SPORT-SCAN DAILY BRIEF NHL 06/08/19 Anaheim Ducks Chicago Blackhawks 1146275 Ducks head-coaching candidates each have pros and 1146310 Former Blackhawks forward Jurco helping Charlotte close cons in on Calder Cup title 1146311 Powers: What I’m hearing about the Blackhawks this Arizona Coyotes offseason 1146276 NHL officiating mistakes have been embarrassing, and the Boston Bruins are latest victims Colorado Avalanche 1146277 Arizona Coyotes sign defenseman Robbie Russo to 1146312 The Colorado Eagles aren’t giving the Kelly Cup back to 1-year deal the ECHL thanks to a million-dollar dispute of “integr Boston Bruins Columbus Blue Jackets 1146278 Calls (or non-calls) in NHL playoffs? It’s officially a mess 1146313 A conversation with Jarmo Kekalainen: Blue Jackets GM 1146279 Bruins look forward, insist that Game 5 is behind them looks to plug holes, mitigate free-agent losses 1146280 Blues center Ivan Barbashev suspended one game for hit on Marcus Johansson Detroit Red Wings 1146281 Stanley Cup Today: Will the Bruins watch a celebration in 1146314 Red Wings draft prospect: Kirby Dach big, right-shooting St. Louis, or force Game 7? center who controls play 1146282 Game 5 was frustrating on many levels, but the Bruins can 1146315 Q&A: ‘The Russian Five’ director and producer on the come back from this legacy and lessons of the film 1146283 Who is Kelly Sutherland, the referee at the center of the Game 5 controversy? Edmonton Oilers 1146284 Series deficit about more than officials, but Game 5 was a 1146316 Oilers want Chiasson back, but at what price? crime 1146317 How will Ken Holland build around Connor McDavid? 1146285 Players and coaches had plenty to say about the controversial non-call in Game 5 Florida Panthers 1146286 Barbashev suspended one game for hit on Johansson 1146318 NHL Draft memories: Jonathan Huberdeau hoped to go to 1146287 Blues land in St. Louis, they hope for the final time Panthers, wants to stay with them now 1146288 Noel Acciari despondent over non-call in Bruins loss to Blues Los Angeles Kings 1146289 Bruins’ Bruce Cassidy not planning a ‘Win-one-for-Butchy’ 1146319 Alec Martinez on Kings’ culture drop-off: ‘The entitlement speech thing is a valid point’ 1146290 Stewing over slewing, Bruins have motivation brewing 1146291 Blues' Ivan Barbashev suspended one game for hit on Montreal Canadiens Bruins' Marcus Johansson 1146320 What the Puck: Habs should go hard to land Erik Karlsson 1146292 Cassidy on Game 5 aftermath: 'Today is a new day. We're 1146321 Hitting the ice with Victor Mete as he attempts to moving forward' weaponize his shot this summer 1146293 Bruins say return of Zdeno Chara was 'inspirational for us' despite loss New Jersey Devils 1146294 These Blues stats don't bode well for the Bruins chances 1146322 What history and draft boards tell us about the Devils’ of winning the Cup many options with the No. 34 pick 1146295 St. Louis newspaper trolls Bruins with headline after loss 1146296 Blues' Ivan Barbashev to have NHL hearing for Marcus New York Rangers Johansson hit 1146323 ‘Just play him honest’: 25 years later, Mike Richter and 1146297 Noel Acciari, Tyler Bozak had very different accounts of others reflect on ‘The Save’ Game 5 non-call 1146298 Focus is on poor officiating in these Cup playoffs, and NHL that's bad news 1146324 For Seattle NHL owner Mitch Garber, it’s always been 1146299 NHL's statement on refs' blatant Game 5 no-call won't sports first satisfy Bruins 1146300 This is no way to chase the Stanley Cup: Bruins must Pittsburgh Penguins cash in on chances vs. Jordan Binnington 1146325 As clincher grows closer, Stanley Cup ratings rise in 1146301 ‘This is a tripping penalty missed’: Ex-official Bryan Lewis Pittsburgh market on another non-call that puts the refs under scru 1146326 First Call: Penguins trade chip besides Phil Kessel?; 1146302 Bourne: Seven thoughts about the final with the Blues just blown call stings Bruins one win away from their first Stanley Cup 1146303 A day later, Bruce Cassidy focused on rebuilding San Jose Sharks confidence of Noel Acciari, Bruins 1146327 Sharks' Evander Kane reveals tattoo honoring his child 1146304 Duhatschek Notebook: What if NHL GMs played the white lost in pregnancy elephant gift exchange with bad contracts? 1146305 DGB Grab Bag: Keys to victory for Blues and Bruins, stolen trophies and when players gave real interviews Buffalo Sabres 1146306 When it comes to Jeff Skinner, Jason Botterill had to make a deal 1146307 Jeff Skinner signs 8-year, $72M contract to return to the Sabres 1146308 Jeff Skinner earned his big contract — and the Sabres’ situation compelled it Calgary Flames 1146309 A season in the life of an amateur scout: How the Flames decide on a late-round pick like Dmitry Zavgorodniy St Louis Blues Winnipeg Jets 1146328 Updated: Armstrong calls Barbashev suspension 1146350 Jets can be strong, and cap-compliant "excessive" 1146351 Foundations of a championship: The unique story of how 1146329 What a trip! Blues on the brink of winning franchise's first the ‘79 Avco Cup-winning Jets came to be Stanley Cup SPORT-SCAN, INC. 941-284-4129 1146330 'Embarrassing ... egregious ... a black eye': Bruins not happy with non-call 1146331 BenFred: Binnington's dominance, not Bozak's missed trip, defined Game 5 1146332 Media Views: Joey Vitale has rollicking rookie year as Blues broadcaster 1146333 Hochman: Long-suffering Blues fans, like Federko, are close to a glorious finish 1146334 Stanley Cup notebook: Chara plays through pain; Backes a healthy scratch 1146335 Small bet on Blues (at 300-1 odds) could pay off big for two St. Louisans 1146336 One win away! Blues beat the Bruins 2-1 in Game 5 1146337 BenFred: Blues salute Bruins captain Chara as hockey celebrates another rushed return 1146338 ‘This is a tripping penalty missed’: Ex-official Bryan Lewis on another non-call that puts the refs under scru 1146339 Bourne: Seven thoughts about the final with the Blues just one win away from their first Stanley Cup 1146340 LeBrun: Who would be the Blues’ Conn Smythe winner? Wayne Gretzky and others weigh in on a tight race 1146341 Duhatschek Notebook: What if NHL GMs played the white elephant gift exchange with bad contracts? 1146342 DGB Grab Bag: Keys to victory for Blues and Bruins, stolen trophies and when players gave real interviews 1146343 Was that Jordan Binnington’s best game? A teammate says yes, but the rookie doesn’t ‘keep tabs’ Tampa Bay Lightning 1146344 On this day, Lightning created indelible memories Toronto Maple Leafs 1146345 Maple Leafs' Patrick Marleau puts Toronto home on sales block 1146346 How the Leafs acquired Justin Brazeau, a big kid from a small town with huge plans Vancouver Canucks 1146352 Patrick Johnston: Canucks would be wise to chase Jake Gardiner, but is he done with Canada? Washington Capitals 1146347 Caps players celebrate one-year anniversary of Stanley Cup Championship 1146348 One year later, remembering the culmination of a lifetime of Capitals fandom 1146349 On Stanley Cup anniversary, a behind-the-scenes look back at Caps’ memorable night in Vegas Websites 1146353 The Athletic / Where did the Kelly Cup go? It’s a matter of dollars and sense 1146354 The Athletic / Mirtle: Ranking all 31 NHL team’s salary-cap situations, from best to worst 1146355 The Athletic / DGB Grab Bag: Keys to victory for Blues and Bruins, stolen trophies and when players gave real 1146356 The Athletic / What to expect by drafting forward Vasili Podkolzin 1146357 The Athletic / Hitting the ice with Victor Mete as he attempts to weaponize his shot this summer 1146358 Sportsnet.ca / A look at the most controversial calls of the Stanley Cup Playoffs 1146359 Sportsnet.ca / Zach Sanford’s dad seeing his best hockey: ‘He’s pretty psyched up there’ 1146360 Sportsnet.ca / Tyler Bozak non-call latest ‘black eye’ for NHL officiating 1146361 TSN.CA / Cassidy shifts focus from blown call back to Bruins 1146275 Anaheim Ducks Birthplace: Dade City, Florida
Pro: Seen as a likely front-runner, Eakins is effectively the in-house candidate as he has helmed the Ducks’ American Hockey League Ducks head-coaching candidates each have pros and cons affiliate in San Diego for the last four seasons. This season he guided the Gulls to a third playoff appearance in that span and led them on a run to the Western Conference final — all the more impressive given an ever- Eric Stephens changing roster over the course of the season because of multiple Ducks injuries and Murray’s wish to see some of their top prospects at the end Jun 7, 2019 of Anaheim’s season. Part of the reason why they were prospects worthy of ice time was their development under Eakins. He iced one of the AHL’s better offensive squads in 2018-19, and some of the Gulls’ young The candidates have been revealed. Well, those that we know – it is talent that could be with Anaheim next season flourished under his believed there were more. attacking, puck-forward style. His interview with Murray on Wednesday was believed to have gone well. Now when will the Ducks reveal who their choice is? Con: Seems to be the right choice, but is he too much of the safe choice? Bob Murray has not been in a rush to select his next head coach, but he Murray didn’t have him take over for Randy Carlyle in February and did ramp up the interview process this week. Some names are more seems determined to put other candidates under consideration even with known than others, but the next bench boss isn’t expected to have the reports of owners Henry and Susan Samueli – who dropped into San kind of extensive NHL resumes that other big-name, big-money coaches Diego at times during its playoff run – wanting Eakins to be the choice. have in taking other available openings. There is the bad experience as Edmonton’s head coach, though Eakins After all, the Ducks are no longer in the position of needing to get over has taken ownership of his mistakes with the Oilers. But does that still the hump. They are not in a teardown, but they are now a franchise in linger? He didn’t get the Arizona job that went to Rick Tocchet. Would transition. One that must start the process of making significant changes Murray want more of an outside voice this time around? in personnel and hope it is good enough to start another arc of playoff Lane Lambert contention. Age: 54 The next coach will be entrusted with coaxing the best from a blend of aging veterans, a younger core that underperformed last season and a Birthplace: Swift Current, Saskatchewan group of promising newcomers looking to become regular contributors. That coach won’t be burdened with high expectations right away, but he Pro: If there is need for a culture change in Anaheim, turning to someone will be charged with getting measurable improvement off last season’s who has worked extensively with Barry Trotz across three NHL teams disastrous plummet toward the bottom of the Western Conference. and had success at each stop isn’t a bad way to go. Lambert moved with Trotz to the New York Islanders after the two brought Washington its first When asked what that coach needs in order to work with next year’s Stanley Cup, and Trotz and Lou Lamoriello thought enough of Lambert to roster, NHL Network analyst Kevin Weekes said, “Authenticity. Honesty. give him the title of associate coach. He is credited with helping bring out Ability to connect with great communication skills. Great feel. Perfect the offensive potential in rugged Capitals power forward Tom Wilson and blend of old school and new school.” getting a career year out of talented Evgeny Kuznetsov while encouraging stars Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom to buy into The Athletic has profiled three of the top candidates. With the possibility Trotz’s system. In addition to the last eight seasons as an NHL assistant, that Murray announces his choice in the coming days after meeting with Lambert coached the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals – Nashville’s top minor- ownership, we looked at five and the benefits and drawbacks that may league affiliate – for four seasons and made the playoffs in each. affect their spot in this horse race. Con: As of Friday morning, Lambert hasn’t been ruled out. But why (The five below are listed in alphabetical order) hasn’t he gotten his shot yet? Is there something on him that is keeping Rick Bowness teams from consideration or even serious consideration to being the guy? A finalist in Colorado three years ago when the Avalanche settled Age: 64 on Jared Bednar, Lambert hasn’t been the ultimate decisive voice since 2011 with Milwaukee. Even with the longstanding connection to one of Birthplace: Moncton, New Brunswick the NHL’s very best coaches, the former NHL forward has watched other Pro: Defense is Bowness’ forte. Over five seasons as assistant and then high-profile disciples of other coaches (like Mike Babcock or Joel associate coach to Jon Cooper in Tampa Bay, the longtime hockey man Quenneville) get a shot. The Islanders’ power play was worse than helped develop a Lightning blue line that was largely successful until GM Anaheim’s this past season, registering a dreadful 29th. Was that Steve Yzerman let him go after the 2018 playoffs. Star blueliner Victor coaching or New York not having the kind of offensive weapons that are Hedman became a Norris Trophy finalist and a winner under him. He present in Washington? managed to get solid play out of over-30 veterans Dan Girardi, Anton Todd Nelson Stralman and Braydon Coburn. This past season in Dallas, Bowness presided over the development of impressive rookie Miro Heiskanen, Age: 50 guided Esa Lindell into being a quality top-four defender while not stifling offensive-minded John Klingberg. He also got serviceable seasons out of Birthplace: Prince Albert, Saskatchewan Roman Polak and Taylor Fedun as the Stars’ goals against – with much Pro: His decision to move back into the NHL and join the Dallas Stars help from goalies Ben Bishop and Anton Khudobin – were the second- could benefit him as he had last season to work with high-end offensive fewest in the NHL. talents like Tyler Seguin, John Klingberg and Jamie Benn. He also has Con: While he has over 2,000 games behind the bench, Bowness has seven-plus years of AHL head-coaching experience in two organizations, not been a head coach since a short interim stint with Phoenix in 2003-04 making the playoffs in all his complete seasons and winning a Calder and has not held a regular gig since being fired by the New York Cup. Nelson isn’t just about working with veterans. While coaching the Islanders in 1998. He has an engaging personality and is seen as a great Grand Rapids Griffins, he helped in the development of current Detroit communicator with players, but he has just one playoff appearance in his players Anthony Mantha, Tyler Bertuzzi and Andreas Athanasiou as they nine seasons when running the show. Granted, the situations he was in worked their way toward the Red Wings. He’s worked with other high-end were largely terrible – for instance, he was Ottawa’s first head coach talent as well, coaching a younger Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle and Justin when the NHL was far less favorable to expansion teams. While he has Schultz when they spent time playing for Oklahoma City, which was once twice been part of a coaching staff for elite teams that got to the Stanley Edmonton’s AHL team. Nelson’s supporters laud his creativity on the Cup final, is it possible that he has slipped into Dave Lewis territory of power play, whether its giving varied looks in personnel or zone entries. being seen as a terrific sidekick but not the one you want in charge? Con: Perhaps the only drawback is that he hasn’t been entrusted with a Dallas Eakins full-time shot yet. Nelson took over the Oilers on an interim basis in 2014- 15 after Eakins was cut loose following a 7-19-5 start. Edmonton showed Age: 52 improvement — he went 17-25-9 in 51 games — but then-Oilers GM Craig MacTavish went with the experienced Todd McLellan to helm a team that was about to welcome in teenage wunderkind Connor McDavid. He doesn’t have a direct connection with Anaheim’s players – although that could make him someone who would be looking at everyone with fresh eyes. More than anything, Nelson appears to have been more a victim of NHL general managers recycling those with track records in the league.
Scott Sandelin
Age: 54
Birthplace: Hibbing, Minnesota
Pro: Sandelin has had tremendous success over 19 years at Minnesota- Duluth and has lifted the Bulldogs to the top of men’s college hockey, with appearances in three straight NCAA title games and back-to-back national championships accomplished in April. He has three championships in all at Duluth and has conceivably done everything possible at the collegiate level. Sandelin has also produced NHL players in Matt Niskanen, J.T. Brown, Justin Faulk, Alex Stalock and Alex Iafallo. His teams have a reputation for being strong defensively (Mikey Anderson is a promising prospect with the Kings). Working in his favor are teams increasingly willing to look more at the college level, with the New York Rangers hiring David Quinn and Dallas hiring Jim Montgomery. Quinn earned good reviews for how he handled the rebuilding Rangers this past season while Montgomery guided the Stars into the second round of the playoffs in his debut season.
Con: Sandelin was selected to coach the U.S. national junior team for a second time and has been an assistant twice, so there is international experience, but the fact is there is no NHL work on his resume. He did have briefs stints as a player with Montreal, Philadelphia and Minnesota over his seven years of pro hockey in the mid-1980s and early 1990s. Coaching them is different and there would be the challenge of gaining the respect of the Ducks’ veterans and having them buy in to what he’s selling as far as himself and the systems he runs. Outside of Badger Bob Johnson, the record of college coaches blazing a direct path to the NHL and finding success is minimal. (Editor’s note: According to the Duluth News Tribune, Sandelin has agreed to a four-year contract extension with the Bulldogs that was in the works before Anaheim came calling with its interest. It will pay him a base salary of $400,000 per year).
The Athletic LOADED: 06.08.2019 1146276 Arizona Coyotes the no-call when Bozak took out Acciari in 3rd period #StanleyCup#[email protected]/B5c82tZ2fP
— Nick Giovanni (@NickGNews) June 7, 2019 NHL officiating mistakes have been embarrassing, and the Boston Bruins are latest victims This is the same NHL that apologized after awarding an unwarranted five-minute major to the San Jose Sharks in their Game 7 win over the Vegas Golden Knights. And let's not forget the missed hand-pass in a Richard Morin Sharks' overtime win over the Blues in the Western Conference Final.
9:43 a.m. MT June 7, 2019 But the NHL offered only this to a pool reporter from the Professional Hockey Writers' Association after Thursday's game: "We don't make comments on judgment calls within games. There are hundreds of judgment calls in every game. The official on the play, he viewed it and Fans at TD Garden in Boston were hurling paraphernalia onto the ice. he didn't view it as a penalty at the time." Bruins president Cam Neely threw his water bottle across his suite in a rage. NHL on-ice officials blew another call that could alter the course of That's a pretty vague statement from Stephen Walkom, the NHL's senior a playoff series. vice president and director of officiating, but it does communicate that Sutherland saw the Bozak play and didn't view it as a penalty — which is, Especially this postseason, the embarrassing gaffes in officiating are in a word, baffling. nothing new for the NHL. And this time, a blown call could cost a team all the marbles. Arizona Republic LOADED: 06.08.2019 That team is the Boston Bruins, who were the victims of an egregious non-call in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final on Thursday. Bruins forward Noel Acciari was upended from behind by St. Louis Blues forward Tyler Bozak. No call was made and the Blues scored the game-winning goal seconds later.
Bozak knows he committed a penalty. So does Cam Neely. pic.twitter.com/4haIEozFKZ
— 617 Apparel (@617Apparel) June 7, 2019
Many thought the infraction was a classic slew-foot maneuver, which is when a player uses his own leg to sweep the leg of an opponent. When identified on the ice, it is categorized as a tripping penalty, the same as when a player uses his stick to trip an opponent.
Referee Kelly Sutherland watched the play develop from behind and did not issue a penalty. Acciari, who was shortly thereafter removed from the game by a concussion spotter, was essentially taken out of the play.
Are you a sports fan? Stay in the know. Subscribe to azcentral.com today.
With the Bruins now effectively shorthanded, Blues forward David Perron scored to give the Blues a 2-0 lead in the third period. St. Louis won the game, 2-1, and took a 3-2 series lead with Game 6 scheduled for Sunday at Enterprise Center.
Fans in Boston lost their minds after the Perron goal, and play had to be stopped while attendants cleared the ice of debris. Tempers were high, and a fight even broke out between several Bruins fans in the stands.
MAYHEM IN THE NOSE BLEEDS IN BOSTON pic.twitter.com/1rQcDOEvCl
— Spittin' Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) June 7, 2019
That frustration leaked down to the Bruins players and coaches.
"The no-call on Acciari," Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy told reporters in Boston, "their player is on his way to the box. It's right in front of the official. It's a slew foot. Our guy's gone. The spotter took him out of the game for a possible concussion. I mean, it's blatant. It had a big effect on the game."
The Bruins were awarded 14 power plays in the first three games of the series, prompting Blues coach Craig Berube to call out the officials. The Blues have won the two games since.
“I sat here two days ago or whatever it was and I said I believe these officials are at this level because they earned the right to be here and you should be getting the best,” Cassidy said. “The narrative changed after Game 3, there was a complaint or whatever put forth by the opposition and it just seemed to change everything.
"I mean, this has happened and I’m a fan of the game, this is the National Hockey League and they’re getting a black eye with their officiating in the playoffs and here’s another thing that’s going to be talked about. It was egregious.”
Egregious.... BLATANT... some of the words of choice #NHLBruins head coach Bruce Cassidy used to call out the officiating in Game 5... namely 1146277 Arizona Coyotes
Arizona Coyotes sign defenseman Robbie Russo to 1-year deal
MATT LAYMAN
JUNE 6, 2019 AT 9:10 AM
The Arizona Coyotes announced Wednesday that they had re-signed pending unrestricted free agent defenseman Robbie Russo to a one- year, two-way contract.
The terms of the deal weren’t provided.
Russo, 26, has 19 games of NHL experience, all with the Detroit Red Wings in 2016-17. He was traded to the Coyotes last summer for a conditional seventh-round pick in the upcoming draft, with the condition being that Russo must play 30 NHL games for the pick to be sent over. That did not happen, therefore, Arizona retained both the pick and the player.
Russo instead spent last season with the AHL Tucson Roadrunners, appearing in 67 games and scoring six goals with 33 assists and a plus- 12 rating. He is a right-handed shot, a scarcity for the Coyotes blueline at the NHL level.
GM John Chayka and company will have to make a decision on this offseason. The only remaining players in the organization who are set to hit unrestricted free agency on July 1 are forwards Richard Panik and Mario Kempe, defenseman Dakota Mermis and goaltender Calvin Pickard.
Arizona Sports LOADED: 06.08.2019 1146278 Boston Bruins goal, and the Acciari trip that Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy called “egregious” in heated postgame comments.
From umpire Don Denkinger calling a runner safe in the 1985 World Calls (or non-calls) in NHL playoffs? It’s officially a mess Series to the “Colorado fifth down,” to the Soviets getting extra time in the 1972 Olympic gold-medal basketball game to Maradona’s “Hand of God,” botched officiating has long been part of the fabric of sports. Missed calls Adrian Walker can be comical or even charming . . . unless they go against your favorite team.
The Patriots’ opponent in Super Bowl LIII in February, the Los Angeles Those unfamiliar with the sport are asking about Kelly Sutherland, the Rams, arrived there via a missed a pass interference penalty in the fourth latest referee to fall flat on the biggest stage. The NHL’s officiating crisis, quarter of their NFC Championship win over the New Orleans Saints. renewed Thursday night at TD Garden, has created a critical point. The Saints will never forget that one. Sutherland, considered one of the league’s best referees, did not see — Hockey, with the quickest pace of the major sports, is rife with human or see fit to call — a penalty when St. Louis Blues forward Tyler Bozak error. But it hasn’t seen a rash of controversial calls like this. The NHL upended Bruins forward Noel Acciari with a leg sweep in the third period knows fans, its teams, and the press are agitated over officiating, a of Game 5. Acciari, who fell backward and hit his head on the ice, was senior official acknowledged privately. taken out of the play and the game. With Acciari on his knees after the hit, the Blues scored what would be the winning goal — hockey’s ultimate When the NHL’s general managers meet in Vancouver on June 20, in insult to injury. The Blues can clinch the Stanley Cup in Game 6 on advance of the league’s annual amateur draft, they will grapple with this: Sunday night in St. Louis. How can a league with more than $4.5 billion in revenue remain in this quagmire? The Bruins, trying to win their first Cup since 2011, are ensnared in the NHL’s latest officiating snafu. Longtime commentator Mike “Doc” Emrick, who is calling the Cup Final for NBC, is one of the game’s great ambassadors. Even he is looking for They have plenty of miserable company. the prescription. In the first round of the playoffs, the Vegas Golden Knights lost Game 7 “It is a game governed by judgment calls,” he said, “and when you see after a referee mistakenly penalized Cody Eakin for a five-minute major what we see on replay, it’s mystifying.” and a game misconduct for cross-checking, instead of the two-minute minor it deserved. The San Jose Sharks scored four times on the Boston Globe LOADED: 06.08.2019 artificially inflated power play and won in overtime. Referees Dan O’Halloran and Eric Furlatt were suspended for the remainder of the playoffs. Vegas’s president, Bill Foley, said the league apologized to his club.
In the second round of the playoffs, the Colorado Avalanche believed they had tied Game 7 against the Sharks, but a video review showed captain Gabriel Landeskog was offside. The goal was called back, even though Landeskog was well out of the play — essentially, a critical goal was wiped out on a call that didn’t matter. Also in the second round, the Columbus Blue Jackets scored against the Bruins after officials missed a puck hitting the protective netting above the glass, which should have caused a stop in play — had any of the four officials noticed. Boston won the game, and the series.
In the Western Conference final, the Blues had to overcome a Game 3 overtime loss that came when officials did not see Sharks forward Timo Meier illegally bat the puck with his glove to teammate Erik Karlsson, who scored the winning goal.
The NHL cannot address its non-calls, other than issues that fall to its Department of Player Safety. Commissioner Gary Bettman, on the job since 1992, acknowledged ahead of the Stanley Cup Final that the league would assess its use of video replay, officiating standards, and rulebook after the playoffs. Some penalties are reviewable, some are not. Like most pro sports rulebooks, the NHL’s is byzantine.
