughts: Not a lot of drama to see here, at least at this point. Frederik Thoughts: The top 10 aren’t going anywhere. And Frederik Gauthier Andersen is the guy and Michael Hutchinson is the only plausible certainly seems to be a Babcock favourite to centre that fourth line, candidate in the organization to be an NHL backup at this point. despite his struggles last season. That said, I still believe the Leafs brass will look long and hard at any That leaves just two jobs, given it appears likely the Leafs are only going goalies that end up on the waiver wire in the coming days. They lost two to carry one extra forward to start the year: one at left wing on the fourth decent ones to waivers last year on roster cutdown day; they could be line and one as the extra man who’ll munch popcorn in the press box. the beneficiaries of the fact so many good No. 3 netminders are up for The front-runners for those two spots are definitely Nic Petan and Kenny grabs on or around Oct. 1. Agostino, two veterans who don’t have a lot to prove in the AHL at this Tristan Jarry in Pittsburgh could be a nice get if he ends up in the freebie point. But a dark horse candidate could be Dmytro Timashov, who is in pile. And his cap hit is even less than Hutchinson, who makes the league the unique situation of still being on his entry-level contract but requiring minimum. waivers to go down to the minors. Woll, meanwhile, enters his first pro season having been injured for a He had a good year with the Marlies last season, a step forward with 49 long stretch of camp, which may slow down his initial progress with the points in the regular season and then 10 more in 13 playoff games. It’s Marlies or Growlers. He and Ian Scott represent the future for Toronto in possible some eagle-eye scout in another organization likes him and they the crease, depending on how their development plays out the next two could put in a claim, if he’s waived. or three years. The other two options are Egor Korshkov, the Russian rookie who has Possible projected roster earned praise from Babcock from Day 1 of camp, and Nick Shore, who has basically been a non-factor (and played with non-NHL players) from With Hyman and Dermott on LTIR, that 23-man roster above is roughly the start. $154,000 under the salary cap. They could opt to carry 22 players to give them some more flexibility. Barring injuries, it appears both will start with the Marlies, where they can play big minutes and give Toronto some recall depth as required during When Hyman and Dermott return, the Leafs would have to clear roughly the year. $3-million in salary, which could mean having to demote four or five players to get down to the roster minimum of 20 players. That’s when the There are some good stories in the no hope group (Hudson Elynuik has cap crunch becomes more real. had a good camp, for example) but they’re not factors in the final cuts here. The Athletic LOADED: 09.27.2019 Defencemen (12 for 8 spots) 1154370 Toronto Maple Leafs meeting to get on the same page. In his first three seasons his average ice time has slowly crept up from 17:38 to 18:08 to 18:33 last season, the latter mark ranking 63rd in the league among forwards. That’s suboptimal and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him have a breakout with a bigger 2019-20 NHL Season Preview: Toronto Maple Leafs opportunity. That he scored at a 45-goal and 88-point pace last season despite getting under 19 minutes per night (with less power play time

compared to other stars who see heavier top unit usage) says it all. By Dom Luszczyszyn Sep 26, 2019 Matthews is one of the league’s most efficient scorers and over the past two seasons has been a dominant 5-on-5 force scoring 2.83 points per 60, the third best rate in the league behind Nikita Kucherov and Connor Development isn’t linear and progress can be slow. For the Leafs, the McDavid. Perhaps more impressive is that he’s first when it comes to current trajectory seems stagnant, as if they’ve hit an immovable primary points thanks mostly to a league leading 1.51 goals per 60. That obstacle as a result of being a part of the league’s toughest division. looks mostly deserved too considering he’s also fourth in individual Bowing out in the first round of the playoffs in three straight seasons, expected goals per 60. He’s crafty, deceptive, gifted with the puck and twice at the hands of the same team, will have that effect. strong enough to get into dangerous areas with the talent to finish – a lethal combination that should make him the league’s strongest scorer. In But there has undeniably been progress. Three years ago the team took 2019-20, he’s projected to score 45 goals off 35 expected goals per 82 a rapid step going from last place to the playoffs, predictably losing to the games, the first and third best mark in the league, respectively. Presidents’ Trophy-winning Capitals. Two years ago the Leafs took another step, breaking the 100-point barrier, but looked overmatched in Getting William Nylander back on his right side should help greatly as the playoffs playing an elite Bruins team. Last year they earned fewer both players are at their best next to each other. Their chemistry is points but had more wins, and though the series result against the Bruins undeniable and it gives the line two creative players with the puck, was the same – a loss in seven games – the tale of the tape was very something that was lacking with Patrick Marleau and Kasperi Kapanen. different. Marleau especially won’t be missed as he was mostly dead weight in the top six. Toronto is getting closer to a goal that’s eluded the city for over 50 years and this could be the year they finally break through, though they’ll Last season was obviously a season to forget for Nylander as he actually have to win a playoff round this time around. Big changes in the struggled immensely after a long contract standoff. He was paid well after offseason should help with that. scoring 61 points in back-to-back seasons but saw that drop to a 41-point pace last year. A lack of power play time was a catalyst for that as was The playoffs are a near certainty at 94 percent and a third straight 100- his poor finishing ability, only scoring on 5.3 percent of his shots at 5-on- point season looks like it should be in the cards as well at a 76 percent 5. He’s never been a gifted finisher, but even that was a new low for him. probability. With a very limited amount of red on the chart above, the There are plenty of signs he can bounce back, though, especially if he chances of Toronto having a bad season are low. In fact, the team’s gets more time with Matthews. That should bump up his assist numbers chances of earning 115 points or more are three times higher than and he should score more goals if he plays the way he did last year; he earning fewer than 90. upped his individual expected goals per 60 up to 0.85 from 0.67 the For this reason, the regular season only matters as it relates to the previous year. The chances were there he just didn’t get the results for it. team’s playoff position. The Leafs’ most likely playoff opponent is the While Nylander’s season has been condemned for the lack of results, the same one it’s been for the past two seasons and it’s critical that the team process was still intact and that bodes well for the future. His 54 percent gets home ice advantage to give them an upper hand. Any advantage expected goals rate was second on the team and his elite play with the matters. Right now, there’s a 59 percent chance of Toronto taking one of puck in transition did not waver. Those are positive signs that his game the top two seeds in the Atlantic. didn’t disintegrate and considering he’s just 23, it’s likely he can get back Winning a round in the playoffs – for the first time in 15 years – is a to showing he can be a true top line winger. He’s projected for 59 points definite possibility. The Leafs are one of the four teams whose chances this season. of making it past the first round are higher than 50 percent, currently Andreas Johnsson joins the duo on the left side, which is a huge sitting at 56 percent. Even for the projected second best team, it’s still a opportunity for him and gives them another weapon. He’s a bit of a virtual coin flip, which plays into the expectations that should be had for passenger as he’s not much of a puck carrier himself, but that’s not really each team at the start of the season. In other words, you need to calm a problem when playing with Matthews and Nylander. He can make plays down if the Leafs (or any team for that matter) don’t go as far as initially and finish, which is exactly what this line needs. He quickly climbed the expected. That’s obviously hard to do in a world full of takes in the centre depth chart last season and was on fire to finish the season scoring 37 of the universe, but it’s the reality of the situation in a sport as chaotic as points in 53 games once he joined the top nine, a 57-point pace. While hockey. Even for the best teams, a lot can go wrong between now and much of that looks unsustainable due to high percentages, Johnsson April and beyond. looks to have very real finishing talent (though maybe not a 15.7 percent The team’s daunting path certainly plays a role in that as its chances in shooting percentage at 5-on-5) and should still be a capable top six each of the first two rounds are a near toss-up. Despite that, the Leafs player, one that can drive play at a modest rate. He has 50-point upside still end up with the second highest Stanley Cup probability at 11 percent. and that could be underselling it given his spot on the second line and on While it may seem strange to have three teams from one division in the the power play’s top unit. Johnsson is a substantial improvement over top five, whichever team gets out of that gauntlet will have the inside Marleau in the top six. track. That’s a deadly trio, one that earned 59 percent of the expected goals The Leafs are hoping this is the year they do break through, and though share together in 173 minutes. The line grades out as the league’s 10th it won’t be easy, the roster looks set to make its case. On paper, it’s best line. And what makes this team so dangerous is that they have arguably the best roster the team has iced in an extremely long time. another line just as good; a trio of John Tavares, Mitch Marner and Zach Hyman that ranks as the league’s seventh best. That’s both of the team’s That obviously starts with their elite collection of forwards, a group that is top lines in the league’s top 10, something no other team can match. a bit more top heavy than we’ve seen in years past. While that’s a reality of paying three forwards huge money, it may also be by design. Nazem It was Tavares’ first season with his hometown club and it’s safe to say Kadri was a luxury on the third line, but it also meant there weren’t he delivered everything asked of him and more, posting a career high 47 enough minutes to go around for the team’s talented centres. It was a goals and 88 points, to go along with elite offensive play-driving. By nice problem to have, but ultimately John Tavares and Auston Matthews GSVA, his 4.7 wins ranked third behind Sidney Crosby and Nikita – the team’s two strongest players – weren’t seeing the ice as much as Kucherov last season. He’s exceptional at creating chances for himself other superstars around the league. That likely changes this season with and his projected 35 expected goals is the second best mark, giving Kadri gone and it wouldn’t be surprising to see both players earn closer Toronto two of hockey’s three best projected scoring chance creators to 20 minutes per night, much closer to where they belong. along with Matthews. That’s a dangerous duo down the middle.

That’s a sigh of relief for Leafs fans after seeing Matthews play just 18:48 Tavares is a very smart player that knows exactly where to be and he in a win-or-go-home game last spring, a contentious issue that should be capitalized on that playing with Marner, arguably the best linemate he’s resolved after Matthews and coach Mike Babcock had another offseason ever had. The chemistry was immediate with Marner posting a career high himself with 94 points on the back of his playmaking ability, finishing would grade out like this. An underreported facet though is the age of the third in the league in primary assists with 52. It was a match made in group. My model features an age-adjustment, one that brings every team hockey heaven. Hyman, who will miss the start of the season due to down a notch except Toronto. The reason for that is that nine of their 12 injury, fills out the left side as the team’s best forechecker, the guy forwards are firmly in their prime, between the ages of 22-25 with only working hard to make sure the puck is on the right person’s stick. I’ve one player, Spezza, over 30. For most of these players, the best is yet to been skeptical of his presence in the top six before, but he looks very come. worthy as a strong play-driver in his own right, a good fit next to two skilled superstars. In the season’s second half he found a scoring touch The other reason Toronto grades out so highly is goaltending. In Frederik and actually played at a 55-point pace. The trio posted a very strong 55.4 Andersen, the Leafs have one of the league’s best and most consistent percent expected goals rate and an even better 62 percent goals rate starters, a necessity for a team whose primary focus is offence. together at 5-on-5 for the year. Andersen has been around the .917-.919 SV% range in four straight seasons and it’s safe to say that’s where he can expect to be next While both Tavares and Marner posted career highs playing together, season too. Perhaps more important is how he does within the context of one has to wonder whether those heights can be matched next season. shot quality faced and he’s looked strong there in every season of his Last year the duo saw an on-ice shooting percentage north of 11 percent career, never posting a negative delta save percentage. He’s as at 5-on-5, something only nine other players managed. As great as dependable as it gets saving eight, seven and 27 goals above expected things went for the duo last season, it’s unlikely things go that well in through his three seasons with the Leafs. His 2.6 projected wins ranks as 2019-20. It was just in 2017-18 that Matthews and Nylander were north the league’s fourth most valuable between the pipes. of 12 percent themselves and in 2018-19 that figure dropped dramatically. Tavares and Marner should still provide elite production, but Backup goalie remains a weakness, though, and it’s what drives the it’s likely that the duo suffers the same fate, already seeing some team’s ranking in net to ninth. Michael Hutchinson gets the nod barring a regression in last year’s second half. It’s worth noting too that Tavares waiver claim and for those expecting exceptionally better results than has never been the strongest finisher at 5-on-5, earning his keep by Garret Sparks, I’d advise to lower expectations. Over the last three getting great chances, scoring 91 goals on 94 expected goals over the seasons Sparks’ .902 save percentage was 1.8 percentage points off his past five seasons. Last year he scored 33 on 23. expected .920, but Hutchinson hasn’t been any better in a larger sample size, earning a .900 save percentage off an expected .918. It’s rough, but Regression doesn’t mean the same thing for every player, though, and again, it’s a role where the team can cut corners as it’s unlikely it actually even if Marner and Tavares do regress, they should still be among the affects the bottom line all that much. league’s best at converting chances. Ditto for Matthews and a lot of other Leafs players who have strong finishing ability. Like Washington and Forwards? Check. Goaltending? Check. Toronto being strong in both Tampa Bay, the Leafs have a lot of finishing talent and that should mean facets isn’t news. What is noteworthy this season is what appears to be a they’re a very safe bet to have one of the league’s best shooting top 10 defence corps, one that isn’t built like many others. percentages next year and beyond. That they have a system built to The best defence is a good offence and the goal here is clear: the team create so many high danger chances is a big part of that. won’t have to worry about defence as much if it spends more time with However, the team’s high octane style does lead to some defensive the puck and less time defending. Puck movement is the key here and shortcomings. Every player in the Leafs top six is expected to have a from top to bottom the Leafs are littered with defenders that can skate negative defensive impact, the cost of playing in an offence-first system. with and pass the puck with relative ease. That was clear in their My model now better accounts for the team’s struggles in that regard and longstanding quest to bolster the blueline, targeting Jake Muzzin at the that the team still rates this high is due to their offensive prowess on deadline and Tyson Barrie in the summer, two defencemen with strong display largely overcoming that to a mostly sustainable degree. puck skills.

The top six is loaded with skill, grading out as the league’s second best Neither is a true No. 1 but both are definite top pairing calibre players and to Boston. The bottom six isn’t as strong but still rates as one of the make up the Leafs’ new-look top pair, one that grades out slightly above league’s 10 best. That’s despite the loss of Kadri. While that looks like a average. Both have plenty of experience taking on tough minutes so big loss on the surface, snagging Alexander Kerfoot in the deal is a there should be little worry there about anything other than style. Neither bonus as he should be able to adequately replace most of Kadri’s value. Muzzin or Barrie are typical shutdown types, having a more offensively inclined game, but what makes the Leafs’ shutdown pairing different Kerfoot isn’t as gifted as Kadri offensively but he’s a decent playmaker might make them stronger. The goal will be to outscore the other guys, and his scoring rate of 1.63 points per 60 at 5-on-5 isn’t far off from rather than simply stifle them and paired with one of the two top lines Kadri’s 1.72. Where he makes up ground is on defence where he had could make for a potent five-man unit. one of the best expected goals against impacts last season, ranking fourth in expected goals against RAPM. His minutes weren’t exactly Muzzin has long been a strong play-driver but Barrie didn’t have a great tough, but that’s a nice get for the Leafs who are limited in that history of that up until last season where his 52.6 percent expected goals department. He immediately grades out as the team’s best defensive rate led all Avalanche defenders. While that may be cause for concern, player, but it remains to be seen whether that defensive upside will it’s worth noting he’s never had a partner of Muzzin’s calibre before. His translate to a team whose system is hellbent against it. most common partners over the last three seasons have been Nikita Zadorov, Ian Cole and Fedor Tyutin – for that reason I’m optimistic about He’ll have Kapanen on his right side (once Hyman comes back from what he can bring to the Leafs given his puck-moving ability. He won’t injury), one of Toronto’s more responsible forwards, although that’s not score as many points without as much power play time, but should still fit saying much. Kapanen had a breakout in his first NHL season looking this team’s style quite well and he seems to have a knack for driving like a legitimate top six forward, though he struggled to score without offence at 5-on-5 from the blueline. Since becoming a regular for the Matthews. His speed makes him excellent in transition and Kerfoot also Avalanche in 2013-14, there’s only been one season where the team grades out well in that regard, giving Toronto at least two strong puck- hasn’t scored more goals than expected with him on the ice. Points aren’t carrying options on each line in the top nine, a clear organizational a great evaluation method for defenders, but for Barrie I’d reckon it says mandate that drives their dynamic offence. Ilya Mikheyev likely slots in on a bit and he ranks 12th in 5-on-5 points per 60 over the last three the left side and remains a wild card after putting up decent numbers in seasons. the KHL last season. Barrie should be an adequate Jake Gardiner replacement on the right Thanks in part to having two top six calibre forwards, the third line still side – even if his play-driving impacts haven’t exactly compared grades out as the sixth best No. 3 line in the league, even after losing favourably in the past – and is a massive upgrade over Nikita Zaitsev Kadri. The fourth line outlook isn’t as rosy, though. None of Trevor whom Muzzin managed to do OK with. That bodes well for the future of Moore, Frederik Gauthier or Jason Spezza move the needle much, which this pairing. is the cost of doing business for such a top heavy team. At the very least, they’re not a real detriment either and considering the limited minutes, it’s That puts the team’s best defenceman, Morgan Rielly (who ranks one definitely a place where the team has leeway in cutting corners. spot ahead of Barrie in 5-on-5 points per 60), on the second pair where he can thrive having been freed from the rigours of daunting competition Overall, that’s the second best forward group in the league behind on a nightly basis (though he still has a very weak partner to carry as is Tampa Bay and it’s the reason Toronto ranks so highly. Forward value is tradition). He’s the embodiment of the outscore players in shutdown generally what drives team value so it should be no surprise that a team minutes mantra as he ranks first among defencemen in terms of with a trio of superstars and plenty of depth to support those players offensive impact but last in defensive impact. The fact that he still brings elite value to the table despite that is a testament to his offensive gifts. seven new players in the lineup on opening night: Alexander Kerfoot, Ilya He had a really strong breakout season scoring 72 points and though he Mikheyev, Tyson Barrie, Cody Ceci, Jason Spezza, and perhaps, likely won’t repeat that, he should still rack up points as a strong power Rasmus Sandin and whichever depth forward emerges from the crowd. play quarterback on the top unit and a gifted 5-on-5 distributor in the The Leafs might have a new backup goalie by that time too along with a offensive zone. Rielly has a knack for jumping in the play and giving the revamped coaching staff around Mike Babcock, with Paul McFarland and team another attack layer which likely plays a role in what makes his Dave Hakstol replacing Jim Hiller and D.J. Smith. That’s a lot of new. offensive impact so high. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If anything, it could be what lifts the Leafs to another level this season. More speed. More puck movers. More On the third pair will likely be two sheltered analytics darlings, players skill. Changes on special teams. Don’t count out the continued who can also move the puck well and will likely drive play to a high improvement either of all the young-ish players. Auston Matthews is not a degree in cushy minutes. That’s been Travis Dermott’s M.O. since joining finished product yet. Neither is William Nylander, Kasperi Kapanen, Mitch the Leafs and now he’ll have a partner equal to the task in 19-year-old Marner or Andreas Johnsson. What do their next levels look like? We still Rasmus Sandin, who has a strong chance of making the big club this don’t know if Frederik Andersen can backstop the Leafs to a playoff season. Like Dermott, he’s a zone exit phenom who’s very gifted with the series win either after some Vezina-calibre stretches during the regular puck and should be an asset on the third pair to get the most out of the season. Much is new. Much is familiar. More could be on the horizon. team’s strong forward corps. He’s really impressed during the preseason and projects to be top four calibre off the jump after a strong AHL James Mirtle: Dom and Jonas covered so much ground here that there’s season. not a ton more that needs to be said. To me, this Leafs season is incredibly intriguing because you’ve got these sky-high expectations While the team now features a quintet of top four calibre defenders, mixed with so much roster turnover. How often does a 100-point team there’s a huge red flag in the top four that is a major sore spot, one the shift out that many players? team is obviously hoping to rehabilitate. That would be Cody Ceci, who’s worth minus-0.4 wins. For an analytically-inclined organization, the What’s the same as last season? The Tavares line, the starting goalie acquisition and subsequent signing of Ceci was a head-scratcher outside and the head coach? Rielly isn’t even on the top D pair, it seems. of getting out of the Zaitsev deal. Make no mistake, Ceci should be just as bad if not worse as someone who struggles immensely at both ends All that change means the Leafs are a contender, absolutely, but one of the ice, earning a negative expected goals rate relative to the league’s with a lot of questions to answer. I don’t doubt Johnsson-Matthews- worst team. That’s hard to do. Nylander will click and have a big year, but they’ve got a third line built around KHL unknown Mikheyev, Alexander Kerfoot moving to centre full- The bet the Leafs are making is on easing Ceci’s burden to increase his time and a fringe winger (at least until Hyman is healthy). The Goat is value. He’s long played some of the toughest minutes in the league while back? Marincin? Babcock hates Spezza? Hutchinson the backup? Ceci being saddled with crummy partners; his opportunity with the Leafs in big minutes? Barrie getting tough minutes? represents a chance to show what he’s got with an elite partner in a safer role. It’ll be a fascinating case study that may just pan out, but a risky one This team is going to be fun to watch stylistically, especially with Sandin I personally wouldn’t bet on. For what it’s worth, when paired with a making the roster, but you wonder how much of what’s on paper in similarly one-dimensional Thomas Chabot last season, Ceci’s expected training camp will stick. My guess is we’re looking at very different lines goals percentage jumped up to 49 percent. That should give some hope and pairings by March, when they start to ramp up for the playoffs and that he likely won’t sink the pair at the very least (and Rielly has a lot of the games really matter. experience carrying subpar partners) though it will be interesting to see The Athletic LOADED: 09.27.2019 two of the league’s worst defensive defencemen paired together.

Despite having Ceci in the lineup, the Leafs still have a top notch team, one that’s been bolstered by two huge recent defensive additions that aren’t Ceci. That’s long been the sentiment against the club and the issue looks to be solved for now, albeit with the team staying true to its identity as an offence-first organization. This is a more balanced group but one whose mandate is still attack, attack, attack.

That’s not a bad thing for a team with this much firepower; a 4-2 win counts just the same as a 2-1 win, much to the chagrin of many old- school types. Toronto is on a quest for its first Stanley Cup in five decades going all in on offence, an ideology tailored to the talent at hand. They’ve trimmed the fat and added some big pieces to the mix, all with one goal in mind. Time will tell if it works, but for now it sure looks like this version of the team is the best chance the city has had in those five decades.

