SPORT-SCAN DAILY BRIEF NHL 7/7/2021 Edmonton Oilers 1190173 Rebuilding Ducks, Kings look to negotiate long road back 1190201 OILER NOTES: Skinner may be the goalie protected in expansion draft 1190174 Coyotes name former Avalanche executive Alan Hepple director of pro scouting 1190202 Visually Impaired Students Get Lessons In Life & Hockey 1190175 LeBrun: Why the Sabres and Coyotes went with Courtesy The Florida Panthers Foundation unheralded coach hires and what it says about their futures 1190203 Rebuilding Ducks, Kings look to negotiate long road back 1190204 Kings re-sign Christian Wolanin to one-year contract 1190176 Bruins lose some blue-line depth as Steven Kampfer departs for KHL Canadiens 1190177 Maybe the Canadiens had help from the hockey gods, and 1190205 Why didn’t MacLean ask Bettman about the Blackhawks? other observations from Game 4 of the Final 1190206 NHL’s top prospect leaning to stay at Michigan next 1190178 looking for new coach: joins season Seattle Kraken as assistant 1190207 Canadiens Notebook: Habs expected to stick with same 1190179 Jay Leach hired by Seattle Kraken lineup for Game 5 1190180 Bruins Lose Coaches In Boston And Providence 1190208 Canadiens at Lightning: Five things you should know about Game 5 1190209 Stu Cowan: Canadiens create lasting memories on wild 1190181 Sabres to meet with presumed No. 1 pick Owen Power as playoff ride draft prep intensifies 1190210 How the Canadiens could have avoided OT by just getting 1190182 LeBrun: Why the Sabres and Coyotes went with a whistle unheralded coach hires and what it says about their 1190211 What the Puck: Canadiens' Josh Anderson keeps hope futures alive with magic 1190212 Todd: Habs' playoff run comes down to the -kill, OT Blackhawks and a little soul 1190183 ’ ‘multi-system, multi-symptom’ illness 1190213 About Last Night: Habs stave off elimination with Game 4 explained by local health care professionals overtime win 1190214 Canadiens’ Stanley Cup Final appearance gives Jeff Petry and Dan Petry a championship-level bonding moment 1190184 “Too early to tell” on Grubauer talks 1190185 “I feel like it’s more the offender and not the offense” – Nazem Kadri on the hit that ended his season, and t 1190215 NHL Stanley Cup Final 2021: How to watch vs. | Schedule, TV info 1190216 NJ Devils re-sign Scott Wedgewood on a 1190186 Michael Arace: Blue Jackets goalie Matiss Kivlenieks one-year deal touched a lot of people in his brief life 1190217 NJ Devils owners replacing Trump Organization as 1190187 911 calls reveal details on fireworks incident that killed Wollman Rink operator Blue Jackets goalie Matiss Kivlenieks 1190188 911 calls reveal details on fireworks incident that killed NHL goalie Matiss Kivlenieks 1190218 What the Islanders’ offseason could look like: Trades, 1190189 Medical examiner: Blue Jackets goalie Matiss Kivlenieks veteran signings and the Kraken expansion draft was struck in chest by fireworks mortar 1190190 Blue Jackets planning Matiss Kivlenieks’ funeral as police investigate fireworks incident 1190219 With NHL draft approaching, Clarke and McTavish hope to become top-10 selections Dallas Stars 1190220 What’s Brady Tkachuk’s value? Could he be the target of 1190191 Matt’s Mail: Finding a contract that makes sense for Miro an offer sheet? Questions to ponder for Senators fans Heiskanen and the Stars 1190192 Stars’ past two offseasons provide a blueprint for approaching free agency: ‘It’s like a piece of pie’ 1190221 Flyers know they need more than just a top-pair defenseman 1190222 James van Riemsdyk deep dive: How he bounced back 1190193 What gives Detroit Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman and what it means for his value to the Flyers — or optimism about drafting gems in later rounds Kraken? 1190194 Matiss Kivlenieks' death illustrates one of three ways that fireworks can kill 1190195 NHL’s top prospect Owen Power leaning to stay at 1190223 Ex-Penguins forward Sergei Plotnikov signs with KHL's Michigan next season CSKA Moskow 1190196 Red Wings position breakdown: Goaltending in good 1190224 Penguins A to Z: Evgeni Malkin begins to show his age shape, but Bernier's free agency a question mark 1190225 Penguins Wrap: Did Pens Call on Seth Jones? Andersen 1190197 Matiss Kivlenieks was conscious when three 911 calls Wants Big MoneyP were placed; firework shell to chest killed him 1190198 Blue Jackets goalie Matiss Kivlenieks dies after being hit by fireworks mortar 1190226 Survey says: Sharks fans split on Doug Wilson, open to a 1190199 Red Wings hope new assistant coach Alex Tanguay can Tomas Hertl trade help players maximize offensive potential 1190200 Red Wings’ Dylan Larkin, Tyler Bertuzzi ‘headed in right direction’ in recoveries Seattle Kraken 1190227 Playoff performances by Canadiens and Lightning may give Kraken new NHL expansion draft options 1190228 Seattle Kraken hire McFarland, Leach as first assistant coaches 1190229 How the Kraken built out their coaching staff and what’s next for the group Tampa Bay Lightning 1190230 Ryan McDonagh a critical cog to Lightning’s postseason success 1190231 Lightning hope to clinch Stanley Cup on home ice 1190232 Lightning’s Mathieu Joseph making most of Stanley Cup opportunity 1190233 Lightning-Canadiens Game 4 report card: Missed opportunity 1190234 As long as you don’t believe in jinxes, the Lightning still have this handled 1190235 Lightning Stanley Cup notes: Why Ryan McDonagh has been team’s ‘best defenseman’ in playoff run Maple Leafs 1190236 ‘A certain brand of hockey’: How Ryan Hardy fits with and the Maple Leafs management team 1190237 Golden Knights survey results: Fans remain confident in front office, want a top-six forward 1190238 It’s a THIN LHD Market; Alec Martinez or these 3 Choices 1190239 Fleury & Lehner: A Cold Reality, VGK MUST Pick One– Here’s the Choice 1190240 Will the Capitals pursue adding a new goalie? Websites 1190242 The Athletic / ‘No topics off-limits’: Ron MacLean says it was his call not to ask Gary Bettman about Chicago 1190243 The Athletic / NHL Draft Confidential: Inside what scouts and executives really think about the top prospects 1190244 .ca / Canadiens dream big in eye of a storm: ‘We’re a bunch of crazy guys in here’ 1190245 Sportsnet.ca / Kucherov, Vasilevskiy just two of Lightning’s many Conn Smythe candidates 1190246 Sportsnet.ca / Jack Eichel trade destinations: Seven potential suitors for the star centre 1190247 TSN.CA / Examining the life of a max-term contract Winnipeg Jets 1190241 Jets ink Toninato SPORT-SCAN, INC. 941-284-4129 1190173 Anaheim Ducks “I’d say my three best attributes are hockey sense, skating and compete level,” Luke said Tuesday. “But the best part of my game is probably the exits and entries into the zones. I’m deceptive with the puck, and I can Rebuilding Ducks, Kings look to negotiate long road back defend on the rush, the net front and the cycle. And I can play in all situations.”

Hughes says he’s “super excited” about his commitment to Michigan. By MARK WHICKER | [email protected] | Daily News Obviously, the Ducks need help yesterday, if not earlier. They cry for an up-front scorer like Guenther. But Hughes and Drysdale could give them PUBLISHED: July 6, 2021 at 5:23 p.m. | UPDATED: July 7, 2021 at an extraordinarily skilled left-right defense pair for many years. Whether 12:50 a.m. the fans have that many years to invest isn’t so clear.

More likely, Seattle will burst into the NHL with the same approximate You might have missed the Ducks and Kings in the NHL playoffs, but force Vegas used to make the Final in 2018 and the road for the Kings they were there, just with different clothes. and Ducks will lengthen. When you start from nothing, there’s nothing to correct. Tyler Toffoli is still there with Montreal. He scored 28 goals this season. In the playoffs, he has five more, and 14 points. The Kings sent him to Vancouver for a package that included Tyler Madden, whom scouts like. Orange County Register: LOADED: 07.07.2021 Maybe he can even be Toffoli someday.

Erik Cernak is plus-12 on the blue line for Tampa Bay and has 10 points in 20 playoff games. He’s the defenseman the Kings gave the Lightning in that strange trade for goalie Ben Bishop.

Shea Theodore led Vegas with 22:33 of ice time this year and had an epic fake pass-and-shoot that highlighted a playoff victory over Montreal. A former first-round pick by the Ducks, he was the price they paid for making sure Vegas didn’t take Josh Manson in the expansion draft.

Alex Martinez was plus-26 for Vegas in the regular season and had four goals in the playoffs. The defenseman whose shots won the Western Conference finals and the Stanley Cup for the Kings in 2014 wound up in Sin Bin City after a shuffle of draft picks that essentially brought Lars Andersson to L.A.

William Karlson was plus-12 in the playoffs for the Knights and had 16 points in 19 games. Wild Bill was a Duck, but he went to Columbus in a trade deadline deal for James Wisniewski.

Corey Perry, the Ducks’ only Hart Trophy winner, has had four goals in the playoffs in his first season with the Canadiens. The Ducks bought him out and allowed him to chase championships, and he’s been in back-to- back Finals, with Dallas and Montreal. And guess what? He still controls the puck and pushes enemy buttons, to the that he got slugged by Tampa Bay goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy on Monday.

Kyle Palmieri produced seven goals for the Islanders in the postseason. The Ducks sent him to New Jersey for second- and third-round picks who dissipated, and Palmieri has never stopped making them regret it.

The playoffs once lived in southern California, quite comfortably. Now hockey season climaxes with the NHL draft, on July 23. That is when the Ducks and Kings, drafting third and eighth in the first round, try to buy the vowels that might unlock their puzzles.

With some exceptions, those “exes” in the playoffs are understandable casualties of the hard salary cap. But did the Ducks and Kings get enough, in terms of cap room or personnel, for the credible warriors they lost? Of course not, and if you could merely draft your way back to excellence, the Stanley Cup would be a citizen of Edmonton. In a six- year span beginning in 2010, the Oilers had four No. 1 overall picks.

The top teams draft, trade and develop, in no particular order. On Monday night the Lightning had Brayden Point, Nikita Kucherov, Alex Killorn, Anthony Cirelli, Ondrej Palat, Mathieu Joseph and Ross Colton in their lineup. They drafted all of them, but none in the first round, and Palat was a seventh-round pick.

The Kings have a raft of supremely talented kids and the Ducks have Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale, who looked seaworthy in their first NHL games.

In this murky draft, the Ducks should get a crack at defenseman Luke Hughes, center Mason McTavish or winger Dylan Guenther.

Luke knows all about Draft Day. Oldest brother Jack was the top overall pick, by New Jersey, in 2018, and Quinn was selected seventh overall by Vancouver the previous year. Luke is the biggest, at 6-foot-2. Like all the Hugheses, he knows hockey answers before he hears the questions. His dad Jim was a longtime coach in college and an NHL assistant, and formerly the player development director for the Maple Leafs. 1190174 Arizona Coyotes

Coyotes name former Avalanche executive Alan Hepple director of pro scouting

José M. Romero

Arizona Republic

The Coyotes on Tuesday announced the hiring of Alan Hepple as the team's Director of Pro Scouting, reuniting the former Colorado Avalanche executive with new Coyotes head coach André Tourigny.

Hepple and Tourigny worked together when the latter was an Avalanche assistant coach from 2013 to 2015.

Hepple was with the Avalanche for 19 seasons and served the past six as the team's director of amateur scouting. That position belongs to Darryl Plandowski with the Coyotes at present.

Hepple replaces Bryan Stewart, who spent two seasons overseeing all Coyotes regional pro scouts covering the NHL and .

“We are very pleased to welcome Alan to our organization,” Coyotes General Manager Bill Armstrong said in a statement from the team. “Alan is extremely knowledgeable and is an excellent talent evaluator. He played a very important role in building the current Colorado Avalanche roster and we are thrilled to have him lead our professional scouting department.”

Hepple joined the Avalanche organization as an amateur scout in February 2002 and was named assistant director of amateur scouting in 2009, before being promoted six years later. He also spent four years as an amateur scout with the .

A former defenseman, Hepple was drafted by the New Jersey Devils in the ninth round of the 1982 NHL Entry Draft. He played in three games with the Devils from 1983 to 1986 and 365 AHL games with the Mariners, and .

The native of England finished his playing career with the San Diego Gulls and in the International Hockey League in 1992-93.

Arizona Republic LOADED: 07.07.2021 1190175 Arizona Coyotes But of course, also fitting that mould was Tourigny.

“I learned a tremendous amount,’’ Armstrong said of his wide net of interviews. “It was much like, for me, drafting a player. Because you go at LeBrun: Why the Sabres and Coyotes went with unheralded coach hires it different ways and you just keep digging and digging and digging. You and what it says about their futures form an opinion in your heart of this guy and you’re like ‘This is my guy.’ And I felt like after we interviewed all those guys we got it down to the top guys. Then we just went over and over and over and kept doing our By Pierre LeBrun research.’’

Jul 6, 2021 The Coyotes cut the list of candidates down to four, with those candidates getting second interviews. Armstrong would not confirm who

made that cut but I believe Nelson, Vincent and Van Ryn made that final There are some tough nights ahead in Buffalo and Arizona as both round along with Tourigny. franchises set the reset button and I think it’s clear you can draw a line And in the end… from that common reality to the coaching hire each organization recently made. “Andre, for me, was No. 1 the whole way. He was always No. 1,’’ Armstrong said. Neither front office saw the wisdom of bringing in a veteran, closer-type coach. Both teams will need to take a step backward in order to move Adams cast an even wider net in his search. forward in the bigger picture. “I won’t give you the exact number but we interviewed more than (10),’’ That was absolutely reflected in the Coyotes surprising many by hiring said the Sabres GM. “We were upfront right from the beginning with Andre Tourigny as well as the Sabres staying in-house and lifting the Donny talking about the process. I was very open to the media, too. I did interim tag on Don Granato. not want to rush into it. And I wanted to learn, selfishly.’’

Patience and teaching will be key elements for both coaches as they try Did he ever. to grow what will be evolving rosters over the next few years. “It was a great learning process for me to go through understanding “I think Donny has a great ability to teach and have clarity for exactly who’s out there and pick up little things from every one of those what expectations are,” Sabres GM Kevyn Adams told The Athletic. conversations,” Adams said. “All different backgrounds from former NHL “Which I think for any player, but especially young players, is critical.’’ head coaches, to assistants, to AHL head coaches, European, college, that was purposeful and intentional with all the backgrounds because I The Coyotes are looking to go younger as they turn the roster over. In wanted to get a lay of the land of the entire hockey landscape of who was Tourigny, Armstrong saw an up-and-coming coach who has the out there.” wherewithal to get through the teaching growth phase as that roster goes through its metamorphosis. Despite all those interviews, including heavyweights like Rick Tocchet and Bruce Boudreau, it came back to the guy he already knew. If you want to draw a hopeful parallel, think Jared Bednar replacing Patrick Roy in Colorado and coaching through a last-place season as the “Coming back to Donny at the end, it did feel even more strengthened team grew. There are certain qualities in a coach that are needed to get that Donny was the right person for this job,’’ Adams said. through that phase. Now comes the roster changes. The next 4-6 weeks have the potential to “It’s accountability but also likability, which to me equals sustainability,” be rather dramatic for both the Sabres and Coyotes as they look to make Armstrong said. “Where he’s going to be around at the end of it.’’ changes.

There has to be growth, players have to get better and develop, but Rebuild, re-tool, reset, Armstrong says put whatever name you want on there’s a realistic recognition of the path ahead in both Arizona and it. They need to get younger. Change is coming. Buffalo as far as wins and losses as the team rebuilds. I asked Adams to put a brand name on what’s coming next for his roster. So for Adams, the teaching side of Granato’s acumen fit the bill. “I think it’s building. I think that’s the right way to say it. We have a lot of “You look at his background and a lot of years in different roles he’s had young players that are talented. Sometimes when players come into the from being a head coach at every different level to the national program league at a really young age, some people feel like maybe they’re older where you’re teaching every day,” said Adams. “As I talked to Donny than they are. But guys like (Rasmus) Dahlin, (Dylan) Cozens, (Casey) about this, he said they had 120 practices a season which is, you think Mittelstadt, these are very, very young players. So, we want to build. And about the amount of teaching and development that goes into that. I I’ve been energized about this young core of Sabres we have that are really liked that about his background.’’ hungry and they want to be part of the solution. … These guys are proud to be Buffalo Sabres, they want to fix this and get this right, they want to Because while the Sabres are young now, they’re about to perhaps get move forward together. So that’s the young core that we’re working to even younger with some moves coming this offseason. build around.’’ “One thing that’s critically important when you have a young roster, is Obviously, you didn’t hear Jack Eichel’s name as Adams mentioned his that you cannot overlook the development side,” said Adams. “It’s young core. He won’t be around when the puck drops in October. important to remember that players in the NHL need to develop, too. Just because you’re in the NHL doesn’t mean you’ve arrived and there’s not a Again, another interesting overlap between the Sabres and Coyotes right need to get better.” now, each team’s is in play on the trade market as Arizona is once again listening on Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Not that Adams didn’t cast a wide net in his coaching search before staying in-house. Ditto for Armstrong. Neither GM wanted to comment on that situation specifically and you understand why. The Coyotes GM reached double-digits in his coaching interviews. I don’t know that it’s a sure thing Ekman-Larsson moves given his “We were close to about 10 that we talked to,’’ said Armstrong. “And my contract — six more years at a $8.25-million cap hit. Although I do reasoning was, I talked to a GM who said, ‘It’s your first time going personally like him as a fit for Boston if the Bruins can make the money through it. You’re going to want to get a good understanding of the area.’ work. And I knew what we wanted.’’ But Ekman-Larsson’s contract might be too much for most teams to The Coyotes GM wanted the up-and-comer, first-time NHL head coach handle in the flat cap environment we’re in. type, a long-term fit potentially for a roster that’s going to be rebuilt/re- tooled. Whereas despite the five years and $10-million cap hit left on Eichel’s deal, he’s five years younger at 24 and the allure of a franchise center So the Coyotes interviewed the likes of Benoit Groulx, Mike Van Ryn, being on the market has fueled plenty of serious conversations with Pascal Vincent and Todd Nelson, among others. several NHL clubs. Eichel is almost certainly getting dealt.

All Adams was willing to talk about was where the team’s build is headed.

“We need to do a lot of building, we need to surround those young players with the right people, the right culture every day, with players who truly love being a Buffalo Sabre and want to get this right,’’ he said.

Another Sabres/Coyotes overlap: Neither first-time GM can control what’s happened before they got there. Other than a trip to the Western Conference final in 2012, the Coyotes have meandered in the wilderness for the most part over the past decade. Some ok teams, but never the ascent they were looking for.

The Sabres, well, there’s been enough written about their past decade.

To which I asked Adams this question: How do you move on from that while understanding the need to deal with it as far as understanding where the passionate fan base in Buffalo sits with all of it. They’ve been stung. They deserve better.

“To me, the most important way to explain that is you have to understand the past and you have to respect it and look at it and say, ‘OK, the last 10 years, what’s gone on, what does that mean for our fan base, where can we learn from certain things.’ But you can’t live there,” said Adams.

“And that’s the message I’ve had for coaches and players in the organization, ‘This is reality, this is what’s gone on. How do we move forward?’’’

So you balance both realities.

“Just because I wasn’t in this job, you can’t pretend it didn’t happen,” Adams said. “Because it hasn’t been good enough. And last year wasn’t good enough. So for me, it’s recognizing that and everything is about moving forward. What are we doing now to get better and how are we changing the mindset and what’s exciting about what we’re building here? That’s the message to the players, coaches and everybody.’’

There’s a lot riding on each coaching hire for both of these first-time GMs.

But at the very least you understand where those hires come from.

The path ahead will require patience. Which is the right approach. But it’s also two fan bases that have had their patience tested.

The Athletic LOADED: 07.07.2021 1190176 Boston Bruins

Bruins lose some blue-line depth as Steven Kampfer departs for KHL

By Matt Porter Globe Staff

Updated July 6, 2021, 5:10 p.m.

The Bruins’ right-side defensive depth will take a hit after Steven Kampfer left for the KHL.

The 32-year-old signed a one-year deal with Ak Bars Kazan, the team announced.

In translated comments on the team’s website, general manager Marat Valiullin described Kampfer as an experienced two-way defenseman who skates well, and said he will be counted on for leadership.

Kampfer, who slotted in as an eighth defenseman, appeared in 65 games with Boston over the last three seasons, scoring five goals and totaling 13 points. He saw 20 games of action this past season (2-3—5), missing the playoffs because of an early-March hand injury that required surgery in late May. He is on track for a September return.

Kampfer, an unrestricted free agent, was rumored to be leaving for the KHL in late May. He said on June 11, during the Bruins’ breakup day Zoom calls, that he had “received contracts from different leagues,” but it was “news to me” that he had signed anywhere.

“I’ve loved my time in Boston,” Kampfer said. “If this is the end of it, I love the guys in the room, the staff, and we’ll go from there.”

Thus ends Kampfer’s second tour with the Bruins, who traded Adam McQuaid to the Rangers in September 2018 for Kampfer and two picks in the 2019 draft. The Bruins shipped one of those picks, a conditional fourth-rounder, to Minnesota with Ryan Donato for Charlie Coyle at the 2019 trade deadline. With the seventh-rounder they acquired, they selected USHL winger Jake Schmaltz, who is entering his freshman year at North Dakota.

Kampfer, who was a prospect in the Ducks’ system when the Bruins acquired him for a fourth-rounder in 2010, lifted the Stanley Cup with the Bruins as a rookie in 2011. However, he did not get his name on the trophy — he played in 38 games that year, three shy of the cutoff, and did not see time in the playoffs.

After stints with the Wild, Panthers, and Rangers, Kampfer returned to the Bruins and finally appeared in a playoff game, 12 years after the Ducks drafted him out of Michigan (fourth round, 93rd overall) in 2007.

Kampfer, known to teammates as “Stevie Snipes,” scored the opening goal of the 2019 Eastern Conference finals against Carolina. His wrister off the rush beat Petr Mrazek, in his second-ever postseason appearance.

He opted out of the playoffs in 2020 to protect his wife and young son, who share a congenital heart defect and were more vulnerable to COVID-19.

Boston Globe LOADED: 07.07.2021 1190177 Boston Bruins Lightning’s 13th forward, playing because Alex Killorn is hurt. As for Maroon, his quest to win a third straight Stanley Cup title is on hold.

▪ This was the first time this series the goaltending battle was close Maybe the Canadiens had help from the hockey gods, and other between Vasilevskiy (18 saves) and Price (32). The latter, who entered observations from Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final with an .835 save percentage in this series, was behind only Gerry Cheevers (.822 against the Habs in 1977) and (.831, 1973) on the list of lowest save percentage through three games of a By Matt Porter Globe Staff Cup Final. Price now stands at .883.

Updated July 6, 2021, 7:24 a.m. ▪ Tough game for Brayden Point, who logged 7:34 of his 22:19 on the power play and landed two of four attempts, hitting the bar on a slot one-

timer near the end of the first. He also took a pair of penalties, one in the Observations from Game 4, in which Montreal extended its stay in the offensive zone, and missed the end of the second period after taking a Stanley Cup Final on Josh Anderson’s overtime winner … Victor Hedman cannon blast to the knee.

▪ Chalk it up to the Hockey gods, if you’re so inclined. The Lightning In the second, Weber went after Point, stapling the Lightning star to the dominated this game, pushing hard in the first and third periods. They hit boards on one hit, and missing another attempt. Good thing Weber did the post twice on the power play. Nikita Kucherov missed a back-door miss, since Point was being held by Jake Evans and his head was about dunk, off a brilliant look from Ryan McDonagh, with about three minutes to take the full brunt of Weber’s 230 pounds. It had “DOPS” written all left. over it.

▪ And yet, here are the Canadiens. Full marks for killing a late high- ▪ Tampa Bay was, as usual, clearing the slot. Montreal came away with sticking double-minor to captain and top penalty killer , in seven high-danger shot attempts, to the visitors’ 16. which he returned to the penalty box for a miserable 2:59 of overtime. ▪ Before the game, Tampa’s mayor, Jane Castor, expressing her desire The Canadiens almost ended it with Weber in the box, breaking to have a Cup celebration at her city’s waterfront, suggested the local shorthanded and forcing Andrei Vasilevskiy to make a split-legged save squad should “take it easy” in Game 4, and “give Montreal just the on a Phillip Danault-to-Nick Suzuki chance. The Habs, 5 for 5 on the PK smallest break” to send it back down south. Asked and answered. on Monday, are 53 of 58 in the postseason.

▪ At one point, the Bruins were interested in trading for Anderson, whom they faced in a meat grinder of a series with Columbus in 2019. In Game Boston Globe LOADED: 07.07.2021 4, he showed why the Habs were smart to give up Max Domi in a trade for the rough-and-tumble forward.

Anderson opened and closed the scoring, tapping home a beautiful Suzuki feed and finishing the game with a monster sequence. He stripped Yanni Gourde in the defensive zone, broke out himself, bullied Jan Rutta down low as he got the puck to the front of the net, and chipped home the winner on the rebound.

Game 5 is 8 p.m. Wednesday in Tampa. No team other than the 1942 Maple Leafs has come from 3-0 down to win a Cup Final.

▪ This was still a game where Tampa Bay’s missed opportunities spoke louder than the strength of Montreal’s comeback. By measure of expected goals, this should have been about a 4-1 or 4-2 result, the other way. Shot attempts were 70-41 for the visitors, shots, 34-21.

“What could we have done different?” said Lightning coach Jon Cooper. “Probably not hit as many posts as we hit.”

▪ The Bolts arrived on time, controlling shots (11-2) and attempts (18-4) in the opening 15 minutes. Montreal’s game was rife with turnovers and soft plays. On one early rush, Paul Byron, instead of putting it on net while his teammates were pulling coverage and chaos toward Vasilevskiy, held the puck until his only option was a backhand into traffic.

▪ The Canadiens kept pressing until, 15:39 into Game 4, they finally had a lead in this series. Suzuki set up Anderson with a play with a similar degree of difficulty as the one Byron tried. Suzuki looked like David Krejci as he slipped down low and put a give-and-go saucer pass on Anderson’s tape. Suzuki is fast becoming Montreal’s most impactful center since Saku Koivu.

▪ A killer sequence from McDonagh helped the Lightning tie the score with 2:40 left in the second. He read the Habs’ breakout and stepped up to deny the exit, then pinched deep. When Carey Price let up a rebound, McDonagh’s backhand feed to Barclay Goodrow tied it. Two-way defending at its finest.

▪ Rookie defenseman Alexander Romanov, inserted into the Montreal lineup with Brett Kulak — coach Dominique Ducharme swapping out his little-used third D pair of Erik Gustafsson and Jon Merrill — had the lowest TOI of his team’s defensemen (12:16). With Ben Chiarot and Jeff Petry in the box, Romanov had a chance. At 8:48 of the third, the defenseman fired through an Artturi Lehkonen screen to make it 2-1.

▪ Five minutes later, Mathieu Joseph recorded his second slick assist in the last two games with a saucer pass over a Montreal stick to Pat Maroon. Tie game. Joseph is fourth-liner on this Tampa Bay team, which means he’d be a solid citizen on someone else’s second line. He’s the 1190178 Boston Bruins

Providence Bruins looking for new coach: Jay Leach joins Seattle Kraken as assistant

By Matt Porter Globe Staff

Updated July 5, 2021, 9:44 p.m.

The Providence Bruins are looking for a new head coach after Jay Leach confirmed he accepted a spot on the Seattle Kraken’s bench.

Leach, 41, spent the last four years in Providence, going 136-77-16. He was considered a potential replacement for former Bruins assistant Jay Pandolfo, who last week became associate head coach at Boston University.

Those first in line for promotions appear to include Trent Whitfield (five years as Leach’s assistant) and Ryan Mougenel (three).

Leach, a former defenseman who was captain at Providence College (2001), played 11 of his 12-year career in the AHL (499 games). He spent three years in the Bruins’ organization, appearing in two games with the varsity in 2005-06. He also saw NHL action for the Lightning, Devils, Canadiens, and Sharks (70 NHL games in total).

He started his coaching career in Germany in 2014-15, on the staff of former Bruins assistant Geoff Ward. After a year back stateside with AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, he rejoined the P-Bruins as an assistant in 2016-17. He was promoted to head coach the following year, once Bruce Cassidy took over in Boston.

Boston Globe LOADED: 07.07.2021 1190179 Boston Bruins

Jay Leach hired by Seattle Kraken

By STEVE CONROY | [email protected] | Boston Herald

PUBLISHED: July 6, 2021 at 4:14 p.m. | UPDATED: July 6, 2021 at 4:14 p.m.

The expansion Seattle Kraken made official on Tuesday its hiring of now former Providence Bruins coach Jay Leach as an assistant on head coach Dave Hakstol’s inaugural staff.

Leach was hired along with Paul McFarland, who worked with Hakstol on ’s Toronto Maple Leaf staff.

Now, not only are the Bruins looking at retooling their roster after a second-round ouster, they must replace not one but two highly regarded coaches from the organization. Last week, Jay Pandolfo, an assistant on Bruce Cassidy’s staff in Boston, left to return to his alma mater Boston University as associate head coach with head coach Albie O’Connell. Leach was believed to be a strong candidate to replace Pandolfo on Cassidy’s staff, but the call of the Kraken and to be a part of an organization from the ground up was apparently too strong.

Leach can certainly give Seattle GM Ron Francis some intelligence on which Boston players might become available from the Bruins’ roster in the expansion, having coached Jeremy Lauzon and Connor Clifton, just a couple of players who might be exposed in the July 21 expansion draft. Teams need their list of protected players in to the NHL by July 17.

Leach has been coaching with the Providence Bruins for the last five years, the last four of which were as head coach. He enjoyed a lot of team success, posting a 136-77-26 record and winning the Atlantic Division title the last two seasons, though the pandemic did not allow the P-Bruins to play for the Calder Cup.

The coach who replaces Leach will play a pivotal role in the organization as the core in Boston ages and the roster will need to be replenished with some young legs. And while there have been some success stories over the past couple of years in the Providence-to-Boston pipeline, some high- end prospects like center Jack Studnicka (second round, 2017) and defenseman Urho Vaakanainen (first round, 2017) could not seize opportunities in Boston last season and wound up back in Providence.

Leach’s assistants Trent Whitfield and Ryan Mougenel are both possible candidates to fill Leach’s shoes.

Boston Herald LOADED: 07.07.2021 1190180 Boston Bruins

Bruins Lose Coaches In Boston And Providence

Published 17 hours ago on July 6, 2021

By Jimmy Murphy

After the Boston Bruins lost Assistant Coach Jay Pandolfo to Boston University last Friday, their AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins saw head coach Jay Leach head west to become an assistant coach with the Seattle Kraken on Monday.

Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal and RinksideRhodeIsland broke the news on both departures.

Leach, 41, also interviewed to become the first head coach in Kraken history but Seattle general manager Ron Francis ended up going with former Philadelphia Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol as his first bench boss. Leach took over the Providence Bruins bench when current Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy took over for Claude Julien back in February 2017. Leach began his coaching career in Germany in 2014- 15, working under former Boston Bruins assistant Geoff Ward in Germany for Adler Mannheim. He then spent a year with the Pittsburgh Penguins’ AHL affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, before joining the P- Bruins as an assistant in 2016-17.

After playing at Providence College and captaining the 2000-2001 Friars squad, Leach played 12 pro seasons with 11 of those 12 in the AHL. He spent three years in the Bruins’ organization, playing two games with the Boston Bruins in 2005-06. He also played for the Tampa Bay Lightning, New Jersey Devils, Montreal Canadiens, and the San Jose Sharks for a total of 70 NHL games.

Pandolfo spent 15 years in the NHL as a player, 13 with the New Jersey Devils. His final 18 NHL games, however, were with the Bruins in 2013 and after retiring, became a player development coach for the Bruins in 2014 and was elevated to director of player development in 2015. He became an assistant for the Boston Bruins when Cassidy took over the bench in Boston.

Pandolfo is returning to his alma mater, where he scored 79 goals and had 90 assists for 169 points in 136 games from 1992-96.

It’s a great day for our program as we welcome back two captains from the 1990s!

The Bruins will now look to replace Pandolfo in Boston and Leach in Providence. Providence Bruins assistant coaches Trent Whitfield and Ryan Mougenel appear to be the leading candidate for the P-Bruins head coaching gig.

Boston Hockey Now LOADED: 07.07.2021 1190181 Buffalo Sabres something that I have to talk to with whatever team drafts me, so it’ll be kind of something that I’ll look into more once I get drafted.”

On the ice, returning to Michigan would guarantee Power a significant Sabres to meet with presumed No. 1 pick Owen Power as draft prep workload, including time on the Wolverines’ top power play, whereas an intensifies immediate jump to Buffalo would likely come with a significant cut in ice time. After all, Dahlin quarterbacks the Sabres’ top power play, and Power may have to start his NHL career on a third defense pairing. Lance Lysowski Unlike every other draft-eligible prospect, Power has already played at a Jul 6, 2021 Updated 7 hrs ago high level against NHL players at the IIHF World Championship in Latvia this spring. He had three assists, 17 shots on goal and a plus-1 rating

while averaging 20:07 of ice time in 10 games to help win gold. With Don Granato in place as the Buffalo Sabres’ coach, General “I think just for pro hockey, continue to develop my game, continue to get Manager Kevyn Adams has begun his search for the next member of the stronger, faster, quicker – and then just keep developing the areas of my young core that will be counted on to end the franchise’s run of futility. game that I think I need to work on and continue to grow in the areas that Owen Power, the 18-year-old left-shot defenseman ranked by NHL I’m already good at,” Power said. Central Scouting as the top North American skater in this draft class, told Sources confirmed to The News that the Sabres are preparing for the reporters during a video conference call Tuesday that he’s scheduled to possibility that they will acquire an additional top 10 selection in this draft. meet with the Sabres on Thursday in preparation for the draft on July 23. Hypothetically, such a scenario would allow them to choose Power and William Eklund, a talented 18-year-old winger from Sweden regarded as one of the top forwards. the top European skater, is expected to speak to Sabres brass on The Sabres have a glaring need for goal-scorers on the NHL roster and Wednesday. Adams and his scouting staff, led by associate general in the prospect pipeline, especially if Adams decides to trade centers manager Jason Karmanos, are casting a wide net as they decide who to Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart this offseason. select first overall. Eklund has not had the production of other draft-eligible prospects, but Although Adams told reporters recently that the Sabres will examine he was remarkable while competing against men in the Swedish Hockey several options in the days leading up to the virtual draft, sources told League this season. Eklund, who is listed at 5 feet, 10 inches and 176 The Buffalo News that Power and Eklund are currently the team’s top- pounds, was named the league’s rookie of the year after he totaled 11 ranked defenseman and forward, respectively. goals and 23 points in 40 games for Djurgardens. It was the fifth-most “I think I'm a two-way defenseman that can play in all situations and log a productive season for a draft-eligible player in SHL history. He lot of minutes,” Power said when asked why he should be selected first accomplished those feats despite testing positive for Covid-19 in overall. “I think any team in the NHL would want someone like that. I December and missing three weeks following an appendectomy in think that's what I'll bring.” January.

The Sabres will take a best-player-available approach to their fourth top Scouts told The News that underlying metrics, including expected goals, pick in franchise history, but the debate at No. 1 will involve one show Eklund as the top offensive play driver in this class. This fits well significant question: does Power have enough upside to warrant what with the Sabres' focus on analytics. could be a longer wait for him to reach his potential? Eklund told reporters Tuesday that another season in Sweden would be Even the most talented defense prospects can take longer to develop best for his development. And while Eklund has played center during his than a forward, most notably Victor Hedman of the Tampa Bay Lightning. junior career, multiple NHL scouts told The News that Eklund’s size and Hedman, 30, didn’t become a two-way force until his sixth NHL season skating ability will likely make him a winger at the next level. Eklund is after he was selected second overall in 2009. regarded as a smart, skilled prospect who will make an impact as a top- six NHL forward once he gains more strength. The Sabres used the first overall pick in 2018 on ultra-talented, smooth- skating defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, who has endured significant “I think I have to improve my shooting,” said Eklund. “I think I have to get growing pains during his three NHL seasons. Following a historic rookie that shot faster and better in tight areas. I also have to have better top season and encouraging finish to Year 2, Dahlin had an NHL-worst speed. I think I’m more of a quick player than fast in the long-term. Those minus-36 rating in 2020-21. Dahlin, though, made strides when playing are two things I really need to improve.” under Granato for the final six weeks of the season. The Sabres’ debate will intensify as the draft draws near, and another General managers rarely consider short- and long-term need with such a draft will show us which attributes Adams values. Last year, Adams used selection, but the Sabres are well-stocked with prospects on defense, his first pick, No. 8 overall, to select winger Jack Quinn, who spent this particularly those who play the same side as Power. Buffalo has Dahlin, season with the . Four of the Sabres’ five draft Mattias Samuelsson and Jacob Bryson on the left side. Options at right- picks in 2020 were forwards. shot defense include Henri Jokiharju, Oskari Laaksonen and Will Borgen. Preparing for this draft was challenging for each of the 32 NHL teams The Sabres' depth on defense, and expectation that the franchise is on because scouts weren’t traveling as much and some prospects played the precipice of another rebuild, could fit well with Power's preference to few, if any, games during the Covid-19 pandemic. There wasn’t a return to the University of Michigan for his sophomore season. scouting combine in Buffalo, either.

Listed at 6 feet, 6 inches, Power made an immediate impact upon joining For all that went wrong for the Sabres during a calamitous 56-game the Wolverines, totaling three goals and 16 points in 26 games as a season, it will result in the addition of whichever prospect Adams deems freshman. Power’s 0.62 points per game this season helped him secure to be the best available in this class. rookie of the year honors from the College Hockey News and he was a “What’s exciting is there’s – especially at the top of the draft – a lot of Big Ten Freshman of the Year finalist. players we feel good about and we’re continuing to work through that, While Power showed enough to fortify his draft stock, there is more that and we have more meetings coming up,” said Adams. he wants to accomplish at that level. The Wolverines did not release him to compete for Canada at the IIHF World Junior Championship, and his college season was cut short because of a Covid-19 positive test on the Buffalo News LOADED: 07.07.2021 team prior to the first NCAA Tournament game.

Power explained that a normal college hockey season is one of the reasons why he prefers to return to school for one more season, but ultimately, the NHL team selecting Power will have a say in what’s best for his development.

“I wouldn’t say I’m committed to going back to school,” said Power. “I mean, I’m probably leaning towards it right now. But that’s obviously 1190182 Buffalo Sabres But of course, also fitting that mould was Tourigny.

“I learned a tremendous amount,’’ Armstrong said of his wide net of interviews. “It was much like, for me, drafting a player. Because you go at LeBrun: Why the Sabres and Coyotes went with unheralded coach hires it different ways and you just keep digging and digging and digging. You and what it says about their futures form an opinion in your heart of this guy and you’re like ‘This is my guy.’ And I felt like after we interviewed all those guys we got it down to the top guys. Then we just went over and over and over and kept doing our By Pierre LeBrun research.’’

Jul 6, 2021 The Coyotes cut the list of candidates down to four, with those candidates getting second interviews. Armstrong would not confirm who

made that cut but I believe Nelson, Vincent and Van Ryn made that final There are some tough nights ahead in Buffalo and Arizona as both round along with Tourigny. franchises set the reset button and I think it’s clear you can draw a line And in the end… from that common reality to the coaching hire each organization recently made. “Andre, for me, was No. 1 the whole way. He was always No. 1,’’ Armstrong said. Neither front office saw the wisdom of bringing in a veteran, closer-type coach. Both teams will need to take a step backward in order to move Adams cast an even wider net in his search. forward in the bigger picture. “I won’t give you the exact number but we interviewed more than (10),’’ That was absolutely reflected in the Coyotes surprising many by hiring said the Sabres GM. “We were upfront right from the beginning with Andre Tourigny as well as the Sabres staying in-house and lifting the Donny talking about the process. I was very open to the media, too. I did interim tag on Don Granato. not want to rush into it. And I wanted to learn, selfishly.’’

Patience and teaching will be key elements for both coaches as they try Did he ever. to grow what will be evolving rosters over the next few years. “It was a great learning process for me to go through understanding “I think Donny has a great ability to teach and have clarity for exactly who’s out there and pick up little things from every one of those what expectations are,” Sabres GM Kevyn Adams told The Athletic. conversations,” Adams said. “All different backgrounds from former NHL “Which I think for any player, but especially young players, is critical.’’ head coaches, to assistants, to AHL head coaches, European, college, that was purposeful and intentional with all the backgrounds because I The Coyotes are looking to go younger as they turn the roster over. In wanted to get a lay of the land of the entire hockey landscape of who was Tourigny, Armstrong saw an up-and-coming coach who has the out there.” wherewithal to get through the teaching growth phase as that roster goes through its metamorphosis. Despite all those interviews, including heavyweights like Rick Tocchet and Bruce Boudreau, it came back to the guy he already knew. If you want to draw a hopeful parallel, think Jared Bednar replacing Patrick Roy in Colorado and coaching through a last-place season as the “Coming back to Donny at the end, it did feel even more strengthened team grew. There are certain qualities in a coach that are needed to get that Donny was the right person for this job,’’ Adams said. through that phase. Now comes the roster changes. The next 4-6 weeks have the potential to “It’s accountability but also likability, which to me equals sustainability,” be rather dramatic for both the Sabres and Coyotes as they look to make Armstrong said. “Where he’s going to be around at the end of it.’’ changes.

There has to be growth, players have to get better and develop, but Rebuild, re-tool, reset, Armstrong says put whatever name you want on there’s a realistic recognition of the path ahead in both Arizona and it. They need to get younger. Change is coming. Buffalo as far as wins and losses as the team rebuilds. I asked Adams to put a brand name on what’s coming next for his roster. So for Adams, the teaching side of Granato’s acumen fit the bill. “I think it’s building. I think that’s the right way to say it. We have a lot of “You look at his background and a lot of years in different roles he’s had young players that are talented. Sometimes when players come into the from being a head coach at every different level to the national program league at a really young age, some people feel like maybe they’re older where you’re teaching every day,” said Adams. “As I talked to Donny than they are. But guys like (Rasmus) Dahlin, (Dylan) Cozens, (Casey) about this, he said they had 120 practices a season which is, you think Mittelstadt, these are very, very young players. So, we want to build. And about the amount of teaching and development that goes into that. I I’ve been energized about this young core of Sabres we have that are really liked that about his background.’’ hungry and they want to be part of the solution. … These guys are proud to be Buffalo Sabres, they want to fix this and get this right, they want to Because while the Sabres are young now, they’re about to perhaps get move forward together. So that’s the young core that we’re working to even younger with some moves coming this offseason. build around.’’ “One thing that’s critically important when you have a young roster, is Obviously, you didn’t hear Jack Eichel’s name as Adams mentioned his that you cannot overlook the development side,” said Adams. “It’s young core. He won’t be around when the puck drops in October. important to remember that players in the NHL need to develop, too. Just because you’re in the NHL doesn’t mean you’ve arrived and there’s not a Again, another interesting overlap between the Sabres and Coyotes right need to get better.” now, each team’s captain is in play on the trade market as Arizona is once again listening on Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Not that Adams didn’t cast a wide net in his coaching search before staying in-house. Ditto for Armstrong. Neither GM wanted to comment on that situation specifically and you understand why. The Coyotes GM reached double-digits in his coaching interviews. I don’t know that it’s a sure thing Ekman-Larsson moves given his “We were close to about 10 that we talked to,’’ said Armstrong. “And my contract — six more years at a $8.25-million cap hit. Although I do reasoning was, I talked to a GM who said, ‘It’s your first time going personally like him as a fit for Boston if the Bruins can make the money through it. You’re going to want to get a good understanding of the area.’ work. And I knew what we wanted.’’ But Ekman-Larsson’s contract might be too much for most teams to The Coyotes GM wanted the up-and-comer, first-time NHL head coach handle in the flat cap environment we’re in. type, a long-term fit potentially for a roster that’s going to be rebuilt/re- tooled. Whereas despite the five years and $10-million cap hit left on Eichel’s deal, he’s five years younger at 24 and the allure of a franchise center So the Coyotes interviewed the likes of Benoit Groulx, Mike Van Ryn, being on the market has fueled plenty of serious conversations with Pascal Vincent and Todd Nelson, among others. several NHL clubs. Eichel is almost certainly getting dealt.

All Adams was willing to talk about was where the team’s build is headed.

“We need to do a lot of building, we need to surround those young players with the right people, the right culture every day, with players who truly love being a Buffalo Sabre and want to get this right,’’ he said.

Another Sabres/Coyotes overlap: Neither first-time GM can control what’s happened before they got there. Other than a trip to the Western Conference final in 2012, the Coyotes have meandered in the wilderness for the most part over the past decade. Some ok teams, but never the ascent they were looking for.

The Sabres, well, there’s been enough written about their past decade.

To which I asked Adams this question: How do you move on from that while understanding the need to deal with it as far as understanding where the passionate fan base in Buffalo sits with all of it. They’ve been stung. They deserve better.

“To me, the most important way to explain that is you have to understand the past and you have to respect it and look at it and say, ‘OK, the last 10 years, what’s gone on, what does that mean for our fan base, where can we learn from certain things.’ But you can’t live there,” said Adams.

“And that’s the message I’ve had for coaches and players in the organization, ‘This is reality, this is what’s gone on. How do we move forward?’’’

So you balance both realities.

“Just because I wasn’t in this job, you can’t pretend it didn’t happen,” Adams said. “Because it hasn’t been good enough. And last year wasn’t good enough. So for me, it’s recognizing that and everything is about moving forward. What are we doing now to get better and how are we changing the mindset and what’s exciting about what we’re building here? That’s the message to the players, coaches and everybody.’’

There’s a lot riding on each coaching hire for both of these first-time GMs.

But at the very least you understand where those hires come from.

The path ahead will require patience. Which is the right approach. But it’s also two fan bases that have had their patience tested.

The Athletic LOADED: 07.07.2021 1190183 “Too many of us continue to push through infections, so we go to work when we’re sick, we continue to clean up the house,” Sharon said. “We don’t get rest. We don’t really eat well, sleep well, rest and let our body Jonathan Toews’ ‘multi-system, multi-symptom’ illness explained by local heal. “There’s so much the body can do on its own, but we have to not health care professionals interfere with it. Listen to your body and get rest, mentally and physically.”

Pfeiffer said more people should research CIRS, especially if they are By SHANZEH AHMAD being treated for symptoms but not feeling like they are on the right track.

CHICAGO TRIBUNE “If you’re not getting better, if you feel like some stone has not been turned, I would say to be progressive and proactive and continue to push JUL 06, 2021 AT 11:32 AM until you’re satisfied,” he said.

Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews missed the 2020 NHL Chicago Tribune LOADED: 07.07.2021 season due to an illness that some say affects about a quarter of the population, yet isn’t commonly discussed and diagnosed.

Thought leaders on Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS), also known as Chronic Immune Response Syndrome, think that 24% of the population is genetically predisposed to a sort of “defect on chromosome six” that is triggered when a person’s immune system takes a hit, according to Dr. Jeff Pfeiffer of Vero Clinics, his Decatur-based private practice specializing in diagnosing and treating CIRS, other autoimmune diseases and more.

From something as small as starting Accutane to cure acne to COVID-19 to Lyme disease, Pfeiffer said “any insult to the immune system” could trigger CIRS, and people with it could continue to feel sick and blame it on the trigger when in reality, CIRS is causing the carry-over of symptoms.