“What I thought was it would be good if I kept my head from exploding,” Bettman said of the hand pass in the Blues-Sharks series. “I was unhappy. We all were.”
That is no comfort to any of the unfortunate teams. For the Bruins, as baseball great Yogi Berra once said, it is deja vu all over again.
In Game 3 of a first-round series with Ottawa in 2017, referee Tim Peel missed a blatant elbow by Senators forward Bobby Ryan and called only a retaliatory punch by Boston’s Riley Nash. Ryan scored the OT winner on the ensuing power play. The Bruins lost the series two games later.
In Game 4 of last year’s second round between the Bruins and the Lightning, Tampa Bay tied Game 4 in the third period after Nikita Kucherov mugged Charlie McAvoy behind the net, with no call from now- retired referee Brad Watson, and Steven Stamkos hammered home the turnover for a goal. The Lightning won in overtime, and ended the series in Game 5.
In Game 5 of this Cup Final, Sutherland and Co. missed two illegal hits to the heads of Bruins — one of which resulted in Blues forward Ivan Barbashev being suspended one game after a review by the league — a hold against Bruins defenseman Torey Krug that nearly led to a St. Louis 1146279 Boston Bruins “I thought the game [Thursday] night we played really well. We weren’t getting the bounces that we wanted, but if we build on that game and elevate a little bit more, we’re going to give ourselves a really good Bruins look forward, insist that Game 5 is behind them chance.”
. . .
Adrian Walker Cassidy expects another closely contested game.
“We’ve seen them for five straight games and they’re not changing,” Cassidy said. “I don’t believe they’re changing. Good teams don’t change “St. Louis has done a terrific job — that went against them, they pushed it a lot. They adjust for certain things — special teams or maybe a on,” Cassidy said. “High character in their locker room, we have the breakout. same character. So, I suspect we’ll put it behind us and off we go.” “But they’re still going to forecheck hard. They’re going to make it tough The team is focusing on Game 6, moving on from an apparent Tyler to get inside. We’re not going to change our whole identity in one game. Bozak slew-foot that felled Noel Acciari. “First period, we had lots of will, we were on them, we just didn’t finish. “No lingering effects that I’m aware of,” coach Bruce Cassidy said Friday Sometimes you walk away and they executed one more play than us. It’s at Warrior Ice Arena, referring Acciari and Marcus Johansson, who was like they executed one more play than us and they won. Not like we were elbowed in the chin by Ivan Barbashev in Game 5. The Blues center was horrible and they were fantastic. suspended one game. “I thought it was a well-played game. That’s why you get frustrated with “You have to move on, put that game behind you,’’ Joakim Nordstrom outside influences on the game. We’ve just got to finish a few more plays said. “I mean, it’s history. There’s nothing you can do about it now. I think and then defend a couple more and I think we’re right there.” the more time you waste on it, it’s going to punish yourself. You’ve got to put it behind you and move on to the next one.” Boston Globe LOADED: 06.08.2019
Said Cassidy, “I think the players know what the moment is. We can draw on previous experience. This particular group went into Toronto, tough environment, first round, won a game on the road. Came back and won at home — that’s why we’re still playing, one of the reasons.
“The group that won the Cup [in 2011] had to win the last two. They were down, 3-2. Home first, then the road, but still. So we certainly know we’re capable of it.
“Video [Saturday], we’re going to practice, work on the things that we think are going to make us better. It’s getting a little late in the year for that, but there’s some things in the O-zone, clearly, that we can do to finish some plays. D-zone breakdown first goal — got to revisit that.
“Our power play has kind of got stuck here a little, so look at some adjustments. We’ve got to keep the puck out of our net if we’re not putting in their net. We only need to win by one. If it’s 1-nothing, great. If it’s 6-5, we don’t really care at this point — we just need the victory.”
. . .
The Bruins have an impressive road record (7-3) during the postseason, winning five successive times before a 4-2 loss to the Blues in Game 4. In 2011, the Bruins compiled a 6-6 road record on the way to a title, and in 2013, they finished 6-4 away but fell in the Final.
“Listen, there’s a certain level of pressure on the team that’s up, as well,” Cassidy said. “They’re going home and, if all of a sudden it’s not going their way — I can’t speak for their psyche — but halfway though the game, it’s not going their way, all of a sudden, ‘Boy, you know, we’ve got to go back to Boston.’
“Maybe they get outside of their comfort zone, the way they play. So there’s a challenge there for them, as well.
“For us, we don’t win, our season’s done. They lose, they get to keep playing, so that might enter their minds at some point. For us, we know what’s at stake: It doesn’t go our way, that’s it.
“Our guys responded all year. This is a group that plays hard. I’m not concerned at all about our effort.”
. . .
The Bruins took 39 shots on goal against Jordan Binnington in Game 5, and Nordstrom said they will continue to fire away.
“Certainly there have been some rebounds there we haven’t been able to get to enough,” Nordstrom said. “And I think that’s an area where we can expose them. It seems like the pucks are bouncing off of him. So we want to, obviously, shoot more and also get to those rebounds.
“We’ve been through this before. I don’t think our approach is going to change. We’re in an exciting spot, so we don’t want to think too far ahead, but we’ve got to go St. Louis and we have to win the game. That’s the bottom line. 1146280 Boston Bruins
Blues center Ivan Barbashev suspended one game for hit on Marcus Johansson
Adrian Walker
Blues center Ivan Barbashev has been suspended one game for an illegal check to the head, the NHL department of player safety announced Friday.
Barbashev lowered his shoulder and belted Bruins forward Marcus Johansson in the chin after Johansson fired a shot toward the net in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final Thursday at TD Garden. The blow lifted Johansson in the air, and he spun 180 degrees before hitting the ice. Johansson stayed down for a few moments before completing his shift.
No penalty was called on the play.
“Barbashev delivers a high, forceful hit that makes Johansson’s head the main point of contact on a hit where such head contact was avoidable,” the league said in a video. “It is important to note that the head is the main point of contact on this play.”
Johansson said after Game 5 he was “a little bit” surprised there was no whistle, but noted he felt “good” ahead of Game 6.
“No lingering effects that I’m aware of,” coach Bruce Cassidy said Friday at Warrior Ice Arena, referring to Johansson and Noel Acciari, who was slew footed and checked for a concussion after Game 5. “I thought it was a high hit that I thought the officials were close enough to call. They didn’t.”
Barbashev’s suspension comes on the heels of a game that featured multiple contentious incidents involving the referees, including the non- call that led to the Blues’ second goal midway through the third period.
With Barbashev out, the Blues will be missing a member of their fourth line and penalty-killing unit. Blues coach Craig Berube has praised the 23-year-old forward for his physicality and relentlessness on the puck and forecheck. In 30 games this postseason, Barbashev has three goals and three assists.
“He’s obviously a very competitive guy, plays with a lot of intensity and passion on both sides of the puck,” added Barbashev’s linemate Alexander Steen. “He’s really intelligent, so a good player for us.”
Earlier in the series, Blues center Oskar Sundqvist had to serve a one- game suspension for boarding Bruins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk in Game 2. Grzelcyk remains in concussion protocol and has yet to return to game action.
Boston Globe LOADED: 06.08.2019 1146281 Boston Bruins ■ Matt Porter will look at the state of officiating in the NHL
■ Frank Dell’Apa will report on the Bruins’ outlook for Game 6
Stanley Cup Today: Will the Bruins watch a celebration in St. Louis, or ■ St. Louis’s Ivan Barbashev faces an NHL Player Safety hearing for force Game 7? his hit on Bruins forward Marcus Johansson
■ Andrew Mahoney provides a closer look at referee Kelly Sutherland, who was at the heart of the controversy in Game 5 Adrian Walker Latest content on the Stanley Cup
■ Porter on a 2-1 loss to the Blues that left the Bruins on the brink of The Bruins are officially frustrated, all right, as they head to St. Louis for elimination Sunday night’s Game 6, trailing the Blues and needing a win to avoid watching the home team waltz around the Enterprise Center ice with ■ Dan Shaughnessy on the inspirational return by Zdeno Chara going Lord Stanley’s Cup. for naught
If Bruins fans are still looking for a villain in this series, coach Bruce ■ Kevin Paul Dupont drew a passionate response from Bruins coach Cassidy may have served up one in referee Kelly Sutherland, who Bruce Cassidy on the officiating missed a blatant trip (or slew foot) by the Blues’ Tyler Bozak on Bruins forward Noel Acciari midway through the third period. Acciari was down ■ Christopher L. Gasper says the ice at TD Garden should have and Bozak was heading toward the penalty box, but the whistle didn’t surrounded by yellow tape . This was a crime scene blow as play rolled on. Seconds later, David Perron scored what turned Boston Globe LOADED: 06.08.2019 out to be the winner in a 2-1 St. Louis victory.
“This is the National Hockey League and they’re getting a black eye with their officiating in the playoffs and here’s another one that is going to be talked about,’’ said Cassidy. “It was egregious. But we’re moving on and getting ready for Game 6.’’
St. Louis coach Craig Berube complained about the officials after his team’s 7-2 loss in Game 3, a zinging of the Blues in which the Bruins went 4 for 4 on the power play. That fact was not lost on Cassidy.
“The narrative changed after Game 3,’’ Cassidy offered. “There was a complaint or whatever put forth by the opposition and it just seemed to change everything.”
NHL senior vice president and director of officiating Stephen Walkom had little to say on Sutherland’s missed call, according to a quote given to a pool reporter.
“We don’t make comments on judgment calls within games. There are hundreds of judgment calls in every game. The official on the play, he viewed it, and he didn’t view it as a penalty at the time.”
Check the Globe’s website for any further comment from the NHL, and whether Cassidy will get fined for his own judgment call Thursday night.
Things to know
When any best-of-seven series is tied, the winner of Game 5 holds the historical edge with an all-time series record of 210-58 (78.4 percent). That includes a 5-3 mark this season and an 18-7 clip in the Stanley Cup Final . . . The Blues recorded their ninth road win of the playoffs, one shy of the NHL record .. . The Blues, who ranked last in the NHL standings through games of Jan. 2 (37 GP), can become the first team in the expansion era (since 1967-68) to sit last in the overall standings at any point after its 30th game and rebound to win the Stanley Cup. . . The Bruins are 1-4 when trailing after two periods this postseason. The Blues are 9-1 when leading after two periods . . . Zach Sanford has collected an assist in all three contests since returning to the Blues’ lineup in Game 3. A native of Salem, Sanford played two seasons at Boston College (2014- 15 and 2015-16) . . . Digging deep: Charlie Coyle can become the seventh player in NHL history to score at least 10 goals in a playoff year after being acquired during the regular season . . . Woody Harrelson, Cam Neely pal Michael J. Fox, and John Krasinski were on hand (Jenna Fischer – the latter’s co-star in “The Office” – is of course a Blues fans and was spotted at Game 4 in St. Louis . . . The Boston Symphony got into the act with a rendition of “Shipping Up to Boston” at Quincy Market prior to Game 5.
Friday’s schedule
11:30 a.m. – Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy and select players meet the media at Warrior Arena, Brighton
Noon – Blues coach Craig Berube and select players meet the media at St. Louis Airport
Coverage plan
■ Chad Finn says Game 5 was frustrating, but the Bruins can come back 1146282 Boston Bruins dirty play that gives a player a reputation, and Bozak knew it. He instinctively began heading toward the penalty box.
Except a whistle never came. Sutherland, a referee, was looking at the Game 5 was frustrating on many levels, but the Bruins can come back play. He had a fine view. But he apparently saw nothing. Play finally from this stopped a few seconds later when, with Acciari still down, David Perron scored at the 10:36 mark for a 2-0 lead.
Adrian Walker The Blues’ first goal came when they had too many men on the ice. The officials didn’t notice. Krug took an obvious cheap elbow to the face earlier in the game. The officials missed it. The Bruins appeared to have a goal trickle past Binnington. The officials said no goal, and replay, Tuukka Rask (19 saves on 21 shots) was good enough in net, probably unclear as it was, held up the call. And now this? It was unjust. more than good enough. Marcus Johansson, at times in the first period especially, was the most dynamic player on the ice. Torey Krug absorbed The Bruins were playing lousy hockey by their standards this dirty hits and continued to do his best to generate offense. Zdeno Chara, postseason, but they didn’t deserve to have to play the officials, too. who secured a permanent place in Boston Sports Tough Guy lore by playing 16:42 despite reportedly breaking his jaw less than 72 hours The Bruins finally perked up after Perron’s score that never should have earlier, was at least a decent facsimile of his usual self. been, with DeBrusk scoring on a nifty feed from Krug (who appeared to take a stick in the face on the play, because of course) at 13:32. But the I can’t decide what is more surprising: That Chara was able to go, or that Bruins couldn’t get the second goal they needed, that Sutherland all but his team let the captain down so uninspiringly. forced them to need.
Oh, the Bruins played relatively inspired hockey in the first period, and You almost wondered whether the officials were secretly hoping the outshot the Blues, 17-8. But they couldn’t pierce goalie Jordan Bruins would tie the game, just to save them some shame for the role Binnington (38 saves on 39 shots), who wasn’t spectacular or even all they played in putting them in that hole in the first place. You wondered that solid, but just sort of there, hovering in the way of the Bruins’ whether we’re going to learn later on that Sutherland has carried a Bernie aspirations. Federko rookie card in his wallet since he was a wee boy.
The failure to find the back of the net seemed to add weight to the Boston The Blues got away with the win, and they got away with more than that. skates. St. Louis scored 55 seconds into the second period when Zach The Cup will be in the building Sunday night in St. Louis as they try to Sanford flipped a lovely blind pass to Ryan O’Reilly, who beat Rask on clinch the first championship in franchise history. the backhand. The Bruins, a resilient lot even as maddening as they were Thursday, The Bruins struggled to generate interesting opportunities for most of the can come back from this. They did in 2011 after falling behind, 3-2, to the second period, and the lethargy carried into the third. Once again, the Canucks in that series. They trailed the Maple Leafs, 3-2, in the first usually dominant first line fell dormant, with Brad Marchand, Patrice round of this postseason and prevailed. Bergeron, and David Pastrnak generating 14 shots, but none of them especially effective or memorable. Pastrnak and Marchand continue to It’s obvious what needs to happen for the Bruins to pull this off. Rask over-pass, as if someone they trust told them an assist counts for more needs to dominate, their offensive stars need to actually score, and their than a goal in the Cup Final. overall energy cannot wane.
The best play made by a Bruins forward through the first two periods was It would also help significantly if the officials offer at least an occasional a save by David Krejci, the usual second-line center who was dropped to reminder that they know how to do their jobs competently. Thursday, they the fourth line along with Jake DeBrusk for Game 5. Krejci’s timely Andy didn’t even seem to know what their job was. Moog imitation, occurring with Rask having just attended to business on Boston Globe LOADED: 06.08.2019 the other side of the net, kept St. Louis from taking a 2-0 lead late in the second period.
While Krejci was saving the day, at least momentarily, the Blues’ Oskar Sundqvist was busy keeping Krug pinned to the ice, holding him down like a big brother tormenting a younger sibling and threatening to drool on him while the parents are preoccupied. The officials did not notice his transgression.
Let’s be clear, if it isn’t already: The Bruins did not lose the most important game of their season because of Kelly Sutherland and the other inept officials, even though they seem to have heeded Blues coach Craig Berube’s bellyached pleas after Game 3 for fewer whistles against his team.
We’ve mentioned the Bruins’ chief culprits, identified their reasons for guilt. But there is absolutely no doubt that stunning ineptitude in the officiating contributed to their fate Thursday.
The officials didn’t steal victory from the Bruins. But they sure did stunt their chances of winning.
I’m not saying the Blues are a dirty team from the top line to the last defensive pairing, but if an “E:60” investigation reveals before Game 6 that three of them are descendants of the Hanson brothers, well, let Sundqvist, Colton Parayko, and Jay Bouwmeester have their toy cars and foil already.
The officials aren’t just letting them play with dubious physicality. They’re missing, if not outright ignoring, the most egregious offenses. One particular missed/ignored called Thursday night was so puzzling, so angering, that it assured Sutherland of being this generation’s Ben Dreith or Larry Barnett if the Bruins do not win the next two games.
With a little more than 10 minutes remaining in the game and the Blues leading, 1-0, St. Louis’s Tyler Bozak wiped out the Bruins’ Noah Acciari, causing Acciari to fall backward, and hard. It was a slew foot, the kind of 1146283 Boston Bruins
Who is Kelly Sutherland, the referee at the center of the Game 5 controversy?
Adrian Walker
Sutherland went for a different option: None of the above. The veteran of 1,207 regular-season games, 164 playoff games, and now six Stanley Cup Finals, made no call.
As a result of the play, the Blues took possession of the puck and grabbed a 2-0 lead just 10 seconds later when David Perron scored what proved to be the game-winning goal with 9:24 remaining.
NHL senior vice president and director of officiating Stephen Walkom released a statement to a pool reporter: “We don’t make comments on judgment calls within games. There are hundreds of judgment calls in every game. The official on the play, he viewed it and he didn’t view it as a penalty at the time.”
In addition to refereeing in the NHL for 18 years, Sutherland also worked the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia, as well as the 2016 World Cup of Hockey in Toronto. He also received an endorsement from Kerry Fraser, the referee of 2,165 NHL games and 12 Stanley Cups, who tweeted in 2011 after his retirement that Sutherland “does a great job and surely one of their very best.”
Sutherland, 48, is from Richmond, British Columbia. His previous Stanley Cup Final assignments included the Bruins-Canucks series in 2011, according to the NHL Officials Association website, and he also was a referee in the gold-medal game at the 2014 Olympics between Canada and Sweden. He wears No. 11.
Sutherland has chosen to keep the whistle in his pocket before, and the Bruins have been the beneficiaries. In the 2011 Stanley Cup Final, it was Sutherland who watched Brad Marchand repeatedly punch Daniel Sedin.
Sutherland swooped in and separated the two without administering a penalty to Marchand, and seemed to take umbrage with Sedin’s questioning,
“I asked him why he didn’t call the penalty. He said he was going to,” Sedin said after the game.
It hardly comes as a surprise that a Vancouver Canucks fan created a Fire Kelly Sutherland Facebook page.
No such account appears to exist on Twitter. Your move, Bruins fans.
Boston Globe LOADED: 06.08.2019 1146284 Boston Bruins goal that will live in Boston sports infamy, and was so egregious and unjust the opponent should have been the Montreal Canadiens and the setting the old Montreal Forum .
Series deficit about more than officials, but Game 5 was a crime Krug was asked if the officiating in the series had changed since Craig Berube went full Phil Jackson Zen Master to psyche out the officials and alter the tenor of the series following his team allowing four power-play Adrian Walker goal in losing Game 3.
Krug was succinct, decisive, and accurate, unlike the men in stripes on this night. That decision had everyone with an affinity for or an affiliation with the Bruins up in arms. Disbelief filled the silence where the sound of a “Yes, yes,” said Krug. whistle and the announcement of a penalty should have been. The reality is that coaches and players are accountable to the public for “Yeah, it should have been a penalty for sure,” said Bruins defenseman their performance on the ice. The same should be true of on-ice officials. Torey Krug, on the ice for the fateful non-call. “Anytime it leads to a Instead, the statement offered by the NHL’s officiating boss was the scoring chance for the opposition, it’s got to be blown down. It’s got to be sports equivalent of Russia’s TASS news agency offering an official called. I’m all for letting plays go and playing hard, even the one at the account of an election. end of the second there. They get a scoring chance out of it because [Oskar Sundqvist] is holding my arm. “We don’t make comments on judgment calls within games,” said senior vice president and director of officiating Stephen Walkom via a pool “It is what it is. We got to accept it and move on.” reporter. “There are hundreds of judgment calls in every game. The official on the play, he viewed it and he didn’t view it as a penalty at the That’s hard to do considering Thursday night’s heist could be the final time.” game on Causeway Street this season. The dubious goal looms as the difference in a pivotal fifth game — and potentially the series. Just because the NHL said there was no penalty that doesn’t erase reality. You don’t even have to be able to skate to know that was an Officials in all sports have a very difficult job. They’re like the boiler unit in infraction. your basement. When they’re doing their job, you don’t even notice them. When you do notice them, that means something has gone horribly awry, This is exactly the type of controversy the NHL doesn’t want on its hands as it did last night. in its signature event. Nothing to see here, says the NHL.
Players and coaches can choke under pressure — so can officials. This The reality is that the Bruins don’t have just the officials to blame for their is every North American sports league’s worst nightmare. 3-2 deficit in the series. They need to play better and heavier 5-on-5, and turn scoring chances into goals. The shots were 24-12 with 4:17 left in The Bruins tried to take the high road, saying they had to move on, the second period, but the Bruins were still goal-less. They out-shot St. lamenting being held scorless until Jake DeBrusk halved a 2-0 Louis, 39-21, for the night. disadvantage with 6:28 to play. But the no-call that led to the goal was the difference. But this one will be hard to get over. It’s one thing to get robbed by the opposing goalie in the Stanley Cup. It’s another to get robbed by the Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy called it “egregious” and could barely referees. contain his emotions. Boston Globe LOADED: 06.08.2019 “What was being said [on the bench] was he missed an effing call . . . for obvious reasons,” said Cassidy. “But after that, we had to settle down and play. Listen, we thought we got screwed, but you got to keep playing. We did. We scored the next goal and gave ourselves a chance to win. We tried to rally around that. . . . I thought we responded well.”
Late non-call stole the show in Bruins Game 5 loss
They responded better than the incensed Spoked-Believers who delayed the game, pelting the ice with water bottles and rally towels. Bruins president Cam Neely, celebrating his 54th birthday, was captured on television flinging a water bottle in disgust in his suite.
To reconstruct the crime: Acciari had the puck in his zone by the boards with his back to his own net. Bozak leg-whipped Acciari, knocking him to the ice and knocking the puck free. Acciari remained on the ice in pain. Bozak stopped, seemingly to plead his case for the ensuing penalty call in a one-goal game.
Except, that call never came. The Blues got the puck. Perron potted his own rebound, guiding it through Tuukka Rask for a 2-0 lead.
Adding injury to insult, Acciari headed back to the Bruins locker room for repairs, limiting the Bruins to 10 forwards since the team elected to go with seven defensemen as insurance for iron-willed defenseman Zdeno Chara, who bravely took the ice less than 72 hours after having his mouth mangled in Game 4.
“They score a goal off it. It ends up being the game-winner. It’s just embarrassing,” said a soft-spoken Acciari, who said he would be ready for Game 6.
Adding to the sense of injustice was that with 13 minutes left in regulation, there was a replay review to see if David Pastrnak pushed the puck and Blues goalie Jordan Binnington across the goal line, as he whacked away at both. After deliberation, the no-goal call stood. The Bruins would have to find their equalizer and their salvation elsewhere.
They got neither.
The Bruins responded with an odd-angle goal from DeBrusk to put pressure on St. Louis the rest of the way, but the damage was done. A 1146285 Boston Bruins Via a pool reporter, NHL director of officiating Stephen Walkom released the following statement after the game: “We don’t make comments on judgment calls within games. There are hundreds of judgment calls in Players and coaches had plenty to say about the controversial non-call in every game. The official on the play, he viewed it and he didn’t view it as Game 5 a penalty at the time.”
Though he and his teammates expressed their displeasure with the non- call, Acciari made it clear where their focus needs to be moving forward. Adrian Walker “It’s behind us now,” he said. “It’s tough, yeah. It’s a tough pill to swallow. But we’re onto Game 6. It’s a must-win from here on out.”
“This is the National Hockey League taking a black eye with their Boston Globe LOADED: 06.08.2019 officiating this playoffs,” Cassidy said following his team’s 2-1 loss in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final Thursday night. “Here’s another one that’s going to be talked about.”
An apparent missed call midway through the third period generated St. Louis Blues left wing David Perron’s game-winning goal, putting the Bruins’ title hopes on the brink, trailing 3-2 in the series.
Moments before Perron snuck the puck past netminder Tuukka Rask, Blues center Tyler Bozak cut Bruins forward Noel Acciari’s legs out from under him, sending Acciari to the deck. No penalty was called, play continued, and Acciari did not stand back up until Perron scored.
What should have given the Bruins an opportunity to push for an equalizer with a man-up advantage resulted in a momentum-shifting score that gave the Blues a 2-0 lead and severely hampered Boston’s ability to mount a comeback.
“That call — there’s time — but it really made it difficult for us to get the win tonight,” Cassidy said. “I’m disappointed.”
“It’s a missed call on the biggest stage of hockey right now,” added Acciari, who was checked out for a concussion. “I don’t know what else I can say about it.”
The controversial sequence prompted a number of fans at TD Garden to throw their yellow rally towels, among other things, onto the ice. When the public address announcer asked that attendees refrain from doing so, his request was met with resounding boos.
But Bozak’s apparent slew-foot penalty was hardly the only questionable decision of the night.
In the first period, Blues forward Ivan Barbashev’s shoulder clipped Bruins forward Marcus Johansson in the chin after Johansson fired a shot toward netminder Jordan Binnington. The blow lifted Johansson in the air, as he spun 180 degrees before hitting the ice. Johansson stayed down for a few moments before completing his shift. No penalty was called on the play.
In the second period, Blues forward Zach Sanford levied another hit that looked high on Bruins defenseman Torey Krug. While fighting for the puck, Sanford checked Krug and appeared to make contact with his head. Again, no penalty was called. Later in the second, Krug was on the receiving end of another potential non-call when he was tangled up with Blues center Oskar Sundqvist, who clearly held Krug in front of Boston’s goal. No penalty there, either.