Market Expectations

Toronto Maple Leafs: 102.5 points

Just as we saw yesterday with the conservatism surrounding the Bruins, the market is also a touch more bearish on the Leafs than my model is. Though they also have the Leafs with the second highest point total, it comes in 2.7 points lower.

What Fans Predict

Public Sample: 1,337

Fan Sample: 484

The fans and the public are in agreement, putting the Leafs after Tampa Bay this season with both coming in higher than the market. It’s closer to my model’s projection but still not as bullish. The spread is also noticeably tighter with very few people seeing a potential breakout season but also few seeing a catastrophic one – but of which are far- fetched possibilities but possibilities nevertheless.

What The Athletic Insiders Think

Jonas Siegel: The core of the team is still the same – and that’s driving the Stanley Cup potential — but there’s lots new here. We’re likely to see 1154371 Vegas Golden Knights He thinks he can play five or six more seasons but could face a difficult business decision should another club offer more term or money than the Knights in free agency.

Ryan Reaves expected to play in Golden Knights’ season opener “I’m getting older. I’m also sick of moving,” Reaves said. “”It’s tough when you’ve ingrained yourself in a community, and I have a business here. But at the same time, the business has nothing to do with it. I’ve always said, I don’t have a business without being a hockey player. Hockey By David Schoen Las Vegas Review-Journal comes first, and I have to make the best decision for my hockey career September 26, 2019 - 7:15 PM … and for my family.”

Updated September 26, 2019 - 7:35 PM

LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 09.27.2019

For the first time this training camp, the Golden Knights forwards skated in color-coded jerseys with their expected linemates Thursday at City National Arena. Wearing his familiar fourth-line yellow was Ryan Reaves.

The rugged winger, who suffered an undisclosed injury during offseason training, was a full participant at practice and remains on track to play in the season opener Wednesday against rival San Jose at T-Mobile Arena.

“After today, I feel real good. I felt my pace was good today,” Reaves said. “My conditioning, my hands and everything are a day or two away from being ready for a game. We’ve just got to make sure that I come out of that little bit of contact I’ve had the last two days and the injury is fine and we’ll work from there.”

Reaves missed the first 11 days of training camp and practiced Tuesday in a red, noncontact jersey. He took line rushes with center Tomas Nosek and left wing William Carrier at Thursday’s skate.

Reaves said his injury prevented him from passing and shooting with other players for “a couple months” and his timing still is coming back.

“I obviously have been getting some extra work in because I have to fine- tune a little bit more being off the ice for so long,” he said. “Getting my hands back was the biggest thing, and just kind of working with other players. Getting a puck and finding an open guy and then getting into the right position and stopping on pucks and stopping in the right position. Those are all things you can’t do with just a coach on the ice.”

The Knights continue their exhibition schedule against Los Angeles on Friday at T-Mobile, though it’s unlikely Reaves would be fit enough to play.

Reaves did indicate he would like to dress in at least one preseason game, and Sunday’s finale against the Sharks might be a more realistic target.

“I’d really like to see him play at least one. But he’s doing real well,” coach Gerard Gallant said. “He was the best player on the ice if you ask him. He looked good.”

Reaves is coming off a career-best season in goals (nine), assists (11) and points (20), but will become an unrestricted free agent in 2020.

The 32-year-old said there have been no talks on an extension, though he’s steadfast in his desire to remain in Las Vegas.

Reaves has become a fan favorite since being acquired from Pittsburgh in February 2018. He is opening a brewery downtown and previously said he remained in Las Vegas this summer, the first offseason in his nine-year career he didn’t return to his native Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon declined to comment through a team spokesperson on any contract talks with Reaves, who makes $2.775 million this season.

“I’m looking forward to taking care of the season first, and if talks start up in the middle of the season, then I’ll be more than happy to have those talks,” Reaves said. “But it’s not there yet, and I’m not going to push the issue. I’m focusing on the season and getting back into shape and getting the season going.”

Reaves drew interest from a handful of teams as an unrestricted free agent in 2018, and the Knights had to be creative with his contract when he re-signed by squeezing the money from a three-year deal into two years.

Reaves has appeared in at least 79 games in five of the past six seasons while staying relatively injury free in his career despite his physical style. 1154372 Vegas Golden Knights

Golden Knights’ roster moves include sending Dylan Coghlan to AHL

By Ben Gotz Las Vegas Review-Journal

September 26, 2019 - 3:45 PM

Updated September 26, 2019 - 4:22 PM

The Golden Knights made a flurry of roster moves Thursday before their final preseason games Friday and Sunday.

The Knights sent defenseman Dylan Coghlan and forward Reid Duke to the American Hockey League’s Chicago Wolves and waived forwards Patrick Brown and Curtis McKenzie. If the two clear waivers, they will be assigned to the Wolves.

The team also said defenseman Zach Whitecloud, who didn’t play in the third period of Wednesday’s preseason game against Colorado, is week to week with an upper-body injury. That leaves the Knights with 28 healthy players in training camp.

The regular-season roster limit is 23. The Knights open the season Wednesday against the San Jose Sharks at T-Mobile Arena.

“It was a tough decision,” coach Gerard Gallant said. “(Coghlan) had as good a camp as anybody, but we’ve got to get down to numbers. We’ve got to get ready for our home opener. We only have two (preseason) games left. You’re going to see a lot of veteran guys playing the next couple of games.”

The Knights have 16 forwards, nine healthy defensemen and three goaltenders in camp. One goalie (expected to be 21-year-old Dylan Ferguson) will go, and the team then will choose whether to keep 14 forwards and seven defensemen or 13 and eight.

Gallant said the team still is mulling that decision.

The forwards on the roster bubble appear to be center Cody Glass, left wing Brandon Pirri, center Nicolas Roy and right wing Keegan Kolesar. Glass, Roy and Kolesar can be sent to the AHL without going through waivers.

On defense, Nicolas Hague, Jake Bischoff and Jimmy Schuldt are still competing. All are waiver exempt.

“We’ve got a good mix (on the blue line),” Gallant said. “It’s not perfect right now, but it’s going to be good.”

Gallant said defenseman Shea Theodore, who left Wednesday’s game with an undisclosed injury in the second period and didn’t practice Thursday, is OK.

“I’ll be shocked if he’s not on the ice (Friday),” Gallant said. “It was just a preseason game, and it was a minor thing.”

Theodore’s and Whitecloud’s absences forced the Knights to play only four defensemen in the third period. Bischoff said the last time he played with that short of a bench might have been in high school, and Schuldt said it might have been junior hockey.

“There was one game where we had the flu going around so we just played every other shift,” Schuldt said. “It’s fun. You’re a little tired, but once you’re into the game and battling, you don’t really think about it.”

LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154373 Vegas Golden Knights

Golden Knights fans want to see vengeance against Sharks

By Rochelle Richards Las Vegas Review-Journal

September 26, 2019 - 9:54 am

Vengeance.

That’s what fans want to see when the Golden Knights host the San Jose Sharks in the season opener next Wednesday night at T-Mobile Arena.

“I expect the Knights to be ready to avenge that loss they had in the playoffs,” Cary Huddleston said Wednesday at City National Arena. “Get the season started off right.”

While the Knights seem to have moved on from their first-round exit from the NHL playoffs last season, fans apparently have not.

After a controversial five-minute penalty on the Knights’ Cody Eakin, the Sharks scored four goals on the ensuing power play en route to a 5-4 overtime victory in Game 7.

“It’s gonna be a hot and heavy game,” fan Tony Lippi said. “There’s a lot of animosity going on between the two teams because of how everything ended.”

Knights fans expected a rivalry with the Los Angeles Kings because of the cities’ close proximity, but a rivalry with the Sharks was born instead.

And from that rivalry, fans are expecting quite the show come Wednesday.

“There’s nothing like an opening night against the Sharks,” Michael Bronowitz said. “There can’t be anything comparable. They are gonna set the tone for the rest of the season and the eventual playoff run.”

The teams meet Sunday at T-Mobile to close out the preseason. Then, after hosting the Sharks on Wednesday, the Knights travel to San Jose on Oct. 4.

“This fan base — they’re gonna travel,” Lippi said. “I expect we’re gonna represent Vegas well in that second game at San Jose … we’re coming for you again this season. To pick up where we left off.”

Fans don’t think many changes are necessary for the Knights to make the Stanley Cup Final for the second time in three seasons.

“If anything, they are probably going to play harder like they did the first year because they have another chip on their shoulder,” Lippi said. “When there is a chip on their shoulder, they produce.”

Huddleston said he thinks the Knights need to address their goaltending issues to capture that first-year magic and make another run at a title.

Marc-Andre Fleury played too many games last season, Huddleston said. He added that the Knights need better play from backup Malcolm Subban.

Knights fans are just excited hockey season is back.

“It’s gonna be an amazing, amazing year and I cannot wait,” Lippi said. “Been waiting for so long.”

LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154374 Vegas Golden Knights largely because of Chicago sports fans’ unwavering—and largely misguided—support of their teams in the betting market.

“It’s the same thing you see with the Cubs or the Bears every year,” World’s biggest sports book runs down this year’s most popular Stanley Sherman said. “But especially this year with the Blackhawks when Cup bets they’re 40-to-1 and people are used to seeing them win titles a few years back at much lower odds.”

Chicago has arguably been the NHL franchise of the decade—winning By Case Keefer (contact) three Stanley Cups (2010, ’13, ’15), but it has now missed the playoffs in back-to-back seasons. The Blackhawks don’t appear to be very improved Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019 | 2 a.m. this year, so don’t pay for past glory.

Dallas Stars Most sports books won’t be facing multimillion-dollar losses like two • 16-to-1 to win Stanley Cup years ago, or even small setbacks like last year, if the Vegas Golden Knights win the Stanley Cup this season. The Golden Knights’ odds are • 7-to-1 to win Western Conference too low to create any real liability. • over/under: 97.5 regular-season points The Golden Knights are the favorite to win the Western Conference at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook, at 3-to-1 odds, and the second Sherman expects the Stars and Colorado Avalanche to take the next choice to win the Stanley Cup, at 7-to-1 odds, behind only the Tampa step after both teams unexpectedly won a first-round playoff series last Bay Lightning. season.

“We’re really high on them,” says Jeff Sherman, the SuperBook’s vice He priced Dallas and Colorado at lower odds than other sports books, president of risk management. “You look at the makeup of the Western trying to limit liability on those teams. It has worked for the Avalanche but Conference, and specifically the Pacific Division, and you have to be not so much for the Stars. “We tried to stay aggressive on them, but favorable on them. Look at the teams that would have to come out of the apparently we weren’t aggressive enough,” he says. “Everyone likes East, like Florida. We’re also high on them, but you look at what’s ahead them.” of them, like Boston, Toronto and Tampa in the same division. The The Stars have gone from 20- to 16-to-1 to win the Stanley Cup while Knights aren’t faced with anything like that.” drawing the most money of any team at the SuperBook. Total money is Vegas is also tied with Toronto for the second-highest over/under regular arguably more meaningful than ticket count, because it’s a better season point total at 102.5. The high asking prices have kept Golden measure of where the big bets—typically from the more sophisticated Knights’ fans away from the betting window, at least to an extent. gamblers—have come in.

Conspicuous absences Watch out for the Stars with veterans Joe Pavelski and Corey Perry joining an already-dangerous set of forwards. Neither last year’s historically dominant regular-season team nor either Stanley Cup Final participant is commanding much action at the New Jersey Devils SuperBook. • 25-to-1 to win Stanley Cup Bettors inundated the SuperBook with limit wagers on Tampa Bay to win • 12-to-1 to win Eastern Conference the Stanley Cup at 5-to-2 after last year’s 128-point regular season, but now they aren’t even biting on 6-to-1 following the Lightning’s • over/under: 90.5 regular-season points disappointing first-round playoff exit. There’s not much exposure on the defending champion St. Louis Blues at 16-to-1 or the runner-up Boston A surefire way to draw attention from the betting market is to have a Bruins at 12-to-1, either. splashy offseason, and the Devils had the splashiest of all.

Be wary of the aging Bruins, as last year felt like their final chance, but New Jersey swung two of the biggest trades to acquire P.K. Subban and both the Lightning and Blues might be available at slight discounts. Nikita Gusev, signed a top free agent in Wayne Simmonds and won the draft lottery to take Jack Hughes No. 1 overall. “You can’t argue against Two weeks before the regular season began, the Golden Knights were anything they did,” Sherman says. “They’ve made strides to get into the second in both ticket count and money wagered to win the Stanley Cup conversation in the East.” at the SuperBook. They finished first in both measures going into last season. The scary part is, New Jersey wasn’t one of the league’s worst teams before the personnel splurge. They made the playoffs two years ago They could reclaim those top spots when action picks up in the days behind a Hart Trophy-winning season from superstar Taylor Hall. There’s leading up to the regular-season opener, but Sherman says he’s no longer any value on the Devils to win the Stanley Cup—they opened confident the support will fall short of the past couple years. 60-to-1—but look for them to go over their regular-season win total and make the playoffs. “We put this stuff out earlier than ever—we’ve had it up for a couple months—and haven’t seen a whole lot,” he said. “Starting at such lower New York Rangers odds than they were the two previous years has really curtailed it all.” • 30-to-1 to win Stanley Cup Don’t be afraid to back the Golden Knights at the current prices, especially at over 102.5 points and even money to win the Pacific • 15-to-1 to win Eastern Conference Division. Vegas looked like the best team in the West for multiple • over/under: 88.5 regular-season points stretches at the end of last year and seems poised to pick up right where it left off. Think of the Rangers as a lite version of both the Devils and Blackhawks. New York sports fans don’t back their teams quite as blindly as their Here’s a look at four other NHL teams drawing significant action at the Chicago counterparts, but they’re prone to overreaction when there’s any SuperBook—and whether or not to buy into their preseason hype. reason for excitement. And the Rangers might have managed the Chicago Blackhawks second-most exciting offseason in the league behind the Devils.

• 40-to-1 to win Stanley Cup They signed star Artemi Panarin in free agency and drafted Kaapo Kakko second overall. The two are expected to pair together on the top line. • 20-to-1 to win Western Conference “They’ve been attracting action in all the different markets,” Sherman • over/under: 89.5 regular-season points says. “They’re a team a lot of people can’t see not making positive strides this year.” The Blackhawks have drawn the most tickets of any team to win the Stanley Cup, and it’s not because of anything they’ve done on the ice. It’s Still, calling for the Rangers to even compete for the playoffs feels a little premature. They’re light on depth, and 37-year-old goalie Henrik Lundqvist has declined as his career winds down.

LAS VEGAS SUN LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154375 Washington Capitals “That was preached from Day 1, that it was going to be a competitive camp and guys are going to have to earn their spots,” Stephenson said. “But for me and for other guys, that’s been every year, trying to earn a spot. Nobody’s coming in and going: ‘Here you go. Here’s your spot.’ For Capitals’ Chandler Stephenson, the stakes are high in preseason’s Everybody has to earn it.” final week

Washington Post LOADED: 09.27.2019 Isabelle Khurshudyan

September 25, 2019 at 3:18 PM EDT

Chandler Stephenson had every right to spend his summer fretting about his situation with the Washington Capitals. As a restricted free agent, he was the last player the team got under contract, narrowly avoiding an arbitration hearing with a one-year deal in July. In the meantime, the Capitals signed forwards Garnet Hathaway and Brendan Leipsic in free agency, a not-so-subtle message that there might not be a place for Stephenson anymore.

Stephenson felt he agonized over his play too much last season, so he tried not to make the same mistake this summer, no matter how stressful it seemed.

“I just kind of crippled myself with the mental side last year,” Stephenson said. “So I’m trying to just go out and play and not think about anything — just playing and having fun.”

Playing in his second exhibition game Wednesday night in Chicago, Stephenson understands the stakes are high for him this training camp. The Capitals are projected to be more than $1.3 million over the NHL’s $81.5 million salary cap, and with the team looking to make changes to the fourth line, cutting Stephenson and his $1.05 million cap hit is one possibility.

To be sent down to the American Hockey League, Stephenson has to be exposed to waivers, meaning every other NHL team would have an opportunity to claim him. Stephenson is familiar with the process: He was waived before the 2017-18 season, acknowledging a “bitter” feeling when he wasn’t picked up. But an injury to one of the Capitals’ forwards in the first month of the season led to a call-up, and he stuck on the roster from there, a valuable piece in the team’s Stanley Cup run.

But after playing in all 24 of Washington’s playoff games, finishing with two goals and five assists in more than 15 minutes per game, Stephenson’s offensive output slumped last season to five goals and six assists in 64 games. He wasn’t as reliable defensively, finishing the season with a minus-13 rating.

“I just was thinking too much rather than just playing,” Stephenson said. “When you think too much, you get in your own head and you end up beating yourself and not playing. With trying to stay in the lineup last year and trying to do everything right and not make a mistake, you handcuff yourself. … I can’t do anything about last season. Obviously, there’s a lot of things that I’d want to take back from last year, but it’s done and over with, so just looking ahead.”

Coach Todd Reirden was candid about Stephenson’s performance.

“My feedback to him was that I was disappointed in his season,” Reirden said. “That’s good that he’s received that message, and he knows that there’s better for him than he showed last year. And so we have the player back here, and he knows what’s at stake. Now it’s up to him to respond in these next couple games and see what he does and how difficult he makes decisions for us.”

With Evgeny Kuznetsov suspended for the first three games of the season for “inappropriate conduct,” the Capitals are experimenting with moving Stephenson back to center in Wednesday night’s preseason game. With Lars Eller expected to move up to the second line in Kuznetsov’s absence, Washington needs a short-term solution for its third line. That role probably will come down to Stephenson or Travis Boyd, both of whom played most of last season on the wing. Stephenson also has penalty-killing experience — he averaged 1:46 shorthanded time on ice last season — but the Capitals added more personnel to that unit when they signed Hathaway and right wing Richard Panik.

Stephenson knows all of that, how much of an uphill battle it might be for him to make the team this year. He also now knows better than to overanalyze it. 1154376 Washington Capitals

Ex-Capital Brett Connolly labels Tom Wilson as his breakout player for 2019-2020

By Kevin Brown

September 26, 2019 5:37 PM

Brett Connolly may have left the Washington Capitals in the offseason, but that isn't stopping him from dishing out compliments to his former teammates.

In an article published on The Score, Conolly called Tom Wilson his breakout player for 2019-2020.

"This is going to be probably not the answer a lot of people are expecting but: Tom Wilson," he said. "He got suspended last year. You look at his numbers, and he had (22 goals in 63 games). That's not easy to do."

The ex-Capital gave more reasons why Wilson may surprise people when the season starts, citing a great offseason, chemistry with his linemates and even hinting that Wilson will be on the power play unit.

"He's a very hungry guy," said Connolly. "I would say that he would be a guy whose numbers are going to jump out at you."

Connolly played 217 games and scored 52 goals during his three-year Capitals tenure. The 27-year-old may not have lived up to his lofty expectations right away after the Tampa Bay Lightning drafted him with the No. 6 pick in the 2010 NHL Draft, but his contributions last season earned him a big contract. He put up career-highs in points (46), goals (22), and assists (24) last year.

The Florida Panthers signed Connolly to a four-year $14 million dollar contract in the summer.

Wilson and Connolly formed a friendship in their overlapping time with the Caps. Wilson, 25, also plays right wing and has been with Washington ever since getting drafted in 2012.

Last season, Wilson served a 14-game suspension after an illegal hit in a preseason game. Still, he finished the year with career-highs across the board despite playing in the least amount of games since the 2014-2015 season. If the hard-hitting fan-favorite can avoid suspensions this time around, Connolly's prediction could be right.

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Backstrom: Ovechkin breaking Gretzky's record is 'doable'

By Jared Goldstein

September 25, 2019 7:36 PM

Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin have long formed one of the most formidable offensive duos in the NHL.

This week on the Capitals Talk Podcast, Backstrom and Ovechkin sat with Rob Carlin to talk about everything from their early days together to their future.

One of the biggest storylines throughout Ovechkin's prolific career is his pursuit — whether he admits it or not — of Wayne Gretzky's all-time goals record. Ovechkin isn't too keen to talk about it, but Backstrom's stance is clear.

"Yeah I mean I did my math for the radio show there," Backstrom said. "No, you know what, I think it’s, I’m not gonna jinx it for him, but I think it’s doable. For sure. Like, without a doubt. I think so. And I know he’s hungry for it too."

The math would require 236 more goals for Ovechkin to tie Gretzky. He's averaged just under 50 goals per season during his career, meaning he'd need at least five more seasons to eclipse The Great One. That begs another question: Can Ovechkin keep up that pace and style of play late into his career? For Backstrom, the answer is simple.

"You know I honestly think [Ovi's] comment is the best one yet, 'Russian machine never breaks.' So I honestly think that’s actually true," Backstrom said. "So you know, he’s gonna play until he’s done. Whenever he decides. That’s up to him. So I mean I think it fits him very well."

There's no telling what the future holds for Ovechkin's game. Some superstars slowly break down, some decline rapidly. Others go out on top. Ovechkin didn't give a direct answer to the question, but he was sure about one thing. If he does it, he'd like Backstrom by his side.

"We’ll see. [Backstrom is] gonna sign six more years, and then I’ll sign for five more years and then, here we go," Ovechkin said.

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Capitals to wear alternate third jersey for 12 games in 2019-20

By Jared Goldstein

September 26, 2019 12:17 PM

The Capitals will wear their alternate third jersey for 12 home games in the 2019-20 season, the team announced Thursday.

The alternate, which is modeled after the team's original red jersey, will be featured against 11 times against Metropolitan Division opponents including on New Year's Day against the Islanders and Super Bowl Sunday against the Penguins.

The red sweater closely resembles the jersey the team wore from 1974 until 1995. The original 'Capitals' chest plate is accented with six stars above it, while five stars run down each sleeve below the player's number. The Capitals will wear blue pants and red helmets with the alternates.

The alternate sweaters are available at Capital One Arena and MedStar Capitals Iceplex team stores and online at shop.nhl.com.

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I Am The Prospect: Martin Fehervary hopes to be worth the wait after staying in Europe

By Julia Karron

September 26, 2019 10:11 AM

While the Capitals were busy winning the Stanley Cup in 2018, Martin Fehervary was awaiting the NHL Entry Draft in his native Slovakia.