“It’s a multi-system, multi-symptom disorder, and it tends to be migratory,” Pfeiffer said. “It tends to go to brain, heart and joints, but it can migrate and that causes some of the misunderstanding because of how many symptoms can cascade.”

He said CIRS is “super controversial” because it is widely disregarded across the field even as many people get checked out, are given other diagnoses but still don’t feel better.

“Experts on the subject think about one in four people have it, but it’s mislabeled as MS, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, rheumatoid arthritis, whatever,” he said. “When you have that many people affected that don’t feel well, I don’t know why it’s not more researched, more treated or accepted.”

Efforts to find an expert on CIRS at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Institutes of Health were unsuccessful.

Dr. Greg Sharon, who focuses on adult and pediatric allergies and immunology at Amita Health Alexian Brothers Medical Center, said a lot of people don’t understand CIRS very well, so there is little information on it.

“What probably happened to Jonathan was that he got triggered, and some of his immune system overreacted,” Sharon said. “He wore it out, and his body reacted.”

Toews said in a video announcing his plans to return to the team that “a lot of things just piled up where my body just fell apart.” He said his immune system was reacting to everything and “any kind of stress,” and he was never able to fully recover from any of it.

Pfeiffer said some of the more common symptoms of CIRS are cognitive issues, such as brain fog and memory impairment, fatigue and joint pain. CIRS ranges from affecting a person mildly to severely, and Pfieffer said it can be life-threatening.

“It’s highly variable,” he said. “I’m sure there’s a ton of the population that doesn’t even know they have it. They just think they’re tired or something. It can run the gamut.”

Although not certain what affects the illness’ severity, Pfieffer said he would guess it has a lot to do with age, genetic makeup, diet, exercise and other lifestyle choices. He also said deciding to treat or not treat symptoms or treating CIRS incorrectly could affect how bad it gets.

“Many agree the four staples are to be gluten-free, sugar-free, alcohol- free and very limited dairy to prevent any inflammation, but you know by eating right, sleeping right, de-stressing, you’re doing all those things to try and boost your immune system,” he said. 1190184 Colorado Avalanche I said it before and I’ll say it again though: I think the July 21 expansion draft will start the cascade of dominos with regard to a lot of Avs contract stuff. The Avs are still waiting to see if they lose a guy like Logan “Too early to tell” on Grubauer talks O’Connor, at a minimum salary, or a guy like Joonas Donskoi, at a $3.9 million cap hit. That will determine the next steps on guys like maybe Grubauer and Brandon Saad. The Avs will only have a week to get things done after that, though. July 28 is free-agent day. Published 10 hours ago on July 6, 2021 Personally, I think Saad is gone. By Adrian Dater Why do I think that?

Because the Avs just won’t have much cap room, either way, to sign him. LEBANON, N.H. – Hello, from my lifelong friend (or close enough) Chris’ I believe they DO want to sign Grubauer, along with Gabe Landeskog. house, in New Hampshire. Chris and I bonded as friends in eighth grade That’s going to take up a good portion of their roughly $23 million in cap here in New Hampshire, and are still hanging out 43 years later. room. Don’t forget, Cale Makar is going to take up a huge chunk of that I took a few days off from doing much of anything, content-wise, but too. returned earlier this afternoon with a story about Nazem Kadri his tough I figure Makar will come in at $9 million, Landeskog at $7 million and offseason, and I bonded some with him too on that. Grubauer at $6 million. That’s the $23 million right there, minus the salary Like Naz, It’s been a rough few weeks for me personally, since I put my off-loaded to Seattle. size 13 feet in my mouth with that ill-fated question to Nathan MacKinnon Maybe you can entice Saad back at $3-4 million with the savings, but I on Zoom when the playoffs ended. I have always thought of myself as doubt it. Players most always will go to the highest bidder. kind of a screwup, except when it came to one thing: my professionalism on the job. Then, I go and foul that up too. ESPN: It was tragic news, and the NHL did well to hold a moment of silence before Game 4 for Blue Jackets goalie Matiss Kivlenieks, who I have had a lot of people tell me they are sick of me feeling bad about died this weekend in a fireworks accident at the age of 24. this and to stop apologizing, and I will from now on. It was kind of a comedy of errors as to why I babbled such an incoherent question to No. Daily Faceoff: Nashville Predators GM David Poile stirred an NHL trade 29, and I don’t blame anyone for wondering if I was totally out of my rumor hornets’ nest on a local radio interview. He tipped his hand that mind, chemically or otherwise, at that moment. No, I wasn’t. I just kind of Nashville is pushing the Seattle Kraken for a side deal so that Seattle will choked under some self-imposed pressure on a Zoom call in which I was select a specific player. unprepared to ask the question. I didn’t realize I had my “hand up” on the call, then I was late unmuting myself, then, in haste, I just blurted a Philly Hockey Now: Columbus GM Jarmo Kekalainen says nearly every rambling, nonsensical question and thought, in my feeble mind, that I GM in the league has called about defenseman Seth Jones. The was in the locker room all of a sudden with Nate and could throw the F Philadelphia Flyers remain front runners. \ bomb around freely like normal in that situation. It was just a complete Detroit: From Red Wings historian, author, and Detroit Hockey Now beat screwup by me. writer Bob Duff–Here are five things you didn’t know about Gordie Howe.

I asked a very long, coherent question to Jared Bednar about two minutes after the ill-fated MacKinnon question, but nobody remembers that lol! Colorado hockey now LOADED: 07.07.2021

But I would say it was one of the worst 2-3 weeks of my life after that. I thought about quitting the business, even though this site has been very successful since its launch two years ago. I listened to the question on video and just couldn’t believe that was me. It was/is totally embarrassing.

I want to be upfront and say I have some issues I must continually work on, as your humble correspondent. The biggest is kind of, what I would describe as, an anxiety/OCD issue. It’s not the kind of OCD thing where I have to wash my hands all day long or anything. I would try to more accurately describe it as something like, “I can’t shut my brain off, especially if there is something I think I have to worry about, either real or imagined.”

For a long time, my solution to shutting off the noise from my brain was with alcohol or, later, prescription pills. I got some good therapy a few years ago, where I was able to recognize the “trouble” coming to the brain and deal with it through other, better, things such as: mindful meditation, the Bible, good music, more communication with friends and family, more communing with nature.

But there are still times when I feel like I’m ill-prepared with the storm clouds that come into the mind. That’s when I feel like I need to get away and go back home, to the people who have been there the longest in my life. So, thanks to Chris and to my mother and stepfather for taking me in this whole week. Chris and I are going to watch the Denmark-England game tomorrow. Chris is the biggest fan of Denmark, probably, in all of North America. He is praying for me to use every single DaterJinx known to man to get Denmark the win. Will they work or not?

So, some Avs and NHL notes/thoughts for a Tuesday:

I touched base with the Philipp Grubauer “camp” today and was told it’s “too early to tell” if things can be described as optimistic or not regarding a new contract between him and the Avs. That can be interpreted any way you want. All I can do is check in as the days progress and report back. I think he’ll be back with the Avs, but this is an unpredictable business. 1190185 Colorado Avalanche Game 5 came the bad news: Das upheld the suspension as well. The earliest Kadri could come back would be a potential Game 7 against the Golden Knights. But the series never got that far.

“I feel like it’s more the offender and not the offense” – Nazem Kadri on Again, Kadri acknowledges that, while the hit to the head was the hit that ended his season, and the lack of NHL officiating consistency unintentional, he would/could have accepted a suspension. But eight games? That’s the part he still can’t figure out – especially when other “head shots” in the playoffs somehow escaped suspension from DoPS Published 13 hours ago on July 6, 2021 director George Parros.

By Adrian Dater Case in point: On May 21, Washington’s Dimitri Orlov was given nothing for this hit on Boston Bruins defenseman Kevan Miller (which resulted in

an injury that prevented Miller from playing the rest of the postseason): Six and a half minutes had been played in the third period, and the Where was the “accountability” for that hit, Kadri’s team argued with Colorado Avalanche was protecting a 3-1 lead in Game 2 of a first-round Bettman and, later, Das? And, what constituted “repeat offender” status? playoff series when St. Louis Blues defenseman Justin Faulk, a The exact wording of the “repeat offender” clause in the collective dangerous offensive threat, had some time and space with the puck bargaining agreement was/is poorly worded and confusing to everyone. coming down the middle of the Avs’ zone. Faulk was gearing up for a Technically, repeat offenders don’t have to worry as much in regard to wrist shot when he dipped his head and body down some, to gain better the monetary fines they might receive for offenses outside a two-year leverage on the shot toward goalie Philipp Grubauer. Nazem Kadri then window. But when it comes to the length of suspensions, previous did what they teach you to do in hockey when an opponent comes into offenses can always be taken into account. Or, something like that. the slot for a dangerous scoring chance: Hit him. Take him off the puck. “We tried to,” when Kadri is asked if he understood what the repeat- So, hit Faulk, Kadri did. Coming from right to left, Kadri kept his elbows in offender rules were, “but it didn’t make a lot of sense to me. We thought and had his left anchor leg planted firmly on the ice when he delivered a we had a great case. I know those guys have a difficult job. I really do. shoulder hit to Faulk. The hit had its desired effect, at least at first. Faulk It’s something I really wouldn’t want in my hands. But, at the end of the got a weak shot off on Grubauer, who made an easy save. Two-goal, day, I feel like, if that’s their job description, there could be some type of third-period playoff game lead preserved. consistency. I feel like that might be lacking in some areas. Sometimes, it The problem: Kadri’s right shoulder made primary contact with the left feels like it’s more the offender and not the offense. I get it, I understand side of Faulk’s head. It was an inadvertent, unintentional hit to the head. it’s a tough job. But for me to get the equivalent of a 20-game suspension Kadri meant to just give him a good, hard hit to the body and take the in the regular season, for trying to make a responsible defensive play…?” scoring chance away. But when Faulk went down and didn’t get up, Kadri “It was not an emotional, hot-headed play,” Kadri said. “Nothing had knew he was in some trouble. From the penalty box, he kept looking up happened prior. I was trying to make a responsible defensive play. Had I at the JumboTron, wanting to see the hit on replay. not laid the body and he maybe had got a shot off and got past me and When he saw it, he immediately knew he’d probably be suspended for it. they’d gotten a rebound, then I’d be the guy to blame. So, the only But not in his worst, darkest fears did he ever expect the sentence that reason why it was forceful is because he’s walking down the slot in a was handed down from the NHL Department of Player Safety: Eight playoff game, and I had to show some urgency in getting over there and games. Eight playoff games. They say one playoff game suspension is to try and prevent him from getting a scoring chance. It was one of those equal to two, maybe three, regular-season games. plays where it happened quick. I was just trying to make a responsible defensive play. Of course, I’m not trying to hurt anybody there and put With a “rap sheet” that included two previous playoff suspensions – but myself out too.” with nothing in the past two years, which led Kadri and others with the Avalanche to believe, by the NHL’s own definition of the term, that he Kadri had, and still has, the unwavering support of his Avalanche would not be considered a “repeat offender” – the severity of the teammates, coaches and management in the wake of the suspension. punishment came as a shock to Kadri that he still has a hard time trying Coach Jared Bednar believed it was, at most, a 1-3 game suspension. to understand. So did GM Joe Sakic, who reportedly was very vocal in his “courtroom defense” of Kadri. “There were other instances throughout the playoffs that were very questionable, where the hits were worse than mine, but weren’t even By all accounts, Kadri has been a well-liked and respected member of suspendable. It did feel like I was made to be a poster boy, to send a the Avs’ dressing room since coming over in trade from Toronto. message for the accountability aspect, which I didn’t appreciate much,” Teammates, younger and older, praised his willingness to help in any Kadri told Colorado Hockey Now on Tuesday, in his first interview since way he could, on and off the ice. Unknown to most people, Kadri is a big the May 19 incident. giver to charitable causes, locally and nationally. You’d never know it, from hanging out with him in the room, that Kadri had any kind of At first, it seemed like the Avalanche might survive the medium-term loss “temper/conduct” problem, as he is always calm and collected with of Kadri. They won the next two games of the series to close out St. anyone who comes into his transom. Louis, then won the first two games of their next series, against Vegas. But then the losses started. While he was allowed to practice with the That said, Kadri admits that he can be an “emotional” player on the ice at team, Kadri couldn’t play in the games. When he got halfway through the times. It’s been to his misfortune that sometimes his emotions have suspension, with a 4-0 Avs record in his absence, the 30-year-old, translated into hard hits that have injured opponents, in the playoffs. The second-line center from London, Ontario, thought for sure he’d still be a irony, to that point with the Avs and the May 19 game? Kadri had been a player in the postseason, that his and the Avs’ story would ultimately veritable choir boy with his play. have a happy ending. That’s the way he expects it to go with the Avs for this coming season, As the Avs lost the final four games of the second round to Vegas, it one in which Kadri is counting the days for when it starts. To say he can’t became too unbearable for Kadri to even watch. wait to get to training camp, to start putting this all behind him and getting Avs fans back on his side, would be an understatement. “There were a couple of sleepless nights,” Kadri said. “I knew I could have been the X-factor in that series. It was a very strenuous time.” Kadri is coming up on the final year of a contract that carries a $4.5 million cap hit. He also has a no-trade, no-movement clause, so – Kadri appealed the suspension, first to commissioner Gary Bettman, then contrary to some published reports – he can’t be exposed to Seattle in to a neutral arbitrator, Shyam Das, who had a reputation for leniency the July 21 expansion draft unless he waives it. It didn’t sound, on toward players in such situations. In his work across various leagues, Tuesday, that Kadri had any intention of waiving his NMC to play for an Das had reduced lengthy suspensions to Milwaukee Brewers slugger expansion team. Ryan Braun, and also to notorious, NHL repeat-offender Tom Wilson of the Washington Capitals. “I’m going to be working extremely hard this summer, to come back, to really make an impact next year,” Kadri said. “I think we’ve got the team While it wasn’t a surprise to the Kadri camp when Bettman upheld the and the personnel to put ourselves back in that position. It would just be suspension, there was great optimism that Das would shave off a game nice to get back next year, and have some type of normalcy. I feel like or two when the case came into his purview. But on the afternoon of that’s when I’m at my best, when I’ve got a chip on my shoulder. I’m just really grateful that everyone with the Avalanche really had my back on this. I think they know the kind of person I am. I’m going to go out there and give it everything I’ve got in return.”

Colorado hockey now LOADED: 07.07.2021 1190186 Columbus Blue Jackets Will Legace ever truly understand that it was an accident — horrible, senseless, devastating, yes — but just an accident?

“I feel for the people there as they try to put everything in perspective, Michael Arace: Blue Jackets goalie Matiss Kivlenieks touched a lot of because there’s nothing comparable,” said Kevin Dineen, who was a people in his brief life teammate of Legace’s when both played in Hartford in the mid-1990s.

Dineen in 1999 hosted a party for his teammates the Michael Arace night the Canes were eliminated from the playoffs that year. One player, defenseman Steve Chiasson, rolled his truck on his way home from the The Columbus Dispatch party. Chiasson, who was legally drunk, died from the injuries he sustained.

This is not to say the Kivlenieks case is the same. It is to say that Dineen I can’t imagine the pain that comes from losing a child, but, alas, there can put himself in Legace’s shoes. are so many who are not so blessed. “You try to put everything together on how it played out, and there are a My mother, Barbara, buried my younger brother, Matthew, after he was few 'shouldas' and 'couldas,’ ” Dineen said. “I’m sure Manny is killed in a car accident in October 2006. He was 35. inconsolable. For me, the next week I had to give a eulogy, and then the Barbara died the following Mother’s Day. next week fly to Peterborough (Ontario, Chiasson’s hometown), to give another eulogy. I got a much fuller idea of what a wonderful human being She didn’t want to bury any more children. She said it wasn’t natural. Too Chasser was. It was overwhelming. long a widow, she embraced her cancer in order to join her husband and her youngest son as soon as practicable. She was 69. “What I would mention here is it’s a testament to Manny, to what kind of guy he is, that both (Kivlenieks and Merzlikins) were at his house on the Today, I am thinking of Matiss Kivlenieks’ family, and what caprice that 4th. That he can have that kind of relationship with players. That is by no has foisted upon their souls. I am wishing them peace that they cannot means a usual thing, and it stuck out with a lot of people in the hockey have. I hope they know a lot of people care. world.”

Kivlenieks was killed in a fireworks accident Sunday night. He died in the Kivlenieks was killed by an errant bomb. His best friend, Merzlikins, was backyard of a house owned by his goaltending coach, Manny Legace. He by his side. His coach, Legace, hosted the party. His parents got one of died while in, or just after he got out of, a hot tub. He was with one of his the most unbelievable phone calls in the history of parenting. best friends, Blue Jackets teammate Elvis Merzlikins, at the time. He was 24. The tragedy plunged families large and small — the Kivlenieks, the Blue Jackets, the 5th Line, the city of Columbus, the NHL, the country of He died because a fireworks tube tipped over and a rocket shot at him Latvia, the hockey world — into sudden mourning. May we all stay as and the concussion from the explosion collapsed his heart and lungs. tight as we can as long as we can. Nothing else makes sense.

The coroner reported that Kivlenieks died “in seconds.”

Is that a relief? Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 07.07.2021 Sometime in the wee hours of Monday morning, Kivlenieks’ parents got the call in Riga, Latvia. They were told that their son had died 4,500 miles away from home, in a suburb of Detroit, and that he was the innocent casualty of an American Independence Day celebration.

Monday was filled with condolences. The Blue Jackets put sticks outside of Nationwide Arena as one of their tributes. Teammates, as well as team executives, issued forth with expressions of grief on social media. The hockey world mourned.

Statements were issued by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, NHLPA chief Donald Fehr and the Latvian national team, among many others. There was a brief tribute prior to Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final in Montreal.

Kivlenieks is suddenly relegated to memory. These first memorials seem rote, but they have meaning. They will linger for the Kivlenieks family in part because they are an acknowledgment that he had a bigger family.

He touched a lot of people during his brief life. He touches them yet.

There is comfort in that.

Monday, the R-Bar opened its doors on what was supposed to be a day off. The Arena District haunt, being the most well-established of Columbus’ hockey bars, was a natural gathering spot for hundreds of fans to throw an impromptu wake. Which they did.

Kivlenieks was not quite established as an NHL goaltender, but he was a household name among local fans who know the depth chart. Matiss Kivlenieks. Hey! He beat Canada at the Worlds! What’s next?

He was a Blue Jacket.

After Kivlenieks’ parents, the next person I thought of was Legace, the goalie coach. He, too, is a Blue Jacket.

His warmth of personality and lack of guile is such that he can lower the coach-player barrier and establish deeper relationships with his charges. He can invite Kivlenieks and Merzlikins to his house, and they will gladly come.

Kivlenieks died in Legace’s backyard. What is the burden of Legace’s guilt? In a certain way, Legace’s life has changed with Kivlenieks’ death. 1190187 Columbus Blue Jackets At the age of 20, Kivlenieks, a Latvia native, signed a three-year contract with the Blue Jackets in 2017 after he was named USHL's Player of the Year and Goaltender of the Year following a strong season with the 911 calls reveal details on fireworks incident that killed Blue Jackets . He was 24 when he died. goalie Matiss Kivlenieks

Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 07.07.2021 Clara Hendrickson

The Columbus Dispatch

Audio from 911 calls to Novi, Michigan, police paint a distressing picture of the fireworks incident Sunday night that led to death of Blue Jackets goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks.

Kivlenieks was at the home in Novi when he was struck by a misfired firework, according to three 911 calls. The Dispatch has confirmed the home belongs to Blue Jackets goaltending coach Manny Legace, who hosted a wedding there for his daughter, Sabrina Legace — a nurse who lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

"Fireworks misfire," one caller said in describing the incident. Asked whether the person was conscious, the caller replied, "He's conscious, he's conscious."

"Hey we have someone who was hit by a firework can you come here immediately?" asked a second caller. The dispatcher replied, "We're already aware of it. Is he awake and talking to you?"

"He's breathing, we have a nurse here," the caller answered.

The dispatcher replied, "They're on their way, just stay there."

A third caller told Novi police to "come to the house right now." The caller said "hit with fireworks" in describing what happened.

Lt. Jason Meier said the calls came in around 10:13 p.m. and paramedics arrived to the scene in four minutes and 38 seconds. Kivlenieks was transported to Ascension Providence Hospital in Novi where he was pronounced dead, Meier said.

Police appear to have redacted some of the audio from the phone calls, including the location of the incident.

Novi Police said an initial investigation indicated that Kivlenieks died after he slipped and fell, while fleeing a hot tub during a fireworks malfunction. An autopsy performed Monday found the cause of death was a percussive injury to his internal organs, specifically damaged heart and lungs, as a result of a fireworks explosion.

Dr. Ljubisa Dragovic, Oakland County's chief medical examiner, performed the autopsy and told the Dispatch on Tuesday that Kivlenieks was struck in the left side of his chest by the fireworks mortar shell. Dragovich said Kivlenieks sustained "extensive" external injuries along with his fatal internal injuries.

Kivlenieks was at the home to celebrate the wedding. Blue Jackets goalie Elvis Merzlikins, his close friend and teammate, also attended the event.

The goalies, who are Latvian, traveled to Novi to visit Legace, their goalie coach in Columbus. Each talked last week about an upcoming trip to Michigan to celebrate the July Fourth holiday with Legace, but did not mention the wedding — which had a Hawaiian theme and included guests dressed in Hawaiian attire, including Kivlenieks and Merzlikins.

Meier said Novi Police have launched an investigation into Kivlenieks' death, but told the Dispatch on Tuesday that no illegal activity has been discovered thus far.

Meier confirmed the shells used in the incident were 3-inches in diameter, which is the largest legal size in Michigan for consumer use.

"We are still looking at this as a tragic accident," Meier said. "Based on the new information, we definitely want to reinterview people and make sure that we have an accurate depiction of what happened."

Ahead of the Fourth of July weekend, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission urged those celebrating to practice fireworks safety. The commission found a 50% increase in deaths and injuries from fireworks- related incidents in 2020 compared with the previous year. The COVID- 19 pandemic led many cities to cancel their fireworks shows, leading to an uptick in fireworks sales as Americans put on their own displays. 1190188 Columbus Blue Jackets "We're still investigating it as an accident," Meier said. When the investigation is complete, police will consult the prosecutor's office, he added.

911 calls reveal details on fireworks incident that killed NHL goalie Matiss Ahead of the Fourth of July weekend, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Kivlenieks Commission urged those celebrating to practice fireworks safety. The commission found a 50% increase in deaths and injuries from fireworks- related incidents in 2020 compared with the previous year. The COVID- Clara Hendrickson and Brian HedgerDetroit Free Press and Columbus 19 pandemic led many cities to cancel their fireworks shows, leading to Dispatch an uptick in fireworks sales as Americans put on their own displays.

At the age of 20, Kivlenieks, a Latvia native, signed a three-year contract with the Blue Jackets in 2017 after he was named USHL's Player of the Kivlenieks was at the Novi home of Manny Legace, the former Red Wing Year and Goaltender of the Year following a strong season with the and now goalie coach for the Blue Jackets, according to the Columbus Sioux City Musketeers. He was 24 when he died. Dispatch, when he was struck by a misfired firework.

Three 911 calls obtained by the Free Press describe what happened and Kivlenieks' rapidly deteriorating condition. Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 07.07.2021 "Fireworks misfire," one caller said in describing the incident. Asked whether the person was conscious, the caller replied, "He's conscious, he's conscious."

"Hey we have someone who was hit by a firework can you come here immediately?" asked the second caller. The dispatcher replied, "We're already aware of it. Is he awake and talking to you?"

"He's breathing, we have a nurse here. He's breathing but he's doing not very good," the caller answered.

The dispatcher replied, "They're on their way, just stay there."

A third caller told Novi police to "come to the house right now." The caller said "hit with fireworks" in describing what happened, adding "he's getting ready to go into convulsions."

Lt. Jason Meier told the Free Press that the calls came in around 10:13 p.m. and paramedics arrived to the scene in 4 minutes and 38 seconds where they found Kivlenieks unresponsive. Kivlenieks was transported to Ascension Providence Hospital in Novi, where he was pronounced dead, Meier said.

Police appear to have redacted some of the audio from the phone calls, including the location of the incident.

While Novi police said an initial investigation indicated that Kivlenieks died after he slipped and fell while fleeing a hot tub following a fireworks malfunction, an autopsy performed Monday found Kivlenieks died from chest trauma from a fireworks mortar blast.

Dr. Ljubisa Dragovic, Oakland County's chief medical examiner, performed the autopsy and told the Dispatch on Tuesday that Kivlenieks was struck in the left side of his chest by the fireworks mortar shell. Dragovich said Kivlenieks sustained "extensive" external injuries along with his fatal internal injuries.

Meier said that a set of fireworks were launched off a grassy area that included nine different firework tubes. "After the seventh shot, it tipped and then the eighth shot went over the hot tub and that's when people started to scramble and it was the last shot that hit Mr. Kivlenieks," he said.

Police do not currently believe that the individual who launched the fireworks was consuming alcohol, Meier said.

According to the Dispatch, Kivlenieks traveled to Novi with Blue Jackets goalie Elvis Merzlikins, his close friend and teammate, to celebrate the wedding of Legace's daughter, Sabrina Legace — a nurse who lives in Grand Rapids.

Kivlenieks and Merzlikins talked last week about an upcoming trip to Michigan to celebrate the July Fourth holiday with Legace, but did not mention the wedding, which had a Hawaiian theme and included guests dressed in Hawaiian attire, including Kivlenieks and Merzlikins.

The Free Press has left multiple voice and text messages for Legace since Monday but they have not been returned. A man in the driveway declined to speak with a reporter.

Meier told the Free Press that Novi Police have launched an investigation into Kivlenieks' death. He told the Dispatch that no illegal activity has been discovered thus far. 1190189 Columbus Blue Jackets

Medical examiner: Blue Jackets goalie Matiss Kivlenieks was struck in chest by fireworks mortar

Brian Hedger

The Columbus Dispatch

The medical examiner who performed the autopsy on Blue Jackets goalie Matiss Kivlenieks said a fireworks mortar shell hit him in the chest during an incident Sunday that killed him in Novi, Michigan.

Oakland County chief medical examiner Dr. Ljubisa Dragovic said Tuesday that Kivlenieks sustained "extensive" external injuries plus fatal injuries to his heart and lungs.

"Matiss Kivlenieks was struck by the mortar shell in the left side of his chest," Dragovic said.

Matiss Kivlenieks: In final interview, Blue Jackets goalie couldn't hide excitement for future

According to Novi Police Lt. Jason Meier, Kivlenieks was trying to escape from a hot tub along with other people after a mortar tube tilted toward them and fired.

Meier said the first round went over their heads and the second exploded "in the vicinity" of Kivlenieks, who fell out of the tub and hit his head on cement. Police initially believed the fall is what killed the 24-year old goalie, but Dragovic said there was no head trauma.

A source initially told the Dispatch on Sunday that Kivlenieks' death was caused by a firework that struck him, and reports of him being struck in the chest were published in his home country of Latvia. Dragovic's assessment confirms those reports.

According to Meier, the shells being fired from the launch tube were three inches in diameter, which is the largest legal size Michigan allows for consumer use. Professional fireworks shows usually use shells about twice that size or larger.

Meier said no illegal activity has turned up in the ongoing investigation into the incident, which the Dispatch has confirmed took place at a wedding hosted by Blue Jackets goalie coach Manny Legace. His daughter, Sabrina, was married earlier that day at the residence in Novi, where her father lives in the offseason.

Kivlenieks and Blue Jackets goalie Elvis Merzlikins said last week they intended to spend this past weekend with Legace in Novi and planned to leave for Michigan last Friday.

Police have not confirmedwhether Legace was present. A voicemail left for Legace was not returned.

The identity of the person operating the fireworks mortar tube has not been revealed, but Meier said there is no indication the individual had been drinking alcohol prior to or during the incident.

There are multiple reports about the wedding, citing text from the couple's wedding page and a description of the event as "Hawaiian themed."

Merzlikins posted a memorial to Kivlenieks on Instagram Monday that included a photo of both sitting by a swimming pool, wearing Hawaiian shirts and leis around their necks. An American flag hangs in the background and an unidentified woman is behind them, also wearing a lei.

"I really love you, I'll miss you," Merzlikins wrote in the post. "We had our last game in the pool and we enjoyed (sic) before you left me right after. We love you and fly high, baby, fly high! You saved your last puck! You will be our guardian angel. R.I.P. #80."

Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 07.07.2021 1190190 Columbus Blue Jackets “There were visible injuries to his chest … whatever a blast from a mortar would do,” said Oakland County coroner’s investigator Jeffrey Collins. Kivlenieks also suffered massive damage to his heart and lungs, the Blue Jackets planning Matiss Kivlenieks’ funeral as police investigate coroner’s office said. He likely died within seconds. fireworks incident The Novi police provided three 911 calls from partygoers at Legace’s residence. The first was placed at 10:12 p.m. on Sunday

By Aaron Portzline In the first call, a woman clearly states that there’s been a “fireworks malfunction.” In the second, which sounds like the same voice, she says Jul 7, 2021 “we have someone here who has been hit by a firework. Can you come immediately? He’s breathing. We have a nurse here. He’s breathing, but

he’s doing not good.” NOVI, Mich. — Before Matiss Kivlenieks left Columbus to spend the The third call, which sounds like a different voice than the first two calls, weekend in Michigan, he told a few of his Blue Jackets teammates that says “hit with fireworks” when asked to describe the emergency. She he was thrilled to be sticking around longer in the United States this later adds that Kivlenieks was “getting ready to go into convulsions.” offseason so he could finally experience a Fourth of July in America. Each of the three 911 calls have been heavily edited, specifically when That joyful approach to life is what endeared Kivlenieks to so many the dispatcher asks for the address of the emergency. Meier declined to people, and it’s only added to the immense grief felt across the hockey say if the incident occurred at Legace’s home, but other sources have world following his death late Sunday after a fireworks mishap at the confirmed that. home of Blue Jackets goaltending coach Manny Legace. Blue Jackets goaltender Merzlikins was present, but it’s unclear if any On Tuesday, the process of moving forward took small and delicate other Blue Jackets or NHL players were at Legace’s home that evening. steps forward on at least two different fronts. It should have been a day of celebration. Not just the Fourth of July, but The Blue Jackets are trying to work with Kivlenieks’ mother and the marriage of Legace’s daughter, Sabrina, was held earlier in the day. stepfather in Riga, Latvia, to determine what kind of memorial service is appropriate for Kivlenieks, and where it might be held. The family is But there were no signs of celebration on Tuesday, just five cars parked 4,500 miles and seven time zones away, but those aren’t the only in Legace’s driveway throughout the day, at least one of them with Ohio barriers. license plates.

Kivlenieks’ mother, Astrida, does not speak English, so the Blue Jackets and Kivlenieks’ agent, Jay Grossman, are relying on executives with the Latvian national team and some of Kivlenieks’ former teammates, The Athletic LOADED: 07.07.2021 including Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins, to communicate with her at an already difficult time.

The continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic could also make it difficult for Kivlenieks’ family and friends to travel for a ceremony in the United States. The red tape and paperwork is immense.

“Our hope is that we’ll find a good way to honor his memory and provide some comfort to friends and family,” Grossman said.

Meanwhile, the Novi police department’s investigation into Kivlenieks’ death no longer appears as simple as it did on Monday.

The morning after his death, they expected to have a police report finalized later that day, believing that Kivlenieks died from head trauma after slipping and falling as he rushed to flee the hot tub when the fireworks mishap occurred.

But when the Oakland County, Mich., coroner’s office ruled later in the day on Monday that Kivlenieks’ death was from a “fireworks mortar blast, chest trauma,” Lt. Jason Meier said the report would be delayed.

On Tuesday, he said: “It’s going to take a while. It’s an active investigation. It could be a few days.”

Legace did not respond to a text message from The Athletic on Tuesday and has not spoken publicly since the incident. He coached Kivlenieks since he turned pro, first with the and the past three seasons with the Blue Jackets.

Novi fire chief Jeff Johnson, whose station was first to respond to the 911 calls placed from Legace’s home, said the responding firefighters would not be able to comment publicly until the police report is finalized.

“They’re also considered potential witnesses,” Johnson said. “The police have an ongoing investigation and it could lead to some kind of criminal or civil proceeding as it develops. It’s an evolving situation.”

In Ohio, it’s legal to buy fireworks, but not to detonate them. (Although there is a bill on Gov. Mike Dewine’s desk to change that.) In Michigan, though, it’s legal to buy and set off fireworks on certain dates of the year, including the July 4 weekend.

It is illegal to use fireworks while under the influence of alcohol, but Meier has said that the person lighting the fireworks on Sunday at Legace’s home was not impaired.

Legace’s backyard has a large pool, with a five- or six-person whirlpool a few feet away. That’s where Kivlenieks was seated when he was struck in the chest by the mortar, knocking him to the ground. 1190191 Dallas Stars Pavelski, Radulov, John Klingberg and Rick Bowness all on the last year of their contracts. If the Stars truly believe this group can win a Stanley Cup, there’s no need to revamp in the last year of this particular group’s Matt’s Mail: Finding a contract that makes sense for Miro Heiskanen and window. the Stars But it does still need a retool in the top-nine to compete with the big boys both in the Western Conference and its old friend in Tampa Bay.

By Matthew DeFranks The Stars’ style of play has been a point of consternation in the last three seasons, first under Jim Montgomery and then under Rick Bowness. This 1:06 PM on Jul 2, 2021 CDT — Updated at 6:23 PM on Jul 5, 2021 CDT is a defense of it.

It may be boring to play defense-first hockey that generates chances from their own zone and on the forecheck. It’s not as exciting as Welcome to July, when the hockey offseason calendar really heats up, Colorado or Chicago zooming through the neutral zone at all times. and teams around the league have a better understanding of who their There have been many first periods in the last few years that I could have group will be in the fall. skipped and missed absolutely nothing. The Stanley Cup will be awarded. The schedule will be released. The No one will confuse the Stars with playing exciting, up-and-down hockey, Seattle expansion draft will be held. So will the regular draft. Then free and I understand how that can be frustrating or annoying as a fan. It sure agency follows. Roster construction (and retention) will be a key theme is unsatisfying as someone who watches every game. My assertion is around the league, including for the Stars. that the Stars’ failure last season had more to do with players than it had With that in mind, let’s get to some questions. to do with systems.

The biggest priority for the Stars should be building a third scoring line. Here’s where the Stars ranked in a variety of play-driving metrics at 5 on Perhaps that comes simply by having a healthy Tyler Seguin, Alexander 5 this season (according to Natural Stat Trick). Radulov and Roope Hintz available every night. Maybe it comes through Metric Percentage Rank the promotion of Riley Damiani or Adam Mascherin. Shot attempts for 52.83 8th The goal should be to build a forward corps that pushes Radek Faksa and Blake Comeau down to fourth-line minutes, and produces not only Shots for 53.86 5th primary and secondary scoring, but also tertiary scoring. Expected goals for 54.05 3rd The targets are there out in free agency. Blake Coleman, Barclay Goodrow, Alex Wennberg, Brandon Saad, Zach Hyman, David Krejci and Scoring chances for 54.40 4th Mike Hoffman will all be middle-six forwards available in unrestricted free High-danger chances for 55.58 4th agency, with varying costs associated with each. Each one could come in and help the Stars immediately build the depth that they were lacking last Regardless of whether those metrics were derived by playing good season, whether due to injuries or roster construction. offense or good defense, they still mean that the Stars were among the league’s elite at controlling play at 5 on 5. That’s thanks to the structure In trades, Viktor Arvidsson ($4.25 million cap hit) could have been a fit for Bowness and his staff put in place. Where Dallas failed was finishing at Dallas before he was dealt to Los Angeles on Thursday. Dallas might not the net and its 7.45 shooting percentage at 5 on 5 was sixth-worst in the have the trade capital and cap space to acquire Buffalo’s Sam Reinhart league. (due a qualifying offer of at least $5.2 million). Maybe Tampa Bay tries to move Alex Killorn ($4.45 million) to soothe its cap crunch? If Arizona eats If the Stars had finished chances at a league-average rate (8.27%), they part of Phil Kessel’s $6.8 million cap hit, the winger could work in Dallas. would have finished with 11 more 5-on-5 goals and ranked 12th in the Should Anaheim begin shopping Rickard Rakell ($3.789 million), the league in goals scored per 60 minutes at 5 on 5. Eleven more goals Stars could make sense. would have likely gotten the Stars into the playoffs this season. With just average scorers, this would not even be a discussion about Bowness’ The Stars should not simply rely on injured players returning and preferred style of play. immediately turning back into the players they were before. Dallas may not even be able to rely on those players being healthy the entire season, Instead, the Stars shot like they did, ranked 25th in goals scored per 60, since the Stars are one of the oldest teams in the league and older missed the playoffs and the system is blamed as the culprit. players get hurt more often. Perhaps it’s naïve to think that the system doesn’t impact shooting Joe Pavelski turns 37 in nine days, Radulov turns 35 in three days, percentage, especially since the Stars were third-worst in both 2019-20 Andrej Sekera, Anton Khudobin and Comeau are 35 and Ben Bishop and 2018-19. That’s certainly a fair argument, that maybe players are too turns 35 in November. Injuries will happen to an older team, and the tired after forechecking for 40 seconds to get a quality shot on goal. Or Stars need to build enough depth to withstand it. Lessons should have maybe Dallas is too reliant on scoring from defensemen, or too focused been learned from 2020-21, when Dallas was ravaged by injuries, while on preventing odd-man rushes that offensive zone chances are wasted. similarly hurt Central Division brethren Nashville and Tampa Bay had enough depth to push to the playoffs. It’s likely a mix of a bunch of factors. But, to me, scoring talent is the biggest one. The truth is that the Stars’ top nine from last season was not worthy of contention. Here’s a look at even-strength goal-scoring from the final four Corey Sznajder tracks microstats — like zone entries, exits, passing teams in the playoffs, plus the four division winners from the regular plays, how shots are created — and presents them visually, a useful tool season. in understanding different playing styles. According to Sznajder, here is a plot of teams that create offense on the forecheck or off the rush. Here is how the Stars' top three lines stacked up with the league's best teams last season in terms of even-strength goal scoring. Of the eight teams that won a playoff series this year, seven of them were above-average forechecking teams, according to microstats Here is how the Stars' top three lines stacked up with the league's best tabulated by Corey Sznajder. The Stars were an above-average teams last season in terms of even-strength goal scoring.(Matthew forechecking team in 2020-21. DeFranks) Of the eight teams that won a playoff series this year, seven of them The Stars ranked dead-last among those nine teams with 72 even- were above-average forechecking teams, according to microstats strength goals from their top-nine, including just 12 total from Andrew tabulated by Corey Sznajder. The Stars were an above-average Cogliano, Faksa and Comeau. Meanwhile, the Lightning’s third line of forechecking team in 2020-21.(Corey Sznajder) Goodrow, Yanni Gourde and Coleman had 33 even-strength goals, more than Tampa’s top two lines (though Nikita Kucherov didn’t play in the The Stars are in the “Creating off Forecheck” quadrant as a team that’s regular season). slightly above average on the forecheck and slightly below average off the rush. You’ll notice something about the other above-average Dallas doesn’t need a major shakeup, especially not at this stage of its forechecking teams: Of the eight teams to win a playoff series this year, life cycle. This might be the final season with this group of players, with seven of them were above-average on the forecheck. Winnipeg is the goal pace during an 82-game season. He’s worth the money, especially only team that was not. with one year left on his deal.

That includes the high-flying Avalanche and the Panthers. These are Isn’t Texas the Lone Star State, so shouldn’t Stars be singular? And teams that combined dogged forechecking with offensive skill to become since there are six players on the ice, including the goalie, shouldn’t the successful, though they also rely on production off the rush. The Stars, I star have 6 points? believe, can play this style and be successful (particularly in the playoffs: Hello, Islanders!) with another injection of skill. 1. I like this scenario because I’m imagining revisionist history in which the franchise is called the Minnesota North Star before becoming the A three-year bridge contract makes the most sense for both sides. Dallas Star.

For the Stars, it keeps Heiskanen as a restricted free agent at the end of 2. As a top two-way center, Mike Modano would probably earn the contract and it keeps the cap hit down since Dallas would not be somewhere in the $10-11 million range annually. That’s the tier that buying out any of Heiskanen’s potential UFA years. It would allow Dallas currently has Jonathan Toews, Jack Eichel, Anze Kopitar and John to try to re-sign John Klingberg next summer and add forward depth this Tavares in it. summer. Jamie Benn goes and plays for the Rangers. There would be a mass For Heiskanen, the expiration of a three-year contract should be when exodus of Europeans to FC Dallas. Tyler Seguin would revive the Dallas the NHL is exiting its flat-cap era, opening up spending potential across Rattlers to play lacrosse. the league. It would be when the Stars only have one more year on Jamie Benn’s contract with a $9.5 million cap hit, opening up more funds. With a bridge contract now, Heiskanen would be set up to massively Dallas Morning News LOADED: 07.07.2021 cash in on his third one, especially considering he’ll likely be producing more offensively in the coming three years than he did last season.

The prospect of an offer sheet could complicate things for Dallas.

If teams know that the Stars would be hard-pressed to sign a long-term contract for Heiskanen because of the added cost, it could make Dallas a vulnerable target — if offer sheets were a tool that general managers, you know, actually used. It would have to be an offer sheet way above market value to even have a chance of swiping Heiskanen from Dallas, and there are plenty of teams around the league that also don’t have the cap space to do so.

I’m torn on this scenario.

We know Jim Nill likes depth, as evidenced by the blue line every single season. It’s been three straight offseasons that he’s brought back a veteran UFA that perhaps could have walked (Roman Polak in 2019, Andrej Sekera in 2020 and Blake Comeau in 2021) simply to protect against different scenarios.

It’s also a big assumption to assume Bishop will be “(reasonably) healthy” for the upcoming season, a theory that Nill can’t bank on given Bishop’s injury history. Bishop has been hurt in every season in Dallas, and at key junctures. If Bishop goes down for a considerable amount of time again, does Nill really want to roll with a goaltending duo of Jake Oettinger and … Adam Scheel? That doesn’t seem like the optimal way to maximize this group’s chances.

Even if he won’t say it publicly, Nill understands the timing of this group, with the expiring contracts and all. If Anton Khudobin is tying up cap space that could better be used on upgrading other parts of the roster, might it be worth it to trade him and juice up the other 18 spots on the roster for one last run? It might.

I can see both sides of the argument, but feel like Nill would lean more into keeping Khudobin and having Oettinger play a heavy workload in the AHL, a way of preserving depth and developing Oettinger, who has never played more than 38 games in a professional or college season.

Before I get to my prediction here, it’s quite an achievement for Stars drafting and development that in each of the last three seasons, there’s been at least one impact rookie in Dallas: Miro Heiskanen and Roope Hintz in 2018-19, Denis Gurianov in 2019-20 and Jason Robertson in 2020-21. It’s become so regular that each season is expected to have one of those guys come in and immediately become one of the best players on the roster.

For next year, I’ll go with Riley Damiani.

Big surprise to select the AHL Rookie of the Year to make the jump to the NHL next season, but Damiani was truly electric in with Texas last year. He was dynamic offensively in finding teammates and formed one of the league’s best lines with Adam Mascherin and Nick Baptiste. He’s a right- handed center who might have to play wing in order to make the NHL roster in the fall, but he was more productive than Robertson was in his rookie AHL season, and was a consideration to be called up to Dallas.

Other candidates are Mascherin, Thomas Harley and Ty Dellandrea.

Absolutely. On a team that struggles to score goals, he scores goals. There’s only one year left on his contract that seems reasonable for a 37- 1190192 Dallas Stars success in his limited playing time in Dallas after the trade deadline. The two sides couldn’t come to terms on a contract so Zuccarello went to Minnesota, leaving Dallas with a hole to fill. The Stars signed Pavelski, Stars’ past two offseasons provide a blueprint for approaching free who plays a different style of offensive hockey than Zuccarello. Once agency: ‘It’s like a piece of pie’ Pavelski got in the flow of things, though, his strengths jelled within the Stars’ system and he was the team’s leading scorer in 2021.

“Good hockey players can play any position and play different roles,” Nill By Saad Yousuf said. “There’s versatility throughout the league in that way.”

Jul 6, 2021 Though the expansion draft adds some uncertainty as to how much the Stars will be able to spend in free agency, they should have enough to

make some sort of significant upgrade this summer. The team is in a The Stars’ past two offseasons show two different sides of the front wait-and-see period right now because of contract negotiations and the office. In 2019, Dallas saw its season end in heartbreaking fashion in the expansion draft but it’s clear how they need to approach free agency. second round to the eventual champion St. Louis Blues. That came a few The past two offseasons show a blueprint of what works and what months after one of Jim Nill’s most active trade deadlines, when he doesn’t. Making a splash by signing proven talents takes the team to the acquired Andrew Cogliano, Jamie Oleksiak and Ben Lovejoy, and topped next level. Running things back with internal assurances leaves the team it off with Mats Zuccarello. On the other side of the 2019 playoff defeat on thin ice, which can crack in the face of injuries and drowns an entire came the signings of Joe Pavelski and Corey Perry. That aggressiveness season. landed the Stars on the doorstep of the Stanley Cup in 2020, when they fell two wins short to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Last offseason, the internal assurance was that the team was close to winning the ultimate prize. This offseason, it can be an easy trap to In the offseason that followed, the Stars spent much of the available channel that into misfortune caused by COVID-19 and a severe winter funds re-signing their own: Anton Khudobin, Radek Faksa, Denis storm, resulting in an unreasonable schedule and injuries. Gurianov and Roope Hintz. The only outside signing was a third-pairing defenseman in Mark Pysyk, who finished the season as a fourth-line If the Stars had rested in the summer of 2019 on the fact that they were forward. The Stars’ season ended before the regular season officially one wraparound goal away from beating the champions, they would have concluded. never upgraded the roster with pieces that did eventually get them to the Stanley Cup Final. Similarly, if the Stars believe the only thing standing After a silent trade deadline three months ago and another list of in- between them and their goal is getting some injured pieces getting house priority free agents, not to mention a flat salary cap, the Stars are healthy, and they don’t show a sense of urgency, they won’t be in a in a precarious position. They need to dole out a new contract to Miro position to take that final step this season. For a roster that is mostly built Heiskanen. They also want to bring back Oleksiak. Joel Kiviranta and to contend, it would be an egregious wasted opportunity. Jason Dickinson are waiting in line as well.

“There’s only so much money to go around,” Stars general manager Jim Nill said to The Athletic. “It’s like a piece of pie. You sit at a table and The Athletic LOADED: 07.07.2021 there are four people sitting there and (if) the first person takes half a piece of pie, guess what? There’s less pie for the other people. That’s the simple way to put it.

“I make sure the representatives know that this is how it is. If you’re going to demand too much or take too long, I’ve got to make decisions. … If it turns out that somebody wants more money than I anticipate and we have to get them signed, then there’s going to be less money for somebody else down the road.”

Nill said he isn’t concerned about how contracts around the league play out, but that doesn’t mean the players’ representatives won’t keep an eye out around the league. That creates a waiting game as Heiskanen’s camp tries to wait out deals for Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes in Colorado and Vancouver, respectively.

“Discussions have been healthy, but it’s just a process,” Nill said. “There are no deadlines right now. It’s not like something has to be done by next week so you just go through the process. They’ve got their numbers and their scenarios they’re looking at and we’ve got our scenarios we’re looking at.”

There may not be hard deadlines, especially since Heiskanen is a restricted free agent and offer sheets are mostly a myth in the NHL, but Heiskanen’s contract is the biggest domino that needs to fall in order for the Stars to know what they’re working with financially when free agency begins on July 28. If Heiskanen’s number isn’t figured out by then, which isn’t entirely within the Stars’ control, they will enter free agency with one hand behind their back.

Nill hopes to enter free agency with an open mind, which would be aided by an open budget, but there isn’t a specific position or role that the team plans to pursue.