“Any time it leads to a scoring chance for the opposition, it has to be called,” said Krug, who said Sundqvist should have been whistled for holding late in the second.
Both Cassidy and Krug agreed that the tenor of the series’ officiating has changed since Blues coach Craig Berube criticized the referees after Game 3. Following another game in which his team struggled to stay out of the box, Berube voiced that he disagreed with a number of the calls. Throughout the series, Berube has consistently reiterated that the Blues were “the least penalized team” heading into the Stanley Cup Final.
“The narrative changed after Game 3,” Cassidy said. “There was a complaint or whatever put forth by the opposition. It just seems to have changed everything.”
Berube did not have any interest in addressing Cassidy’s remarks.
“We play a hard game,” he said. “We’re a physical team. We forecheck hard. I’ll say it again. We were the least penalized team in the playoffs. End of story. I don’t want to talk anymore about it.”
Cassidy said he never received an explanation for the non-call on Acciari, though he noted he was not expecting one. 1146286 Boston Bruins
Barbashev suspended one game for hit on Johansson
STEVE CONROY
June 7, 2019 at 7:21 PM
ST. LOUIS — It may be too little and too late for the Bruins’ liking, but the National Hockey League finally meted out a little justice Friday to the St. Louis Blues.
The league whacked Blues forward Ivan Barbashev with a one-game suspension for his head shot on Bruins forward Marcus Johansson in the first period of Thursday’s debacle of a Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final. Johansson had stolen Barbashev’s clearing attempt and looped into the right circle. After he released his shot, Johansson was in a vulnerable position when Barbashev came through and clocked him in the head.
The league ruled the main point of contact from Barbashev’s shoulder was Johansson’s head and the head shot indeed was avoidable. Barbashev had no priors before this, but now he will sit for Sunday’s Game 6 at Enterprise Center, where the Blues hope to close out the Bruins and win the first Stanley Cup in their franchise’s history.
Barbashev easily could have been assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct, but officials have been reluctant to give those out since the botched major handed out to Vegas’ Cody Eakin in Game 7 against San Jose. Yet the hit did not even receive so much as a two- minute minor, just one of several head-scratching non-calls in the game.
This is the second Blues player to be suspended in this series. Oskar Sundqvist was suspended for Game 3 after driving Matt Grzelcyk’s head into the glass late in the first period of Game 2. Grzelcyk has not played since.
While considered a fourth liner, Barbashev has played on a very effective unit with Sundqvist and Alex Steen that has drawn key defensive assignments, often against the B’s top line. He’s got 3-3-6 totals and is plus-4 in 24 playoff games. Candidates to replace Barbashev could be Jordan Nolan or Robby Fabbri.
The missed call on Barbashev wasn’t even the one that had the biggest impact on the game. That prize, of course, went to Tyler Bozak’s uncalled trip that led to the Blues’ eventual game-winner. There’s no getting that one back.
Boston Herald LOADED: 06.08.2019 1146287 Boston Bruins The Blues already have lost one forward to suspension this series. Oskar Sundqvist got a one-game suspension and sat out Game 3 after boarding the Bruins’ Matt Grzelcyk in Game 2. Sundqvist has played in Blues land in St. Louis, they hope for the final time Games 4 and 5.
Team ‘calm’ ahead of possible Game 6 clincher Sanford thriving
Sundqvist’s suspension opened the door for New England native Zach Sanford, who grew up a Bruins fan. The wing played in Game 3 and PETER BAUGH collected an assist, leading Berube to leave him in the lineup for Games 4 and 5. June 7, 2019 at 5:55 PM He’s made the most of his opportunity.
Sanford has collected an assist in every Stanley Cup game he’s played, ST. LOUIS — As Blues players left Lambert Airport, a group of fans including a pass from behind the Bruins’ net Thursday that resulted in a waited at the exit of the parking lot. Three clung to a Blues banner, Ryan O’Reilly goal. welcoming the team home after its three-hour flight from Boston. “We’ve always known he has real good puck skills and the ability to make If all goes well for St. Louis, it will be the last plane ride the team takes plays,” Berube said. “He’s been a good player since we’ve put him in this season. The Blues could clinch their first Stanley Cup with a win there, been a hard player, has been physical, strong on pucks. He’s Sunday over the Bruins. made some good plays that resulted in goals.” “We know what Sunday is, but the group is calm,” captain Alex Boston Herald LOADED: 06.08.2019 Pietrangelo said Friday. “We’ve done a really good job of refocusing after games. I don’t really get a feel from anybody that emotions are too high right now.”
Fans can’t say the same. Even with the Blues on the road, the Enterprise Center was rocking Thursday night. Fans crowded into the seats for a watch party and screamed while watching the big screens. By Friday afternoon, the cheapest Game 6 tickets crept to $1,800 on StubHub.
Coach Craig Berube said the Blues seemed emotional heading into Game 3, which St. Louis lost 7-2, and the team discussed how to improve that ahead of Game 6. The coach said he and his team will talk again Saturday.
He believes they’ll be ready.
“We’re going to have to be really prepared to go, and Game 6 we will be,” the coach said. “We’re at home, so we have to get after that team the first period and set the tone.”
The Blues have closed out each of their three previous playoff series at home this year. Defenseman Jay Bouwmeester, who is playing in his first Stanley Cup Final after nearly 1,200 regular-season games, said he and his teammates have focused all playoffs on staying even-keeled.
“You’re kind of in the process,” Bouwmeester said. “Everyone knows what’s at stake obviously, but when you’re this late in the season it doesn’t really change. We know they’re going to come with a big push, and we’ve got to have our best game.”
Barbashev to have hearing
Ivan Barbashev will have a hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety for “an illegal check to the head of Boston’s Marcus Johansson,” the department’s Twitter account said Friday morning.
Barbashev elbowed Johansson’s upper body in the first period Thursday. The officials did not call a penalty on the play.
“They’re going to look at things that happen in games,” Berube said. “That’s just part of it. It’s physical hockey. It’s heavy hockey out there both ways, and they’re going to look at some stuff once in a while. That’s the way it goes.”
“Those are the hits they want to get out of the game. That’s what I hear a lot about,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said Thursday night. “Clearly, they missed a couple tonight.”
Cassidy said Thursday night he believes the officiating narrative changed after Game 3, when Berube questioned penalties called early in the series.
Alexander Steen, who played on a line with Barbashev on Thursday, said the center plays with passion and is intelligent on both sides of the puck. Berube said he’s been good defensively and on penalty kills.
If the Blues are without Barbashev, they could turn to Robby Fabbri, who played Games 2 and 3, or Jordan Nolan, who won two Stanley Cups with the Los Angeles Kings.
“We’ll deal with that if that’s what comes,” Pietrangelo said. 1146288 Boston Bruins unbalanced structure caused some unusual mixing and matching along at the front end, something Cassidy would like to avoid in Game 6.
“I think everyone is comfortable playing with each other and ultimately we Noel Acciari despondent over non-call in Bruins loss to Blues all have the same game plan and the same system,” right wing Joakim Nordstrom said.
RICH THOMPSON Boston Herald LOADED: 06.08.2019
June 7, 2019 at 6:12 PM
Noel Acciari adequately performed the job he was assigned while NHL referee Kelly Sutherland did not, according to Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy.
That was the residual fallout Cassidy dealt with following the game- altering non-call in the third period of the St. Louis Blues’ 2-1 victory in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final.
The Blues took a 3-2 series lead and will attempt to secure the first Stanley Cup title in team history Sunday night in St. Louis.
Acciari was battling for puck possession along the sidewall in the Bruins zone when he was upended from behind by Blues center Tyler Bozak in Sutherland’s vicinity.
While Acciari was recovering on the ice — expecting a call — the puck continued to cycle in the Bruins end. Right wing David Perron put the Blues up 2-0 with 9:24 to play on a bad angle shot that broke between Tuukka Rask’s pads for his sixth of the playoffs.
Cassidy described Acciari as “despondent” in the locker room after the game because, through no dereliction of duty, he failed to clear the puck from the Bruins end.
“I have coached Noel Acciari for a long time,” Cassidy said Friday afternoon at Warrior Ice Arena. “He is hard on the puck, that’s his job to win pucks, he’s a penalty killer and he’s a shot blocker.
“Coaches generally don’t address the group after a loss but they will time to time. You watch the room and you see a guy and you can tell he’s despondent that he cost the team the game.”
Away from the X’s and O’s of game planning, coaches are required to be motivators and armchair psychiatrists, disciplines that Cassidy used to counsel Acciari.
“Here’s a guy that I feel for,” Cassidy said. “I’ve grown tight with this group and they lay it on the line so I feel bad for him.
“There’s no call so he feels he didn’t win his puck battle and that’s a tough one so I have to pick that player up moving forward. That’s a little bit of the emotion that comes into it after the game.
“The emotion now is we have to put it behind us and move on.”
Power outage
The Bruins power play remains statistically potent but failed to produce in the last two games against the Blues. The Bruins were 0-for-3 on the power play in Game 5 because of disjointed entries and soft coverage at the points.
Defenseman Torey Krug (5:18), center Patrice Bergeron (4:02) and wingers Brad Marchand (4:52), David Pastrnak (3:46) and Marcus Johansson (3:41) consumed the bulk or the power play minutes without producing a goal.
The Bruins are 23-of-69 in the playoffs for a 33.3 percent success rate, but Cassidy believes they must perform better to avoid elimination.
“I thought last night (the Blues) did a better job,” Cassidy said. “We were looking for a certain side to get in and they have three across so if you can’t get through the middle.
“I thought they did a good job influencing us to one side and we have to be quicker to identify that.”
The 7-11 solution
Cassidy did not upgrade injured defenseman Matt Grzelcyk (concussion) for Game 6. Cassidy had to alter the Bruins structure to compensate for the loss of Grzelcyk and the uncertainty of Zdeno Chara (jaw) to defend the zone in Game 5 by using 11 forwards and seven defensemen. The 1146289 Boston Bruins We’ll find out Sunday.
Boston Herald LOADED: 06.08.2019
Bruins’ Bruce Cassidy not planning a ‘Win-one-for-Butchy’ speech
TOM KEEGAN
June 7, 2019 at 3:45 PM
Bruins coach Bruce “Butch” Cassidy might spend a few minutes the next couple of days mulling over lines, but not the ones he’ll use Sunday night in his Game 6 pregame pep talk delivered in the visiting locker room of Enterprise Center in St. Louis.
If the Bruins put together back-to-back victories to claim the Stanley Cup, Cassidy’s speech won’t likely become the centerpiece for a movie. Mark Wahlberg need not worry about memorizing the lines and mastering the coach’s inflection.
Cassidy won’t call his players “boys” as Herb Brooks did in his famous Miracle on Ice speech before the Americans beat the Soviet Union in Lake Placid in 1980. Brooks was addressing young amateurs, colossal underdogs. Cassidy will speak to pros, a handful of whom already won the Stanley Cup in 2011.
You don’t have to believe in miracles to envision the Bruins winning their seventh Cup. Cassidy’s mirror does not cast a spell on him. He’s under no delusions that he must make a speech immortalized on the silver screen.
“I think the players know what the moment is,” Cassidy said Friday from the podium at Warrior Ice Arena before the Bruins left for St. Louis. “We can draw on previous experience. This particular group went into Toronto, tough environment, first round. We won a game on the road, came back and won it at home, and that’s the reason we’re still playing; one of the reasons.”
The down-to-earth coach went from reaching back seven weeks to going all the way to eight years ago to make his point.
Zdeno Chara was the Bruins’ captain when they won the Stanley Cup in 2011 and still is. Patrice Bergeron wore an “A” on his sweater then and now. David Krejci, Brad Marchand and Tuukka Rask, then backing up Tim Thomas, had their 24 hours in possession with the Cup.
“The group that won the Cup, they had to win the last two (against the Canucks),” Cassidy said. “They were down, 3-2, reversed, home first and then the road, but still, they’ve lived it, certainly know we’re capable of it.”
As for the head game, the role Cassidy plays in getting the players ready is more one of cleansing than fueling.
“It’s a little about getting their minds in the right place,” Cassidy said. “Every player’s probably a little bit frustrated for a different reason, so let’s get them out of their own way, so to speak, and just breathe and play.”
Sunday will be the last time the Bruins can count on one emotional advantage. It’s a potential elimination game for them and not for the Blues. If the series reaches the limit, the teams will bring equal desperation to the ice for Game 7 at TD Garden.
“There’s a certain pressure level on the team that’s up as well,” Cassidy said. “I mean, they’re going home and if it doesn’t go their way, then all the sudden they’re thinking–listen, I can’t speak for their psyche–but halfway through the game it’s not going their way, all the sudden, ‘Boy, we might go back to Boston now.’ You know, maybe they get outside their comfort zone the way they play. So there’s a challenge for them as well. For us, we don’t win our season’s done. If they lose, they get to keep playing. It might enter their minds. It might not”
The desperation element definitely will stay in the Bruins’ minds and fuel their actions.
“For us, if it doesn’t go our way, we’re packing and that’s it. It’s over,” Cassidy said. “Our guys have responded well all year. This is a group that plays hard. I’m not concerned at all with our effort and that part. It’s can we execute enough? Can we play our game better than they play theirs and keep playing?”
Another way of putting that: Are the Bruins as good as the Blues? 1146290 Boston Bruins “His injury’s a little more serious than some,” Cassidy said. “He was medically cleared with some warnings, made the decision to play, inspirational for us. Good player for us. We knew he wouldn’t be 100 Stewing over slewing, Bruins have motivation brewing percent, so we’re happy to have him out there. It just speaks a lot to his character and his willingness to play.”
Matt Grzelcyk participated in practice Wednesday, but did not play TOM KEEGAN Thursday.
June 7, 2019 at 10:36 am “Unfortunately, Griz was not cleared or he would have played too,” Cassidy said.
The Bruins’ top six forwards have been healthy. Now they need to The Bruins have all the motivation a hockey team could ever wish for produce healthy numbers. heading into Sunday’s Game 6 in St. Louis. Boston Herald LOADED: 06.08.2019 For one thing, Zdeno Chara playing with a broken jaw left the entire team wanting to win one for the captain. They fell just short, losing Game 5 to the Blues, 2-1, Thursday night.
For another, Tyler Bozak’s slew-foot that dropped Noel Acciari onto the ice led to the Blues’ second goal (David Perron), so the B’s are out-of- their-minds fed up with the officiating and ready to take it out on the Blues.
And then there is the desperate edge with which every hockey team facing elimination ought to be able to use to their advantage.
Toss in the fact that the Blues haven’t been as good at home during the playoffs as on the road and it all adds up to the Bruins stuffing a ton of righteous anger and confidence into their Midwest-bound luggage.
So now we’ll see if they’re a good enough hockey team to beat the tough-to-score-on Blues on Sunday night to force what would amount to a wildly entertaining Game 7 at TD Garden, because it’s going to take more than motivation to even the series against one tough hockey team.
After Game 3, Blues coach Craig Berube complained that the referees were calling too tight a game and Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said after Game 5 that the complaint changed the way the officials are calling the games and they let too much go. Torey Krug agreed that the tone of the officiating changed after Berube’s remarks.
“I think we all have the same opinion on it,” Patrice Bergeron said of the non-call on Bozak.
As for whether Berube’s complaints changed the tenor of the calls, Bergeron said, “I hope not. I hope not because that shouldn’t change anything.”
Regardless of how Game 6 is called, the Bruins must figure out a way to find space against the big, physical Blues defensemen and slip pucks past Jordan Binnington, who was terrific in saving 38 of 39 shots in helping the Blues take a 3-2 lead in the series.
In the three losses, the Bruins have managed just five goals.
“It feels like the same old story in the playoffs,” Torey Krug said. “If our power play’s not scoring … we’ve got to find a way to make things happen.”
Injuries to multiple defensemen don’t help, but have not been the primary problem for the Bruins.
Chara didn’t alter his style of play Thursday, despite playing with a broken jaw and a face mask. He doled out hits and blocked shots without fear and in so doing inspired teammates.
“He leads this team and everyone follows. I wish we could have gotten the win for him,” Marcus Johansson said. “It’s huge that he can play and that he goes in there and plays the exact same way that he always does. It shows what kind of leader he is. That’s huge and I think we’re going to take advantage of that next game.”
Said Krug: “There are no words to describe what Z did tonight and what he’ll be doing going forward.”
Hockey players have a very high standard for toughness. They aren’t easily impressed because they know it comes with the job description.
“He’s a great example of that,” Cassidy of Chara. “He even came out and said it: He’s not the only guy. They’ve got guys. We’ve got guys. Other teams. I’m sure Carolina, San Jose had guys who played hurt. That’s what you do this time of year.”
But you don’t typically do it three days after suffering a broken jaw. 1146291 Boston Bruins
Blues' Ivan Barbashev suspended one game for hit on Bruins' Marcus Johansson
Justin Leger
June 07, 2019 6:19 PM
The Blues will be without forward Ivan Barbashev in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Cassidy on Game 5: 'We're moving forward'
Barbashev has been handed a one-game suspension for his hit on Marcus Johansson in Game 5, the NHL Player Safety Twitter account announced on Friday.
St. Louis’ Ivan Barbashev has been suspended for one game for an Illegal Check to the Head on Boston’s Marcus Johansson. https://t.co/CVEqVANQ7a
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) June 7, 2019
Barbashev becomes the second Blues player in the series to receive a one-game suspension. Oscar Sundqvist was forced to sit out of Game 3 after boarding and injuring Matt Grzelcyk. Unlike Sundqvist, Barbashev was not penalized for his hit.
The 23-year-old has three goals and three assists in 24 games this postseason, including one goal during the Cup Final.
The Bruins will look to force a Game 7 on Sunday night in St. Louis.
Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 06.08.2019 1146292 Boston Bruins
Cassidy on Game 5 aftermath: 'Today is a new day. We're moving forward'
Joe Haggerty
June 07, 2019 4:32 PM
One day after vigorously ripping the officials for an “egregious” missed tripping call on Tyler Bozak kicking out Noel Acciari’s legs in a play that directly led to the Blues game-winning goal in Game 5, Bruins bench boss Bruce Cassidy was moving on. He said immediately in the postgame of the 2-1 loss that the officiating during Thursday night’s Game 5 was a “black eye” for the NHL, but Cassidy was refocusing on Sunday night’s Game 6 in a do-or-die Stanley Cup Final game against the St. Louis Blues at the Enterprise Center.
“Today is a new day. We're going to move forward and get ready for Game 6. That's what's in front of us. The other part, to expand a little bit, I've coached Noel Acciari for a long time. He's hard on the puck. That's his job, is to win pucks. He's a penalty killer and he's a shot-blocker. After the game, it's tough when you lose, generally coaches don't address the group, you will from time to time,” said Cassidy, during an off-day media availability with the media corps on Friday morning. “You walk through the room, you see a guy, he's despondent. He feels like he cost the team a game. That's a guy I feel for. I've grown tight to this group, these players.
Chara's Game 5 return inspirational for the Bruins
“They lay it on the line. I feel as bad for him as anything else. There's no call, so he feels like he didn't win his puck battle. That's a tough one. I have to pick that player up moving forward. There's a little bit of emotion that comes in after the game. The emotion now is we've got to put it behind us and we got to win Game 6. That's what's in front of us. How do we prepare to win Game 6? That's where my mindset is today.”
Nobody could blame Cassidy for being upset about the missed tripping call on Bozak that led to a game-winning, the missed Alex Pietrangelo hold on Torey Krug that led to a near-goal blocked by David Krejci, the Ivan Barbashev head shot targeted against Marcus Johansson and the Zach Sanford head shot that leveled Krug as well. None of those plays resulted in penalties on the Blues and all of them could have easily been called.
Certainly the focus has to be a lot less on the officiating that’s been suspect in the last two games, and needs to be more on generating offense, finishing off plays and figuring out a way for his top lines to being much more effective during 5-on-5 situations. That’s where the Stanley Cup Final is going to be won or lost whether the B’s make a desperate last stand during Game 6 in St. Louis, or push it Game 7 where the true champions and legends are made, and where the Bruins have an overwhelming amount of experience should they get there.
Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 06.08.2019 1146293 Boston Bruins
Bruins say return of Zdeno Chara was 'inspirational for us' despite loss
Joe Haggerty
June 07, 2019 2:55 PM
BOSTON – It obviously didn’t hold the storybook ending that anybody hoped for afterward, but there was still plenty of appreciation for Zdeno Chara’s toughness after Game 5 was in the books.
The Bruins ended up on the losing end of a 2-1 final score with a controversial non-call on a Noel Acciari trip that everybody was talking about, but Chara also brought the house down when he was in the starting lineup against the St. Louis Blues. The broken jaw didn’t end up sidelining the 42-year-old Chara for even a game, and he totaled over 16 minutes of ice time while killing penalties, throwing hits and generally playing a pretty good percentage of his usual game.
It was pretty clearly inspiration to his teammates out on the ice.
“It was great. It shows his character,” said Tuukka Rask. “It takes a lot for him not to play. Yeah, he’s got some big balls.”
Chara ended up being on ice for the Blues first goal when both Chara and Charlie McAvoy chased behind the net leaving Ryan O’Reilly wide open in the slot, but that was the only blip on the radar screen for the ultimate tough guy. In the good news department, a source with knowledge of the situation told NBCSportsBoston.com that Chara doesn’t have his jaw wired shut and that he was actually doing pretty well physically all things considered.
Bruce Cassidy said that his captain is taking some risks by playing with the significant injury, but there was never really much doubt that the 6- foot-9 captain would be in there.
“He’s a great example of [hockey toughness]. He even came out and said it, he’s not the only guy. [St. Louis] has got guys, we’ve got guys, other teams I’m sure, Carolina, San Jose had guys that played hurt.
"That’s what you do this time of year,” said Cassidy. “His injury is a little more serious than some. He was medically cleared with some warnings and he made the decision to play.
“[It’s] inspirational for us, good player for us, we knew he wouldn’t be 100% so we were happy to have him out there. It just speaks a lot to his character and his will to play.”
While the morale boost of Chara’s return didn’t result in a needed win for the Bruins in Game 5, it’s still going to go down in the annals of Bruins history as one of the gutsiest performances in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It’s also just another chapter in the Hall of Fame career for a B’s D-man that’s made a career out of toughness, perseverance and the competitiveness that had him out there on Thursday night.
Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 06.08.2019 1146294 Boston Bruins
These Blues stats don't bode well for the Bruins chances of winning the Cup
Jacob Camenker
June 07, 2019 2:13 PM
The Boston Bruins have to win the next two games without losing in order to take home the Stanley Cup. Safe to say, it will be easier said than done.
The last 25 times that a Stanley Cup series was tied at 2-2, the team that won Game 5 has gone on to win the series 18 times. That's a 72 percent success rate. Considering that stat and the fact that the Bruins are playing on the road in Game 6, it would only further complicate their path to the Cup.
Additionally, the St. Louis Blues have put forth a great effort in Games 5- 7 of series so far this season. In fact, they've only lost once in eight chances, according to the NHL PR Twitter account.
The @StLouisBlues improved to 7-1 in Games 5-7 of series this postseason, outscoring opponents 25-10 in those contests and allowing no more than two goals in each game.
The franchise owned a 42-54 all-time record in such contests entering 2019. #StanleyCup #NHLStats pic.twitter.com/JuFHrWXBTr
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) June 7, 2019
Add in the fact that the Blues have allowed two or fewer goals in each game, and that could become a problem for a Bruins team that was offensively-challenged in their 2-1 loss to the Blues on Thursday.
The Bruins did come back from a 3-2 deficit to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs in a series earlier this season. So, there is still hope. Still, the Blues will make this a very difficult road for the Bruins as the B's look to take home their seventh Stanley Cup.
Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 06.08.2019 1146295 Boston Bruins
St. Louis newspaper trolls Bruins with headline after loss
Jacob Camenker
June 07, 2019 1:26 PM
The Boston Bruins were unable to win in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final on Thursday night, falling to the St. Louis Blues by a score of 2-1. The loss put the Bruins down 3-2 in the best-of-seven series, but the end result was marred a bit by some poor officiating.
Most notably, a no-call on a blatant trip of Noel Acciari led to the second goal for St. Louis. On the play, Tyler Bozak clearly knocked Acciari down from behind, and it should have resulted in a penalty. Instead, the whistle never blew and while Acciari stayed down on the ice, the Blues managed to find the back of the net.
There was quite a bit of outrage from Boston fans in the wake of the missed call, but St. Louis is capitalizing on it. In fact, the St. Louis Post- Dispatch based the headline of their paper on the play in the ultimate trolling of Bruins fans (per David Carson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch).
"What A Trip" Stanley Cup Final edition of @stltoday. That is some world class headline trolling of Bruins fans. pic.twitter.com/B7xODNJYsC
— David Carson (@PDPJ) June 7, 2019
Well played, Post-Dispatch. Well played.
This certainly added fuel to the fire as already-angry Bruins fans saw it online. But hey, at least they did acknowledge the play and the obvious trip, unlike the NHL. Check out the highlight of the goal the NHL tweeted out last night.
Goal No. 7 ⃣ of the #StanleyCup Playoffs for @DP_57 holds up as the game-winner. pic.twitter.com/SWCmr9N5Bj
— NHL (@NHL) June 7, 2019
It's just a bit too convenient that this highlight was cut right after the penalty to Acciari occurred.
Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 06.08.2019 1146296 Boston Bruins
Blues' Ivan Barbashev to have NHL hearing for Marcus Johansson hit
Darren Hartwell
June 07, 2019 9:41 AM
It appears the Boston Bruins could get some justice out of their Game 5 loss to the St. Louis Blues in the Stanley Cup Final.
Blues forward Ivan Barbashev will have a hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety due to his high hit on Bruins forward Marcus Johansson at TD Garden on Thursday night, the league confirmed Friday.
Barbashev wasn't penalized for the play, which left Johansson shaken up after the Blues winger hit him in the head area after he passed the puck.
Marcus Johansson has returned to the ice after taking this hit from Ivan Barbashev #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/zr1dSj5k0D
— NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSBoston) June 7, 2019
But it's possible Barbashev could face discipline, as the NHL suspended St. Louis forward Oskar Sundvqist one game after his hit on Matt Grzelcyk knocked the Bruins defenseman out of Games 3, 4 and 5.
Johansson didn't miss game action as a result of the Barbashev hit, which could factor into whether the Blues forward gets a suspension. But the Bruins will be looking for something to go in their favor after railing against a no-call that led to St. Louis' eventual game-winning goal.
Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 06.08.2019 1146297 Boston Bruins
Noel Acciari, Tyler Bozak had very different accounts of Game 5 non-call
Darren Hartwell
June 07, 2019 9:30 AM
If you want confirmation the officials missed a tripping call on Noel Acciari in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final on Thursday night, look no further than Tyler Bozak.
After upending Acciari in plain view of the referee, the St. Louis Blues forward instinctively raised his arm to protest the penalty he assumed was coming.
Even Cam Neely was fired up about that no-call #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/lxXqmXYg52
— NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSBoston) June 7, 2019
But that penalty never came, and the Blues scored what proved to be the game-winning goal seconds later en route to a 2-1 win over the Boston Bruins at TD Garden.
Bozak obviously didn't confess his crime after the game, but he spoke a bit like a culprit who may have gotten away with something.
"It was just a puck battle for me," Bozak told Darren Pang of FOX Sports Midwest. "Obviously the game's fast, and you're trying to keep the puck in at that time and get the puck. And lucky enough for us, we got the puck back there and it ended up in the back of the net. So, we'll take it any way we can get it."
The veteran added to reporters he hadn't seen a replay of the sequence.
Tyler Bozak on the non-call on Acciardi, says it was a puck battle and he wasn’t sure what exactly happened. “But I’ll take it.”
He hasn’t seen a replay of it.
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 7, 2019
Let's compare Bozak's account to that of Acciari, who still was down on the ice when the Blues scored and had to be examined for a possible concussion as a result of the collision.
"It’s a missed call," Acciari said. "It has a big outcome in the game. They score a goal off it. That ends up being the game-winner. It’s just kind of embarrassing."
That's a pretty frank cricitism of the officiating, but Acciari wasn't alone in his opinion. Head coach Bruce Cassidy called the missed penalty "egregious" and suggested it's a "black eye" for the NHL, while defenseman Torey Krug insisted "that's a penalty every time."
Unfortunately for the Bruins, there's no real recourse. The NHL released an underwhelming statement on the non-call that translates roughly to "tough luck," and further criticism won't change the fact that Boston needs to win Game 6 in St. Louis on Sunday to keep its season alive.
Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 06.08.2019 1146298 Boston Bruins “What was being said on the bench was that you missed an F-ing call, is what was being said on the bench, for obvious reasons," Cassidy said.
"After that we had to settle down and play. We thought we got screwed Focus is on poor officiating in these Cup playoffs, and that's bad news but you got to keep playing and we did. We scored the next goal and gave ourselves a chance to win. We tried to rally around that moving forward." Joe Haggerty The NHL has a mess on its hands and has two more Stanley Cup Final June 07, 2019 8:55 AM games to clean it up and change the conversation. Right now the focus is still on the shaky level of officiating in the playoffs and the blown calls,
non-calls and catcalls from the fans that have hung like a cloud over the BOSTON – It was surprising to see/hear Blues head coach Craig Berube entire Stanley Cup Playoffs. complain about the officiating between Games 3 and 4 of the Stanley Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 06.08.2019 Cup Final given the kind of physical, envelope-pushing style that St. Louis has employed throughout the postseason.
It’s been even more surprising to see the NHL seemingly bend over backwards to appease Berube in the last couple of games, as the Bruins have been awarded only a handful of power plays while the Blues continue to smash the B’s in the face.
There was Ivan Barbashev's elbow to the head of Marcus Johansson that went uncalled in the first period and set the tone for everything else to come in Boston’s 2-1 loss in Game 5 at TD Garden on Thursday night. (Barbashev will have a hearing on Friday)
Then there was Zach Sanford drilling Torey Krug in the head in the second period, with no penalty called. And Alex Pietrangelo holding on to Krug’s arm for nearly five seconds on a play that opened up a scoring chance for the Blues, requiring David Krejci to jump in front of the goal to block a shot with his chest.
But the coup de grace for the Bruins was Tyler Bozak kicking Noel Acciari's legs out from under him while the B's forward had the puck. There was no tripping call on the play, as the Blues gained possession and immediately capitalized on David Perron's game-winning goal. In a Stanley Cup Playoff where blown calls have been the hot topic for hockey debate, the way things unfolded in Game 5 was unfortunately appropriate.
“That’s a penalty every time. There’s no ifs, ands, or buts about it," Torey Krug said. "I’m all for letting us play, but when it leads to scoring chances and the opposing team ends up with the puck, it should be going our way. It should be a penalty. They [the officials] missed one there, I think.”
The NHL Director of Officiating Stephen Walkom released a comment to a pool reporter following the game that essentially just told people to deal with it.
"We don't make comments on judgment calls within games," Walkom said. "There are hundreds of judgment calls in every game. The official on the play, he viewed it and he didn't view it as a penalty at the time."
Truth be told, Walkom should have been forced to step out to center ice and read that statement in front of the 16,000-plus Garden fans who forked over thousands of dollars to attend a Stanley Cup Final game, and then watched 60 minutes of blown calls and whistle swallowing where the officiating shouldn’t have been the first topic of discussion afterward.
The whole situation left a Bruins dressing room full of pissed off players who couldn’t understand how a series could be officiated differently after one complaint from the Blues coaching staff. They also couldn’t understand how a crew of officials could miss a blatant tripping call that led directly to the game-winning goal.
But then again, this is the same group of referees that missed the puck hit the netting in Columbus, missed a clear hand pass for the Sharks' overtime game-winner in St. Louis and won’t call another major penalty in these Stanley Cup Playoffs after butchering one badly in the Sharks/Golden Knights series.
“The narrative changed after Game 3. There was a complaint or whatever put forth by the opposition and it just seemed to change everything," head coach Bruce Cassidy said. "The non-call on [Noel] Acciari, their player is on his way to the box, it’s right in front of the official, it’s a slew foot. Our guy is gone. The [concussion] spotter took him out of the game for a possible concussion. It’s blatant and a big effect on the game."
What was the talk on the bench after the missed tripping call on Acciari led to the Perron goal and a 2-0 lead for the Blues? 1146299 Boston Bruins
NHL's statement on refs' blatant Game 5 no-call won't satisfy Bruins
Darren Hartwell
June 07, 2019 7:36 AM
It's no surprise the NHL had to answer for the obvious tripping call officials missed late in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final.
But we use the term "answer" loosely.
NHL director of officiating Stephen Walkom spoke to a pool reporter Thursday night to address Blues center Tyler Bozak's apparent trip of Boston Bruins forward Noel Acciari in the third period that didn't get called and led directly to a St. Louis goal that proved to be the game- winner.
Here's Walkom's statement, via NHL Network's Chris Johnston:
We don't make comments on judgment calls within games. There are hundreds of judgment calls in every game. The official on the play, he viewed it and he didn't view it as a penalty at the time.
Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy decried the no-call as "egregious," and several of his players also weren't happy. If there were seeking an apology from the league, however, they didn't get one.
That could be all we hear from the NHL about the call, too. Unlike the NBA and its "Last Two Minute Report," the NHL doesn't make public any reports on its officiating and whether referees missed calls in a given game.
In any case, those reports wouldn't change the outcome of the Bruins' 2- 1 loss that pushed them to the brink of elimination, so Boston will have to swallow its pride and regroup for a must-win Game 6 in St. Louis on Sunday night.
Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 06.08.2019 1146300 Boston Bruins The Bruins’ lead dogs have regularly turned to the power play as a catalyst for their 5-on-5 production. What had been a reliable weapon, however, flamed out in Game 5.
This is no way to chase the Stanley Cup: Bruins must cash in on chances The Bruins were 0 for 3 on the man advantage. They put only five pucks vs. Jordan Binnington on Binnington in six one-up minutes: two by Krug and one apiece for Marchand, Coyle and Steve Kampfer. Bergeron, Pastrnak and Krejci did not record a single shot. Fluto Shinzawa The Blues excelled at stacking three widebodies at the blue line. Jun 7, 2019 Whenever the Bruins rammed into St. Louis’ fortifying wall, the Blues spit them back out and sent the puck down the ice.
“I thought they did a good job of influencing us to one side,” Cassidy said. To the Bruins’ eyes, the rebounds caroming off Blues goalie Jordan “We’ve got to be quicker on that. Because we’re not partial to one side — Binnington look like gifts waiting to be opened. Pucks are pinging off his Marshy on one side, Pasta on the other. I think in the zone they’ve been pads, plump for recovery by waiting sticks. tight, so we’ve got to stretch them out to get some seams. Or we’ve got Rebounds are harmless, however, if Binnington’s teammates are to be less stubborn. Get a net presence and take the shot that’s available obstructing the Bruins’ passage and getting to them first. with that net presence. Then maybe stretch them out off shot recovery.”
“I think there’s certainly been some rebounds there,” Joakim Nordstrom Cassidy does not know whether he will roll 11 forwards again in Game 6. said. “We haven’t been able to get there enough. But I think that’s an It will depend on the availability of Matt Grzelcyk (concussion) and how area where we can expose him. It seems like the pucks are bouncing off Zdeno Chara (broken jaw) recovers from his Game 5 effort. Chara is him. We want to obviously shoot more and also get to those rebounds.” usually first in line after Tuukka Rask to hit the ice before the game and for each period. Chara did not make it onto the ice for the third period The Bruins were at their best in the first period in Game 5. They launched until all of the intermission time had expired. 17 pucks on Binnington while limiting the Blues to eight sniffs. At even strength, the Bruins attempted 22 shots. According to Natural Stat Trick, “It could be 11 and seven. It could be back to 12 and six,” Cassidy said. the Bruins recorded four high-danger attempts at even strength. The “Twelve and six, for us, is obviously our better formula. We did it probably Bruins’ best opportunity came when Brad Marchand whistled a wrister off 80 times out of 82 and all of the playoffs. It’s just more comfortable for us. the right post at 15:10. But we’re going to have to do what we have to do depending on the status of a few guys.” All of that totaled nothing on the scoreboard. The Athletic LOADED: 06.08.2019 “The first period, we had lots of will,” Bruce Cassidy said. “We were on them. We just didn’t finish. Sometimes when you walk away, it’s like they executed one more play than us. That’s why they won. It’s not like we were horrible and they were fantastic. It was a well-played hockey game. That’s why you get frustrated sometimes on outside influences on the game. It was a real good hockey game. We’ve just got to finish a few more plays, defend a little harder on a couple more and I think we’re right there.”
According to Natural Stat Trick, the Bruins have created 23 all-situations rebounds through five games. The Blues have totaled 13.
The Blues have been excellent at staying tight in front of Binnington. The defensemen are big. They are strong. They have good sticks. All of these elements have halted the Bruins’ advances toward the rebounds that Binnington has booted out.
The only time the Bruins solved Binnington in Game 5 was off a turnover inside the St. Louis defensive blue line. Torey Krug slammed down on Oskar Sundqvist, who had just received a high-slot bump from Colton Parayko. Because of the quickness of Krug’s read, Sundqvist could not alter his breakout until it was too late. Krug shook off Sundqvist’s high stick and fed Jake DeBrusk for a one-timer past Binnington.
Krug’s play took advantage of St. Louis in transition. The Blues could not reset and fall back into their compact in-zone structure.
It was an exception.
By limiting the Bruins’ rush game, the Blues have lowered the speed limit entering the offensive zone. As such, outside of briefer-than-ideal stretches, the Bruins have not been able to activate their east-west swarm.
When they are on, no line does this better than Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak. But the No. 1 line has done this so inconsistently that Cassidy, playing with 11 forwards in Game 5, had to dismantle his most dangerous trio.
Pastrnak saw most of his 5-on-5 time on David Krejci’s right side. DeBrusk, who started on the second line, was replaced by Marcus Johansson. Marchand and Bergeron took some even-strength shifts with Charlie Coyle as their right wing.
The top line remained silent. Through five games, Marchand and Bergeron have yet to score at 5-on-5. Ditto for Krejci and Pastrnak. When DeBrusk scored at 13:32 of the third, it was the first 5-on-5 goal scored by the top six in the series.
This is no way to chase the Stanley Cup. 1146301 Boston Bruins I don’t know what the referee’s “becauses” were. I don’t know what he said. Did he just miss it? Was he blocked out? Was there something obstructing his view? Did I have a mechanical problem with my eye? I ‘This is a tripping penalty missed’: Ex-official Bryan Lewis on another don’t know of any of those things that were offered as reasons by the non-call that puts the refs under scrutiny official.
He’s probably the second-most experienced referee they would have going into the finals. So I can’t find a mechanic that would say, “OK, I John Vogl missed this because …” We’re really only talking about a judgment factor, in my mind. So he looks at it and says, “No, I don’t think it’s a Jun 7, 2019 penalty.”
I look at this and say, “This is a tripping penalty missed.” We can say It’s been 20 years since Bryan Lewis stood in Buffalo’s arena and from our business, it’s very, very unfortunate. … And then, of course, it explained one of the most controversial goals in Stanley Cup history. The lends itself, as we have in our business, when I’ve got bad luck, that’s the former NHL director of officiating remains confident that he and the only luck I’ve got. From a referee’s perspective, this is the combination of referees got Brett Hull’s goal correct. a whole bunch of bad luck at the end of the day. The team goes in and scores really at the end of the game, and it becomes a game-winning Lewis has no idea how it went so wrong in Boston. goal — all those things just add to the magnitude.
“This is just a combination of flat-out bad judgment, bad luck to have the I can’t speak for the referee, but I would imagine there’d be some other team come down and shoot, score and ultimately win the hockey sleepless moments when you get a chance to look at it. game,” Lewis said by phone Friday. “Those are all the things you don’t want to have happen to you as an official.” And as you mentioned, the bad luck just followed each other on the biggest stage with the game-winning goal in the closing minutes. I saw Referee Kelly Sutherland has joined Ulf Samuelsson and Matt Cooke on the Boston coach said after the game, “The NHL is just getting a black the list of Bruins villains after allowing St. Louis’ Tyler Bozak to trip Noel eye with the officiating this playoffs.” Do you feel that or is it just … Acciari, leading to Thursday’s winning goal and a 3-2 series deficit for Boston in the Stanley Cup final. Let’s put it this way: If I was in the management position here, I’d be like, “Oh, my gosh. When can we get things turned around?” You think about “It seems to be on every sports broadcast that I’ve seen,” said Lewis, the five-minute major in the Vegas series. The hand pass that wasn’t. who oversaw the league’s officials from 1989 to 2000 after refereeing And a missed penalty last night. We’re not talking here about a minor more than 1,000 games and four Cup finals. “This gets magnified by the penalty missed at center ice. These are items of magnitude and you say, mere fact the winning goal was scored as the result of actions that I think “Holy gosh, when will this get turned around?” any of us that backed up the videotape would say, ‘You know what? That’s a penalty that should have been called.’” So to your point, this is just a bunch of officiating bad luck brought on by bad positioning. I can overemphasize the word bad. Bad judgment would The Athletic called on Lewis to explain what might have happened during be part of it. Bad positioning. Bad action by a player to say, “Oh, why’d Game 5 in Boston and to see if anything had changed since Game 6 of he do that?” But at the end of the day, it was a judgment call that we can the 1999 final, when Hull scored with his foot in the crease to lift Dallas to all debate whether it was or wasn’t, and there’s not much debate as to the Cup and sink Buffalo into a “No Goal” dismay that lingers to this day. whether it should have or should not have been a penalty. Here’s the conversation: As you said, it’s a tough day for anyone wearing a striped shirt in any Well, first off, I’ll get your thoughts on the Boston play overall. sport. As someone who’s worn that shirt so long, is it tough for you to see an official go through this or have officiating be such a headlining thing? What I try to do in these cases is put myself on the ice as an active official. It doesn’t make me be an expert, but it makes me have some Absolutely. It’s part of a fraternity, and you reach out and you feel for understanding of what may or may not happen. I happen to have been in them. There’s been some people — I’ll call it officiating duress for a the league when we brought in the two-referee system, so I can kind of variety of reasons — that I have written to and communicated with and speak a little on that and what it was intended to do. phoned and talked to because all of us with experiences have been through this at some particular point in time. So, yeah, you kind of reach You look at it and say, “OK, from where I am, the angle I’m looking at, the out to the guy. first thing that may cause me problems: Is there somebody in front of me? Did somebody skate across? Have I lost my balance? Am I falling?” For sure. Obviously, each conversation when you’d reach out would be In other words, is my attention diverted from where I should be looking? different, but is there a common theme you try to tell the guys when you Because the referee in the end zone, his responsibility is what they call do reach out? the action area. Let’s just say that you’re outside the blue line. Your responsibility is everything else going on. So somebody away from the They’ve got bosses in the building, and I know (director of officiating) play is slashed or hacked or whatever, that becomes your job. I don’t Steve Walkom was there. I’m sure Stephen would talk to him relative to want to see you come in and say, “Bryan, that’s an interference penalty,” things that we chatted about — positioning and all those kind of things. underneath my nose when I’m the one watching the action. Was there a mechanic that broke down, and how could we fix it in preparation for your next game, and all that kind of stuff. At the end of the day, we live and die by the fact that if I miss it, you should get it, but there are very clearly defined areas of responsibility. I Mine would be more along the lines of the proverbial shoulder to cry on. happened to be the referee in chief when we brought in the two-referee Part of it would be to encourage the guy. As down as you may feel today, system, so I’m looking here, and I can’t see anything that mitigates and anybody in the officiating business will get through it, and it’ll be turned allows for “I didn’t see this because …” around. At the end of the day, hopefully, he will be better for it.
I don’t have it freeze-framed and looking at it, so I would ask: Does there Now, I know you weren’t on the ice for the Brett Hull goal back in Buffalo, appear to you to be anything that would say “Referee X is blocked out but it’s been 20 years and it still pops up whenever something like this because …”? happens. Is there …
Not from the angles I saw. No, you made it pop up. I didn’t. You did. (Laughs.)
And I agree. I’m not here to dispute. I’m here to walk you through what I True. would do if I’m on the ice. And you know what? At the end of the day here, we’re talking about So now it becomes an opinion of that referee deep in the end zone something here where one is a mechanic and one is a judgment call. looking at it and saying, “I don’t think it’s that bad.” You’ve got to The mechanic of that one — and I don’t know what I did two days ago, understand, TV or anybody can look up all kind of camera angles that I never mind 20 years ago — but we’ve had situations that happened, don’t have, and I’m not looking at it. So my opinion says, “That’s not a even during that season, that were identical in nature and ruled in the penalty because …” same manner. I appreciate the fact that people don’t like it, or they feel they were cheated, whatever the language would be. There has to be some comfort in the fact that as you walk through the rulebook — and in that particular case then, I walked through the rulebook that night. I never left the arena until Gary Meagher, our PR guy, said, “OK, it’s good to go.”
A rebound off the goalpost, a rebound off the goalie doesn’t change possession, and there you look at it, all right, it’s a tough mechanic. And I read from the rulebook that night — I remember doing that, reading from the rulebook. You don’t know it, you don’t like it, everybody feels you’ve been wronged or whatever have you, you have to work out and say, “Well, it was right. If that happened again, I would do it the same way again.”
Where you look at a situation here, we’re talking about judgment, and as a result of looking at something, you might say, “You know what? Maybe I wouldn’t do it that way the next time.” So for me, it’s not really fair to draw a comparison. One is a mechanic based on the rulebook that’s clearly described, and the other one is judgment aspect.
That makes sense. So, as you mentioned, looking at the mechanic issue of it for the Hull one, there is nothing really to change from 20 years ago? Or nothing you would alter?
No. And you know what? First of all, it was a very tough rule to deal with anyway with your foot in the crease. And I’m going through that in another league. I’m a referee chief of university hockey in Ontario, and we’re going through that because that’s a common rule that shows up in the playoffs. Everybody is trying to get the goalie off his game, all right? And when I’m at a game now, I actually chart how many guys are active in and around the crease. I’ve learned over the years that’s a style of play by some teams.
That’s one of the rules that we are looking at this year at the university level is should we tighten this up? To use international hockey as an example, if you go and you stand in the crease for any reason, they stop the play and take the faceoff outside. That’s a significant rule option, but it’s there, with the message being to the attacking players: “Stay the heck out of the crease and let the goalie do his job.”
Which was always the intent. I don’t want to say it was a good rule or a bad rule because my job was to make sure they got written in the rulebook and we told the officials what to do with it. … If I had a chance to take the tape and walk you through the rebound, the bounce off the goalpost or the bounce off the goalie and then show you the rulebook, I would like to think you would understand it better.
I actually said to a guy today — we were talking about a conservation situation for a guy who wants to add an addition onto his house. I’m a politician up here in town, as well, and I said, “Here’s the rules, and here’s the regulations. These are what they are, but you don’t have to like them.” And that would be the same thing in Buffalo. Here’s what it is. It’s tough to explain. You don’t have to like it.
I’ve seen a bunch of things mentioned today that there should be expanded replay, there should be a ref at ice level, there should be more coach’s challenges. What do you think could be done to kind of lessen these controversial plays?
(Sighs.) I tried to think of that. I got asked that this morning. How do you solve that? How do we solve what it is?
Replay came in for five, maybe six reasons, and it seemed to work. Then all of a sudden this happens, that happens, we look and say, “How do we fix it? Well, why can’t we go to replay?” So that goes back to the coach’s challenge, goes back to the play at the blue line. I’m having a tough time thinking how can I be upstairs.
Let’s just say it’s a high stick. I’m up top and I think, “Holy God. He hit him with a high stick. How do I stop play?” Then I look at the replay to find out it’s his own player’s stick or a teammate’s stick. In the meantime, I’ve stopped play by the attacking team going in on the defending goal. I think I can give you enough examples of why more replays are not needed.
Years ago, it was the judgment of the official. The coach and the manager or the fans could dispute that, but at the end of the day, it was ultimately my decision as I walked out of the building. So I’m not an advocate for more replays. I think that we have to guide and school and counsel our officials to make sure they do what is right. We will always have mistakes.
To be very candid, I don’t know how we build a better mousetrap.
The Athletic LOADED: 06.08.2019 1146302 Boston Bruins Let the big dogs eat
Many sports sayings become clichéd for a reason, which isn’t because sporting humans are boring and uncreative, it’s because those saying are Bourne: Seven thoughts about the final with the Blues just one win away sometimes correct and relevant. Sort of like how in the big picture in from their first Stanley Cup hockey, “your best players have to be your best players.” By one particular shot attempt stat – Corsi relative to teammates – the Bruins top line of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak were Justin Bourne Boston’s worst line in Game 5. And as a reminder, that’s at home, with last change. With the Blues, the top guys in that category were either on Jun 7, 2019 the Ryan O’Reilly line, David Perron or were one of their big three D- men.
Seven thoughts The Blues won.
Tyler Bozak: didn’t mean to do that, did it, should’ve been called. But you All these pieces of information seem connected. know that It’s impossible to play armchair doctor, but if the Bruins top guys aren’t I hate even talking about these sorts of plays, but it’s pretty hard not to hurt – and we should note, they almost certainly are, though who and to given the impact the non-call on Bozak had on the outcome of the game. what degree isn’t known – they deserve a swift kick in the pants. They (I mostly hate talking about it because the comment section and Twitter just haven’t been good enough, and have to find another gear or it just tend to devolve into partisan “whataboutism,” which is the worst.) isn’t going to happen for Boston this year.