When the Capitals finally drafted him in the second round, Fehervary's goal was achieved, but it also meant leaving Europe behind.

"This year will be my first in America," Fehevary said.

"He's had a lot of good experience at the international level, so we're excited about him," Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan said of him.

Fehevervary has played on loan for HV71 of the Swedish Hockey League, and captained the Slovakians at the 2019 World Junior Championships. But the transition from the larger rinks used in Europe is something Fehervary wants to get used to quickly.

"It's way different hockey," Fehervary said. "It's up and down, a lot of contact, the hockey's way faster than in Europe. I like to play hard but kind of getting what I like."

But that difference should suit the lefty 6'2", 194 lb defender just fine, and he already has fans within the organization.

"Speed, you know his compete level, you know I think he's gonna be a good defender," MacLellan said of the defenseman's attributes. "Might be a little bit better puck mover than people give him credit for, and playmaking ability."

And his similarities to a certain Caps defenseman haven't gone unnoticed by the coaching staff.

"He said which players he looked up to and wanted to be like and he talked about (Caps defenseman) Michal Kempny," said head coach Todd Reirden. "He's similar to Michal with how they move and how they compete and battle and they're in your face."

Before all that, Fehervary is looking forward to playing American style hockey for a full season.

"I just want to be every day, better" Fehervary said. "I'm gonna work hard to make the NHL."

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154380 Washington Capitals “For me, I don’t think it has to be based on position,” he said. “I can tell you what each team does because I’ve checked it. I’ve done the research. Some teams rotate. There’s lots of scenarios that you can go through.” Capitals’ captain question: Who gets the second ‘A’ for Washington? Carlson and Oshie each said they’d be honored to inherit Orpik’s ‘A’ on a full-time basis. Both, however, were quick to point out that they won’t allow the decision, however it breaks, to affect their mindset entering the By Tarik El-Bashir season. Sep 26, 2019 “Growing up, you always want to be a captain,” Oshie said. “You want to be the leader of the team. But my game, my attitude and how I act around the rink will be the exact same whether I get it or not.” ARLINGTON, Va. – Todd Reirden has some big decisions to make over the next few days as the Capitals finalize their opening night roster. Said Carlson: “It would be awesome. But realistically, it’s not going to change my approach on anything. I’m here to do a job and I’ve been But last cuts aren’t the only thing the head coach has to make a decision doing that for years now. I’ve been a leader when it comes to on ice or off on: Reirden also must choose who gets the team’s other alternate ice stuff. And that’s what I’ll continue to do, regardless.” captain’s ‘A’ sewn onto his jersey for the 2019-20 season. Reirden said he’ll make a decision in the coming days and announce it Alex Ovechkin, obviously, will continue to wear the captain’s ‘C.’ And publicly before the Caps head to St. Louis for the regular season opener Nicklas Backstrom, of course, will get an ‘A.’ But with Brooks Orpik on Oct. 2. retired and now working in the team’s front office, someone has to assume the ‘A’ that Orpik relinquished.

Reirden indicated to The Athletic this week that it’s either going to be The Athletic LOADED: 09.27.2019 defenseman John Carlson or winger T.J. Oshie – two of the team’s most important and experienced players. Reirden said that he’s been weighing his options throughout training camp.

“Either way, we’re not going to go wrong,” Reirden said. “We’re in a great spot.”

At times last season, Carlson, 29, and Oshie, 32, each had an ‘A’ stitched to their jersey. That only happened, though, when Ovechkin, Backstrom and/or Orpik were unavailable for that night’s game.

“Whenever someone wasn’t playing, if that position was a defenseman, then John wore the ‘A,'” Reirden explained. “If a forward was out, then Oshie wore it.”

So far this preseason, Carlson and Oshie have each worn the ‘A’ once as Reirden has gone through his evaluation process. Carlson had the ‘A’ versus St. Louis, while Oshie wore it against Chicago on Wednesday night.

“I wanted to wait to see how things went through camp before making a decision,” Reirden said.

“Like I said, there’s competition and opportunity with everybody.”

Reirden also said that Tom Wilson will get the chance to wear an ‘A’ if there’s an injury this season. That’s new. Although the 25-year-old winger wore an ‘A’ in the preseason opener, he’s never had a letter on his jersey for a regular season game.

“He’s right there,” Reirden said.

Asked about his growing role as a team leader, Wilson said: “Todd has been talking to me about it for a long time now. I just want to continue to be a leader and continue to take responsibility on and off the ice. It’s something that, over the course of time, it just kinda happens.”

As for who for who gets the full-time ‘A’ this season, that’s not an easy decision. In fact, a strong argument can be made for both Carlson and Oshie.

Drafted by the Caps in the first round in 2008, Carlson is the senior member of the defense, a group that no longer has an alternate captain. And, if you take into account the loss of Orpik and departure of Matt Niskanen this summer, the blue line lost two veteran leaders in the same offseason. Someone needs to step up and seize control of the position group, and giving Carlson an ‘A’ might spur him to do just that.

Oshie, on the other hand, is the heartbeat of the Caps’ dressing room and their bench. He jacks up his teammates with his pregame antics and, with a single shift, can inject energy into the sleepiest weeknight game. Working against him, though, is the fact that the other letters are already worn by forwards.

Reirden would not say what, specifically, he’s contemplating. But he did say that he won’t base his decision solely on the player’s position.

He’s simply seeking the right mix. 1154381 Winnipeg Jets Made a great saucer pass to set up the opening goal by Suess, then had a nice outlet feed that led to Winnipeg’s second goal. Showed some toughness in a post-whistle skirmish with Brandon Manning.

Oil flows freely in third Played 11:51 and was plus-one with an assist, a hit and two blocked shots, including a painful one early in the third period with the Jets still Edmonton storms back to down Winnipeg 5-3 ahead.

F C.J. SUESS — Continued his strong camp, showing excellent hand- eye co-ordination to beat Oilers netminder Mike Smith. By: Mike McIntyre With Mark Scheifele, Bryan Little and Adam Lowry locks at centre, is in a Posted: 09/26/2019 10:25 PM battle for the fourth-line spot. Letestu would seem to have the edge, but Suess has entered the conversation. Can also play wing.

It was the closest they’ve come to a regular-season test in terms of the Played 10:45 with three shot attempts, including two on goal and two quality of players in both lineups. And while the effort was there, the blocks. Struggled a bit in the faceoff circle, however, going just 3-for-9. Winnipeg Jets get a failing grade for execution. D VILLE HEINOLA — The 18-year-old keeps doing things that make you A back-and-forth affair with the Edmonton Oilers resulted in a 5-3 loss at wonder if he might just not make this team, especially with defenceman Bell MTS Place Thursday night, as the visitors rallied in the final period Sami Niku battling a groin injury and Dustin Byfuglien mulling his feature. with three straight goals. His passing and vision are superb, and were on display as he Edmonton iced something close to their opening-night roster, including quarterbacked a first-period power play. He appears extremely confident, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. The Jets did similar, with the and held his own as Draisaitl drove down on later in the game. exception of Josh Morrissey, Blake Wheeler, Adam Lowry and Bryan Played 20:57, going plus-one with one shot attempt and two giveaways. Little.

Winnipeg drops to 2-3-1 in pre-season action. Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 09.27.2019 THE SKINNY:

Winnipeg opened the scoring midway through the first period as C.J. Suess scored his second of the pre-season. Edmonton quickly tied it when Jets winger Mathieu Perreault coughed up the puck behind his net and James Neal fed Tomas Jurco for the tally.

Connor McDavid gave the Oilers a lead just 63 seconds into the second period. Defenceman Tucker Poolman tied it a few minutes later when he crashed the crease and banged home a rebound, and then Gabriel Bourque converted from the slot after a great puck steal and pass from Perreault.

Edmonton defenceman Ethan Bear got his stick on a loose puck during a goalmouth scramble to tie the game early in the third. Jurco then scored his second of the night, this time on the power play as he beat Jets defenceman Dmitry Kulikov and goalie Connor Hellebuyck with a nifty move for the game winner. Bear finished the scoring when his point blast deflected off Winnipeg’s Kristian Vesalainen.

5 PLAYERS WE WATCHED CLOSELY:

G CONNOR HELLEBUYCK — Made his second start of the pre-season after a ho-hum debut last week against the St. Louis Blues. Had a nice start by stopped McDavid on a partial breakaway early in the game, but that was his highlight of the night.

Seemed to be fighting the puck, surrendering five goals on 26 shots. Hellebuyck has been beaten nine times on 45 shots in two losses.

We’re not saying a goalie controversy is brewing, but backup Laurent Brossoit has been brilliant in two pre-season outings.

Sure, the Jets have had plenty of turnover on the blue line and are missing several key pieces, but Brossoit hasn’t exactly had an all-star cast in front of him, either.

If Winnipeg is to contend this season, they need Hellebuyck to display his Vezina-finalist form of two seasons ago.

F KRISTIAN VESALAINEN — Make it four straight pre-season games in which the Finnish winger hasn’t had a shot on goal. It’s clear he’s suffering from a lack of confidence despite being given plenty of offensive opportunity.

With several other players in camp improving their stock, you wonder whether Vesalainen’s has played his way off the opening-night roster? He’s only 20 and has loads of talent, but extra fine-tuning with the Manitoba Moose might be his best option.

Played 11:23, going minus-one with one giveaway.

F JOONA LUOTO — Terrific game, which helped his cause as he fights for a spot with the Jets. Didn’t look out of place on a checking line with veterans Mark Letestu and Gabriel Bourque. 1154382 Winnipeg Jets "It’s definitely a boost of confidence (to still be here). But I’ve just got to keep going. Nothing’s given here. You’ve got to work for it."

There was plenty of excitement around the rink once word spread that Swedish teen opening eyes at Jets camp Connor McDavid was making the trip to Winnipeg for a rare pre-season road game.

"It’s a cool experience. You always dream of playing the best, and that’s By: Mike McIntyre what I’m here to do. So I look forward to it," Suess said.

Posted: 09/26/2019 8:37 PM | Last Modified: 09/26/2019 9:45 PM | "Connor McDavid is a player that I always looked up to. He’s the greatest Updates | Comments: 0 player in the world. So it’s going to be cool to play against him," Gustafsson said.

Even an experienced pro like Letestu was looking forward to the David Gustafsson is making a heck of a first impression with the challenge, saying it’s the best way to prepare for the coming season. Winnipeg Jets. "I don’t want to play against the skeleton crew. I want to play against NHL The 19-year-old Swedish centre not only survived the first wave of cuts lineups. I want to be out there against the guys I need to get ready to this week, but was also given another look in game action Thursday night compete against when it turns to (opening night next Thursday against against the Edmonton Oilers. He’s definitely opened some eyes around the) Rangers. So the heavier, more NHL-veteran lineups at this point in here — including his own. pre-season, it’s probably better for us," Letestu said. "This is the greatest thing that ever happened to me. And I love to play Josh Morrissey, Adam Lowry and Bryan Little were held out of hockey, so it’s good to still be here," a beaming Gustafsson said following Thursday’s game but were full participants in a group skate earlier in the the morning skate. "I didn’t have many expectations at all. I just came day. That’s good news considered they’re all battling minor injuries. here and said I would do my best and I would have fun doing it. So it’s Defenceman Sami Niku skated on his own for the first time in a few days going much better than I thought it would." as he deals with a groin injury. Gustafsson, selected by the Jets in the second round of the 2018 NHL Maurice said the hope is to play the opening-night roster in the final pre- draft, centred a line with Nikolaj Ehlers and Mathieu Perreault against the season game Sunday afternoon in St. Paul against the Minnesota Wild, Oilers Thursday night at Bell MTS Place. It was his fourth pre-season with Niku being the lone exception. game. "We’re talking about a guy who’s had two full days of training camp. He’s "Great player. He’s very smart, a very smart player. Can play both ways. missed an awful lot. It’s a groin. You can’t condition an athlete like that Has the skill and he’s fast, too," was the scouting report offered up by the same way. So we’ll have to see how he’s skating," Maurice said of Ehlers. Niku’s status. Being put in such a plum offensive spot this late into the exhibition The Jets have 32 players in camp and will have to get down to a 23-man schedule tells you how impressed Jets head coach Paul Maurice and the maximum roster by early next week. organization are with his first training camp. "The big questions are really how we round out the fourth line... and "He just does too many right things for you not to notice. He’s still a maybe the pairings of the D because of Niku’s injury and how we pair young man and I know that he’s got lots of time to develop. But there’s a those guys together," Maurice said. real value in somebody like that being here for more days," Maurice said.

Gustafsson is under contract to play one more year in the top Swedish men’s league and is also expected to represent his country at the world Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 09.27.2019 junior championship. But he’s clearly done enough to warrant a longer look.

"I don’t know where it’s going to end for him or what time it is, because I do know he’s got to go back when that time comes. But every video session, every practice, this guy picks it up. You just see it in his game," Maurice said.

"So, for those guys, there’s a real value. Some guys, you know you’ve got to get back to their junior team and they’ve got years ahead of them. This guy’s had a really, really nice camp and we want to keep him around as long as it makes sense for everybody."

Veteran centre Mark Letestu, who signed a free-agent deal with the Jets this summer, said Gustafsson appears to be wise beyond his years when it comes to his on-ice play.

"I guess I’ve had kind of a unique perspective. I really don’t know anybody coming in here, so it’s been kind of a clean slate coming in for me. With Gus, I notice how hard he competes, especially in the circle, whether it’s faceoffs, paying attention to some of the details," Letestu said.

"He’s hobbling around here because he’s getting in lanes. He’s doing the necessary things to be noticed. That’s a credit to him. If you told me his birth year, I’m not even really sure. But I’m assuming a young guy, a lot of maturity and details in his game."

Letestu is considered the likely candidate to win the fourth-line centre job with the Jets behind Mark Scheifele, Adam Lowry and Bryan Little, but Gustafsson is certainly "in the mix," according to Maurice.

The same goes for CJ Suess, who has had a strong camp and was given another game on Thursday.

"I try not to think too much into it. Obviously it’s on the back of your mind. But you’ve kind of got to let that disappear when you’re playing in the game and just stick to what you’ve been doing," Suess said. 1154383 Winnipeg Jets "Have I noticed any huge difference in those small details I’ve been working on? Yes. But still got a ways to go. I’m excited about it, obviously, and hopefully I can continue getting better at those things," he said. Good just won't do; depleted Jets need great Dane "We’ve played a fair amount of games together since I’ve been here. They’re obviously two great players. I think the last game here in pre- season that we played together, we created a lot of chances. We brought By: Mike McIntyre some speed. Hopefully you create more and more chemistry as the Posted: 09/26/2019 4:49 PM games go on. And if you get a chance to play with those two, you gotta do your best to obviously stay there. I think we did well and if we play more games together we’ve got to continue chemistry and working together to help this team win." The Winnipeg Jets opening-night roster is beginning to take shape — one that doesn't include Patrik Laine, Kyle Connor or Dustin Byfuglien. The biggest storylines in camp have revolved around who's not here, but give the players and coaches some credit: for all the external Oh sure, coach Paul Maurice has multiple drafts of his lineup written distractions, the focus has never wavered. down that include one, two or all three of them, but those appear to be nothing more than wishful thinking at this point, given the puzzling lack of "To me it hasn't really become a main topic. I think, naturally, if the TV's progress on all fronts with less than a week until the real action gets on in the morning, you notice the noise. It's certainly a topic around the underway. hockey community. But in the room there's very little time spent on it," veteran centre Mark Letestu told me Thursday. "So, we have three individual ones and then a couple of pairs of what they look like, but the one that’s on my board right now has none of them "We know whether they're here or not we have to prepare for what we on it," Maurice admitted Thursday. have here. There just hasn't been a lot of wasted energy on that. When they come back, great, but if not, we're ready to move forward with the That sound you hear is plenty of Jets fans screaming into the abyss. And group we have." maybe general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff, too. Laine is training in Switzerland without a contract. Connor is also waiting on a new deal as Easier said than done, although Ehlers being at the top of his game he skates in Michigan. And Byfuglien remains suspended from the team would certainly help the cause. as he continues to mull over whether he wants to play hockey or retire with two years left on his contract. "We want more out of him, not that he hasn’t given us enough, but the next step for the franchise is all of those players go from young to Mark And so with Plans A, B and C all gathering dust on his desk, Maurice has Scheifele, to Adam Lowry. They came in as kids and now we don't talk to keep his attention focused on what he does have in camp, all of which about them, they're driving the bus. These guys have to take that next prompted a discussion Thursday on where some of that missing offence step," said Maurice. is going to come from. "You get to 22- and 23-year-old players, maybe you’re asking a lot, but Enter Nikolaj Ehlers. Or, Plan E, if you will. the league certainly seems to be paying 'em now, so a lot will be asked."

There might not be another player on this team facing more pressure to Now, more than ever. get off to a blazing hot start than Winnipeg's streaky scoring winger. After posting a career-low 37 points last season (21 goals and 16 assists in 62 games), the organization can't afford anything but his best if it is going to Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 09.27.2019 be competitive with so many holes in its roster.

"Yes, we’re going to need his goals. We can all do the math. When you look at the number of goals that aren’t here to start the season compared to last season, that’s a big number," said Maurice.

Ehlers is likely to take Connor's usual spot on the top line with Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler, and the trio have displayed plenty of chemistry in the past. Now 23 and set to begin his fifth pro season, Ehlers appears to recognize the importance and urgency of the situation, even if it's unrealistic to think he can make everyone forget about the 64 goals Laine and Connor combined for last season.

"I don’t look at who’s not here and what I have to make up for it, because I can’t make up for all those goals. But, of course, I’m looking at myself and pushing myself to be better all the time," said Ehlers.

"We’ve been out here for the last couple weeks creating a bond and trying to get better as a team. And we’ve done that. I think the games have shown that and we’re going to continue doing that... I’m pushing myself to be the best I can be, but I don’t think I can make up for all those goals."

For what it's worth, Maurice is seeing plenty of good signs from Ehlers in the pre-season, albeit it against often inferior competition.

"The challenge for Nikky is we feel he’s at his best when he’s shooting the puck, and he’s shooting the puck an awful lot. When you play with Mark and Blake, they will create another option for you. And then there’s that young guy, old guy thing going on out there, you want to keep veteran players happy. He needs to shoot the puck at the right time, use the players around him at the right time. That takes a little bit of experience. We think he’s had enough time now in the league that he should be able to make those good decisions," said Maurice.

Ehlers certainly put in the work this summer, including re-watching every shift of every game last season to analyze the good, the bad and the ugly. And the Danish speedster believes it's paying off, now with top-line responsibilities staring him in the face. 1154384 Winnipeg Jets scored once, too, and 18-year-old Ville Heinola just kept doing things that make you go, ‘Hmmmm.’

On the other end of the happy scale, the Jets made plenty of mistakes in Jets lose game, but Poolman wins job their own zone and the pre-season can’t end soon enough for goalie Connor Hellebuyck.