“Good players can adapt,” Nill said. “You’re talking about the best hockey players in the world, so you’re looking for the best player available. They can adjust to the system and make it work.”

Expectations from an organization are different in free agency as opposed to the draft. There are some basic levels of fit that come into play in free agency, but if a player has shown the talent to score goals or stop pucks or play defense, that player can help enhance the team. The summer of 2019 is again an example of this philosophy. The Stars needed help among their forwards and had seen Zuccarello have 1190193 Detroit Red Wings

What gives Detroit Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman optimism about drafting gems in later rounds

HELENE ST. JAMES

The pandemic made it tough for NHL teams to do as much scouting as usual, but the flip side is that maybe there’s a player available in later rounds that hasn’t had as many eyes on him as he may have in a normal year.

The Detroit Red Wings’ rebuild depends on drafting well, and, as general manager Steve Yzerman has pointed out, the more picks you hold, the better the chance to have a good draft class. This summer’s event, to be held virtually July 23-24, comes after a year in which teams' preparations are different from normal levels. Last year’s draft was held virtually, too, but COVID-19 didn’t shutter the 2019-20 season until mid-March.

It was much harder to see all the players eligible for the 2021 draft during a rapid-fire 72-game schedule.

“We’ve tried to make the most of it, and wherever there was hockey being played, we had people there,” Yzerman said the night of the draft lottery, June 2. “If we couldn’t be there in person, we’ve had access to watch it on video. It’s not ideal, but you do the best you can.

“We’ll try to find some players based on what we’ve seen.”

The Wings have two picks in the first round: their own, at No. 6, and the Washington Capitals’ No. 22, from the Anthony Mantha trade. While star Michigan defenseman Owen Power is projected to be the No. 1 pick, options for the Wings include forwards Mason McTavish, Dylan Guenther, Kent Johnson and William Eklund, defenseman Luke Hughes, and goaltender Jesper Wallstedt.

While those two picks present the highest chance of adding players that will boost competitiveness, the Wings also have three picks in the second round: their own at 38th; the ’ at 48th (from the Marc Staal trade) and the Edmonton Oilers’ at 52nd (from the Andreas Athanasiou trade).

Players from that round who have gone on to play roles for the Wings include Tyler Bertuzzi (58th, 2013), Filip Hronek (53rd, 2016), Givani Smith (46th, 2016) and Gustav Lindstrom (38th, 2017). Going back a bit further, Jiri Hudler (58th, 2002), Jimmy Howard (64th, 2003), Justin Abdelkader (42nd, 2005) and Tomas Tatar (60th, 2009).

The Wings also have two picks in each of the third, fourth and fifth rounds. The thinking is that maybe the limited scouting will increase odds that there’ll be a gem to be found.

“In a normal year our scouts would see these kids play a lot in every single league,” Yzerman said. “This year, the Ontario (Hockey League) kids haven’t played, a lot of the leagues shut down early. I think there’s going to be kids that go much later in the draft than normally would have if they got a chance to play all year. And the same way kids will go a lot higher just basically because teams got to see them a lot.”

Detroit Free Press LOADED: 07.07.2021 1190194 Detroit Red Wings injuries. "Just about every part of the body, I have seen injured by fireworks," Uren said.

Fireworks accidents typically result in one of three types of injuries, he Matiss Kivlenieks' death illustrates one of three ways that fireworks can said: burns from the heat, concussive injuries caused by a projectile kill hitting someone or shrapnel injuries where a piece of firework or some other object hits someone as a result of the explosion.

Kivlenieks, a native of Latvia, played eight games for the Blue Jackets, JORDYN GRZELEWSKI , TONY PAUL , SARAH RAHAL | The including two this past season against the Red Wings. The tragedy has Detroit News rocked the hockey world, with condolences pouring in from all corners. There was a moment of silence before Game 4 of the

on Monday night. The death of an NHL goalie in a fireworks accident Sunday illustrates the The impact and injuries to Kivlenieks seem similar to those sometimes powerful impact mortar-style pyrotechnics can have on the human body, sustained by military and law enforcement personnel whose body armor medical and bioengineering experts said Tuesday. stops a projectile, said Madelyn Kramer Eaton, a graduate research Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Matiss Kivlenieks, 24, died Sunday at the assistant at the University of Virginia's Center for Applied Biomechanics home of his position coach, former Red Wing Manny Legace, during a who is researching body armor trauma. July 4 party. Police initially believed he may have slipped exiting a hot The person who is hit suffers a "high energy transfer from the projectile tub, but a caller to 911 said he was hit in the chest by a firework, into the chest in a very short time," she said in an email. recordings released Tuesday show. The lack of rib fractures or the appearance of few external injuries Mortars don't have to burn or penetrate the skin to cause fatal injuries, happens because "the impact is too fast for the whole body to be pushed experts point out. away, so the rib cage reacts by bending," Kramer Eaton said. One researcher compared it to injuries sustained by body armor-clad "This bending can cause injuries to internal organs, especially the lungs military and law enforcement personnel who suffer projectile hits. It is and heart. These internal injuries are a result of high-speed deformations also common for victims of falls or car crashes not to display external within the internal organs, while the ribs and/or muscles/skin release the injuries, a University of Michigan emergency room doctor said. energy of the impact by bending so that no breaks occur."` Oakland County medical examiner Dr. Ljubisa Dragovic said Tuesday The early police investigation found that the fireworks were being lit from that Kivlenieks died shortly after a shell from a high-powered mortar near the lake surrounded by homes in Novi's Village Oaks neighborhood. firework struck him on the left side of his chest. The autopsy, conducted The hot tub is closer to the lake than the back of the house. Monday, determined the cause of death to be trauma to the chest. Kivlenieks' death is being investigated as accidental, Meier said. There Kivlenieks suffered "devastating" injuries to the heart and lungs, Dragovic was no indication alcohol was involved with the person who was lighting said. "There was a huge bruise pattern in the chest," he said, describing the shell-and-mortar-style fireworks, he said. it as "sustained chest trauma as a result of the impact of this projectile." What 911 calls said Blunt trauma occurs when a body part collides with another object at high speed — an incident usually associated with car accidents and falls. A Police received the first 911 call shortly after 10 p.m. Sunday, blunt object or shear forces tear blood vessels inside the body, and the paramedics were on the scene within five minutes, and Kivlenieks was internal bleeding can result in death. transported to Ascension Providence Hospital in Novi, where he was pronounced dead. "The lack of external evidence of trauma does not mean there may not be more internal trauma," said Brad Uren, an emergency room doctor Three women who called 911 shortly after 10 p.m. Sunday told and an associate professor of emergency medicine at UM's Medical dispatchers Kivlenieks was conscious and breathing but "not doing very School. well" after the accident, according to audio released Tuesday.

After a firework was accidentally set off at close range, according to Novi There was a heightened tone of panic from the second caller, who told police, Kivlenieks tried to get out of the hot tub, but slipped and fell. Novi dispatchers, "We have someone who's hit by a firework. Can you come Police Lt. Jason Meier said Kivlenieks was believed to be about 10 feet here immediately?" according to the audio released by the Novi Police from the firework, but that remains "speculation." The party was a "large Department to The Detroit News. gathering," and nobody else was injured, according to police. Paramedics arrived at the Novi home within five minutes of the first call, The initial report led police to believe Kivlenieks died of a head injury. which came at 10:12 p.m. The second call came 41 seconds later, and Dragovic said Tuesday there was no indication of any head trauma. the third 58 seconds after that.

After a direct impact to the chest, it's not surprising that Kivlenieks didn't The second woman who called said there was a nurse at the party. The survive, said professor Cynthia Bir, chair of biomedical engineering at third said Kivlenieks was "getting ready to go into convulsions." Wayne State University, whose research focuses on human injury tolerances. Parts of the audio were redacted, often after callers were asked for the address of the location, which was initially withheld by police. "It's more than a blast injury, he had blunt trauma," Bir said. "With his injury, it was a freak accident. This is one of the dangers that can occur The incident is a reminder of the varied risks of fireworks, Wayne State's with fireworks." Bir said. Most fireworks accident victims walk away with burns, she said, and that's why certain levels of fireworks are illegal, she said. Dangers of fireworks injuries "Even people who are trained to compose firework displays face the risks There were 18 fireworks-related deaths in 2020, up from 12 in 2019, of injuries. It's not something that should be taken lightly," Bir said. "I according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The think they're readily available, but I don't think people truly understand agency estimates there were about 15,600 fireworks-related injuries that the risks." were treated in an emergency-room setting in 2020. Private firework use reportedly increased in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic as many Uren advised that those planning to put on a fireworks display buy the municipalities canceled their shows. fireworks from a reputable source, ensure they're intended for home use and not meant for a large commercial display, read the instructions, keep Michigan legalized the use of consumer fireworks in 2012. children away and create a safe launching area a safe distance away from other people in a cleared space. It's also important to exercise "Unfortunately it's something that emergency physicians ... see more caution if a launching tube is damaged or bent, he said, because they often than we would like," UM's Uren said. can "become a bomb." During his career, he said he's seen many cases of eye and limb injuries "Reading and understanding the instructions is really what I think can sometimes requiring the removal of body parts, burns and shrapnel prevent a lot of injuries," he said. "People want to use fireworks. They want to have fun. And that’s absolutely understandable, but they require respect and care so you can do it safely."

Larger fireworks pose bigger risks, Dragovic said.

"The bigger the blast, there is more and more danger for anyone nearby," he said.

"I think the message out there should be," he added, "that any handling of fireworks, being and containing explosives as they do, is potentially dangerous."

Detroit News LOADED: 07.07.2021 1190195 Detroit Red Wings

NHL’s top prospect Owen Power leaning to stay at Michigan next season

John Wawrow | Associated Press

Defenseman Owen Power, the NHL’s top-ranked draft prospect, is leaning toward staying in school and play his sophomore season at Michigan next year rather than turn pro.

“I wouldn’t say I’m committed to going back to school. I mean, I’m probably leaning towards it right now.” Power said during a Zoom call featuring the top-ranked draft prospects on Tuesday.

Power added he won’t make a decision until after the draft, by noting he wants to first consult with the team that selects him.

The 6-foot-6, 213-pound player from Mississauga, Ontario, is the NHL’s Central Scouting Bureau’s top-ranked North American skater entering the two-day draft, which opens on July 23 and will be held remotely for a second straight year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The bureau’s scouting report credits Power for being intuitive, and for his fluid and agile skating ability that allows him to transition quickly.

“Power is an excellent package of NHL size, skating and attributes, which he utilizes effectively in all situations,” the report reads. “He plays a mature game for his age and is at the top of this draft class.”

The Buffalo Sabres have the first pick for the second time in four years after winning the draft lottery, and are followed by the NHL’s 32nd franchise, the expansion Seattle Kraken.

Power said he is scheduled to meet with the Sabres on Thursday, and he has already met with the Kraken.

Two of Power’s Wolverines teammates are included in the top six of the North American rankings, with center Kent Johnson listed third and center Matthew Beniers sixth.

Defenseman Luke Hughes, who is committed to playing at Michigan next year, is ranked fourth. Hughes is the younger brother of New Jersey forward Jack Hughes, the No. 1 pick in the 2019 draft, and Vancouver defenseman Quinn Hughes, the seventh overall pick in 2018.

Canadian junior center Mason McTavish, who played in Switzerland last year, is the second-ranked North American skater.

Central Scouting’s top European prospect is Swedish center William Eklund.

Power was a Big Ten all-rookie team selection after scoring three goals and adding 13 assists for 16 points in 26 games. Michigan’s season, however, ended abruptly when the No. 2-seeded Wolverines were removed from the NCAA Tournament following positive COVID-19 test results.

The 18-year-old Power’s season continued after he was selected to represent eventual champion Canada at the world championships in Latvia in May and June. Power’s role increased through the tournament, and he finished with three assists in 10 games.

One reason he would prefer to return to Michigan is the opportunity to enjoy a college year without COVID limitations – including playing in front of fans at Yost Arena.

“I think it would be pretty special. Just actually going to class and not do it online,” Power said. “Just being able to do stuff other than go to the rink and home, I think would be something that I would like to do.”

Detroit News LOADED: 07.07.2021 1190196 Detroit Red Wings "I can see we’re headed in the right direction, so I’d like to stay here to see the process towards the end.”

Bernier was 9-11-1 with a 2.99 goals-against average and .914 save Red Wings position breakdown: Goaltending in good shape, but Bernier's percentage this season. The numbers don't adequately do justice to how free agency a question mark consistently well Bernier played, especially a 50-save night in an overtime loss to Dallas late in the season.

Bernier's desire to remain in Detroit should likely produce a fair deal for TED KULFAN | The Detroit News both sides.

► Greiss: In a way, it was almost a tale of two seasons for Greiss, who signed a two-year contract last offseason. Over the next three days, The Detroit News will take a closer look at each position group in the Red Wings’ organization. Today: Goaltending. Greiss began the season with a dismal 1-8-2 record, although his 2.90 GAA and .904 SVS showed he was playing relatively well and wasn't Detroit — The Red Wings had a plan for their goaltending before the getting much offensive support. season. Greiss was also getting the majority of work in late January and early Coach Jeff Blashill envisioned Jonathan Bernier and Thomas Greiss February, with Bernier nursing a minor lower-body injury. sharing the workload, pushing each other, and supplying the capable goaltending that has been a trademark in each player's career. When Bernier got healthy and Greiss' workload eased, his season turned around. There were a few dips and valleys through the shortened season. Bernier was injured and missed several weeks. Greiss struggled at the start Greiss was named NHL Player of the Week late in the season after behind a makeshift lineup ravaged by COVID-19. stopping all 66 shots he faced across 130 minutes of regulation time.

But for the most part, Blashill’s plan worked. The two veterans Greiss finished 8-15-8 with a 2.70 GAA and .912 SVS, in some ways complemented each other and gave the Wings the type of quality better than Bernier's statistics. goaltending a good team needs. "He's a good pro. He just comes and does his work," Blashill said of “Both guys are in a good spot where their games are at and it gives you a Greiss. "There's not a lot else to worry about. He just totally does his job ton of confidence that you’re going to get good goaltending,” Blashill said and he's done a good job at it." late in the season, talking about the effectiveness of the two veterans. ► Calvin Pickard: Essentially the No. 3 goalie in the organization, Chances are the Wings aren’t going to change the dynamics of this Pickard spent the majority of the season on the taxi squad and played goaltending duo heading into next season. sparingly. He only played nine games between the Wings and Griffins, but the Wings think highly of his professionalism and influence with Greiss, 35, has one more year left on his contract, with a $3.6 million younger goalies. He's an unrestricted free agent. salary cap hit. But where it gets, potentially, a bit hairy is with Bernier. ► Kevin Boyle: Boyle (7-3-1, 2.89 GAA, .883 SVS) shared the workload Bernier, 32, is an unrestricted free agent after completing his three-year, in Grand Rapids and spent time on the taxi squad. A potential UFA, his $9 million contract ($3 million per season cap hit) and is coming off, future in the organization is hazy. arguably, two consecutive seasons of being the Wings' most valuable player. ► Pat Nagle: The Bloomfield native continues to carve out a pro career with another solid season (6-6-0, 2.78 GAA, .892 SVS), splitting playing If Bernier chooses, there are likely to be interested teams on the open time with Boyle. A 10-year pro, Nagle, 33, is another veteran valued for market. his experience and influence. Both the Wings and Bernier appear willing to come together on a new ► Kaden Fulcher: In seven appearances, Fulcher (2-2-2, .905 SVS) had contract. Bernier, during his season-ending interview with media, talked the best save percentage of any Griffins goaltender and somewhat re- about his and his family’s appreciation of the city and the Wings’ established himself as a prospect. organization. ► Filip Larsson: The one-time prospect has fizzled since turning pro in “(It’s an) . It’s always special to play for a team like that, lots 2019. In 16 games in Europe this season, Larsson had an .885 SVS. of history. It’s a great organization,” Bernier said. “The setup we have at That's two mystifying and consecutive poor seasons. the rink is amazing, the way they treat us. And it's a great group of guys. That makes a big difference when you’re having fun at the rink. ► Victor Brattstrom: The 24-year-old had a fine season in Finland (18- 12-7, 2.20 GAA, .903 SVS) and established himself as a legitimate “It’s not every team you feel comfortable with, and for me I really like the prospect. group of guys here. I’m excited to see what next year brings.”

Bernier's return is further made important by the fact the Wings don't have adequate replacements within the organization. Any potential Detroit News LOADED: 07.07.2021 replacements are, at least, years away and unproven.

If Bernier were to leave, general manager Steve Yzerman would need to replace him with an NHL-caliber goaltender, likely through free agency.

Yzerman was pleased with what he saw of Bernier and Greiss.

"There are areas of our game that got better over the course of the season," Yzerman said during his end-of-season media conference. "As the year went on, our goaltending was very good, very consistent as it went on. That helped every part of our game."

Here's a brief look at the goaltending in the Wings' organization:

► Bernier: He has been through rebuilding situations in the past, most notably while playing in Toronto.

“The one thing I regret is going through the pain but not being there when they’re better," Bernier said. "That’s one of the reasons why I want to stay here. All the pain we went through the last couple years, I finally see we’re getting better. We got some great, young guys that aren't really young. 1190197 Detroit Red Wings Detroit News LOADED: 07.07.2021

Matiss Kivlenieks was conscious when three 911 calls were placed; firework shell to chest killed him

TONY PAUL , JORDYN GRZELEWSKI | The Detroit News

Three women who called 911 shortly after 10 p.m. Sunday told dispatchers Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Matiss Kivlenieks was conscious and breathing but "not doing very well" after a fireworks accident at Novi holiday party that killed the 24-year-old goalie, according to audio released Tuesday.

There was a heightened tone of panic from the second caller, who told dispatchers, "We have someone who's hit by a firework. Can you come here immediately?," according to the audio released by the Novi Police Department to The Detroit News.

Paramedics arrived at the Novi home of former Red Wings goalie Manny Legace — now Columbus' goaltending coach — within five minutes of the first call, which came at 10:12 p.m. The second call came 41 seconds later, and the third 58 seconds after that. The second woman who called said there was a nurse at the party. The third said Kivlenieks was "getting ready to go into convulsions."

Small parts of the audio were redacted, usually when callers were asked for the address of the location.

Kivlenieks was transported to Ascension Providence Hospital in Novi, where he was pronounced dead.

Oakland County medical examiner Dr. Ljubisa Dragovic said Tuesday that Kivlenieks died shortly after a shell from the high-powered fireworks struck him on the left side of his chest.

The autopsy, conducted Monday, determined the official cause of death as trauma to the chest. Kivlenieks suffered "devastating" injuries to the heart and lungs, Dragovic said.

"He sustained chest trauma as a result of the impact of this projectile," Dragovic said.

"I think the message out there should be," he added, "that any handling of fireworks, being and containing explosives as they do, is potentially dangerous."

In 2020, there were 18 reported deaths from fireworks in the United States, and more than 15,000 injuries that required trips to the emergency rooms. Those numbers were up from 2019, possibly because of the pandemic as many municipalities canceled their public fireworks shows.

Novi police said the party was a "large gathering," and that nobody else was injured.

Kivlenieks was in the hot tub, located in Legace's backyard between his house and Meadowbrook Lake, when the accident happened. Kivlenieks tried to get out of the hot tub, but slipped and fell, leading police to initially believe he died of a head injury. Dragovic said Tuesday there was no indication of any head trauma.

Novi Police Lt. Jason Meier said the investigation remains ongoing, and that Kivlenieks was believed to be about 10 feet from the fireworks, but that remains "speculation."

The early police investigation found that the fireworks were being lit from near the lake. The hot tub is slightly closer to the lake than the back side of the house. Meier said the person lighting the fireworks wasn't consuming alcohol, and that no charges are currently under consideration.

The final investigation will be sent to the prosecutor's office.

Kivlenieks, a native of Latvia, played eight games for the Blue Jackets, including two this past season against the Red Wings. He won his last NHL game, against Detroit, on May 8. He signed with Columbus in 2017.

The tragedy has rocked the hockey world, with condolences pouring in from all corners. There was a moment of silence before Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals on Monday night. 1190198 Detroit Red Wings

Blue Jackets goalie Matiss Kivlenieks dies after being hit by fireworks mortar

Updated Jul 05, 2:04 PM; Posted Jul 05, 11:19 AM

By Ansar Khan | [email protected]

Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks has died as the result of chest trauma caused by a fireworks mishap, Novi police said Monday.

Kivlenieks was 24.

The incident happened Sunday night at a home in Novi when a mortar- style firework tilted and started firing toward people who were nearby, Lt. Jason Meier of the Novi Police Department said. Meier said an autopsy on Monday revealed cause of death as chest trauma, when Kivlenieks was hit with a fireworks mortar.

Police originally believed Kivlenieks died when he slipped and hit his head on concrete while attempting to flee from a hot tub while the fireworks malfunctioned.

Meier called it a tragic accident but said police are continuing their investigation by interviewing people who were at the home.

Meier said Novi fire and paramedics were dispatched to a home at 10:13 p.m. Sunday and found Kivlenieks unresponsive. He was transported to Ascension Providence Hospital in Novi where he was pronounced dead.

The Columbus Dispatch reported that Kivlenieks was attending a gathering at the home of Manny Legace, a former Detroit Red Wings goalie and the current Blue Jackets goaltending coach.

John Davidson, Blue Jackets president of hockey operations, said in a statement: “We are shocked and saddened by the loss of Matiss Kivlenieks, and we extend our deepest sympathies to his mother, Astrida, his family and friends during this devastating time. Kivi was an outstanding young man who greeted every day and everyone with a smile and the impact he had during his four years with our organization will not be forgotten.”

A native of Riga, Latvia, Kivlenieks appeared in only two NHL games this past season, the final two games against the Red Wings, going 1-1. Signed as an undrafted free agent by Columbus in 2017, he played eight games over parts of two seasons, going 2-2-2, with a 3.09 goals-against average and .899 save percentage.

He appeared in four games for Latvia at the 2021 World Championship.

“The was saddened to learn of the sudden and tragic passing of goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement. “On behalf of the NHL family, we extend our deepest sympathies to his family, friends and teammates in both the Blue Jackets organization and his native country of Latvia. His love for life and passion for the game will be deeply missed by all those who have been fortunate to have him as a teammate and a friend.”

Kivlenieks appeared in 85 games over parts of four seasons with the AHL Cleveland Monsters. He also played eight games for the ECHL in 2018-19.

“We are heartbroken,” the K-Wings tweeted. “Kivi spent part of the 2018- 19 season in Kalamazoo and had a bright future in front of him. Our thoughts and prayers are will his family, friends and teammates.”

We are heartbroken. Kivi spent part of the 2018-19 season in Kalamazoo and had a bright future in front of him.

Michigan Live LOADED: 07.07.2021 1190199 Detroit Red Wings Michigan Live LOADED: 07.07.2021

Red Wings hope new assistant coach Alex Tanguay can help players maximize offensive potential

Updated Jun 30, 2021; Posted Jun 30, 2021

By Ansar Khan | [email protected]

The Detroit Red Wings were searching for an assistant coach who could help players maximize their offensive potential and boost the power play.

They hired someone with hands-on experience in Alex Tanguay, who isn’t far removed from his playing days.

Tanguay, 41, was a skilled left wing who tallied 863 points in 1,088 NHL games, mostly for the Colorado Avalanche.

Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said he was seeking someone who thinks the game from a unique offensive perspective.

“He’s got offensive beliefs based on his playing experience, his coaching experience, but also just the way his mind thinks of hockey and how to create outnumbered situations,” Blashill said. “One of his greatest strengths is going to be helping our individual players get better within our structure to ultimately find ways to be more offensive. He thinks offense because that’s the way he looks at it, not necessarily because he went to a coaching clinic.”

The Red Wings ranked second-to-last in the NHL in goals per game (2.23) and the power play (11.4 percent).

Tanguay will work with the forwards and oversee the power play. He replaces Dan Bylsma, who parted ways with the organization after the season. Blashill said there are no other changes to the coaching staff, so Doug Houda remains as the other assistant in charge of the defense and Jeff Salajko returns as the goaltending coach.

Tanguay retired as a player in 2016 and became a studio analyst for NHL Network. He spent the past two season as an assistant coach for the AHL Iowa Wild.

“I know I’m relatively new to coaching but players always have feels you can’t get as a coach,” Tanguay said. “When you experienced it, you got a different perspective on certain things. My job is to build relationships with players and get their trust, put them in situations to succeed. I can’t wait.”

Tanguay said he benefited by having former accomplished players Bryan Trottier as an assistant coach and Michel Goulet as director of player personnel in Colorado.

“Every bit of information they gave me I took and ran with it,” Tanguay said. “I knew it had been tried before, it was something they did on the ice previously that worked for a player.”

Tanguay ran a power play in Iowa that ranked fifth in the AHL in 2019-20 (21.9 percent) but was last this past season (13.9 percent).

“Sometimes when you look at coaches and what their power-play percentages are of the groups they coached, that can be a little misleading because a lot of it based on the talent that team has,” Blashill said. “I’m very confident Alex can put a structure together, can have a foundation of a power play. I’m confident Alex can help our guys in those individual situations on the power play.”

Tanguay said of the power play: “This is not about re-inventing hockey, it’s about putting players in situations to succeed and facilitate for them.”

Tanguay noted the irony of joining an organization that had a heated rivalry with his Avalanche 20-25 years ago.

“Kris Draper called me and said, ‘You’re the first one to cross that bridge,’ " Tanguay said. “It was such a unique rivalry. I missed most of the fighting from the ’90s. I was drafted in ’98. We played a few times in the playoffs. It was always such a special place to play, the Joe, and the organization was so good. I understood how much pride those guys had in the Red Wings organization and I’m glad to be a part of the organization now.” 1190200 Detroit Red Wings

Red Wings’ Dylan Larkin, Tyler Bertuzzi ‘headed in right direction’ in recoveries

Updated Jun 30, 2021; Posted Jun 30, 2021

By Ansar Khan | [email protected]

Two of the Detroit Red Wings’ most important players, Dylan Larkin and Tyler Bertuzzi, apparently have not had any setbacks during their recovery process.

Larkin missed the final eight games due to a neck injury that hospitalized him for a couple of days and limited his movement for several weeks.

Bertuzzi’s season ended after the first nine games due to a back injury that eventually required surgery on April 30.

“(Larkin) hasn’t started training yet, but I think he’s along the timeline that we expected in his recovery,” coach Jeff Blashill said Wednesday, during new assistant coach Alex Tanguay’s introductory Zoom call.

“Tyler has probably been able to do a little bit more lately. I think he’s getting to the stage where you can get out of just pure rehab and get into training, strength training, try to build his body back up. Both of them are in good spirits and are headed in the right direction in terms of their recovery.”

Both expected to be ready for the start of training camp in late September, but Blashill noted it is difficult to project that far ahead.

“In this business you never know anything for sure,” Blashill said. “We expect both of their recoveries to be along a timeline that they’re ready for camp. Whether that happens, you just never know.”

Michigan Live LOADED: 07.07.2021 1190201 Edmonton Oilers Kuemper has played 242 NHL games, but has had knee problems. Korpisalo 160, Ullmark 117 and he’s had recurring ankle issues. Driedger played 22 games this year in Florida with a 2.07 average and .927 save percentage. OILER NOTES: Skinner may be the goalie protected in expansion draft Kuemper ($4.5 million) and Korpisalo ($2.8 million) have one season left, then they are unrestricted free-agents, which is obviously not ideal. Ullmark would be a $3.5 million to $4 million signing this year. Jim Matheson • Edmonton Journal Wildcard? Tristan Jarry in Pittsburgh. Right age (26). He has two years Publishing date: Jul 06, 2021 left at $3.5 million. If the Penguins, with their window for winning closing very rapidly, did make a play to bring back Marc-Andre Fleury from Vegas,then the ex-Edmonton Oil Kings starter would be expendable. He Stuart Skinner played 59 minutes and 41 seconds for the Edmonton wasn’t ready for the bright playoff lights. He had a 2.75 average and .909 Oilers this past season, but bet on him being the goalie they protect in save percentage over the regular season but a miserable .888 save the Seattle expansion draft. percentage in the playoffs.

With unrestricted free agent Mike Smith, who finished seventh in Vezina This ‘n’ that: The Hawks would rather not have to protect Keith in the trophy voting by the NHL general managers in the 2021 season, expansion draft so they can keep Riley Stillman and Nikita Zadorov along unsigned and Mikko Koskinen on shaky ground and too expensive as a with Connor Murphy. The Oilers do not want to deal for Keith now with partner in the tag-team, the one expansion protected spot for a goalie only three protected spots for defencemen (Darnell Nurse, Ethan Bear likely falls to the farmhand Skinner. and UFA Adam Larsson). Maybe a handshake deal with Larsson? … Neal has a $5.75 million cap hit the next two seasons, so a buyout would He won his only NHL start against Ottawa, 8-5, on Jan. 31, hung around be $1.92 million a year for four years. as the No. 3 for weeks, and played 31 games in Bakersfield with a 2.38 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage. At present, Skinner, who has 123 minor-league games and just the one NHL look, seems on the same organizational trajectory as current Winnipeg Jets back-up Edmonton Sun: LOADED: 07.07.2021 Laurent Brossoit — another year away from being an NHLer, starting as a back-up as Brossoit did to Cam Talbot.

Now, maybe the Oilers would look at protecting Alex Stalock, who turns 34 on July 28, and is certainly an NHL backup and cheap at $785,000. But he was on the roster for the last month because they didn’t want to lose a waiver claim after getting him that way from Minnesota, and they never played him. Skinner, their third-round 2017 pick, obviously has more upside.

If Smith isn’t signed by July 17 when the expansion lists have to be in to the NHL head office with the expansion draft July 21, then Skinner is their guy. If Koskinen was making $2.5 million instead of $4.5 million for another season, the Oilers could live with it. But he’s not, plus he’s 33 on July 18. Seattle’s probably not taking him, but the Oilers want to get younger with Smith at 39. Somebody in their mid-20s to bridge the gap between Smith and Skinner— either by trade (Joonas Korpisalo, Darcy Kuemper?) or by free-agency (Linus Ullmrak or Chris Driedger with his small NHL sample).

As hard a worker as he is, also as fine a human being as he is, the odds of Koskinen being on the Oilers roster for 2021-22 are only slightly better than William Lagesson scoring a goal.

The first window for NHL buyouts starts 24 hours after the last Stanley Cup finals game. Winger James Neal is a far more likely first candidate. Koskinen’s buyout would be $1.5 million, spread over two years here. So $750,000 for the ’21-22 season, and the same for ’22-23.

They could try and trade him to Chicago in a Duncan Keith deal along with Caleb Jones and eat part of the goalie’s $4.5 million. But there is not a large market for a goalie who had a .899 save percentage and 3.17 goals-against average last season — a goalie who played 10 of the first 11 Oilers games with Smith hurt, but only 15 of the next 45. There are so many moving parts here.

“I think the Oilers have to do something with Koskinen right now,” said a long-time NHL executive, who has a feel for the goalie spectrum. “Smith might just play the one more season because of his age, and with Koskinen unrestricted after this year, the Oilers would then end up with no goalies. Then, they would be fishing in a pond with no money because they will be capped out (after this summer) with no goalie in the system who can definitely be a starter. That should scare them. They have to do everything now to get another goalie. There are two or three younger ones out there today who can be potential starters.

“What’s Arizona going to do with Kuemper, somebody teams would want if he can stay healthy? (Free-agent) Ullmark in Buffalo is a legitimate starter, again if he can stay healthy. Driedger may be a risk (free-agent signing) because there’s no body of work (41 NHL games). I suspect Columbus would like to move Korpisalo, not (Elvis) Merzlikins. But for me, Korpisalo is a splitter. I don’t like goalies where you can pull pucks off their pads, outwork them at the net. You might be able to do that with him.” 1190202 Florida Panthers

Visually Impaired Students Get Lessons In Life & Hockey Courtesy The Florida Panthers Foundation

By CBSMiami.com Team

July 6, 2021 at 6:35 pm

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The Florida Panthers Foundation teamed up with students from the Miami Lighthouse for the Blind who enjoyed a special sensory experience during a hands-on hockey clinic on Tuesday.

The kids learned how to stickhandle, pass and shoot. They then played a simulated game at the BB&T Center in Sunrise.

However, instead of using pucks, the balls had bells inside and there were beeping horns on the goals to help the visually impaired students know where the send the ball.

Prior to the clinic, they participated in a career development panel with Florida Panthers staff.

It is part of Miami Lighthouse’s Transition Program – a year-round program that gives individual between 14-22 years old the opportunity to develop skills to enter the work force or post-secondary education.

CBSMiami.com LOADED: 07.07.2021 1190203 Los Angeles Kings “I’d say my three best attributes are hockey sense, skating and compete level,” Luke said Tuesday. “But the best part of my game is probably the exits and entries into the zones. I’m deceptive with the puck, and I can defend on the rush, the net front and the cycle. And I can play in all Rebuilding Ducks, Kings look to negotiate long road back situations.”

Hughes says he’s “super excited” about his commitment to Michigan. Obviously, the Ducks need help yesterday, if not earlier. They cry for an By MARK WHICKER | [email protected] | Daily News up-front scorer like Guenther. But Hughes and Drysdale could give them PUBLISHED: July 6, 2021 at 5:23 p.m. | UPDATED: July 7, 2021 at an extraordinarily skilled left-right defense pair for many years. Whether 12:50 a.m. the fans have that many years to invest isn’t so clear.

More likely, Seattle will burst into the NHL with the same approximate force Vegas used to make the Final in 2018 and the road for the Kings You might have missed the Ducks and Kings in the NHL playoffs, but and Ducks will lengthen. When you start from nothing, there’s nothing to they were there, just with different clothes. correct.

Tyler Toffoli is still there with Montreal. He scored 28 goals this season. In the playoffs, he has five more, and 14 points. The Kings sent him to Vancouver for a package that included Tyler Madden, whom scouts like. Orange County Register: LOADED: 07.07.2021 Maybe he can even be Toffoli someday.

Erik Cernak is plus-12 on the blue line for Tampa Bay and has 10 points in 20 playoff games. He’s the defenseman the Kings gave the Lightning in that strange trade for goalie Ben Bishop.

Shea Theodore led Vegas with 22:33 of ice time this year and had an epic fake pass-and-shoot that highlighted a playoff victory over Montreal. A former first-round pick by the Ducks, he was the price they paid for making sure Vegas didn’t take Josh Manson in the expansion draft.

Alex Martinez was plus-26 for Vegas in the regular season and had four goals in the playoffs. The defenseman whose shots won the Western Conference finals and the Stanley Cup for the Kings in 2014 wound up in Sin Bin City after a shuffle of draft picks that essentially brought Lars Andersson to L.A.

William Karlson was plus-12 in the playoffs for the Knights and had 16 points in 19 games. Wild Bill was a Duck, but he went to Columbus in a trade deadline deal for James Wisniewski.

Corey Perry, the Ducks’ only Hart Trophy winner, has had four goals in the playoffs in his first season with the Canadiens. The Ducks bought him out and allowed him to chase championships, and he’s been in back-to- back Finals, with Dallas and Montreal. And guess what? He still controls the puck and pushes enemy buttons, to the point that he got slugged by Tampa Bay goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy on Monday.

Kyle Palmieri produced seven goals for the Islanders in the postseason. The Ducks sent him to New Jersey for second- and third-round picks who dissipated, and Palmieri has never stopped making them regret it.

The playoffs once lived in southern California, quite comfortably. Now hockey season climaxes with the NHL draft, on July 23. That is when the Ducks and Kings, drafting third and eighth in the first round, try to buy the vowels that might unlock their puzzles.

With some exceptions, those “exes” in the playoffs are understandable casualties of the hard salary cap. But did the Ducks and Kings get enough, in terms of cap room or personnel, for the credible warriors they lost? Of course not, and if you could merely draft your way back to excellence, the Stanley Cup would be a citizen of Edmonton. In a six- year span beginning in 2010, the Oilers had four No. 1 overall picks.

The top teams draft, trade and develop, in no particular order. On Monday night the Lightning had Brayden Point, Nikita Kucherov, Alex Killorn, Anthony Cirelli, Ondrej Palat, Mathieu Joseph and Ross Colton in their lineup. They drafted all of them, but none in the first round, and Palat was a seventh-round pick.

The Kings have a raft of supremely talented kids and the Ducks have Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale, who looked seaworthy in their first NHL games.

In this murky draft, the Ducks should get a crack at defenseman Luke Hughes, center Mason McTavish or winger Dylan Guenther.

Luke knows all about Draft Day. Oldest brother Jack was the top overall pick, by New Jersey, in 2018, and Quinn was selected seventh overall by Vancouver the previous year. Luke is the biggest, at 6-foot-2. Like all the Hugheses, he knows hockey answers before he hears the questions. His dad Jim was a longtime coach in college and an NHL assistant, and formerly the player development director for the Maple Leafs. 1190204 Los Angeles Kings

Kings re-sign Christian Wolanin to one-year contract

By Zach Dooley12 hours ago240

The LA Kings announced today that the organization has signed defenseman Christian Wolanin to a one-year, two-way contract extension. His new deal will pay him $725,000 at the NHL level, keeping him with the organization for his first full season.

Wolanin was acquired by the Kings in a midseason deal with the Ottawa Senators, in exchange for forward Michael Amadio. At the time, the deal represented a change of scenery for both players, with neither firmly cementing a position with their old organizations, but with the hope of a better fit with the teams they moved to.

Wolanin’s journey with the Kings was brief, yet still proved to be quite eventful. With the unique state of the 2020-21 season, his tenure with the organization began with a mandatory quarantine, before he was initially assigned to the AHL’s Ontario Reign. After two games, in which he tallied three assists as a leader on a young blueline, Wolanin was recalled to the Kings.

The North Dakota product skated in three games with the Kings in April, collected two shots on goal and a +1 rating. Initially, Wolanin was acquired when the Kings were a bit more in need of defensive depth, though by the time he was actually able to play, the team was a bit more solidified on the left side, resulting in fewer opportunities. As noted in Wolanin’s season in review piece, from April 30 thorugh the end of the season, the Kings used the same configuration on the backend in all remaining games, as Olli Maatta and Matt Roy both returned to the lineup.

In total, the 6-2, 190-pound defenseman has appeared in 61 NHL games since the 2017-18 season, posting 18 points (5-13=18). Selected by Ottawa in the fourth-round (107th overall) of the 2015 NHL Draft, he has also appeared in 52 games in the AHL, recording 35 points (8-27=35) and a plus-11 rating.

Wolanin also went on to represent Team USA at the at the IIHF World Championships in Latvia, and turned in a solid performance. With six points (1-5-6) and a +8 rating from 10 games played, Wolanin helped his country earn a bronze medal alongside Kings teammates Roy, Cal Petersen and Trevor Moore. The Kings blueliner ranked tied for fifth amongst all skaters in assists and was tied for the overall tournament lead in assists amongst defensemen, while ranking tied for second amongst defensemen in overall scoring. Wolanin has now appeared in two World Championships in the red, white and blue.

Looking ahead, Wolanin has earned an opportunity to experience a full training camp with the Kings in September, with a full offseason to assimilate himself into the Kings systems, and the way the organization likes to play. Things like that can be challenging on the fly, for a midseason acquisition, and he now has another opportunity in the fall.

Wolanin slots in as one of six left-shot defensemen under contract that played NHL games during the 2020-21 season, which gives the organization depth at the position.

LA Kings Insider: LOADED: 07.07.2021 1190205 Montreal Canadiens George Stroumboulopoulos, a capable and charming broadcaster who had no baggage with Bettman. Two years later, MacLean returned, but the fire seemed to have been snuffed out.

Why didn’t MacLean ask Bettman about the Blackhawks? On Monday night, MacLean spent his 5½ minutes on-air with Bettman asking about matters that, to be honest, seemed to have occupied most of the sports talk airtime recently, including the state of officiating, and why the NHL hasn’t yet given the green light for players to go to the Simon Houpt Beijing Olympics, as well as a bit of feel-good hokum about a 104-year- 7-8 minutes 7/7/2021 old hockey fan in Dunnville, Ont.

Within seconds of the segment ending, Hockey Pundit Twitter unloaded on MacLean: How could he have failed to ask about the Blackhawks? If you were given five minutes to interview NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, what would you ask him? Some speculated darkly, with a whiff of conspiracy. Ken Campbell, the respected former senior writer of The Hockey News, urged critics not to At the top of the first intermission break of the Game 4 Stanley Cup final be so hard on MacLean. “I have to think one of the conditions of the broadcast on Monday night, the NHL commissioner took a seat at the top interview was that he was not allowed to ask about that subject,” of the raucous for a chat with Sportsnet’s Ron MacLean. He Campbell tweeted. “In that case, you either have to comply with those was in town because, after Tampa Bay steamrollered over the demands or turn down the opportunity to interview him. Perhaps that’s Canadiens in the first three games, it seemed likely he might be called on what Sportsnet should have done, but I doubt that would have been to present the Cup at the end of the night. Ron’s call.”

It’s been an especially eventful couple of months for Bettman, and not TSN’s Salim Valji wasn’t willing to cut MacLean any slack, tweeting that even because of the pandemic. In early May, he had to publicly smack his failure to ask questions about the “sexual assault coverup allegations down the league’s most valuable franchise, the New York Rangers, after is an ENORMOUS dereliction of journalistic integrity and duty IMO.” the team issued a heated press release calling for the NHL’s head of Others declared that the lack of questions reflected hockey’s player safety to be fired. unwillingness to question its own toxic culture.

A few games into the playoffs, fans and pundits began yelping about Strong words. What, though, do we consider MacLean’s duty to have officiating that you might have called comically bad if it weren’t so tragic. been in this case? On the one hand, Bettman had already faced numerous questions on the matter, and had deflected them with his usual And then came the appalling Chicago Blackhawks story. legalistic efficiency. But that was in a press conference that may have Last month, TSN’s Rick Westhead broke the news that, during the been seen by tens of thousands; the average audience for Sportsnet’s Blackhawks’ playoff run in the spring of 2010, two players had told Game 4 broadcast was about 3.7 million. members of the team’s senior management that they’d been sexually Still, Sportsnet is in the business of entertainment, and it has to walk a assaulted by video coach Bradley Aldrich, but the team had failed to fine line: The potential final game of a pandemic-laced season isn’t the contact the Chicago police about the allegations. After The Athletic ideal place to bring up a matter as weighty as a sexual assault cover-up, contributed its own comprehensive reporting, the story began to hang especially in a brief drive-by. It would have just spoiled the fun. over the playoffs like an ugly storm cloud. Just before the final began, Montreal Canadiens general manager , who had been the But the reaction speaks to a growing rot and cynicism among fans. As Blackhawks’ director of pro personnel during the period in question, was televised sports have become mammoth businesses that are suspicious called on to answer what he knew of the allegations. (He said he was not of anything that does not radiate fealty, viewers don’t really expect aware of anything going on at the time.) broadcasters to critically cover the professional leagues to which they pay billions of dollars. In late June, the Blackhawks announced in an internal memo, which leaked to the press, that they had hired an investigator to probe the They’ve become cynical, because they assume they know who calls the allegations. shots in this world. Even if sometimes those assumptions are wrong. I asked Sportsnet to comment on the online speculation and criticism. And so, as Bettman popped by the Sportsnet desk, some viewers were They sent me back a statement attributed to MacLean. “There were no primed for fireworks. topics off limits for my interview with the commissioner,” he said. “I made Already, the commissioner seemed fed up with the questions he had the decision in the moment to not ask the question, as I knew there was faced on the matter. Last Monday, on the day the final kicked off, he and no new ground to cover based on the commissioner’s comments from his deputy commissioner Bill Daly held a half-hour press conference during media availability earlier in the series.” which the first six of eight questions related to the allegations and That won’t satisfy the critics. But then, it’s hard to know what will. investigation. By the six-minute mark, when he was asked how the league might respond to the investigation once it concludes, Bettman was growing uncomfortable. Globe And Mail LOADED: 07.07.2021 “Let us see what the investigation reveals, and then we can figure out what comes next,” he replied, evidently exasperated. “I think everybody’s jumping too far, too fast. This is going to be handled appropriately and professionally, and done right.”

How, then, might the encounter with MacLean unfold?

The end-of-season faceoffs between the two men used to be riveting, appointment viewing, with the host buttonholing the commissioner on a range of issues – from collective bargaining to player safety and league finances – in legendary encounters that sometimes felt like suited versions of the league’s on-ice pugilism. (During some, I half expected Bettman to drop a pair of gloves, pull MacLean’s suit-jacket over his head, and start pummelling.)

In one infamous encounter in 2010, Bettman, aggravated by a series of rapid-fire questions from MacLean about the financial health of certain franchises, replied testily: “What inside of you compels you to want to go in that direction? Because I don’t believe your viewers are really interested in the franchise [status].”

When Sportsnet nabbed the national NHL rights away from CBC starting with the 2014-15 season, MacLean was replaced in the host’s chair by 1190206 Montreal Canadiens

NHL’s top prospect leaning to stay at Michigan next season

John Wawrow

3-4 minutes 7/7/2021

Defenseman Owen Power, the NHL’s top-ranked draft prospect, is leaning toward staying in school and play his sophomore season at Michigan next year rather than turn pro.

“I wouldn’t say I’m committed to going back to school. I mean, I’m probably leaning towards it right now.” Power said during a Zoom call featuring the top-ranked draft prospects on Tuesday.

Power added he won’t make a decision until after the draft, by noting he wants to first consult with the team that selects him.

The 6-foot-6, 213-pound player from Mississauga, Ontario, is the NHL’s Central Scouting Bureau’s top-ranked North American skater entering the two-day draft, which opens on July 23 and will be held remotely for a second straight year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The bureau’s scouting report credits Power for being intuitive, and for his fluid and agile skating ability that allows him to transition quickly.

“Power is an excellent package of NHL size, skating and attributes, which he utilizes effectively in all situations,” the report reads. “He plays a mature game for his age and is at the top of this draft class.”

The Buffalo Sabres have the first pick for the second time in four years after winning the draft lottery, and are followed by the NHL’s 32nd franchise, the expansion Seattle Kraken.

Power said he is scheduled to meet with the Sabres on Thursday, and he has already met with the Kraken.

Two of Power’s Wolverines teammates are included in the top six of the North American rankings, with center Kent Johnson listed third and center Matthew Beniers sixth.

Defenseman Luke Hughes, who is committed to playing at Michigan next year, is ranked fourth. Hughes is the younger brother of New Jersey forward Jack Hughes, the No. 1 pick in the 2019 draft, and Vancouver defenseman Quinn Hughes, the seventh overall pick in 2018.

Canadian junior center Mason McTavish, who played in Switzerland last year, is the second-ranked North American skater.

Central Scouting’s top European prospect is Swedish center William Eklund.

Power was a Big Ten all-rookie team selection after scoring three goals and adding 13 assists for 16 points in 26 games. Michigan’s season, however, ended abruptly when the No. 2-seeded Wolverines were removed from the NCAA Tournament following positive COVID-19 test results.

The 18-year-old Power’s season continued after he was selected to represent eventual champion Canada at the world championships in Latvia in May and June. Power’s role increased through the tournament, and he finished with three assists in 10 games.

One reason he would prefer to return to Michigan is the opportunity to enjoy a college year without COVID limitations — including playing in front of fans at Yost Arena.

“I think it would be pretty special. Just actually going to class and not do it online,” Power said. “Just being able to do stuff other than go to the rink and home, I think would be something that I would like to do.”

Globe And Mail LOADED: 07.07.2021 1190207 Montreal Canadiens Canadiens were able to kill off the double-minor penalty before Josh Anderson scored the winning goal in overtime.