I agree with literally everyone, it was absolutely a penalty on Bozak. But I Parayko has been amazing want to talk about how a smart player ends up making a play like that, I don’t know if this guy’s name has come up in the Conn Smythe which looks so utterly dumb given the game state (1-0 in the third on the conversation much, but if the Blues win, it certainly should. Jay road in the offensive zone). Bouwmeester had an excellent Game 5, which was huge for the Blues (I What’s tough in a fast game like Game 5 is that when you’re in the thick mentioned his performance the rest of the way would be key for the of it, having an overview of what’s happening on the ice is extremely Blues in a recent article). But Bouwmeester hasn’t suddenly found the hard. Goddamn is it easy to play from the couch and press box. You can fountain of youth – he just happens to be playing alongside Parayko, who see all 10 skaters, you can see plays start to unfold and you can almost has been the Blues do-it-all shutdown godsend. always find the open guy (or at least the open area of the ice) where the Yesterday there was a play where Marchand took off to the races for a puck should go. But placed in the midst of the forest amongst the trees, certain breakaway, but the much bigger Parayko got on his horse and got you’re constantly trying to take stock of what that picture looks like up to a speed that made Marchand pull the chute on the drive, curling despite the objects in the way, and so the more you can scan around like and delaying in hope of support. It was a great example of how Parayko a Google car driving through a neighborhood, the easier it is for you to turns events into non-events. He has a good stick, good feet and a good ballpark the whole map of the ice surface. head. That’s a nice combo in a huge bodied defender. With that, you often have to deal with getting past one battle before you Chara is a madman can get to the next, which is more or less what happened with Bozak. He saw early that the puck was rimmed around and would end up along the Having myself had a broken jaw, I can barely watch Zdeno Chara play wall near the hashmarks. (Excuse the Zapruder-quality Images below, right now. I just know how each bump vibrates your face, and how much but despite the low quality, they will really help emphasize my points.) it would’ve hurt me when I was dealing with jaw pain. I was hesitant to With that, to even get to the battle as the guy with a legit chance to win eat toast, for crying out loud. Chara never seemed quite comfortable to the puck, he’s got to beat big ol’ Brandon Carlo to the puck. He’s realized me, and that could well be due to, y’know, that. Even when he’s getting this below and started jockeying for body position with a few hard strides. glorified for running at the first guy he could hit and throwing a check, let’s note that he ended up on his keister. It very well could be that a little Their shoulders make contact, but Bozak has the speed (I mean, wariness, a little hesitance to throw everything into the hit had him more comparably, in this instance). He’s going to get to the puck first. on his heels and in turn, had him on his pants. After having just completed that battle, Bozak must prepare because he I do believe that when a player shows a will to win like Chara, it is knows there’s another one to come, this time with Noel Acciari. It’s most inspiring for other players. You have zero excuse not to give all of likely Acciari will let the puck come to him and then either eat it or play it yourself at that point. But having a defender playing somewhat-poor-to- higher in the zone. By the time Bozak switches targets to battle numero OK minutes while scratching a player the team has seemed to like in this dos, Acciari is already at the puck and isn’t just stationary, he’s moving series (David Backes) isn’t a win for the team, or at least wasn’t in Game back and in to Bozak. 5. It’s very possible he’ll be more comfortable with his jaw guard next With the whole “two trains traveling in opposite directions at different game, more sure what to expect in terms of pain and will play better. speeds” equation to work out in real, split-second time, and with Acciari But he might not. And that’d be bad news hockey bears for Beantown. wisely protecting the puck, the whole thing comes up on Bozak faster than he expects it to. He’s still looking at the puck, even as he’s moved Binnington’s attitude almost above it here. I have no idea if I like Jordan Binnington’s attitude or not, but I’m certain I There’s just no access to that puck from that position (a different player would if I were his teammate and just as certain that I would not if I was may have more wisely selected the “body check” button on their playing against him. In hockey terms, that’s a compliment. Nothing controller here). But still, I get how it happens, as foolish as it looks. seems to rattle this guy’s cage, though he isn’t shy to show when he is, in There’s no intent, no plan of a slewfoot, nothing like that – it’s just a last- fact, mentally affected by events (the whack on Bishop, the comments ditch effort reach where the play has put him in a really bad spot. he’s made, the way he skates by the opposition whenever he can). I think it’s a healthy way to be – he’s not a robot that’s unaware of the moment, The reality of hockey is, manslaughter is supposed to be treated the he’s just unafraid of it. Aware but unrattled – that sounds like a pretty same as murder with most penalties – premeditation doesn’t matter. good demeanor for a goalie on the verge of winning the Stanley Cup, Nobody cares if you meant to high stick someone, if you do it, you’re in doesn’t it? the box. Still, the magnitude of this play may be getting a little overblown, even as large as the moment was. It still wasn’t more important than the Bruins D has to be banged up beyond Big Z other 59:30 combined. Nor was it cause for a referee summit to overhaul the system. Neither is the series rigged. Chara aside, the Bruins D-corps must have a handful of other injuries. Cassidy alluded to it postgame, which made sense in my head. If Chara The Bruins got dealt some bad cards. When you let your opponent keep couldn’t operate up to appropriate speed, they’d have been down to five. the game close, or even play with the lead in the third period of a Cup That’s not ideal, but it’s livable with a few young D-man in the Bruins mix. final game in your building, you’re a little more susceptible to the sting of The fear, I’m guessing, was that there was going to be a couple of guys a random chance missed call hurting really bad. And certainly, that one who couldn’t quite go, at least one more anyway. And if that player AND hurt. Chara couldn’t go, well, four D simply isn’t livable, given a penalty or two or an injury leaves you completely hamstrung.
I’m guessing they go back to 12 and 6 in Game 6 (from 11 and 7) knowing that Chara can at least play for sure (though what they’ll get is still a mystery).
And finally …
Blues fans are pretty pumped about this
I got this message unsolicited from TicketIQ, so I can’t fully verify the information, but their account is verified so let’s run with it.
Game 6 in St. Louis is the second most expensive ticket for a North American major sporting event over the past decade, based on average cost.
Certainly, there has been some waiting – that city is ready to explode.
Speaking of waiting, the teams don’t match up again until Sunday, where the Blues will have the chance to be only the fourth team over the past 12 years to win a Stanley Cup at home, with the last being the Blackhawks in 2015. Get. Your. Popcorn. Ready.
The Athletic LOADED: 06.08.2019 1146303 Boston Bruins
A day later, Bruce Cassidy focused on rebuilding confidence of Noel Acciari, Bruins
Joe McDonald
Jun 7, 2019
During these Stanley Cup playoffs, the hockey world has learned how genuine and honest Bruce Cassidy is as a person and coach.
That was on display after the Bruins’ 2-1 loss in Game 5 Thursday night at TD Garden when he was asked about the officiating and how it affected the outcome of the game. Cassidy described the continually sub-par officiating during the playoffs as a “black eye” on the NHL and added that he was disappointed for the egregious non-calls.
His comments could have been chalked up as being in the heat of the moment, but he echoed his statements Friday morning before the team traveled to St. Louis to prepare for Game 6 on Sunday.
He expanded on his comments by providing an inside look into how a non-call on the Blues’ Tyler Bozak affected the Bruins’ Noel Acciari after Bozak cut out his leg. Acciari was taken out of the play and was looked despondent on the ice seconds later when St. Louis scored its second goal of the game that proved to be the winner. A concussion spotter then removed Acciari from the game.
The Bruins players respect Acciari for his relentless style of play and willingness to do anything to help the team win. He’s a leader by example on the ice and isn’t afraid to speak his mind in the room. So, when a player with his work ethic takes responsibility for the loss, it’s tough for a coach or teammate to witness a situation that could have been avoided if the proper call was made on the ice.
“I’ve coached Noel Acciari for a long time. He’s hard on the puck, that’s his job is to win pucks,” Cassidy said. “He’s a penalty killer. He’s a shot blocker, so after the game it’s tough when you lose. Generally, coaches usually don’t (talk to) the group. They will from time to time, but you walk through the room and you see a guy and can tell he’s despondent. He feels like he cost the team a game and there’s a guy I feel for.
“I’ve grown tight to this group and these players. They lay it out on the line, so I feel as bad for him any anything else because there’s no call and he feels like he didn’t win his puck battle. That’s a tough one, so I’ve got to pick that player up as well moving forward. So, that’s a little bit of the emotion that goes into it after the game. The emotion now is we have to put it behind us and we’ve got to win Game 6, that’s what is in front of us. How do we win Game 6? That’s where my mindset is today.”
That’s some interesting insight into what happens behind closed doors in such a situation when these players are competing for hockey’s ultimate goal.
Not that he needs to remind the team of what’s at stake, but Cassidy put it plain and simple on Friday. He mixed in a bit of gamesmanship, which is expected when a team faces elimination from the Stanley Cup final.
“Listen, there’s a certain level of pressure on the team that’s up as well,” he said. “They’re going home and if it doesn’t go their way then all of a sudden they’re thinking, ‘We’ve got to go back to Boston now’ and maybe they get outside their comfort zone. So, there’s a challenge there for them as well.
“For us, if we don’t win our season is done. If they lose, they get to keep playing, so there’s that level that might enter their minds, it might not. We know what’s at stake, in terms of if it doesn’t go our way; we’re packing, that’s it. It’s over. Our guys have responded well all year. This is a group that plays hard. I’m not concerned at all what our effort will be.”
It’ll be interesting to see how Game 6 is officiated for both sides, but the Bruins said they’re only focused on finding a way to win.
The Athletic LOADED: 06.08.2019 1146304 Boston Bruins could really use scoring help, Neal would have the opportunity to regain the offensive form he most recently showed in Vegas.
From Lamoriello to Jason Botterill (Buffalo): Andrew Ladd Duhatschek Notebook: What if NHL GMs played the white elephant gift exchange with bad contracts? Ladd was signed by the previous regime on Long Island and it may well be that injuries have taken their toll and that at 33, he’ll never be a 50- point scorer again. But he is a proven winner, a heart-and-soul player Eric Duhatschek and a former captain in Winnipeg. With new coach Ralph Krueger in place, Ladd could be a valuable dressing-room presence, helping to Jun 7, 2019 reinforce Kruger’s messaging among the Sabres talented, if occasionally erratic, young players. Ultimately, the Sabres could use someone to do
for them what Justin Williams did for Carolina this past season – and help Do you ever have a white elephant gift exchange at your family Buffalo’s emerging talent learn what it takes to succeed on the Christmas dinner? You know the game I mean. Every guest is asked to professional hockey path. bring a brightly wrapped present, usually something that’s gathering dust From Botterill to Rob Blake (Los Angeles): Kyle Okposo in a closet. Just before the turkey gets served, the mystery gifts are handed out, one by one – and subsequently swapped back and forth until Does anyone need a power-play fix more than L.A.? OK, maybe everyone ends up with someone else’s treasure. Once in a great while, Nashville. But the Kings were a bottom-five team with the man advantage you can even find a hidden gem among all the re-gifted merchandise, last year and Okposo managed seven of his 14 goals on the power play, something that appeals to you, even if it happened to be a discard from where he has long been a force. Concussion symptoms derailed his your brother-in-law’s office party. season last year, but a fresh start for Okposo – maybe on a line with former Des Moines Buccaneers teammate Trevor Lewis – would create I’ve long imagined an NHL version of the same game. greater scoring balance on a Kings’ team that will be in transition for at In my variation, you’d seat a dozen general managers in a circle – and least a couple more years. each would come equipped with a bad contract that they desperately From Blake to Kyle Dubas (Toronto): Ilya Kovalchuk wanted to unload. This past week, the idea came into sharper focus after my colleague Jonathan Willis posted a well-researched story ranking the Kovalchuk loved L.A. off the ice, even if his on-ice adjustment wasn’t top 25 candidates for the NHL’s upcoming buyout window. nearly as smooth. But Kovalchuk ultimately returned to North America from the KHL with the goal of winning a championship. If that’s still a Helpfully, he also explained why about 10 or 12 of the NHL’s worst priority, then the chances are far greater in Toronto over the next two contracts are virtually buyout proof. Once you factor in the age of the years than they are in L.A. Kovalchuk still has great hands. Even if he player; how the contracts are structured (signing bonuses, for example, can’t get around the ice the way he once did, when he’s on his game – cannot be bought out); and the cost to replace a player, on some which he showed occasional flashes of last year – he can still be a occasions it didn’t make any practical sense to buy them out. dynamic performer. It’ll take a strong coach to manage Kovalchuk, but A lot of these contracts – for the likes of Loui Eriksson, Ilya Kovalchuk, the Leafs have that in Mike Babcock. Kovalchuk in Toronto would only Andrew Ladd, Milan Lucic, Kyle Okposo, Patrick Marleau and others – work however if … also come equipped with no-move or no-trade protection for the players, From Kyle Dubas (back) to Blake: Patrick Marleau adding a further level of complication to an already complex problem. For family reasons, Marleau wants to return to southern California. Partly But for the purposes of this exercise/parlor game, let’s waive that the inquiries Dubas made on his behalf were designed to facilitate that, if consideration and see what happens if you shuffled a few of those possible. Marleau only has a year remaining on his contract, but his contracts around. connections to both Blake and new coach Todd McLellan suggest that Ultimately, the goal is a serious one – to give a player struggling in one he, like Okposo, would create a positive impact on the cultural organization a chance to make a fresh start somewhere else. Even if adjustments the Kings are trying to make in conjunction with their rebuild. they cannot exactly resurrect their flagging careers, the hope is that they That would give Blake a second turn in our game, resulting in Blake to can contribute more to a new club than what they’re accomplishing with Holland: Dion Phaneuf their current teams. There are a lot of different ways you can play the game, but let’s keep it simple for our GMs. Once someone hands you a Now, the odds of Phaneuf actually waiving his no-move to go to bad contract, then you get to pass along one of your own. Edmonton from comfy Los Angeles are probably negligible. But going to Edmonton would give Phaneuf a chance to finish his career in the city Let’s begin. where he was born and also complete an Alberta trifecta (junior career in From Ken Holland (Edmonton) to Jim Benning (Vancouver): Milan Lucic Red Deer and first pro team, the Calgary Flames). And let’s face it, for as long as Connor McDavid is the face of the Oilers’ franchise, any player It hasn’t been a fit for Lucic in Edmonton and he’s openly acknowledged that still has his competitive juices flowing is going to want to play on the that a move to his hometown would be welcome. On a Vancouver team same team as him. with so much emerging young talent, someone of Lucic’s physical presence might create an improved comfort level as they adjust to life in Show them the money! the NHL. Lucic looks as if he would be happier anywhere but Edmonton Since we’re referencing the work of colleagues this week, Craig right now. Maybe the chance to return to his hockey-playing roots sparks Custance did a nice job of putting together a first look at free agency for something within him. the summer of 2019. The focus was on the impressive UFA class, which From Benning to Brad Treliving (Calgary): Loui Eriksson is as deep as it’s been in a while, maybe forever. But when you also factor in the number of prominent young restricted free agents – all Chances are the Flames will be moving on from Michael Frolik this wanting to make a killing in their second contracts – who are also trying offseason (Frolik is going into the final year of his contract and was the to negotiate expensive extensions, you wonder: Is there going to be player going the other way in the aborted Jason Zucker deal). If that enough money to go around? happens and if the Flames want someone to step in and play alongside Mikael Backlund in Frolik’s spot, Eriksson could be a seamless The NHL’s current cap is set at $79.5 million and projected to rise to $83 replacement. Eriksson possesses many of same two-way characteristics million. While there’s some wiggle room, it’s not a lot, given that just as Frolik and Calgary has a heavy concentration of Swedish players that about every team is already burdened by a salary-cap anchor or two that may help him acclimate quickly. will limit what they can do – and how much they can spend.
From Treliving to Lou Lamoriello (New York Islanders): James Neal The problem is exacerbated by the fact that the cost of signing those RFAs is going to be higher than ever. It was only three years ago, when Some people believe Neal’s productive years in Nashville overlapped the going rate for the Mark Scheifeles and Nathan MacKinnons, the with Barry Trotz’s time behind the bench, but the reality is, Neal didn’t Johnny Gaudreaus and Sean Monahans, fell somewhere in the $6- to arrive until the season after Trotz’s departure for Washington. But given $7-million per season range on a long-term deal. Now those deals will Trotz’s ties to the Nashville market, he could get an in-depth scouting seem like eye-popping bargains, given what the likes of Mitch Marner, report on Neal’s strengths and shortcomings. On an Islanders team that Brayden Point, Mikko Rantanen, Sebastien Aho, Matthew Tkachuk and But league-wide, and especially among the decision-makers when it all the rest are going to demand in their new deals. comes to rule changes, the far greater concern is how the officiating standard continues to vary so widely from month to month. That’s Part A of the problem. Katie Strang did an investigation of this phenomenon earlier in the Part B is that unusually strong cast of unrestricted free agents heading to playoffs– outlining the peculiar rhythm of almost every NHL season. The market this season. The names are familiar to you by now – starting with rules are the rules for a while; then they get relaxed a little in the playoffs. three big fish who ended the season in Columbus (Artemi Panarin, Matt Duchene and goalie Sergei Bobrovsky), not to mention Erik Karlsson, It appeared as if a directive went out at the start of the Stanley Cup final, Tyler Myers, Jake Gardiner, Jeff Skinner, Kevin Hayes, Joe Pavelski, instructing referees to tighten things up. That lasted three games; and Anders Lee, Mats Zuccarello, Gus Nyquist, Micheal Ferland, Marcus then in the next two, they were back to where they were earlier in the Johansson, Ryan Dzingel, Wayne Simmonds, Jordan Eberle – all of playoffs. What’s going to happen in Game 6? Nobody knows. It’s a whom are going to command interest in the market. guessing game – and that’s problematic. Everybody wants consistency. When you don’t get it, it creates uncertainty and frustration – and it takes Some have more red flags attached than others – injury concerns, or the spotlight away from the play on the ice, which is where you ideally advancing age, or both, which may mitigate what they actually earn. want it trained right now.
Most years, even when the free-agent crop is just so-so, a handful of Unhappily, that level of confusion is also a problem for managers and players fall through the cracks – and linger on the market for weeks and their team-building strategies. In the copycat way of the NHL, the Stanley sometimes months. This year, the risk seems far greater. Cup winner often dictates the style of play that everyone else adopts Accordingly, there is a real danger here – for players and for the agents moving forward. Accordingly, when the dust eventually settles after this that represent them – of miscalculating the market. If your client happens postseason ends, what intelligence can a GM reasonably take into his to be one that falls through the cracks early because teams are running offseason war room from what he’s seen, as he puts together a roster for out of cap space, ultimately, they may have to sign for a deep discount or the start of play in 2019-20? attend training camps on a tryout basis. If you based your decisions strictly on regular-season action, then the What it also does is put the teams with dollars to spend – such as the value of small and skilled players, such as Clayton Keller, Marner and Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Flyers, Florida Panthers, New York Gaudreau, is heightened. Islanders, Colorado Avalanche and the New Jersey Devils, among others If you based your decisions on what’s been happening in the postseason, – in a very enviable position. where harder, heavier players have thrived, then you might need to re- Philadelphia took the first step in reuniting their new coach, Alain evaluate your priorities. Vigneault, with a former New York Rangers’ centreman by acquiring the There was a curious six-year period between 2010 and 2015 when the rights to Hayes for a fifth-round pick. Presumably, the hope there is that Chicago Blackhawks won three championships, with a speedy, skilled Hayes will sign ahead of July 1 and take himself off the market. Why team, and the Los Angeles Kings won twice, with an emphasis on would he do that, this close to the finish line? Well, if the Flyers put a toughness and grit. That was confusing for long-range planning – how it firm, attractive offer on the table, and it’s a destination that ranked high could flip flop so dramatically from year to year. This is an equally on his list anyway, it might not be the worst idea ever. Almost every puzzling moment in time. player that’s gone down that path before – think Keith Yandle, whose rights were traded by Arizona to Florida – made out like a financial The reality is, teams are almost certainly going to become a hybrid of bandit. sorts, with a foot in each camp, preparing for every eventuality.
If I were a player, anticipating the cash crunch that is sure to come at Why was Devante Smith-Pelly so effective for Washington in last year’s some point this offseason, I’d think about trying to be off the market first playoffs, but could never find his footing again in this past regular and get signed before the money runs out. Even if that approach goes season? against the conventional thinking, you hope that any agents, trying to act responsibly, are at least alerting their clients to that possibility, so they Because the playoffs tend to reward the big and strong, over the fleet can go into the summer with their eyes wide open. and frail. That may well be the lasting lesson of the 2019 playoffs, however they turn out. Because it does require you to probe a little below the surface. Recently, because teams have been so successful in re-signing their own UFAs, If the NHL cannot escape an officiating cycle that keeps repeating itself few players in the John Tavares category ever hit the open market. This year after year, teams will need to protect themselves against summer feels different. Collectively, GMs will tell you, trying to make the consistently inconsistent refereeing by keeping a few old-school warriors financial pieces fit will be their single most challenging task of the around. summer. And also the one that will create the greatest headaches. Some, of course, may even see that as a good thing.
What … officiating … again? The Athletic LOADED: 06.08.2019 This past week, I was speaking to an NHL executive about something draft-related when the conversation veered to officiating. He asked: What have you thought about the refereeing in the playoffs? I paused for a moment and hesitantly answered: So far, I like it in the Stanley Cup final better than I did in the first three rounds.
This conversation took place the morning after Game 4, and he pounced on my response. His own take was that the first three games between the Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues were called more or less by the book. That meant a penalty was a penalty and it helped the Bruins, because they were winning the special teams’ battle. Game 4 reverted back to the 2019 playoff norm, in which the ‘let-them-play’ school of officiating held sway. That’s when referees get so concerned about influencing the outcome of a game with a late penalty call that anything borderline tends to get ignored. Ultimately, Game 5 turned on a play just like that: Tyler Bozak tripping up Noel Acciari in the third, no penalty on the play and David Perron scoring the eventual game-winner seconds later. Depending upon your point of view, it was either a missed or an ignored call.
When it comes to the state of NHL officiating, most of the focus this spring has been on video replay – and its role in potentially helping referees make the correct call. 1146305 Boston Bruins The second star: Charles Barkley – Who says that people from other sports can’t grasp the subtleties of hockey fandom?
BRAD MARCHAND ON CHARLES BARKLEY: “I THINK HE JUST DGB Grab Bag: Keys to victory for Blues and Bruins, stolen trophies and WANTS TO BE MY FRIEND” PIC.TWITTER.COM/8DIDXYJ88U when players gave real interviews — HEART OF NHL (@HEARTOFNHL) JUNE 2, 2019
The first star: Alex Pietrangelo – If you’re a parent and you can go the Sean McIndoe rest of the week without saying “Settle down, buffalo head” to your kid ten Jun 7, 2019 times a day, you’re a better person than I am.
I’VE HEARD A LOT OF CHIRPS OVER THE YEARS ON THE ICE … BUT ALEX PIETRANGELO TELLING DAVID BACKES TO The Stanley Cup will be in the building on Sunday in St. Louis, as the "SETTLE DOWN, 헯혂헳헳헮헹헼 헵헲헮헱" STICKS OUT AS ONE Blues try to close out the final and take home their first-ever OF THE MOST CREATIVE. PIC.TWITTER.COM/F7JC5W8VHL championship. But even with only one or two more games to go, this series is still very much up for grabs. What will it take to win? After — CRISTIANO SIMONETTA (@CMS_74_) JUNE 1, 2019 consulting with various experts and insiders around the league, here are Be It Resolved ten keys to victory the rest of the way. The weirdest story in hockey this week – and maybe this year – is the Blues: While the whole urinal story was fun for a few days, Carl case of the missing Kelly Cup. The ECHL’s championship trophy was Gunnarsson doesn’t actually need to keep standing right next to Craig won last year by the Colorado Eagles. And this week, we found out that Berube every time he pees, the Blues coach has said, before adding that they never gave it back. it’s also 4:00 a.m. so maybe get the hell out of his house. According to league commissioner Patrick Kelly, the Eagles just kept the Bruins: Must remember that the Stanley Cup final is all about creating trophy instead of returning it, possibly because they’re no longer in the indelible moments that define legacies, so if you score a big goal in league (they moved to the AHL this past season). The Eagles say that overtime don’t forget to jump and fly through the air for absolutely no real they tried to arrange a return but never heard back. The league says that reason. isn’t the case, and it’s unclear why the Eagles couldn’t just drop the thing Blues: Pat Maroon’s entire family is from St. Louis and have all been in the mail. Either way, the ECHL had to have a new Kelly Cup created, a Blues fans for decades, so let’s get him to politely ask them to stop replica which will become the new trophy, at least until they can constantly muttering about how something terrible is about to happen. reacquire the old one.
Bruins: Their powerplay has so been dominant that it was recently Two things here. First, I think we can all agree that the Eagles absolutely praised by Don Cherry, and if anyone would know about the Boston lost the trophy and were really hoping the league had forgotten about it. Bruins using an extra man in the playoffs, it’s that guy. We’ve all been there. If you ever lend me something, there’s a 75 percent chance I will immediately misplace it, then lie and claim it’s totally around Blues: I don’t know, maybe try playing that “Gloria” song for a change here somewhere every time you ask about it until one of us dies. and see if that helps? Second, the NHL needs to steal this idea. Bruins: Could really use the unstoppable goal-scoring prowess of a Bruins legend like Phil Esposito from the mid-70s or Cam Neely from the Not with the Stanley Cup. That’s too important, and besides, there are early 90s or David Pastrnak from the first two rounds. those two guys with white gloves who follow it around at all times and probably have secret ninja powers. But what about the individual player Maple Leafs: Are not, in the strictest technical sense, involved in this awards? I think we’d have something to work with there. series, but still need to be mentioned in every article about hockey anyone ever writes. So here you go. Here’s what I’m proposing. Starting this year, be it resolved that we tell every award winner that they can keep their trophy for one year. Take it Blues: Should stay focused by remembering that there are far less home, put it on the mantle, let the kids take it to show and tell, that sort of fortunate people out there who will never have anything close to this sort thing. Each spring, you send each of those winners an envelope. Most of of opportunity and couldn’t even comprehend the lives they lead and those envelopes contain instructions on how to return the trophy. But one would kill to trade places with any one of them for even so much as a of them simply says “You have been chosen.” That person gets to keep single moment, before gently telling Ryan O’Reilly that’s enough Buffalo the trophy until the NHL awards show, at which point the new winner has Sabres stories for now. to fight them for it.