Hellebuyck allowed five goals – he’s given up nine in two September Paul Friesen starts – as the Oilers won, 5-3, leaving the Jets with a 2-3-1 exhibition record. September 26, 2019 10:28 PM CDT As for the good stuff…

Bourque’s second-period goal came after a strong forecheck from The Winnipeg Jets are down to one dress rehearsal before the curtain Mathieu Perreault. rises on the regular season. Poolman started and finished the rush that saw him shovel a rebound Exactly who’ll be in costume on opening night off Broadway should past Oilers goalie Mike Smith, also in the second. His overall strong play, become clear when they play their final pre-season game in Minnesota, plain and simple, has earned him a job on the depleted Jets blue line, Sunday. plain and simple. Thursday’s exhibition tilt in downtown Winnipeg against the Edmonton “I don’t want to unveil the spots,” head coach Paul Maurice said, post- Oilers provided a few more clues, though. game. “I probably have to talk to a couple of guys before that. But he’s Fourth-line candidate Gabriel Bourque scored his second goal of the pre- earned the right to be in the opening night lineup.” season, emerging defenceman Tucker Poolman impressed again and Maurice wouldn’t go that far with Heinola, who didn’t find the scoresheet scored once, too, and 18-year-old Ville Heinola just kept doing things that but anchored the Jets’ first power-play unit, as the coach just keeps make you go, ‘Hmmmm.’ giving him more and more responsibility. On the other end of the happy scale, the Jets made plenty of mistakes in The first-round draft pick didn’t look at all out of place, making all the right their own zone and the pre-season can’t end soon enough for goalie passes, some of them no-look. Connor Hellebuyck. The 178-pounder also held his own physically against players like Oilers Hellebuyck allowed five goals — he’s given up nine in two September star Leon Draisaitl, a 6-foot-2, 208-pound handful of star power. starts — as the Oilers won, 5-3, leaving the Jets with a 2-3-1 exhibition record. Heinola may still wind up back in the Finnish pro league this season. But I wouldn’t want him further away than the AHL’s Manitoba Moose, where As for the good stuff… he’s a short walk down the hall from stepping in, should the Jets run into Bourque’s second-period goal came after a strong forecheck from injury trouble on the blue line. Mathieu Perreault. Winnipeg’s first goal was scored by forward hopeful CJ Suess, who Poolman started and finished the rush that saw him shovel a rebound batted the puck out of mid-air on his backhand after taking a hot, cross- past Oilers goalie Mike Smith, also in the second. His overall strong play, ice pass from free-agent signing Joona Luoto, who also looked good plain and simple, has earned him a job on the depleted Jets blue line, again. plain and simple The Jets are off on Friday, so it’s likely we’ll see some cuts before that “I don’t want to unveil the spots,” head coach Paul Maurice said, post- final dress rehearsal. game. “I probably have to talk to a couple of guys before that. But he’s Most bubble players experience a sense of relief when they survive a earned the right to be in the opening night lineup.” round of cuts in training camp. Maurice wouldn’t go that far with Heinola, who didn’t find the scoresheet David Gustafsson was over the moon when he was invited to stay a little but anchored the Jets’ first power-play unit, as the coach just keeps longer than the 13 players sent down to the farm earlier this week. giving him more and more responsibility. “It means a lot,” the 19-year-old Swede said. “This is the greatest thing The first-round draft pick didn’t look at all out of place, making all the right that ever happened to me. And I love to play hockey, so it’s good to still passes, some of them no-look. be here. The 178-pounder also held his own physically against players like Oilers Gustafsson has quietly had an impressive camp, but it hasn’t gone star Leon Draisaitl, a 6-foot-2, 208-pound handful of star power. unnoticed by Maurice. Heinola may still wind up back in the Finnish pro league this season. But “He just does too many right things for you not to notice,” head coach I wouldn’t want him further away than the AHL’s Manitoba Moose, where Paul Maurice said, pre-game. “He’s still a young man and I know that he’s a short walk down the hall from stepping in, should the Jets run into he’s got lots of time to develop. But there’s a real value in somebody like injury trouble on the blue line. that being here for more days.” Winnipeg’s first goal was scored by forward hopeful CJ Suess, who They say Gustafsson picks things up quickly, in the video room and on batted the puck out of mid-air on his backhand after taking a hot, cross- the ice. ice pass from free-agent signing Joona Luoto, who also looked good again. But is the second-round Jets draft pick from last year realistically in the mix for a spot in the NHL after his first camp? The Jets are off on Friday, so it’s likely we’ll see more cuts before that final dress rehearsal. The rules for Europeans mean Gustafsson can’t be sent to the farm because he’s not a first-round pick. It’s either the Jets or bust. By bust, The Winnipeg Jets are down to one dress rehearsal before the curtain we mean back to the Swedish League, where he played 36 games with rises on the regular season. HV71 last season, scoring two goals and 10 assists. Exactly who’ll be in costume on opening night off Broadway should Listening to Maurice, the odds remain the 6-foot-2 centre gets another become clear when they play their final pre-season game in Minnesota, year of seasoning. Sunday. “I don’t know where it’s going to end for him or what time it is,” the coach Thursday’s exhibition tilt in downtown Winnipeg against the Edmonton said. “Because I do know he’s got to go back when that time comes.” Oilers provided a few more clues, though. NHL veteran and first-year Jet Mark Letestu says he knew nothing about Fourth-line candidate Gabriel Bourque scored his second goal of the pre- Gustafsson when camp began and still isn’t sure how old he is, but like season, emerging defenceman Tucker Poolman impressed again and Maurice he’s noticed the little things in the kid’s game. “I notice how hard he competes, especially in the circle, whether it’s Maurice offered some humorous insight into how he matches lines for a faceoffs, paying attention to some of the details,” Letestu said. “He’s pre-season game like Thursday’s. hobbling around here because he’s getting in (shot-blocking) lanes. He’s doing the necessary things to be noticed. That’s a credit to him. Not surprising, it’s a completely different motivation from the way he coaches when the games count. “If you told me his birth year, I’m not even really sure. But I’m assuming a young guy, a lot of maturity and details in his game.” “I want Mark Scheifele playing against McDavid,” the coach said. “Because you’ve got a chance of both getting off the ice healthy. Improving almost daily, Gustafsson admitted he’s allowed himself to think Sometimes the guys who are trying to make the team, they’re finishing about the improbable: Making the team. every check. It’s not even dirty, they’re just hammering every check. So we kind of have a tacit agreement we’ll play all our best against your best “I try to keep those thoughts away from me,” he said. “But sure, and then you can get out of it healthy.” sometimes you think about it and that would be really cool.

“I didn’t have many expectations at all. I just came here and said I would do my best and I would have fun doing it. So it’s going much better than I Winnipeg Sun LOADED 09.27.2019 thought it would.”

Those wondering if Maurice is going to keep Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler together got a pretty good clue from the coach on Thursday morning, when he was asked what the next step is for winger Nik Ehlers.

“If he’s going to play with Mark and Blake, there’s two things he’s playing,” Maurice said. “He’s either playing against their A-line, which is like ours, or he’s playing against Adam Lowry’s line, and that’s a different animal, too.”

That would indicate the Scheifele/Wheeler pairing isn’t going anywhere.

The only question is who plays the left side, presumably until Kyle Connor signs a new contract.

Until Connor and Patrik Laine join the fray, the onus will be on the rest of the Jets to make up the offensive slack.

Someone like Ehlers can obviously help. Maurice says he should be ready to take on more.

“He needs to shoot the puck at the right time, use the players around him at the right time,” Maurice said. “That takes a little bit of experience. We think he’s had enough time now in the league that he should be able to make those good decisions.

“You get to 22- and 23-year-old players, maybe you’re asking a lot. But the league certainly seems to be paying ’em now, so a lot will be asked.”

Ehlers says filling Connor’s shoes to start the season is one thing. Staying alongside Scheifele and Wheeler is another.

“I don’t look at who’s not here and what I have to do to make up for it, because I can’t make up for all those goals,” he said. “But, of course, I’m pushing myself to be better all the time.”

Scheifele was going to get Thursday night off, but suited up because the Jets needed centres, with Adam Lowry and Bryan Little nursing minor groin strains.

Defenceman Josh Morrissey skated with the non-playing group Thursday morning, showing no ill effects from the game in Calgary, which he didn’t finish.

Going into Thursday’s exhibition tilt, defenceman Sami Niku, also nursing a sore groin, was the only player not healthy enough to start the season today.

Niku is only skating on his own, so until he’s back at full practice, he’s not in the game-day conversation.

It’s been a tough camp for Niku, as a car accident cost him the first two practice sessions.

“We’re talking about a guy who’s had two full days of training camp,” Maurice said. “He’s missed an awful lot. It’s a groin. You can’t condition an athlete like that the same way. So we’ll have to see how he’s skating.”

Niku’s injury has Maurice juggling his possible defensive pairs for the season-opener in New York next week.

We should get a pretty strong indication of his decision by his lineup choices for the final pre-season game in Minnesota, Sunday.

Barring any injuries Thursday night, Maurice said he’ll ice his season- opening lineup, minus Niku, for that one.

JUST STAY HEALTHY 1154385 Vancouver Canucks “Can he ever. He’s had a great camp.” Vancouver Canucks goalie Jacob Markstrom, of Sweden, stops Arizona

Coyotes right wing Hudson Fasching (24) as Vancouver defenceman Coyotes 4 Canucks 2: Pre-season ends with decisions to be made Tyler Myers trails the play during the first period. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck / PNG

Ferland was signed to be the big bruising winger with good hands who PATRICK JOHNSTON could play alongside Pettersson. After getting through a bout with a viral infection over the weekend, he finally got back into a game on Thursday September 26, 2019 11:09 PM PDT night. He’s now skated twice with Pettersson and the duo is slowly finding chemistry.

The real story, of course, is two-fold: how will the final roster shake out in Pettersson is pleased to have him along. the coming days? The vast majority of the lineup is set and has been, “A big guy. He’s a great power forward to have,” he said. really, for months. What remains is how the edges will take shape. “He beat his guy … he maybe got a lucky bounce but still he’s there to There are also head injuries to Brock Boeser and Oscar Fantenberg to make those plays. It’s fun to see.” be considered. Will either recover in time to be considered for next Wednesday’s season opener in Edmonton? And healthy or not, there’s For his part, Ferland said the best strategy he’s already learned is pretty the question of how many forwards and defenceman Canucks head simple. coach Travis Green wants to carry to open the season. “Just get him the puck,” he said, flatly. “I just get to the front of the net, If you believe in the trying-hard-to-make-the-team narrative, Adam take a D-man with me, that’s just been my game. I don’t mind. He likes to Gaudette has done plenty over the past two weeks to show that he’s have the puck and I don’t mind giving it to him, getting to the hard areas ready to be tested in regular-season action. But that also means that and driving to the net.” other choices will have to happen elsewhere in the final roster construction. “He’s easy to play with. He makes everyone around him better.”

Thursday night, the Canucks did dress a number of key players and so to Pettersson is forever on the make-the-next-game-bettert-than-the-last see them finish with just 19 shots on the night was a surprise. They were plan. outshot 35-19 by the visitors, as the Canucks struggled to get shots off “I didn’t start (preseason) that good but I think the last two games I’ve from good scoring areas. been better,” Pettersson said. “There’s still some small areas I can work The Coyotes defended well. on … always make smarter decisions, don’t miss passes, don’t miss turnovers, small details.” “You play a team like that, you’ve got to be able to skate, you’ve got to be able to make a pass,” Green said post-game. “I thought we were a little We know enough about Jacob Markstrom to know that goals two and rough around the edges with our execution.” three by the Coyotes are ones he’d like back. Soderstrom’s was off the side boards, partially screened but one that caught Markstrom leaning The Canucks got goals from Micheal Ferland and Zack MacEwen — both the wrong way. Hayton’s was from a spot that Markstrom could see well, from on top of the crease, of course — while Coyotes got goals from but a teammate’s stick deflected the puck right in front of him. Lane Pederson, Barrett Hayton, Victor Soderstrom and Carl Soderberg. After a solid season in the Canucks crease — the numbers adding up to Here’s what we learned… say he was clearly an above-average goaltender in 2018-19 — he needs to be very good again for the Canucks to truly push for the playoffs. The work Gaudette did in setting up MacEwen’s first-period goal was yet another notable moment in what’s been a most excellent pre-season for The save he made on a late 3-on-1 against Nick Schmaltz was much the sophomore centre. more like the goalie he was last season and the one Canucks players, coaches and fans will hope to see again this season. He skate a perfect deep route to the Arizona blue-line, springing himself loose to collect a long-bomb pass from Sven Baertschi, before circling Feeling fit? behind the Arizona net. Alex Edler played more than 25 minutes on the night, including 6:30 on He drew the attention of a trio of defenders, who were so focused on his the penalty kill. work that no one picked up MacEwen cruising into the slot, ready to pounce on the perfectly-weighted backhand pass that Gaudette sent his There’s no doubt he’s in tip-top shape, but he’s also 33. That’s a lot of ice way. time to be asked to play on a regular basis.

Not exactly tic-tack-toe, but a fine thing to watch nonetheless. “You’re still playing to win,” Green said about using his best blue-liner so much on the night. Gaudette has found the offensive game that drew him such attention while playing NCAA hockey at Northeastern University, but questions do “When you get into the heat of the game, you’re still going to play your remain about his defensive game. Last year he simply allowed too many guy, especially if you have a chance to win. You’re not just going to roll shots against in good shooting areas. On top of needing to find his the lines and not coach. (Chatfield and Brisebois) we’re trying to fit them offensive game, he needs to be better in closing off the middle of the ice in. It’s a little different when you’re trying to play them together as two and winning puck battles. young guys. You’ve got to be careful where you’re putting them. Eddie plays the power play, he plays the penalty kill. He’s going to play a lot of Still, given everything Gaudette has shown, he’s ready for a bigger role minutes no matter what.” this season — but will that happen with Brandon Sutter and Jay Beagle both still employed as the third and fourth centres? Seems hard to The Canucks don’t play again until Wednesday. They’ve got Friday off imagine. but could find themselves practising just about every day ahead of the season opener next Wednesday in Edmonton. It’s harder to imagine given Gaudette’s waiver exempt-status, no matter how many words in both directions we might hear. “It’s an exciting week,” Pettersson said. That there’s a long break before the next game isn’t a big deal, he said. If they do find a spot for him, the question of how much ice time is best for him will certainly be a factor. If he were sent to the Utica Comets, for Tyler Myers echoed the sentiment. instance, it’s a near-certainty that he would be playing more every night “I’m sure we’ll have a few good practices here to keep us ready. You there than he would be on one of the Canucks’ bottom two lines. know, this is where the fun begins. So now it’s good to have a few days “That’s part of the decision making that we will talk about over the next to get ready for it,” he said. few days and what’s best for him, what’s best for the team,” Green said. Yep, there will be some useful practice time in the days to come, Green Whatever happens, Gaudette can hold his head high, Green said. said. “Our group needs some practice time,” he said, noting that with the two split-squad games eleven days ago, the team has played eight games in that span.

“The only practices we’ve had have been special teams practices. I’ve seen it right from day one here, our group needs to skate and handle the puck and make plays. Especially at this time of year, it would be good to have some practices. We need it.”

The only way you’d know that Loui Eriksson played on Thursday night would be looking at his ice time.

Otherwise, the $6-million man pitched a near no-hitter on the NHL stats sheet: no hits, no shots, one giveaway, no take-aways, no blocked shots and certainly no faceoffs won or lost in 13:07 of ice time.

In five of the eight pre-season games, the Canucks have found themselves outshot by the opposition.

Now, this does require the caveat that it’s pre-season and the lineups, especially in the first three games, were all over the shop.

But this is the regular reminder that teams that generally get outshot tend to lose more than win. The Canucks certainly have improved their offensive game, but the defensive game is where the real story will be told.

Tyler Myers is big but he isn’t necessarily known as a huge hitter.

Nonetheless, when you’re a big man, the fans have a certain pre-existing expectation of what your playing style will be like. Even if it doesn’t really match reality, the fans were thrilled by Myers burying Hayton on the end boards in the first period.

Vancouver Province: LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154386 Vancouver Canucks “You can stay positive and be happy and enjoy the time.” And besides, how can he feel bad about himself when people keep

coming up and asking him for pictures and autographs? He’s playing the Goldobin isn't fazed by critics, 'just working hard' to make Canucks sport he loves and he’s happy to share that love.

“It’s good that people always want to take pictures with me and stuff.”

PATRICK JOHNSTON

September 26, 2019 3:34 PM PDT Vancouver Province: LOADED: 09.27.2019

What a difference a year makes for Nikolay Goldobin.

He started the 2018-19 NHL season on Elias Pettersson’s wing. The buzz was all about the big opportunity in front of him.

A year later, there are doubts if there’s even a roster spot for the Russian winger to begin the 2019-20 season.

So, while the writing on the wall suggests he’s bound for Utica, N.Y. — or, if he’s lucky, is scooped up by another NHL club — the 23-year-old remains upbeat as ever.

A quick examination of the Vancouver Canucks’ training camp roster reveals a bevy of wingers and a limited number of spots. Goldobin, who by the numbers is a positive offensive contributor but also a problem defensively, is on the bubble.

That scenario might cause stress to another person, but ask the Moscow native who seems to always have a smile on his face — both in real life and Instagram — if this is a difficult time and he’ll insist it isn’t.

“No, I mean, just working hard,” the winger said after a team practice at Burnaby 8 Rinks earlier this week, a gaggle of fans waiting nearby, hoping to get his autograph or snap a photo with him.

The roster situation, he admitted, doesn’t stack up well for him. He knows where he sits in the pecking order — just look at his contract. He signed a one-year, US$900,000 deal just before training camp.

“Yeah, lots of forwards on one-ways. There’s guys on big contracts and for me it’s just a one-year,” he said. “It’s a tough situation but I’m trying to stay positive and play a good game.”

He’s skated in four preseason games and even though he created quality scoring opportunities, both for himself and for teammates, he only recorded one assist.

He said after Wednesday’s game — a 6-2 loss to visiting Ottawa — that he believes his play has improved in the defensive zone. His coach, Travis Green, offered some further post-game perspective, acknowledging he’s seen the creative elements the winger brings to the table.

Still, the question remains: Do these creative moments add up enough to earn Goldobin a spot over more conventional grinders like Tyler Motte or Tim Schaller, players the coaches have generally preferred in the past because of their penalty-killing skills?

Whatever the conclusion, Goldobin insisted he’s doing everything he can, be it in a game or practice.

For Thursday’s game against Arizona, he was pencilled in to skate with a pair of presumed Comets in Zack MacEwen and Tyler Graovac. He can’t control the final roster decision, just his own efforts.

“I’m trying to score every shot, to battle hard, win my battles one on one. I’m trying to do this in all the drills, to be good,” Goldobin said.

He’s faced adversity before, like when he moved to Sarnia, Ont., to play for the OHL’s Sting, a few months before his 17th birthday, not able to speak a lick of English. He found success there, eventually being drafted by the San Jose Sharks in the 2014 draft.

He figured out the offensive side of the professional game quickly, making himself into a point-per-game player in the AHL with the San Jose Barracuda by the time he was 21.

This battle in front of him is just another hurdle.

“Yeah, another bar for me in my life, I guess. It’s hard, never easy for me,” he said. “And for everyone else here,” he added, never wanting to seem unhappy, or come across as a malingerer. 1154387 Vancouver Canucks “They’re a quick team. They play the same style as us, they’re hard on pucks. We lost a few foot races out there and we weren’t as sharp as we have been,” he said.

Rookies key in Arizona Coyotes 4-2 pre-season win over Vancouver “It’s been a long camp and guts are definitely tired but you’ve got to fight Canucks through that and not let that affect you.”

Gaudette, who tallied 12 points in 56 games with the Canucks last season, has been a star through Vancouver’s pre-season, making plays GEMMA KARSTENS-SMITH and putting up six points.

VANCOUVER The 22-year-old native of Braintree, Mass., said he trusts himself to step up in big moments right now. But he still isn’t sure whether he’s done THE CANADIAN PRESS enough to solidify his spot on Vancouver’s roster. PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 27, 2019 “I think I threw my best at them, I gave them all I had,” he said. “I hope it UPDATED SEPTEMBER 27, 2019 was enough and we’ll see what happens.”

Green has repeatedly said that he likes the way Gaudette has played not only through the first few weeks of this year, but last season as well. After a hectic week-and-a-half of pre-season play, Vancouver Canucks coach Travis Green is looking forward to finally getting some training in Still, he said there are a number of factors that will weigh into whether or with his team. not he’s with the Canucks come opening night, including line combinations and contract considerations. “Our group needs some practice time, to be honest,” he said Thursday after the Canucks dropped a 4-2 decision to the Arizona Coyotes in their “We’ve got an important decision to make and whatever we do, we have final exhibition game of the year. to make sure we’re thinking about him and our team. And he’s made it hard on us. And that’s a good thing,” the coach said. The loss marked Vancouver’s eighth match up in 11 days, including a pair of split squad games. The Canucks finished the pre-season with an “Quite honestly, I wish other players made it harder on us as well. We’ve even four wins and four losses. got some tough decisions to make and we’ve got a few days to make them still.” Now it’s time to get some work in before the regular season begins next week, Green said. The Canucks will kick off regular season play on the road against the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday. Arizona will head to Anaheim to battle “I’ve seen it right from day one here — our group needs to skate and the Ducks in one last exhibition game on Saturday. handle the puck and make plays, especially at this time of the year,” he said. “It’ll be good to have some practices. We need it.”

Many of the Canucks are looking forward to playing games that count. Globe And Mail LOADED: 09.27.2019

“Exhibition’s always good to get your speed up. I think it takes a few games for any player to get up to speed,” said defenceman Tyler Myers.

“I thought for the most part we had a pretty good pre-season as a group and we want to make sure we have a good next five days here getting ready for game one.”

Even losses like the one the Canucks suffered on Thursday night give the team something to build on, he added.

“(Arizona) came hard tonight,” Myers said. “It was good for our group to experience that a bit, have guys on us quick, force us to move the puck quick. It’s a good last game before going in.”

Some young talents stepped up for Arizona in the Coyotes’ win.

Rookies Lane Pederson, Barrett Hayton and Victor Soderstrom each put away goals, and veteran Carl Soderberg added an empty-net strike with less than 30 seconds on the clock.

Micheal Ferland scored for the Canucks 1:20 into Thursday’s game, and Zack MacEwen added another tally before the end of the first period.

Coyotes netminder Adin Hill had 17 saves and Jacob Markstrom stopped 31-of-34 shots for Vancouver.

MacEwen’s goal came off a nice play by centre Adam Gaudette who, under pressure, took the puck in behind the Coyotes’ net before making a back-handed pass to MacEwen at the top of the crease.

The 23-year-old forward sent a stunning one-timer past Hill for his first goal of the pre-season.

Despite the early lead, Vancouver struggled to generate chances, registering just 11 shots through the first two periods.

“I think we’ve got to do a better job of getting pucks to the net,” said Ferland, who scored his first goal in a Canucks jersey on Thursday. “But give (Arizona) credit, they don’t give you many options there. Forwards are on top of you, (defencemen) are on top of you also. So you’re not getting a lot of looks.”

Gaudette saw similarities between his squad and the Coyotes. 1154388 Vancouver Canucks priced veterans in the lineup ahead of Gaudette, something that carries significant emotional baggage in this market. Loui Eriksson’s contract has made people a bit jaded in Vancouver when it comes to roster spots.

Adam Gaudette makes life hard for the Canucks, Micheal Ferland makes There is also the fact that meritocracy never shines like a lighthouse life hard for the Coyotes and the preseason ends more than it does when someone produces in exhibition games. People want to see kids who played their heart out get rewarded. So yes, it is safe to say Gaudette has created a very tough decision for Vancouver. Whatever happens, though, Green is still very much a fan of what By Wyatt Arndt Gaudette accomplished this preseason. Sep 26, 2019 “He’s had a great camp. Whatever we decide over the next few days, and I’m not saying it one way or the other, he’s had a good camp. I feel like I say this a lot about him, every week even last year I said it a lot, I Like a Pitbull song on repeat, the NHL preseason for the Canucks felt like like Adam. I think he’s a good player, he’s a good young player for us, it could have ended earlier and everyone would have been better for it. who we’ve got an important decision to make, and whatever we do we That’s not to say the games aren’t important for evaluating players, or have to make sure we’re thinking of him and our team, and he’s made it that the Canucks played awful, but there always seems to be a large hard on us. And that’s a good thing. number of diminishing returns when it comes to exhibition games. It’s like McDonald’s food, if you let that sit for longer than five minutes, then you If you’re a fan of reading into things and verbal mic drops, you will enjoy just need to walk away from it. the next sentence uttered by Green.