“Weby is our leader,” Brendan Gallagher said after the game. “You can’t Canadiens Notebook: Habs expected to stick with same lineup for Game ask for a better teammate so, obviously, I think the guys wanted to bear 5 down, especially for him (and kill the penalty). We understand the situation that we’re in. I think we would have killed it for anyone, but he’s been a rock for us since he’s come to our team. The physicality that he brings, that’s just what we expect from him every single night. He’s hard Stu Cowan • Montreal Gazette to play against. Especially as these series go along, he’s a pain. So Publishing date: Jul 06, 2021 happy to have him on our side.”

Let’s get physical

That means centre Jake Evans will likely replace Jesperi Kotkaniemi There were 71 hits in Game 4 — 36 by the Lightning and 35 by the again and Alexander Romanov and Brett Kulak will be the third defence Canadiens. pairing instead of Jon Merrill and Erik Gustafsson. Ben Chiarot led the Canadiens with nine hits. The Lightning lead the best-of-seven series 3-1 after the Canadiens won “We’ve talked about wearing teams down,” the Canadiens’ Corey Perry Game 4 by a 3-2 score in overtime Monday night at the Bell Centre. said. “It’s a long series. You’re playing every other night and guys have “We always look at every game as being a different game but, obviously, been playing a lot of minutes on both sides of the rink. We’ve talked those guys did a good job so there’s a good chance that we’re going to about it since Day 1, since we started that first game against Toronto. be going back with the same lineup,” head coach Dominique Ducharme Every night you have to continue to do the small little things. Keep putting said Tuesday morning before the Canadiens headed to the airport for that puck in deep, banging the body. It takes a toll on guys and that’s just their flight to Tampa. “But, at the same time, we’ll see what happens our mindset.” tonight and tomorrow. Anything can happen also … sometimes you get a Chiarot and Joel Edmundson also played a huge role killing penalties as surprise. But so far, like I said, we like what the guys that came into the the Lightning went 0-for-5 on the power play in Game 4. Chiarot logged lineup what they brought and we should see them tomorrow.” 25:36 of ice time, including 7:55 short-handed. Edmundson had a team- Evans logged 16:46 of ice time (including 4:09 short-handed) and had an high 28:09 of ice time, including 5:06 short-handed. assist, along with two shots and two hits while going 4-5 on faceoffs (44 “They’re just beasts,” Evans said about the two defencemen. “When per cent). He played centre on a line with Paul Byron and Artturi they’re out there on the penalty kill they’re smart, they’re hard to play Lehkonen. against, they’ve got good sticks and they’re obviously big, strong guys. “I thought he had a good game,” Ducharme said about Evans. “What’s So you don’t want to be in the corners with them. They’ve been great … good with Jake is he can be used in many situations. He’s skating well, all of our defence have really chipped in last night on the penalty kill. taking faceoffs on the right side, playing on the PK. He’s a smart player Those two guys, you don’t want to be in front of the net with them. You on both sides. Creates some speed, makes little plays that sometimes don’t want to be anywhere near them. I wouldn’t want to be battling maybe cannot be seen or are not showing on the scoresheet. But little against them. They’ve just been really tough to play against.” plays like this and little battles and winning pucks in critical areas, things like that. So we’re happy with his play. We thought it was important for us to get him and Lehky and Paul’s line being together with what they’ve Montreal Gazette LOADED: 07.07.2021 done at the end of the year and they had a solid game last night.”

Evans has only played two games since being knocked out and carried off the ice on a stretcher with a concussion from a vicious hit by Mark Scheifele near the end of Game 1 of the Canadiens’ second-round series against the Winnipeg Jets. In six playoff games this year Evans has 1-1-2 totals and is plus-3.

“It’s been a wild year with a lot of unexpected things,” Evans said. “I think for us we’ve been such a close group and believe in each other and whatever we get thrown at us we’re going to battle through and I think that’s what we’ve just kept doing this whole year.”

Safe landing in Tampa

The Canadiens and Lightning both flew from Montreal to Tampa on Tuesday and landed there before the airport suspended flights at 5 p.m. because of the impending Tropical Storm Elsa.

“Due to the latest forecast of Tropical Storm Elsa, which includes wind speeds of up to 65 to 70 miles per hour, Tampa International Airport will be suspending commercial operations at 5 p.m. tonight and suspending air cargo operations by 10 p.m.,” a press release for the airport stated.

The airport plans to reopen at 10 a.m. Wednesday after storm damage is assessed.

Elsa was expected to hit western Florida with increasingly intense rain and winds on Tuesday afternoon and the forecast was for it to strengthen into a hurricanes before making landfall by Wednesday.

Man Mountain

Canadiens captain Shea Weber was a physical presence in Game 4, showing a mean streak we haven’t seen much from him since he joined the Canadiens five years ago.

The Man Mountain was credited with four hits in 23:51 of ice time, including a massive hit on Brayden Point into the boards in the second period. Weber also took a four-minute penalty for high-sticking at 18:59 of the third period, drawing blood from Ondrej Palat’s face. The 1190208 Montreal Canadiens

Canadiens at Lightning: Five things you should know about Game 5

Pat Hickey • Montreal Gazette

Publishing date: Jul 06, 2021

Here are five things you should know about Game 5 of the Stanley Cup final between the Canadiens and the Lightning Wednesday at Amalie Arena in Tampa (8 p.m., CBC, SN, TVA Sports, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM):

Where they’re at: Nothing has changed for the Canadiens after their dramatic 3-2 overtime win over the Lightning at the Bell Centre Monday. Tampa Bay leads the best-of-seven final 3-1 and that means the Canadiens must win this game to stay alive. The Canadiens showed their resilience in the first round when they came back after trailing Toronto 3- 1, but the Lightning is a stronger, better-balanced team and they should be highly motivated in their bid to win a second consecutive Cup before a sellout crowd.

Killers are the key: The Canadiens wouldn’t be here without a superb performance in Game 4 from the penalty-killing unit anchored by Ben Chiarot, Joel Edmundson and Phil Danault. Shea Weber, who is normally a key part of the PK, took a double minor for high-sticking at 18:59 of the third period, but the Lightning failed to score on a night when the Tampa power play went 0-for-5. The Canadiens penalty-kill, ranked 23rd in the regular season, leads the playoffs with 91.4-per-cent success rate. The Tampa power play has a 33.9 per cent success rate in the playoffs, but it is 2-for-12 against Montreal, which translates to a 16.7-per-cent success rate.

Don’t forget Price: While we’re on the subject of the penalty-kill, it’s important to remember that your goaltender has to be your best penalty-killer and that was the case for Carey Price Monday. Nine of the 34 shots Price faced came on the power play and four of those came with Weber in the penalty box to start the overtime. Price wasn’t very good in the first three games of the final and, after Game 3, he said he had to be better and he was in Game 4. There were times early in the game when he fought the puck, but overall he turned in one of his best playoff performances.

Have Canadiens solved Vasilevskiy? Tampa goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy has a career record of 14-2-2 against the Canadiens with a 1.98 goals-against average and a .939 save percentage. But there are signs that the Canadiens are figuring out how to beat the Russian star. The Canadiens scored three goals on 21 shots Monday with Josh Anderson scoring twice and rookie Alexander Romanov adding one. Montreal has scored three goals in each of the past two games and that’s good enough to ensure a win if Price and the defence can deliver.

Changes produce results: Canadiens head coach Ducharme made some lineup changes for Game 4 and, while he said there’s always room for surprises, you can expect to see the same lineup Wednesday. Ducharme brought in centre Jake Evans and defencemen Brett Kulak and Romanov while removing Jesperi Kotkaniemi and defencemen Jon Merrill and Erik Gustafsson. Romanov responded by scoring his first NHL playoff goal and he played a couple of shifts on the penalty-kill. Evans joined Artturi Lehkonen and Paul Byron as the centre on a shutdown line. He had the lone assist on Romanov’s goal, delivered a couple of hits and played more than four minutes on the PK.

Montreal Gazette LOADED: 07.07.2021 1190209 Montreal Canadiens But after all that, they’re still alive and fighting for the franchise’s 25th Stanley Cup and the first since 1993.

“We’ve been through a lot this year,” Perry said. “I think Dom said it right: Stu Cowan: Canadiens create lasting memories on wild playoff ride we’re a crazy bunch of people. This is fun. To do it here in Montreal, to have the city behind us, to be one of the last two teams standing, this is what you dream of as a kid. That’s why we’re taking it one day at a time, but we’re looking forward to tomorrow.” Stu Cowan • Montreal Gazette No matter how this wild and crazy COVID-19 season comes to an end for Publishing date: Jul 06, 2021 the Canadiens it’s one they and their fans will never forget.

The players can hold their heads high and fans can say thanks for the Josh Anderson already had his bags packed for the trip to Tampa before memories. the Canadiens faced the Lightning Monday night at the Bell Centre, facing the possibility of getting swept in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final. Montreal Gazette LOADED: 07.07.2021 Then he went out and played like someone who really didn’t want to unpack, scoring two goals — including the winner in overtime — as the Canadiens beat the Lightning 3-2 to force Game 5 Wednesday in Tampa (8 p.m., CBC, SN, NBC, TVA Sports, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM).

“We didn’t want to end it tonight in front of our fans,” Anderson said after the game. “We expected to go to Tampa tomorrow — I think everybody in that locker room did — and packed our bags this afternoon. Just had that feeling that we were going to win tonight and give ourselves a chance.”

The Canadiens still have a chance of becoming only the second team in NHL history to come back from a 3-0 deficit in the Stanley Cup Final. The won the Cup in 1942 after falling behind 3-0 to the Detroit Red Wings.

Anderson’s father, Gary, grew up in Dollard-des-Ormeaux on the West Island of Montreal and was a huge Canadiens fan. Former Canadien is an uncle through marriage to Anderson’s mother, Michelle. So you can imagine how much Anderson’s family must be enjoying this playoff run that isn’t over yet thanks in large part to him.

The odds are obviously stacked against the Canadiens, but they are 4-0 in the playoffs this year when facing elimination after beating the Maple Leafs three games in a row when they fell behind 3-1 in their first-round series. Three of those four wins have come in overtime. In the four elimination games, Carey Price has allowed only eight goals and has a .944 save percentage.

The Canadiens were being outshot 11-1 when Anderson scored on his team’s second shot at 15:39 of the first period in Game 4 Monday night.

“He definitely gave us a chance last night to get our feet wet and then start our engine,” Corey Perry said Tuesday morning when asked about Price before the Canadiens headed to the airport for the flight to Tampa. “It was a little slow to begin with. They came out, they put a lot of pressure on us. I don’t know if we gave up too many quality scoring chances … I’ll have to watch again. But … they did take it to us for the first half of that period, but we found a way to be resilient. He made some big saves and then Josh got that big goal to really start us and get us going and feeling comfortable about our hockey game.”

Last season when Perry was with the Dallas Stars, they were facing elimination in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Lightning. Perry scored his second goal of the game in the second overtime period to give the Stars a 3-2 win before the Lightning won Game 6 by a 2-0 score to win the Cup.

“I think you look at the playoffs as a whole and there’s ups and downs and peaks and valleys and momentum shifts here, momentum shifts there,” Perry said. “You just have to be ready to play that next game. You know they’re going to be playing at their best, so you have to come out, you have to have energy, you have to be confident, you have to play to win, not to lose. That will be my message to the guys tomorrow.

“It’s just hockey,” he added. “Have fun, be prepared to work but … it’s just hockey and have fun.”

It really is remarkable what this Canadiens team has gone through this season to get to this point. There were the firings of head coach Claude Julien, associate coach Kirk Muller and goalie coach Stéphane Waite. Joel Armia tested positive for COVID-19 and as a result the Canadiens were forced to play their last 25 regular-season games in 44 days. Jonathan Drouin left the team for personal reasons and then head coach Dominique Ducharme tested positive for COVID-19 in the playoffs and had to go into isolation for 14 days. 1190210 Montreal Canadiens

How the Canadiens could have avoided OT by just getting a whistle

Pat Hickey • Montreal Gazette

Publishing date: Jul 06, 2021

Shakespeare once noted that all’s well that ends well, but the Canadiens might have avoided overtime in Monday’s 3-2 win over the Lightning if they hadn’t put themselves into a literal box in the third period.

The hard-fought contest was tied 1-1 when tempers flared at 7:42 and the officials decided to cool things off by sending six players to the penalty box with two-minute roughing penalties. The Lightning lost its entire checking line of Yanni Gourde, Barclay Goodrow and Blake Coleman. Josh Anderson went off for Montreal accompanied by two of the Canadiens’ top defencemen, Jeff Petry and Ben Chiarot.

The coincidental penalties meant the teams were playing 5-on-5 and things went well for the Canadiens when Alexander Romanov, who was making only his third playoff appearance — and first in the final series — scored 66 seconds later to give Montreal a 2-1 lead.

The problems arose when the penalties expired.

The six players were stuck in the box until there was a whistle to stop play. The Canadiens could have gotten their stud defencemen back on the ice if they had simply iced the puck or skated offside, but both teams continued to play without key personnel until Pat Maroon tied the score at 13:48, exactly five minutes after Romanov scored and 4:06 after the penalties expired.

The absence of Petry and Chiarot was magnified because the defencemen on the ice for the Maroon goal were Brett Kulak and Romanov. Kulak was knocked down in the neutral zone and was chasing Maroon when he took a pass from Mathieu Joseph on a 2-on-1 break. Romanov was the lone defender on the play and he sprawled on the ice to block the pass but he went down too soon and Joseph had a clear path.

The mass visit to the penalty box was unusual, but this has been an unusual season with the Canadiens grabbing the final playoff spot, coming back from a 3-1 deficit in the first round against Toronto and staving off elimination yet again on Monday.

Now they face another must-win game Wednesday in Tampa, where the hockey game may be overshadowed by the weather.

This week, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said she hoped the Lightning would take it easy on the Canadiens in Game 4 and then win the Cup at home. She got her wish, but she might be busy dealing with Tropical Storm Elsa, which could be a hurricane when it makes landfall in Tampa Bay on Wednesday.

Canadiens head coach Dominique Ducharme said the weather wasn’t a concern.

“Yeah, it’s no surprise anymore,” Ducharme said Tuesday. ” I think anything that happens right now and for a while, we just take it and look at it, and say it’s probably part of our destiny. It’s been crazy. But we’re a crazy bunch of guys in here, and we’re going to take that challenge.”

“This whole season has been kind of chaotic, kind of hectic,” added veteran Corey Perry. “We’ve kind of gone through everything between COVID, the way we played some nights to everything. And now we are potentially going into a hurricane. Hopefully we get there, we get there safe and, and we get to play that game tomorrow night and then come back here. So you know we’re looking forward to the challenge that’s ahead of us and we’ll be ready.”

Montreal Gazette LOADED: 07.07.2021 1190211 Montreal Canadiens he looked so dialled in from the opening face-off Monday. It’s not just the saves he makes. It’s the impact on his teammates.

When Price looks human, like he did Friday night, the Canadiens stop What the Puck: Canadiens' Josh Anderson keeps hope alive with magic believing. When he stops every puck that moves and wills the other ones goal to smack into his goalposts, Les Boys believe, like their GM, that anything is possible. And so it is. Who would’ve thought a few months back that the Montreal Canadiens would be winning in overtime in the Stanley Cup final and putting a fright into the defending Stanley Cup Brendan Kelly • Montreal Gazette champions. Exactly. Precisely no one. Publishing date: Jul 06, 2021

Montreal Gazette LOADED: 07.07.2021 That was the most exciting hockey game I’ve seen in 28 years.

Like everyone else, I was super down over the weekend following Friday night’s brutal defeat and I was kind of dreading watching Game 4. Prior to the game, I was not feeling it.

But as the Canadiens have done so many times in this magical ride, they pulled off what almost no one thought they would. They kept our hopes alive. And they did it in the most dramatic fashion imaginable.

I was watching the game with my son, his girlfriend and her parents, and all five of us were on the edge of our seats at her parents’ downtown pad waiting for overtime to start with just under three minutes to go in Shea Weber’s four-minute high-sticking penalty. Did I mention high drama? Oh man, it was something else.

The best penalty-kill unit in the history of the world killed off the Weber double minor, which is just as well because I think Weber would never have lived down the infamy of sitting in the box watching the Tampa Bay Lightning win the Stanley Cup. He looked so miserable in the box (on the edge of his seat!).

Then came history in the making, a goal Habs fans will never forget. Josh Anderson, singled out for lack of scoring in Monday’s column, found his mojo just when it was needed. He tipped the puck forward and then barrelled down the left boards — as he likes to do — then cut to the net — as he likes to do — and somehow shoved the puck to Cole Caufield in front of the net with just one hand on his stick. He was using the other arm to hold off Tampa defender Jan Rutta.

Caufield swiped at it, Andrei Vasilevskiy made the save, and Anderson surged out from behind the net to knock the puck in the back of the net as he went flying on to the ice butt first. Beauty! Biggest goal of his career.

It was so cool to drive through downtown en route to N.D.G. hearing and feeling the joy in the air, with people in Canadiens sweaters everywhere cheering, horns honking not for the usual road-rage reasons but rather to celebrate our collective happiness.

You can’t take this away from us. We’ll always have the memory of July 5, 2021. It is already a great moment in Habs history, no matter what happens in the coming days.

And the moment came at the end of the tensest game of these playoffs for the Canadiens. Tampa Bay was on a mission in the first period, dominating the play and when the game went to commercials with the Bolts up 10-1 in shots, I thought, “A team never likes to be killing it on the shot clock yet not have a goal.” Sure enough, with the shots 11-to-1, Slick Nick Suzuki brought the puck behind the net, waited it out for just the right time and then slipped a laser-like pass to Anderson to open the scoring.

It was that kind of night. Alexander Romanov, playing his first game since June 14, scored his first National Hockey League playoff goal, to give Montreal a 2-1 lead, and in the process made Dominique Ducharme look like a genius. All of the coach’s moves paid off, with Jake Evans, in for Jesperi Kotkaniemi, playing a strong game centring a line with wingers Artturi Lehkonen and Paul Byron. Romanov and Brett Kulak looked just fine, something that couldn’t be said of Eric Gustafsson and Jon Merrill in recent games.

But at the end of the night, this victory was signed by the team’s two leaders, Weber and Carey Price. Weber went primitive on the Bolts, just what the Habs doc ordered, and that crunching destruction of Brayden Point along the boards might’ve been his finest moment as a Hab.

Then there was the resurrection of Saint Carey. He’d been just ordinary in the first three games, letting in 13 goals on 80 shots, and with Price not in heavenly form, this team usually doesn’t win many hockey games. But 1190212 Montreal Canadiens Evans, meanwhile, was flying. The young man, sidelined when he was clocked by that vicious hit from Mark Scheifele at the end of Game 1 of the Winnipeg series and with only a brief appearance since, was brilliant all night long. He played a key role when momentum began to shift late in Todd: Habs' playoff run comes down to the penalty-kill, OT and a little the first period, forechecking like a whirling dervish, and almost beat soul Vasilevskiy to a puck in front that would have given the Habs a 2-0 first- period lead.

Then there was young “Goal” Caufield, building on the most remarkable Jack Todd • Special to Montreal Gazette year in his young life, picking up two assists to bring his playoff total to Publishing date: Jul 06, 2021 eight to go with four goals – not too shabby for a guy who was playing NCAA hockey a couple of months ago.

But the player who has impressed this old writer most remains Nick Time to cue that old disco chestnut Stayin’ Alive. But make it the version Suzuki. Sports journalist Michael Farber described Suzuki as a “Patrice recorded by my friend, the bluesman Adam Karch, please, because this Bergeron starter kit,” and that is exactly right. At 21, Suzuki is smart, one calls for a little soul. tough, talented and versatile — like Boston’s future Hall of Famer. The goal Suzuki created Monday night was a beauty, taking a pass from Knocked down, stomped, embarrassed on home ice in Game 3 and Caufield, getting in behind the net, drawing the defence to him and written off as the first team since Washington in 1998 to get swept in the finding Josh Anderson in front with a perfect pass for Anderson’s first Stanley Cup final, the Canadiens Monday night relied on two elements goal of the night, a play that gave the Canadiens their first lead in the that have remained constant through this phenomenal playoff run: playoffs. The penalty-kill and overtime. The Bergeron comparison is valid. Suzuki has kept performing, as the First, the penalty-kill. When captain Shea Weber’s stick came up into pressure mounts, the opposition gets tougher and the checking tighter. Ondrej Palat’s mug with 1:01 left to play in the third period, that should He’s a keeper. have been it. There was blood on the ice. Weber drew a double minor, So are the 2021 Habs, who just keep on stayin’ alive. handing the powerful Tampa Bay Lightning a four-minute power play.

But the penalty-kill, so reliable throughout the playoffs, came through. Weber, as physically dominant as we have ever seen him, went through Montreal Gazette LOADED: 07.07.2021 the agonies of the damned in the penalty box as he waited for his teammates to get him off the hook for what would have been an excruciating loss.

Not only did the Canadiens make it 5-for-5 on the penalty kill on the night, they generated a terrific chance at the other end on a pass from Phillip Danault to Nick Suzuki, forcing Tampa’s Andrei Vasilevskiy to make the save.

Less than a minute later, Josh Anderson (who has skated miles this post- season) forced a turnover, started the rush up the left wing and found Cole Caufield in front. Yanni Gourde deflected Caufield’s shot but the puck deflected to Anderson, who found room in the corner of the net for the OT winner, his second of the night.

Delirium.

With the crowd outside exploding and Canadiens immortals , and Patrick Roy looking on, this resilient team celebrated, having won its fourth straight elimination game after taking three in a row in the first round to send the Maple Leafs to the golf course.

If not for some tough breaks in Game 2 when the Canadiens were the better team, they would be headed back to Tampa for Game 5 with the series tied at two games apiece. As it is, they are back where they were in the first round, needing three straight wins against a very tough opponent to pull off what might rank as the most improbable upset in the history of the game given the 3-0 deficit they faced Monday.

As it has been from the start, it was a team effort. It had to be. It began with Carey Price, who was back to being that fierce, puck-eating goaltender we have seen from the beginning before Price hit a rough patch in the final. Had Price not made save after save while stopping 32 of 34 shots, the Habs wouldn’t have made it to overtime in the first place.

Dominique Ducharme and his coaching staff played a role as well, subbing Jake Evans for Jesperi Kotkaniemi and going with defencemen Brett Kulak and Alexander Romanov over Erik Gustafsson and Jon Merrill because (Ducharme said before the game) they were “more dynamic skaters.”

Turns out they were more than that. Romanov, playing only his third game of the post-season, became the youngest Canadiens defencemen to score in a Stanley Cup final when his shot beat Vasilevskiy to give Montreal a short-lived lead at the 8:48 mark of the third period.

Romanov was a force all night, dealing out hits and turning in a strong performance in his own end and vindicating fans and media who were clamouring for his presence in the lineup all along. 1190213 Montreal Canadiens inside, but ended up feeding Caufield. Caufield got one chance on Vasilevskiy, giving Anderson time to re-emerge from behind the net to fire home the loose puck. The Habs pulled off the overtime victory to send the series to Tampa Bay for Game 5 on Wednesday. About Last Night: Habs stave off elimination with Game 4 overtime win 3. “Greatest penalty kill got to love them.” -Hunter Muskoka

2. “Can’t believe Tampa didn’t score on that 4 minute. What a great effort Erik Leijon • Special to Montreal Gazette by the PK. Chiarot and Edmundson were really good. Anderson came up huge. Just had to get him away from KK, and he looked dangerous all Publishing date: Jul 06, 2021 night. I just wanted one win, and I am very happy they pulled it off. I won’t be greedy, but would be nice to get back to Montreal for game 6.” -James Toth The Montreal Canadiens will live to fight another day, thanks to their penalty-killing unit, after defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 in 1. “The real first star of the game was the mayor of Tampa for basically overtime in Game 4 on Monday night. Josh Anderson scored the winner making fun of the Canadiens for being down 3-0, and saying they should after the Habs killed a four-minute penalty on captain Shea Weber let montreal win, so they can win the cup at home. That’s bulletin board through the end of regulation and the beginning of overtime. material for the Canadiens.” -Ryan Katz

Here’s Anderson’s goal at 3:57 of overtime:

JOSH ANDERSON! OVERTIME WINNER! Montreal Gazette LOADED: 07.07.2021

Prior to puck drop, the Habs announced a lineup shakeup. Jesperi Kotkaniemi was replaced by Jake Evans, and the third defence pairing of Erik Gustafsson and Jon Merrill changed to Alexander Romanov and Brett Kulak. The lines were also rejigged. Evans formed a new checking line with Paul Byron and Artturi Lehkonen, Josh Anderson joined Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield, and Tyler Toffoli moved alongside Phil Danault and Brendan Gallagher. For Tampa, Alex Killorn missed his third straight game.

It took the Habs just over eight minutes to get their first shot on goal, yet they still struck first, with the new lines paying immediate dividends. Suzuki skated behind the net while Caufield made a move to the crease. It allowed Anderson to get open and receive a pass from Suzuki. Anderson elevated the puck over Andrei Vasilevskiy to make it 1-0. With the assist, Suzuki, 21, became the youngest Hab to record points in three consecutive Stanley Cup final games.

The first period ended with Montreal up 1-0, but not before Brayden Point ripped a one-timer in the slot off the post while on the power play.

In the second period, Weber brought a physical tone, lining up Point for a hit after he exited the penalty box, then nearly catching him again minutes later on a penalty kill. On another Tampa power play, Point was hit by a Victor Hedman shot and limped off the ice, but returned to play in the third period. Hedman also hit a post on an earlier shot. After that successful penalty kill by Montreal, Tampa Bay tied the game when Ryan McDonagh prevented a Jeff Petry clear, then raced to the net to kick out the puck to Barclay Goodrow, who beat Carey Price to make it 1-1. That’s how the second period ended.

In the third period, a scrum resulted in three players for each side going to the penalty box: Jeff Petry, Ben Chiarot, Anderson, Yanni Gourde, Blake Coleman and Goodrow. It left Montreal with only four defencemen for more than two minutes as they needed to wait for a whistle before returning. It allowed third pairing defenceman Romanov to get on the ice, and he took advantage by firing a point shot through a screen that beat Vasilevskiy to restore Montreal’s one-goal lead. Another new addition to the lineup, Evans, had the assist. Romanov is the youngest defenceman in Canadiens history to score a goal in a Stanley Cup Final.

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Five minutes later, Tampa made it 2-2 when Mathieu Joseph and Pat Maroon rushed down with speed on a 2-on-1, with the former feeding the latter on the goal.

Tampa Bay got their chance to take their first lead of the night when McDonagh found Nikita Kucherov back door with an empty cage, but the puck deflected off Kucherov’s stick and hit the post. With 1:01 left in regulation and overtime looming, Weber accidentally high-sticked Ondrej Palat off the draw and left him bloodied. The officials missed the initial call, but upon review assessed a four-minute double-minor. The Habs killed the first minute in regulation, but entered overtime facing three minutes short-handed while their captain watched hopelessly from the box.

The Canadiens’ penalty-killing unit kept the team’s hopes alive. Price also came up big, stopping Point in the slot on a one-timer. Buoyed by the successful kill, Anderson rushed down the left side and tried to come 1190214 Montreal Canadiens and here he is, and I’m watching him in the Stanley Cup Final with Jeff. As a dad, it was a really great way to connect.”

One player that truly surprised Jeff with his ability to hit was Lehkonen. Canadiens’ Stanley Cup Final appearance gives Jeff Petry and Dan “I had met his dad a few months prior and he had taught me about Petry a championship-level bonding moment baseball, it’s a different version in Finland, Pesäpallo,” Dan said. “It’s wild, and it’s the national sport over there. I had just assumed it was hockey only over there, so he swung the bat really well, he was more By Sean Shapiro advanced than some others.”

Jul 6, 2021 Dan is hopeful he’ll be able to throw batting practice to Jeff and his teammates again, perhaps later in the 2021-22 season. For now, he’s

just hoping for a reason to book another trip to Florida for Game 7. Dan Petry has spent considerable time in Central Florida.

A former major-league pitcher who won a World Series with Detroit in The Athletic LOADED: 07.07.2021 1984, and now a television analyst for the Tigers, Petry has made “countless baseball trips” to the Sunshine State.

Now he’s hoping for at least one more hockey-related trip.

Petry’s son, Jeff, is a defenseman for the Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens recently staved off elimination and forced a Game 5 in Tampa with a 3-2 overtime victory in Game 4. Dan knows that Game 5 can mean finality — he started Game 5 of the 1984 World Series when the Tigers closed out the San Diego Padres — but he’ll be at his son’s Game 5 hoping for a Game 7. He’s hopeful that the Canadiens can do what the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs did to the Detroit Red Wings when they erased a 3-0 series deficit to win the Stanley Cup.

The Petrys were, expectedly, a baseball family. But while growing up in Southeastern Michigan, Jeff and his brother, Matt, took up hockey “because it was Hockeytown,” according to Dan. Dan says he always wanted the kids to play multiple sports, but he realized his family might be a hockey one once USHL scouts starting look at Jeff as a high schooler.

“I had no idea really how any of this worked. It’s different than baseball. In baseball you don’t get asked to leave high school when you are 16 or 17 and go somewhere else,” Dan said. “So when he had this opportunity it was like, “Whoa, he really has a chance to do something with this sport.'”

When Jeff went to Michigan State, Dan reached out to former Detroit Red Wings assistant GM Jim Nill, who is now the general manager of the Dallas Stars, for advice on the hockey world.

“He was a bigger deal to me than I was to him,” Nill said. “I followed baseball, this is Dan Petry, he won a World Series as a starting pitcher … if anyone was asking for anyone’s autograph it was me bothering him.”

While Nill jokes about his meeting with Dan, the elder Petry continues to be extremely thankful for the advice. He’s also been reflective of an unexpected hockey path while watching Jeff in the Stanley Cup Final.

“I was trying to think about that, as I was watching the game last night and it was, you just sat there and just went ‘Oh my gosh,'” Dan said. “You know, this is the World Series of hockey, you know, and he’s right in the center of it. That’s such a cool thing, we would have never thought about that when we first signed him up just to play another sport.”

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Petry family’s ability to celebrate this run to the Stanley Cup Final has been limited. Dan and his wife, Christine, haven’t been able to get into Canada to watch games, and when traveling to Vegas or Tampa for games in the final two rounds they’ve only seen Jeff in passing, “from a distance, both with masks on,” to make sure no protocols are broken.

While the pandemic has been tough for both father and son, it has made Dan treasure some other memories a bit more. In March 2020, soon before the world started to shutter, the Canadiens had an off day in Tampa and Jeff organized a trip to the Tigers spring training site where Dan was able to throw batting practice to Jeff and his teammates, including Carey Price, Shea Weber, Brendan Gallagher and Artturi Lehkonen.

Dan said all of the hockey players translated well to baseball. Weber had the most power at the plate, “you could tell this guy had played before,” while Price surprised everyone with his first swing of the bat.

“It was the first or second pitch I threw and he hit one onto the berm in left field and it went out,” Dan said. “It was a big thrill, I was kind of thinking about that (watching Game 1). I was throwing BP to this guy, 1190215 New Jersey Devils

NHL Stanley Cup Final 2021: How to watch Montreal Canadiens vs. Tampa Bay Lightning | Schedule, TV info

Posted Jun 26, 2021

By Brian Fonseca

The 2021 NHL Stanley Cup Final begins on Monday, June 27, when the Tampa Bay Lightning, led by right winger Steve Stamkos, host the Montreal Canadiens, led by right wing Cole Caufield, in Game 1 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.

After gutting out a tough series to get to the Stanley Cup Final, the Tampa Bay Lightning shouldn’t have to change their style of play to match up against the Montreal Canadiens.

They won’t have to change time zones, either.

Thanks to an adjusted playoff format for just this season, this will be the first final between two Eastern Conference teams in 41 years. Tampa Bay and Montreal will face off for the third time in eight postseasons, and this time it’s for the Stanley Cup.

“They’re going to get the best team that they’ve played against so far, and we’re going to get the best team that we’ve played against so far,” Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said Friday after a 1-0 victory against the New York Islanders in Game 7 of the semifinals. “It’s going to be a tough, grinding series.”

Montreal swept Tampa Bay in the first round in 2014 on the way to the East final, and the Lightning beat the Canadiens in six games in the second round on their way to the 2015 final. Lightning coach Jon Cooper, Stamkos and six other players remain from the series six years ago, while the Canadiens only have goalie Carey Price and forward Brendan Gallagher left on their roster from back then.

“I remember how close every game was,” Gallagher said. “Each game seemed to be decided by one play here, a mistake there. The difference was such a slim margin. I think since then their team has obviously been growing, their core’s grown. They got to feel what it’s like to win a championship last season, so they’re going to be a whole different animal.”

These teams have flip-flopped roles since. The Canadiens are now the younger team that hadn’t gone deep into the playoffs yet, while the Lightning endured the pain of losing in the 2015 final and getting swept out of the first round in 2019 before winning it all in the bubble last year.

“It took a lot to get here,” Cooper said. “It was all building blocks to get to here, and you can’t predict that. It’s going to happen.”

It’s happening now, with Game 1 at Tampa Bay set for Monday night.

Star Ledger LOADED: 07.07.2021 1190216 New Jersey Devils

NJ Devils re-sign goaltender Scott Wedgewood on a one-year deal

ROBERT AITKEN JR. | NorthJersey.com

One of the most important signings from last offseason will remain with the Devils for the 2021-22 season.

Veteran goaltender Scott Wedgewood has been re-signed to a one-year, two-way contract, keeping the 28-year old with the team that originally drafted him.

Wedgewood's contract is valued at $825,000 with the NHL and $375,000 at the AHL level. His salary will depend on how long he is at each level.

In 16 games played during the Devils' condensed 2021 season, Wedgewood posted a 3-8-3 record with a .900 save percentage and two shutouts. It was a minor signing for the Devils in the offseason that ended up becoming vital for the team due to a few unique circumstances.

In training camp, Wedgewood was signed to be the third-string goalie, but saw added minutes when Corey Crawford retired before the start of the season and MacKenzie Blackwood was placed into COVID protocol early in the season.

Wedgewood continued to be an important player for the Devils after Blackwood returned from COVID protocol, filling in with starts as the Devils had a reshuffled and laboring schedule. Fans cheered for Wedgewood to get more involved as Blackwood struggled in his return from the virus.

Wedgewood has been a goalie for the bulk of his career after being drafted by the Devils in the third round of the 2010 NHL Draft. He played four games for the Devils in 2015-16 before being traded to the Arizona Coyotes in October 2017. The Devils signed Wedgewood in the 2020 offseason after he spent the year as the third goalie for the Tampa Bay Lightning, who won the Stanley Cup.

The resigning of Wedgewood is viewed to be a third-string goalie signing, much like his signing a year earlier. While the Devils could be interested in signing another goalie to the roster, Wedgewood could be in a position battle once again in 2021 for the backup goalie spot.

Bergen Record LOADED: 07.07.2021 1190217 New Jersey Devils acting illegally by waging a political vendetta against the former president and his children who run the firm.

The ice skating rink in Central Park has long been one of Trump’s local NJ Devils owners replacing Trump Organization as Wollman Rink claims to fame. operator The reconstruction of Wollman Rink in the 1980s had been an embarrassing, multimillion-dollar boondoggle for then-Mayor Ed Koch. Then in the summer of 1986, Trump, whose office is near Central Park, By Carl Campanile jumped into the fray and offered to rebuild the rink in time for the fall with a new, smaller budget. His contractors ended up completing the project July 6, 2021 | 2:34pm | Updated below the $3 million price tag.

The Trump Organization ran the Wollman Rink for more than three Letters to the Editor— Feb. 4, 2021 decades.

The owners of the New Jersey Devils and two partners have been Daniel William McKnight selected to run Wollman Rink in Central Park after the city booted its Even Koch, who was feuding with Trump at the time, joked, “I am now long-term operator, the Trump Organization. renting him out to other cities.” The firm — called Wollman Park Partners — is a joint venture among The reopening of the rink was a PR bonanza for Trump — and his Newark, NJ-based Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, Related contract with the city to run it lasted more than three decades. Companies and Equinox.

Harris Blitzer owns the New Jersey Devils and the Prudential Center arena in Newark. New York Post LOADED: 07.07.2021 Community partners include Great Performances + Melba’s Restaurant, YMCA, in Harlem, Figure Skating in Harlem, The Boys’ Club of New York, and Green City Force.

The Parks Department selected the new operator following a competitive bidding process.

The new firm will operate the Wollman Rink for a five-year term, with the option of a six-month extension, city officials said Tuesday.

“Now is the time for New York City to think big. As we plan for our City’s future, our cultural institutions are at the forefront of imagining and revitalizing the type of urban experience we aspire to, one that’s inclusive, accessible and welcoming to all New Yorkers. That’s why Wollman Park Partners is committed to restoring Wollman Rink to a place of joy, pride and community development in the City,” said Josh Harris and David Blitzer, co-founders of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment.

“We are excited to work with the Parks Department and are honored to partner with some of the City’s leading community organizations to make this vision a reality.”

Joshua Harris, left, and David Blitzer announcing their co-ownership of the New Jersey Devils in 2013.

Jeff Blau, CEO of of Related Companies, said, “Wolman Rink is a cherished New York City landmark and we are committed to partnering with local leaders and organizations that will create new economic opportunities for MWBE operators and inclusive programming for underserved communities across the City.”

“By reinvesting any profit from Wollman exclusively back into the facility, we’ll be able to realize our vision for this iconic destination at the heart of Central Park and ensure that it has the sustainable infrastructure and increased accessibility to welcome all New Yorkers and visitors from around the world for generations to come.”

Mayor Bill de Blasio pushed to remove the Trump Organization as the operator of Wollman Rink and three other city popular attractions — Central Park’s Lasker Rink and Carousel and the Bronx Ferry Point golf course — after accusing former President Donald Trump of inciting the Jan. 6 rioting at the US Capitol.

De Blasio backed off a plan to close Wollman Rink earlier last winter to freeze out Trump after skaters fumed they shouldn’t be kept off the ice due to Hizzoner’s beef with the former president.

Trump Organization spokesperson Kimberly Benza responded, “This is all political.”

Mayor Bill de Blasio pushed to terminate the city’s contracts with the Trump Organization after accusing former President Donald Trump of inciting the Jan. 6 US Capitol riot.

But the Trump Organization has already filed a lawsuit against the city for ending its contract to run the Bronx golf course, claiming de Blasio is 1190218 New York Islanders There are also some trades here to unload a couple of onerous contracts.

Those second-rounders might not be enough in either case, but it’s not What the Islanders’ offseason could look like: Trades, veteran signings as far-fetched as it might seem. Komarov has one year left and gets $2 and the Kraken expansion draft million in salary on his $3 million cap hit; Ladd is owed just $5 million in cash on the two seasons at $5.5 million average annual value (AAV) remaining.

By Arthur Staple It’s a lot of change, but primarily for the better.

Jul 6, 2021 Simpler doesn’t mean uncomplicated, though. In this roster, Lamoriello has managed to keep his core intact, but at a cost: Palmieri is gone and

so is at least one of the Isles’ 2022 second-round picks, sent to the There’s nothing going on, but there’s a lot going on. Kraken to get the expansion team to select Otto Koivula.

You won’t likely hear any news out of the Islanders this week or even This one also counts on Ladd not being able to play next season. early next week. The early buyout window opens 48 hours after the Lamoriello said Ladd is healthy right now, so LTIR might not be the way conclusion of the Stanley Cup Final and, while Lou Lamoriello might have — it’s conceivable Ladd could retire if he knows he’ll never play again for some rather weak candidates for buyouts, it doesn’t seem like the Islanders, or ask for a mutual termination of his contract and try his Lamoriello’s way to be so aggressive before his expansion protected list luck elsewhere. However it goes, the Islanders need Ladd’s cap hit off has to be submitted (July 17) and the Seattle expansion draft takes place the books completely to even bring back this roster, which features big (July 21). raises for Beauvillier (four years, $4.25 million per year) and Adam Pelech (seven years, $5.4 million per year) and a decent-sized one for Rest assured that Lamoriello and his crew are doing some serious Ilya Sorokin (two years, $2.75 million per year). planning and plotting for the next few weeks. The expansion list and draft will tell a lot about the path Lamoriello chooses, though that surely will be Greene, who said last week he wants to play next season, also returns just the beginning of a difficult stretch to try and build the Isles’ roster for for the veteran minimum. This roster barely has room for 23 players as 2021-22 and beyond. well, and that will be a serious juggling act all season.

Will the Islanders leave Nick Leddy unprotected? Will it be Scott Here’s one version of what might happen if the trade market just Mayfield? Would Lamoriello make a side deal with Seattle to keep the stagnates: Lamoriello can’t find takers for his bad contracts, doesn’t get Islanders’ core together but sacrifice more future assets? good deals for his RFAs, and has to dump useful players and replace them with less-than-ideal fits. We won’t know until we know. Just bumping Beauvillier, Pelech and Sorokin up by around $1.5 million Until then, we can lay out a few possible scenarios. With the help of total from the deals in the version above means Lamoriello has to find a CapFriendly’s “Armchair GM” tool, we’ve put together three potential way to shed salary. If Cizikas leaves and Komarov can’t be moved, that rosters for next season. Consider these three snapshots along a scale, fourth line could look mighty different next season. with one end being “hey, this looks pretty good” and the other “uh … sure.” In this version, Eberle and a second-round pick go to the Kraken to ease the cap crunch that can’t be filled by a true top-six wing. Leddy goes in So let’s see what we’ve got: the expansion draft and, again, the Isles have to bargain hunt for a replacement. Goligoski isn’t a bad player, but can he fill Leddy’s skates Version 1.0: You want change? We got change! on this defense? Now, let’s get one thing straight: It’s hard to imagine Lamoriello and Barry And Ladd does get moved here, again to Arizona, but this time it costs Trotz are angling to upend their team this much in the wake of back-to- the Isles their 2022 first-rounder, eliminating a potential chip for the trade back semifinal playoff runs. They have established a real foundation and deadline. a real ethos for the Islanders, so subtracting four regulars from that group is likely not the way they want this offseason to go. In short, all it takes is one or two slight changes to alter things pretty drastically. But this lineup has its benefits. The main one is being able to keep Casey Cizikas, who, in this projection, signs for six years at $2.5 million per year. Too much term, but this is likely what it would take to keep him from hitting the market. New York Post LOADED: 07.07.2021

Kyle Palmieri also returns in this scenario at a very acceptable four years at $4.75 million per year. A very small bump from his last contract, but there’s term and a chance to stick around, so maybe that moves him to take less than he might get at market.

There’s a fair bit of change here. Gone are Anthony Beauvillier and in a deal with the Blues that brings back elite winger Vladimir Tarasenko, who, in the real world, might be in the mood for a change of scenery, and defenseman Vince Dunn. That deal would likely be set before the Islanders lose Leddy to the Kraken and allow Dunn to slide into that second-pair spot at a reasonable price (he’s a restricted free agent).

The free-agent additions are big names who are also … old. Lamoriello signed Patrick Marleau in Toronto, so maybe the all-time games-played leader wants another kick at a Cup? And Zdeno Chara is still deciding if he wants to play another season. If he does, he’s a perfect bottom-pair defenseman for a team like the Islanders.

Marleau’s signing could be rendered meaningless by Anatolii Golyshev grabbing that LW3 spot or Michael Dal Colle stepping up. In any of these scenarios, that spot has to come cheap. This roster is about $300,000 under an LTIR-adjusted cap — no one has confirmed yet but it’s believed that Andy Greene’s $2 million in performance bonuses on his 2020-21 deal count against next season’s cap, so that reduces the Isles’ flexibility in a big way. 1190219 Ottawa Senators Pembroke native Mason McTavish, seen playing for the , is expected to be an early selection in this year’s NHL draft.

It’s difficult to find much of a consensus on who could be in the top 10, With NHL draft approaching, Clarke and McTavish hope to become top- largely because of the impact of the pandemic, with many players 10 selections receiving limited action.

It’s difficult to find much of a consensus on who could be in the top 10, While there are no guarantees, Power is generally considered to be the largely because of the impact of the pandemic. top prospect and the Buffalo Sabres own the first pick.

Power, however, has thrown a bit of a wrinkle into the situation by saying he’s currently leaning toward returning to the University of Michigan for Ken Warren another season. He said Tuesday that he wants to experience a genuine year of college, attending classes in person rather than online, and would

like to represent Canada at the world junior championships next winter. Brandt Clarke is seen playing for Nové Zámky in Slovakia after COVID- Power, 6-6 and 213 pounds, impressed while playing for Canada at the 19 shut down the for the 2020-21 season. world championships after his 2020-21 season with Michigan ended. Article content “The world championships was good for me to see where I was at when Ottawa’s Brandt Clarke is of two minds when contemplating the playing with pros and against pros, so I think it gave me a better idea of possibility of being selected by his hometown Senators in the first round how ready I was to play pro hockey.” of the NHL entry draft July 23. He also appreciated the support he received from some of Canada’s Clarke, a slick-skating defenceman with a gift for the gab, is confident veteran players. enough in his abilities and in pre-draft rankings to believe that he’ll be “(The Senators’) Connor Brown, Adam Henrique, Colin Miller, Darcy long gone by the time the Senators select 10th overall. Kuemper were all guys that were really good to me and taught me a lot of At the same time, though, he has fond memories of cheering on some of stuff, just talking to them one-on-one and kind of picking their brains,” he the greatest players in franchise history. said. “Those guys, especially, were really good to me.”

“Yeah, I am definitely hoping to go higher than that,” Clarke said Tuesday Power’s Michigan teammates Kent Johnson and Matthew Beniers could as the NHL conducted a series of Zoom interviews with the top-ranked also be among the top 10 selections in the NHL draft. prospects. Ottawa Sun LOADED: 07.07.2021 “But if it does end up being Ottawa, that would be awesome. I grew up a Sens fan. (Our family) had season tickets. I watched (Erik) Karlsson. I watched (Mark) Stone. I watched (Mike) Hoffman … I watched all these guys. … I watched Alfie (Daniel Alfredsson) when he was there.

“These were my idols when I was growing up. If I do end up on the Ottawa Senators, that would be a dream come true. But I’m definitely looking to go a bit higher than that.”

The 2021 draft is expected to deliver some quality future talent, but it is lacking the dominant, sure-fire stars that have come from other recent drafts.

Brandt Clarke celebrates with the championship trophy at world under 18 championships.

According to NHL’s Central Scouting, Clarke is rated as the seventh- highest ranked North American skater. The Hockey News ranks him as the seventh-best prospect overall and TSN draft expert Craig Button has Clarke listed at second overall, behind only University of Michigan defenceman Owen Power.

Wherever Clarke lands, he’s thankful to have had old brother Graeme — a former 67’s star and current New Jersey Devils prospect — in his corner to guide him through the draft preparation. With COVID-19 shutting down the Ontario Hockey League for the entire 2020-21 season, the Clarke brothers played together in a men’s league in Slovakia.

“It’s the whole process that he went through, even dating back to the OHL draft,” said Clarke, who scored six goals and seven assists in 26 games with Nove Zamky in Slovakia and was a standout with Canada’s gold medal-winning under-18 squad in May.

“(Graeme) was a high pick in the OHL draft, I was a high pick in the OHL draft. And coming into this, he was already selected (by New Jersey) and he has done all the things that I want to do. It’s kind of nice that I get to follow his path. He had to learn the ropes by himself. He gets to help me every step of the way.”

Considering that connection, it will be intriguing to see if the Devils opt to choose Clarke with the fourth overall selection.

Pembroke native Mason McTavish, who was captain of Canada’s under- 18 squad, is also expected to be selected early. McTavish scored nine goals and two assists in 13 games with Olten EHC in Switzerland last season. He’s ranked as the No. 2 North American skater according to Central Scouting. The Hockey News rates him ninth and he checks in at 14th on Button’s list. 1190220 Ottawa Senators What is Tkachuk’s value? This is going to be an interesting point, because Tkachuk brings a lot of

intangibles to the equation that are hard to measure with a stat sheet. What’s Brady Tkachuk’s value? Could he be the target of an offer sheet? And yet, he’s still sort of an analytics darling. His underlying numbers are Questions to ponder for Senators fans usually terrific, but he just lacks the finishing touch of some of the other elite wingers in the game. But there is an argument to be made that Tkachuk is slowly blossoming into a perennial 30-goal scorer and if he can reach that plateau while still playing a nasty, physical style, he will By Ian Mendes Jul 6, 2021 truly become a unique talent in the NHL.