Bruins: Zdeno Chara has become the inspiring hero of the series by See, right there, I can feel some of you pulling away on this one. But playing through a badly broken jaw, which is weird because you’d think if don’t act like you wouldn’t watch the hell out of the annual awards show if any Bruins was going to create a feel-good story by not being able to talk you knew that one and only one of the trophies were going to be subject it would be Brad Marchand. to trial by combat. You’d have jumped out of your chair last year if Victor Blues: Have fought and bled and persevered and never ever quit just for Hedman had walked up to the stage to accept the Norris, only to get to a chance to win the Stanley Cup, but the whole thing is just going to the podium and realize it wasn’t there as the camera slowly panned come down to some random lucky bounce, so they should probably try around to show Brent Burns standing behind him, breathing heavily and really hard to get that too. holding a steel chair.
Bruins: Should ask the Blues if they’d mind playing the next game with I’ll grant there may be a few flaws with my plan, including that it’s immoral and illegal and that if it had been in place throughout history then Gordie penalties turned on. Howe would have kept the Hart Trophy for roughly six decades. Still, tell The week’s three stars of comedy me you wouldn’t tune in to see Nikita Kucherov try to take the Hart away from Taylor Hall. You wouldn’t be on the edge of your seat with each The third star: Vladimir Tarasenko – I’m not completely sure why “What’s award announcement, hoping that this was the year we got a Jack a rub off means?” is so funny, but it is. (And Ryan O’Reilly and Alex Adams battle? Or two Lady Byng winners awkwardly pawing at each Pietrangelo apparently agree.) other before agreeing to just share the award in the spirit of friendship?
REPORTER: “HOW MUCH DOES HAVING A GUY LIKE RYAN OK, the idea may need some work. But there’s something here. And it O’REILLY IN THE LOCKER ROOM RUB OFF ON YOU AND THE REST couldn’t be any worse than filling the show with C-level celebrities and OF THE TEAM?” bad magicians. They stole a trophy, we steal their idea. Let’s make it TARASENKO: “WHAT’S A RUB OFF MEANS?” happen. PIC.TWITTER.COM/ENQM8DWXE1 Obscure former player of the week
— COLE PADAWER (@COLEPADAWER) JUNE 4, 2019 We have yet another refereeing controversy, this time thanks to a non- call on Tyler Bozak’s leg sweep on Noel Acciari last night. We should be used to it by now, because the theme of this year’s playoffs has been the The interview continues with a funny story about Sanderson accidentally officiating, with just about every series having at least a few body-checking his own father during the 1970 Cup celebration, which is a controversies. Whether it was a missed call, a made-up one, an obscure reminder of one of the underrated insane things about pro sports back in rule or just general inconsistency, it seems like everyone in the entire the day: They used to let fans run out on the playing surface to celebrate league has been constantly complaining about being robbed by a whistle. with the players. This was considered a normal thing up until around the late 80s. Somebody would hit a home run or sink a jumper or score an This week’s obscure player is Rob Whistle. overtime goal and there would suddenly be some teenager in a leather Whistle was a defenseman who was one of the relatively rare undrafted jacket jumping on their back and we were all just fine with it. players who made it to the NHL after playing out his college career in We cut to Sanderson’s dad, who might be the highlight of the entire clip. Canada. He finished three years at Wilfred Laurier University before “Oh, he’s something else, that guy.” See, back in the 70s, even the signing with the Rangers in 1985 at the age of 24. He made his NHL parents could take a hard hit without crying to the referees about it. debut that season, playing 32 games and recording six points, while also suiting up for three playoff games. We close with another near-poignant moment, as Sanderson admits that he likes the money he’s making but has mixed feelings about “being Whistle couldn’t crack the Rangers lineup the following season, spending owned” by the Bruins. “If I felt like quitting hockey, I’d quit. It’s no big the year in the AHL. He was traded to the Blues in 1987 in exchange for thing,” because he’d be just as happy selling surfboards or being a Bruce Bell. Yes, that’s right, the NHL had a Bell and Whistle trade. It’s bartender. Again, imagine somebody today saying that today, when not quite as fun as the Takko-Bell trade, but it’s still pretty neat, and I trying to do a little acting on the side or giving money to a children’s hope these guys write a song about it. hospital is considered proof that you’re not focused enough to be a real Whistle played 19 games for the 1987-88 Blues, recording six points. He hockey player. had the only two multi-point games of his NHL career, both of which And with that, the first half of our clip is done. Not long after this would come in Toronto because, of course they did. He was traded to the interview, Sanderson signed a controversial deal with the fledgling WHA, Capitals early in the 1988-89 season and spent the year with their AHL one that got him kicked off Team Canada for the 1972 Summit Series. At affiliate, then retired at the end of the year at the age of 28. His NHL the time, it was considered the richest deal in the history of pro sports, career ended up spanning two seasons and 51 games, during which he but Sanderson was battling chronic colitis and didn’t play often or well, recorded seven goals and 12 points. leading to headlines calling him a “fourth-string millionaire.” A year later, He doesn’t seem to have gone on to a post-playing career as a referee, he negotiated a seven-figure WHA buyout to return to the Bruins, where but there’s still time. he’d play two more seasons before bouncing around the NHL for the rest of the decade as his life unraveled. Again, the story has a happy ending, Classic YouTube clip breakdown but it’s one worth learning about.
We’ve heard plenty of Bruins soundbites over the last seven weeks of As for part two, you can find that right here. I’d include a writeup, but I’m their playoff run. A few have been vaguely noteworthy. Most haven’t not sure I can come up with any better one-liners than 1971 Derek been. That’s not a criticism of the Bruins, but more the default state for Sanderson explaining his relationship with autograph-seeking fans – today’s NHL players. They rarely say anything interesting, either because especially the females. Let’s just say the clip is, uh, interesting. they’re not interesting people or (more likely) they’ve been specifically trained by media consultants on how to sound boring at all times. Anyways, hope you enjoyed a few minutes of actual NHL honesty. Back to players mumbling about giving 100 percent and getting pucks in deep. It wasn’t always this way. Today, let’s head back to a bygone era and remember a time when an NHL star could just say whatever was on his The Athletic LOADED: 06.08.2019 mind.
(Thanks to reader Ilan for sending in this clip.)
It’s 1971, and our friend here is Bruins’ star forward Derek Sanderson. You may have seen him serving as the Bruins’ banner captain alongside Bobby Orr last night. Here, he’s four seasons into his NHL career. He has some thoughts he’d like to share, in this two-part clip from the CBC.
“What are you doing Monday morning?” We join Sanderson pretty much mid-thought and he goes on a little rant about eating breakfast that transitions into a complaint about “newspapermen” not caring about his 40-goal performance. Then the playoffs arrive and apparently, everyone wants to know about his eating habits. I don’t know, it was the 70s, let’s just go with it.
Now I want to show up at the next Cup final media availability and walk around asking all the Bruins these questions. “Did you eat this? What kind of steak did you have? Zdeno, how did you fit it into the blender?”
“It’s all the same. I can’t see the hassle, the Stanley Cup.” A fun game to play during this interview is to find all the quotes that would make Don Cherry’s head explode if some European said them today.
“What’s the greatest thrill you’ve ever had in hockey? I haven’t had one. I’ve never been thrilled by anything.” Another fun game is to try to guess if that’s a quote from Derek Sanderson in 1971, or every member of the 2018-19 Senators.
We get an extended riff about how much fun it is to score goals, and how that makes everyone love you including your mom and dad. Then Sanderson looks dead into the camera and says “So it’s kind of empty, you know?”
That seems like a funny non-sequitur, and maybe it was. But Sanderson would go on to have a difficult decade, one marked by drugs, alcohol, financial problems, homelessness and personal tragedy. He eventually got sober, wrote a book and went on to a career as a financial advisor. To this day, he’s easily one of the more interesting characters in NHL history. 1146306 Buffalo Sabres Skinner, remember, was on a 50-goal pace well into the 2019 portion of the season until he lost his finishing touch and had just one goal in a 22- game stretch.
When it comes to Jeff Skinner, Jason Botterill had to make a deal You wonder how much bad luck Skinner was shooting into during March, when he had just one goal on 54 shots for a paltry percentage of 1.9. Because for the rest of his season, the goals were going in freely. Mike Harrington| Skinner shot 17.6% in October, 28.6% in November, 15.4% in December, 14.3% in January, 10.2% in February and 37.5% in the Fri, Jun 7, 2019 team's three April games.
Of course, if Skinner does more in March, the Sabres probably win more So the Jeff Skinner melodrama is officially over. On one hand, you can than two games and there's a good chance Phil Housley is still their say good for the Sabres and General Manager Jason Botterill. coach.
On the other hand, what else could they do? And one concern you can have is contract-year bump. Skinner posted a career high in goals and shooting percentage (14.9) in a season when he The Sabres had to pay Skinner. And at $9 million per season for eight was trying to get paid. But with Skinner going into his age-27 season, years, it's an overpay at least for now. Skinner can repay the team with Botterill simply had to take the chance that Skinner can duplicate that some more 30- or even 40-goal seasons to make it look like a good production and maybe prove even more valuable on a better team. investment, and the likely increases in the salary cap — which could be pushing past $90 million in the next three years or so — will make the For all this money, of course, it would be nice if Skinner was a better two- investment less onerous on the Sabres as time goes on. way player and maybe that's an area Krueger can help him improve upon. Housley wouldn't play Skinner much in 3-on-3 overtime and a This whole situation took much longer than it probably should have, but couple of grievous turnovers in extra sessions validated his point even as both sides have trod cautiously since Skinner arrived last fall. They put fans howled. talk of a new deal on the back burner as player and organization got to know each other during the first half of a season that went much better But as the Sabres continue to build their roster, they need to keep as than expected. much of their high-end talent as they can and acquire more through trades or the draft. Letting Skinner's production leave simply couldn't be Then both sides clearly did some soul searching as the bottom fell out for allowed. both team and player in the second half. It was reasonable for Skinner to wait and see who Botterill hired as his coach, and to have a meeting with This team was bad enough last season, wasn't it? What would it be like Ralph Krueger before agreeing to terms. without Skinner among its forward group?
And it was reasonable for Botterill to examine all the cap ramifications of It's a scary thought, one that Sabres fans no longer have to ponder. a big deal for Skinner, when you consider he now has tied up $19 million Buffalo News LOADED: 06.08.2019 of his cap space on his top two forwards (Jack Eichel and Skinner), and Rasmus Dahlin's mega payday is looming just a couple of years away. Not to mention the possibility of a good-sized deal for Sam Reinhart as well.
Still, there was no chance Botterill could let Skinner walk away. You're not replacing those goals in free agency — what key name is coming to Buffalo at this point? — and the public relations hit would have been disastrous for an already teetering season ticket base.
Jeff Skinner signs 8-year, $72M contract to return to the Sabres
Botterill had to feel some of the same pressure Darcy Regier felt in 2007 when the former GM matched Edmonton's offer sheet to Thomas Vanek. Revisionist historians say the Sabres should have accepted the Oilers' four first-round picks and let Vanek go, but forget that was a team coming off consecutive Stanley Cup runs that had just seen Daniel Briere and Chris Drury depart.
No way Regier could quit on the fan base back then and no way Botterill could do it now. Especially with Ryan O'Reilly front and center playing for a Stanley Cup in St. Louis after the GM's foolish selloff of one of his core players last summer.
Botterill has continuously pushed the narrative — faulty in these eyes — that the trade of O'Reilly was what allowed him to trade for Skinner a month later. So how would you be able to justify that trade now if you let Skinner leave? You couldn't.
Skinner had all the leverage here. The Sabres were hoping for big things out of him when Carolina dumped him in their lap and they got that. So they didn't expect to have to pay him for a new deal? Botterill knew exactly what he was getting into.
You pay your top players. It's the cost of doing business. And in the NHL, 40-goal scorers get Paid, capital P intentional. Maybe Skinner never gets 40 again but he's probably good for a consistent 30-35 goals for several years.
Over the last four seasons, Skinner is tied for third in the NHL in even- strength goals. Patrick Kane is the leader with 113, Alex Ovechkin has 112 and Skinner is tied with John Tavares and Vladimir Tarasenko at 106. That's one more than Connor McDavid, four more than Brad Marchand, five ahead of Nikita Kucherov and seven ahead of Sidney Crosby.
No way this franchise can just let that kind of production go for nothing. 1146307 Buffalo Sabres The Sabres scored 53 goals at 5-on-5 and posted a 51.8 percent shot- attempt differential at 5-on-5 with Eichel and Skinner on the ice together. Comparatively, the Sabres had a negative-11 goal differential at 5-on-5 Jeff Skinner signs 8-year, $72M contract to return to the Sabres when Eichel was on the ice without Skinner.
The new contract ensures Eichel and Skinner will both be under contract through at least 2025-26, yet Botterill's work has only begun. He has an Lance Lysowski estimated $20 million in salary cap space with five pending restricted free agents — including center Evan Rodrigues, who should receive a Fri, Jun 7, 2019 significant raise -- and one unrestricted, 36-year-old winger Jason Pominville.
Sabres General Manager Jason Botterill finally has an answer to the There are needs to supplement the team's forwards, particularly at question he's been asked since the moment Jeff Skinner arrived in center, and on the blue line, where Zach Bogosian (hip) and Lawrence Buffalo last summer. Pilut (shoulder) are expected to miss some time at the start of the season because of offseason surgery. Skinner, the 27-year-old winger who captivated the fan base with a career-high 40-goals last season, is remaining in Buffalo after signing an Buffalo News LOADED: 06.08.2019 eight-year contract worth $72 million that could keep him in a Sabres uniform through the 2026-27 season, the team announced Friday night.
The $9 million average annual value makes Skinner the Sabres' second- highest paid player behind Jack Eichel and the 16th-highest paid player in the NHL. Their salaries will account for 22.5 percent of the $83 million projected cap space this season, which is the sixth-highest combined total for any two teammates in the league.
Skinner scored 10 goals during the Sabres' 10-game winning streak in November, leading to a "Jeff Skinner for Mayor" yard sign being placed in front of a Main Street shop, and matched his career high of 63 points while playing in all 82 games during his first season with the organization.
The timing of a deal is as important as its finality for Botterill. Preventing Skinner from reaching unrestricted free agency July 1 allowed Botterill to give the All-Star an eighth year on the contract and provides the Sabres with ample time to decide how to use their remaining cap space.
Most important, Botterill retained a player whom the Sabres would have a difficult time replacing through trade or free agency.
Skinner owns the NHL's longest active games played streak (661) without appearing in a playoff game and, much like his Sabres teammates, endured a difficult stretch during 2018-19, scoring only one goal in a 22-game span during the team's historic second-half slide.
Yet, Skinner has proven to be one of the league's top goal scorers since he was drafted seventh overall by the Carolina Hurricanes in 2010. Since the start of the 2010-11 season, Skinner ranks fifth in even-strength goals, trailing only Alex Ovechkin, John Tavares, Patrick Kane and Steven Stamkos.
Skinner, a native of Markham, Ontario, has scored at least 20 goals in eight of his nine NHL seasons and ranks 10th in that category since the start of the 2015-16 season, scoring more in the regular season during that span than Edmonton's Connor McDavid, Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin and Stamkos, among others.
Skinner scored 204 goals during his tenure with the Hurricanes, ranking fifth in franchise history, including those who played for the Hartford Whalers before the team relocated to Raleigh, N.C. Yet, he never achieved the level of success he experienced in Buffalo.
In need of scoring help following the trade of Ryan O'Reilly to St. Louis, Botterill acquired Skinner last August in exchange for prospect Cliff Pu and three draft picks, the highest of which will be in the second round at next month's draft in Vancouver.
The acquisition has proven to be Botterill's best since he was hired in May 2017. Skinner scored 10 goals during the Sabres' 10-game winning streak and was tied for third in the league in goals on Feb. 23, when the team hosted the Washington Capitals in KeyBank Center.
Skinner suffered what appeared to be a knee injury that afternoon, however, he returned for the third period in the 5-2 victory over the defending Stanley Cup champions. He would score only four goals, two of which came in the season finale, with four assists over the team's final 21 games.
Still, Skinner was selected an All-Star for the second time in his career and buoyed the Sabres into contention. Though he finished the season on the second line, Skinner also formed a dynamic pairing with Eichel, Buffalo's 22-year-old center and first-year captain. 1146308 Buffalo Sabres Eventually, it will force Botterill to earn his money. Known as a salary-cap guru during his time as assistant GM in Pittsburgh, Botterill will one day have to prove it. But that won’t be until 2021-22.
Jeff Skinner earned his big contract — and the Sabres’ situation Only four Sabres are signed for that season: Eichel, Skinner, Okposo compelled it and defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen. They’ll account for $30.4 million. Even if the cap rises to $90 million, that will leave the Sabres with just over $3 million per player on the remaining 19 — and rest assured, John Vogl Rasmus Dahlin and Sam Reinhart will command way more than $3 million. Jun 7, 2019 But those are concerns for another time. For an organization that hasn’t
sniffed the playoffs since 2011 — the longest drought in the NHL — the The price tag is eye-popping. It might even come back to haunt the time to improve is now. And the Sabres needed Skinner on their roster to Sabres. improve.
But the perfect storm swirled around owner Terry Pegula’s checkbook, He’s a legitimate first-line player. He’s well-positioned to produce and there was no way Buffalo could let Jeff Skinner walk. throughout the eight years. He has Vanek’s production with some of Alex Mogilny’s flair. He clearly wanted to remain in Buffalo. The left winger just became the team’s second 40-goal scorer in two decades. Since 2011, no team has scored fewer goals. He is more The Sabres had no choice but to make it happen. valuable in Buffalo than he is anywhere else, and the Sabres had to pay The Athletic LOADED: 06.08.2019 a premium to keep him around.
They did.
Skinner is not the 16th-best player in the NHL, but he’s now 16th on the salary chart after signing an eight-year, $72 million deal Friday night. Skinner’s annual average salary of $9 million is ahead of Sidney Crosby ($8.7 million) and Steven Stamkos ($8.5 million). It’s second only to Jack Eichel ($10 million) in Sabres history.
But this is not the time to worry about its implications. The Sabres had room to add the 27-year-old’s salary. They still have at least $11 million more to spend this summer. Nearly $20 million is scheduled to come off the Sabres’ cap next summer.
So Buffalo still has room to add some much-needed pieces. Skinner is hardly crippling the Sabres by signing a huge deal. They would, however, have been seriously hamstrung had he left.
There is no heir apparent in the organization to take over as the No. 1 left winger. The only comparable free agent is the Islanders’ Anders Lee, and he’s nearly two years older than Skinner, conjuring Images of Matt Moulson and Kyle Okposo. Buffalo probably would have had to go the trade route, and the struggling organization hardly has the assets to spare.
So general manager Jason Botterill stuck with Eichel’s proven wingman. And make no mistake, Skinner has proved himself:
• Since bursting into the NHL as rookie of the year in 2010-11, Skinner is 13th in the league with 244 goals.
• He’s fifth in even strength goals with 191, trailing only Alex Ovechkin, John Tavares, Patrick Kane and Stamkos — four players who might be on their way to the Hall of Fame.
• Despite being a relatively slight 5-foot-11, 187 pounds, Skinner has skated in 93.9 percent of his games. He’s played a full 82-game schedule four times, including three of the past four years.
• He made Jack Eichel better. During the 845 minutes that Skinner and Eichel skated together at 5-on-5, they outscored opponents 53-43. For the 316 minutes Eichel didn’t have Skinner, the center was outscored 20- 9.
And did we mention there was no heir apparent? The Sabres’ organizational depth chart at left wing behind Skinner is Victor Olofsson, Conor Sheary, Zemgus Girgensons, Scott Wilson and C.J. Smith. Would any of them have been able to fill the void?
It’s a hole the Sabres couldn’t afford to have. They’re already lacking at center and right wing. They’re banged up on defense and questionable in goal. Signing Skinner at least solidifies one position, presuming Olofsson is ready to make the jump to the second line after a 30-goal year in the AHL.
As for the salary … well, it’s high. We looked at comparables in March — everyone from Tony Amonte to Thomas Vanek – and $8 million seemed fair for both sides. But the Sabres’ history of poor drafts and bad trades put them in a position where they had to overpay by $1 million. 1146309 Calgary Flames nervous isn’t the right word, but he really wanted to see the Flames get him.
“I don’t do crossovers, so I don’t necessarily know the other guys (being A season in the life of an amateur scout: How the Flames decide on a considered). For a guy like me, who pretty much sticks with QMJHL late-round pick like Dmitry Zavgorodniy players, it’s hard to compare with the guys remaining from Ontario or the U.S. or Europe, but I was hoping, for sure, based on my evaluation, which was really positive, that he would make it to our pick and we could Darren Haynes get the chance to draft him.”
Jun 7, 2019 Crossovers are when players are seen by additional scouts, in addition to the area scout. Bringing a greater overall knowledge of the entire
prospect landscape for that draft class, those scouts are then able to “From Linkoping in Sweden …” better compare players who are in different leagues.
“From Janesville, Wisconsin, of the North American Hockey League …” “First three or four rounds, those guys would be crossover selections. You will have had multiple viewings from multiple guys on them,” “From Sheffield, England, of the Elite Ice Hockey League …” explained Treliving. “We have certain scouts who are responsible for their area. Then, as the year progresses and as guys get slotted into “From Vernon of the British Columbia Hockey League …” different ledges, they now become part of the crossover. So our “From Assat in Finland …” crossover people will see them.
“From Steinbach of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League …” Once you get beyond the first four rounds or so, the reliance on a team’s area scouts such as Lachance for the QMJHL, Terry Doram for the OHL, Six picks into the seventh round of the 2018 NHL Draft, a huddle began Jim Cummins for the U.S., goes up significantly. to form at the Flames table on the draft floor of American Airlines Center in Dallas. With Calgary’s pick coming up fast, it was time to decide who “It’s unrealistic that you’re going to have a seventh-round pick that was the club was going to take with their final selection of the weekend. seen in our crossovers,” Treliving said, unless there was the odd viewing while that player was playing with or against somebody else the club was “At that point in the draft, we’ve probably got six or seven names left,” keeping an eye on. Tod Button, the head amateur scout explained. From U.S. high school to the CHL, from college to Europe, from Junior A That late in the draft, it’s not a vertical list anymore with the players to the USHL, sorting through all of that and establishing those ledges, ranked in sequential order. Now you’re looking at a group of similar that is the focus of the club’s amateur scouting meetings that take place caliber players, who in most cases, boast different strengths. For in May. direction on which way to go, the call belongs to Brad Treliving, Calgary’s general manager. “So now you’ve got your different area lists and you’ve done the work beforehand so you have an idea, as you get later in the draft, certain “So we’re sitting at the table and it’s like Tree, we’ve got this type of guys that you have an affinity for,” Treliving said. “You probably have a player, this type of player and this type of player,” Button recounted. “So handful of guys that now you’re really reviewing what you’ve done he’s like let’s go with the most skilled player — and that’s usually how it is already and you’re talking to the guys, OK, who do we like here and with Tree. OK, so that’s this guy or that guy, and then you’re like OK, this there’s a lot of the ‘area voice’ coming into play with those picks.” guy’s done this and this guy’s done that.” “From Des Moines, Iowa, of the United States Hockey League …” After some deliberation, Button said the decision is made. Now Lachance can finally smile. Calgary’s pick is next. They’ve got him. “I said this is the guy with our next pick and Tree said that’s good. Patrick loves him. And if he’s gone, it’s this guy.” “From Rimouski of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League …”
That guy was Dmitry Zavgorodniy, who was playing for Rimouski. The “I was thrilled to draft a guy like Zavgorodniy,” Lachance said. “I know five-foot-nine Russian right winger had made a big impression on Patrick that Tod had a positive viewing of him at the Hlinka tournament before Lachance, the Flames amateur scout for Quebec. Of the 160 QMJHL the season started in the QMJHL. He had a really good tournament out games Patrick estimates he watched last season, he figures he saw the there. He knew that I liked the kid, too. I had good reports on him.” Oceanic play at least 20 times and four more times in the playoffs. It didn’t take long for Zavgorodniy to pop onto Lachance’s radar. “When we made the decision that Zavgorodniy was our pick, well, I was “Very early in the season, during a preseason game in Shawinigan, happy because I think it was a good pick at this time of the draft,” said Zavgorodniy scored five goals, so it was kinda hard to miss him,” Lachance. “I liked the player and I had good reports on him.” Lachance said with a chuckle. “He had a really good game. I didn’t base But for Lachance, it was too early for fist pumps. He wasn’t Flames my evaluation on Zavgorodniy only on that game, but he was a likable property yet. The Blackhawks, Senators, Oilers, Islanders and player. He had a scoring touch and even though it was against a weak Hurricanes still had picks to make, before Calgary’s turn came up at pick team and they didn’t have all their best players like any other preseason No. 198. game, he really stood out to me.
“From Lincoln, Nebraska, of the United States Hockey League…” “I liked his style, I liked his sense and his scoring touch, but that being said, it was just a preseason game, so I just kept that in mind and I would “From Minnetonka High School in Minnesota …” watch him closely over the season to see if he can — not necessarily score at a five-goals-per-game pace — but if he can be a legitimate “From Pori in Finland …” prospect. Especially since he’s still undersized. I was curious to see how Now there were just two teams to go and so far, so good. Zavgorodniy he would adapt.” was still out there. A wild card with Zavgorodniy is this was his first year playing in North “It only happens like once a draft where within that time frame of about America. As Lachance has witnessed before, that can be a major culture five or six picks, when you’re down to rounds four through seven, that shock. somebody gets taken that you were ready to pick,” Button said. “You never really know how import players will adjust to the CHL. It’s so But still, that doesn’t make the wait any easier, especially for the area different, whether it be on the ice or off the ice, it’s a huge challenge for scout who had invested so much time that winter into tracking that these kids, whether you’re from Russia or Czech Republic or anyone in particular player. The anticipation. The waiting. The hoping. Europe, so it’s always interesting to see how they adapt.”