And while the last couple of preseason games at least resemble NHL “Quite honestly I wish other players made it harder on us as well.” hockey, unlike the ice dancing routines of the first few games, there just It’s the kind of statement you read five times trying to see what is going comes a point where you want to see games that matter. Games where on, and it’s at that point you know they’ve already won. you don’t have to start every sentence with “I know it’s just preseason…” Games where a guy having a three-point game feels like it actually Ferland 3:16 means something. There is nothing more demoralizing than asking a veteran player in the room after the game about how he thinks he played The hype around Micheal Ferland hasn’t been out of this world in in a loss in the final game of the preseason. Both of you are just really Vancouver, but it’s safe to say people are very excited about seeing what sad about having to be there. he can bring to the table. If people were willing to throw bras on the ice for a five-game stretch of goal scoring and toughness from Jeff Cowan, So it is with some relief that the preseason ends and we can finally see one can only imagine what will be tossed for Ferland this season if he things that matter. Who is making the team? Who is going to Utica? Who plays as expected. is going on waivers? Now we can sit back and wait to see what happens when the Canucks finalize their roster, and finally get some answers to Tonight we saw Ferland tick all the boxes for Canucks fans looking to the questions that these eight games raised. swipe right for a tough, hard-nosed player.

What if Gaud’s plan was one of us? Goal caused by driving hard to the net? Check.

Much like a mashed-up song title, the future of Adam Gaudette isn’t clear Solid playmaking followed up by a scrum just for the hell of it? Check. right now. But if you were planning on adding him to the team based on Finishing off checks even though it’s just preseason? Check. pure confidence, he’d be a lock after making a no-look pass to Zack MacEwen that led to a goal: It was a game made all the more impressive considering Ferland lost six pounds and missed several games due to illness recently. He agreed it “I think it says that I feel pretty comfortable out there. I don’t think I would felt good to be back in the lineup. have made that play last year.” Gaudette would confirm after the game. “I think all anyone could ask for is if I left it all out there and gave it all I had, “It’s always nice to get going. You work all summer to get yourself in and I feel I did that, and I feel pretty confident where my game’s at right shape. The games get rolling, less practices, you can just worry about now.” playing games and having fun. It’s good to get the legs going. Game shape is way different than practice shape. I think the game speed slows Adam Gaudette has put the Canucks in an interesting position, not just in down for you and you’re able to make plays and everything is not so regards to the roster, but in regards to public opinion. And I would never fast.” suggest a team make a roster move based on the fans or medias outrage, but Gaudette has had such a visible preseason that if he doesn’t Tyler Myers, the highest-priced addition in the offseason, certainly has a make the team out of camp, the torches will be lit on the streets of spotlight on him. And while Eriksson has mastered the art of being a Vancouver. Milford Man both on and off the ice, Myers’ size will make it harder for him to blend into the wallpaper. There is a lot to love about Gaudette’s game. He reminds me of someone playing in the World Junior tournament, playing hockey with Thursday was another mixed bag of results for Tyler. There was some reckless abandon. He looks like a player who hasn’t had the fun and good in regards to his physical play: happiness beaten out of him by the strict defensive systems of the NHL. Nikolay Goldobin probably watches him from afar with a single tear That’s the kind of hit you can set your watch to! sliding down his cheek, wondering how he can attain that level of But there was also some of the bad (or unlucky if you want to be freedom in the pursuit of offense. optimistic):

But there are flags in his game in regards to his defensive side of the Myers passing the puck to Eriksson and it resulting in a turnover leading game, things that would make most NHL coaches take pause for a to a goal against is its own kind of expensive nightmarish hell for some moment. Travis Green admitted that the defensive side of the game is Canucks fans, but defensive adventures have been par for the course so something the Canucks need to consider when deciding if he makes the far for Myers in Vancouver. team out of camp. And then there were the gritty blue-collar heroics when he started “I don’t worry about him too much on the offensive side. It’s can he blocking shots and falling to the ice like a redwood tree. It’s the kind of defend down low. Can he win a battle in his own end. It’s no secret if he play that both makes you think, “Way to go, you bad ass!” and also, “Hey plays on the team it would be as a third or fourth line centremen. He’ll get honey, can you look up hockeydb and tell me how many games Myers different ice time then he is right now in preseason, and that’s part of the has missed due to injury the last few seasons?” decision making that we’ll talk about over the next few days, and what’s best for him and what’s best for the team.” Obviously, we have a long (so very long) journey ahead of us with Myers and how his Canucks career will pan out, but there is something eerily When people fantasy book the Canucks roster and try to insert Gaudette similar to the way Luca Sbisa and Erik Gudbranson entered this market. into the lineup, that’s one of the major questions they have to decide. Is All are pegged as top four D-men, except all of them having people playing limited minutes on the NHL better for his development than top- raising concerns about play in their own end, but all of them bringing size six minutes in Utica? Clouding this situation is the fact there are high- and toughness. The big tough mobile top-four D-man is the golden snitch breath, or whatever. It’s a double edged sword, also. Fans wouldn’t have for Jim Benning, isn’t it? liked it if someone retaliated and that guy got hurt himself, or got suspended, especially in preseason. If the hit is really bad, yes, there Since 75 percent of the postgame content this season will be Elias should be some kind of response. It all depends on the hit, though.” Pettersson highlights, we should probably try to round into regular- season form and offer some of them tonight. At this point Lack looked at the hit in question and arrived at a quick conclusion. First, there was Pettersson doing the reverse check. With his next evolutionary form complete, Dekey Pete wants the world to know you “OK, I just saw the hit, and it’s a stupid hit, and the league should look at can’t just approach him from behind like that: it.”

This hit legitimately got one of the biggest reactions of the night. It was a What about the people that say “that’s a hockey play” or that Boeser weird mix of cheering, applause, and like, “hahah that idiot doesn’t know shouldn’t have put himself in that position? Pettersson got stronger this year, why would he even try to hit him there.” I don’t know what noise sneering makes, but I’m pretty sure we heard it “I think it’s a bad hit. He sees numbers a long enough time to not follow tonight. through on that hit. Plus, it’s preseason.”

Then there was Petey knocking sticks out of hands like he was at Lack is known for being a friendly bloke as long as he isn’t playing FIFA, Playland trying to win a giant banana: but was there ever a time he got really mad during a game and wanted to take action into his own hands? Or is he too nice for such theatrics? And what game is complete without Pettersson doing his dekes? “I am nice! (laughs). No, I think most people remember when Bollig put a It’s like Pettersson cast wingardium leviosa on Vinnie Hinostroza. choke hold on me in a scrum. That for sure fired me up (laughs). It also would have been fun if Quick had met me at the redline. I could’ve told Because he’s a wizard, you see. my grandkids about that time I got knocked out at the Staples Center.”

Like Harry Potter. Fans and media obviously have a lot to say about hits like these and that With the vacant captaincy looming over the Canucks, it’s hard not to find aftermath of said hits, but what about the players themselves? Do they sit yourself discussing the C when talking Canucks. From the fans’ down in true beer league fashion and break down the game with each perspective, there is something, I don’t know if it’s comforting per se, but other? Or do media obligations and the professional environment neuter there is something nice about seeing a person you respect leading your that aspect of hockey for them. favorite team on the chase for Lord Stanley. With the preseason coming “Yeah for sure, we sit down and eat and chat, or talk on the plane. to a close, the noise is getting louder and louder from the fans about Different guys see things differently as well, so it’s nice to sit and talk wanting to see a new captain for the Canucks. about these situations, and get different perspectives. That’s how you What about in the room, though? Is the captaincy overrated by those on kind of bond, as well.” the outside looking in? Do we romanticize the C too much? Jay Beagle Before we let Lack go for the week, we had to ask about one more thing. doesn’t think so. The VIP’s last week demanded more information about Jannik Hansen “I think it’s something that is a thought out thing. You really have to think and his antics, after Lack revealed Hansen would be more prone to it through and make sure guys are ready. It’s an important thing, it’s causing havoc with his teammates than Roberto Luongo. So just what important to have good leaders. When you have a captain, it kind of sets exactly was his deal? everything for people to look to. It’s big. Captaincy is always huge. “(laughs) Jannik was great to sit next to in the locker room as long as you Having that one guy that settles everything. Sometimes there’s disputes did what he wanted. There were set routines that had to be followed or within the team on systems or how we should play a certain thing. else you had a rough week with head-shots in front of you.” There’s always one guy who can say, ‘No, this is how we’re going to do it.’ We listen to the one guy.” OK, clearly we need more information on this Hansen file. What routines? Was there some sort of The Skulls situation going on? Leadership is obviously hard to measure and is often at the center of debates among fans and media when it comes to how important it is, but “We’ll leave that for the next article…” if there was one intangible that feels like it is very important in sports, it’s leadership. Lack is learning how to do this media thing very quickly.

“100 percent. It’s huge. It’s not just the captain, obviously, there are The Canucks announced The Botchford Project this morning, and I just leaders in many forms. But like I said before, (the captain) is the one guy want to take a moment to applaud all those involved in making this come that kind of settles everything, when there’s something going on, a to fruition. Hockey in Vancouver will never be the same without captain, you can always look to him, and gets everyone on the same Botchford, and the fact I’m even writing this article today is a testament to page. Leadership is something I don’t think is talked about that much the faith Jason put in me, and the support he gave me over the years. around the league, at least I don’t hear about it too much, but to have it, I honestly could not think of a better way to do a tribute to Botch then it’s such a big thing. It’s huge in the locker room.” what this project entails. I’ve always said that if Botch saw the passion for That is one deep deep pull. writing in you, he would move mountains to make sure you had a chance to try your hand at it. It didn’t matter who you were, if you reached out to Ron Sedlbauer played six seasons with Vancouver for those wondering. him, and you showed him your love of writing, he would give advice, and He was 6-foot-3 and 195 pounds, which when you do the size conversion more importantly, he would open doors for you. for the ’70s, made him approximately 8-foot-9 and 300 pounds. He wouldn’t just pull you along behind him, however. He would give you Eddie Lack, Unofficial Official Athletic Vancouver NHL Consultant a shot to see how much work ethic you had in you, and how far your passion could take you, which honestly was the best approach a mentor Much like early into last season with Matheson’s hit on Pettersson and could take. Endless people try their hand at writing only to give up after a the resulting concussion, there has been a lot of talk about retaliation to a month or two, and to Botch, that was cool, that was fine. He was always questionable hit on a star player in Vancouver. With Brock Boeser’s a huge proponent of following your passion, and if writing wasn’t it, move return date a mystery, once again we find ourselves discussing the on and find out what really fuels you. He just wanted you to do what you revenge side of the game. loved, because clearly he had found his calling in life and he knew what a Luckily this season we can reach out to former Canucks goaltender thrill that was to find what you were meant to do on this planet. Eddie Lack to give us his insight. He comes with the added bonus of But if writing was your drug of choice, he would give you a chance to sink “having played the game” which helps you win internet fights. I reached or swim. And if you swam? He’d be right there beside you, telling you out to the affable yet mouthy video gaming Swede and asked him to where to go. There is a reason he was considered a mentor to almost all break down the moments after a dirty hit on one of your teammates has the young writers who got into the game. taken place. I think that’s why it was also very important that this program involves “There are times when you don’t know what’s going on until after. The people writing an article. This isn’t a tour of Rogers Arena, this is an game is so fast, and you tend to focus on your own thing, or catch your assignment. And knowing Botch, he would have loved to have seen kids go out and do their dekes, bro. They aren’t just showing up and watching, they are actively participating and giving their writing career a huge opportunity, which is something Botch always provided to so many people.

The other aspect of this project I think is so very fitting is that it gives an air of legitimacy to aspiring writers. When I got into the business it was still very much in the mainstream media days, just on the cusp of the newspaper industry starting to really feel the budget cuts. This meant it was not a very welcoming environment for a young blogger, as you would often run into a wall of established veterans who were dealing with their own existential employment crises. They would often take it out on these young, cheaper paid, non established writers, seeing them as a reason why their jobs were in jeopardy. The “blogger in his basement” mentality was often used as a way to disparage young writers simply trying to get into the industry and there were days you just wanted to give up, as you were often made to feel like an unwanted outsider.

So imagine how much it meant to me when Botch not only said “Hey, you’re good at this,” but also said, “Hey, let’s see how far you can go in this business.” As Macho Man once sagely said, the cream rises to the top, and Botch lived by that motto. He wouldn’t hold you back, he’d help you and see what you could become. And again, for a young blogger (at the time) who felt had very little value about himself as a writer, I cannot even begin to tell you how much it mean to have this established rock star of a sports reporter tell me that I belonged here. I will never forget what that meant to me.

I will also never forget this. I’m not arrogant enough to think I’m the only one who could do this, as clearly Harman and Drance are doing a fantastic job. I also hope we see participants of this program rise to writing fame. But I just use this to show how much his support meant to me over the years, and how much importance I put on proudly carrying the Botch tradition. And how I am so happy that this program will have that same spirit flowing through it. I cannot wait to see the winners of this program in the press box so I can go over and say hi and tell them, “Hey, you belong here,” and, “Hey, let’s see how far you can go in this business.”

This is why my favourite compliments for The Athletties/The Provies were people saying that even if they weren’t in Vancouver, and were living abroad, reading Botch’s post game articles made them feel like they were back home, even if for a few minutes. Nothing was better then seeing people posting pictures of themselves reading The Athletties/Provies across the world, showcasing the strength of the community Botch so believed in and loved. We may fight, we may argue, but at the end of the day, we’re a hockey family.

And I want nothing more than to keep on doing what Botch loved to do, day in and day out, and that’s to celebrate this crazy community, it’s people, and the game of hockey.

Rest in peace Botch. We’re going to do our best to make you proud.

The Athletic LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154389 Vancouver Canucks “I keep saying that we have tough decisions, and I can’t really say anything more than that.”

The composition of the bottom six is more difficult to work through with Canucks 2019-20 season preview: Assessing the forwards confidence, but Green has taken an extended look at Josh Leivo and Loui Eriksson together in the preseason.

Leivo is quietly one of Vancouver’s better two-way options on the wing, By Thomas Drance and at this juncture it’s apparent that Eriksson, despite a summer of speculation and turmoil, isn’t going to end up on waivers. Sep 26, 2019 The fact is, also, that Eriksson has been among Vancouver’s 12 best

forwards throughout training camp and preseason action. As a group, the Canucks have a level of quality and depth up front that “You try to find some combos, get a look at them — how they look on the they’ve lacked in recent seasons. ice, how they look on paper,” Green said of taking an extended look at a That may be qualified optimism, but at least it isn’t unfounded. Leivo and Eriksson partnership this preseason. “That’s all part of it.

Elias Pettersson is another year older and wiser, Brock Boeser got “It’s not written down in stone yet, but there’s a reason why those guys signed, J.T. Miller and Micheal Ferland should add some bite on the have played a little bit together. Much like how Pettersson and Boeser wings and Bo Horvat finally has some quality linemates. have played together, there’s another guy I’ll throw on that line in a little bit and you can probably guess that.” Significant issues remain, however — particularly toward the bottom end of the club’s forward ranks. A handful of poor decisions have Best suited to a utility role at this juncture in his career, the Canucks are compounded over the years, saddling the Canucks with expensive, stuck with Eriksson for now and the best way to find value out of him is underperforming players to fill out the bottom six. as a defensive specialist on a camouflage line. In the event that all of the club’s forwards are healthy and ready to go for opening night, the betting “I like that we have some depth, we’ve added some skill to our group, but odds should favour the Canucks opening the season with a third line that also some heaviness,” Green summarized, addressing his impressions of features Eriksson, Leivo and Brandon Sutter. his club’s mix up front. Just as Leivo and Eriksson have been glued together, the club has taken With the opening of the 2019-20 Canucks season less than a week an extended look at a Jay Beagle and Tim Schaller partnership. Schaller away, we’ll launch our The Athletic Canucks preview series today with an and Beagle lined up together again on Wednesday night against the in-depth look at the club’s forwards. Ottawa Senators and will do so again on Thursday evening when Vancouver host the Arizona Coyotes in their final preseason contest. In the preseason, the Canucks have mostly showed their hand in regards Thursday’s contest will mark the fifth preseason game in seven to the probable first-choice composition of the top six. opportunities that Schaller and Beagle have played together. While contract status, illness and now concussion protocol have “Both those guys play a similar game,” Green said, while noting that the prevented Boeser, Ferland and Pettersson from having an opportunity to challenge for Beagle and Schaller is to spend more time in the offensive skate together for so much as a minute in preseason action, it’s clear that end of the rink when they’re on the ice. trio is Travis Green’s first-choice top line. “They’re not going to wow you with their skill, but they’re going to wow “I would have loved to have seen (Ferland) play more, much like Brock,” you with their work and their aggressiveness … They know how to play Green said. the game on both sides of the puck and defensively.” Currently in concussion protocol, Boeser’s status for the season opener “I think they like playing together and I think they all know where their next week against the Edmonton Oilers is in doubt as of the time of this bread is buttered.” writing. That could complicate some of Vancouver’s decision making, which we’ll come back to. There’s still some uncertainty regarding the right wing slot alongside Beagle and Schaller on the fourth line. Tyler Motte was thought to be the On the second line, Horvat and Miller have similarly been sown together leading contender to line up with Schaller and Beagle, but an upper-body throughout training camp and the preseason. We haven’t seen their injury sustained by Motte as he prepared for Wednesday night’s game fastball yet, but there have been genuine flashes of chemistry between may throw a wrench into those plans. Jake Virtanen will get a shot in that the two, particularly on the rush. spot on Thursday evening, but he’s underwhelmed throughout camp — Regardless, it’s apparent that Miller is an instant upgrade on the talent including at fitness testing, where he failed to meet unspecified goals and that Horvat had to work with last season. was dropped to the AHL group for the first day of camp.

Tanner Pearson would appear to have the inside track to line up “He’s just kind of been there,” summarized Green when asked about alongside Horvat and Miller when the puck drops on the 2019-20 season. Virtanen’s performance at camp on Thursday morning. Pearson went on an impressive nine-goals-in-19-games tear after the Several forwards remain on the Vancouver roster as we approach the trade deadline deal that brought him to Vancouver and did much of his final weekend before the 23-man roster comes into effect, including Tyler damage on Horvat’s wing. Graovac, Adam Gaudette and Zack MacEwen. Most of the focus in the “It’s hard to say what it was, but when two players click you definitely like Vancouver market of late has been on Gaudette, who has scored three it,” Green said of the chemistry that Pearson and Horvat found last goals in preseason action and looks to be stronger and faster than when season. he struggled to cope with the NHL game as a rookie.

“I think the fact that (Pearson) is a big body, heavier on pucks — much The Canucks have suggested that while they’re willing to make space for like Bo — Bo drives a lot of play for guys, and I think he opened up some a player should he force the club’s hand with a strong camp, they’d prefer space for (Pearson) last year. He’s got a good shot, he’s effective and he to be patient and give prospects additional American League time. It goes to the net hard. He’s a good hockey player.” seems unlikely that Gaudette has done enough to change that arithmetic.

With the first-choice top six relatively set, it seems notable that there’s no He has put himself in that conversation though, which is a tremendous apparent spot, as we’ve sketched it out, for Sven Baertschi. Baertschi accomplishment at this level regardless of the ultimate outcome. has dealt with head injuries in recent seasons, but he’s been a productive Perennially underrated middle-six forward Antoine Roussel is set to begin rate scorer in spurts when he’s healthy. Asked directly if he has a sense the season on some form of injured reserve but will work his way into the of where Baertschi fits into his forward group on Thursday, Green mix for a spot in the lineup on his return from knee surgery in mid- seemed relatively unsure himself. November (or thereabouts). Possessing a versatile skill set, Roussel can “Yes and no. It’ll shake itself out in the next couple of days, we’ll meet as fill in credibly in a second, third or fourth line capacity, depending on the a group, as a staff and with management. When you’re putting a lot of club’s needs. combinations together on paper, some of it is that we haven’t seen our guys play a whole lot with Brock and Ferland. Once Vancouver signed Boeser in mid-September at a reasonable short- With his combination of preternatural hockey awareness, unmatched term cap hit under $6 million, it diminished the degree of difficulty for hands, quickness and intelligence – the sky is the limit. Canucks management related to activating Roussel off injured reserve or LTIR and back onto the roster. Things can change – injuries happen, and All of that said, he remains a player just entering his peak years. And the the weekend prior to the 23-man roster deadline is often fertile ground for sophomore slump may be a cliché, but it’s a cliché because it’s bottom-of-the-roster player swaps or waiver claims – but with prudent happened so frequently in the annals of hockey history. cap management between now and Roussel’s convalescence, bringing Goaltenders, defences, opposition coaches – they build a book – the hard-nosed forward back onto the 23-man roster will most likely be particularly when it comes to potent offensive threats like Pettersson. straightforward when the time comes. Whenever Vancouver’s first-line centre steps on the ice going forward, Finally, all of this logic and reading of tea leaves can go out the window he’s going to see the meanest, toughest matchup pairings and checking in a hurry in the event of injury or trade. lines the hockey world has to offer. It’s going to be a challenge, but it’s The Boeser injury is a case in point. If Boeser isn’t able to begin the not one he’s likely to shy away from. season, that creates both a need and an opportunity for a skilled forward “They’re going to do their best to try and stop me and I’m going to do my on the ostensible top line. best to score and beat them,” Pettersson said of his approach in his Whether that means that Josh Leivo, who will play with Pettersson and second season. Ferland on Thursday night, gets a look on the first line and creates a “It’s exciting. It’s a battle.” space for Baertschi further down the lineup, or whether Nikolay Goldobin – whom Green described as having a “quiet training camp” on “He wants that pressure,” Green said. “He wants to be a great player. He Wednesday – gets a reprieve from waivers and possible reassignment as puts the work in.” a result remains to be seen; this is a fluid situation in the days ahead. A number of factors have prevented Boeser, Pettersson and Ferland Additionally, the injury to defenceman Oscar Fantenberg could give the from sharing the ice together during preseason action. club flexibility to go into the season with an additional forward – delaying If the Canucks hope to crawl over the other aspirants and into the some of the difficult choices facing the Canucks in regards to their Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 2015, they’re going to need forwards into mid-October. that trio to click. And it’s inconvenient, to say the least, that the three If the Canucks are going to make the postseason, or even challenge for a have had literally no preseason time to get dialled into one another’s spot later into the season, Pettersson is the man who will lead them tendencies or find the rhythm that all great offensive lines have. there. We’ve seen what Pettersson and Boeser can do together – at evens and “Everyone talks about the people we’ve signed, but it’s our young guys on the power play. Ferland, though, can bring another dimension. we need improvement from if we want to go where we want to go,” Green In recent seasons, Ferland has become something of a specialized told The Athletic prior to training camp. “Those players still have a long digger on skilled lines. way to go.” In the cap era these are important pieces. They’re the less-skilled, less Green didn’t name-check Pettersson directly, and obviously there’s a heralded top-six forwards who complement their elite linemates. core group that his logic applies to, but Pettersson is the straw that stirs the drink for the Canucks. The Sedin twins had Alex Burrows, Sidney Crosby had Chris Kunitz, Patrick Kane had Artem Anisimov, Auston Matthews has Zach Hyman, The club will go as far as he can take them. and on and on. Which is actually a reassuring thought for Canucks brass and coaches. Ferland has ridden shotgun in recent years with players like Sean That’s the sort of confidence they have in Pettersson as a player and as Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau in Calgary and with Sebastian Aho and a person. Teuvo Teravainen in Carolina. He hasn’t necessarily increased the rate “The thing, for me, with Pettersson: he’s been talked about a lot, I’ve at which those sorts of elite players drive play, and he has shown a talked about him a lot, but he’s competitive,” Green says. “He’s as dialled penchant for wearing down a bit as the season goes along in recent in as they come. I don’t worry about him.” years.