Our resident analytics expert Dom Luszczyszyn provided me with the At some point in the next two weeks, Pierre Dorion will conduct a news snapshot of what he projects Tkachuk’s value to be over the next several conference with members of the Ottawa media. seasons and it’s clear this model sees Tkachuk as a bona fide No. 1 line left winger for the foreseeable future: The Senators general manager will likely be bombarded with a handful of questions pertaining to the upcoming NHL news cycle. Based on this projection, it would seem like a reasonable starting point for a negotiation would be at least $7 million per season. But that seems How tough was it finalizing the protected list for the Seattle expansion like the bare minimum. Tkachuk has value beyond the stat sheet and he draft? has organically evolved into the leader of this organization. Certainly, Tkachuk’s camp is looking at the eight-year, $64 million contract Thomas Would he draft a goalie with his first-round pick? Chabot received in the fall of 2019 as a working template for a longer- Will he be aggressive in the free-agent market this summer? term deal.

But in reality, there is only one burning question this offseason for the And if Tkachuk signs a long-term extension, it would melt away a lot of general manager: What’s the latest on Brady Tkachuk’s contract cynicism that remains over the club’s ability to retain star players. So if negotiation? ever there was an argument for a slight overpay — even into the $9 million range on a long-term deal — this would be it. Speaking to the Cam & Strick podcast in his hometown of St. Louis a few weeks ago, Tkachuk simply stated that negotiations hadn’t started To bridge or not to bridge? between the two camps. Eugene Melnyk made his feelings known about bridge contracts during “We haven’t really started to talk yet,” Tkachuk told hosts Andy Strickland his appearance on The Bob McCown podcast a few weeks ago. and Cam Janssen on June 2. Essentially, the Senators owner ruled out the possibility of Tkachuk becoming the captain if he only signs a bridge contract. You can expect these negotiations to be enveloped in a heavy cone of silence, with details being hard to nail down. Both sides are heavily But we need to understand that Tkachuk’s agent Craig Oster may prefer invested in getting a deal done, but this is a particularly important going with a bridge contract to maximize his client’s value down the road. negotiation for the Senators. After years of pledging to keep their Here’s a look at several of Oster’s high profile clients and how they’ve homegrown stars after a complete teardown, Tkachuk represents a been handled since the new CBA was established in January 2013: perfect opportunity for the club to fulfill its promise. Prominent Oster clients coming off ELC But signing Tkachuk to a long-term contract is a complicated matter with Ondrej Palat several layers that require examination. In this column, we’ll tackle a handful of key questions surrounding Tkachuk’s contract negotiation with 3 years, $10 M the Senators. 5 years, $26.5 M What are the key dates and pressure points on the horizon? Mark Stone The first date to have circled on your calendar is Wednesday, July 28. That is when the free agency period will officially commence in the NHL, 3 years, $10.5 M which theoretically would allow RFA players like Tkachuk to sign an offer 1 year, $7.35 M sheet with an opposing team. I’ll explain the offer sheet process in greater detail below, but this is truly the first pressure point in the Tomas Hertl negotiations between Tkachuk and the Senators. Up to this point, the Senators would have enjoyed an exclusive negotiating window with the 2 years, $6 M Tkachuk camp and any discussions with other clubs would be considered 4 years, $22.5 M tampering. But once we hit noon ET on July 28, other teams can legally speak to Tkachuk and potentially offer him a lucrative contract. Matthew Dumba

We are waiting for the league to officially unveil its list of critical dates for 2 years, $5.1 M the 2021-22 season, but there are two other dates that likely bear monitoring. The first would be the opening of training camp, which will 5 years, $30 M likely occur at some point in mid-to-late September. The Senators would Matthew Tkachuk like to have this deal signed, sealed and delivered before the start of camp. Tkachuk’s absence from training camp because of a contract 3 years, $21 M dispute would certainly cast a dark cloud over an otherwise bright situation for the Senators. TBD

The other date to watch will be when the league announces the deadline (Courtesy Puckpedia) for RFA players to sign a contract for the 2021-22 season. In most In all of these cases, the players opted to sign shorter-term bridge deals normal NHL seasons, that date falls on Dec. 1, but considering the — with the hope of cashing into a bigger payday down the road. Ottawa pandemic may slightly alter the timeline of next season, it’s possible that fans would be very familiar with the Mark Stone situation, as his bridge date gets bumped by a week or two. deal put him exactly one year away from unrestricted free agency. And So really, there are three pressure points to follow in this process: that could very well be the goal of the Oster camp in this negotiation with the Senators. How can they maximize their client’s potential earnings Opening of free agency period on July 28 down the road? Plus, with the flat cap on the horizon for the near future, it might be in everybody’s best interests to sign a shorter contract now Opening of training camp (likely around Sept. 22) and see where the dust settles in 2024.

Deadline for RFA players to sign a contract (likely around the first week So if Tkachuk agrees to a three-year deal, it’s not necessarily a sign that of December) he isn’t committed to this organization. It may simply be a case where an agent advises a client to accept a shorter deal, then try to maximize his Now if a team comes in with an offer that’s just under $10,276,829, that’s leverage down the road. really something Ottawa should be able to match. Let’s say a team decides it wants to offer Tkachuk a five-year, $50 million contract. Under From a pure business standpoint, the Oster group played the Stone that scenario, they would potentially have to give the Senators two first- situation brilliantly and it ended with their client landing an eight-year, $76 round picks, a second-round pick and a third-round selection. That’s a million contract. So maybe they follow the same playbook here. Sign a much more palatable price to pay to land Tkachuk, but the Senators three-year deal, bring Tkachuk to within a year of unrestricted free should have the cap room to match that type of offer. The only issue agency and then use that leverage to earn a massive payday. might be is if the contract is super frontloaded or requires significant Sens fans just better hope the rich contract down the road for Tkachuk is signing bonuses to be doled out each year on July 1. The structure of the signed in Ottawa. contract could make it awkward to match, but if anything falls into that $10 million range, it should theoretically be something Ottawa can match. Is an offer sheet a realistic possibility? For the sake of context, readers should know the last successful offer OK, time to address the elephant in the room here. sheet in the NHL happened in the summer of 2007 when the Edmonton Oilers poached Dustin Penner from the Anaheim Ducks. Since then, The secret fear of every Sens fan is that a team like the New York there have only been six offer sheets signed by RFAs and all of them Rangers or St. Louis Blues will make an aggressive offer for Tkachuk ended up being matched: later this month, pushing him out of Ottawa’s price range. Maybe the deal includes a $10 million signing bonus or something ridiculous that would Recent history with RFA offer sheets make it hard for the Senators to match. Sebastian Aho In his recent column, laid out the compensation table for RFA offer sheets this summer and it’s worth examining those Carolina numbers before we proceed further: Montreal

RFA offer sheet compensation - 2021 5 years, $42 M

League Minimum July 1, 2019

$1,356,540 Matched by Carolina

None Ryan O'Reilly

$1,356,540 Colorado

$2,055,364 Calgary

3rd round pick 2 years, $10 M

2,055,364 February 28, 2013

$4,110,732 Matched by Colorado

2nd round pick Shea Weber

$4,110,732 Nashville

$6,166,094 Philadelphia

1st round pick & 3rd round pick 14 years, $110 M

$6,166,094 July 18, 2012

$8,221,463 Matched by Nashville

1st round pick, 2nd round pick & 3rd round pick Niklas Hjalmarsson

$8,221,463 Chicago

$10,276,829 San Jose

Two 1st round picks, 2nd round pick & 3rd round pick 4 years, $14 M

$10,276,829 July 9, 2010

Any number Matched by Chicago

Four 1st round picks Steve Bernier

Looking at this chart, the key dollar amount is $10,276,829. That’s the Vancouver tipping point number where this could become very interesting. For a team to really make a predatory offer, they would likely need to go north St. Louis of that number. But once they do, it would mean they would have to surrender four first-round picks if they signed Tkachuk. That’s a hefty 1 year, $2.5 M price to pay and for a lot of teams, I would imagine they would only July 8, 2008 pursue that route if they’re landing a Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews or Nathan MacKinnon type of player. Matched by Vancouver

So ask yourself this question: Is there a team out there willing to pay David Backes Tkachuk $11 million on an AAV while also giving up four first-round draft St. Louis picks? My betting is the answer is no. If you’re already a contending team, you likely don’t have that type of cap room to squeeze in another Vancouver $11 million player. If you’re a rebuilding team, you probably don’t want to part with four first-round picks. Maybe this would be enticing to one of 3 years, $7.5 M those middle-of-the-pack teams (hello Calgary!), but the list of teams who July 1, 2008 could pull this off is fairly small. Matched by St. Louis Hopefully this chart brings some comfort to Senators fans and reinforces has ever missed an entire season due to a contract dispute and that the theory that offer sheets are merely the boogeyman in the NHL world. happened during the 2000-01 season when Mike Peca could not They are the ultimate scare tactic but rarely get used. And even in the hammer out a deal with the Buffalo Sabres. rare instances when offer sheets are tabled, they are matched. Have the Senators had problems with players coming off their ELC in the Senators fans should also consider that in the summer of 2019, both past? Brayden Point and Mitch Marner were RFAs free to sign a contract with any team after the free agency period opened on July 1. The Lightning The Senators have been involved in a couple of sticky negotiations with and Maple Leafs were facing a salary cap crunch and an opposing club players coming off their entry-level deals, but it’s been a long time since could have made a predatory offer to force their hand. Instead, Marner that happened. went unsigned until Sept. 13, 2019, and Point went another 10 days The last time it bled into training camp with a significant player was in the before he got his deal done with Tampa Bay on Sept. 23, 2019. That fall of 2014, when Jared Cowen missed the start of training camp before means Marner and Point were on the market for 74 and 84 days, signing a four-year, $12.4 million contract in the middle of September. respectively, and there was no offer sheet. “I always considered this a bridge contract, I know it’s a long bridge So while the offer sheet is absolutely a mechanism that is available for contract, but I’ve called it a bridge contract with him and thankfully he teams to use, it’s extremely rare for this to actually come to fruition. agreed with that,” Sens assistant GM Tim Murray said at the time. “He Ottawa fans need to take a deep breath, relax and hope that recent can just come in and become the player he’s supposed to be and if he history provides a realistic roadmap for how this will play out with does become that, as I said yesterday, after four years he could hit a Tkachuk. home run. That should be his goal and our goal is to help him do that.”

Could this drag into training camp? The only other contentious RFA contract negotiation involving a player Short answer: Yes. coming off his entry-level deal happened in the summer of 2008 with Andrej Meszaros. Things went off the rails quickly and the Senators As you can see with the above examples, both Point and Marner’s traded the 22-year-old defenceman to Tampa Bay on Aug. 29, 2008, in negotiations with their respective clubs dragged into September. There is exchange for Filip Kuba, Alexandre Picard and a first-round pick. Within absolutely a scenario where Tkachuk doesn’t have a deal signed by 24 hours of the trade, the Lightning signed Meszaros to a six-year, $24 Labour Day and we’re looking at him potentially missing the start of million contract. training camp. Interestingly, Sens GM Bryan Murray suggested that the Meszaros camp When Johnny Gaudreau signed his six-year, $40.5 million deal with was threatening to use the leverage of an offer sheet to get the contract Calgary in the fall of 2016, he missed the club’s entire training camp and done. returned just in time for the regular season opener. Matthew Tkachuk’s three-year extension out of ELC came at the end of September in 2019, “It got to a point where the money was too much for what we wanted to so these negotiations can often run into the start of training camp. pay,” Murray said after the Meszaros trade. “We thought we had made a considerable offer, but when there was the threat of an offer sheet at Where it becomes truly damaging is if Tkachuk actually misses some such an exaggerated (dollar amount) it really led us to believe that regular season games over a contract dispute. making a deal was an easier way, and would give us the return that we needed for this player.” Over the past five seasons, we’ve seen a handful of players miss the start of the regular season based on a contract dispute coming out of Other than these two sticky negotiations, the Senators really haven’t had their entry-level deals. Here are some notable standoffs and when the too much of an issue signing high-end players out of their entry-level players signed: deal. Here’s a look at every contract extension for Senators’ first-round picks in the salary cap era: RFAs who missed games Sens 1st round picks signing out of ELC William Nylander Brian Lee 26 March 8, 2010 December 1, 2018 2 years, $1.75 M 6 years, $45 M Nick Foligno Jacob Trouba July 21, 2010 13 2 years, $2.4 M November 7, 2016 Jim O'Brien 2 years, $6 M July 18, 2012 Hampus Lindholm 2 years, $1.275 M 8 October 27, 2016 June 19, 2012 6 years, $31.5 M 7 years, $45 M Nick Ritchie Jared Cowen 7 September 14, 2014 October 18, 2018 4 years, $12.4 M 3 years, $4.6 M Andreas Athanasiou June 25, 2015 7 2 years, $5.25 M October 23, 2017 Matt Puempel 1 year, $1.38 M July 15, 2016 Again, this is a pretty rare phenomenon and only Nylander took it right up until the Dec. 1 deadline. And it’s worth pointing out that only one RFA 1 year, $900k Thomas Chabot

September 19, 2019 *

8 years, $64 M

Colin White

August 21, 2019

6 years, $28.5 M

Chabot’s deal has an asterisk next to it because it was actually signed one year early — while he still had a full season left on his entry-level deal. But again, only Cowen’s deal dragged into the start of training camp.

What’s the best prediction for how this plays out?

I’m sure the comments section below will be flooded with predictions on the term and dollar amount for Tkachuk’s next contract.

I’ll suggest that Tkachuk might appreciate the numerology involved with a contract that carries a cap hit of $7.7 million. After all, Sidney Crosby liked his deal coming in at $8.7 million, so maybe Tkachuk will like the idea of his contract reflecting his jersey number as well. Maybe that’s a touch high for Ottawa on a bridge deal, but as I stated earlier, the onus is now on the organization to prove its willingness to pay up for elite talent. If we can agree that $7 million per season is the starting point for negotiations, getting that number bumped up slightly isn’t too much of a stretch.

So my prediction is that Tkachuk signs a bridge deal for three years at $23 million, for an AAV of $7.7 million. With an unknown economic landscape on the horizon, a bridge deal might be the most sensible choice for both parties. And I think this might drag into the start of training camp, so I’ll conservatively guess the signing date will come around Oct. 1.

The good news for the Senators is that it’s hard to envision a scenario where Tkachuk is signing on the dotted line elsewhere this summer — but fans may need to exercise a little patience before this deal is done in Ottawa.

The Athletic LOADED: 07.07.2021 1190221 Philadelphia Flyers

Flyers know they need more than just a top-pair defenseman

BY JORDAN HALL

After the 2020-21 season mercifully finished, the Flyers made it clear that their league-worst goal prevention was a team issue.

And that's true. When a team surrenders the most goals in hockey at 3.52 per game, it's not on one position. The Flyers had below-average goaltending, inconsistent play from their forwards and instability within their group of defensemen. It resulted in the Flyers stomaching a 74-goal swing in their goal differential as the club went from a plus-36 mark in 2019-20 to minus-38 this season.

While Matt Niskanen's retirement left a gaping hole on the back end, one the Flyers did not fill last offseason, the veteran defenseman's absence is not the lone reason why the team took a steep drop from tied for seventh to 31st in goals against.

"It’s not just defense," Claude Giroux said in May at his end-of-the- season press conference. "Your best defense sometimes is your offense. When you’re playing in the O-zone, sometimes you don’t have to defend. It’s not just one part of the ice, it’s the whole ice, the whole team. There are five guys out there on the ice, so we need to do a better job of supporting each other.

"Nisky played a lot of situations — power play, PK, played against the top lines on the other teams. He had a big role for us. I feel as a team, we didn’t react the right way, we didn’t answer the right way. It’s very frustrating being here right now and talking about this, but next year we need to figure it out sooner."

General manager Chuck Fletcher will try to spearhead the figuring it out this offseason as the Flyers look to upgrade everywhere, not just at the defenseman position. A top-pair blueliner to play alongside Ivan Provorov should be the No. 1 objective, but the Flyers can also get better defensively by adding the right kind of forward. They'll have opportunities via the trade and free-agent markets to make themselves stauncher at 5- on-5 and on the penalty kill.

"Now it’s not just defense plays defense, forwards play forward," Provorov said in May. "It's a unit of five all over the ice — you're in your zone, neutral zone or offensive zone. And if you're not good in any one of those three areas or one of those three areas, you're going to have trouble. I think we have to figure out how to play better as a unit of five and when we do, the results are going to be a lot different. We're going to spend less time defending, we're going have the puck more, we're going to have more time in the O-zone overall, more chances off the rush and stuff like that. As a result of that, we're going to be able to win more games."

On July 21, the Flyers will find out if they need more help at a specific position group after the Dave Hakstol-led Kraken take one of their exposed players in the expansion draft. The Flyers will have to submit their protection list by July 17. The entry draft (July 23-24) and beginning of free agency (July 28) then follow.

The Flyers will have new faces. Many are hoping for a new top-pair defenseman, as they should be. But the Flyers must get better at both ends of the rink and that falls on every position.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 07.07.2021 1190222 Philadelphia Flyers But was he actually a lot better this time around compared to last season? At least at five-on-five, not really!

All data courtesy of Evolving-Hockey. Goals and points per 60 minutes James van Riemsdyk deep dive: How he bounced back and what it are at five-on-five only. RAPM is at even strength only. means for his value to the Flyers — or Kraken? Now, to be clear, this isn’t meant to diminish the quality of JvR’s play in 2020-21. He legitimately was very good. It’s more to point out that he wasn’t nearly as ineffective in 2019-20 as public perception implied. In By Charlie O'Connor Jul 6, 2021 fact, van Riemsdyk was actually less effective this season in terms of driving play and scoring goals at five-on-five.

So why did it feel like van Riemsdyk was so much better this season? When the 2019-20 season came to a close, it was reasonable to wonder Here are a few reasons. if James van Riemsdyk simply didn’t fit with the Philadelphia Flyers anymore. First, van Riemsdyk was objectively a lot more effective on the power play in 2020-21. After scoring just four goals in 165 power-play minutes After all, he had just concluded a postseason in which he scored just two in 2019-20, he upped that total to 10 in 150 minutes this time around. goals and was healthy scratched multiple times, even skating on the Process-wise, there wasn’t much difference for van Riemsdyk year-over- fourth line in quite a few of the games that he did get the nod from head year. He just finished on his rebound chances and deflections in 2020-21 coach Alain Vigneault. And that was after a regular season in which JvR as opposed to the previous year when he seemed snakebitten in the became a whipping boy for fans due to his streakiness and worst way. JvR ultimately finished tied for fifth in the NHL in PP goals this uncharacteristic power play goalscoring struggles. Let’s just say that season, reaffirming that previously essential element of his game didn’t entering the 2020 offseason, there wasn’t a lot of positive momentum fall off a cliff. surrounding van Riemsdyk and where he stood in Philadelphia. Second, the good start likely helped a lot. In 2019-20, because van The armchair general managers may have been mentally shipping JvR Riemsdyk started so slow offensively, even his hot streaks felt to many out last winter, but the Flyers stood pat. Van Riemsdyk’s underlying as recompense for his previous lack of production, and not worth metrics in 2019-20, after all, remained strong, at least during the regular celebrating on its own merit. First impressions — even from returning season. Perhaps he just needed a clean slate and the general perception players — stick in the minds of fans, and JvR truly did put his best foot of his play would improve. forward first in 2020-21 after doing the opposite the previous year. That’s exactly what happened. JvR stormed out of the gate in 2020-21, That said, van Riemsdyk didn’t magically stop being streaky. The won over long-time haters and, even though he did slump in the second March/April slump was very real, and considering how much the Flyers half, ended up tied for the team lead in points at the end of the season. were relying on JvR in 2020-21 — which was its own issue, seeing as he Consider his stock rehabilitated. entered the season rightfully viewed as a support scorer — his struggles But did it happen just in time for him to leave town in a new way? hit the team hard. But that’s always been the price of doing business with van Riemsdyk, as is the case with almost every goal scorer in hockey. As with Shayne Gostisbehere, the Flyers’ coaching staff truly did allow When they’re on, they’re really on. And when they’re off, they seem van Riemsdyk to start 2020-21 fresh, with little carryover in terms of invisible. In van Riemsdyk’s defense, though, it’s not like the underlying usage from his marginalization in the playoffs. He began the season on a quality of his play was horrid when he wasn’t scoring. He was still a line with star forward Jakub Voracek, with Nolan Patrick at center. The useful player at five-on-five in terms of process; he just wasn’t lighting the goal? Avoid the early-season scoring slump that put him behind the lamp. proverbial eight-ball from the start in 2019-20. All data courtesy of Evolving-Hockey. And it worked. In the wake of a season in which it took van Riemsdyk eight games to score his first point, this time he had 13 points (five goals) The Flyers were still controlling play with JvR on the ice, even when he in his first 10 games. In fact, by the time January came to a close, it was wasn’t scoring. There aren’t a lot of goal scorers who do so, even if van fair to call JvR the Flyers’ most effective forward, especially with Sean Riemsdyk doesn’t exactly have the reputation of being a defensive Couturier on the shelf due to a rib injury. By the time the Flyers’ season stalwart. He’s still smart enough on the ice to push play in the right was paused due to their COVID-19 outbreak, JvR was thriving on a line direction — and he always has been. The 2020-21 season was less a with Scott Laughton and Joel Farabee and had racked up 18 points, dominant season on the whole from van Riemsdyk, and more just him easily leading the club. He even came back strong in the immediate delivering his usual results, just in a shinier package. wake of the pause and, when February ended, looked to be on track for a Basically, JvR had a “JvR” season career offensive season, pacing for 114 points over a full 82-game slate. Now, it is true that 2020-21 was van Riemsdyk’s best point-per-game Then, March struck. pace of his career, and if one was so inclined, that could easily be spun In fairness, van Riemsdyk wasn’t alone in his March struggles; the whole into a “best season of his career” argument. But in reality, JvR pretty team was struck with the same malady of incompetence. But six points in much was just the normal, very-useful-scoring-winger JvR, especially 17 games was still rough for the team’s best offensive weapon to that after taking a look at his yearly scoring rates since leaving Philadelphia point in the season, and his slump carried over into April as well — JvR back in 2012. ultimately went 17 games without a goal from March 11 through April 15. The consistency on van Riemsdyk’s part over the past nine seasons of He was far from the only reason that the Flyers’ season fell apart in his career frankly is striking. Yes, his point pace in 2020-21 was a bit March and April, but his drought certainly didn’t help. escalated (though his goal pace was down a bit from peak levels). But Eventually, JvR’s scoring reemerged, and he finished the season on a both are right in that normal JvR range of about 55 to 65 pro-rated points four-points-in-three-games run that put him in a three-way tie with per season and 25 35 goals. Say what you will about van Riemsdyk — a Voracek and Claude Giroux for the team lead in points at 43. And if goals team knows exactly what it’s going to get out of him on a yearly basis. scored is used as the tiebreaker, then van Riemsdyk was indeed the The same goes for his performance by even-strength advanced metrics. Flyers’ leading scorer, an honor that few would have predicted could Check out his impact on his teams’ shot-attempt and expected-goal have been his when the 2020-21 season began. It was a bad season for differentials over the past six seasons. the Flyers but a good one on the whole for van Riemsdyk, even if he did the bulk of his damage in the first half. All data even strength only and courtesy of Evolving-Hockey.

How much better was he than in 2019-20? Aside from the glaring outlier that was van Riemsdyk’s first season back in Philadelphia, he basically has two play-driving speeds: absolutely Van Riemsdyk’s 2020-21 campaign was certainly perceived as a fantastic (2015-16, 2017-18, 2019-20) and merely very good (2016-17, dramatic improvement over his 2019-20 season. He got off to a far better this past season). Again, the reliability factor. start, spent the bulk of the season skating in the top half of Philadelphia’s lineup (in other words: remained in the coaching staff’s good graces) and Rather than view van Riemsdyk as a streaky goal scorer, it’s better to finished the year at the top of the team scoring charts. see him for what he is: a yearly 25- to 30-goal, 55- to 60-point winger who drives play and may score in bunches but at the end of the season pretty much always ends up exactly where he’s supposed to. There’s aggressive as they’d like to be in July, it’s far from out of the realm of been little sign of age-related slippage, likely a testament to his possibility that van Riemsdyk could be hitting the ice for the Flyers come conditioning, which has earned him praise from the younger players on October, ready to deliver his normal yearly production once again. the Flyers roster, who regularly ask him for training tips. The Athletic LOADED: 07.07.2021 Yes, he generally does his best work in the middle six with slightly easier matchups than the top six, a trend that carried over to this past season in that his worst-performing line at five-on-five, from an expected goals standpoint, was with Couturier and Farabee (46.58 percent xG share). But at age 32, van Riemsdyk remains who he is. He produces first-line caliber results in a depth role, he’s still a high-end net-front weapon on the power play, and he’s an underrated two-way player. That’s an extremely useful piece, even if it’s not necessarily one that a team wants as one of its top three scoring options, like JvR was for the Flyers in 2020-21.

Might JvR still be a casualty of the offseason?

The 2020-21 season should disabuse any remaining skeptics of the notion that van Riemsdyk isn’t actually a very good NHL winger. For the first two months of the season, he was the Flyers’ best all-around player, and even when his scoring dipped in the second half, his two-way play held.

Also, he even found ways to show off his defensive acumen (particularly early in the season when helping to spark defense-to-offense transition plays) and even his toughness, best exemplified by his work on April 22 against the Rangers, when he scored the game-tying goal in the second period off his face, returned for the third period, parked himself back in front of the net and scored again to give the Flyers the lead. That was a sequence that — even in a lost season — won’t be forgotten by fans who previously tagged van Riemsdyk as “soft.” Individually, his year was absolutely a success.

And that success actually might end up writing van Riemsdyk’s ticket out of Philadelphia.

Had JvR shown serious signs of aging in 2020-21, or merely struggled to reclaim a prominent spot in the lineup in the wake of his postseason marginalization, the idea of another club taking on the final two years of his contract (cap hit: $7 million) would have been laughable — particularly in a stagnant-cap world. The Flyers probably would have been stuck with him, even if they wanted to jettison the remainder of his contract. Instead, he made it abundantly clear that he’s far from finished as a productive scoring winger.

Which is why he just might be an intriguing option for the Seattle Kraken in the expansion draft.

The Flyers are unlikely to protect van Riemsdyk, given the fact that they appear poised to protect seven forwards: Giroux, Kevin Hayes, Couturier, Travis Konecny, Oskar Lindblom, Scott Laughton and Patrick. That’s not to say that they don’t value JvR as a player, but in order to make additions this offseason, cap space must be cleared. Exposing van Riemsdyk and his $7 million cap hit in an attempt to tempt Seattle to nab him would be one very easy way to clear sufficient space to chase down a top-pairing defenseman, for example.

And Seattle very well could be interested. There won’t be many 60-point forwards available to them in the draft, and even fewer on fair contracts without much term remaining. Van Riemsdyk may not provide surplus value at $7 million per, but a two-year, $14 million contract really wouldn’t be a ridiculous price if he was a pending UFA this summer, given his consistent production over the years. Add in van Riemsdyk’s strong analytical profile — the Kraken have built themselves a robust analytics department — and it’s not difficult to imagine them nabbing the 32-year- old and positioning him as an early team leader.

If Seattle opts not to take van Riemsdyk, though? Well, the Flyers will still need to find a way to clear cap space in order to be aggressive on the trade market and free agency, and perhaps another team might have interest in acquiring JvR. In fact, if he does ultimately have a market outside of Seattle, maybe the cap-conscious Flyers would consider trading him prior to expansion, if they believe that Seattle will select him only to ship him out to another club for additional assets. There absolutely will be a “chess match” element to expansion-draft planning.

Or, perhaps the Flyers will just stick it out with van Riemsdyk. It’s not like he’s fallen out of favor in Philadelphia, after all. General manager Chuck Fletcher respects JvR’s on-ice contributions, and JvR sets a strong example for the younger players on the team off the ice as well. If Philadelphia can find another way to clear out the needed space to be as 1190223 Pittsburgh Penguins

Ex-Penguins forward Sergei Plotnikov signs with KHL's CSKA Moskow

SETH RORABAUGH | Wednesday, July 7, 2021 12:53 a.m

Former Penguins forward Sergei Plotnikov has signed a one-year contract with CSKA Moskow of Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).

The team announced his signing through its Web site.

Plotnikov, 31, spent last season with , also of the KHL. In 58 games, he had 43 points (13 goals, 30 assists).

The Penguins signed Plotnikov, a native of Russia, as an unrestricted free agent in the 2015 offseason. During the 2015-16 season, his only campaign in the NHL, Plotnikov appered in 31 games for the Penguins and recorded two assists. At the trade deadline, he was dealt to the Arizona Coyotes and appeared in 13 games for that team while recording one assist.

During the ensuing offseason, Plotnikov returned to Russia.

Tribune Review LOADED: 07.07.2021 1190224 Pittsburgh Penguins Long-term, Malkin’s status with the Penguins appears to be secure. In early June, general manager Ron Hextall suggested “the core” — Malkin, forward Sidney Crosby and defenseman Kris Letang — still has a future with the franchise. Penguins A to Z: Evgeni Malkin begins to show his age With Malkin entering the final year of his current contract, the Penguins can sign him to a contract extension this offseason.

SETH RORABAUGH | Tuesday, July 6, 2021 8:01 a.m. (Note: Malkin’s no-movement clause means the Penguins must protect him in this month’s expansion draft for the Seattle Kraken franchise.)

So, everything seems to point to Malkin remaining a member of the With the Penguins in the midst of their offseason, the Tribune-Review is Penguins for the foreseeable future. But what kind of player will he be as looking at all 48 players currently under NHL contracts to the enters the final stages of his remarkable NHL career? organization in alphabetical order, from mid-level prospect Niclas Almari to top-six winger Jason Zucker. Malkin has bounced back from knee issues before. After his 2010-11 season was cut short due to tears to his right ACL and MCL, Malkin Evgeni Malkin rebounded in 2011-12 by winning the Hart Memorial Trophy as MVP as Position: Center well as the Art Ross Trophy as the league’s top scorer.

Shoots: Left But he was 25 then. He’ll be 35 on July 31.

Age: 34 Given his track record, it’s probably safe to expect Malkin to recover from this latest challenge and still be a danger with the puck. After all, he was Height: 6-foot-3 one of the Penguins’ more productive players in the playoffs despite skating with only one healthy leg. Weight: 195 pounds But even the non-pareil Malkin can’t outskate age. 2020-21 NHL statistics: 33 games, 28 points (eight goals, 20 assists) Tribune Review LOADED: 07.07.2021 Contract: Seventh year of an eight-year contract with a salary cap hit of $9.5 million. Unrestricted free agent in 2022.

(Note: Malkin’s contract includes a no-movement clause.)

Acquired: First-round draft pick (No. 2 overall), July 26, 2004

2020-21 season: Back in September of 2018, during the Penguins’ training camp, Evgeni Malkin acknowledged he was getting a bit long in the tooth.

Despite that, he felt he was still capable of being a dominant force in the NHL.

“I want to be a good player for the next five years, the next six years,” Malkin said. “I try to do my best and try to dominate every game. … I want to be what a leader should be, a top center for the next five, six years for sure.”

Of course, he was still a puerile 32 years old back then.

Today, he’s a hoary 34.

And, he’s trying to recovery from major surgery on his right knee.

The 2020-21 campaign might have been the worst of Malkin’s spectacular career. He was largely an inert entity on the ice for the first six weeks of the season as he produced only 12 points (four goals, eight assists) in his 20 games.

When the calendar flipped to March, Malkin seemed to gain some traction, thanks in part to being teamed on the Penguins’ second line with winger . During what was easily his best stretch of the season, Malkin cobbled together a tidy eight-game scoring streak in which he put up 12 points (four goals, eight assists).

That momentum was snuffed out on March 16 when his right knee was injured on a hit by Boston Bruins defenseman Jarred Tinordi.

Malkin did not return to the lineup until May 3 and managed to record four assists in his final four games of the season. But in the regular season finale on May 8, Malkin’s right knee appeared to be hobbled again after a hit by Buffalo Sabres forward Dylan Cozens.

Eight days later, the Penguins’ postseason started but without Malkin, who missed the first two games of his team’s first-round series with the New York Islanders. Despite playing at less than 100%, Malkin was able to record five points (one goal, four assists) in only four games.

In early June, the Penguins announced Malkin underwent surgery on his right knee.

The future: In the immediate sense, Malkin is not expected to be available to participate in the team’s training camp in mid-September. The team did not issue a definitive time frame for his recovery, but there appears to be a legit possibility of him missing some portion of the 2021- 22 season once it opens in mid-October. 1190225 Pittsburgh Penguins However, a $5 million contract ask likely blows that completely out of the water. Jarry is in the second year of a three-year deal that carries a $3.5 million AAV. Count the cap-strapped Penguins as highly unlikely to pursue such a path which would require clearing significant cap space for Penguins Wrap: Did Pens Call on Seth Jones? Andersen Wants Big a second goalie. MoneyP Nope. No way. Not happening. We have some lovely parting gifts backstage.

By Dan Kingerski Andersen could be intentionally pricing himself out of the Toronto situation, and his tag may drop for another team. Still, his ask clearly

indicates he wants to be a starting goalie…somewhere. That’s not the It didn’t hit the NHL trade rumors, nor did we think it possible, but did the Penguins’ situation. Pittsburgh Penguins call the Columbus Blue Jackets about defenseman Like Jones, never say never, but it looks like the Andersen potential is Seth Jones? also in the improbable category. Upon closer examination, it does make sense that Penguins GM Ron Pittsburgh Hockey Now LOADED: 07.07.2021 Hextall chatted up Columbus GM Jarmo Kekalainen. Jones is in the prime of his career. He’s 26-years-old, a bonafide top-shelf blueliner, and a righty, too. He would be the heir-apparent to Kris Letang and could simultaneously extend Letang’s career by eating some of the hard minutes Letang gobbles up on a nightly basis.

Jones has one year left on his six-year deal with a $5.4 million AAV, and the Penguins need a top-four RHD.

Kekalainen told the Athletic’s Aaron Portzline that he’s “heard from just about every GM in the league.”

TSN’s Pierre LeBrun also reported interest in Jones as “off the charts.”

So, did the Penguins call? Probably. However, for the uninitiated, general managers don’t lead a conversation with a firm offer. So, if Hextall called, he unlikely floated names for Jones unless the call(s) progressed to discussing specifics.

The Penguins do have NHL players to offer, though Kekalainen’s asking price isn’t yet known. Jones recently told Columbus that he intended to hit the NHL free-agent market following next season, which pushed his name onto the NHL trade market.

If Columbus decides to ask for NHL players in return, rather than high picks and ready prospects, the Penguins could become players. It suddenly doesn’t seem too far outside the realm of possibility, especially if the new front office team of Hextall and President of Hockey Operations Brian Burke concentrate on rebuilding from the back-end out (like former GM Craig Patrick did beginning in 2001 with Brooks Orpik, then in 2002 with Ryan “Pink” Whitney. In 2003, Patrick drafted goalie Marc-Andre Fleury).

Other reports indicate most teams have backed away from Jones unless they can sign him to a contract. So, Jones holds the ace on the table, as so few teams will pay a ransom for a d-man on a one-year deal. He will have some say in the situation based on his willingness to engage in contract talks with a (potential) new team; it would essentially be a sign- and-trade, or Columbus would have to permit an inquiring team to chat with Jones’s agent Pat Brisson on a new deal.

Don’t spend much time worrying about the possibility of a Pittsburgh Penguins trade for Jones, but don’t entirely lock the door, either.

Frederick Andersen, Payday

There are several ways to interpret Daren Dreger’s report on TSN1050 radio in Toronto. Dreger said pending Toronto Maple Leafs free agent goalie Frederick Andersen wants about $5 million per season on his next contract.

Wow.

Dreger on TSN1050 feels Frederick Andersen believes he's worth $5M AAV and perhaps a bump in salary. DD believes he'll hit the open market cause to even go to $5M AAV would be difficult for Toronto.

— NHL Watcher (@NHL_Watcher) July 5, 2021

Last month, a Pittsburgh Penguins source told PHN the Penguins would investigate an experienced backup goalie, perhaps a 1A situation with Tristan Jarry. The move would undoubtedly be a response to Jarry’s playoff struggle against the New York Islanders in Round One.

Frederick Andersen was the first name mentioned as the type of goalie with playoff experience the Penguins would examine. 1190226 San Jose Sharks The following goalies could be left unprotected in the expansion draft, and therefore could be moved at some point, either by their current teams or Seattle. Which of them, if any, would you like to see in teal?

Survey says: Sharks fans split on Doug Wilson, open to a Tomas Hertl So, which goalie would you like to see replace Jones? Minnesota’s trade Kaapo Kahkonen leads the way here, which isn’t overly surprising, considering he’s young and coming off of a decent rookie season. Anton Khudobin also garnered a significant portion of the vote, though, and he’s not young. By Kevin Kurz Jul 6, 2021 (Note: We included Kivlenieks in the voting that began on Friday, before

he tragically died over the weekend.) Thanks to the more than 1,000 respondents who put down their burgers Should the Sharks trade Brent Burns before the start of next season? and beverages over the holiday weekend to fill out our second-ever Sharks fan survey. I attempted to form questions in a way in which the I was a bit surprised this was so lopsided, because Burns has been one replies would vary, and in many cases, they did — beginning with of the more popular Sharks players for a long time. Everyone recognizes whether the longtime general manager should still be in charge. that changes have to be made with the current roster, though, and Burns could still help a contender. Further, if the 36-year-old wants to win a Let’s review. Stanley Cup, he’s probably going to have to go elsewhere. If Burns After two straight seasons of missing the playoffs, should Doug Wilson brings back a prospect and/or a high-round draft pick or two, it seems still be in charge of all hockey-related decisions? that would go over just fine with the fans.

To be honest, I was a little surprised the voting was this even. I expected Should the Sharks trade Timo Meier and/or Kevin Labanc before the start more negative replies. Instead, more than half of you believe that Wilson, of next season? who took over the reins in 2003, should get a chance to fix what has The two young forwards have both regressed since the Sharks’ deep become a broken roster. Unfortunately, we haven’t gotten any sort of playoff run in 2019, and more than 40 percent of you have seemingly had statement from team owner Hasso Plattner about Wilson’s status since enough of both of them. The organization needs to decide whether Meier the second straight playoff-less season came to a conclusion, but there and Labanc are going to be a part of the team’s young core moving haven’t been any indications that Wilson is going anywhere. forward. If not, it might be time for at least one of them to go. Labanc is If you were Hasso Plattner, what would you do with the front office? probably the likelier of the two to get dealt, perhaps as part of a package for a third-line center, which Wilson has already said he’s seeking. It Answers were a little more varied in our follow-up, as only about 10 seems that few of you will shed any tears if that happens. percent of you believed the front office should remain exactly the same as it was last season. Clearly, there’s an affinity for Wilson, though, as The Sharks are searching for a third-line center. Which of these players, three out of four of you want him to remain employed in San Jose. Still, if any, would you like to see in teal? the majority opinion here is that there needs to be at least one more That largest portion of the pie was for “none of the above,” but Paul voice added from the outside. And, more than half of you believe there Stastny and Nolan Patrick are the two centermen who garnered the most should be a new general manager (as our previous question also votes. Stastny is a pending unrestricted free agent after posting 29 points reflects), which is a significant number. (13 goals, 16 assists) in 56 games with Winnipeg last season, but at age What should the Sharks do with Martin Jones, assuming he is not 35, he might not make the most sense. Patrick, the No. 2 overall pick in tradable? the 2017 draft, is intriguing, but he’s been underwhelming in Philadelphia. He was particularly uninspiring most nights last season with just nine No surprise here that more than 80 percent of you have seen enough of points (4 goals, 5 assists) in 52 games. Might a change in coasts help Martin Jones in a Sharks sweater. Buying out Jones would give the him? Sharks some salary-cap flexibility in the short term, which would be important in a flat-cap world. If they don’t want to do that, they could Will you feel comfortable going to a Sharks game next season, assuming waive him before next season starts for a small salary-cap savings and there are no COVID-19 variant issues? keep him on the Barracuda for insurance, but that just seems like an This has to be encouraging for the ticket-sellers, as nearly 80 percent of unnecessary distraction. you have no reluctance about returning to games at SAP Center next How far away are the Sharks from competing for a Stanley Cup again? season. Sharks team president Jonathan Becher recently touched on the state of the organization from a ticket sales perspective after the The takeaway here is that few of you buy that the organizational “reset,” organization took a bath financially last season. or a return to contending in two or three years, can actually work. Nearly 70 percent of you believe the Sharks are at least four years away from On a scale of 1 (low) to 5 (high), how confident are you that Bob contending again, as they are weighed down by aging players on inflated Boughner is the right coach for this team? contracts. When we did our survey last year, opinion was split as to whether Tomas Hertl is about to enter the last year of his contract. What should Boughner should be named as the full-time coach. He still has some the Sharks do with him? work to do to win over the fan base, because his first full season wasn’t much better than the 2019-20 campaign. Considering the state of the franchise, few of you are eager to re-sign Hertl to a long-term deal this summer despite his being eligible for an Which Sharks player’s contract are you most concerned about? extension this month. Hertl is probably the only player on the roster in the Not much of a surprise here, with Karlsson and Vlasic as the runaway prime of his career who is signed to a team-friendly contract, and he leaders. Karlsson remains the NHL’s highest-paid defenseman at $11.5 could help put a Stanley Cup contender over the top. Teams looking for million through 2026-27, while Vlasic’s $7 million annual salary runs more depth down the middle might be willing to give up significant assets through 2025-26. Both players have full no-movement clauses, both are if he were ever dangled as trade bait. It’s going to be interesting how this over 30 and neither has lived up to his salary over the past two seasons story plays out over the coming weeks and months, because the other now. thing about Hertl is that he’s quite popular in San Jose (we’ll get to that later). Who is your favorite Sharks player (who is under contract for next season)? What kind of goalie should the Sharks target this offseason? Hertl remains the fan favorite, although that’s declined from about 38 It’s tough to argue with these results, because the Sharks probably aren’t percent the last time we did this. That’s probably because Mario Ferraro in a position to contend in the next year or two at least, so finding a has burst onto the scene and has become incredibly popular after just goalie who could potentially be the next franchise guy in net makes more two seasons, with his ebullient personality and YouTube channel. sense. At the same time, if the Sharks believe that Korenar, Melnichuk, Couture, though, is the second-most popular player for the second or both are future NHL players, perhaps a veteran who they can lean on straight season among our voters. The fans still like their captain. for advice is the correct move. On a scale of 1 (low) to 5 (high), how confident are you that Doug Wilson Jr., Tim Burke and the rest of the organization can identify talent in the draft?

Replies here were generally optimistic despite the organization having some trouble getting significant contributions from young players the past two seasons. That said, the Sharks received high marks for their 2020 draft, and Wilson Jr.’s first draft in 2017 brought in Ferraro (and also featured first-rounder Josh Norris, who had an outstanding rookie season in Ottawa).

On a scale of 1 (low) to 5 (high), how confident are you in the prospects in the system?

Perhaps we should have better defined “prospects” here, because it would make sense that if fans were confident in the organization’s ability to find talent in the draft, then they would believe there was an abundance of good players already in the system. That’s not really the case, though. What the Sharks probably need are at least one or two blue-chip type guys who are tough to find, and that they really don’t seem to have at the moment. Perhaps that No. 7 overall pick they have in the draft this month will bring in someone to get truly excited about.

The Athletic LOADED: 07.07.2021 1190227 Seattle Kraken Edmundson, Chiarot and maybe Armia would seem more in the hard- nosed mold preferred by Kraken coach Dave Hakstol.

And there is still goaltender Allen. Playoff performances by Canadiens and Lightning may give Kraken new As for Tampa, it long has been assumed Tyler Johnson, 30 — who NHL expansion draft options scored two huge goals in Game 3 — will be the Kraken’s choice given he’s from Liberty Lake outside of Spokane and the Lightning desperately needs to clear his $5 million annual salary through 2024-25. But you also By Geoff Baker have third-line center Yanni Gourde at a similar $5.17 million annually through those same three years. Gourde, 29, has excelled this

postseason as a forechecking beast that gets under everybody’s skin, Inside the NHL while adding six goals — including the lone Game 7 clincher in the conference final against the New York Islanders — and centering the We could at last see the final NHL season before the Kraken’s debut team’s second power-play unit. conclude Wednesday, as the Tampa Bay Lightning takes another shot at clinching the Stanley Cup in Game 5 on home ice. For a shorter-term Kraken outlook, there’s Ondrej Palat, 30, earning $5.3 million next year. That could be enticing if the Kraken wants to limit The Montreal Canadiens avoided a sweep with an overtime victory longer-term financial exposure. Monday, only the third time in their century-plus existence they’ve won in sudden death when facing final-round elimination. There’s local history to Palat enjoys a top-line role alongside Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov that, as the first such Montreal overtime winner happened right here in and has five goals, eight assists these playoffs while manning the left Seattle in 1919 when Jack McDonald’s goal prevented the hometown point on the second power-play group. In this Cup Final, he scored a Metropolitans from clinching a championship series later abandoned due huge goal in Game 2, then had two assists in a critical Game 3 victory. to a Spanish Influenza outbreak. Also, there’s 31-year-old Alex Killorn, a winger with eight goals, nine And some personal history as well, as Ken Mosdell’s overtime winner in assists these playoffs but who suffered a Game 1 Finals injury and hasn’t 1954 prevented Detroit from clinching a Cup it eventually captured in returned. Though slightly older than the other options, he has a seven games. Mosdell’s daughter, Bonnie Bermingham, was later my potentially attractive two contract years remaining at $4.45 million longtime bank teller and assistant branch manager in Montreal — having annually. for years known my mother, who worked at the travel agency next door. The cap-squeezed Lightning can’t keep all, even though it would like to. Bermingham introduced me to her hockey-playing son, Jimmy, whom I Johnson is different, given he has been bypassed for ice time by newer profiled for a story while covering his Laval Titan team at the much- teammates and the Lightning needs to offload him someplace. celebrated 1990 major junior championship tournament. Whether the Kraken wants Johnson remains a question mark. Much Anyhow, enough about memory lane. When you grow up in the world’s could depend on whether Washington Capitals forward T.J. Oshie of premier hockey market, everybody has personal stories about NHL Stanwood is left exposed. Oshie has said he wants to stay put, but the players past and present. hiring of his former University of North Dakota coach Hakstol could make Despite Canadiens netminder Carey Price finally showing up for Game 4, for a nice reunion if Washington leaves him unprotected. the Lightning has had superior goaltending from Andrei Vasilevskiy and You could see the Kraken taking on either Oshie’s $5.75 million annual that has been the difference in Tampa Bay’s 3-1 series lead. It again cap hit through 2024-25 or Johnson’s money. But it’s doubtful it would highlights the value of a top goalie, and why that’s arguably the critical carry both in-state products. So it likely would consider Lightning pieces position the Kraken will select three candidates for in the July 21 beyond Johnson. expansion draft. Also worth noting: Passing on Oshie leaves the Kraken free to select And it got me thinking about how this postseason might have shifted Caps goalie Vitek Vanecek, or incumbent No. 1 Ilya Samsonov, Kraken expansion draft thinking on the goaltending front and other areas depending on who isn’t protected. This could be important should the when it comes to both Cup finalists. For a long time, it was assumed the Kraken bypass Montreal netminder Allen for a different player. Kraken would select veteran Montreal goalie Jake Allen, who looked good backing up Price this season and was decent in an injury-forced Regardless of how things play out, these playoffs and Cup finalists have No. 1 role. certainly given the Kraken food for thought. And from a different menu it may have been perusing at regular season’s end. But now, Montreal’s surprising Cup appearance has spotlighted other Canadiens the Kraken might consider, some of them pending free agents Seattle Times LOADED: 07.07.2021 it can try to sign during its 72-hour pre-draft negotiation window if left unprotected. Foremost is 28-year-old two-way center Phillip Danault, who famously shut down Toronto, Winnipeg and Vegas scoring threats ahead of this round and whose penalty-killing work against Tampa Bay is one of the only reasons his team remains alive.