“From Lincoln, Nebraska, of the United States Hockey League …” After collecting just one assist in the club’s first four regular season games, Zavgorodniy began to heat up. In stringing together a six-game Now, only Carolina stood in the way of Lachance getting his guy. Asked point streak, the 17-year-old racked up six goals and 11 points. how he was feeling as names came off the board, Lachance said “Zavgorodniy caught my eye pretty much every game,” Lachance 2012 – F Matt DeBlouw, 7th round, No. 186 | Did not sign admitted. “He’s a hard-working kid, he plays a smart, reliable game and he can be killer on the power play in the offensive zone because of his 2013 – D John Gilmour, 7th round, No. 198| Did not sign shooting skills, his nose for the net and his offensive instinct.” 2013 – D Rushan Rafkov, 7th round, No. 187 | In Russia
But could he sustain that level throughout the season as the minutes add 2014 – RW Austin Carroll, 7th round, No. 184 | Signed ELC, 0 NHL up and the games get more difficult? games
“You always want to see, as an important, talented, Russian kid, can he 2015 – D Riley Bruce, 7th round, No. 196 | Did not sign elevate his game under conditions of adversity and even in the playoffs. Is he able to have an impact and keep the pace in tight match-ups and 2016 – D Stepan Falkovsky, 7th round, No. 186 | Signed AHL deal physical games,” Lachance said. 2017 – LW Filip Sveningsson, 7th round, No. 202 | In Sweden The answer was a resounding yes. 2018 – RW Dimitry Zavgorodniy, 7th round, No. 198 | Signed ELC “That’s what I liked about him. In tough matchups, he was right there, he “The seventh round pick is very, very important. People are like meh, was working hard. Sometimes the fact that he was a 17-year-old, seventh round pick. But you only get to dig into the batter’s box once per undersized kid, facing 19, 20-year-old men, you could see at times that it year, so there’s guys out there. You put it on your staff to go find them. was harder for him. But what grew on me was his determination on the Players that they have to have a passion for and they’ve got to fit our ice. Even though he would lose battles for a puck, he would keep his feet criteria, from a competitive standpoint, skills standpoints, physical traits moving and track back. He would get out-muscled pretty easily in his first that we look for and evaluate,” Treliving said. season in the Q last year, but never gave up, never quit on a play. He was always into the play, smart, aware and not afraid to take the hits or It’s been two good ones in a row now. The organization is also high on to get engaged for the puck. Sveningsson, a skilled winger who is playing in Sweden.
Tipping the scales at just 165 pounds, Zavgorodniy gave up 30, 40 or At that stage in the draft, you’re not looking for prospects that excel in all even 50 pounds to some blueliners, yet he would not let that deter him. categories. Those guys are long gone. Instead of possessing those top two or three attributes the organization highly values, you’re looking for “Even though there are good chances he would lose or get out-muscled guys with at least one element of their game that can separate them from along the boards, he would still go there and he wasn’t afraid to go there the pack. and in the playoffs, too. Versus Moncton, they had D-men, who were hard to play against — big guys, character guys, who were older, “When you’re talking seventh round, there’s obviously a reason they’re stronger and I know that Zavgorodniy was able to step up and play good going in that round. You’re looking for at least one trait,” Treliving said. hockey in those conditions and that’s what popped for me.” “Highly competitive, highly skilled, highly intelligent, whatever it is, there’s gotta be one category, rather than ‘Well, he’s OK’. What trait will drive That attribute of competitiveness, which the Flames organization values him to become a player?” highly in players continued to be on display, even after the draft. Right after being selected, he came to Calgary where he remained the rest of Skill, and an abundance of it, is what they saw in Zavgorodniy. the summer. “He’s size-challenged, but when we lay those qualities up against other “This guy stayed in Calgary all summer last year and trained. That’s hard players available, we were saying he’s got a real dynamic quality to him for a 17-year-old to do. That’s hard for a 17-year-old from Russia to do,” and he’s got an elite motor. Those are the two things that we said are Button said. going to drive him to become a player, if he becomes a player,” the GM said. “Imagine that. They tell you OK, don’t go home, or you can go home but now you’re coming back and you’re going to train in a foreign city you’ve Button says strategy comes into play late in drafts, too. never been to, but that’s the sacrifice he made. So that speaks to the character of the kid, and when Patrick did the research on him, he got all “To be honest, Patrick had him higher. He wasn’t banging his fist, or of that out. So we knew all that about him.” upset we didn’t take him with the earlier picks, but again, you strategize. With how it’s going, I think we can get this guy later.” Having already signed his entry-level contract in March, it’s a good start for Zavgorodniy, who will try to be the first Flames final-round pick to While a case could have been made for Zavgorodniy instead of Mathias reach the NHL with Calgary since Micki DuPont. Emilio Pettersen with the Flames sixth round pick at No. 167, it worked out even better in that they got both guys. Back in 2000 when the draft, which was held in Calgary, went nine rounds and the Flames famously selected Hitmen goaltender Brent When you’re researching a young prospect, there’s more than just goals Krahn ninth overall, they also used their final pick — 270th overall — on and assists. It’s the player’s makeup. Dupont, a 5-foot-10 defenceman. The Calgary native would end up “Some of the first feedback I got on Zavgorodniy was from my friend, who having two cups of coffee with the Flames — a two-game stint in 2001- was working as a therapist for the team. In October, I ran into him at the 02, then 16 more games in 2002-03. Shortly after, he ended up overseas arena and we started talking about Zavgorodniy and he couldn’t stop where he played seven years in Switzerland and he just finished his talking about him,” Lachance said. “It was only positive. He was seventh season in Germany. mentioning about how positive Zav was. He got along with everyone in Since DuPont, seventh round picks have been mostly misfires — some the locker room. Great personality. He’s enthusiastic, hardworking kid. worse than others. Open minded. Everyone on his way likes the kid, whether it’s at the rink, or at the billets. He’s just a likable person.” 2003 – LW Kevin Harvey, 9th round, No. 270 | Did not sign Everything he had been told was then reinforced when he sat down with 2004 – RW Adam Cracknell, 9th round, No. 279 | Signed ELC, 0 NHL him for a lengthy interview late in the season. games (with the Flames) “I was impressed by how bright the kid was. He was asking questions, 2005 – D Myles Rumsey, 7th round, No. 221 | Did not sign good questions, and the kid who was sitting in front of me, I had that feeling that this guy wants to play in the NHL for real. You could sense it 2006 – D Per Johnsson, 7th round, No. 290 | Did not sign from his answers,” Lachance said. “He’s a smart kid. Didn’t take long for 2006 – LW Devin DiDiomete, 7th round, No. 187 | Did not sign him to adapt and learn English. My interview with him. His English was perfect. He was driven. You could see fire in his eyes and that’s what I 2007 – LW C.J. Severyn, 7th round, No. 186 | Did not sign liked about him. Positive information coming from everyone and when I 2008 – D Alexander Deilert, 7th round, No. 198 | Did not sign saw with him, the intel matched with the interview I had with him.”
2009 – D Gaelan Patterson, 7th round, No. 201 | Signed ELC, 0 NHL Adding to the coolness of the moment for Lachance was this had been games his first year scouting with the Flames.
2010 – RW Patrick Holland, 7th round, No. 193 | Traded The 32-year-old, who has been a hockey scout since he was 20, joined Calgary two summers ago. Up until then, he had only worked in the QMJHL.
“It clicked right away with everyone on the scouting staff and the hockey staff on the Flames. Great guys,” Lachance, who never played higher than Junior A himself said. “At first, you get to know the process and how it works and how Tod wants everything to work. I got a lot of help from the guys, especially Fred Parker, but the other guys too. Providing me with some guidance on how it works and how to do things, whether it’s during the season or during the meetings.
”Right from the start, from the first meeting to the second one to the draft meetings, it was my first year with the Flames, but I felt like one of the guys and I felt like I had Tod’s trust. That feels good to be part of a group like that where even if it’s your first year, they value your job.”
Even though he was new to the organization and surrounded by many veterans, who have been around for many, many years, Treliving had no issue going with Lachance’s recommendation. In this business, there’s no room for guys to slowly earn their bosses’ trust.
“If I hired you, I trust you. You’ve got a job to do. I’ll figure out if I trust you before I hire you,” the GM said. “Once you’re sitting at the table, then you’re in. If you’re at the table, you have a voice and you’re part of the group.”
That means advocating for your guys and doing so passionately, but also diplomatically.
“Our job is to stay grounded and objective about the player, but at the same time, when you like a guy and you have a good feeling about a player, and your reports are positive about a guy, you just go out there and you speak your mind,” Lachance said. “That’s why the Flames hired me. To give my opinion and stick to my opinion and not necessarily try to have a go-with-the-flow type mentality.”
Who does Lachance have his eye on in the QMJHL this season? We will find out soon enough. Maybe. The 2019 NHL Draft goes June 21 and 22. As it currently stands, Calgary has five picks — rounds 1, 3, 4, 5 and 7.
“That’s what Brad and Tod ask from pretty much everyone. Stick with their opinions and speak their minds and that’s what we do,” Lachance said.
Will Treliving target one of his guys again this year? If so, will that player last until the Flames next pick? All questions that will play out in two weeks time when front offices gather in Vancouver.
The Athletic LOADED: 06.08.2019
1146310 Chicago Blackhawks "We'll talk once we get through the season," said Charlotte GM Don Waddell. "I just don't like to mess with any of these guys when they're still playing. … But he'll be a guy we certainly need to talk about."
Former Blackhawks forward Jurco helping Charlotte close in on Calder Said Jurco: "Obviously the best spot for me would be where I can play Cup title the most. We'll see what the options (are), but my goal is to definitely to play in the NHL."
John Dietz Daily Herald Times LOADED: 06.08.2019
6/7/2019 6:38 PM
Tomas Jurco can't believe where the time has gone.
One minute he was a second-round draft pick of the Red Wings and soon after an everyday player for Detroit, appearing in 63 games in 2014- 15.
Then came a back surgery. And a trade to the Blackhawks. And another back surgery.
Suddenly -- in what feels like a blink of the eye -- a 26-year-old Jurco is at a pivotal crossroads in his pro career.
"(The NHL is) getting younger, that's for sure. I know I don't have too much time left," said Jurco, who is part of a Charlotte Checkers squad that is a victory from claiming the Calder Cup in a best-of-seven series with the Chicago Wolves. Game 5 is at Allstate Arena on Saturday at 7 p.m.
"I had two surgeries," Jurco continued, "and (also) a couple years I was not playing a lot -- sitting on the bench. So that's three years (gone) just like that. Then you wake up and you're 26 and all of a sudden you're too old. I've had some rough situations, but I think that made me even more ready (to succeed)."
Jurco, who Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman acquired at the 2017 trade deadline, played 29 games for the Hawks last season after beginning the campaign in Rockford. He was on a line with Patrick Kane and Artem Anisimov during Games 61-64, and later played with Anisimov and Alex DeBrincat for a five-game run.
When the off-season got underway, Jurco -- who had 6 goals and 4 assists -- was expecting an offer.
But it never came.
"I was surprised," Jurco said. "I know Stan Bowman was really happy with me at the end of the season when I had pretty good numbers."
As Jurco and his agent were talking to other teams, he started having pain in his leg. He went for an MRI and found out he needed that second back surgery.
After rehabbing, Jurco signed an AHL deal with Springfield -- the Florida Panthers' affiliate -- in January. He was then loaned to Charlotte at the NHL trade deadline and has been a much-needed veteran presence for a Checkers squad loaded with young talent.
"I'm from Detroit myself, so I watched him in Detroit and Chicago," said Charlotte coach Mike Vellucci. "Obviously a veteran player that we need. …
"(When Florida) wanted to move him, I did my homework. I talked to a lot of his old coaches and they said that he definitely wants to win and he wants to play. He's been great for us."
Jurco hasn't dominated the Calder Cup Finals, but he is a big reason why the Checkers are up three games to one. In addition to giving Charlotte a 4-3 lead in Game 2 with a late second-period goal, he notched 2 assists in Game 3 and picked up another one during the Checkers' come-from- behind victory in Game 4 in Rosemont.
All told, Jurco has 19 goals and 26 assists in 50 games with Springfield and Charlotte this season. He's also second in the AHL with 18 postseason points.
"He's an NHL player and I've said that from Day One," Vellucci said.
Because he's on an AHL deal, Jurco is free to talk with NHL teams about next season. He said several are interested -- and that may just include the Hurricanes. 1146311 Chicago Blackhawks played in the WHL this past season and was especially impressive in the playoffs, posting 22 points in 23 playoff games. The Blackhawks have previously drafted players they’ve invited to Chicago. Unlike the NHL Powers: What I’m hearing about the Blackhawks this offseason draft combine, players get on the ice for the Blackhawks.
6. It’s not surprising Dominik Kubalik has max A bonuses and a European clause in his entry-level contract with the Blackhawks. It’s Scott Powers something a lot of the top European players seek when signing. It ensures the players get a long look for the NHL club and have an out if Jun 7, 2019 they don’t make the NHL. It also provides the possibility of a big payday if they excel. It’s difficult to reach the A bonuses because they’re league- wide accomplishments, but it can happen as Artemi Panarin showed. The Blackhawks’ offseason began nearly two months ago, but the true offseason is just ahead. 7. Leading up to my recent story on Kubalik, I went through a couple of his games at the World Championship and watched him shift by shift. The Blackhawks have made some progress so far. They signed European wingers Dominik Kubalik and Anton Wedin. Both could be in I noted he was playing on the third line for the Czech Republic, so he the mix for the NHL next season. Jeremy Colliton completed his staff by wasn’t playing with the team’s high-end players. I think there’s more in hiring Tomas Mitell and Marc Crawford. They re-signed Slater Koekkoek his game if he’s playing with more skilled players. He often looks to drive and Jacob Nilsson and signed prospects Tim Soderlund and Mikael the net and shoot when he has space, but sees the ice well and had a Hakkarainen. few nice passes to set up teammates. As others said, he has size and can skate. He knows how to get himself around the net. Defensively, it Soon, we’ll start to hear more about free agents and trades around the was hard to tell what he’s capable of. He wasn’t pressuring the puck draft and just after. I began hearing some things this past week. It’s not a much on the forecheck and was often on the perimeter in the defensive whole lot, but it’s a start. So here it is, along with a few of my own notes: zone. He has the tools to be an effective NHL player.
1. It sounds like the ball is in the Blackhawks’ court on whether to sign Below are a few video cuts that didn’t make the original story. In the first goalie Ivan Nalimov. He would like to sign and wants to prove he can one, Kubalik (81) handled the puck through the neutral zone, gives it up, play in the NHL. gets to the net and nearly scores on a rebound.
For the Blackhawks and Stan Bowman, it’s about mapping a goalie plan. Below against Germany, you see him try to wrap the puck around the net They have a lot to figure out with Corey Crawford, Collin Delia and Kevin while holding off a defender. The puck gets knocked away, but you can Lankinen already signed for next season, Anton Forsberg becoming an tell he’s utilizing his size. RFA, Matt Tomkins on an AHL contract but possibly worth a bigger look, prospect Alexis Gravel a season away from signing and then Crawford’s Here, he passes the puck from the right circle and nearly sets up a future beyond this season. So, does Nalimov fit in their plans? Possibly. teammate for a goal.
Nalimov is probably worth signing for at least a season in North America. Below, he drives through Canadian’s defense and attempts a He seems to have figured something out the last few seasons, and he backhanded shot. was great for a long stretch last season when starting consistently. The 8. I’ve been doing some research on players the Blackhawks could draft Blackhawks have taken chances on goalies in Rockford before. Nalimov at No. 3 and recently talked to someone who has known Alex Turcotte is probably less of a risk than some others. He may just work out. If not, and Trevor Zegras for many years. he’ll likely return to the KHL and the Blackhawks have other options. On Turcotte, the source said, “Turcotte to me is a draft pick you want if 2. The Blackhawks recently talked to the Columbus Blue Jackets about you want to win a Stanley Cup. Turcotte plays a little bit more headier acquiring defenseman Ryan Murray, according to a league source. As of game, has a thicker frame. I think he’s going to be more effective of now, it doesn’t appear a deal is getting done, but that of course could bringing the puck from the top of the circles to the top of the circles in the change in the coming weeks. middle of the rink. He’s really strong around the net. His down-low play 3. What do we know about Murray? He’ll turn 26 in September. He’s 6- and hands are strong. He has a lot of character. When he’s not on the ice foot-1 and 205 pounds. He’s a left-handed shot. He’s set to become a for practice, the team’s quality of practice suffers because he demands restricted free agent and can become an unrestricted free agent next out of them so much in a positive way. He just burns to be a hockey year. In Evolving-Hockey’s contract projection model, he’s projected to player, and I think he has a really high ceiling and is going to have a receive a three-year contract with a $4,146,272 cap hit. great NHL career. He’s more of a newer age power forward. I think this new generation of hockey player is becoming less and less of those As for his ability, Murray has shown to be a top-pairing defenseman thicker, heavier frames and more of that power forward mentality. He has when healthy. This past season he was tied for 29th among defensemen that with high-end skill at the same time.” in goals above replacement (GAR), 11th in even-strength GAR and tied for 28th in wins above replacement (WAR), according to Evolving- On Zegras, the source said, “Zegras is probably one of the most high- Hockey. As for on-ice numbers, he had a 50.61 Corsi percentage, 55.24 end skill players to come through the (U.S. development) program. I see goals-for percentage (58 goals for and 48 against) and had a 53.71 him being a really high point guy in the regular season. I see him creating expected goals-for percentage. He also had a 47.92 offensive zone a lot for himself and his teammates around him. He has a great balance faceoff starting percentage. He was mostly partnered with Seth Jones of passing and shooting. He can score and play-make. He’s really crafty and Markus Nutivaara this season. and slippery and also with a little edge to get under guys’ skins. He has a fun balance of grit and slippery skill. The one major concern with Murray is injury. He’s struggled to remain healthy for much of his career, playing 320 out of a possible 492 games 9. One player the Blackhawks might want to eye for a later pick is over the last six seasons. He had last season cut short due to an upper- Chicago Steel forward Gunnarwolfe Fontaine. Aside from having a body injury and played just 56 games and missed the playoffs. The phenomenal name, he could be a sleeper pick. He’s only 5-foot-8 and injuries haven’t been the same, so it may just be bad luck. 165 pounds, but he was one of the more impressive players during the second half of the Steel’s season and thrived under their development 4. The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline thought the Blue Jackets would be plan. In a 12-game stretch in January and February, he scored points in willing to trade Murray and would probably want draft picks in exchange. 11 games and had 11 goals and five assists. In the playoffs, he had six The Blue Jackets only have third-round and seventh-round picks in the goals and six assists in nine games. upcoming draft. The Blackhawks aren’t going to part with their No. 3 overall pick, but you would think they’d give up anything else if they were 10. You can expect the Blackhawks to have contract discussions with really interested in Murray. The Blackhawks have a second-round pick their restricted free agents in the upcoming weeks. Their remaining RFAs and two fourth-rounders — maybe a couple draft picks and a couple are Forsberg, Gustav Forsling, Anthony Louis, Dylan Sikura, Blake prospects get the job done, but we’ll see. Hillman, Victor Ejdsell, Luke Johnson, Brendan Perlini, David Kampf and Spencer Watson. The Blackhawks are expected to give Ejdsell a 5. The Blackhawks held their own draft combine in Chicago on Tuesday qualifying offer despite him deciding to play in Sweden next season. and Wednesday. I heard it wasn’t a big group. I don’t know a lot of Watson probably won’t receive a qualifying offer. specific names. Alexei Protas, a 6-foot-5 center, attended the camp. He The Athletic LOADED: 06.08.2019 1146312 Colorado Avalanche The Eagles, Avalanche and AHL agreed to partner in the summer of 2017, and Lind — who paid $300,000 for his ECHL franchise fee in 2011 — said he sent his $500,000 ECHL exit fee to the league on Sept. 20, The Colorado Eagles aren’t giving the Kelly Cup back to the ECHL 2017. thanks to a million-dollar dispute of “integrity” While the Eagles began their final ECHL season of 2017-18, Lind and the league were looking for a replacement team for 2018-19 in corroborative fashion. If they found an adequate new franchise, the new team would MIKE CHAMBERS negotiate a transfer fee with the Eagles. But Lind signed a legal document in which The Post acquired, saying he had until Dec. 15, 2017 June 7, 2019 at 11:20 PM “to present an applicant for transfer of controlling interest of its membership and transfer to a new home territory.”
WINDSOR — The ECHL wants its trophy back. In hindsight, Lind said he shouldn’t have put a deadline on selling his interest. But he claims Newfoundland’s interest in becoming that Martin Lind wants his money back. applicant was withheld from him, and ultimately, his inquiries to the league were ignored, the deadlines passed and Newfoundland paid a $1 Neither side is going to get its way. Instead, the Kelly Cup — the one the million franchise fee to the ECHL. The Eagles got nothing out of the sale Colorado Eagles hoisted after winning the 2017 and 2018 ECHL and Newfoundland was announced as an expansion team on March 13, championships — sat comfortably in its case last week at the offices of 2018. Lind, a Northern Colorado businessman and the Eagles’. Crelin, who was the ECHL’s chief operating officer at the time, said in To Lind, the Cup held hostage is an $800,000 example of fraud and how January 2018 that Newfoundland had no arena lease and was six the ECHL dishonored the game of hockey. months to a year away from operating. But in a Jan. 8 email to then- Traveling hockey trophies are supposed to travel, but the ECHL first-year ECHL commissioner Brian McKenna that was obtained by The Post, Lind expansion Newfoundland Growlers — who indirectly replaced the Eagles was furious that his mid-season packet ahead of the Jan. 16 owners when Colorado joined the American Hockey League as the Avalanche’s meeting at the all-star game in Indianapolis had “application for an top affiliate to begin the 2018-19 season — hoisted a Kelly Cup replica expansion membership” on the agenda. after winning the league championship last week. Lind said he flew to Indianapolis for the meeting to confront the situation Lind refuses to let his Kelly Cup go, accusing the ECHL of cheating him but the item was taken off the agenda. Less than two months later, the out of up to $800,000 for making an expansion-fee sale to Newfoundland expansion team in St. John’s (Newfoundland) was announced. instead of allowing the teams to negotiate a transfer fee. And since he’s “They happened to come into our league in March (2018) because it all not being sued by the ECHL and he can’t bring suit to the league got worked out. But that wasn’t the case in January, and all the because of a signed legal document, Lind will keep the Cup as an (Colorado) exit transition stuff happened even before the season started example of his outrage with how he was treated in the Eagles’ seventh of 2017-18,” Crelin said. “Everything was by-the-book, bylaws signed. and final year in the “double-A” league. They had an opportunity to sell it, to transfer it. I’m sure they had some “I would implore them to sue me. I would welcome it,” Lind told The conversations but as far as I know, nothing ever came to fruition.” Denver Post. “There couldn’t be a better thing for me. I’m Brer Rabbit, Said Lind: “I was never told that Newfoundland was in the market for the please throw me in that Briar Patch. Because I can’t bring suit because of commodity that we had for sale. I was never afforded the opportunity to the covenant I signed — like all the members did — but I’m certainly talk to a group that wanted in.” entitled to counter-claims if they sue me. So please, I beg them to come sue me.” Stanford, Newfoundland’s COO, said he and his staff “were certainly aware” of Colorado’s pending departure from the ECHL before they paid Lind said he didn’t want to go public with his protest until former ECHL the $1 million expansion fee to the league. Lind said he would have commissioner Patrick J. Kelly — whom the Kelly Cup is named after — started negotiations with Newfoundland at $800,000. disclosed on radio in Toledo, Ohio, on May 31, that a new Cup was made because the Eagles refused to return the previous one (which is actually “We were dealing directly with the league office, just following any a third of four). protocols they had,” Stanford said. “That’s what we did. We took direction from the league office and that’s where we ended up.” “They should have kept their mouth shut,” said Lind, who paid a $500,000 exit fee before being denied an opportunity to negotiate with McKenna resigned Feb. 18, 2017, effective at the end of the 2017-18 Newfoundland. “No one would have ever known the difference. I would season. Efforts by The Post to reach McKenna were unsuccessful. have been out (and not gone public).” Crelin maintains the ECHL did nothing wrong in accepting Lind said his offer to return the Cup for a refund of his $500,000 exit fee Newfoundland’s $1 million expansion fee. was ignored. “Colorado exited our league, signed all the documents, treated with ECHL commissioner Ryan Crelin, Newfoundland chief operating officer respect and by the book per our bylaws,” he said. “(Newfoundland) — Glenn Stanford and Avalanche assistant general manager Craig they came to the league saying they were interested but they didn’t even Billington were each interviewed for this story. have a place to play for six months to a year … They did come to our league meetings in January (2018) — not with an application, not with a Crelin, who took over as commissioner to begin last season — the lease to play — just looking for a longer-term view.” Eagles’ first in the AHL — said he still has a good relationship with Lind. The commissioner added that the ECHL isn’t suing to retrieve the Kelly “Yeah, other than he won’t respond to my emails,” Lind said of Crelin. Cup in Colorado because it’s not worth it. “My last email to him was (January) 2019 — now a year later — because they wanted the Cup back. This stuff all happened in January of ’18. Low “By the time all that shakes out, I would have presented three (new) Kelly and behold we win the Cup again. We did back-to-back (2017-18) and Cups,” Crelin said. “It’s a shame but it is what it is.” they started wanting that Cup back, and it really wasn’t that big of a deal except for that attorney for the league just kept saying, ‘refer to Colorado’s supporting cast. paragraph blah, blah, blah, blah, blah because you can’t sue us. So too The Avalanche supports Lind and the Eagles in their dispute with the bad.’ ECHL. The Avs are only in charge of player-personnel and other related “That’s what he kept telling my attorney. So I asked him, ‘Hey, can you on-ice hockey decisions with the Eagles, who own the AHL franchise and find the paragraph where I’m required to return the Cup, Mr. lease the Budweiser Event Center in Loveland from Larimer County. Smart(aleck)? Tell me where I’m required.’ So Ryan says, ‘Martin, honor “Martin has been open and transparent with his communications with us the game!’ And I just said, ‘Don’t tell me about honor. I don’t even want to from the onset, and that dates back to the process of transitioning from start that conversation with the way I’ve been treated.” the East Coast league to the American Hockey League,” Billington told The months in question. The Post. “We recognize it’s a business dispute with the ECHL and we understand the parameters of it. And at the end of the day, we’re a proud affiliate with the Eagles and Martin Lind. That won’t change.”