Pettersson was a lightning bolt in Vancouver in his rookie season, but Nonetheless, Ferland has had enormous success in this type of role. despite taking home rookie of the year honours, he wasn’t satisfied with Perhaps more importantly, he relishes it. his performance in his first year – particularly in the latter half of the “With the skill set I bring to the table, I don’t mind letting (Pettersson) season. have the puck. He’s a good player – let him (create),” Ferland said during “My last third of the season wasn’t as good as I wanted,” Pettersson told Canucks training camp. The Athletic ahead of camp. “I didn’t play my best hockey and I want to “I don’t mind being in front of the net battling with the D, taking the guy to play my best hockey every game.” the net with me. I don’t mind going hard into the corners, battling with It speaks volumes about a player when they still expect more from guys to get pucks out. themselves – even after putting together the kind of rookie season that “The skill set I bring can complement guys — it brings an element to a warranted a major NHL award and captured the imagination of a line that needs some help getting pucks, or needs a bigger guy to help voracious hockey market. out.” In this case, though, the numbers are actually pretty stark. With a north-south player like Ferland in the mix, the Canucks hope that After leading the Canucks with a sky-high 1.2 goals per hour and 2.95 a dash of simple can help the burgeoning partnership between two points per hour rate at evens through 51 games, Pettersson didn’t score special players in Boeser and Pettersson transform into something truly another 5-on-5 goal in his last 20 games — from Feb. 25 on. His share of elite. shot attempts and total shots dropped, as did his personal shot rate. His It’s been a while since Horvat had a set running mate, much less a set personal shooting percentage dipped from 19.4 percent to zero and his pair of wingers. on-ice shooting percentage dropped from 11.14 to 6.5 percent. Even as Horvat emerged as a bona fide two-way ace in his fifth NHL Whether it was regression, the rookie wall or a player who hadn’t gone season, the carousel of wingers who spun through his flanks was through the grind of an 82-game NHL season simply running out of gas, dizzying — both by quantity and lack of quality. Pettersson’s last 20 games were a shadow of his lights-out dominance in his first 50 NHL games. By year’s end, Horvat spent at least 100 5-on-5 minutes with 11 different wingers and spent at least 10 minutes with 30 different line combinations. The thing with having a high-end hockey brain like Pettersson does is that he’ll learn. He’ll learn how to pace himself and how to take care of All of that is just context for why the 2018-19 campaign was Horvat’s his body for the grind of March hockey. most impressive NHL season to date. For a second consecutive preseason game on Wednesday night, Horvat “It’s a challenge,” Sutter said of being deployed in that sort of matchup centred Pearson and Miller – a trio that will surely open the season as role. “You need (linemates) that are willing to do it, because it’s not Vancouver’s second line. It’s a group that brings an enticing combination always pretty. You play some games against top players where you of speed, competitiveness and skill. At the very least, it’s a line that spend pretty much the whole game in the defensive zone, where pretty provides Horvat with significantly superior weapons to work with than any much every time you get on the ice you’re starting in your own end. It’s he was given last season. hard to create offence that way.”

“They’re just three (big) guys that play hockey,” Green said. “And they A healthy, productive Sutter could be a key upgrade here, but from a play it in straight lines. They’re a handful down low, they’re strong on the probability standpoint, there remains significant reason for scepticism. puck, they put their head down and work. Until Vancouver can significantly upgrade their bottom six, the rest of the “It’s a line we could see to start the year … You need bigger bodies that roster will face limited margin for error. can play the game to win in this league. I think all three of those guys can.”

Horvat and Miller have shown flashes of emerging chemistry in the The Athletic LOADED: 09.27.2019 preseason, but the chemistry between Pearson and Horvat is more interesting. The two managed to combine often following Pearson’s acquisition from the Pittsburgh Penguins in late February last season and outscored the opposition at a promising clip in 167 minutes together at even strength.

“Pearson is a smart player, a good player,” Horvat said. “He works hard, he’s fast and we kind of clicked as soon as we got put together last year.”

“He’s the type of guy that takes care of his own end first and goes from there,” added Pearson of playing with Horvat. “He’s always in good position down low and always available for a winger. It’s pretty easy to get him the puck and once that happens, going north is pretty easy.”

While Pearson and Horvat had some success together, the underlying numbers were relatively soft overall and Pearson’s goal-scoring binge was largely driven by a personal shooting percentage well north of 20 percent at even strength. It seems probable that there was a fair bit of puck luck driving their success, not that it’s a concern for either player.

“You have to get opportunities in order to score, but you also need to have some luck on your side — no matter who you are,” Horvat says. “Hopefully we can keep it going, maybe even get a lot of luck this year.”

The Canucks will take whatever luck they can get. Every team needs it in a cruel league like the NHL.

With a player of Miller’s all-around calibre on the other wing, though, Vancouver’s second line should require significantly less of it.

When you bring in players like Ferland and Miller, it helps push pieces like Goldobin, Leivo, Eriksson and others further down the lineup where they might be more effective.

Still, it remains to be seen whether Vancouver’s bottom six group has improved enough to offset the significant issues the club ran into with their bottom six last season.

In an excellent piece in late May, Harman Dayal posted the following graph, a useful visualization of how teams fared by goal differential when their bottom six forwards were on the ice. Vancouver was in its own stratosphere when it came to being outscored with their bottom six forward group on the ice:

He captioned it as follows:

“What may surprise you is just how far behind Vancouver lags. When the Canucks’ top two centres in Horvat and Elias Pettersson weren’t on the ice, Vancouver’s bottom six was outscored by just shy of an entire goal for every 60 minutes they played, the worst rate in the league.”

If Sutter can stay healthy — a big if, considering that durability is a skill that doesn’t tend to improve as players age — that could genuinely help.

Even so, it seems likely that the Canucks’ bottom-six forward group will be in the bottom third of the league by overall effectiveness. And closer to the very bottom of the league by overall value.

There are ways that Green and the Canucks coaching staff can work around this to some extent, but there’s no mistaking that forward depth looks like the club’s most glaring Achilles’ heel headed into the season. If the club gets good goaltending and great special teams play, that can help offset any losses sustained in bottom six minutes. A deeper defence corps could similarly tilt things a bit further in Vancouver’s favour.

And, if a possible Sutter line is able to handle tougher matchups without being too bruised and beaten, that could free up one of the Horvat or Pettersson lines to feast against secondary competition – particularly in Canucks home games. 1154390 Vancouver Canucks Perhaps it’s that I still had hair back then. I’d successfully pitched a story to the Vancouver Province about a couple

of Chicago Wolves players who might conceivably factor into the How the Canucks will honour Jason Botchford in a unique way this Vancouver Canucks’ postseason plans once the salary cap and 23-man season roster limit lifted in the playoffs. I’d covered some junior games, but this was going to be my first time in a professional dressing room.

On a lark, I figured I’d shoot an e-mail to Jason. He and I had interacted By Thomas Drance occasionally on Twitter, and he’d plugged my work here and there, but I’d never written him directly. Sep 26, 2019 So I sent him a note, told him what I was writing, and asked if he had any

tips. It isn’t easy to mentor legions of young writers, but if it was ever difficult “Oh, so I missed a great angle,” he replied. “Wow.” for Jason Botchford, if it took any work at all, those seams never showed. It was a kindness, of course. It seemed to come naturally to him, and it seemed that way because it was genuine. Jason complimented the angle, noting that he’d just talked to the player I was planning to speak with and hadn’t considered the line of questioning Jason enjoyed supporting up-and-coming young writers, in part, I think, I was planning to pursue. I’m certain he had, but it was a nice way to go because he enjoyed participating in the conversation around the team he about building a young journalist’s confidence. covered. If you were contributing to that conversation in a meaningful way — whether you had a good tweet on game night, or were aspiring to Jason had a gift for this. build your name in sports media — Jason had time for you and a kind word. “Damn you,” he wrote.

Or an unkind word if he disagreed with you. That was all part of the fun, He then went into detail. He opened up and gave me his tips for working too. a dressing room.

Jason’s generosity to a younger generation was perhaps unseen by his In the interest of paying forward the mentorship Jason so generously readers and his media peers, but it was marked and significant. James granted me all those years ago, his e-mail is presented in full, with only Mirtle recapped it at length after Jason passed away this past spring. players names redacted:

The Vancouver Canucks — an organization that was so often the target “First, have a nice list of topics/questions ready. You never know when of his unvarnished, colourful criticism — were touched by it too. you’ll be (REDACTED) — you have to have back up. You never want to be at a loss for words, especially early. There’s time to save any intervu In Jason’s honour, the club will be carving the Botchford Vancouver even if it starts out with one-word brick walls. Millionaires “V” logo designed by Chris Conte into the desk located at Seat 65 in the Rogers Arena press box. It’s the seat that Jason occupied Be real. Talk to them like you would talk to me at a bar. Don’t be formal. on home game days — often working on his Provies or Athletties into the Your goal is conversation. I try to sit down with them on the bench. But wee hours of the morning. that move is by feel, and can be hard to execute.

The Botchford V engraving at Seat 65 will be ready for the home opener, I’ve sat down before and the guy is still standing. Awkward. according to the Canucks. Helps if there’s a scrum and you wait it out. “I’m really proud to have anything to do with how people will remember Have several different ways to ask the same question. Don’t be afraid to Botch,” Conte told The Athletic. “He was my favourite local sportswriter, go back to a question even if you’ve moved on in the interview. I usually and to have something I designed used to remember him — it’s a real cycle back a couple of times. honour.” If you get a good quote, something that makes you say ‘holy shit, I can’t (Courtesy Jeff Vinnick/Vancouver Canucks) believe he said that’ — marinate it. Keep him on that topic. Flush it out. It The cornerstone of the club’s efforts to memorialize Vancouver’s can get better. preeminent hockey journalist is The Botchford Project, a media Bring a little butter. ‘Hey Higgins, I never really appreciated how good mentorship program the Canucks launched on Thursday, and that The you were along the wall until I started watching you every game’ Athletic has committed to sponsoring in its inaugural season. If you’re coming with the hammer, couch it. ‘People say this’ is an easy It’s going to take an army to replace the kind of impact Jason had on the out.” next generation of young journalists in Vancouver. With that advice in hand, a lengthy correspondence between Jason and This program recognizes that. me flourished from that point until the week of his death. And Jason It attempts to formalize and recreate the kind of “in” that Jason gave so became a mentor for me, too. many young journalists in the Vancouver market, including The Athletic The tools that Jason shared with me were the same ones he used to contributors Wyatt Arndt and Harman Dayal. stand out in a crowded, cacophonous Vancouver sports market. Under the umbrella of this program, a variety of Vancouver sports media They were the tools he used to get completely unique material out of the personalities, affiliated with a variety of different outlets, will cooperate room, during both a golden era for Canucks hockey and particularly with the Canucks communications department to help mentor a selection during the lean years of the club’s most recent rebuild. of aspiring journalists. The fellows will be chosen from among those who apply online, with a focus on identifying, supporting and credentialing “He was an awesome reporter,” Elias Pettersson said. “Obviously he emerging voices. always said good things about me.

The plan is for the Canucks to curate a shortlist of entries, and the “He was so interested in small details. Like what curve I use, how I shoot, Botchford family will select the participants directly. These fellows will be what I (think) when I’m shooting. paid for their work and will have their stories published at Canucks.com/BotchfordProject. “I’ve never had a reporter that was so interested in things like that — it was cool. He was such a cool person and it’s tragic what happened. It’s a fitting tribute to a man who meant so much to so many young journalists, myself included. “He was easy to talk to, and he was a great guy.”

On a personal note, and in the spirit of this program, when I think of The Botchford Project is designed so that members of the Vancouver Jason’s impact on my career, I think back to March 2012. It wasn’t that media pool can work together to help arm the successful applicants with long ago, and yet it feels like a lifetime has passed since. valuable experience as they move forward in the sports media business. Perhaps among the pool of writers selected this season and in future seasons there exists the next great Vancouver hockey writer.

The Athletic LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154391 Websites I did turn down jobs that were really interesting to me and pained me to say no to. But it’s OK. It’s all about the timing. This one, to me, is a really great fit.

The Athletic / ‘There’s a very inclusive energy’: Hall of Famer Cammi You’ve had so many firsts in your career. What do you think your hire will Granato explains her scouting role with Seattle’s NHL team mean for the future?

In thinking about it, our generation of players has had to be the trailblazers because we were the first, the pioneers. We never really got By Lisa Dillman that when we were playing. We really didn’t understand the magnitude of it until we got a little older. We did make history being the first women in Sep 26, 2019 the Olympics. It just seems like it keeps going. There’s a lot of firsts. I’m honored.

September was a month of barriers breaking in hockey. I’m hoping it brings discussion about opportunities for women to be in this role. I think women are qualified but they weren’t necessarily interviewed Four women officiated at various NHL prospects tournaments. Newly or people thought of hiring them in the past. Now you’re just seeing it listed on the Anaheim Ducks’ organizational staff directory is Gabriella everywhere in sports. Switaj, an amateur scout and team services analyst. And in other walks of life but sports especially. It’s not because they’re Now the Ducks have had a female scouting coordinator – Angela trying to reach a quota. It’s because women that are qualified are being Gorgone in the 1990s – and she participated in scouting meetings and hired now, or being considered now. Which is refreshing. offered assessments but didn’t get out on the road to scout. Jack Ferreira, who was Anaheim’s first GM, said there was also a female who What will be your areas of responsibility? scouted the Quebec junior league in the early days of the franchise. I’ll be scouting NHL games in the West. There will be three of us looking But Switaj is the first female amateur scout for the Ducks in recent at the West and there’s another three or four in the East. Right now, it’s history, more precisely, in the salary cap era. She played at goal for the preparation for the (2021) expansion draft. Just projecting what their Boston College team that reached the NCAA Frozen Four in 2015, 2016 performance will be then or analyzing players right now to see who is a fit and 2017 and was the first female Brendan Burke Intern for USA Hockey. and who will potentially be available, just coming up with a plan. I’ll be going to the games in Vancouver and scouting from there. On Wednesday, NHL Seattle announced it had hired five pro scouts, including Hockey Hall of Famer Cammi Granato. The league’s next We had a conference call today as a group. It just seems as though there expansion team, which will begin play in 2021-22, said Granato is the is a really positive energy. I think we’ll be able to lean on each other and NHL’s lone female in that role. respect each other’s decisions and work together on getting the right formula for the expansion drafts. Now Granato, 48, is used to blazing trails, having done so on the ice with Team USA , which won the first Olympic gold medal in women’s hockey Did you always keep watching games with the certain analytical mindset in Nagano, Japan, in 1998. Granato played in nine – yes, nine – World even after your playing days were over? Championships and made more history in 2010 when, along with Angela As a player, you automatically do that. Your eye might go to a specific James, she became the first women inducted to the Hockey Hall of player. The way I played, I always gravitated to those kind of players that Fame. played a similar style I did. Around the dinner table with my brothers, or Additionally, Granato remains the first and only female broadcaster for the dinner table with Ray, analyzing players or talking about their the Los Angeles Kings, having worked in the booth as a radio color potential or just their skill, is really fun commentator in the 1998-99 season alongside another Hall of Famer, I’ve done that for years and years. It’s just been fun to talk hockey. It’s play-by-play man Nick Nickson. normal talk in our house. It was like that growing up, and with Ray now. Granato took time to chat with The Athletic, from her home in Vancouver, Ray and I will often banter back and forth about specific players and in between receiving congratulatory phone calls and managing the active sometimes make bets and see how it’s going to work out. schedules of her soccer-playing sons, Riley, 12, and Reese, 9. It’s natural for me because I do love watching the game from that “They both really love soccer, so we’re absorbed in that world as well,” perspective. There will be challenges in learning … filing reports at the she said. “It’s interesting. The team game is very similar in some ways. beginning and just figuring out how you get all that information in one You learn a whole new jargon.” game. Her husband, Ray Ferraro, a former NHLer, is a highly regarded Now I’m curious: Who wins more of the bets, you or Ray? broadcaster, working for TSN in Canada. Brothers Tony and Don are hockey lifers, with Tony coaching at the University of Wisconsin and Don We actually agree on a lot of players. But when we don’t agree, we an assistant with the Buffalo Sabres. usually make a bet. There’s nothing more satisfying than when I beat him. When I’m right. I’m sure it’s the same way when he’s right. Note: This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. I often remind him of players that I’ve gotten right. We just have a lot of How long has this been in the works? fun with it. We’ll have even more debates now because we have another The Seattle opportunity was relatively recent, in the last couple of level. months. I had my eye on how I could be a part of the organization. But Did you overlap with Tim Leiweke (then the Kings’ president) when you (Seattle GM) Ron Francis reached out to me and asked, and I was just were with the Kings? thrilled to be involved. Tim hired me. He gave me the opportunity when only one other woman I always knew I wanted to get back in the game, and I had opportunities (Sherry Ross of the New Jersey Devils) had done it. I always am thankful in the past that just didn’t work for me. I wanted to do it but it didn’t work for the opportunity he gave me. for me, family-wise. Ray is gone a lot. So it wasn’t appropriate for me to do the same. Tim said when I interviewed him in April that Seattle could be the greatest story – ever. What made the difference this time? (Note: Tim Leiweke is the co-founder of Oak View Group, and his The right fit hadn’t come along and this one, honestly, felt so right, and younger brother Tod is the president and CEO of NHL Seattle, and Oak was the perfect way to be at home and still be in the game at the same View is the developer of the KeyArena renovation project.) time. The organization is full of first-class people. You can see that already. He will be determined to do that. That’s the ‘Leiweke Way.’ I can’t imagine Tod is any different. With the hires he has made and how he’s There’s a very inclusive energy. Not just inclusive but positive. The city is conducting everything so far, it’s very impressive. excited. The arena is going to be incredible. There’s just so many great things that are going to be happening. I’m really proud to be a part of this organization already. We haven’t even really started to get into the thick of things.

The Athletic LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154392 Websites LD Karl Alzner and RW Dale Weise both cost far too much to be legitimate waiver claim options.

C Patrick Brown is 27 but got an odd contract from Vegas this summer: a The Athletic / The Most Interesting Men on the Waiver Wire: Sept. 26, two-year deal that turns into a one-way contract only in its second year. 2019 That should scare teams away, despite a serviceable eight-game run with Carolina in the playoffs last spring.

C Brendan Gaunce was a Canucks first-rounder in 2012, picked on the By Jonathan Willis strength of his well-rounded game and despite concerns he wouldn’t generate offence at the highest levels due to skating issues. He’s now 25 Sep 26, 2019 and on a two-way deal with the Bruins after Vancouver failed to qualify him. He has a shot at a career in a depth role but would be helped in that aim if he could score more in the AHL. Two kinds of players tend to attract a lot of attention when they land on waivers: prospects on the cusp of regular duty and full-time NHLers who RD Jani Hakanpaa is on a one-way deal and was expected to crack the for whatever reason haven’t made the cut this time around. As a rule, the Ducks’ blueline this season but has struggled in exhibition play. The 27- prospects are a better bet, but occasionally a useful veteran year-old had a couple of years earlier in his career as a St. Louis underperforms in a camp environment despite having plenty of mileage farmhand, but was hoping to use an 11-goal season in Finland as a left. springboard to full-time NHL work.

In a salary cap world, contract is often the obstacle, as it will be for Karl LW Andreas Martinsen was a regular for the rebuilding Avs for a couple Alzner and Dale Weise, both placed on waivers this morning by Montreal. of years but never generated enough offensively to make himself secure Given their prohibitive cap hits, neither stands much chance of being in the majors. He had just three goals in 38 minor-league games last year picked up. For two others, though, the money is reasonable enough that and should clear waivers handily. it becomes a possibility. These guys hit waivers regularly, but LD Xavier Ouellet, 26, is cheap and RD Alexander Petrovic, Bruins a perfectly competent No. 7/8 defenceman. Of note is the fact that he had the most productive AHL season of his career after being demoted It has been a rapid descent for Petrovic, currently on a one-year, two-way last year. In 160 career NHL games, mostly with unremarkable teams, contract which pays the league minimum when he’s in the majors. He he’s basically break-even by on-ice goal differential and a little better was on Florida’s protected list for the 2017 expansion draft, part of an than that by the shot metrics. infamous gamble which allowed the Golden Knights to come away with both Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith. As recently as last Any idea who the best scorer on last year’s AHL champions was? None December, the Panthers were able to extract a third-round pick from other than C Andrew Poturalski, now on a two-way deal which Edmonton for his services. guarantees him $425,000 with the Ducks even if he never leaves the minors. He led Charlotte in regular and postseason scoring, and as It’s fair to ask if at this point the market hasn’t overcorrected. Petrovic is Corey Pronman notes has exceptional offensive gifts which might be only 27, and although his time with the Oilers did him no favours he was enough to overcome his average speed and defensive play. also caught in a bad situation and struggling with injury. Over three prior seasons, he was perfectly average by his on-ice shot metrics and LW John Quenneville is another one of those players on a two-year deal perfectly average in the NHL is a pretty good player by waiver wire that becomes a one-way contract only in its second season. It makes a standards. lot more sense for him than it does for Brown given that he’s just 23. Quenneville scored rather well in the minors last year and although he Even as the league moves increasingly to skill on the blueline, there is a hasn’t shown any offensive game in the majors he was a first-round pick place for defence-first rearguards like Petrovic. His difficulty finding a in 2014. A centre in junior, he has mostly played on the wing as a pro. home this summer and his subsequent appearance on the wire seems an overreaction to a minus-15 season, just as his appearance on LW Philip Varone played a career high 47 games in the NHL last season Florida’s protected list was an overreaction to his plus-17 performance in but the 28-year-old did little to suggest he’s more than a reasonable 2016-17. recall option.