If not Danault, there’s 28-year-old Joel Armia, the enigmatic Finnish winger who this postseason has five goals and three assists on a highly productive fourth line. The big knock on Armia has been his inconsistency, but this postseason has seen him better utilize his 6-foot- 3, 212-pound frame while deploying considerable offensive skills.

Defensemen Joel Edmundson, 28, and Ben Chiarot, 30, have also emerged as top-four blue-liners, logging huge playoff minutes in extremely aggressive fashion. Montreal will likely protect one, but not both. Edmundson has three years remaining at $3.5 million annually, and Chiarot has one season left at that figure.

Some might want the Kraken to consider forward Jonathan Drouin, 26, the highly talented Quebec native who has struggled playing in his home province and took a leave of absence for undisclosed personal reasons in April without returning.

Frankly, Drouin watching his second team in six years play for a Cup largely without him — he was a healthy scratch for 20 of 26 Lightning playoff games in 2015 and played only 26 minutes total in the team’s six- game Finals defeat — should give the Kraken pause. Danault, 1190228 Seattle Kraken

Seattle Kraken hire McFarland, Leach as first assistant coaches

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS JULY 6, 2021 AT 2:25 PM

SEATTLE (AP) — The Seattle Kraken hired Paul McFarland and Jay Leach on Tuesday as the first two assistants for head coach Dave Hakstol.

Hakstol explains what drew him to coaching the Seattle Kraken

McFarland joins the Kraken from the of the Ontario Hockey League and will be responsible for Seattle’s forwards and power play. Leach was most recently the head coach of Providence in the American Hockey League and will be in charge of defensemen for the Kraken.

“We’re very excited to add two talented hockey minds in Paul and Jay to our inaugural staff,” said Hakstol. “Paul’s work ethic and ability to communicate with players to give them the tools to be at their best along with Jay’s leadership and ability to coach and develop NHL talent will be great additions to our team.”

McFarland, 35, became the head coach in Kingston after three seasons as an assistant in the NHL — two with the Florida Panthers and one with Toronto. McFarland and Hakstol were Maple Leafs assistants together on head coach Mike Babcock’s staff during the 2019-20 season.

Leach, 41, spent the past four seasons as the head coach in Providence, going 136-77-26. Leach had a limited NHL career, appearing in 70 games for five different teams but had an extensive career playing in the AHL before moving into coaching.

The hires come as Seattle is about two weeks away from filling out its inaugural with the expansion draft set for July 21.

MYNORTHWEST.COM LOADED: 07.07.2021 1190229 Seattle Kraken named the Kraken’s first-ever coach and that everything came together quickly when their first conversation began.

“I was quite comfortable in the situation and the program I was in with How the Kraken built out their coaching staff and what’s next for the Kingston and the role I had there,” McFarland said. “I was really fortunate group to be in that situation. But the uniqueness of this situation to work with Dave and Jay, and the chance to work for Ron. Those pieces along with being part of an expansion team, building a team from the ground up and being in a unique situation is something I am going to learn a lot from. As By Ryan S. Clark Jul 7, 2021 a young coach, these are situations you want to put yourself in.”

Leach was a longtime AHL defenseman who played 70 NHL games All of this started with a phone call. It just comes with the understanding before he transitioned into coaching. His first job was as an assistant for that the call Jay Leach received is quite different compared to the one Adler Mannheim in Germany. When he returned to North America, Leach Paul McFarland answered. was an assistant with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and took the same role with the Providence Bruins a year later. He was an assistant Even if it led to them landing in the same place by being hired by the for one season in Providence before taking over as head coach and Seattle Kraken as assistant coaches under Dave Hakstol. compiling a winning record in each of his four seasons.

Leach, who was the head coach of the Providence Bruins in the AHL, is Everything Leach achieved in Providence, with a 136-77-16 record along pretty sure he once met Kraken general manager Ron Francis as a youth with his reputation as a defensive-minded tactician who could develop when his uncle, also named Jay, was an assistant coach with the players, is what led to him gaining traction for an assistant job in the Hartford Whalers. Beyond that? His only known tie to the team is the NHL. Leach said that he always kept an open dialogue with Boston relationship he had with assistant GM Jason Botterill from their time in Bruins management about his future. He was never in a rush to leave the Pittsburgh Penguins organization. McFarland, who spent last season because he loved being in Providence. But there was also the as the GM and head coach of the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs, was understanding that the day could eventually come when he could be different in that he and Hakstol worked together when they were presented with another opportunity. assistant coaches with the Toronto Maple Leafs. “They were nice enough to reach out to my bosses in Boston and my Still, it was not like McFarland received a guarantee he would hear from bosses were nice enough to ask me if I would have any interest in talking Hakstol. He knows NHL coaching jobs are difficult to attain. That same with those guys,” Leach shared. “I had the opportunity to talk with Dave, logic helped explained why Leach needed some time to think about who I had not met before. He seemed like such a real, genuine caring whether he should stay in the AHL or make the jump to the next level. guy. We got acquainted in our first conversation and the next day, we talked quite a bit about hockey. Not necessarily specific details, but what “You always certainly take note of different people and the outstanding we believe in as a hockey team and working with players and working jobs they do,” Hakstol said. “There are so many good people. But as it with each other. We saw a lot along the same lines, which was great. comes down to it all and really and truly looking at it, that is when you start trying to put things together. There are outstanding people in the “Then, I got the call from Ronny Francis and he was nice enough to start game. I feel fortunate to have these two guys joining the staff. I believe the process of wanting to know if I was interested in joining the team.” they are elite hockey minds and equally as good of people. Those are the most important things. The ups and downs of an NHL season are tough. Leach declared his interest but still needed time to process. His job in It’s why the most important thing to have is a group of coaches in the Providence meant he felt an attachment to the team and the players he room who want to work through those ups and downs.” helped developed. Walking away from that was something Leach needed to think about. He then used that time to speak with Hakstol once more Hakstol said the objective was to hire assistants in a timely fashion while and they had a private conversation that really resonated with Leach in a not making it feel as if it was a mad dash. The result of that process is way that made it more relatable and made him more eager to join the Leach will be responsible for the Kraken’s defensemen and penalty kill. Kraken’s coaching staff. Meanwhile, McFarland is charged with overseeing the forwards and power play. Both men will also be involved in the team’s five-on-five play Having Leach oversee the penalty kill goes back to what his teams and will “have autonomy and freedom” to work on their areas of the accomplished in the AHL. The Bruins had a success rate of killing 85 system instead of just specialty areas, according to Hakstol. percent of their penalties during his first season and that was fourth in the league. A year later, they were fourth with a success rate of 85.9 percent. Of the two, McFarland is the one with the most NHL experience. He was In what would be his final season, Leach oversaw the Bruins in a a young coach who surged through each level of the game and was hired shortened 25-game campaign that once again led to them finishing fourth by the Florida Panthers at 31 to become an assistant. The Panthers were on the penalty kill with an 84.8 percent success rate. the 24th best power-play unit in the NHL with a 17 percent success rate before he arrived. McFarland’s first year led to some progress with the “Goaltending really helps. If you have a good goalie, it makes your kill a Panthers converting 18.9 percent of their power-play chances, which was lot better,” Leach said. “I think one of the things we were able to do was good for 21st. They were 13th in high-danger chances and 14th in high- the fact guys were excited to play every night. They were playing in front danger goals that season, according to Natural Stat Trick. The Panthers of no fans in a practice rink and every game was a road game for us this fell a point shy of reaching the playoffs that season. year. I don’t think there was a game when our guys did not show up with everything they had. That is a reflection in the 30-plus guys on our team The Panthers missed the playoffs the following season. It led to the and the level of excitement they had and that everyone wanted to play for organization moving on from coach and his staff that one another. They were willing to sacrifice, block shots and be detailed in included McFarland. But it came with a caveat that the Panthers’ power where they were on the ice.” play was one of the best in the NHL. They were second in the league with a success rate of 26.8 percent while being second in goals scored One of the things Hakstol said he could appreciate about their staff was and fourth in high-danger goals scored. their similarities. Another item he could also appreciate was their differences. McFarland’s work in Florida is what led to him joining Toronto’s staff the following season. McFarland, like Hakstol, was hired by Mike Babcock, All three share certain ties when it comes to items such as culture, and both remained when Babcock was dismissed by the team and development and structure. Hakstol is known for being someone who replaced by . The Leafs finished with the No. 6 unit in the constantly pours over film while the way Leach and McFarland discuss league by converting 23.1 percent of their chances even though they details only amplifies that need to examine every nuance. That Hakstol were 11th in goals, 14th in high-danger goals and 26th in high-danger developed countless NHL players at the University of North Dakota chances. coupled with Leach’s AHL experience and McFarland’s OHL tenure means all three understand what it means to teach while trying to win at McFarland and the Leafs parted ways after one season. He returned to the same time. Kingston with the idea he would once again oversee the Frontenacs. That did happen but the OHL did not have a 2020-21 regular season But as Hakstol said, there is something to value when it comes to their because of COVID-19 and the impact it had throughout Ontario. personalities. McFarland is more than aware that he is the quietest by McFarland, who is now 35, said he was excited for Hakstol when he was nature. Hakstol joked how he is somewhere in the middle having “mellowed out” as he has become older while Leach comedically explained how there might be times when “I need to shut my mouth and listen and provide chatter when the time comes.”

“Coaches, in order to get great at something, you have to be a lifelong learner,” McFarland said. “You are evaluating things. Not just X’s and O’s. But how you manage people and how you build relationships with players, staff and that works in your ability to maximize everything in front of you. … Spending three years in the NHL, you can use that experience too and it is why I am looking forward to working with Dave and Jay. It’s really exciting and I think it is going to be great for all of us.”

OK, so what’s next for the Kraken’s coaching staff?

Hakstol said the Kraken are working on solidifying a few more positions within the coaching staff. The plan is to use the next couple weeks to further evaluate those possible roles before making a decision. An example of that would be hiring a goaltending coach. For now, the idea is that Hakstol, Leach and McFarland will work with video analyst Tim Ohashi, formerly of the Washington Capitals, to start planning for when training camp and the regular season eventually arrive.

They are also currently a coaching staff that has no players. But that will change by the end of the month once the expansion draft, the NHL Draft and free agency have concluded, which will allow the Kraken to finally have a roster in place. Of course, Hakstol will have other decisions to consider. Some of them include daily processes such as what will the Kraken do on game days for morning skate. Do they practice at Climate Pledge Arena or hold those sessions at the Kraken Community Iceplex in Northgate?

“We’ve discussed it and we have not made any decisions there,” Hakstol said. “We’ve got time for that decision and that will come a little later down the road.”

Hakstol also pointed out the personnel choices that will need to be made. But beyond those conversations, how does it all work?

How can coaches operate when there is, well, nobody to coach?

“It’s definitely different for us as coaches,” McFarland said. “You don’t know who the personnel is going to be and for special teams, it’s about who those players are and what role or spot they play on the power play, where they are on the breakout, where they line up for faceoffs. That goes through your head. We have a philosophy for the key of any power play regardless of the person and once you know your personnel, you can add wrinkles and combinations as you put it together.”

The Athletic LOADED: 07.07.2021 1190230 Tampa Bay Lightning demeanor in the locker room, and then more importantly on the ice. His poised plays, the ones he made last night, you think about Game 7 against the Islanders and the shorthanded goal. It was a beautiful goal, but Mac started the whole thing.” Ryan McDonagh a critical cog to Lightning’s postseason success On a team full of postseason veterans, McDonagh has the most The defenseman has been to the playoffs in each of his 11 seasons in experience. The 32-year-old has played in the postseason in every year the NHL. If you’ve watched closely, you’ll see he might be having his best of his 11-year NHL career, first with the Rangers and then with the postseason yet. Lightning. Monday’s game was his 161st career postseason game.

McDonagh had 17 points for a Rangers team that lost to the Kings in the Cup final in 2014, but this year has been his best postseason yet. By Eduardo A. Encina Though in a situation like this one, where the Lightning are closing in on a second straight title, his playoff experience is what might be most valuable. TAMPA — Veteran defenseman Ryan McDonagh’s name hasn’t been mentioned much among the top contenders for the , “All of us that have been around the league a long time and played in but it probably should. playoff series, you’ve got to get everybody into the fight and pulling in the same direction,” McDonagh said. “So we all do a great job of stepping up If the Lightning are able to repeat as Stanley Cup champions, the award in different moments in playoff series of game-to-game getting our group for the playoff’s top performer will likely go to one of the team’s with the right mindset to go out and play.” superstars — right wing Nikita Kucherov, goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy or center Brayden Point. But McDonagh has been a superstar in his own Coming off Monday’s loss, he’s helped the Lightning put Game 4 in the right this postseason, on and off the ice. past and looking forward to an opportunity to win the Cup on home ice on Wednesday night. “He’s just one of those guys that if we can win this Stanley Cup, he’s not going to get the Conn Smythe voting that other people will, but he surely “We missed an opportunity last night, our group knows that,” McDonagh deserves it,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said Tuesday. said. “And you turn the page pretty quick here this morning and you realize what a great opportunity you have here as a team as a group, as McDonagh has seven assists this postseason, setting up some of the an organization, up 3-1 in the series. Lightning’s biggest goals. Combine a plus-14 plus-minus rating that leads all postseason skaters and his role as one of Tampa Bay’s top shot- “You’ve got to win one more, and you’re going into a place you’re familiar blockers, and McDonagh has been one of Tampa Bay’s top players in with, with the fan base that’s going to be behind us, and we’re going to the playoffs. go out there and give it our best effort and try to win one hockey game.”

In Monday’s Game 4 loss to the Canadiens, McDonagh made two heady Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 07.07.2021 plays to set up Barclay Goodrow’s game-tying goal.

McDonagh pinched at the Canadiens blue line, intercepting Jeff Petry’s pass. The puck skipped out to Blake Coleman above the right circle, and McDonagh charged the net, taking Petry with him and opening up space for Goodrow trailing.

As Montreal goaltender Carey Price made a save on Coleman’s shot, McDonagh grabbed the rebound and made a backhanded pass to Goodrow coming through the slot, gifting Goodrow with a wide-open net.

Goodrow makes it 1-1 with a sick pass from McDonagh pic.twitter.com/XlxZ9NQbN2

— 홼횊횛횒 홵횊횒횎횕횕횘 (@faiello_mari) July 6, 2021

“We talk about it all the time,” McDonagh said. “When we set our gap up, hold that blue line, try to keep pucks alive in the O-zone, pucks alive for our forwards, and that was just a good example of it. It looked like they had lost some of their numbers after that, (so he) just tried to go to the net and create something and glad that the guys hung around the net there a little bit for a play to be made for ‘Goodie’ to put it in the net.”

McDonagh also set up Nikita Kucherov late in the third period Monday for what could have been a game-winning goal, making a touch pass from the left point across the slot and through traffic, but Kucherov hit the near post.

McDonagh has assisted on three game-winning goals this postseason. From his stretch pass through the neutral zone that sprung Brayden Point for the winner in their Game 1 victory over Florida to Blake Coleman’s diving winner in Game 2 of the final against the Canadiens, it seems like McDonagh has been in the middle of the action.

GOAL: #GoBolts' Point breaks the tie with 1:14 to go in regulation. He brings up #TBLightning 5-4 on the breakaway against #FlaPanthers. pic.twitter.com/N9eqjMFvxi

— 홼횊횛횒 홵횊횒횎횕횕횘 (@faiello_mari) May 17, 2021

That doesn’t even include McDonagh setting up Yanni Gourde’s shorthanded goal to win Game 7 against the Islanders to advance to the Stanley Cup final. McDonagh didn’t get an assist on the play, but his stretch pass to Alex Killorn from deep in his own zone sent the Lightning on the rush that led to the goal.

“First of all, first and foremost his leadership has been outstanding,” Cooper said. “He’s just a calming presence in the room. Just his 1190231 Tampa Bay Lightning

Lightning hope to clinch Stanley Cup on home ice

No team has won the Cup at home since 2015, when Tampa Bay watched Chicago hoist the hardware.

By Mari Faiello

TAMPA — Jon Cooper remembers June 15, 2015 like it was yesterday.

Just over six years ago, the Lightning coach watched the Chicago Blackhawks hoist the Stanley Cup on home ice after they defeated Tampa Bay 2-0 in Game 6 of the final.

Cooper sat on the bench with then-Lightning defenseman Anton Stralman and waited “an excruciating minute or two” as the Blackhawks celebrated the win before Chicago captain Jonathan Toews got his team to the handshake line.

“I think that’s such a poignant moment in sports when that happens, out of respect and then the respect the captain has of the winning team to rally his troops again for the handshake line so at that time we can get off the ice,” Cooper said. “I thought Toews did a good job.”

“... I couldn’t watch it. I think I’m looking away from the whole thing until I see out of the corner of my eye the handshake line started, and then we got in that line.”

The memory is painful, but Cooper’s team now has a chance to make its own memories Wednesday at Amalie Arena when it faces the Canadiens in Game 5. The Lightning hold a 3-1 series lead and stand 60 minutes away from possibly raising the Cup on home ice.

No team in the NHL has won the Cup at home since that 2015 season. The Penguins won both of their back-to-back Cups on the road at San Jose in 2016 and Nashville in 2017. The Capitals won in 2018 at Vegas, and in 2019, the Blues won at Boston. Last year, the Lightning beat the Stars in the bubble in Edmonton.

“We missed an opportunity (Monday) night,” defenseman Ryan McDonagh said. “Our group knows that, and you turn the page pretty quick here this morning and you realize what a great opportunity you have here as a team, as a group, as an organization, up 3-1 in the series and you have to win one more and you’re going into a place you’re familiar with, with a fan base that’s going to be behind us.

“We have to go out there and give it our best effort and try to win one hockey game.”

Forward Anthony Cirelli said the fans have been “unbelievable all season,” so to have the chance to clinch at Amalie would be “pretty special.”

“(But) we’re not looking too far ahead,” he said. “And we’re just going to be focused on a period at a time and be ready to go from the first puck drop.”

Up next:

Who: Lightning vs. Canadiens, Game 5

When: Wednesday at 8 p.m.

Where: Tampa, Florida, at Amalie Arena

WATCH: NBC

Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 07.07.2021 1190232 Tampa Bay Lightning Up next: Who: Lightning vs. Canadiens, Game 5

When: Wednesday at 8 p.m. Lightning’s Mathieu Joseph making most of Stanley Cup opportunity Where: Tampa, Florida, at Amalie Arena Playing his first minutes in a Cup final, the Tampa Bay forward has two key assists against Montreal. WATCH: NBC

Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 07.07.2021 By Mari Faiello

If there was any doubt Mathieu Joseph was ready to play in the Stanley Cup final after watching last postseason from off the ice, he’s all but quashed them.

With veteran forward Alex Killorn sidelined with an injury, Joseph has been active for the past three games against the Montreal Canadiens. In that time, he’s recorded the first two postseason points of his career, both assists.

Joseph assisted on Tyler Johnson’s second-period goal in the Lightning’s 6-3 win Friday in Game 3, then set up Pat Maroon’s game-tying goal in the third period of Monday’s 3-2 loss in Game 4.

Friday, Joseph took a pass from David Savard, skated into the offensive zone on a 2-1 with Johnson and shot from the left circle. Montreal goaltender Carey Price made the save, but the puck deflected off Joseph’s skate into the slot, where Johnson scored on a backhanded shot to give Tampa Bay a 4-1 lead.

GOAL: #GoBolts' Johnson adds insurance with XX:XX remaining in the second period. #GoHabsGo now trail 4-1 on home ice in Game 3 of the #StanleyCup final trailing 2-0 in the series. pic.twitter.com/9b4xeHGyJa

— 홼횊횛횒 홵횊횒횎횕횕횘 (@faiello_mari) July 3, 2021

Monday, Joseph passed off the rush over the stick of diving Montreal defenseman Alexander Romanov to Maroon as he drove the net, and Maroon tipped the puck past Price to tie the score at 2.

The opportunity to get back into the lineup at such an important time was important to Joseph.

“It means a lot. I’m not going to lie to you,” Joseph, 24, said after Friday’s game. “I’ve been in this organization for five years now, spent the last 2- 1/2 years in the NHL, too, and being part of that last year in the bubble was definitely special, even though I didn’t play.

“I consider these guys my family, and being part of it and on the bench is different than when you’re off the ice, so (I’m) definitely happy to be part of it for the time that I got so far. It’s definitely something that you want to be part of and you’ve worked hard all year for that.”

Joseph didn’t see any ice time last postseason, despite spending 65 days in the Toronto and Edmonton bubbles. While disappointing, it gave him a chance to work on his game, conditioning and skills with coaches — all things he has said needed improvement.

This postseason was much the same, with Joseph working on his game before and after morning skates and practices with the other healthy scratches. After playing in two games during the opening round against Florida (when Barclay Goodrow was out with an upper-body injury), he eased comfortably into the lineup.

GOAL: #GoBolts' "Big Rig" ties it up 2-all in Montreal against #GoHabsGo with 6:12 remaining in regulation. pic.twitter.com/0aK7irc5LX

— 홼횊횛횒 홵횊횒횎횕횕횘 (@faiello_mari) July 6, 2021

His teammates have noticed, too.

Maroon skated with Joseph for much of the regular season (with Joseph playing in all 56 regular-season games, recording 12 goals and seven assists) and appreciates the value Joseph brings to the fourth line.

“We were actually a really good line (during the regular season),” Maroon said. “Going over video watching clips, we were very effective. ... I’m glad Joe is back in there, he’s doing good things. That’s good about our team, you can throw a guy in, like Mathieu Joseph that’s been around and has experience, a good player. To have him back on that line is good.” 1190233 Tampa Bay Lightning So when it needed a tying goal in late in the second period, Tampa Bay turned to two sources that had been so big for it earlier in the series: its third line and its defense.

Lightning-Canadiens Game 4 report card: Missed opportunity It wasn’t as dramatic as linemate Blake Coleman’s diving goal in the final second of the second period of Game 2, but Barclay Goodrow’s goal with Tampa Bay goes 0-for-5 on the power play and squanders its first 2:40 to play in the period tied the score at 1. chance to clinch the series. Defenseman Ryan McDonagh made the goal possible, deflecting Jeff Petry’s clearing attempt at the left point to Coleman, then going to the net. Coleman shot from above the right circle, and McDonagh pounced By Frank Pastor on the rebound, backhanding it to Goodrow, who pushed it past Price from low in the slot.

Lightning captain Steven Stamkos wasn’t kidding when he said the fourth Great finish. Even better setup. win is the toughest to get. Grade: A Game 4 of the Stanley Cup final Monday in Montreal was rough for Six in the box Tampa Bay in every way. A scuffle that looked so many others we’ve seen in these playoffs took an The Canadiens put heavy hits on Lightning stars Brayden Point and unusual turn when the Lightning’s Goodrow, Coleman and Yanni Gourde Nikita Kucherov at every turn. Tampa Bay defenseman Victor Hedman and Canadiens’ Anderson, Petry and Ben Chiarot were sent off for inadvertently added to the pain, clipping Point with a blast from the point roughing about eight minutes into the third period. in the second period. It meant Tampa Bay would have to play without its entire third line and The Lightning had to play from behind for the first time in the series. Montreal without two of its top defensemen for two minutes and then wait They were held scoreless on five power-play opportunities, including a for the next stoppage in play before they could return to the ice. four-minute double-minor that stretched from the final minute of Both teams scored in the interim, Alexander Romanov giving Montreal a regulation into the first few minutes of overtime. 2-1 lead with 11:12 remaining and Tampa Bay’s Pat Maroon tying the They hit three posts, including one with the game on the line late in score exactly five minutes later. regulation. By then, the six players had missed more than six minutes of game time. Josh Anderson’s second goal of the game was the winner keeping That’s rough. Montreal's hopes alive against Tampa Bay, which leads the best-of- seven series 3-1. The series continues on Wednesday with Game 5 at Grade: H, for huh? Amalie Arena in Tampa. Wasted chance They lost in gut-wrenching fashion, tying the game late in the third period only to squander their best opportunities to win before allowing Josh A Lightning team that seemed to be fighting an uphill battle throughout Anderson’s decisive goal less than four minutes into overtime. the game appeared to get the break it needed when Canadiens defenseman Shea Weber received a four-minute high-sticking penalty Oh, and they wasted the first of four chances to clinch a second straight with just over a minute remaining in regulation. Trying to lift Ondrej Stanley Cup. Palat’s stick after a faceoff, Weber got his stick up under Palat’s visor, drawing blood. Instead of championship celebrations on the ice at Bell Centre and at a watch party at Amalie Arena, the Cup was packed up and sent to Tampa, The Lightning couldn’t score in the final 1:01 of regulation but still had where the Lightning hope to raise it after Game 5 on Wednesday. 2:59 remaining with the man-advantage at the start of overtime. It didn’t matter. Stamkos lost the opening faceoff, and the Canadiens got the Well, at least Tampa Mayor Jane Castor will be happy. puck deep into the Lightning zone. Grade: C Tampa Bay spent much of the rest of the power play struggling to get into Here’s how we graded the rest of the Lightning’s performance in their 3-2 the offensive zone and nearly gave up the winning goal when Hedman loss in Game 4: lost his footing at the center point and Phillip Danault won a race to the puck. He passed from the left circle to Nick Suzuki in the slot, and only First deficit Vasilevskiy’s right pad save kept the game from ending right there.

The first period saw the Lightning face their first deficit of the series. It only delayed the agony.

Though it dominated the first 15 minutes of the period, outshot Montreal Grade: D 12-5 and had the only power play of the frame, Tampa Bay trailed 1-0 on Josh Anderson’s goal with 4:21 remaining. Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 07.07.2021

Anderson one-timed Nick Suzuki’s backhand pass from below the goal line past goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy. Oddly, the play started with Brett Kulak failing to keep the puck in the zone at the left point. But Kulak recovered the puck in the neutral zone with Anthony Cirelli in hot pursuit and passed it along the boards up to Suzuki, who worked a give-and-go with Cole Caufield. As Caufield tied up Erik Cernak in front of the net, Suzuki found Anderson open in the slot.

The Lightning had several chances on the power play in the period, the best of which was Kucherov’s shot off the post, but couldn’t put the puck behind Carey Price.

Tampa Bay fell to 0-5 this postseason when allowing the first goal.

Grade: B

Depth scoring

The Canadiens made it clear from the start they were targeting the Lightning’s top offensive stars, and they had Point and Kucherov squarely in their sights. 1190234 Tampa Bay Lightning when you count blocks and misses. That’s a pretty strong indication that Lightning players spent a good chunk of the night with the puck on their sticks.

As long as you don’t believe in jinxes, the Lightning still have this handled Brayden Point hit a post. Victor Hedman hit a post. Nikita Kucherov hit a post. That’s a lot of near-misses and a lot of bad luck. John Romano | You may not want to admit it, but losing Game 4 in Montreal means Tampa Bay can be in party mode on Wednesday. Of course, the Canadiens could have said the same thing about the way they dominated Game 2 and still came out on the wrong end of the score. Sometimes, you don’t get what you deserve.

By John Romano On the other hand, maybe Tampa Bay fans will get what they deserve. They had to watch from afar with all 22 games played in quarantine in

Canada last year, so the chance to clinch a championship with a full You’re not worried. Jon Cooper is not worried. The Lightning are not house at Amalie Arena seems awfully inviting. worried. Just as long as you are completely confident that this was just a blip and Tampa Mayor Jane Castor? not the start of something serious.

Okay, she might be a little worried. “Maybe it’s set up. Maybe this is the way it’s meant to be, and that’s how it’s going to play out,” Cooper said. “But two teams still have to play the So the Lightning lost 3-2 in overtime in Game 4 against Montreal Monday games. And the game is decided in the trenches, and hopefully we can night. This is not a shock. The Canadiens may not have Tampa Bay’s give our fans that gift.” recent pedigree or panache, but they’re not pushovers. It would have been more surprising if the Lightning had actually pulled off a sweep in Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 07.07.2021 the Stanley Cup final.

And, honestly, after winning the Cup last season without a single home game during the pandemic, the possibility the Lightning can now clinch at Amalie Arena during Game 5 Wednesday night sounds like a nice consolation in the aftermath of Monday’s loss.

Just so long as you weren’t wishing for it.

That’s what should have the mayor feeling a little spooked this morning. Castor cheerfully suggested over the weekend that the Lightning ease up against the Canadiens in Game 4 so Tampa Bay fans could enjoy a celebration in their own building 48 hours later. The thought that the mayor might have jinxed the whole danged season sounds about as gloomy as the incoming tropical storm.

(I might have mentioned something similar myself, but nobody listens to me.)

Now, it’s important to point out that the odds remain heavily in Tampa Bay’s favor. The Lightning have not lost back-to-back in the postseason in more than 40 games covering two seasons, so the prospect of losing back-to-back-to-back-to-back seems remote.

But you really don’t want to invite needless drama into your life. Especially when your opponent just erased a 3-games-to-1 series deficit against Toronto in the first round of the playoffs.

“Let me tell you, any fan of any team if you gave them the option to win the Stanley Cup or you have to take your chances? I think the fan base would have loved if we came home with the Stanley Cup tonight,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “That’s paramount. I think it’s icing on the cake if you can do it at home.

“You have ample time to celebrate with the fans when you win a Stanley Cup. We can’t hang our heads saying because we’re going home it gives us an edge. Our fans deserve this, but there’s no guarantees.”

In some ways, this was the easiest game to predict in the series. If the Lightning have had a weakness in the past two postseasons, it has been their tendency to take a deep breath and relax when they have built a series lead.

With a chance to close out a series, the Lightning is 7-5 the past two years. In every other situation, they are 24-8.

As far as flaws go, that’s not exactly fatal. It’s been a slight stumble on the way to finishing the job. You might almost describe it as a compliment. This is a team that understands when it needs to match desperation with desperation, and it typically rises to the occasion.

“It’s why you go up in a series, to give yourself a chance, or multiple chances, to knock a team out,” Cooper said. “We’ll just have to regroup and see if we can do it in Game 5.”

So here’s what you hang on to this morning:

The Lightning played well enough to win Game 4. They may have played well enough to have dominated Game 4. Tampa Bay did not just have a 34-20 edge in shots on goal, it also had a 70-40 edge in overall shots 1190235 Tampa Bay Lightning was a heart-and-soul type of player, someone who wanted to see it through.

“Gorton said all along, ‘I really don’t want to do this deal,’” Hankinson Lightning Stanley Cup notes: Why Ryan McDonagh has been team’s recalled. “‘I don’t want to trade him at all.’” ‘best defenseman’ in playoff run What people don’t see with McDonagh is his impact in the Lightning dressing room. He quickly became one of the go-to leaders on this veteran team and is one of their alternate captains. As Cooper once put By Joe Smith Jul 6, 2021 it, “He brings such a calm to the game, to the room. It seems like everything is buzzing 100 miles per hour around him and Mac is as cool

as a cucumber,” Cooper said. “Guys pull those vibes into themselves and There are three pretty safe choices for the Conn Smythe Trophy if the that rubs off.” Lightning end up hoisting the Stanley Cup. It’s amazing to me when doing our Lightning projected protection lists for Nikita Kucherov and Andrei Vasilevskiy are at the top of that list, with the July 21 expansion draft that fans are quick to suggest McDonagh Brayden Point also likely to get some consideration. should be left exposed so they could be rid of his $6.75 million cap hit through 2025-26. This playoff run should be another firm indication of Lightning coach Jon Cooper threw out another name on Tuesday: Ryan why McDonagh is so important to this team. I’ve been steadfast in a McDonagh. prediction of Tampa Bay going with an eight-skater protection list, allowing them to keep their top four defensemen in McDonagh, Hedman, “He’s a masterful defender and hard to get around,” Cooper said. “He’s Sergachev and Cernak, along with forwards Kucherov, Point, Anthony just one of those guys that if we can win this Stanley Cup, he’s not going Cirelli and Steven Stamkos. There could be several moves or trades to get the Conn Smythe voting that other people will, but he surely before the draft, as the Lightning need to shed some salary because deserves it.” they’re already $5 million over the $81.5 million cap with just 19 players. While Victor Hedman is considered the best defenseman in the world — They would hate to lose a forward like Killorn, Gourde or Ondrej Palat, he was a Norris Trophy finalist for the fifth straight year — it is but — to me — replacing a shutdown defenseman on the open market is McDonagh, 32, who plays in the shutdown role for the Cup champs. more challenging. Sergachev is showing he’s ready for more, but having Along with partner Erik Cernak, McDonagh routinely gets the toughest McDonagh and the top four defensemen protected gives them the best matchups, from the Panthers’ Aleksander Barkov to the Hurricanes’ chance to win the Cup again. Sebastian Aho, and a good chunk of the penalty-kill time. McDonagh has If I were Seattle, and McDonagh was available, I’d pick him in a second 37.9 offensive zone starts in the playoffs, with Hedman at 59.1 percent, and make him my first captain. He could very well be on the U.S. for example. So it’s impressive that McDonagh’s plus-17 leads all Olympic roster in February if NHLers are allowed to go. But if the Lightning players this postseason. Lightning do end up finishing a repeat Wednesday night, McDonagh will No player has been in more playoff games since 2010 than McDonagh be a major reason why (Conn Smythe or not). As Scott Cullen points out, (161), and he’s leaned on that experience. McDonagh has been at his McDonagh has the worst Corsi and expected-goals percentage among best in the postseason. He’s made some world-class offensive plays, Lightning defensemen but the best on-ice goal percentage (26 goals for, showing patience to set up Yanni Gourde’s short-handed goal in Game 7 12 goals against) of any Tampa Bay skater. against the Islanders and the no-look feed to Barclay Goodrow for the “He’s the guy that’s never going to be up for the Norris, but he can make game-tying goal in Monday’s Game 4. a solid case and he could win it,” Cooper said. “And every year, he just RYAN MCDONAGH WITH ONE HELL OF A DEFENSIVE + OFFENSIVE does all those things that matter to win games. He’s a big, heavy, smart SEQUENCE PIC.TWITTER.COM/Q7PHZMLM2H defenseman who is calm under pressure and it was evident in that goal we scored the other night. If there was every time you wanted to give a — PETE BLACKBURN (@PETEBLACKBURN) JULY 6, 2021 third assist, that was the guy that should have got it. But he’s just a “I think he’s been their best defenseman,” one NHL scout said. “He looks calming presence back there and he’s always matched up against the so determined to win the Cup. He has taken his game up another notch other team’s top lines and he can play heavy, he can play quick and he is or two and that is what you need in order to give yourself a chance to win just been outstanding for us and you know since the day we acquired the ultimate prize. Love his game … a true leader and winner.” him.”

“He’s been awesome,” said another NHL scout. “He’s got smarts, he’s a (Chart via Hockeystatcards.com) shot blocker. Really focused.” ‘A chance’ Killorn plays

It’s hard to put in perspective what kind of difference-maker McDonagh Alex Killorn has missed the last three games after blocking a Jeff Petry has been for the Lightning blue line since he was acquired at the 2018 shot in Game 1. trade deadline. Having McDonagh in place in the shutdown pair allowed Hedman freedom and flexibility and it provided time for Mikhail But it appears the veteran forward is close to returning. He was Sergachev to develop into the two-way force he’s become today; during considered a game-time decision in Monday’s Game 4, even taking the regular season, McDonagh’s defensive point share of 3.4 (estimate warmups. While Killorn didn’t play, Cooper said Tuesday there’s a number of points contributed based on their defense) was best on the “chance” Killorn returns for Game 5. team. The package for McDonagh (along with winger J.T. Miller) was “A lot of it will be up to Killer and how he feels,” Cooper said. hefty, including Vladislav Namestnikov, prospects Brett Howden and Libor Hajek and a first-round pick. But Cooper saw firsthand what There’s no question the Lightning have missed Killorn, who plays in all McDonagh brought facing the former Rangers captain in the 2015 situations, including on the penalty kill and power play, which went 0-for- Eastern Conference finals, pointing out he was “playing on one leg.” 5 in Monday’s loss.

“I didn’t realize he’s as good as he is,” Cooper said. The real question, however, is who would come out of the lineup if Killorn is back. RYAN MCDONAGH GOT A GLIMPSE OF BEING A PRO FROM WATCHING UNCLE STEVE WALSH PLAY IN THE NFL. HE WAS THE Rookie Ross Colton has been a staple in the lineup for months and has RARE THREE SPORT ATHLETE, STAYING HOME THROUGH HS. been filling in for Killorn on the second line in recent games. But Mathieu OUR LOOK ON HOW ST PAUL + HIS FAMILY SHAPED Joseph, who has seen his first action since the first round in recent #TBLIGHTNING DEFENSEMAN HTTPS://T.CO/OPVB5WCVZL games, has really fit in well on the fourth line with Tyler Johnson and Pat PIC.TWITTER.COM/RAT6WAMAW4 Maroon.

— JOE SMITH (@JOESMITHTB) OCTOBER 22, 2018 Joseph made an unreal play to set up Maroon’s game-tying goal in Monday’s third period, too. Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton didn’t want to trade McDonagh, either. That’s what he told agent Ben Hankinson as several teams made JOSEPH TO MAROON TIES THE GAME BACK UP #GOBOLTS pitches for the shutdown defenseman, including the Capitals, Panthers PIC.TWITTER.COM/VCS19H46DI and Lightning. The Rangers were going through a rebuild, but McDonagh — SHAYNA (@HAYYYSHAYYY) JULY 6, 2021 TAMPA MAYOR JANE CASTOR ON HER VIRAL COMMENTS ABOUT #TBLIGHTNING WINNING AT HOME. “LESSON LEARNED: DON’T Colton has five points (three goals) in 22 playoff games, with his last goal TRY TO BE FUNNY WHEN YOU’RE THE MAYOR. .. I NEVER WISHED coming on June 8 against Carolina. He had a golden opportunity to score THE LIGHTNING LOST.” HTTPS://T.CO/HK0PD18NQ7 early in Monday’s game, but his shot sailed off the mark. Colton is a responsible player in his own end, and perhaps his experience with — JOE SMITH (@JOESMITHTB) JULY 6, 2021 Johnson and Maroon could give him the edge. But Joseph has definitely made his mark. The Athletic LOADED: 07.07.2021

One other Lightning lineup aspect to WATCH: defenseman David Savard didn’t play in the final eight minutes of regulation, nor did he see the ice in overtime. I asked Cooper on Tuesday if he was OK or if it was a flow of the game type deal, and he seemed to indicate Savard is fine. Savard played just over 11 minutes in Game 4.

Bounce-back factor

The Lightning are 14-0 after losses the last two postseasons, so their resilience shouldn’t be questioned.

And they’re leaning on that heading into Game 5, where they can clinch the Stanley Cup for the second straight year. Cooper saw signs of Tampa Bay players and staff quickly moving on by the time they were having their postgame meal Monday night in Montreal.

Why are the Lightning so good after losses?

“It’s just continuing to have that competitive mindset,” McDonagh said. “You hate to lose sometimes more than you like to win. That’s probably the identity of this group. We’re all competitors. And it bleeds right down from our coaching staff. We have to go out and execute and put a lot of time and effort. We have to have that mindset from the start.”

It helps that Vasilevskiy has been tremendous after losses in these playoff runs, but it’s more about a collective group mindset, Cooper said.

“Where it comes from is a compilation of the players we’ve brought in, the core we kept, with some of the heartbreak we’ve had in the past,” Cooper said. “Couple that with winning a championship, all those little peaks and valleys. This is as great a character group that I’ve coached at any level. I’m not surprised what these guys have done.”

On Point

The Canadiens clearly emphasized being more physical with the Lightning in Game 4, specifically focusing on their top two offensive stars, Point and Kucherov.

Shea Weber was all over Point on several hits and Kucherov consistently took shots.

SHEA WEBER HITS BRAYDEN POINT TO STOP HIM FROM CREATING A CHANCE OUT OF THE PENALTY BOX.. PIC.TWITTER.COM/CII5HW7YZF

— SHAYNA (@HAYYYSHAYYY) JULY 6, 2021

Canadiens coach Dominique Ducharme said it’s always been part of their game, it just looked like there was more of it Monday.

“We’ve talked about wearing teams down,” Canadiens veteran winger Corey Perry said. “It’s a long series, you’re playing every other night, and, you know, guys have been playing a lot of minutes, both sides of the rink. We’ve talked about it since day one, since we started that first game against Toronto. Every night, you have to continue to do the small little things. Keep putting the puck in deep. Banging the body. It takes a toll on guys and that’s just our mindset.

It appears Kucherov has been playing hurt since the cross-check from Scott Mayfield in Game 6 against the Islanders. We don’t know if Point is dealing with an injury, but you have to imagine those two know they’ll be a target. Point and Kucherov are at their best when they’re engaged, and after being held off the scoresheet on Monday, I can see them stepping up in a Cup-clinching game.

Tampa mayor: Lesson learned

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor took the brunt of criticism for her viral comments about her wish for the Lightning to “take it a little bit easy” on the Canadiens in Monday’s Game 4 so they could win the Cup at home in Wednesday’s Game 5. She got her wish, with Tampa Bay losing 3-2 in overtime, but Castor tried to explain her joke in a news conference Tuesday.

(She also said Game 5 is still on, as of now, depending on the developments of tropical storm Elsa.) 1190236 Toronto Maple Leafs Dubas hired from the Steel to take over the Marlies head coaching vacancy in December 2019 because “there was going to be alignment there.”

‘A certain brand of hockey’: How Ryan Hardy fits with Kyle Dubas and Former Leafs scout Noelle Needham also moved to the Steel to take the Maple Leafs management team over the assistant general manager job in 2020.

The synergy between the Leafs and the Steel hardly made Hardy’s hiring a surprise to Needham. By Joshua Kloke Jul 6, 2021 “Probably their greatest similarity is their passion for learning,” Needham said of Dubas and Hardy. “And then they’re also I feel like very confident in who they are and how they view the game. And that allows them to do Those even remotely familiar with Ryan Hardy’s Twitter persona know he things differently.” looks at hockey differently than others. For Hardy that starts with a hallmark of his time at the Steel: “eliminating “The draft itself is a bunch of nonsense,” the then-general manager of the silos between departments.” USHL’s wrote on his since-deleted account in 2020. “Players arbitrarily ranked before the season based on hype/public “That’s why we’ve had consistent success over the last three years,” said perception and rarely move off that spot.” Sheahan.

“The bumper guy! I hate the 1-3-1 with the bumper guy,” he wrote of the It’s reasonable to expect that there will be increased integration between common power play setup. “Somebody uses it, it’s mildly effective (but various hockey departments, including scouting, development, coaching no more so than what they were doing before), then everybody does it. In and management with the Marlies and Growlers. hockey circles, we then call that progress!” With the Steel, Hardy emphasized constant communication between And if there is one thing Kyle Dubas has shown comfort doing throughout departments in the hopes of a clear and unified vision for how the team his seven years with the Toronto Maple Leafs, it’s thinking differently than should perform on the ice. Management laid out their plan for a team, his peers. scouts understood that skill-first players with high hockey IQs were a priority for recruitment and coaches and development staff worked Which is why Dubas was likely eager to hire Hardy as senior director of together to create development plans for each player that would benefit a minor league operations, as he did on June 25. Hardy will act as general skill-first team. manager of the organization’s AHL affiliate, the , and ECHL affiliate, the . “I think that there’s times that, and I’m just talking about teams in general, where scouts value a certain type of player, and then the development “As we evaluate how best to maximize the potential of all our prospects, staff gets their hands on them and they see deficiencies but their we felt that adding Ryan to our management team and tasking him with opinions weren’t valued or what they were looking at wasn’t valued. managing the Marlies and the hockey side of our relationship with the Whereas if there is collaboration between those two departments, they Newfoundland Growlers would be a great benefit to the organization,” might be recruiting players that the development staff and the coaching Dubas said. staff want or fit their style of play. We value hockey sense, skill and While Hardy’s move back into the NHL has been rumoured for some competitiveness and we make plays,” added Sheahan. time, formal discussions about joining the Leafs picked up 10 days before And so under Hardy, it’s likely there will be even more focus on skill and his hire. Dubas presented Hardy with the opportunity, and Hardy jumped development as well as drafting and recruiting free agent prospects who at the chance. can bring Dubas and Hardy’s vision to life. The Hardy hire is an example of Dubas not backing away from his belief “We like to play a certain brand of hockey,” said Hardy of his similarities that building a team based heavily on skill and prioritizing player with Dubas. “I think that aligned as well. A lot of synergies in that way.” development will eventually lead to a Stanley Cup. When it comes to developing minor league prospects into NHL players, “It’s a great fit for me in terms of presenting a lot of things that I like to do, the next three seasons will be pivotal to the success of this franchise. and it’s a good fit for the Leafs in the way of me fitting inside their vision,” Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander are Hardy told The Athletic. all locked up until 2024 and will continue to eat up a large portion of the Despite having never worked in NHL management, Hardy is not an team’s salary cap. Management is committed to winning with these four upstart in hockey. He spent parts of four seasons with USA Hockey’s forwards in place. National Team Development Program, including as director of player But what the Leafs don’t have is multiple NHL-ready prospects ready to personnel. He moved to the Boston Bruins as an amateur scout, before contribute on ELCs. spending three seasons as general manager of the Steel. The Steel became a force in the USHL, winning the Clark Cup in 2021. Hardy won Part of that is due to some poor drafting in Shanahan’s tenure. Yet Hardy the USHL’s General Manager of the Year award twice. appears comfortable being patient with player development, viewing development in a “holistic way,” and tries to marry on and off-ice And of course, there was his Twitter account. development with an emphasis on developing players as well-rounded “There was some strategy in the way that he used Twitter to get our people as well. brand noticed and our players noticed that weren’t being noticed,” said “There’s an old saying,” said Hardy, “turning up the temperature of the Steel head coach Brock Sheahan. oven doesn’t make the cake bake any faster. It just ruins it. For players, I During Hardy’s successful run with the Steel, Dubas took notice. think there’s a right timeline that they should go on. And then there’s certain things that we can look at in developing them in that holistic way “It’s pretty well documented that Kyle and I developed a good relationship that I think can help expedite that process in some ways. But I think that over the last few years,” said Hardy. a lot of players maybe are done a disservice by getting thrown into the fire before they’re ready.” They grew close as both Dubas and Hardy share a vision of a skill-based team that prioritizes hockey IQ and also share a belief in prioritizing Emphasizing individual and small group development sessions have player development. become a mainstay with the Leafs and Marlies.

“We are unified in this mindset of believing that investing in development “That’s another reason why his move to the Leafs right now is crucial,” of our players and our people is what will ultimately lead to success on said Needham. “His ability to be patient and his confidence, and what he the ice,” said Hardy. does, is a calming factor. He’s going be able to absorb a lot of the pressure that maybe everybody else feels around him so that they can The connections between the Steel and the Leafs don’t end there. Dubas function at an elite rate that they’re capable of.” drafted one Steel player in 2019, Nick Abruzzese, and another who was committed to the Steel, Joe Miller, in 2020. Both are smallish, skilled What’s notable, however, is Hardy’s lack of experience at the NHL forwards with the potential for high upside, but remain years away from management level. He is another recent Dubas hire, along with Hayley an NHL career. Wickenheiser and Danielle Goyette, who does not have much in the way said Hardy, before adding that in the next five years, he hopes that of NHL management experience. “we’ve done a lot of (winning), and we’ve had a lot of players and families come through that felt like it was an extremely beneficial time in their Dubas, of course, did not have NHL experience when he was hired by career and their life and their development, and hope that we left a mark the Leafs to be their assistant general manager in 2014. He was tabbed on the people that have come through.” after Shanahan polled hockey voices for “the innovators” and “rising stars.” The Athletic LOADED: 07.07.2021

It’s possible Dubas sees Hardy in the same light.