In a league where teams always seem to need right-shot defencemen, Petrovic should have some appeal. The Athletic LOADED: 09.27.2019 C Matthew Peca, Canadiens

One summer ago, Peca was a hot commodity in free agency, with teams hoping that he might be for them what Marchessault had been for Florida: a dirt-cheap scorer who had been kept out of the NHL by Tampa Bay’s remarkable depth. Peca opted for a two-year, $1.3-million AAV deal with the Canadiens, a deal which will expire this summer.

It didn’t play out the way either party hoped. Peca struggled mightily at 5- on-5 as part of a largely ineffective fourth line. Of his 39 games, 21 were played in the season’s first two months, before he fell out of favour with the coaches. Outside of the penalty kill, where he excelled, it was a highly disappointing campaign and one that may suffice to get him through waivers unclaimed.

Nevertheless, there was all that interest just last summer, and he is a fast centre who can kill penalties, a skill set which every team seems to love in its end-of-roster players. It’s conceivable that some club weak down the middle might remember the ardour it had for him last summer and put a claim in.

There’s also the matter of that contract. A $1.3-million hit is reasonably small, and Peca’s actual salary ($1.2-million) is lower now that his signing bonus is paid. Teams though have increasingly pushed for depth players to be paid the league minimum or close to it, and at nearly double that amount Peca might be a hard fit for teams sitting near the cap’s upper limit.

In Brief 1154393 Websites depth. The popular theory is the Stanley Cup window is open about a millimeter for the Penguins’ marvelous core. Still, it’s worth noting that when Sullivan arrived early in the 2015-16 season, the Pens were a bit broken, too, and he fixed them. Can he do it again four years later? In a The Athletic / NHL Hot Seat: Who has to prove the critics wrong — or Metropolitan Division that is as wide open as at any time since the 2004- pay a big price? 05 lockout, it’s a bit too soon to close the window entirely.

Johnny Gaudreau, forward, Calgary Flames

By Scott Burnside This is a key season for all of the Flames after they went from being the top team in the Western Conference in the regular season to punching Sep 26, 2019 bags for the eighth-seeded Avalanche, who bounced the Flames in five games. Lots of folks weren’t very good for the Flames but watching Gaudreau’s frustration level soar as the series went along suggested a Who doesn’t love a hot seat? Even those players, coaches, managers, young talent that needs to take another step or two forward in terms of owners and executives whose seats are literally set to roast as the 2019- his maturation. My pal Eric Duhatschek just wrote a nice piece on 20 NHL season begins must, on some level, enjoy the often Gaudreau’s long-term future in Calgary, but at this stage of Gaudreau’s uncomfortable warmth that comes with such scrutiny. Why? Because it career – he just turned 26 – this campaign can’t just be about points, gives them a chance to prove doubters wrong, to prove they are special even though he had a career-best 99 last season and was a legitimate and can do the job. Hart Trophy option. No, this has to be about becoming a leader on a team that has the goods to be in the Stanley Cup hunt. In his past nine One of my favorite conversations of the Stanley Cup final was with Ryan playoff games in Calgary (2017 and 2019), Gaudreau has zero goals and O’Reilly of the soon to be Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues. When three assists. This is a really good team and Gaudreau needs to do more the Blues were rocked early in the season and had to fire head coach to make sure they make good on that promise, especially in a weak Mike Yeo, and then still stunk, O’Reilly admitted he wondered if he was Pacific Division. the problem, if he was somehow a cancer in the room. He ended up with a playoff MVP nod, a championship ring and a parade in southwestern Sergei Bobrovsky, goaltender, Florida Panthers Ontario. I wish I’d had the guts to make the Panthers my Eastern Conference So, hot seat? Yeah. Bring it on. Stanley Cup finalist pick. I didn’t. But they could be that good. Coach Joel Quenneville is going to get the most out of an underachieving defensive Here are a baker’s dozen feeling the heat. group, which will be helped by Anton Stralman’s arrival. And the forward Jon Cooper, coach, Tampa Bay Lightning corps, already dynamite, was bolstered with grit and experience in the form of Brett Connolly and Noel Acciari. But it won’t matter a hill of plastic This isn’t really about one single person but an entire organization under rats if new franchise netminder Bobrovsky can’t hold the fort in goal. A the glare. That’s life when you go from heavy Cup favorite with 62 regular year ago the Panthers ranked 29th in goals allowed per game even season wins to getting swept in the first round by eighth-seeded though they were top 10 in shots allowed per game. Bobrovsky was OK Columbus. The thing is that, from GM Julien BriseBois to head coach in Columbus but not great during the regular season with a .913 save Cooper to captain Steven Stamkos to Hart Trophy-winner Nikita percentage after turning in .921 and .931 the previous two seasons. But Kucherov to Vezina Trophy-winner Andrei Vasilevskiy to Norris Trophy he was outstanding in a first-round upset of Tampa and solid against finalist Victor Hedman, the true test of this team’s mettle won’t come until Boston in a tough second-round loss. The playoff performance was in next April. That’s a long time to wait for redemption, but it’s going to stark contrast to his previous tepid playoff outings in Columbus, and the reveal the true character of this team. That’s why this might turn out to be Panthers will follow the lead of Bobrovsky, who signed a monster seven- the most difficult coaching challenge of Cooper’s career, after he signed year, $70-million pact that makes him the second-highest paid netminder a multi-year extension a few weeks before his team got bounced from the in the game behind Carey Price (based on average annual cap hit). If postseason. How do you keep a star-studded team engaged until they Bobrovsky is as good as his Vezina Trophy pedigree suggests, the can start to prove naysayers wrong? “I’m not envious of his situation,” Panthers are going to push Tampa as the best team in Florida and one longtime coach and talent evaluator said. It won’t matter if Cooper’s indeed the Atlantic Division, and usher in a new era of hockey in South team wins 70 games (which they might). “The jury’s still going to be out Florida. Now all the 31-year-old has to do is follow the script. with him,” he said. Evgeny Kuznetsov, forward, Washington Capitals Phil Kessel, forward, Arizona Coyotes A year ago I penciled the skilled Washington center in as a Hart Trophy So much drama preceded Kessel’s trade to Arizona from Pittsburgh that hopeful. I knew coach Todd Reirden was hoping to integrate Kuznetsov it’s hard to know where to begin – his lack of production at 5-on-5 (he into more and more of the team’s prominent roles. Expectations were had 15 even strength goals last season, fourth on the team), his high. Maybe too high as it turns out as Kuznetsov slumped in production, defensive play, his battles with coach Mike Sullivan, did he ask for a was investigated by the team and the league after a questionable video trade or not. Suffice it to say there was a lot of stuff going on around surfaced in the spring, and then tested positive for cocaine at the World Kessel and the Penguins last season. Now reunited with Rick Tocchet, Championships. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman suspended who was instrumental to Kessel’s success in Pittsburgh when Tocchet Kuznetsov for three games to start the season not so much for using was an assistant, Kessel is once again squarely in the limelight where cocaine but presumably because Kuznetsov embarrassed himself, his he’s historically been least comfortable. The fact that Tocchet is now a team and the league in being less than forthright about his actions and head coach and not an assistant is also a different dynamic the two will his issues. Voluntarily entering the NHL/NHLPA’s Substance Abuse and have to sort through, and Kessel acknowledged that when he arrived in Behavioral Health program, Kuznetsov will face a lot of scrutiny this the desert. Still, a team that hasn’t been to the playoffs since 2012 and season. As Reirden put it, this is a career-defining moment. In spending now has new, hopefully stable, ownership for the first time in forever, is time with Kuznetsov over the years, I’m of the mind that he not only stays going to need Kessel to deliver the goods on and off the ice. If he does – on the straight and narrow off the ice, but his production will reflect that and that would mean replicating his point-a-game production of a year and he’ll be north of 80 points for a team that needs to rebound after ago, although not his minus-19 plus/minus – the Coyotes could be a being iced in the first round by Carolina one season after winning the surprise playoff squad. If not, it will go a long way to proving naysayers Stanley Cup. right about Kessel. Jim Benning, GM, Vancouver Canucks Mike Sullivan, coach Pittsburgh Penguins Remember the angst of Ottawa fans who spent all last season wondering Speaking of the Penguins and another coach who recently signed a which prime draft asset they sent to Colorado for Matt Duchene was contract extension, this coming season looms large for Sullivan. The going to escape them as part of that ill-advised trade? Jack Hughes? Penguins were humiliated in the first round of the playoffs by the New Kaapo Kakko? Turned out to be Bowen Byram, the top defenseman in a York Islanders, who swept a disinterested, discombobulated Penguins very good draft class. Ouch. Vancouver fans hope that next season they team. Now Kessel is gone, replaced ostensibly by Alex Galchenyuk, so if aren’t wondering the same as GM Jim Benning went all-in at the June there was indeed a power struggle, Sullivan emerged victorious. Still, draft by acquiring J.T. Miller from Tampa for, among other things, a first- Evgeni Malkin needs to be rehabilitated after a disappointing season, and round draft pick. If the Canucks miss the playoffs this season, the first- there are oodles of questions about the blue line and the goaltending round pick moves to 2021. If the Canucks miss the playoffs this year, and OK, really this is on Dave Tippett, of course, as the new head coach of let’s be honest there’s a pretty good chance that happens, what are the an Edmonton team that is determined to stop squandering the talent of chances Benning is around to sweat out the potentially lost lottery pick the most gifted player in the game, Connor McDavid, and emerging the following year? Benning is banking it doesn’t come to that after superstar Leon Draisaitl. But that squandering is bound to continue if the adding Tyler Myers and Jordie Benn to bolster the back end, and Micheal Oilers can’t figure out their blue line. There are lots of interesting pieces Ferland to help out upfront. Still, the pressure is squarely on the Canucks coming through the Oiler pipeline, including Evan Bouchard, Ethan Bear, to very quickly become a playoff team after falling nine points short last Joel Persson, William Lagesson and Caleb Jones (younger brother of season. Our guess is it’ll take 93 or 94 to get there this season, which Norris caliber Columbus defender Seth Jones). The problem – or is that means being at least 12 or 13 points better. Has Benning overplayed his challenge – for Playfair, who coaches the Edmonton defense, is that not hand? Will the pieces work? Maybe sophomore star Elias Pettersson, all of these players are ready to play in the NHL and the team has to ice bigger and stronger than he was in his debut season that saw him win six on any given night. Jones was sent to the AHL earlier than hoped the Calder Trophy, will simply drag everyone along into the postseason in during training camp. The top three of Darnell Nurse, Oscar Klefbom and a pretty mediocre Pacific Division. The reality is that the Canucks haven’t Adam Larsson are givens. But it is critical for Playfair to figure out how to won a playoff round since losing in the 2011 Cup final and have missed round out the rest of the top six in a manner that gives the Oilers a entirely in four straight seasons, so it seems like an awfully big jump back fighting shot at getting to the playoffs for just the second time since 2006 to the playoff tournament, which sets up some serious nail biting next without irreparably damaging the natural learning process for a good season. collection of future defensemen.

Samuel Girard, defense, Colorado Avalanche Miro Heiskanen, defense, Dallas Stars

The Avs are one of the sexy picks to take that next giant step forward The Stars came within one goal of a berth in the Western Conference and advance to a Stanley Cup final, and they have the goods, on paper, final, falling in Game 7 in double overtime to eventual Cup champion St. to take a run at their first championship since 2001. Maybe. Love this Louis. And they’re better this season with Joe Pavelski coming over and team assembled by Hall of Famer Joe Sakic. But the big move of the John Klingberg, who missed time with a hand injury last season, at full offseason was in moving Tyson Barrie to Toronto for Nazem Kadri. That strength from the get-go. I had Heiskanen third on my Calder Trophy move makes sense in theory given the Avs’ incredible young pool of ballot ahead of Rasmus Dahlen of Buffalo. Still, I was surprised to see talent on the blue line and need to balance out the scoring depth upfront. Heiskanen make a list of NHL Network’s top 20 defensemen. Let’s tamp But it pays off in real-time only if Samuel Girard is ready to take that next the brakes a bit here. The third-overall pick in the 2017 draft was a step forward in his development. He is the leader now of three young, minus-14, which leads us to his inclusion on this list. Folks are already dynamic, smooth-skating defenders that also includes Cale Makar and talking potential Norris Trophies down the road and the Stars are good Byram. But the developmental model all flows from Girard. He’s had the enough to win a Cup if Vezina Trophy finalist Ben Bishop stays healthy. luxury of playing behind Barrie, as witnessed by his 27 points in 82 Heiskanen is a huge part of that but he’ll need to navigate the difficult games last year – a full 32 points fewer than Barrie notched in four fewer sophomore season waters to make it happen. If he can continue his early games. Now, having inked a nice seven-year, $35-million deal, Girard is upward career arc, the good times will roll in Big D, but it does seem like the frontman and needs to produce to keep the pressure off Makar and a lot to ask of a young man who just turned 20, even if he does seem to Byram, and keep the Avs in the loop as potential Cup contenders. be utterly unfazed by all of this.

Mike Babcock, head coach, Toronto Maple Leafs Mark Stone, forward, Vegas Golden Knights

You’re familiar with the phrase “perception is reality.” Nowhere in the I’ll be completely transparent. In picking our Stanley Cup winner as part NHL is this more true than in Toronto. So the perception that Babcock, a of our preseason predictions at The Athletic, I have Vegas winning it all. world-class coach, is now in the soup has become the reality. The facts And since this is all about me, Stone, my preseason pick to win the Conn suggest there is good reason as the Leafs have been bounced in the first Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, better be good. Ha. Ha. Just kidding. But round three straight years, twice in a row in Game 7s where they this season looms large for Stone whose arrival in Vegas was marked by imploded against Boston. Young GM Kyle Dubas navigated a salary cap a musical troupe, showgirls, a knight in gold armor and the team’s minefield in signing William Nylander, Auston Matthews and Mitch mascot. He was good enough in the regular season with 11 points in 18 Marner. He added John Tavares and Barrie. It’s not a perfect lineup and games and then rolled up 12 points in seven games in the playoffs, as the cap issues won’t go away anytime soon. But it’s a team that has to be the Golden Knights bowed out to San Jose in controversial fashion in a better than one-and-done. And that starts with Babcock, whose curious seven-game affair. But having settled in with a talented group, Stone has coaching decisions in last spring’s loss to Boston, including overuse of the chance to take a step up to join the big boy ranks with McDavid, Patrick Marleau and underuse of Matthews, raised eyebrows. With Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, Patrice Bergeron, et al. It’s not just the Tampa, Boston, Toronto, Florida, Montreal and maybe Buffalo in the mix points but the potential to take over games at both ends of the ice and (sorry Detroit and Ottawa), even making the playoffs is no gimme, but the establish himself as the alpha dog on a team that at least one writer stakes are a lot higher for one of the NHL’s highest-profile coaches, thinks has the tools to go the distance. Oh, and at least one longtime especially given the number of new faces he has to integrate into his scout and executive. “Vegas is the one that would scare me,” he said of lineup. One longtime executive and player said he wonders where the Western Conference Cup contenders. “That’s a team I think is built to Leafs are headed in this pivotal year. “It’s really, really important,” he said win,” he added. “They’ve got some bullets there.” of the coming season. “I don’t think they’re better. I don’t think they’re a better team.”

Blake Wheeler, forward, Winnipeg Jets The Athletic LOADED: 09.27.2019

Now, I don’t have to cover Wheeler, the intense sometimes acidic captain of the Jets, every day, so it’s easy for me to say, but I love Wheeler’s intensity and bluntness. He was candid in talking about his relationship with the media and reports of internal strife with the Jets after they were bounced by St. Louis in the first round. And there are, or were, lots of big personalities in that room. Now with the blue line decimated and uncertainty continuing to surround the future of key defender Dustin Byfuglien, not to mention the ongoing absence of restricted free agents Kyle Connor and Patrik Laine, not to mention Laine’s blunt discussions of his place in Winnipeg from back home in Finland, well, let’s just say the captain will have a lot on his plate this year. Guess what? I think the Jets aren’t in as dire straits as many believe and that they may be the surprise team in the Central in spite of the distractions. I’m not alone. A longtime, much-decorated NHLer and team executive believes the Jets will get through this just fine. “Winnipeg’s going to be OK,” he said, “they’ve got enough good players.” What they’ll need in spades is leadership, and Wheeler can deliver that. He’d better.

Jim Playfair, assistant coach, Edmonton Oilers 1154394 Websites “Mooresy’s a good player for us. I don’t know whether we’re going to use him on the fourth or on the third, or where we’re going to use him, but I thought he was strong for us tonight,” Babcock said.

Sportsnet.ca / Babcock challenging Trevor Moore to move up in Maple “Everyone wants extra.” Leafs lineup Hmm… extra is synonymous with Moore.

“My confidence is higher that I can perform at this level and compete,” Luke Fox | @lukefoxjukebox Moore says.

September 26, 2019, 8:19 AM “Last year was about making a name for myself and enjoying it. This year is about taking that next step and becoming an important part of this team.”

TORONTO – Maybe it was the fact he was coming off the heaviest, most intense season of his life: 88 games, 56 points, four playoff rounds, two leagues, one dream come true. Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 09.27.2019

Maybe it was the glut of job-seeking wingers in the same boat as him: cheap ($775,000), versatile, and playing like nothing has been guaranteed.

Whatever the reason, Trevor Moore, 2018-19’s first man up, didn’t impress his head coach, Mike Babcock, “at all” through the first week of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ training camp.

That is, until Saturday night in Buffalo, when Moore scored an all-effort shorthanded goal, buzzed around like Sonic the Hedgehog on the Spezza-Gauthier line, and looked once again like the fearless kid who knocked Zdeno Chara on his keister during his NHL playoff debut in April.

“I welcomed him back after last game,” Babcock said with a grin.

“He’s kinda what I’m hoping [Leafs hopeful Dmytro] Timashov can be. They haven’t scored a lot at this level – I don’t know if they ever will – but they can penalty-kill, they can transport the puck, they can be heavy down low, they can get it back for the good players, they can play against really good players, they play with pace, and they seem to always be ready to go.

“So, if he can do that, he just improves himself and can move up the lineup.”

Earning a temporary promotion to Alexander Kerfoot’s third line, Moore potted his second goal of the pre-season Wednesday night in Toronto’s dominant 3-0 blanking of Montreal when he drove to the net and banged home a Rasmus Sandin rebound for the early winner.

The 24-year-old added an assist on a John Tavares strike and earned 14:31 in ice time, a notable bump from his 9:06 average during his 25- game big-league preview last winter.

“Anytime a guy like him comes off of finishing strong and being with us a lot in the second half last year only builds confidence,” Tavares said.

“Now getting rewarded and kinda finding his role, finding his rhythm and feeling more confident, you just see the effect he has in our lineup.”

Since Babcock’s arrival in Toronto, the coach could always count on two dependable worker bees to kill penalties and hound the puck. But now Connor Brown is playing a top-six role for Ontario’s other franchise and Zach Hyman’s ACL isn’t scheduled to be fully healed until November.

Moore, who was never drafted, doesn’t need to be told to jump through that window.

“It might be your best opportunity right out of the gate here,” Moore says. “The second you think your job is secure is the second it’s taken.”

So he’ll happily chase icings, throw his stocky body in front of point shots and kill penalties.

Timashov, whose two-way capabilities have quietly impressed the organization, openly looks up to Moore — a fellow 5-foot-10 left winger — as a guy who can help blaze his own trail to the bigs.

The 22-year-old Russian was given a tryout on the fourth line Wednesday, but Babcock remains noncommittal if that spot, ultimately, will belong to Moore.

A natural lefty who lit up the American League for 23 goals in 46 games, it’s not a stretch to see Moore filling in as high as the top six, should injury necessitate. 1154395 Websites time, and a player who can do some of the heavy lifting for Connor McDavid and Draisaitl.

Sheahan’s job? Sportsnet.ca / Five Oilers roster questions that will be answered in "To provide those guys with some relief," he said. "They’re going to have coming days games where they’re not on, or the other team is doing a good job of shutting them down. For us guys playing in the bottom six, you take pride in the role of helping them out. Providing the team with a good shift that Mark Spector | @sportsnetspec creates an icing call, so Dave (Tippett) can put out Connor and Leon for an offensive zone draw against a tired line." September 26, 2019, 10:52 AM Jurco, a Slovak, has played just 58 NHL games over the past three

seasons. He is nearly 27 and on a one-year, $750,000 deal, meaning he EDMONTON — Dave Tippett glided up next to the hopeful young either figures out how to help an NHL team pretty soon or makes a prospect on the practice ice, delivering a message that Ethan Bear was choice between an American Hockey League career and a return to likely well aware of. Two pre-season games remained, some cuts had Europe. been made and a key injury had left a job wide open for Bear. Burdasov, 26, is uber-intriguing: he’s big (six-foot-two), skates well and "Knock, knock," Dave Tippett told Bear. "Opportunity awaits." possesses a five-star wrist shot. But he’s never played a game in North America and is not even under contract to the Oilers, but skates here on Welcome to Phase 2 of a National Hockey League training camp, where a PTO. nine defencemen remain for seven spots, and two chief competitors for the right-shooting Bear have been either farmed out (Evan Bouchard) or Burdasov is a project. Jurco is known commodity. Coaches like injured (Joel Persson). experienced players like Jurco, but they also love a guy with the possibilities of Burdasov. Tonight, Bear finds himself on a pairing with veteran Oscar Klefbom in Winnipeg, and perhaps again Saturday night in Calgary, as Tippett tries Tippett will play Draisaitl at centre tonight in Winnipeg, and he’ll have a to put a defence together for Wednesday night’s season opener against look at how Burdasov interacts with a legit NHL star, with the speedy Vancouver. Play well with Klefbom and you make the team — it’s plain Nygard on the other side. and simple. "I want to see Nygard, I want to see Jurco, the big Russian (Burdasov)…" Persson injured his shoulder Tuesday against Arizona and will miss a Tippett said. "Some guys that will play with good players. It’s a big week to 10 days. Then, immediately after the game, the Oilers sent opportunity for some of those players." Bouchard to Bakersfield, opening a top-four spot on the right side of the Tippett isn’t shy about an opening night lineup that includes some Oilers blue line. inexperience. As long as those players show him some promise. In steps the third-year pro Bear, who is doing his best to keep the "I have no problem playing young players," Tippett said. "We’re just blinders on. This is the biggest opportunity of his NHL career, and looking for players who are good enough to make us a better team." although the dominoes are falling for him, he’d rather not talk about it right now.