Needham believes a lack of NHL management experience won’t be a hindrance for Hardy. He could bring his innovative attitude, free of much baggage, to the Leafs.

“I think it’s an advantage for him because he’s going to go in and do things his way,” said Needham. “His ability to make decisions based off of what he believes is going to be a huge asset. Not having that experience and not having any scars from a past experience is going to allow him to take this on with a really clear vision of what he thinks will be successful.”

It was a challenging year for the Marlies as they finished second-last in their division for the second straight season. Their lineups rotated frequently, which often created a lack of synergy between linemates on the ice. The upside was that, despite the continued poor results, prospects such as Mikko Kokkonen and William Villeneuve saw AHL playing time ahead of schedule via ATOs and PTOs.

The season raised a question: how could the Marlies strike a balance between getting results and providing valuable minutes to young players?

Under Hardy, fans should expect to see more young prospects with the Marlies, and perhaps less seasoned veterans filling out AHL spots.

“The primary responsibility is to be developing players for the Maple Leafs so that they can put the best product on the ice,” said Hardy of the Marlies, “and the secondary responsibility is that a lot of people have a tremendous passion for the Marlies and you want to build a culture of winning.”

Hardy’s challenge will be turning Leafs prospects who have potential but look far away from the Leafs into bona fide NHL players.

Rodion Amirov will log time with the Marlies next season but has struggled with his 200-foot game in the KHL. Mikhail Abramov was an elite offensive producer in the QMJHL but has yet to be tested at the pro level. Filip Hallander has looked effective in the SHL but needs to adapt to smaller ice surfaces. Semyon Der-Arguchintsev adapted well in his first North American pro games but needs to learn to play with more size and strength. Mac Hollowell is an excellent skater and puck mover but has serious defensive strides to make.

The organization sees these players as eventual Maple Leafs players, and Hardy will likely give them plenty of runway.

Needham recalled early last season when she and Hardy had differing opinions about an underperforming Steel player.

“His patience was something that I revelled in, because I am generally more cutthroat,” said Needham.

Yet Hardy stressed an organizational need to care about players. Hardy wanted her to believe in the player’s future and have confidence that the team’s development model would allow this player time to buy in and improve.

“’This was an opportunity to change his life, and to be patient and showcase that grace and to take a chance and to maybe even put yourself in a vulnerable position,’” Needham remembers Hardy telling him. “The player could make you look bad if you were wrong.”

The player ended up having a successful season.

“That was outstanding to me,” said Needham of Hardy’s approach.

And so in Hardy, Dubas has found an innovative voice who will help bring his vision for the Leafs to life. There are some elements of Dubas’s time with the Leafs that have showcased some evolution in his thought process. But Hardy’s hire reinforces one of Dubas’s core beliefs in this Leafs team: that going heavy on skill and player development can lead to success.

“I believe that winning is a byproduct of development of people and players. I know people are starving to win and everybody loves to win,” 1190237 Vegas Golden Knights most out of his talents. It seems they are one or two moves from pushing this team over the hump and into a championship club.

History gives reason to doubt that part will happen, though. McCrimmon’s Golden Knights survey results: Fans remain confident in front office, want tenure in the NHL is short, without a lot to draw from, but McPhee has a a top-six forward long, consistent past as a front-office executive. Over 17 years as general manager of the Washington Capitals, McPhee proved himself able to build a strong team. The Capitals won seven Southeast Division titles during that span, winning 40 or more games eight different times. In By Jesse Granger Jul 6, 2021 2009-10, the Capitals registered a franchise-record 121 points in the regular season. Their success during McPhee’s run was incredible, but they regularly fell short of the ultimate goal. That is, until shortly after The dust has settled on the Golden Knights’ fourth season, and we asked McPhee’s departure, when the Capitals beat Vegas for their first Stanley subscribers to participate in The Athletic’s annual fan survey. Cup title in franchise history. You responded with some interesting opinions, shedding some light on The question is, have McPhee’s strong teams struggled in the the fan base’s overall feel heading into yet another crucial offseason postseason because of the way he constructed them? I think that’s a fair inside Vegas’ window to contend for the Stanley Cup. Fans voiced their question to ask, but at the same time, it’s ridiculously hard to win a thoughts on the front office, coaching staff, potential offseason moves Stanley Cup. McPhee has regularly built teams talented enough to go the and, of course, the uniforms. distance but has watched them fall excruciatingly short. Perhaps he just needs a few bounces to go his way. The Golden Knights should be a I love this exercise and want to thank everyone who participated. Your contender yet again in 2021-22, and the fans are confident the front engagement makes this work – not only on this story but on my Golden office will put them in the best position to finally win it all. Knights coverage for The Athletic as a whole. So thank you to everyone who followed along this season. You’ve been great. On a scale of 1 (low) to 5 (high), how confident are you in Pete DeBoer’s ability to coach the Golden Knights to a Stanley Cup? And now, the results. Pete DeBoer’s record in Vegas is exquisite. After two straight exits in the conference-finals round, on a scale of 1 (low) to 5 (high), what is your confidence level in the direction of the The 53-year-old bench boss has gone 55-19-4 in the regular season for organization? an impressive points percentage of .731. He’s also won four playoff series over that span, and made some nice tactical moves during the Confidence is still incredibly high in the Golden Knights, despite the postseason to help the Golden Knights advance. This season in plateau the team has hit over the last couple of seasons. It’s easy to see particular, DeBoer shuffled the bottom of the lineup throughout the why there’s optimism, as the Golden Knights have been to the third playoffs, regularly cycling Nic Hague and Nick Holden on the blue line, round in all but one of their seasons. That shows in the overall happiness and Tomas Nosek, Ryan Reaves, Patrick Brown, Keegan Kolesar and with the organization’s direction, with only 4.4 percent of respondents Cody Glass at forward. I think DeBoer also deserves credit for devising a choosing 1 or 2. However, there’s still room for improvement, with the scheme to slow down the vaunted Colorado offense to win four straight highest number of voters going with “4.” games against the Avalanche. I think this paints an accurate representation of how most feel about the For all those reasons, DeBoer received a vote of confidence of at least a franchise. What Vegas has done over the first four years is impressive, “4” from 59.2 percent of the respondents. and many organizations would take that level of success in a heartbeat. But after a trip to the Stanley Cup Final in the first season, the last three However, DeBoer has also lost two conference finals series against have fell short of expectations. teams with less talent on paper. Placing blame can be difficult when talented players don’t perform. Does the onus fall on the coach for not Which of the last three postseason exits was the hardest to digest? getting the most out of them, or on the players for not showing up when For a team that has enjoyed as much immediate success as the Golden the lights shined the brightest? Based on these confidence ratings, it Knights, there’s no arguing Vegas fans haven’t dealt with crushing seems the fan base places slightly more blame for the last two years’ defeat. Each of the last three seasons ended in disappointing fashion, shortfalls on DeBoer than on the front office. Overall, he still scored well but neither of the last two could hold a candle to the Game 7 collapse in for the guy most of this fan base loathed when he initially took the job. San Jose. Three years later, Golden Knights fans are still feeling the On a scale of 1 (low) to 5 (high), how happy were you with the job Mark effects of the team surrendering a 3-1 series lead, plus a 3-0 lead in Stone did as team captain over the entirety of the season? Game 7 to their hated rivals. Stone did an excellent job in his first season as Golden Knights captain. This surprised me, to be honest. Because that loss happened in the first He was the best player on the ice for most of the regular season, racking round, I thought this year’s loss to an overachieving Montreal squad up an impressive 61 points in 55 games. That’s a 91-point pace over a might top it. The Golden Knights were so close to making it back to the regular 82-game season, which would top his previous career-high by 18 finals, only to be ousted in six games by the Canadiens. General points. Stone was effective in all three zones and was heavily relied upon manager Kelly McCrimmon said this is the best team they had rostered at even strength, as well as on both the power play and penalty kill. He to this point, and both Reilly Smith and Alec Martinez said this year’s leads by example and also wasn’t afraid to speak up when he didn’t squad may be the most talented team they have ever played on. Due to believe things were going well. that, and recency bias, I expected this year’s loss to be tougher for fans to digest. Stone regularly called out himself and other top players on the team when they weren’t performing, including during their loss to Montreal in Perhaps Montreal’s fun underdog story takes some of the sting out of this the semifinals. Stone obviously graded well in this exercise, getting a loss, and there certainly isn’t the level of vitriol between the teams like score of 4 or 5 from 83.5 percent of respondents. I suspect there’s some there is with San Jose. recency bias here. If Stone hadn’t gone scoreless in the Montreal series, On a scale of 1 (low) to 5 (high), how confident are you in George that number would likely be even higher. McPhee and Kelly McCrimmon’s ability to make the right moves to get How many years do you think the Golden Knights have left in their the team over the hump? window to win a Stanley Cup? This was probably the response I was most interested in, and fans have The consensus from this poll is that most fans believe Vegas has two or shown they still have a lot of confidence in the front office. Over 66 three years left in its Stanley Cup window. Those two responses percent of respondents gave McCrimmon and George McPhee a accounted for more than 75 percent of voters, while very few believe the confidence rating of 4 or 5, with only 10.6 percent voting 2 or less. That’s window to win a title is already closed or will close after the next season. a pretty healthy faith in the front office, and it looks similar to the results from the last time I asked this question. Vegas has many of its core players signed through the next three seasons. Stone, Pietrangelo, William Karlsson, Jonathan Marchessault, McPhee and McCrimmon have given fans plenty of reasons to trust their Alex Tuch, Shea Theodore, Chandler Stephenson and Robin Lehner are decision-making. They’ve built the most successful expansion team in all locked up for at least three more seasons. Here’s how old that group recent memory in any of the four major sports. They’ve found ways to will be in three years: improve that roster on paper in each of the past three years, adding players like Max Pacioretty, Mark Stone, Robin Lehner and Alex Alex Pietrangelo Pietrangelo to an already competitive club. They have made other sound roster decisions like trading for Chandler Stephenson and getting the 34 Jonathan Marchessault What do you think the Golden Knights should do with their goalies this offseason? 33 This area appears to be the first domino that will determine how the rest Mark Stone of the Golden Knights’ offseason will fall. Vegas has an incredibly limited 32 amount of cap space available to improve its roster, and if the front office opts to move money out to clear room, the most obvious position to do so Robin Lehner is at goalie. The Golden Knights have $12 million allocated to the position, the second-most in the league behind Montreal. And while 32 Vegas did spend a lot on goalies in 2020-21, it got its money worth, as Fleury and Lehner allowed the fewest goals of any tandem in the NHL. William Karlsson Based on this poll, close to half of the fan base hopes both netminders 31 are back for another season. That scenario could set up the Golden Chandler Stephenson Knights to sign Fleury at a lower cap hit when his deal expires next summer, giving them stability in net for years to come. Perhaps the most 30 fascinating part of these results is how perfectly split they seem to be. Not only is it nearly a 50-50 split on whether the team should keep both Alex Tuch goalies or not, but the half that wants one traded is split almost in half in 28 terms of which goalie should be moved. Shea Theodore Fleury is 36 and has only one year left in his deal, but he was the better goalie this season. Lehner is seven years younger and has four years left 28 on his deal, but the fans lean slightly in favor of moving him. As you can see, the Golden Knights don’t have any real issues with “I honestly believe Fleury has a few more good seasons in him but there aging players, at least for a few years. The only two who could pose is no way we can afford $12 million in net and Lehner is the future immediate issues are Marc-Andre Fleury, who will be 37 in November goaltender for VGK whether anyone wants to admit it or not,” Jason S. and only has one year left on his deal, and Pacioretty, who turns 33 in wrote. “If Fleury’s next contract is much lower, like $4 (million), then keep November and will be a UFA in two years. The rest of the core will be in him. If not, he needs to be traded for as little salary retained as possible.” its mid-to-late 20s or early 30s over the next few years. If the Golden Knights were to trade a core piece this offseason to create What is the Golden Knights’ most pressing need? cap, which player would you prefer to be moved? These results aren’t surprising after the way the Golden Knights’ season If the Golden Knights choose to open up cap space by moving a player ended. Smith and Pacioretty each scored against the Canadiens, and from another position, 34.5 percent of the respondents prefer it to be those were the only two goals by the top two lines all series. And it was Smith. This is obviously due to Smith’s underwhelming 2021 season, in the second straight season in which Vegas’ top forwards performed a which he had only 25 points in 53 games. It could also be due to the fact disappearing act in the third round of the playoffs. It’s easy to see why that Smith is the only player listed as a choice who has only one year respondents immediately looked there for improvement this offseason, remaining on his current contract. but finding upgrades in the top six won’t be easy, especially with the limited cap space Vegas has to work with. Criticisms of Smith’s production are fair, but I will caution that few players make as big of an impact without registering a point. Smith is valuable to The second-most popular response stayed at forward but focused on the the Golden Knights in all phases of the game and is counted on by bottom two lines. There were times this season when the Golden DeBoer in the toughest spots. However, if Vegas doesn’t intend on Knights’ bottom-six forwards just simply did not feel dangerous enough. extending his contract past 2021-22, he could be the odd man out if the Their most-used fourth line of Tomas Nosek, Ryan Reaves and William front office decides to move on from a forward. Carrier simply doesn’t produce enough offense, and the third line also disappointed for long stretches. Perhaps the key to unlocking better Pacioretty received the second-most votes, which follows along the same production from the top-six forwards is to give them more scoring support reasoning. Pacioretty is the oldest of the players listed and has only two down the lineup? years left on his deal. Karlsson, Marchessault, Tuch and Theodore all have at least three years left. “In my opinion, Vegas needs to rebuild the bottom six,” Simon G. wrote. “Montreal won because every line can score. If we have a better bottom With the NHL expected to return to its normal divisional alignment next six, it relieves pressure from the top six.” season, and with changes to the Pacific Division due to Seattle’s entrance, who is the Golden Knights’ biggest threat? Either way, Golden Knights fans are convinced the area for improvement this summer is up front. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl remain terrifying to opposing fan bases despite the overall failures of the Oilers as a team. What do you think the Golden Knights should do this offseason? Next year’s Pacific Division appears wide open after the Golden Knights Golden Knights fans have already seen their share of fan favorites traded next season, with Edmonton the only other team that “participated” in the away over the last couple of years. Last summer, Nate Schmidt was sent 2021 postseason. I say “participated” because you can’t call what the to Vancouver just days after Paul Stastny was dealt to Winnipeg, and it Oilers did much more than that. They were ousted in four straight games appears fans have had enough of that. The vast majority of respondents by a Winnipeg team that didn’t win a game in the following round. It’s the are hoping for small adjustments to the lineup, with the second-most second year in a row the Oilers have suffered a shockingly early exit from popular response being, “Bring back as many of last year’s players as the playoffs, and the year before that they didn’t qualify at all. possible.” It says a lot about the Pacific Division that the Oilers are the runaway Meanwhile, only 12.1 percent of voters hope there are major changes to favorite for the biggest threat. Vancouver has some talented pieces but the roster. Speaking of one of the biggest potential changes this took a major step backward in 2021. The three teams in California all summer… appear heading in the right direction but none seem ready to contend. Then there’s Seattle, which could be a force but also could be what most Do you think the Golden Knights should pursue a trade for Buffalo center expansion teams are – not very good. Jack Eichel, even if it means losing major pieces from the current roster? Alec Martinez is an unrestricted free agent. Should the Golden Knights It’s easy to see why Vegas could be interested in Jack Eichel. Vegas’ re-sign him? biggest weakness is in the middle of the ice, and centers of Eichel’s caliber almost never become available in trades. McCrimmon has said on Golden Knights fans loved Martinez before his incredible postseason run. several occasions that he believed players like Stone and Pietrangelo After being one of the best players on a nightly basis, and doing it all with don’t become available very often, and that’s why he did whatever he a broken foot, the fan base clearly wants Martinez re-signed in the worst needed to make them Golden Knights. Eichel fits that same mold, but the way. Golden Knights may not have the cap space or assets to make a deal like that work. Martinez will be 34 this month. What is the maximum number of years you would sign him for on his next contract? I detailed what it could take to get Eichel, and based on these results most Vegas fans feel that is too much to give up for a player with the There are two aspects to re-signing Martinez. The money is obviously health uncertainties Eichel faces with his neck. going to be most crucial, but the term length could play a factor as well. Martinez turns 34 on July 26, two days before free agency opens, so inking him to a lengthy deal would carry major risks, especially for a to develop draft picks could change drastically. But if Glass’ struggles player who puts himself in harm’s way as often as Martinez does. The continue and none of those young players provide value, there will be consensus among fans is that a two or three-year deal would be ideal for even further reason to question it. Martinez. Which Golden Knights jersey is your favorite? It will be interesting to see how many years he ends up getting, whether it’s with Vegas or elsewhere. Martinez’s agent, Alexander Schall, said the Respondents were split pretty evenly among the Golden Knights’ four market will determine how many years Martinez is looking for in his next jerseys. The traditional home gray jerseys lead the way by the slimmest deal. His .604 points per game this season were the highest of his of margins, and they are quickly losing ground as the fan favorites. I career, so there’s plenty of reason to believe Martinez has high-level asked this question prior to the season and the home gray jerseys hockey left in his tank. received 45.6 percent of the vote, so 29.8 percent is a noticeable decline. The biggest improvement since then is the red Reverse Retro jerseys, Mattias Janmark is an unrestricted free agent. Should the Golden Knights which climbed from only 11 percent up to 25.5 percent. Watching the re-sign him? new red jerseys on the ice clearly swayed some fans, because it clearly wasn’t how Vegas performed while wearing them. The results to this question were split fairly evenly, with the majority of fans slightly leaning toward not bringing back Mattias Janmark. I think Home gray that has a lot more to do with the Golden Knights’ cap situation than it does Janmark’s play. He did take a while to get going from a production 16 standpoint after being acquired from Chicago at the deadline, but 10-4-2 Janmark played well throughout his 31-game tenure in Vegas and produced in the postseason. .688 But Vegas has a very limited amount of cap space to work with, and Road white seeing how 93 percent of fans want Martinez to be signed, I think most have come to the realization that Janmark is likely destined to leave in 24 free agency. It’s a logical conclusion. Even Janmark sounds like he 17-6-0 realizes as much. .708 “I know this team is very tight against the cap,” he said on locker clean- out day. “They have a lot of good players in place already. They have Alternate gold some young players coming up. So it’s a place that I want to be in for sure, but I know how the situation is, so I try to play my hockey and see 11 where it goes from there.” 10-1-0 Aside from Peyton Krebs, which Golden Knights prospect are you most excited about? .909 I’ll be completely honest, the results of this poll took me totally by Retro red surprise. Prior to this season, no goalie prospect was close to the Vegas 5 forward prospects in terms of excitement, but Logan Thompson’s spectacular AHL rookie season has vaulted him to the spotlight. He was 3-2-0 the best goalie in the league at only 24 years old. Part of the reason the excitement around Thompson surprises me is that he seems to be a .600 ways from contributing at the NHL level. There’s obviously a chance This is honestly just an excuse for me to make a chart breaking down a Vegas moves one of its two star goalies this offseason, giving the backup team’s performance in each jersey. goalie reigns to Thompson. But even then, he’ll play a very minor role. Would you want the Golden Knights to make the gold jersey the Krebs is obviously the closest to making an impact at the NHL level, permanent home uniform? which is why I intentionally left him off as a choice. Jack Dugan just finished an impressive AHL rookie season, racking up 10 goals and 23 Owner Bill Foley has hinted at this possibility, even before the gold assists for the second-most points on the . He jerseys were released. He clearly prefers them over the current home will be competing for an NHL roster spot in training camp, and with jerseys, saying they are unique and stand out much more. Vegas wore Vegas’ need for offense from its bottom six, Dugan’s combination of size, its gold jerseys for nearly half of the home games this season, and that physicality and puck skills could make him the ideal fit for that role. could increase moving forward. And despite the team’s 10-1-0 record in them, fans clearly prefer they stick with the traditional gray jerseys at On a scale of 1 (low) to 5 (high), how confident are you in the Golden home. Knights’ ability to draft and develop prospects? Do you want the chrome gold helmets to return in 2021-22? The fan base’s confidence in this category is clearly waning, with fewer than 10 percent of respondents voting “5.” Speaking of things that stand out, how about those gaudy, glimmering, in-your-face gold helmets? Vegas wore them seven times this season, A lot of these results are directly correlated to the struggles of Cody and they were met with almost unanimous revulsion on social media. I Glass. The 2017 No. 6 overall pick struggled this year, eventually being decided to see if subscribers felt the same way, and for the most part, sent down to the AHL to regain his confidence, according to McCrimmon. they did. Fans are not in favor of the chrome gold helmets, despite the And Vegas fans watching 2017 No. 13 overall pick Nick Suzuki score on Golden Knights winning their last five games in them. the Golden Knights in the semifinals probably didn’t help this narrative. “I love the idea of the gold helmets, a unique look that only Vegas can “Confidence level in the front office to draft and develop prospects is a use,” Sheila D. wrote. “But it should be a gold that matches better with tricky one to answer that I almost feel should be two separate questions,” the golds on the jerseys.” Matthew L. wrote. “I’d give them a definite 5 for drafting but a 1 for development.” The Athletic LOADED: 07.07.2021 The Golden Knights had three first-round picks in their inaugural draft, and none of them have made an impact. To Matthew’s point, they traded Suzuki for Pacioretty, who led the team in goals this season, and traded Erik Brannstrom for Stone. Those prospects were regarded highly enough to fetch star players in their primes, so Vegas has clearly drafted talent. But the fact that Nic Hague is the only drafted player playing for Vegas in year four certainly raises some questions about development. As good as the Golden Knights have been, getting strong play out of players on entry-level contracts is crucial to sustained success, and they’ve gotten very little. The 2021-22 season should provide clarity on this subject. As of now, Vegas clearly hasn’t gotten as much out of its drafted players as it would like but it’s also still early. If Krebs is an immediate impact player, if Glass bounces back and if another player, like Dugan, Kaedan Korczak or Pavel Dorofeyev, plays at the NHL level, the perspective of Vegas’ ability 1190238 Vegas Golden Knights Cole’s three-year, $12.750 million contract is coming to an end. His $3.3 million condo in Denver is also on the market.

He’s not a top-pairing defenseman, but he’s still a rugged, solid, and It’s a THIN LHD Market; Alec Martinez or these 3 Choices dependable rearguard with some puck-moving skills, too. He surely won’t score 32 points, but perhaps he comes at a comparative bargain or in the same $4 million range. By Dan Kingerski Last season, Cole popped only eight points (1-7-8) in 54 games. His career-best was 22 points (4-18-22) with Colorado in 2019-20.

3. Mike Reilly, 27 Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Alec Martinez exemplified the grit and determination of hockey players to win the Stanley Cup. The Golden The Boston Bruins picked up Reilly at the NHL trade deadline for just a Knights top-pair defenseman played through the postseason with a third-round pick. The offensive blueliner has blossomed in the last two broken foot. seasons and scored about .5 points per game for the Ottawa Senators and 15 games after the deadline with the Bruins. As ridiculous as it sounds, the Golden Knights need more of that toughness, not less. Reilly, 6-foot-1, 200 pounds, is not small, but he’s not a physical defender, either. Nor does he block shots like Martinez. “I was getting wheeled around a lot. Our medical staff is awesome here. I couldn’t have done it without the medical staff,” Martinez said on locker He’s an offensive defenseman with an accurate shot from the top of the clean-out day. “They were pretty incredible to put me in a position to go zone. Asking more would be to invite trouble. out there and compete with the guys. So a big thank you to them.” His numbers have steadily improved once he got consistent ice time in Martinez, 33, is headed towards unrestricted free agency. In his mid-30s, the NHL over the past two seasons. This season, he scored 27 points (0- this will be his last chance to cash in on the NHL free-agent market, and 27-27) in 55 games split between Ottawa then Boston. fanbases already familiar with Martinez’s gutsy work and underrated offensive acumen are lining up. He’s not a top-pair guy with Alex Pietrangelo, but he could be a middle pairing defenseman if Brayden McNabb can step forward. The VGK defenseman picked a fine time for a career year, too. On the left side of newly signed Alex Pietrangelo, Martinez scored 32 points (9- The concern on Reilly is that he could not handle consistent tough 23-32) in 53 games which were a personal best .60 points per game. minutes, and he would be overmatched. So, he is not a rock like Martinez though some team may splash the cash for the points. The veteran defenseman also carries something else the Vegas Golden Knights want–a Stanley Cup ring. The market is that thin. Martinez’s six-year, $24 million contract he signed in 2014 as a member 4. Niklas Hjalmarsson, 34 of the LA Kings suddenly seems like a bargain. He’s a gritty shutdown defenseman with some physicality but little Especially compared to the rest of the LHD free-agent class. offensive push. He, too, appeared to be entering the twilight of his career with the Arizona Coyotes. The Vegas Golden Knights and the hockey front office find themselves in a precarious spot. Martinez is an important piece of the puzzle, but he He does have Stanley Cup rings as a pillar of the Chicago Blackhawks will get paid because there are few other options. However, the Golden blue line in 2010, 2013, and 2015. Knights’ salary cap is already headed towards the red rocks. Maybe he has one more great run left in him, but he surely won’t provide The Golden Knights did have the highest scoring blue line in the NHL last much offense. He scored a total of 29 points in the last four seasons. His season, according to Stat Muse. VGK defensemen scored a league- $5 million salary figures to come way down as injuries have also plagued leading 36 goals. So, there is offense to spare. him in the last few seasons. The Golden Knights have about $5.5 million in salary-cap space, but they It would be a gamble for a team with Stanley Cup hopes to put top-four have three lineup holes, including a fourth-line center, a third-line wing, eggs in Hjalmarsson’s basket. and Martinez. The rest of the LHD UFA Class: And, of course, GM Kelly McCrimmon needs to make changes, too. The The rest of the herd are older, just plain old, or not worthy of top-four Golden Knights again fell short of their potential and went home before consideration. drinking from the Stanley Cup. Again. Alex Edler, Vancouver, 35: Fortunately for Martinez, and unfortunately for the Golden Knights, the player has almost all of the leverage. Including Martinez, there are only a Is nearing the end of a fine career. He reportedly wants to stay in few potential top-four LHD defensemen on the market. Vancouver. At best would be a two-year stop-gap, though more likely one year. It’s not a great market. Perhaps free agency won’t be how McCrimmon fills this spot if Martinez gets an offer he can’t refuse elsewhere. Alex Goligoski, Arizona, 35: 3 Left-Defenseman UFA’s Another stout defenseman in his prime, “Go-go,” is an offensive defenseman looking for another one-year deal somewhere. He did score 1. Alec Martinez, 33 22 points (3-19-22) with lots of opportunity in Arizona. We’re going to peg the next Martinez contract in the $4.5, perhaps even Ryan Murray, New Jersey, 27: $5 million range. Good defenseman, thin market. Somebody is going to pay. At 33-years-old, term may be the deciding factor, too. Perhaps the Murray was the second overall pick in 2012 by the Columbus Blue defenseman gets a fourth-year from someone to seal the deal. Jackets. He has adequate size at 6-foot-1, 206 pounds. He’s poised and steady. 2. Ian Cole, 32 He’s also poised to the point of not aggressive and not impactful. He did Cole has hard miles on his tires. The former Colorado Avalanche pop 14 points in 48 games this season. There is skill there, but Murray is defenseman was signed to bring grit and some Stanley Cup leadership to not a defenseman that stands out or carries important responsibilities. He the young Avalanche, but Bo Byram pushed past him this season and had just 29 shots in 48 games this season. Colorado GM Joe Sakic dealt Cole to Minnesota for spare parts D-man Greg Pateryn. For the Vegas Golden Knights, it looks like Martinez, trade, or bust. Cole has a pair of Stanley Cup rings from his time with the Pittsburgh Vegas Hockey Now LOADED: 07.07.2021 Penguins. The big red beard cleared the net in front of Marc-Andre Fleury and Matt Murray for back-to-back championships and was well- liked among teammates. His career began in St. Louis–he was an offensive defenseman, of sorts. But he never clicked until Pittsburgh acquired him in 2015. 1190239 Vegas Golden Knights Credit DeBoer for going with Fleury in the 2021 playoffs. Fleury earned it, and Fleury got the net.

But he also ran out of gas. Fleury & Lehner: A Cold Reality, VGK MUST Pick One–Here’s the “My legs were a little heavy,” Fleury told the TV audience after the Game Choice 6 win over Colorado in Round Two. That may be the biggest red flag of them all. Can Fleury complete the By Dan Kingerski Stanley Cup journey at 37 or 38-years-old? Who Should the Vegas Golden Knights Keep? The NHL salary cap is harsh and finite. All 32 teams get $81.4 million to The answer is a more simple one than you may imagine. Before you spend, and that’s all unless a team finds a way to stash a stary player on draw quarters and create encampments to go to war for your goalie, the LTIR for the entirety of the regular season, of course. In those confines, situation doesn’t need to be decided internally. teams have to build the best group of talent, and depth is the first No, the situation can be settled using external forces, notably the NHL sacrifice, and so it should be for the Vegas Golden Knights goalies, trade market and which goalie will draw a better return. Marc-Andre Fleury and Robin Lehner, too. Will teams give the Golden Knights valuable pieces for Lehner? Perhaps With a Lamborghini and a Ferrari parked in their garage, the Golden a defenseman to replace Alec Martinez? Maybe something akin to a Knights goalie situation is both an envious advantage on the ice but a second-line center? salary cap albatross off the ice. Fleury has one more year left at $7 million and is an original misfit. Or will the Golden Knights get a better return by moving Fleury and salary for a couple of draft picks? Lehner is seven years younger, $1.5 million less expensive, and has four years remaining on his contract. Pittsburgh sure wanted Fleury back last offseason, but that was with a different GM in Pittsburgh who appreciated and valued the history Fleury won the Vezina trophy. between Fleury and the Penguins core. Lehner is a surly, attitudinal presence who stops pucks with the best. We don’t know if the new guys in Pittsburgh, including GM Ron Hextall, Fleury is a fiercely happy presence that lifts a locker room and can hold it are there to turn the page or first salvage what’s left before beginning together. Just ask the Pittsburgh Penguins, who have never been the anew in a couple of years. same without Fleury. There is word Pittsburgh would like a playoff experienced goalie behind Like chocolate and peanut butter, Marc-Andre Fleury and Robin Lehner Tristan Jarry. Well, who better than old friend Marc-Andre Fleury? And if fit together. Sure, keep them both one more year–it worked well in 2021, not Las Vegas, what better city for the Flower than Pittsburgh? right? So, you can argue, Fleury! Lehner! But the truth is both are No. 1 goalies, Anything is possible, but the Montreal Canadiens held a mirror to the and the team will do well with either next season. The decision should Golden Knights in a way that no other team could. Montreal exposed the best be made by the more fitting return. Golden Knights weakness at center, which is a domino that caused other And that’s who goes. issues throughout the lineup, including a bone-dry top-six group. Vegas Hockey Now LOADED: 07.07.2021 The Golden Knights have $12.5 million tied up in netminders. Want to solve the power play which failed in the playoffs? A first-line center. Want to increase top-six scoring in the playoffs? A first-line center. Want to beat a defensive team that hides behind a wall and a goalie? A first-line center. If you’re not picking up what we’re laying down with the bright lights of the Strip, the answer to many of the Golden Knights problems is a scoring center…and those cost money which the Golden Knights have tied up in two starting goalies–one more than necessary. First and second-line centers sure aren’t cheap. From Jack Eichel to Evgeny Kuznetsov on the NHL trade block to David Krejci on the NHL free-agent market, the cost begins at $7 million and quickly rises. Krejci will be a UFA soon and made $7.25 million this season. Kuznetsov is under contract for two more years and has a cap hit of $7.8 million. The point not to lose: there will be options for the VGK management team, starting with GM Kelly McCrimmon, President George McPhee, and owner Bill Foley. Normally, an owner wouldn’t factor into such a hockey decision, but Foley’s affinity for Fleury (and the fan’s affinity, too) is a factor. Newer team. New fans arriving daily. Locker room dynamics. How can you cut out Marc-Andre Fleury, the heart of the team, and get better? On the other hand, when Foley sits down with his hockey operations department, how can they advocate keeping a 36-year-old goalie over an equal 29-year-old counterpart who costs less? Sure Robin Lehner noticed the fans’ preference for Fleury, too. Before Game 4 of the NHL Semifinal against Montreal, head coach Pete DeBoer switched from Fleury to Lehner. The reaction was harsh. Lehner fed off it. “Not many people know that I come to the game four hours early. I get my own bus to come four hours early,’ Lehner began. “I sat for two hours and watched you guys talk shit on Twitter about me to get me motivated.” Coaches like that surly goaltender attitude because it seems to rub off on the team. Fleury ran into the same issue in Pittsburgh when head coach Mike Sullivan went with Matt Murray in the 2016 Stanley Cup run, then yanked a red-hot Fleury in the middle of the 2017 Eastern Conference Final after a chaotic 15 minutes. 1190240 Washington Capitals

Will the Capitals pursue adding a new goalie?

BY J.J. REGAN & ANDREW GILLIS

With a flat salary cap, some expiring contracts and the Seattle expansion draft, this is going to be a busy offseason for the Capitals. To get you ready, Capitals writers Andrew Gillis and JJ Regan are breaking down the biggest offseason questions with their thoughts. Today's question: Will the Caps look to add a goalie? Andrew: The first inclination is to say yes here, but I think it’s more complicated than that. The Capitals have two young and as they showed last year, they’re not opposed to going after a veteran to make things a bit easier on a young netminder like Ilya Samsonov. But now, I don’t think that makes sense. Samsonov, who still needs to be extended a contract as a restricted free agent, posted a save percentage of .911 during the season, which was up-and-down for him since the beginning. His counterpart, Vitek Vanecek, was a .918 goalie as he helped carry the load for most of the season. But, from March 1 to the end of the regular season, Samsonov was a .918 goalie. With the Capitals’ salary cap situation being so tight and with two young netminders where it’d be hard to improve upon at such little salary, I believe they stand pat. Pheonix Copley and Zach Fucale will hold down the fort for the , and I think that’s a group of four the Capitals feel OK with entering the 2021-22 season. Should they decide to add a goalie, I don’t think it will be in a full-time NHL role. Now, all of this can go away if Samsonov or Vanecek leaves by way of free agency or the Seattle Kraken expansion draft, at which point I would fully expect a veteran presence to come into Washington. But for now, I think they’re going to stick with both young goalies as long as they can. JJ: Goaltending was a question mark heading into 2021. After a season in which Ilya Samsonov and Vitek Vanecek both played well but neither cemented themselves as the No. 1, shouldn't we expect the Caps to make some sort of move in net in the offseason? No, no we shouldn't. Regardless of what you thought of the team's goaltending last season, it really did not affect them all that much in the regular season where Washington finished tied with Pittsburgh in points for the top spot in the division. At the very least, they know they can get by in the regular season with a Samsonov, Vanecek tandem and they even have Pheonix Copley and Zach Fucale in Hershey. That's good enough...for now. If the Caps do want to make an addition, it makes more sense to wait and look to do it during the season with banked cap space. The fact is, the salary cap situation right now is pretty dire and what Samsonov and Vanecek provide is about as cheap a goalie tandem as you can hope to have, even with Samsonov getting a new contract. Adding a veteran will mean adding more cap space and pushing either Samsonov or Vanecek (probably Vanecek) out of the lineup. Unless Vanecek is taken in the expansion draft or a goalie is included in some sort of trade package that Brian MacLellan cooks up in the offseason, I don't see any reason why the Caps would want to make a move right away. Stick with the young goalies, let them continue to develop, then re-evaluate when you have more cap flexibility within the season. Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 07.07.2021 1190241 Winnipeg Jets

Jets ink Toninato

Paul Friesen

Dominic Toninato only played eight pro hockey games last season, but he made enough of an impression to earn a contract with the Winnipeg Jets. The Jets have signed the 27-year-old centre to a two-year deal worth an average salary of $750,000 if he’s in the NHL. He’ll earn NHL money the second year, for sure, as the second year of the contract is a one-way deal. It’s a two-way deal in the first year. A product of Duluth, Minn., Toninato played two regular-season games with the Jets last season, registering one assist. In another three playoff games, he scored once and collected two penalty minutes. In three games with the Manitoba Moose, Toninato scored three times. A Toronto draft pick in 2012, he’s played 87 career NHL games with Colorado, Florida and Winnipeg, scoring five goals and adding 10 assists. Winnipeg Sun LOADED 07.07.2021 1190242 Websites unveil the new host, MacLean leaned over and said: “Don’t screw this up, it’s a big show.”)

The change would not last very long. Sportsnet moved The Athletic / ‘No topics off-limits’: Ron MacLean says it was his call not Stroumboulopoulos out of his chair in 2016, and it replaced him with to ask Gary Bettman about Chicago allegations MacLean. At the time, it was reported that Bettman was made aware of the move, and gave his assent.

There was no evident animosity on Monday, when MacLean and By Sean Fitz-Gerald Jul 7, 2021 Bettman chatted above the ice at Bell Centre during Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final. (“Good to be with you as always,” Bettman said at the end. “It’s good to see you.” MacLean chuckled: “You, too — six feet Over a span of five-and-a-half minutes on Monday night, “Hockey Night apart.”) in Canada” host Ron MacLean asked NHL commissioner Gary Bettman The segment was shorter than it had been in some previous years. While six direct questions. He asked about officiating, rule changes, fans not excusing the omission of questions about the situation in Chicago, returning to the rink and, finally, three questions about Olympic some of the industry insiders who spoke to The Athletic wondered why participation. Sportsnet did not offer more time with the commissioner, which would MacLean also spent a few moments discussing a centenarian fan from have afforded more time for questions, including those that required Dunnville, Ont., who helped to memorialize a long-demolished arena in careful follow-ups. his hometown. He also spoke about Jim Gregory, the veteran hockey None had ever heard of the NHL demanding editorial control over an executive who had died two years ago. interview at “Hockey Night, “nor any segment that ran on the show. It was a topic he ignored, though, that would generate the most attention. Several pointed to the digressions from the interview on Monday — the discussion of the fan from Dunnville — as hallmarks of what MacLean MacLean and Bettman have made their interview in the Stanley Cup likes to do on the air. Final a tradition, and one that once crackled with intensity and anticipation. In previous years, MacLean peppered the commissioner But it was also pointed out that not every hockey fan would have been with questions covering a range of topics, including those that might have keenly tuned to what Bettman might have had to say during his Stanley been sensitive to the league. Cup availability with reporters earlier in the series. With an audience of more than 3.7 million watching on Sportsnet and the CBC, they say But during their meeting in the first intermission of Monday night’s game MacLean should have pressed Bettman on the events in Chicago for a between the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning, MacLean much wider audience. did not ask Bettman about the important story unfolding in Chicago. The Blackhawks are facing allegations that two former players were sexually The Athletic LOADED: 07.07.2021 assaulted by the team’s video coach in 2010. Bettman met with reporters a week before sitting down with MacLean. In his remarks, Bettman said the league learned of the allegations “relatively recently” and did not say whether a report commissioned by the team would be made public. Immediately after Monday’s interview with MacLean aired, social media filled with criticism — and it included voices from within the sports media industry — and speculation over whether the NHL vetted the questions ahead of time, using its broadcast partnership with Sportsnet as leverage. “There were no topics off-limits for my interview with the commissioner,” MacLean said on Tuesday in an email statement relayed to The Athletic through a network spokesperson. “I made the decision in the moment to not ask the question, as I knew there was no new ground to cover based on the commissioner’s comments from his media availability earlier in the series.” In another email, an NHL spokesperson said: “We did not request nor receive any of the questions beforehand.” Several Canadian sports broadcast veterans, who shared their thoughts on the condition of anonymity, expressed surprise at the omission when reached Tuesday by The Athletic. The exchanges between MacLean and Bettman were once viewed as must-see hockey theatre, with perhaps the most famous meeting coming in 2010. MacLean scrolled down a list of ownership issues, from Florida to Dallas. He also asked Bettman about a second potential franchise in Southern Ontario, suggesting NHL players would be keenly interested in the region because of the money it would pump into the game. “Who are you getting your information from as to what the players are thinking?” Bettman asked. “You can’t get it from their union head,” MacLean said, chuckling. “You’re making this up,” Bettman said. “I go to Forbes, I go to the Sports Business Journal,” MacLean answered. “And that tells you what the players are thinking?” Bettman shot back. Three years later, the Canadian sports landscape underwent a dramatic shift. The NHL would end up moving its national rights package from the CBC — the home of Hockey Night — to Rogers as part of a 12-year deal worth $5.2-billion. Four months later, MacLean was out as host. George Stroumboulopoulos would be the new face of the broadcast. MacLean would remain as host of “Coach’s Corner,” with , and take on other projects around the show. (During the media event to 1190243 Websites “He has tremendous skill, he has tremendous hockey sense. The skating is a little odd, but it’s not poor, he gets around the ice well. He can walk the line in the offensive zone and escape pressure in the defensive zone and isn’t a liability when the play is bearing down on him.” The Athletic / NHL Draft Confidential: Inside what scouts and executives really think about the top prospects “You are hoping he turns into an Adam Fox-like player, who despite his skating is so skilled and so smart he runs PP1 and is a solid even strength guy. If he doesn’t become that and can’t generate offense at an NHL pace, I think he’s going to struggle to find a role.” Corey Pronman Jul 6, 2021 Kent Johnson, C, Michigan-Big Ten: Johnson is a potential top-10 pick who is known as an elite skill type and was BCHL MVP two seasons ago. I’ve told you what I think about the top prospects in the 2021 NHL Draft “There is a lot of skill and creativity in his game with good instincts. His but ultimately my opinion doesn’t matter that much. The opinions of what projection … would worry me due to his skating and the fact he is a NHL evaluators think will determine how the draft goes, and who your perimeter player.” favorite team will ultimately pick. “I worry he has trouble connecting the dots. He looks flashy but doesn’t So I talked to teams about the draft to find out their opinions on the draft- always accomplish a lot.” eligible players likely to go high in the draft. Around 20 NHL scouts and executives were polled, giving their opinions on everything from Owen “When you talk pure skill, he’s right at the top of the draft. He will be a Power’s projection to the best of the big four defensemen to the risk of weapon that will be a big part of an NHL team’s offense, on the wing taking goalies Jesper Wallstedt or Sebastian Cossa in the first round. likely.” Here’s what they had to say. “He’s got all the skill in the world, but for the price you’re going to need to pay for him, top 10 maybe even top eight, you’d like to get more Owen Power, LHD, Michigan-Big Ten: Power is the projected No. 1 pick, quickness at that range.” a 6-foot-6 defenseman who was a leading player for Canada at the world championships when they won gold. “This guy has special skill, he has the potential to be a leading scorer in the league. If he gets outside the top five someone is getting a steal.” “He’s the safe guy for everyone in this draft. He’s going to play, he’s going to be top-four, no question in my mind. I would be surprised if in 10 William Eklund, LW, Djurgarden-SHL: Eklund is a potential top-10 pick. years you told me he ended up the best player.” He is a small, yet very talented forward who had an extremely productive season in the SHL for a player his age. “He’s so big, so mobile, so smart. I have a hard time imagining once an NHL coach gets their hands on him that they won’t play the shit out of “His skating is dynamic. His cutbacks and edgework are major assets in him. “ this draft class. He has great skill and hockey sense. He looked like a difference-maker versus men.” “I think there’s untapped offense in his game. You look at Victor Hedman, the offense came later. I think the same could happen with Power.” “This guy has an ‘it’ factor that not many in this draft have. He pops on the ice playing at a very high level of competition.” “He’s first overall. He’s a really good skater for his size, he has good skill for his size. He can make plays. He’s a good defender, you wish he had “The lack of elite speed at his size concerns me for where we’re talking a little more hardness in him, but he will be more than a good enough about taking him.” defender in the NHL.” Luke Hughes, LHD, USNTDP-USHL: Hughes is the youngest brother of “You don’t see guys like him too often with his combination of attributes. NHL players Jack and Quinn, and a potential top-10 pick. Like his He may be a bit dull for a No. 1 pick, but he’s really good and unique.” brothers, he’s very talented but also much bigger. “I don’t see how he isn’t a top-pair defenseman in the NHL. Could he play “He’s not in the top-three conversation for me due to his defending, but a little more physical? Sure. But everything else is there. You don’t see a he’s an elite skater with skill and size so he’s in that next group.” whole lot of first-year, draft-eligible defensemen be as good as he was in college, playing heavy minutes and doing so effectively.” “His ceiling is sky-high, could argue he has the most potential of anyone in the draft. Can he defend, and can he stop overcomplicating the game Simon Edvinsson, LHD, Frolunda-SHL: Edvinsson is a 6-foot-4 are my big two questions with Hughes.” defenseman with a lot of intriguing NHL attributes who played well versus men this season in Sweden and is a potential top-10, if not top-five pick. “He has a rare combination of size, skating and skill that you can easily see projecting to the top of an NHL lineup.” “His U18 tournament wasn’t amazing, and people like to tear this guy down, but a lot of what we do is about projecting the future, not the Matthew Beniers, C, Michigan-Big Ten: Beniers is a potential top-10, if present. With his size, skating, skill, offensive instincts in five to 10 years not top-five pick who had a strong season, including being a regular he’s going to be at the top of an NHL lineup.” center on USA’s gold medal team at the world juniors. “He’s a stud. He’s going to be a star, he has everything you want in an “I think he’s a second-line center in the NHL, I don’t see a first-line NHL defenseman.” center; he lacks that type of offensive creativity. You know what you’re going to get every night with him, he has an elite motor and pretty good “I think he’s overrated. There’s some attractive parts about him, but hockey sense. He will find a way to create offense, but I don’t expect him neither the offense or defending are high-end.” to be more than a 2C on a team that does anything.” “He’s going to disappoint people if he goes in the top five. He’s a good “I would be surprised if you look back in 10 years and he was the first or player but doesn’t have the hockey sense to be a true top play driver in second-best player in the draft, but I don’t think you will ever be the NHL.” disappointed that you drafted him.” “He’s like a gazelle on the ice. You don’t see a lot of guys who look like “I would have my concerns using a very high pick on him. I worry he him with his frame, mobility and ability to maneuver in traffic. He needs a becomes a middle-six forward who PK’s for you.” lot of time to develop and grow into his frame but he can pop.” “I think he will play at the top of a lineup. I see a first-line center. He will “I think he has the lowest ceiling among the big four defensemen (Power, play 18 to 20 minutes a night, hard minutes with power play. I think he Brandt Clarke, Luke Hughes and Edvinsson) but also the highest floor. will be one of those two-way centers who don’t put up a ton of points but I’m not sure you’re getting a lot of offense but I think he’s top-four for is widely recognized as one of the better centers in the league.” sure.” Jesper Wallstedt, G, Lulea-SHL: Wallstedt is a potential top half of the Brandt Clarke, RHD, Barrie-OHL: Clarke is a potential top-10, if not top- first-round pick who was a regular in the SHL, a rarity for a draft-eligible five pick known for his offense who played in Slovakia because of the goalie. canceled OHL season. “I worry that the hype on him has exceeded what he really is. He’s such a “He concerns me, mostly due to the skating, he will have issues in the structured, technical goalie (who’s) always been so far ahead of his NHL in transition and handling NHL pressure. He’s very skilled, I wish peers in that regard, but as a pure NHL athlete the tools don’t really blow when I watched him this season I saw a player that screamed elite you away.” offense instead of just very good with his skating. I don’t see him as a great NHL defender.” “There is something special about him. His hockey sense is among the best I’ve ever seen in a draft-eligible goaltender.” “He’s very smart, technically refined, but he may just be a finished “You don’t see a lot of goal heavy, average feet and compete NHL product that developed ahead of schedule. I think he plays, he starts, but centers, so I think he ultimately goes to the wing. He will score a lot, he’s I don’t see a sky-high projection you’d like for a potential top half of the extremely skilled and can make plays to go with the goals.” first-round goaltender.” “He has elite skill and elite timing around the net. He has courage and Dylan Guenther, RW, Edmonton-WHL: Guenther was a two points per hockey sense. The skating will need to improve, but I still see a high game player in Edmonton’s brief season and a top-line player for Canada scoring top-six forward in the NHL.” at the U18s, although his tournament wasn’t amazing. Carson Lambos, LHD, Winnipeg-WHL: Lambos was a projected high “There’s a lot to like about this player. He’s a great skater. He’s very pick coming into the season. He went over to Finland where he wasn’t as skilled. He can score a lot of goals. He’s not going to run people over, but successful and then his WHL season ended abruptly due to a medical he’s a worker. He knows where he needs to give a little extra to win a concern. race or create pressure.” “He had a good reputation coming from his past seasons, but he didn’t “There’s no denying the talent, no denying the scoring touch and his perform this season like a first-round pick.” production. I wonder if in the NHL he’s a primary driver of a line or is he more a secondary guy who needs a top center to create the offense.” “I appreciate his skating, his physicality. Will there be offense, though? That will be the difference between him being top four or a third pair, and “The way he plays in Edmonton is not the way he played for Canada’s I think that part of his game isn’t clear.” U18 team. There was a lot of deferral to Shane Wright at that tournament. In the WHL he’s the guy with the puck, he makes things “I think he’s a stud. He will play big minutes in the NHL. He can play a happen.” fast game, a hard game and a skilled game. Only question for me is whether his medicals check out.” Mason McTavish, C, Peterborough-OHL: McTavish played a brief season in Switzerland with no OHL season and then was one of the best players Fedor Svechkov, C, Togliatti-VHL: Svechkov had a good season in at the U18 world championships to end the season, generating more high Russia, but his stock rose after the U18s where he centered Russia’s first pick buzz for himself. line. “I think anytime you give me a center with size who competes hard, who “He’s very skilled, competitive and smart. The skating isn’t great, but the has skill and scoring ability, that’s exciting. He showed at the 18s he can stride looks powerful and it could come with time. I like a lot about how be a strong playmaker, too. Is he a one? Maybe not, but he’s a top two- this guy plays.” line center all day for me.” “You’re drafting a good 3C in all likelihood, maybe he’s a (2C) if your “I think he’s a great player. I buy the offense and 200-foot game, but with team is desperate. I think people don’t understand how hard getting a his average skating, you’d like him to do more with the puck for a top-10 good 3C is though. Teams pay for those guys and they will for him.” pick. How much different is he than Cole Sillinger, who you won’t have to Zachary Bolduc, C, Rimouski-QMJHL: Bolduc had a monster underage pay as high a price for?” season in the QMJHL, but his draft season wasn’t as productive, “This guy continues to get better and add dimensions to his game. I love compounded with several injuries. the way he plays, it translates to the NHL.” “He’s a third-line center or second-line wing in the league. He’s a good Cole Sillinger, C, Sioux Falls-USHL: Sillinger went to the USHL with the skater with skill who works hard enough, but I don’t see a ton of creativity WHL’s delayed start and was one of the top forwards in the league. or playmaking in his game.” “All Sillinger ever does wherever he goes is score, score a lot and play a “I appreciate what he does in straight lines. Excellent hands, good speed, reliable two-way game. I don’t see why he can’t do that in the NHL. He’s can bring pucks through the neutral zone well. His compete is just OK, so smart that he’ll adapt.” his vision is good some games, not so good other games.” “He’s a winger in the NHL for me. I like the player a lot, I like his skill, he Corson Ceulemans, RHD, Brooks-AJHL: Ceulemans is a big, mobile has an NHL shot, he’s competitive, but I don’t love his hockey sense, defenseman who didn’t play much this season due to the AJHL’s he’s an average skater.” abbreviated season. He led the U18s in scoring among defensemen. “I could see him as an NHL center. He plays hard, he’s responsible. The “He will go first round for sure, but he’d concern me there. He has size, skating is heavy so, while I think he scores, you have to be realistic about skating and some offense, but his hockey sense gives me real issues how that projects to the league.” going after him with a high pick.” Sebastian Cossa, G, Edmonton-WHL: In a brief WHL season, Cossa put “He’s a great player. He has the size, the skating, he’s skilled and up huge numbers and quickly elevated his draft stock. creative. He will need to learn to reign in some bad habits, clean up his defending, but the toolkit is rare.” “He’s a unique athlete in his size and quickness. He can be a little busy in the net, has a weird technique, hands are just decent, but you look at “If he gets past 15 he’s going to make a team look really smart. There’s a him and it’s easy to project him to play a lot of NHL games.” lot that he does that projects well to the NHL.” “You don’t find a lot of 6-6 guys with his athleticism. He has desperation Daniil Chayka, LHD, CSKA-KHL: Chayka went to Russia with no OHL in his game, and can be controlled and quiet games down, too. He’s got season where he was up and down performance-wise between the pro a ton of pro upside.” and junior levels, and with Russia’s U20 team. “He was in control every night in Edmonton. He looks different than other “He’s 6-3 and can skate, he’s not a dynamo with the puck, but he’s smart draft-eligible goalies I’ve seen over the years, especially at that size.” and can move it. He uses his feet and reach to break up a lot of plays. He’s boring, but he’s good.” Fabian Lysell, RW, Lulea-SHL: Lysell is considered one of the faster players in the draft and was a potential top-10 pick coming into the “He had a tough season, you worry watching him what his NHL role is. Is season, but he had an up and down campaign. he a hard enough defender to take tough minutes? Is there enough offense? There’s attributes there to bet on, but I wouldn’t do it top 20.” “He’s dynamic. Dynamic usually plays well in the NHL.” “There’s certainly an argument to be made about what the perception of “When he gets space to come up with speed, he can be a real threat, but this player would be if he had a normal OHL season. I think we’d be he can be taken out of the game physically. Inside the zone he can’t win talking about him high in the draft.” the battles you need to be successful consistently.” Xavier Bourgault, C, Shawinigan-QMJHL: Bourgault has had two very “He brings a skating element that is rare in this draft class. If you want productive seasons in the QMJHL as a top scorer in that league, but he guys who can fly with skill in the first round, the options are very limited.” had a disappointing playoffs. “His speed and skill combination is top-10-pick quality, but he can play “I love this player. His skill level is among the highest in the draft, he can selfishly, his compete is in and out. I see a lot of development work create for his teammates, he can score and he can play with pace.” ahead for an organization.” “I like but don’t love. I think he’s very skilled, but also think he’s kind of Chaz Lucius, C, USNTDP-USHL: Lucius is a top-rated prospect known soft and I don’t think he’s that talented to play that way in the NHL in the for his goal scoring who missed most of the season due to injury and role you would need him to be successful.” illness. Aatu Raty, C, Karpat-: Raty was considered to be a top prospect in “He’s a competitor, he has skill, he plays fast, he can score. I think you this class at one point, but he had a poor draft season and saw his stock can be reasonably concerned if he’s truly dynamic enough at that size for fall considerably. where he’s projected, but it’s hard to deny how good a season he had.” “I think he was just one of those guys who was more physically advanced “He’s a rather complete hockey player except for his height. He did than other players at an early age, I never believed in the hype. He’s a everything he could this season to justify he was a top-20 pick.” worker with some skill, but I don’t see a ton of hockey sense in his game.” Brennan Othmann, LW, Flint-OHL: Othmann had a decent stint in Switzerland with no OHL season and was a top player for Canada at the “I like how he competes, how he plays with pace. I think there’s some U18s. offense, but for me he’s a 3C in the NHL, if he plays higher it’s a 2W.” “He has a lot of things that intrigue from an NHL perspective. He has “He’s got really good hands, he works, he can score. His skating is great skill, he can score, he’s a competitor, a nasty one at times. The feet awkward, but he’s a good player.” aren’t great, but I could see him turn into a top-six winger for sure.” “If he didn’t play this season, we’re talking about him in the top 10, “The offensive talent is obvious, he can score a lot of goals. He’s maybe top five. He didn’t play well, but it wouldn’t shock me if he had a physical, chippy, sometimes I think he has trouble controlling it and great season in Liiga in 2022 and all of a sudden the hype is back on.” crosses the line, which worries me.” Stanislav Svozil, LHD, Brno-Czech Extraliga: Svozil had a decent draft Jack Peart, LHD, Fargo-USHL: Peart was named Mr. Hockey at season between the Czech pro league, and the Czech U18 and U20 Minnesota’s high school level and was a strong two-way defenseman in teams, but he didn’t pop as some hoped he would as an underage. limited USHL action. “I wonder what he is in the NHL. I don’t see a big time offensive guy who “He has elite hockey sense, not a tremendous skater but good enough. can be a power-play type, I don’t see this highly mobile, hard to play He will probably go in the second round, but I wouldn’t fall off my chair if against defender. Without those kinds of attributes, it’s hard to hang your someone took the shot very late in round one because he’s one of the hat on him as a first-round pick.” smartest players in the draft.” Simon Robertsson, RW, Skelleftea-SHL: Robertsson was a productive “I struggle to get behind the hype on him. He’s 5-11, he’s an average junior player before Sweden’s U20 season was canceled, then he went skater. He’s really smart, but he doesn’t put up much offense. I don’t up to the SHL. He’s considered a two-way forward. know exactly what that translates to in the NHL.” “I like his skating, his shot, his compete. Will (he score) enough be a top Tyler Boucher, RW, USNTDP-USHL: Boucher’s physical play created a six? Maybe, maybe not. But he’s going to play and help a team.” lot of buzz early in the season, but he was injured numerous times. “He’s good at a lot of things but not elite at anything. Average size and “People aren’t discussing him enough, this type of player is so hard to skater. He looks like a lot of guys who go in the late second or third find. He’s an elite physicality player with some offense. The skill/speed round, not in the late first or early second like he’s being discussed.” doesn’t excite you that much, but I could see him sneak into the first or be an early Day 2 pick” “I like his work ethic a lot. There’s some offense, but will there be enough? I’m not convinced.” “There aren’t a lot of players like him in the league anymore, but maybe that’s for a reason. He has tremendous physicality, but can you play that Scott Morrow, RHD, Shattuck St. Mary’s-US High School: Morrow is a way in the NHL without offense? When has he ever scored?” big, talented defenseman who played a third year of prep hockey and was one of the more divisive prospects among scouts. Mackie Samoskevich, RW, Chicago-USHL: Samoskevich is a talented forward who had a good, not great season in Chicago. “He’s an attributes guy for me. He has good size, good feet, very good skill, but lacks structure. He doesn’t see it well, his game is chaotic and “The offensive tools are first-round quality. He’s a great skater with a high doesn’t defend that well. Guys like him find a way to play at times, but skill level, on his best shift he’s dynamic. Those best shifts are infrequent there’s a lot of work to do.” though, you have to get him to compete harder game in and game out.” “I think anytime you have his size and skill with good enough skating, Oskar Olausson, RW, HV71-SHL: Olausson generated a lot of interest you’re attracted to that package. … He’s a very talented prospect, you early in the draft season versus juniors, but stock faded in the second have to take him at some point. You also go into that pick eyes wide half versus men. open that there’s a lot of development ahead for your organization.” “Those attributes he has are hard to find. When you see a guy his size Wyatt Johnston, C, Windsor-OHL: Johnston didn’t play all season but who can skate and has his skill level with a track record of great scoring, had a strong U18 worlds, generating first-round hype coming out of the you’re usually paying a premium pick for that. You could get that with tournament. He also had a growth spurt from a year ago. flaws later in the first this year.” “He can be an NHL center, I think. He has good hockey sense, good skill, “There’s so much player. He can fly, great skill, can score, big frame, he competes. Physically he has to develop a lot so I think you’ll be good production. His compete isn’t good and he can be taken out of waiting a number of years for him to become what he could be.” games when you hit him. At some point you have to take a shot, you won’t find much more talented players after the 20th pick.” “I think the best is yet to come with this guy. He’s a great competitor, very smart, can play all situations. I could easily see a middle-six NHL center.” “The talent is undeniable. He can skate, he has skill, he can shoot it very well. Does he have hockey sense? Can his compete be more consistent? Isak Rosen, RW, Leksands-SHL: Rosen has been a productive junior Those questions make me hesitant about using a first on him.” player and scored a lot at the U18 world championships. Sasha Pastujov, RW, USNTDP-USHL: Pastujov put up huge numbers “His speed and shot are difference making attributes. He can break a with the U.S. NTDP the past two seasons. He’s known as a great scorer shift open with his talent, I wish his compete was more consistent but his skating worries scouts. especially with his size.” “On the power play I buy it, he has big-time skill, a big-time shot. The “He’s one of the more talented players I saw this season. There’s a lot of skating is so rough, though, to go with mediocre compete, what NHL pro upside to him.” coach is going to lean on him at even strength?” Logan Stankoven, C, Kamloops-WHL: Stankoven had a strong limited “He’s the kind of guy you put on your list, but you hope someone else WHL season and U18 worlds. He’s a very productive but undersized takes him.” forward. Samu Tuomaala, RW. Karpat-Finland. Jr: Tuomaala didn’t have the best “I don’t see a likely NHL player due to his size and skating, but he has a season with his club but was great with Finland’s U18 team. He’s a lot of skill and is a great competitor, so it wouldn’t shock me if he found a smaller winger known as a goal-scorer. way.” “His skating and shot combo can break a game open, a characteristic “I read the article you guys did about Alex DeBrincat at the draft. Do you there isn’t a lot of in this draft up front.” want your team mentioned in the next one? Because this kid reminds me a lot of Alex.” “I like him a lot. He can be a difference-maker with his speed, skill and shot.” Matthew Coronato, RW, Chicago-USHL: Coronato was the top forward in the USHL, putting up huge goal totals on the way to a USHL title. “I don’t think the way he plays translates to the NHL. He doesn’t look to move it much, a lot of perimeter shots, doesn’t get his nose dirty.” Nikita Chibrikov, RW, SKA-VHL: Chribrikov is a highly skilled 5-foot-10 Justin Robidas, C, Val-d’Or-QMJHL: Robidas was a point per game forward who had a great season with SKA and Russia’s national teams. player for one of the top QMJHL teams and drew NHL interest for his playstyle. He also measured at 5-foot-8. “I appreciate his skill and playmaking a lot. … For a guy his size who isn’t a great skater, I question whether you want to use a high first on a guy “He has everything you want in a player except size, which he has none like that. For me, he’s a 20s-type pick.” of. His skating, skill, sense and work ethic are all excellent. He brings his best every night.” “Everyone can see the skill, it will come down to the skating for a guy his size. I think it’s good enough. He’s not fast, but he’s shifty, he can escape Evan Nause, LHD, Quebec-QMJHL: Nause was a big minute pressure, he doesn’t get hit much.” defenseman for Quebec. He didn’t put up a ton of points but saw intrigue from scouts grow all season. Samu Salminen, C, Jokerit-Finland. Jr.: Saliminen’s junior season was cut short due to a COVID-19 pause in his team’s region, but he “He has a nice skating/size combination and excels at defending the rebounded with a great U18 worlds that got scouts talking. rush. He isn’t that offensive but shows enough to indicate some two-way ability at the next level. I’d like to see more urgency and bite in his own “He has skill and will. He’s rarely disappointed me in my viewings. I think end.” you can develop him into a quality third-line NHL center.” Anton Olsson, LHD, Malmo-SHL: Olsson played versus men most of the “I like his hockey sense a lot, his competitiveness, he makes plays. His season and was one of Sweden’s best players at the U18s. feet are heavy so I think best case you are getting a 3C and more likely a 4C, but your coach will love this guy.” “He’s a good skater, he plays hard. I worry he filled out physically before a lot of his peers. I don’t see a ton more projection from what he already Zach Dean, C, Gatineau-QMJHL: Dean’s production took a step back is.” this season after a great underage season but he still gets some high ratings from scouts. Kirill Kirsanov, LHD, SKA-KHL: Kirsanov played up most of the season with SKA in a limited role. He also played well for Russia’s World Junior “He’s a good player, I like the way he plays, he has speed, skill, compete and senior team this past season. is great, but I don’t see much hockey sense. I don’t see a ton of offense in the league. He’s a third- or fourth-line forward in the NHL likely.” “I think people underrate his skill level, there’s a lot of offense in him. He’s the type I think some teams are hoping people are sleeping on.” “The skating/skill/work ethic combination is exciting. He plays a game that’s translatable to the NHL.” “Only about 40 players in a given draft will have a long NHL career. I think he’s one of them, but I bet it’s at the bottom of that group. I see a Francesco Pinelli, C, Kitchener-OHL: Pinelli played in Slovenia for a third-pair defenseman due to how vanilla he is with the puck.” period due to the OHL not playing. He was a leading scorer at the U18s but saw stretches where he rode the bench. “He can skate and he’s super smart. I’m a fan, there’s a lot of player there, he grew on me as the season went on.” “I love his skill and hockey sense. For me, he’s a second-rounder, there’s too much you’re going to need to work on between his skating and The Athletic LOADED: 07.07.2021 getting him to compete every night to use a first on him.” “I see a potential second- or third-line center. He’s not physical but he’s smart and knows how to play his position defensively. The skating needs power but the stride is good.” Colton Dach, C, -WHL: Dach’s stock rose over the course of his brief season, being a point per game player with Saskatoon as a center with size. “He’s always been compared to his brother, which isn’t fair, he’s not his brother. Yes, he has some skill, but to be an NHL player he’s going to need to be a worker, make things happen around the net.” “He has skill, he has size, can score. The skating is a big issue though and he’ll need to put in a lot of work in that area to be a legit NHL player.” Zachary L’Heureux, LW, Halifax-QMJHL: L’Heureux had a productive QMJHL season with Halifax. He’s a divisive player due to having some great pros about his game, while also being 5-foot-11 with average skating and multiple suspensions. “His skill is elite, his physical play is great, inside the offensive zone he makes an impact. At that size you’d like to be drafting more quickness though in the first round.” “I really like the way he plays, I could certainly see a good NHL player. He has to control his aggression but players like him aren’t easy to find.” Alexander Kisakov, LW, Dynamo Moscow-MHL: Kisakov had a great season in Russia’s junior league, as a leading player on that league’s champion. “His skill level is really high. He’s very creative, has a high level of hockey sense. He competes well. People will concern themselves with his skating for his size, but I think it’s good enough, he’s shifty. He’s a guy I think a lot of teams hoped went under the radar, but that secret got out quick.” Shai Buium, LHD, Sioux City-USHL: Buium’s stock elevated sharply as the season went on especially late in his USHL season. “He’s a long, rangy defender, with a very good stick and high IQ. His strength and skating are issues but he has big upside.” Matthew Knies, LW, Tri-City-USHL: Knies had a great underage season in the USHL. He didn’t score as much as expected this season, but he ended the campaign on a tear. “He’s a north-south forward without much east-west in his game. He can score goals, has very good hands, at his best when he keeps things simple.” 1190244 Websites nights to everything,” Corey Perry said. “And now, yeah, you’re right, we are potentially going into a hurricane.

“Dom said it right: We’re a crazy bunch of people. This is fun to do it here Sportsnet.ca / Canadiens dream big in eye of a storm: ‘We’re a bunch of in Montreal, to have the city behind us, to be one of the last two teams crazy guys in here’ standing. You know, this is what you dream of as a kid.” Sean Reynolds and Eric Engels discuss what Montreal needs to continue You can’t write this stuff. But, go ahead: Dream it. to do after forcing Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final back in Tampa on One-Timers Wednesday night. • Ducharme stopped short of guaranteeing he’ll roll with the same lineup

in Game 5 as the one that extended his season Monday night, but bet on Luke Fox Jake Evans (one assist, two hits, drew a penalty on Brayden Point), Alexander Romanov (first playoff goal) and Brett Kulak sticking. “Obviously, those guys did a good job. There’s a good chance we’re going back with the same lineup,” Ducharme said. MONTREAL – These are crazy people playing a crazy game under crazy circumstances flying into crazy weather in an attempt to pull off the Alexander Romanov (21 years, 180 days old) craziest upset of all. Youngest defenceman in Canadiens history to score a goal in the Consider, for a minute, the gauntlet these Montreal Canadiens have run, Stanley Cup Final#GoHabsGo the odds they’ve bucked to claw within a three-game winning streak of winning it all. — Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) July 6, 2021 As the 18th-placed regular-season team, they only barely qualified for the • Injured Alex Killorn took part in Tampa’s warmup skate Monday but has post-season, finishing with a negative goal differential (minus-9) and two yet to see game action since blocking a Jeff Petry blast with his left foot fewer wins than a non-playoff squad in their own division (Calgary). in Game 1. Asked for the umpteenth time if Killorn could dress for Game 5, coach Jon Cooper invoked the great Lloyd Christmas. They fired one coach and lost another to a two-week quarantine at the most important time of year. Their interim needed an interim. “There’s always a chance,” Cooper said. “Always a chance. What’s that movie? ‘You’re saying there’s a chance?’ Dumb and Dumber? Yeah, Their heart (Brendan Gallagher) and soul (Carey Price) were injured right there’s a chance he plays. But a lot of it’s going to be up to Killer and how up until Game 1 of the playoffs. Their top two defencemen have played a he feels, and so we’ll see tomorrow.” long stretch with one good hand between them. • With Shea Weber in the box serving his double minor, nasty penalty One of their most celebrated (and criticized) hometown stars, Jonathan killers Ben Chiarot and Joel Edmundson played the first 3:20 of overtime Drouin, left the scene after 44 games and two goals for personal in Game 4 — thanks in part to Cooper’s calling a timeout and reasons. unintentionally giving them a breath. Their leading scorer from 2019-20, Tomas Tatar, is working on a sixth “They’re just beasts,” Evans said. “Those two guys, you don’t want to be consecutive week of healthy scratches and will likely never wear bleu, in front of the net with them. You don’t want to be anywhere near them. I blanc et rouge again. wouldn’t want to be battling against them. They’ve just been really tough to play against.” And in the midst of a virus smashing their schedule into a 63-games-in- 137-days marathon, they’ve somehow survived a 3-1 series deficit to • The longer the series goes, the more certain we are that Nikita Toronto and a 1-0 hole to Vegas. Kucherov wins the Conn Smythe. It is helpful to remind yourself of where these Canadiens have been to Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 07.07.2021 understand their unflustered response to where they’re going Tuesday: a private jet into the eye of Tropical Storm Elsa, set to knock Tampa with severe gales, heavy rainfall and flash flooding. “Backs against the wall, wind in our face,” Phillip Danault said. Danault was talking about hockey, but with the metaphorical turning literal, coach Dominique Ducharme is shrugging it off like a guy who won’t bother packing an umbrella for Game 5. “Yeah, it’s no surprise anymore. I think anything that happens right now and for a while, we just take it and look at it, and say it’s probably part of our destiny,” Ducharme said Tuesday morning. “It’s been crazy. But we’re a crazy bunch of guys in here, and we’re going to take that challenge.” Meeting that challenge will require a recipe similar to the one Montreal followed on Monday: punishing physical play on Tampa’s star forwards, superb penalty killing, scoring the first goal, and Carey Price acting like it’s gold, not silver, on the line. Do all that and, hey, maybe we’ll see Tampa mayor Jane Castor wishing for the Lightning to lose Game 6 at Bell Centre so they can win the Stanley Cup at home in Game 7. “You never know,” Montreal icon Guy Lafleur told Ron MacLean Monday night. “The confidence builds up, and you never know what’s going to happen.” One win is enough to save face, but not enough to plant doubt in a champion like the Lightning. But two wins? That’s another story. “A victory in Tampa could have this effect even more,” Ducharme said. “We want to come back to play at the Bell Centre for one last game.” Yet in a Canadiens season when the unthinkable has become commonplace, stealing a game in Tampa seems perfectly within reason at this point. “This whole season has been kind of chaotic, kind of hectic. We’ve kind of gone through everything, between COVID, the way we played some 1190245 Websites A post shared by Dan Milstein – Дэн Мильштейн (@dmilstein75) Without prompting, Lightning coach Jon Cooper tossed Ryan

McDonagh’s name into the Conn Smythe Trophy conversation on Sportsnet.ca / Kucherov, Vasilevskiy just two of Lightning’s many Conn Tuesday morning. He acknowledged that it won’t be an easy decision for Smythe candidates select members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association, who are required to lock in their top three choices by the 10-minute mark of the Shawn McKenzie and Chris Johnston get you set for Game 5 of the Cup third period in every potential elimination game. Final, where Montreal now has a sliver of hope, but the Lightning have shown just how desired and focused they can be by not losing two in a “Last year it could have been Vasy, Pointer, Kuch, Hedman, a bunch of row this entire playoffs. guys. And this year I feel the same way,” said Cooper. “Everybody’s chipped in. Vasy’s been outstanding. You can go up and down our ‘D corps’ guys, guys that have made an impact and the forwards. Kuch for the way — oh gosh, he didn’t even play in the regular season and the Chris Johnston performance he’s putting on in the playoffs. Pointer and his goal streak. “And then you look at anybody on the [Yanni] Gourde line. Guys have TAMPA, Fla. — They’ve been dominating tournaments together for more stepped up and had their moments, but you can’t win without that.” than a decade. With the Lightning one win away from a second straight championship, So as the Tampa Bay Lightning raced home Tuesday morning to beat here’s a closer look at the Conn Smythe credentials of the top Hurricane Elsa and prepare for another shot at closing out the Stanley contenders: Cup, it did not rank as a major surprise that Nikita Kucherov and Andrei Nikita Kucherov Vasilevskiy were considered Conn Smythe co-favourites while they did it. There’s the league-leading 32 points and league-leading 24 assists, but Except: The two men, born 403 days and nearly 3,000 kilometres apart in there’s also historical significance to this offensive explosion. Kucherov’s Russia, are not always front and centre on a team featuring more stars points per game rate of 1.45 would rank eighth all-time among players than anyone else. They finished third (Kucherov) and fourth (Vasilevskiy) with at least 20 games played in a post-season and the others to do it are in voting for playoff MVP last year despite similarly stellar individual runs. all Hall of Famers: Wayne Gretzky, twice; ; Doug Gilmour; Recognition comes and goes even if the performance remains steady. Joe Sakic; Brian Leetch; and Malkin. When first they were teammates, Kucherov led the 2011 under-18 world Andrei Vasilevskiy championships in scoring while Vasilevskiy posted the best save You’ve got a 15-7 record, .935 save percentage and four shutouts — percentage. Russia claimed bronze at the event, beating Canada 6-4 three of them in series-clinching games, which strengthens the narrative. after losing to Sweden in the semis, and Kucherov was recognized as the He’s also faced more shots than any other goaltender this post-season tournament’s top forward. (677 to Price’s 643) and been rock solid while playing every minute “He was always special, always super skilled,” said Vasilevskiy. “It’s during Tampa’s playoff run for the second straight year. Another shutout funny, a lot of the experts and the fake coaches didn’t really believe in to clinch the Cup could tilt the voting his way. him and they’re saying he’ll never be a big star and all of that stuff. But in Brayden Point the end, he’s a great player and one of the best in the NHL. He’s super smart, super skilled, a hard worker. Never satisfied. The production has dried up during the Stanley Cup Final, but he’s had a dynamite playoff. Point’s nine-game goal streak was one shy of matching “Even after scoring like four or five points, he’s never satisfied, he wants Reggie Leach’s NHL record, and his 14 total goals are six more than to score six or seven points a game. Just a classic Kuch. Always trying to anyone else has scored. Cooper credited Point for sparking this playoff get better and just pushing himself in the game and practice. run with the two late goals he had in Game 1 against Florida to get the “That’s what makes him the best in the world.” Lightning going with an exciting comeback victory. View this post on Instagram Victor Hedman A post shared by Nikita Kucherov (@nikitakucherov86) It’s been a more understated run for last year’s Conn Smythe winner, who has once again played more minutes than any of his teammates Whether they play one, two or three more games in this Stanley Cup during these playoffs. Hedman had a hot stick with 10 goals inside the Final, he’s virtually assured of leading the playoff scoring race for a bubble last year and is clipping along with an impressive .82 points per second straight year. Kucherov has twice as many points as Nick Suzuki, game this time around. He’s a heartbeat player for the Lightning. Another Montreal’s leading point producer, and he’s nine up on teammate Cup will help solidify his claim to being the best defenceman of this Brayden Point entering Wednesday’s game. generation. Vasilevskiy has been similarly dominant with shutouts in all three of Ryan McDonagh Tampa’s series-clinching games so far. He’s allowed six fewer goals this post-season than Canadiens counterpart Carey Price and has posted a Admittedly the longest of long shots, but after getting some shine from league-best .935 save percentage in the process. Cooper, why not? This has been a turn-back-the-clock playoff for McDonagh, who is second to Hedman in average time on ice (22:48) for He’s widely considered the NHL’s best goaltender at this stage and the Lightning and has seen more defensive zone starts than any of the appeared destined for greatness since before Tampa drafted him with team’s blue-liners. Despite that, Tampa has a 26-12 edge in goals during the 19th overall pick in 2012. his minutes at 5-on-5. “His work ethic is on a different level. His compete level is as high as it Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 07.07.2021 can be,” Kucherov said of Vasilevskiy. “He works all the time on his skill, he’s always in the gym first. Always there before and after practice, working on something that’s going to make him better. And he doesn’t surprise me. “I remember him when he was 16. He was always the guy that cares about the game and wants to be better and he wants to be No. 1. “And, as we can see, he is.” Should the Lightning close out this series in front of their home crowd at Amalie Arena, it’s almost certain that one of those men becomes the third Russian to claim the Conn Smythe, following Evgeni Malkin in 2009 and Alex Ovechkin in 2018. It would help illustrate what makes this team special: Victor Hedman narrowly edged out Point for the honour last year. And here we are with two different men, and longtime friends, splitting votes now. View this post on Instagram 1190246 Websites Talbot is still the veteran option in net, 24-year-old Kaapo Kahkonen is the likely long-term pick at the position.

Eriksson Ek is a centre who will slot on either line one or two, but after Sportsnet.ca / Jack Eichel trade destinations: Seven potential suitors for him there isn’t a real solid second pivot. Add Eichel here and the Wild the star centre might really accelerate things. During a Wednesday press conference, Buffalo Sabres GM Kevyn It’s already shaping up to be a really tough off-season for Wild GM Bill Adams directly addressed the comments made by Jack Eichel about his Guerin. The looming expansion draft once again has them facing down injury and potential future with the team. the prospect of losing a good player, and Matt Dumba’s name is the one to watch once more. They have an estimated $16.8 million in cap space per Cap Friendly and that’s with eight forwards, five defencemen and two goalies, and without new deals for Kaprizov or Kevin Fiala yet. Those two Rory Boylen alone will take them close to that number. Four blue-liners and three defencemen on this team already make over The Montreal Canadiens are in the Stanley Cup Final mainly due to their $5 million, and Fiala and Kaprizov could expand that list further. Still, commitment to a stifling defence, having one of the world’s best goalies there is a clear desire to add a centre and while Eichel’s $10 million cap in net and, sure, some luck along the way. But would they still have done hit is hefty, they could make the money work if someone like Dumba is this without Nick Suzuki being acquired in trade and quickly developing involved. into a dangerous centre? Or without Phillip Danault becoming a yearly Acquiring Eichel could also help the Wild long-term with Kaprizov. From Selke candidate? Would their long-term outlook be as rosy without Michael Russo of The Athletic last month: Jesperi Kotkaniemi down the middle and Ryan Poehling still pushing? What I hear from folks close to Kaprizov: Until Guerin shows Kaprizov a The Tampa Bay Lightning are on the cusp of back-to-back Stanley Cup clear plan to upgrade the middle of the ice and perhaps even begins to wins for many reasons, and having Brayden Point-Anthony Cirelli-Yanni execute the plan, I just don’t see Kaprizov wanting to commit that length Gourde as their top three centres is one of them. of his life and career to a place where, with all due respect, he has no Centre is a necessary strength to be successful in the NHL. You need allegiances, no ties. Sure, the grass isn’t always greener elsewhere, but I goaltending, but it’s also a position you can try and save a little money at think Guerin is going to have to sell Kaprizov on his plan this off-season and one can unpredictably get hot for a period and carry a team longer to get him to commit even as much as five or six years of his life. than it otherwise could go. You need a good blue line, too, but there you The trick would be to move the money necessary to be able to fit Eichel’s can mix in size, focus on your top four in key moments and generally contract at all, and also balance that with giving Buffalo a package it aren’t spending big outside of maybe one player. would be satisfied moving Eichel for. That means something much If your centres run deep, you can be a success. If it’s a weakness, well, younger than Dumba and it’s not clear who Guerin would be willing to you’re running uphill. move from that potential group. If the Wild don’t pay up for Eichel, perhaps they look to upgrade their centre position by shooting a little That’s why the position is so coveted around the league and once a team lower at Eichel’s teammate Sam Reinhart. gets its hands on an elite, top-line pivot it tends to not to let them go. We’ll see depth centres moved quite a bit. The New York Islanders’ Possible assets to use in trade: Jordan Greenway, Kevin Fiala, Matt acquisition of J-G Pageau last year was an upper-echelon third-liner on Dumba, Marco Rossi, Minnesota 2021 first-rounder, Pittsburgh 2021 first- the go. Vincent Trocheck to the Carolina Hurricanes was a notable trade rounder because he’s a second-line pivot — and though he was struggling at the Los Angeles Kings time of the deal, he bounced back terrifically with 43 points in 47 games. The Nazem Kadri trade in 2019 was another centre of note on the move. The Los Angeles Kings acquired Viktor Arvidsson last week, which gives them two good options on the right side and an upside player who went But when was the last time a franchise centre was traded in his prime? three years in a row of being one of the best 5-on-5 snipers in the game Matt Duchene is the closest in any recent year but, of course, we until injuries slowed him the past two seasons. He’s on a value contract, wouldn’t label him a franchise centre right now. too, so could the Kings now be motivated to swing a little bigger and take So when Jack Eichel becomes available in trade, you have to make the on more money for someone like Eichel? attempt to bring him in. He’s still just 24 with five years remaining on his With divisions likely to settle back to their old alignments, Los Angeles contract. Since entering the league in 2015-16, Eichel’s 0.95 points per will be returning to a Pacific Division next season that is wide open. game ranks 22nd in the NHL — since his breakout 2017-18 his 1.04 Outside of the Vegas Golden Knights and probably the Edmonton Oilers, points per game rate is 18th. every other team has questions to overcome and certainly won’t be Now, there is some risk here. A $10-million cap hit is no small thing when considered playoff locks. This is where the Kings could push some of the upper limit is staying flat. You’d normally happily swallow that for a their chips into the middle and really start thinking about accelerating the player of Eichel’s talent, but he’s also dealing with a neck injury and a rebuild. reason why there’s been a fall out with the Buffalo Sabres is that the Anze Kopitar is Los Angeles’ top-line centre. Quinton Byfield was last team wants to approach it through rest and rehabilitation, while the player year’s No. 2 overall choice and a future big-league centre, as is Alex wants a surgery that’s never been done on an NHL player before. Any Turcotte who the Kings chose fifth overall in 2019. Gabriel Vilardi is a 21- team trying to pick up Eichel will first need to know the full picture around year-old centre who just spent the whole season with the Kings. So, you his health. might ask, why would Los Angeles need to make a big trade for another Regardless, he’s a sought-after player, and as the Stanley Cup Final centre? It’s a fair question. creeps toward its end, we appear to be getting closer to a resolution and For one, adding Eichel would give the Kings an already proven stud a likely new home for Eichel. centre to still have when Kopitar’s contract expires in three years and “We have definitely been communicating with the team and we are he’s 36 years old. Eichel would still be 28 at that time. Vilardi and Byfield heading toward a resolution,” Eichel’s agent told The Athletic. may already give the Kings that cushion, but as long as Eichel is healthy you already know for a fact he’s at that level. The other reason is Eichel “Our stance hasn’t changed,” Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams would put the Kings on track to at least compete again and perhaps give said. “It’s in the hands of the medical experts.” Kopitar, Drew Doughty and Dustin Brown another window to push for a Cup in the near future. He maybe gives you a little more time to develop With that, here are seven teams believed to be in the running for Eichel the young centres, too. and what sort of players and other assets they might be able to put on the table. The Kings would have the pieces Buffalo would be after. They could, after all, move one of those young centres to a Sabres team that wants Minnesota Wild some replacement at the position. They have another high pick (eighth The Wild took an impressive step up this season, thanks in no small part overall) this season and have made nine selections in the first- or to Kirill Kaprizov’s Calder Trophy-winning season. Now, how do they second-round over the past three years. They have a lot of prospects improve from here? and picks, so the question becomes if Eichel is the primary target or will the Kings instead look to the defence market and instead swing big on a Sure, some of that will come from internal growth. Kaprizov will still get Seth Jones type? better. Joel Eriksson Ek re-upped for eight years and will be a key two- way presence for them. The defence remains a strength and while Cam Possible assets to use in trade: Alex Turcotte, Quinton Byfield, Gabriel Vilardi, Arthur Kaliyev, Rasmus Kupari, Los Angeles 2021 first-rounder Columbus Blue Jackets going back to the Metropolitan Division, New York would be looking at teams like the Washington Capitals, Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston The likelihood of the Columbus Blue Jackets being Eichel’s landing spot Bruins with their closing windows and off-season questions of their own seem to be fading and there are a number of reasons why. First, if and think Eichel could help them blow the door off the hinges. Buffalo needs a stud centre prospect or player in return for their captain they won’t find one in Columbus. Second is the Blue Jackets are a team Possible assets to use in trade: Pavel Buchnevich, Ryan Strome, Kaapo that a few high-profile players have looked to move on from before, so it’s Kakko, Filip Chytil, Braden Schneider, Vitali Kravtsov, Alexis Lafreniere, reasonable to wonder if Eichel would be content there for the next five Alexandar Georgiev, New York 2021 first-rounder (15th overall) years, with a no-movement clause kicking in for 2022-23. And third, Columbus is re-tooling, rebuilding, reloading — whatever you want to call Vegas Golden Knights it — and so moving a bunch of futures for a top-line centre to help now All right, it’s time to get crazy. may be too pricey considering its situation. This can’t possibly happen, can it? Then again, Eichel is only 24 and signed long-term. Well, anything is possible. However, it is exceedingly difficult to see how What acquiring Eichel would accomplish, though, is upgrading an area the Golden Knights could swing this and stay under the cap. They had to that sorely needs it. Having Cam Atkinson, Oliver Bjorkstrand and Patrik play with a short bench at times this season because they couldn’t stay Laine on the wings is great, but centre was a real issue for Columbus this cap compliant — that was partially due to the complications of getting season and none of the options it tried was a home run on the top unit. In aggressive last off-season and adding Alex Pietrangelo in free agency, Eichel they’d at least have that cornerstone piece. which led to other sell-off trades. The Blue Jackets could offer Buffalo a goalie and go from there. Could Vegas has $6 million in estimated cap space and, in a perfect world, Laine be an option? He brings explosive goal scoring upside after a would like to bring back UFA defenceman Alec Martinez. That means the miserable campaign, but he’s an RFA who is just one more season away Golden Knights would have to shed salary in a deal with Buffalo, but also from being UFA eligible. Is he going to want to stick around Buffalo? Or probably force them into a spot where they’d have to trade one of their will they find themselves having to flip him again in short order? goalies in a separate move and stop spending $12 million on the Eichel in Columbus is a nice idea and, if healthy, he’d give them security position. Vezina winner Marc-Andre Fleury would make the most sense at a key position. But perhaps this team should be shooting a little lower to part with because of his age, but owner Bill Foley has always been for a centre target who wouldn’t have to blow up their prospects and against that approach. picks picture to acquire. It’s just that Vegas is always in on the biggest available players and have Possible assets to use in trade: Elvis Merzlikins, Patrik Laine, Alexandre, faced tight cap crunches when making these moves before. It always Texier, Liam Foudy, Yegor Chinakhov, Columbus 2021 first-rounder (fifth finds a way around it. And it’s not only being connected to Eichel overall), Toronto 2021 first-rounder because he’s another fancy name, but Vegas has a clear need for a No. 1 star centre. It’s the only thing it lacks and, after another disappointing Anaheim Ducks playoff exit, could give GM Kelly McCrimmon an itchy trade finger. The Golden Knights have some pieces that may entice Buffalo too, so until Similar to the Kings, the Anaheim Ducks have spent some time they are officially out of the Eichel sweepstakes they’re certainly included rebuilding in the wilderness and might consider cashing in some assets on a list like this. to give them a kick heading back to the Pacific Division — and to keep Eichel away from their in-state rivals. The Ducks still have a decent blue Possible assets to use in trade: Shea Theodore, William Karlsson, Cody line and John Gibson has you feeling good about your situation in net Glass, Peyton Krebs, Vegas 2021 and 2022 first-rounder when he’s healthy, but they have finished last in offence two of the past three seasons and with Ryan Getzlaf in decline, Eichel would be the Philadelphia Flyers bridge toward brighter days again. It was a frustrating and disappointing year for the Philadephia Flyers, They could have the sort of return Buffalo would be after, too. The Ducks who missed out on the playoffs, and now it’ll be a defining off-season for have made eight picks in the first two rounds over the past three years GM Chuck Fletcher. Setting up to be one of the more active front offices, and have a number of forwards who are 24 years old or younger that Fletcher and the Flyers are tied to any big name, including Eichel and might be attractive to the Sabres. They also could move a centre, Seth Jones. Anything could be on the table. whether it’s a young one like Trevor Zegras as a centrepiece for a deal And the Flyers could even have the pieces to pull it off, depending on (probably unlikely) or a more veteran type who is part of a bigger trade to how drastically they’re willing to change things. Eichel, at least, would make the money work for Anaheim and also give the Sabres a usable present them with a new superstar centre to move into another era with player in return (like Adam Henrique). and, like the Rangers above, may give Philadelphia a necessary shot in The Ducks and Kings are very similar in this space — do either see the arm as some of the older teams in the Metro Division begin to age themselves in position to get bold? out a bit. Possible assets to use in trade: Trevor Zegras, Max Comtois, Rickard Philadelphia has $13 million in estimated cap space and still have to sign Rakell, Adam Henrique, Troy Terry, Sam Steel, Max Jones, Jacob two goalies (including RFA Carter Hart) a defenceman (RFA Travis Perreault, Brayden Tracey, Isac Lundestrom, Anaheim 2021 first-rounder Sanheim), and though this calculation accounts for 12 forwards, Nolan (third overall) Patrick is an RFA, too. In a year from now, Claude Giroux and Sean Couturier will be UFA eligible and breakout youngster Joel Farabee will New York Rangers be an RFA, so picking up Eichel now may force a final decision on either of those vets. Though the Sabres would prefer Eichel go to the Western Conference so they don’t have to see him so often, if the best offers come from the East But the fact is, this Flyers team has been in and out of the playoffs for so it’ll be hard to pass them up considering what’s at stake. The Rangers, long that a new direction of sorts might be necessary. Eichel would be a eager to take a promising season forward again and load up their roster good start. with more firepower, make for an intriguing possibility. Possible assets to use in trade: Nolan Patrick, Philippe Myers, Travis The Rangers have made huge additions in recent seasons, from Artemi Konecny, Tyson Foerster, Cam York, Morgan Frost, Philadelphia 2021 Panarin and Jacob Trouba, to the ones that fell into their laps like Adam first-rounder (13th overall). Fox and Alexis Lafreniere. They re-signed Chris Kreider rather than trade him two years ago. Some young players have come along, they’ve Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 07.07.2021 picked in the first round eight times in the past four years, and now might be the time to use some of those assets. New York has an estimated $23.775 million in cap space, but still hasn’t signed Pavel Buchnevich, Filip Chytil or Igor Shesterkin. The Rangers should be able to fit Eichel in under this picture for next season, but in 2022 Mika Zibanejad will be a UFA and Adam Fox an RFA. After that it’s Lafreniere’s turn and K’Andre Miller will have had two years to earn his own big contract. Worry about that later and get the best player now might be the approach here though. With Zibanejad and Eichel, the Rangers would have a heck of a top-two centre lineup. The time to do it might be just right, too — 1190247 Websites There should be a baseline expectation that performance is going to dwindle. The question is how much you are willing to pay for those great years up front, and how much you can insulate yourself in the event a contract goes sideways. TSN.CA / Examining the life of a max-term contract TSN.CA LOADED: 07.07.2021 With RNH and Joel Eriksson Ek signing eight-year contracts, Travis Yost asks a critical question organizations must answer when considering these deals: What type of performance degradation can be reasonably expected over the course of them?

By Travis Yost

In the last month, two players have signed max-term contracts with their respective teams. The Edmonton Oilers landed Ryan Nugent-Hopkins at eight years, $41 million in June and the Minnesota Wild locked in Joel Eriksson Ek on an eight-year, $42 million contract over the weekend. I found this particularly interesting, as they were the first two max-term contracts to be signed during the global pandemic. Before the pandemic struck, max-term contracts were very much in style, with organizations increasingly acknowledging the importance of long-term retention after drafting and developing a player. From 2016-19, we saw 33 skaters sign eight-year deals – a sharp uptick in risk absorbed by front offices relative to years past: Organizations rarely want to go this long on skaters; more so in the pandemic era, where expectations for increases to the salary cap are expected to be muted for quite some time. There are two exceptions to this rule, historically speaking. The first is when an opportunity to sign a true superstar manifests itself – in these cases, you are prepared to throw a bag of money at a player for as long as practically possible. The second is when a front office thinks it can trade term for smoothing down a cap hit. Edmonton’s deal for Nugent-Hopkins is a great example of this – a quality player the team could ill-afford to lose, but also a player the team couldn’t sign for a large annual cap hit due to their current cap situation. Perhaps the most critical question an organization must answer when considering this deal: what type of performance degradation can be reasonably expected over the life of the deal. There are a considerable amount of variables that can alter the math – a player’s core skill set, durability and age at the time of the signing always factor in. But the reality is that in most situations, performance is dwindling on the second- half of the contract. More than thirty eight-year deals have been signed and have advanced into the back half of the deal at this point (2007-21) – the boxplot below shows at a macro-level how much performance can deteriorate. (Note: I’m using Goals Above Replacement as my proxy for performance, but other statistical measurements show similar downward trends) Just glancing at the graph, that’s considerable downward momentum in the second-half of the contracts. If we take the average performance by year in these long-term deals and measure it against average performance of the same group from the time they signed their contract, you see degradation north of 50 per cent by the time the contract is heading towards expiration: No two contracts are the same, but that sort of trend is what general managers have to factor in when going long on a player. It’s not that degradation isn’t expected – it’s more so how to reflect that appropriate in a contract, ensuring a team’s salary cap situation is managed and an aging player isn’t anchoring roster performance at the tail end of his deal. Case in point: let’s take a look at a handful of long-term contracts signed many moons ago and how they have fared over time. Duncan Keith (Chicago), Zach Parise (Minnesota) and Shea Weber (Nashville) all signed long-term deals – Keith’s deal was in the middle of a season, the other two signed in off-seasons. None of these contracts, expectedly, are healthy on a team’s books right now. Yet all three were among the top- five or so players at their respective positions when those contracts were signed. I also overlaid a contract that has held up quite better than most, and that’s Patrice Bergeron in Boston. Even with Bergeron (whose record really is without blemish), consider the slope year-over-year: Long-term contracts aren’t going away. They provide ample security for both players and the club. But how those contracts end up creating value is entirely contingent on what front offices can stomach in terms of capital outlay from the onset of the contract, and how well they insulate the deal in order to avoid future salary cap quagmires.