"That’s happening," Bear allows, "but it’s not in my control. I focus on Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 09.27.2019 (tonight’s) game, and making sure I’m eating right tonight. I’m just making sure I give myself the best opportunity to play well."

It’s that time in camp when the battles gain some clarity as the numbers wane.

Joakim Nygard

Nygard, Persson and Gaetan Haas are three Europeans brought into camp by Ken Holland, none of whom have ever played an NHL game. Odds are, if one was to pan out that would be a victory. So far, however, Persson looks like he can play, and so does the speedy Nygard, who now has to transition his quick European game into a style that works over here.

"You’re here to fight for a job. I want to make the team," said the 26-year- old. A season ago the Oilers had a speedy winger in Tobias Rieder, who never figured out how to bring his speed off the perimeter and into the areas where goals are scored.

It is something Nygard will have to figure out as well, and he’ll do so on a line with Leon Draisaitl and right winger Anton Burdasov tonight.

"Yes, I do. You have to choose the times though," the Stockholm native said. "You have to keep your head up if you’re going to the middle. In Sweden, I am used to going to the middle. If you do it here, you can get hit pretty bad."

Riley Sheahan

Sheahan was one of the five one-year contracts that Holland signed for $1 million or less, trying to get through his first season as the Oilers’ new GM before getting some post-season relief from the cap hell that his predecessor Peter Chiarelli left behind.

He’s a fourth-line NHL centre, for sure. But can Sheahan regain enough of his game to serve as an effective 3C in Edmonton, the way he was two years ago behind Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin in Pittsburgh?

"It’s a role I’m comfortable in," said Sheahan, who gives Holland the steady faceoff man in his bottom six that Edmonton has lacked for some 1154396 Websites

Sportsnet.ca / Flames name Chris Snow to assistant general manager

Sportsnet Staff | @Sportsnet

September 26, 2019, 4:47 PM

The Calgary Flames have named Chris Snow assistant general manager, the team announced on Thursday.

The 38-year-old native of Melrose, Mass., has been with the Flames since 2011, starting his career as the team’s director of hockey analysis. According to the Flames, Snow “works closely with general manager Brad Treliving on all hockey-related matters with an emphasis on utilizing data to inform decision making across hockey operations.”

Prior to a career in the NHL, Snow worked as a sports reporter during which he covered the Minnesota Wild and Boston Red Sox. He joined the Wild as director of hockey operations in 2006, working with the team until 2010.

Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 09.27.2019 1154397 Websites ‘Give up and go away, or die’ The saddest aspect, if the Senators never get downtown, is that it all

came down to bad timing. Earlier in his ownership, Melnyk might have Sportsnet.ca / Hope not lost for Senators to move downtown, but it won't been able to pull this off. He certainly talked a good game about the need happen soon to move to a central location.

Decades earlier, before the Senators were even conceived as a franchise, co-founder Bruce Firestone had his eyes on LeBreton as the Wayne Scanlan perfect site for an NHL team. He once shared with me an interesting conversation he had with then-NCC chair Jean Pigott in 1987. Pigott died September 26, 2019, 11:07 AM in 2012.

Bruce Firestone: “Jean, what would you think about us building an NHL There was a time when the concept of a downtown arena for the Ottawa rink on NCC land at LeBreton?” Senators seemed as real as the two LRT stations recently built near Jean Pigott: “Bruce, do you want the public or private answer?” LeBreton Flats. BF: “Are they different?” Ah, the good old days. JP: “Yes.” At the moment, depending on one’s personal level of optimism, the idea of the Senators moving downtown from Kanata lies somewhere between BF: “What’s the private answer?” the foreseeable future and the Impossible Dream. JP: “No.” Best case scenario: The National Capital Commission, masters of this precious parcel of land west of Parliament Hill, keeps a portion of the site BF: “So, what’s the public answer?” set aside for a time when the Senators, perhaps under new JP: “We’ll agree to study it.” ownership/partnerships, are willing and able to build a downtown arena. And then Pigott added, “Bruce, we’ll study it until you give up and go Worst case: The Senators fatally missed their opportunity when the away, or you die, whichever comes first.” RendezVous LeBreton project fell apart last December and former partners Eugene Melnyk of the Senators and Trinity Development’s John OK, then. Ruddy filed a massive lawsuit and counter-suit against each other. A new arena had been the centrepiece for the proposed multi-billion project. That’s how it was with the old NCC, a stodgy old bureaucracy that left much of the LeBreton land vacant from the 1960s onward. It was the For now, while forging ahead with a different, less clear vision, the NCC Non-Committal-Commission. is keeping the door ajar for a potential hockey arena at some point down the road. How frustrating it must be for many hockey fans then, that the day the NCC finally invited an NHL team to develop an arena on its land the team “We’re very much open to the idea of a major events centre, should there declined the invitation. Some residents in the far west end and Ottawa be interest in the future,” NCC CEO Tobi Nussbaum said at last week’s Valley are quite OK with the hockey club remaining in its Kanata location, meeting, an update on the LeBreton file. “But it’s not a decision that though eventually the arena will have to be replaced. Driving to and from needs to be made in the short term. Fifty-five acres can’t be developed the arena, plus parking, are still problematic. There won’t be LRT to this overnight and that allows us to have some flexibility.” rink for many years, if ever.

When the NCC went back to the drawing board with the LeBreton One certain prediction: more twists and turns are on the way before the project, it also went back to the public, through online and in-person concept of a downtown NHL arena can be ruled out. consultations. More than 2,000 people participated via digital submissions and another 400 or so attended an event last June at the Canadian War Museum on LeBreton soil. Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 09.27.2019 According to the NCC’s assessment of these consultations — along with the suggestions of grand ideas and grassroots connections a majority of participants said that “a major event space, museum or public attraction (eg. arena, theatre or concert hall) would enhance LeBreton Flats.”

There was also mention of outdoor skating rinks, local shops, cafes, parks, affordable housing, attractive waterfront development and a child- friendly entertainment space. Respecting the wishes and input of Canada’s Indigenous Peoples is a large part of the project as the site is on what was historically Algonquin land.

How this all shakes out will come into clearer view in the upcoming plan being developed by the NCC with the help of Calgary-based company O2 Planning + Design.

What’s next?

In late October, the draft master plan will be presented to a review panel, ahead of further public consultation in November.

The status of the plan will be updated at the NCC’s meeting in late November and the completed Master Concept Plan for LeBreton is expected to be delivered to the NCC board in time for approval at its January meeting.

By the summer of 2020, the LeBreton concept will be presented to the city of Ottawa so it can amend the Official Plan.

Until such time as they are capable of being partners in a new arena venture, the Senators will continue to operate in Kanata, in a Canadian Tire Centre building that is coming up on its 24th birthday (January, 2020). Originally called The Palladium, the arena opened in January, 1996. 1154398 Websites The incident itself is serious enough in nature that Matthews is still facing legal action. Failing to share it with Dubas and president Brendan Shanahan was another error.

Sportsnet.ca / Matthews incident a reminder of responsibility of being a “I don’t think I have them in a power rankings,” said Dubas, when asked Maple Leaf which bothered him more. “They’re equally (bad), probably. No. 1 that there was a situation and No. 2 the way in which we found out. I think both are disappointing and will be addressed and will roll from there.

Chris Johnston “Obviously, you don’t ever like for there to be any situations and then when you do, I think you want to know about them as soon as possible.”

Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman talk to a lot of people around the hockey TORONTO — Kyle Dubas found out on Twitter. world, and then they tell listeners all about what they’ve heard and what Let that sink in a moment as you contemplate the ramifications of Auston they think about it. Matthews’s error in judgement this summer. No boss likes a surprise. It’s all out in the open now. That fact is multiplied roughly a million times over when your boss manages a very front-facing entity like the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Matthews expressed regret about causing a distraction for the team as it star of the operation has a run-in with the law. prepares for the start of the regular season. He also let down members of the front office, but the GM plans to rally around his player. That’s why Dubas didn’t hide his disappointment when speaking with reporters about the complaint for disorderly conduct Matthews received “I think with everything that happens, where someone doesn’t meet the in Scottsdale, Ariz., four months ago and only disclosed to the level of expectation that you have for them or (they have) for themselves, organization on Tuesday afternoon. it’s an opportunity for them to learn and to grow and that’s how we’ll approach it,” said Dubas. The general manager phoned his star centre as soon as that piece of news passed through his Twitter timeline.

“(He was) very honest about it,” Dubas said Wednesday night after Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 09.27.2019 watching Matthews score in a 3-0 exhibition win over the Montreal Canadiens.

“There was no ducking, there was no denying anything. He was very honest with me about what had happened, which was … I would have liked to have known before, but I’m happy that in the moment when he could have ducked away or deferred, that he was honest with me.”

The Leafs are still in fact-finding mode about what happened in the early hours of May 26. At the end of a drunken night with friends, Matthews is alleged to have dropped his pants —⁠ but not his underwear —⁠ in the direction of a female security guard after his group first tried to gain access to the security guard’s car.

Matthews was not arrested and said Wednesday that his legal team mapped out a plan for handling the case, acknowledging that he should have made the Leafs aware of what was going on as part of that process.

“You know what, I think that was just an error in judgement to be honest with you,” he said.

It’s not a good look for the team’s highest-paid player and presumed next captain. That is likely off the table now.

While Dubas doesn’t believe this will negatively affect his relationship with Matthews over the long term, he said they’ll need to have an honest conversation at some point. The incident will also be used internally as a reminder about the responsibility that comes with being associated with the Leafs.

“We have to find out what’s happened, what’s going on and then subsequently we have to use it as an opportunity to continue to educate our whole organization —⁠ every player, every staff member —⁠ about the way that we expect our organization to conduct its business,” said Dubas.

“Here at the rink every day, in the weight room, in the community and how they interact with every citizen that they come into contact with because when they are doing so they’re representing the Toronto Maple Leafs.”

It should be a learning opportunity for Matthews.

As special as his athletic gifts are, he’s not exempt from being 22. Everyone makes mistakes and the consequences tend to be even more punitive when you’re in a privileged position like his.

“I know he takes it seriously, what’s gone on,” said teammate John Tavares.

“It’s been hard,” Matthews acknowledged. “I feel I still got to go out there and do my job and try to block that out. As easy it is to say, it’s not (to do).”

At least two mistakes were ultimately made in this situation. 1154399 Websites The Maple Leafs don’t have to decide today or tomorrow about what this means to Matthews’ candidacy for captain. Maybe this will be an isolated incident. Maybe Matthews will be a model citizen from this day forward.

USA TODAY / Opinion: Auston Matthews' bad behavior shows he might But I’m guessing that within the organization, it now has been discussed not be ready for captaincy to instead name highly respected veteran John Tavares captain.

Kevin Allen, USA TODAY USA TODAY LOADED: 09.27.2019

Published 11:27 a.m. ET Sept. 26, 2019 | Updated 11:28 a.m. ET Sept. 26, 2019

Auston Matthews is facing disorderly conduct charges in Arizona, and the incident should be rattling the Toronto Maple Leafs’ training camp.

Once the Maple Leafs got Mitch Marner’s signature on a new contract this summer, they probably believed their turbulence was over. The focus could finally be on trying to win Toronto’s first Stanley Cup since 1967.

It’s never that easy.

Now, the talk in Toronto has to focus on whether the Maple Leafs should be reluctant to name superstar Matthews, 22, their next captain. That was the expected course of action until news broke that Matthews faces disorderly conduct charges from a May 26 incident.

According to the police report obtained by USA TODAY Sports, a security guard was doing paperwork in her locked car outside the condo building where Matthews lives, when she heard someone trying to open her door at 2 a.m.

The guard, who said the Matthews' group appeared intoxicated, told them she was a military veteran with severe post-traumatic stress disorder and that what they did wasn't funny, and they should leave.

One member of Matthews' group asked the guard not to report the incident. During that conversation, Matthews walked away.

"After he walked away some distance, Auston pulled his pants down, bent over and grabbed his butt cheeks," the report said.

The incident leaves us all shaking our head. This is a young man who played full-time in the Swiss League when he was 17.

But his alleged behavior in Scottdale reads like a testimony to his immaturity.

Matthews has been a feel-good story. He was raised in Arizona. His mother is Mexican-American. His grandparents still live in Mexico. I’ve interviewed his father multiple times. I’ve interviewed Matthews multiple times.

My experiences with him leave me more perplexed to how this young man could behave this inappropriately.

You can’t simply pass it off as a bad mix of youthfulness and alcohol. Drinking doesn’t relieve you of common decency. Matthews and his friends did not need to try to get in that car because he thought it would be funny. Then he did not need to pull his pants down.

Matthews is a smart young man. He understands what’s at stake. He knows this is a world where nothing goes unseen or unreported. Claiming it was a prank or a joke doesn’t exonerate you. We are all responsible for our behavior regardless of environment, circumstances or how much alcohol we consume.

Compounding this situation is the fact that the Maple Leafs didn’t know about this until it came up on social media this week. This happened almost four months ago.

His decision not to notify the Maple Leafs was also conduct unbecoming for a leader. This is not what you would expect from someone in line to be the Maple Leafs’ captain.

According to Toronto general manager Kyle Dubas, Matthews was honest with him once he was asked about the incident. But Dubas and the Leafs also are as disappointed that Matthews wasn't forthcoming immediately.

It’s impossible to know how much damage Matthews has done to his reputation. 1154400 Websites Barry Trotz behind the bench, the Islanders will always have a shot at having a playoff season. ...The Devils had one of the most impressive offseasons. They will be exciting and their offense could be dangerous. They traded for P.K. Subban, drafted No. 1 overall pick Jack Hughes and USA TODAY / NHL point projections: How we see the 2019-20 season signed KHL star Nikita Gusev and veteran Wayne Simmonds. unfolding Central Division

The Avalanche are a team on the rise. They are entertaining, exciting, Kevin Allen, USA TODAY dynamic and dangerous. Nathan MacKinnon is as dominant as Connor McDavid. Puck-moving defenseman Cale Makar will be a Calder Trophy Published 8:48 a.m. ET Sept. 26, 2019 | Updated 11:32 a.m. ET Sept. contender. ... Matt Duchene will upgrade the Predators' offense. This 26, 2019 team has the depth to overcome the loss of P.K. Subban. One key question: Why haven't the Predators resigned Roman Josi? He will be an unrestricted free agent next summer. ... The Stars went all-in with the Last season, the Carolina Hurricanes qualified for the NHL playoffs for signing of Joe Pavelski and Corey Perry. ... The Blues are the same the first time in a decade. They advanced to the Eastern Conference team we watched win the Stanley Cup last June. Two key questions: Will before exiting the postseason. Jordan Binnington have the same level of consistency as he had last season? Do the Blues have the same hunger? They may be a better We think the Arizona Coyotes or Florida Panthers could be this season’s playoff team than they are a regular-season team. ... The Jets are the Hurricanes. hardest read. They were supposed to take a major step last season but it Our projections have the Coyotes making the playoffs for the first time didn't happen. Why should we believe it will happen this season? If since 2012 and the Panthers qualifying for the third time in the past 19 Dustin Byfuglien retires, the Jets will feel it mightily. ... The Blackhawks seasons. could be a significant sleeper. With an upgraded defense (Olli Maatta and Calvin De Haan) and healthy goaltending, they can compete for a With the addition of Phil Kessel and Carl Soderberg, and a healthy Nick playoff spot. .... No one seems quite sure what's wrong with the Wild. Schmaltz back in the lineup, the Coyotes finally have enough offense to Now it's Bill Guerin's job to figure it out. The Stars still have some take the steps needed to qualify for the postseason. talented players.

Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky will be the difference for the Panthers, who Pacific Division should see improvement in all aspects of their game. Don’t forget that Aaron Ekblad is only 23 and Aleksander Barkov is 24. They are entering Even after losing Joe Pavelski to free agency, the Sharks have enough the primes of their career. talent and fire to win the division. ... The Flames are still as formidable as they were a season ago when they were the only Western Conference The other surprises we see: The Colorado Avalanche winning the team to win 50 games. The Golden Knights have the depth up front to anything-could-happen Central Division and the Hurricanes finishing score plenty of goals and Marc-Andre Fleury gives the team consistency second in the Metropolitan Division. in the net. The defense could use one more veteran ... A bounce-back Atlantic Division season from Clayton Keller will also help the Coyotes return to the playoffs. ... The Oilers' best offseason acquisition was GM Ken Holland. Forget about them being swept in the first round. The Lightning are still He will get this team pointed in the right direction. You will start to see his the league’s most talented team. Defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk will be a impact immediately. ... The Canucks are starting to look like a team that better fit for the Lightning than he was with the Rangers. The Lightning is only a couple of moves away from being back in playoff mode. Rookie have the depth to overcome his defensive shortcomings. Patrick Maroon Quinn Hughes will be fun to watch. ... The two Southern California teams gives the team more bite. …The Bruins and Maple Leafs are the next could both use a makeover. ... Is it time for the Kings to move Jonathan tier. Despite their offseason angst, the Maple Leafs might be a better Quick? It feels like the Ducks will take another step backward this team than they were last season. The addition of Cody Ceci and Tyson season, even though John Gibson is a quality goalie. Barrie give the defense a new look. The Bruins didn’t need to do anything in the offseason. They are a deep, hard-working team and Bruce Cassidy is an underrated coach. … Bobrovsky's arrival has given the Panthers USA TODAY LOADED: 09.27.2019 overflowing confidence. ... Don't overlook the Canadiens. They could finish anywhere from fifth to third. ... Bullish on the Sabres talent, but they still need a move or two to move into the second tier in this division. Are they going to trade Rasmus Ristolainen? … The Red Wings have a solid collection of young talent, but it’s not quite ready yet. The top line of Anthony Mantha, Dylan Larkin and Tyler Bertuzzi will be entertaining and productive. .... If the Senators finish anywhere but 31st, they will have performed better than expected.

Metropolitan Division

Every team in this division could make the playoffs and every team could miss it. That's how evenly matched this division is. Two seasons removed from winning the Stanley Cup, the Capitals are still the best. Defenseman Radko Gudas makes them harder to play against, but they might miss Matt Niskanen's all-around game. ... Some Penguins are worried the team has gone stale. But with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin leading the way, this is still a formidable group. ... Give Hurricanes GM Don Waddell credit for being aggressive, shaking up his defense with the addition of Jake Gardner and Joel Edmundson. The defense will still be strong, and the offense will be improved. ... The Rangers could be better than we think. They are emerging from their short-term rebuild mode with some hope of trying to make the playoffs this season. Jacob Trouba will solidify their defense and Artemi Panarin puts a charge into the offense. Kaapo Kakko might score 25-plus goals as a rookie. ... Don't overlook the Blue Jackets. They suffered offseason losses (Panarin, Bobrovsky and Matt Duchene), but still have a competitive team. ... The Flyers have some impressive young players. An exceptional season from young goalie Carter Hart is all that it would take to get them into the playoff hunt. ... The Islanders are the division's wild card. If goalie Robin Lehner hadn't left for the Blackhawks, we might have them projected second or third. will have to prove his value. But with 1154401 Websites

YAHOO SPORTS / OHL goaltender earns match penalty with vicious slash to opponent

Arun Srinivasan Yahoo Sports Canada

September 27, 2019

The 2019-20 Ontario Hockey League season is barely underway and it’s already getting somewhat barbaric.

During the second period of Thursday’s game between the Niagara IceDogs and Oshawa Generals, IceDogs goaltender Christian Sbaraglia lost his composure entirely, delivering a vicious slash to the head of Generals forward Daniel Michaud.

Sbaraglia was given a match penalty and game misconduct for his actions.

Here is the play in question, and you’re uneasy around violence, you may want to avoid watching it:

First goalie penalty of the year goes to Sbaraglia for... whatever this is.

Tucker Tynan replaced Sbaraglia, while the Generals scored on the ensuing man advantage to take a 2-1 lead.

No supplementary discipline has been announced yet, but it’s a certainty that the Canadian Hockey League will take a look at Sbaraglia’s violent act and weigh their decision accordingly.

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YAHOO SPORTS / Flyers' Nolan Patrick week-to-week with migraine disorder

Arun Srinivasan Yahoo Sports Canada

September 27, 2019

Philadelphia Flyers forward Nolan Patrick is week-to-week with a migraine disorder, the team’s general manager Chuck Fletcher revealed Thursday.

“After consultation with the Flyers' medical staff and with specialist Dr. Jeffrey Kutcher from the University of Michigan, forward Nolan Patrick has been diagnosed with migraine disorder. Patrick will not be going to Europe and we will provide additional information once the team returns. He will not be ready to start the season and is listed as week-to-week.”

Patrick posted 13 goals and 31 points in 72 games during the 2018-19 season. The 21-year-old is expected to be a key component of the Flyers’ long-term vision after being selected second overall in 2017.

The Flyers have yet to determine whether Patrick will be placed on injured reserve or long-term injured reserve.

"He's taking the medication now and we're hoping that settles down the migraines and gets him to feeling 100 percent from a health perspective," Fletcher said via NHL.com.

"After that, he's skated a bit but he's essentially missed all of training camp. He hasn't played games. He hasn't been in any battle drills. We're going to have to make sure we get him the conditioning work he needs.”

Patrick was projected to start the year on the third line with ample opportunity to work his way into the Flyers’ top-six rotation.

As it stands, the promising forward will be out for the foreseeable future while the team prepares for its season opener against the Chicago Blackhawks on Oct. 4.

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