Lind won’t keep the Kelly Cup forever. He joked that eBay could be an option but he won’t profit from it.
“I’d like to give it back to them (ECHL) or the (Hockey) Hall of Fame or something. But I think they have some explaining to do to the industry,” Lind said. “Honor and integrity should not leave the game at the dasher boards. It’s such a great game and such a great institution and I honestly can’t believe they’ve done this to me, because we were a role-model citizen for them.”
Denver Post: LOADED: 06.08.2019 1146313 Columbus Blue Jackets It’s like I said after the season: You wanna be a Blue Jacket? Great. Let me know. If you don’t? Well, good luck. We’ve said right from the start when we added at the deadline, that even if they’re all going to be rentals A conversation with Jarmo Kekalainen: Blue Jackets GM looks to plug we’re going to be just fine. We felt we had a special opportunity with this holes, mitigate free-agent losses group, with Panarin and Bobrovsky maybe here for the last time, to maybe strengthen the group and go for it. I think we showed we had a legitimate chance, beating Tampa and having a close series against Boston. We showed we could have beat anybody. We didn’t, but we Aaron Portzline could have. It’s small margins. There were a lot of good teams and we Jun 7, 2019 were one of them. We had just as good a chance as anybody. It didn’t happen, so now we move on. We have some really good young prospects coming in who we believe can contribute right away and be ready and be impact players. COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Blue Jackets’ pro scouting staff was in Nationwide Arena this week to study the NHL landscape, players who Not suggesting that replacing any of these guys is going to be easy. Not might be available from across the league in free agency and through suggesting they won’t be missed. But of all those three, is losing trades. Duchene going to be the hardest to replace? I ask that only because it’s so hard to find top-six centers in this game. Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen went “all in” at the NHL trade deadline and his club won a Stanley Cup playoff series for the first time in We still have Pierre-Luc Dubois. We have (Alexander) Wennberg. We franchise history. have (Boone) Jenner. Nick (Foligno) can play in the middle. We have Riley Nash, who I think is going to have a lot better start with (coach Now Kekalainen and his staff are preparing for what could be a hectic John) Tortorella and the whole group of guys. It’s not like we have a huge next month — the NHL Draft in Vancouver is two weeks from today and hole there. I went to the World Championships (earlier this month in free agency opens July 1. Slovakia). I saw Wennberg play there, and he played great. The Blue Jackets seem likely to lose marquee forwards Artemi Panarin But, the … and Matt Duchene and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky to unrestricted free agency, a crushing blow for any roster. They could also lose forward He has to bounce back. He had two goals. He had a shitty year. Now it’s Ryan Dzingel. time for him to bounce back. He played great at the Worlds, and I know it’s not the same, but it’s playing against NHL players. I saw him play The goal is to fill all of those holes in the lineup, either by giving bigger against Russia, which was loaded with great NHL players. He was great. roles to young players already in the system or by going outside the Now do it here. organization for help. Is there a reason he can’t do it here? Essentially, Kekalainen’s job is to make this summer in Columbus about more than the players the Blue Jackets are losing. That won’t be easy, I don’t think so. I mean, what’s the reason? There shouldn’t be. but Kekalainen was resolute and calm when he sat down with The Athletic earlier this week: Does he like the coach (Tortorella)?
Do you have a definitive answer from any of your unrestricted free agents It doesn’t matter if you like the coach or not. You have to find a way to that they won’t be signing extensions with you? work together. Torts is pretty simple. You work, you compete, you’re fine.
I’m not sure we will know that (before July 1), because they hold all the If nothing else, the World Championships should put to rest the thought cards. They could say, “I want to see what’s out there because I’ve come that Wennberg’s concussion history has slowed him or made him this far.” Usually, people don’t want to close doors, because why do that? unwilling to play in traffic, right? But at some point, we’re going to make our own decisions. If it doesn’t He played hard (at Worlds). He played good. I have no issues with the work, we’ll move on and make plans. way he played over there. Now he’s got to do it over here. You’re Most people seem resigned to the fact that Bobrovsky and Panarin are referring to concussions, but I’m not. I don’t know what the issue is. But leaving, but Duchene was considered more up in the air when the he doesn’t lack skill. He doesn’t lack hockey sense. He doesn’t lack season ended. Any clarity from his camp? speed. He should have all the ingredients to play better than he did last year. That’s what we expect from him next season. I would think he’d consider us after everything that he’s said, but I don’t really want to get into speculations. We have our own ideas and plans for How difficult will it be to get Zach Werenski signed to a new contract? our team and how everything goes together. We’ll talk about it at the right I’m the eternal optimist. I think reasonable people can find a solution. time. He played well for us. He was a good player. It’s not just a hockey There’s a pretty good measuring stick on the right side of him (in Seth decision. I guess you could say it’s a hockey decision, but what is the Jones). price? It’s not just the contract. It’s also a first-round pick (to Ottawa as part of the conditional trade made in February). Jones may be the Blue Jackets’ most talented player no matter what happens this summer. How important is salary structure hierarchy to Will you have any more talks with Bobrovsky or Panarin to try to you? In other words, while allowing for inflation over the last few years, persuade them to stay? how important is it for Werenski’s new deal to fall in place with Jones’ We’ve had so many talks. I flew to France last summer to let them know deal ($5.4 million per season), or at least stay in his realm? we love them and want them. I’ve talked to them I don’t know how many Things do change, as you mentioned, with inflation. But, yes, we take the times. We’d like to keep them and keep them long term. salary structure very seriously. You can never find the perfect world Do you have a hard date in mind for when you move on from the UFAs because sometimes guys come to you via trades. Sometimes when you and start trying to shape your roster as if they aren’t going to be here? have more UFA years you’re buying, it’s a different animal. We want to take it seriously and do the best we can with it, but I don’t think you’re We’ve had our pro scouts in town this week for meetings. Once we get ever going to be perfect. You have to accept that. through this week with the pro scouting, we’ll probably have a better idea. We’re going to look at the full puzzle here this week and start making Is a short-term deal or long-term deal more likely for Werenski? some decisions on that, where we think our priorities are. I don’t count I don’t want to get into any of that. But I think we should find a solution for anybody out. I told Panarin and Bobrovsky, if they’d like to return, we’d that. It shouldn’t be that hard. We have his numbers. We like the player. like to have them. It’s not a money issue. We’ll pay market value. We He’s part of our core group and we want to grow together with him. realize that’s the price of doing business. If not, we’ll move ahead Hopefully he feels the same way. accordingly. There are a few teams reportedly looking for help on defense. You’ve put How big of a blow would it be to this organization — not just on the ice, together a pretty deep blue line. Any chance that’s a position you use to but in terms of public perception — to lose all of your UFAs? acquire help elsewhere on the roster, or perhaps draft picks? I’m very happy with the depth we have on D. It might be a bit of a problem that we have too many guys who could be and should be top six, but I’ll gladly have that problem.
Can you say definitively today if there will or won’t be any contract buyouts?
Most likely no, but you never rule anything out.
There’s a sense that the Blue Jackets underperformed last season — there was a lot going on, for sure — in finishing eighth in the East. Is it fair to say that an eighth-place finish might be overperforming in 2019-20 if the UFAs all depart?
I don’t think so, no. We’re not planning to. There’s no reset or rebuild or whatever you want to call it, no. We have a strong core in place. Look what happened in Long Island. They lost their best player, John Tavares. Great player. But they came together and won. Teams win. Look at the World Championships this year. Finland wins with no NHL players. None. At all. And they beat the superstar teams because they played as a team. Disciplined as hell. No agendas, no egos. Everybody stuck to the system and the way they wanted to play. The (UFAs) are great players, but the Islanders did just fine losing their captain and best player. We have a great core in place that will be here next year. I think we have a good team no matter what happens, and that’s a risk we were ready to take at the deadline. If it happens (that they leave), so be it. We’ll move on. We’ll fill holes with other ways. I’m convinced that we can do that and I’m convinced we’re going to have a very good team next season.
The Athletic LOADED: 06.08.2019 1146314 Detroit Red Wings
Red Wings draft prospect: Kirby Dach big, right-shooting center who controls play
Jun 7, 11:11 AM
Ansar Khan
(Another in a series looking at potential selections for the Detroit Red Wings with the No. 6 pick in the June 21 draft)
Kirby Dach
Position: Center
Height/Weight: 6-4/193
Shoots: Right
2018-19 team: Saskatoon (WHL)
2018-19 stats: 62 games, 25 goals, 48 assists, 73 points, 40 penalty minutes.
Why Red Wings would be interested: He would provide them with a good-sized center who can control the puck and has playmaking ability and shoots right. Their other centers on the roster or in their system shoot left (Dylan Larkin, Andreas Athanasiou and Joe Veleno).
NHL Central Scouting ranking: No. 3 among North American skaters.
Red Line Report says: “Rare hybrid combination of a power forward with the puck skills of a smaller dynamic player. He’s the huge, highly skilled, right-shot center that every team is looking for. Controls every play because he always has the puck, creating space for linemates. Skating has gone from above average to elite, showcasing standout edge work in tight confines. Stick is always on the ice as a target for passers. Impossible to move off the puck. Works hard defensively to regain control of the puck. Drives hard into his turns. Finds open pockets of space to navigate even in traffic. Sharp cuts across the grain out of nowhere to cross up coverage and slice into prime areas. Started to spend much more time in the dirty areas this season, but still needs to compete harder in all three zones and show a higher work output.”
Dobber Hockey says: “A pass-first center who owns great awareness and deft puck skills, Dach makes use of his body to protect the puck and exploit seams. He lacks explosiveness with his skating and could stand to play with more pace at times. But this is a player with a huge upside -- he embarrasses defenders when he’s feeling it and has a propensity to pile up points in bunches.”
Summary: How much does new general manager Steve Yzerman value size? The Red Wings could have their choice of big forwards like Dach or Dylan Cozens or smaller, skilled players such as Alex Turcotte, Trevor Zegras or Cole Caufield.
Michigan Live LOADED: 06.08.2019 1146315 Detroit Red Wings Dan came on board, and that wild ride started from that time. And if you’re asking what the ride has been like, it’s been very much like our film. The ups and downs and everything — we faced so many things, it Q&A: ‘The Russian Five’ director and producer on the legacy and almost didn’t happen many times — and then you have that high. Your lessons of the film film where there’s 3,000 people and everybody is chanting “Let’s go Red Wings,” and Vladdie is there and you have goosebumps.
It’s been a little bit of everything, but what mostly it has been is the proof Max Bultman that a boy from Port Huron can meet a girl who emigrated from the Soviet Union and together, only in this country, they can make this story come Jun 7, 2019 alive and leave a legacy behind that they can be proud of.
Have you guys gotten any feedback from the subjects of the movie, on Jenny Feterovich was having one of those days. how they felt it came through, or any responses that really meant a lot to you? The projects were piling up, and it was getting to the point where she simply couldn’t take on another one. Riehl: Yeah. Like Brendan Shanahan was just tweeting that he loves it and is looking forward to seeing it again on Tuesday. Scotty (Bowman) It was only, natural, then, that that was the day Joshua Riehl walked into loves it. Darren (McCarty)’s really embraced us. Slava Fetisov loves it. her studio with a pitch package to make a movie that was near and dear But the one response from all of the players who have seen it that has to both of their hearts: the story of the Red Wings’ Russian Five. moved me the most is Vladimir Konstantinov’s response. … When we had our theatrical premiere in March I got to sit in the box with him and “I’m like, ‘God, I’m just going to have to go back on all my words that I Dave Coulier and their guests, and to watch Vladdie watch it, where just made to myself,’” she recalled. every time someone he recognized came on the screen, he’d be like, But as an avid believer that everything happens for a reason, she “Stevie! Stevie!” or “Kocur! Kocur!” And then when Don Cherry came on decided to first check with a person who she thought could fund it. If that the screen he got really agitated. He was speaking Russian. I don’t know person said yes, she was in. what he said. His daughter Anastasia’s like, “It’s OK, Dad. It’s OK.” But then what really topped it off for me, no matter what kind of “success” we So, she went to Dan Milstein — the agent for Pavel Datsyuk who now have going forward as we launch (Friday), to me, the thing this was all also represents several NHL players — and, sure enough, he said yes. about, was when “We Are the Champions” started playing in the movie, That set in motion a wild ride for the two of them that reached another Vladdie started singing the song. It triggered something in his memory milestone Friday, when “The Russian Five” became available across that brought back some really, really happy, joyful moments before it was major streaming platforms including iTunes, Prime Video, Vudu, all kind of taken away from him. PlayStation Now, Google Play and Microsoft Stream. He started singing, like, watching the movie? On the eve of that release, Riehl and Feterovich spoke with The Athletic to describe that ride, the connections that made the story deeply Riehl: Yeah, he started, like, singing, kind of mumbling along with the personal to them and the process behind the visually striking film. words, because the song’s in the movie. Obviously, when the Wings won the Cup they blasted it over the big PA, so we had to get that song. The following transcript has been lightly edited for clarity and length. Yeah, and he started singing along with it. It gave me goosebumps, it gave Dave Coulier goosebumps, like everyone in that box was just The project’s obviously taking a big step (Friday), but what has this ride moved. And I had to leave because I had to go do a Q&A with Jenny been like for both of you? immediately afterwards. So I had to go compose myself in the hallway Joshua Riehl: (Laughs) Where should we start? The beginning? before I did, because it was, like, really, really moving. And it was special to be able to affect him, in a way, after he affected all of us so much Wherever you want. through his play and his persistence to overcome the tragic injury he’s Riehl: I grew up in Michigan, so I knew this story. The Russian Five were experienced. the guys I looked up to as a kid. So as a filmmaker, someone who I’ve heard you talk a little about his impact on you personally a little bit on wanted to be a filmmaker from really young, I always knew this was a a podcast before. Could you kind of tell that story, of what he meant to great story, and then later on Vladdie (Vladimir Konstantinov) would sort you at that point in your life, and the background for those who may not of inspire me after a car accident I was in — required some surgeries and know it? kind of derailed some life plans — so when I got through that I kind of knew how inspiring the story was. Riehl: Yeah, I had had two back surgeries at that point, and we didn’t really know what was going on, and I was probably like 23 or 24 maybe And then I was working for a director who asked me, “What is the story — that you want to tell as a director yourself?” And I told him the story of the Russian Five, and he threatened to stop hiring me if I didn’t go try to This was after a car accident? make the movie, the story was so good. So I set out on a kind of long Yeah, it seemed like a minor, insignificant car accident, and then what I journey almost seven years (ago) now. And it’s — at first getting the guys didn’t realize was there was a small little fracture, and I had played street on board, and then, soon as everyone said they would do it the person hockey, and just life, and then it got worse. Eventually I had to have a who said they would fund it disappeared. And then I was living in Austin, surgery and that didn’t work, and then I had to have another surgery and Texas, at the time — when I went to film school — and I realized it was that didn’t work, and (I was) so frustrated and discouraged with going to be impossible to raise the money for a story that’s so everything. I had to wear a brace to kind of keep the incisions and the quintessentially Detroit in Texas. So I moved back to Detroit about four surgically repaired back muscles formed, and so I wore hockey jerseys years ago — actually, it’ll be four years ago this month — and within over that all the time. And so for Christmas that year my grandparents about seven to eight weeks my friend Rob Cousineau introduced me to got me a Konstantinov jersey. And I don’t know if they meant to send a Jenny, so I brought the idea (the pitch package) to her studio and said, “I message, because they knew he was my favorite player, but to me it was want to make the Russian Five, what do you think?” sort of this, “Oh, OK. Wow, yeah. Vladdie, what he went through — what Jenny Feterovich: Yep, so he did, and that was one of those days. I don’t I’m going through — is nothing compared to what he went through, and know if you ever have days like that, where you’re just like, “I cannot take he persevered.” on another project in my life, because my life is just so busy right now.” I kind of told myself I could figure it out, and get off all the painkillers they So I was having one of those days, and of course Josh comes in, and he had me on, and get my back healthy and go back to film school and kind says I have “The Russian Five,” and I’m like, “God, I’m just going to have of pursue my dream of making films. to go back on all my words that I just made to myself.” Wow. And Jenny, you mentioned emigrating from the Soviet Union. Did I am the person that believes everything happens for a reason, so I go, the Russian Five mean much to you in your life, growing up? “Josh, if this is meant to be, I’m going to go to one person,” since it’s extremely difficult to raise money in film, especially documentaries. I said Feterovich: Of course, they meant a lot to me. I came here in 1989, I’ll go to one person who I think can give us the funds to make this actually, around same the time that Sergei (Fedorov) came. happen, and if he says yes then I’m in. So I went to Dan Milstein … and Oh my gosh. no coverage. There’s no archival. These are stories; what are we going to do?” Luckily, we both are not huge fans of recreations, so we Feterovich: Yeah, so I came around the same time as he came. So they immediately said, obviously, we’ll want to do some sort of animation. So played several roles in my life. I mean, number one, when you come here Josh said, “I see it in a way where it should be done through Soviet as an immigrant and specifically as a Russian person, before they got propaganda style.” And I said, “Perfect. And I think we should mix this here, Russians were kind of “bad people.” I think Americans, just like with (a) ‘Sin City’ look.” So, that was one of the first things we actually Russians, on each side were brainwashed for a really long time to sort of discussed. And I’m so happy that when it made its way to the screen, it not like each other. But after the guys came, everybody liked the ended up sort of what our vision is. Because a lot of times it’s so easy to Russians. They wanted to hang out with us. So we made a lot more lose that vision along the way. friends. And people wanted to know things about our culture. And on the other side they meant a lot to me because we had pickup soccer games, But to execute this, it was really truly an international endeavor. We had where they would come to the park (near) where all the immigrants lived a storyboard artist who is originally from Port Huron that Josh knows, and and we played soccer together. I was a 15-year-old girl playing for the our other producer Steve who was doing storyboards for us. We had Olympic development team, and I actually honed my soccer skills playing hired an artist, incredible artist, in Ukraine who started drawing the with Sergei and his father and Vladdie and all those guys. people, then the animation was getting moved back in Austin in our post house where we ended up. And it was truly a very interesting It was kind of fun because to everybody they were superstars, and to us international endeavor. It was quite challenging because there was quite they were people that hung out with us. Except they had a lot more a bit of communication challenges, especially that we executed most of money, of course, than we did. So yeah, the story is very meaningful the animation in a duration of about two-and-a-half months, which for a from a human perspective. You can’t write a story like this if you tried. project of this size is kind of unheard of. But we got it done, and we feel it What was that like for those guys at that time? One of the things I just really translates and speaks to the people, and it’s a big part of the thought was so interesting in the film was the social element of them story. having each other. How many cities have you guys been to now for various premieres and Feterovich: Yeah, they were just a part of the Russian community. I all that stuff? mean, they wanted to be a part of what we did. They would go to the Feterovich: So we’ve played in 90 movie theaters in 19 states so far. same restaurants that we did. They would go to the same grocery store. They kept a lot of Russian friends that they would meet along the way. How many have you two personally gone to? They still liked Russian food, Russian parties and everything. I think they found some sort of comfort in our community. We were just different from Feterovich: Oh, I don’t even know. I lost track. We’ve been to L.A., New the fact they were these big hockey stars, but they never acted that way York, obviously Chicago. We try to go as much as we can. We’re with us. heading to Toronto on Tuesday. There’s just something really special about seeing a room full of people for the first time watching this film. When they won the Cup, they invited a lot of the Russian community Watching kind of where they laugh and where they cry, where they actually to their house. Whether it was the guy who changed their oil, or reminisce, where they clap. It’s still an amazing experience and that’s the the people that owned the Russian store. They were just super down to reason we did a theatrical distribution. Our distributors only wanted to do earth with us. And I think with other people probably as well, it’s just I digital and foreign sales, and actually what you’re seeing in theatrical, think they had an easier time probably communicating to us than people that’s really our team that consists of like three-and-a-half people. … in America. We’ve grossed almost half a million dollars at the box office, which for an indie with a team of three-and-a-half people is probably unheard of. Joshua, you, growing up as a fan, it sounds like knew the story. What was that process like for you, going in to meet with all these guys who What do you hope people take away from this movie? really meant something to you but also doing the job of a filmmaker? Feterovich: For me I hope they will understand that it’s much more than a Riehl: Yeah, so the first interview we did after Dan Milstein signed on hockey film, because that’s what we set out to do. We hope that people board … was Scotty Bowman. Which was terrifying. Really intimidating understand that people are people. It’s not about Canadians, it’s not because Scotty, he’s a Jedi master. But we got through it, and then after about Americans, it’s not about Russians. We are (all) people. I had a that it kind of became this thing where it was like, “Yes, it’s Steve very interesting Twitter exchange with somebody over the last 24 hours Yzerman sitting across from me, but really it’s this guy who I need to get where a person was exercising their freedom of democracy and saying all of this story from.” I have six pages of questions and I’m trying to get they won’t see a film that’s about Russians because they feel Russians through as best as we can, and he wants to be out of the chair in an are bad people. It’s kind of crazy to read that in 2019 because he hour. So you don’t really have time to be in awe and gawk. Although chooses politics over people. And that’s still mind-blowing to me. But we when Sergei came in, we jumped right into it, and then after we did the hope when people see that, they will see people as people, and they will interview I think all of us kind of had a moment where we were like, “Oh leave all of that behind and they will see a story of five individuals and all god, that’s Sergei Fedorov right there.” of the other people’s lives they have touched.
Slava Kozlov during the filming of “The Russian Five.” (Courtesy of How about you, Josh? Joshua Riehl) Riehl: I mean, everything Jenny just said. Obviously, that’s sort of the Before you went into the interviews, were there any parts of the story or core of it. I hope people watch this with their families, and their friends ideas you had that turned out to not be the case, or anything that really and the people that they love and care about. Because that’s something surprised you? that we’ve kind of realized through this process is, like, the story of the Russian Five, the Red Wings community, is a story about family. It’s a Riehl: There was a story I had heard rumors of, and I was hoping it was thing where your father, your grandfather, will pass on this game of true, and then early on in the interviewing process it maybe seemed like hockey to you. And now we’ve created something that’s giving people an it wasn’t. And then when we found out it was, it really kind of broke the opportunity to pass on this story, this legacy, that a lot us lived through, third act of the film open, and it really changed everything to be able to to their children and share it with another generation. I mean, Dylan include that. I’m not going to say what that is, so people can try to figure Larkin wasn’t even born yet, I think, when this story happened. So there’s that out when they’re watching. I don’t know — you have to be extremely a whole generation of young individuals who don’t know the story of the thorough going into it. You don’t want to be surprised by the story, in a Russian Five. I think it’ll be really cool that people are going to get to way, in the interview. share that with them.
This is probably one for Jenny, but the other thing that really stands out is The Athletic LOADED: 06.08.2019 the art. There’s those couple scenes, number one, Keith Gave bringing those messages to Sergei and Vladimir overseas, and then the defection scene. And those are two tense moments, maybe the highest-anxiety moments of the film. How did you go about creating the art for that, and making sure it was going to both do the job and be as accurate as it could be?
Feterovich: So when Josh first approached me, the first question I asked, obviously, was: “There is a place in the movie where there is absolutely 1146316 Edmonton Oilers Craig MacTavish is laying low and not talking about his adventurous moving to Russia to coach but Dave King used to be in Yaroslavl where the former Oilers VP of hockey ops is going. He loved his time there.
Oilers want Chiasson back, but at what price? “Craig’s a good hockey man and it’ll be a great experience for him. They’re in a conference with Moscow Dynamo, Red Army and Podolsk, all Moscow teams, so his travel from his location is very, very good. Jim Matheson Yaroslavl is close to Moscow with the train a short hop away. The city’s got good stores, North American amenities,” said King.
“The team has amazing facilities. Their competitive rink is beautiful and Alex Chiasson was one of the few bright spots in another dreary after the (2011) plane crash, the Russian government also put a lot of Edmonton Oilers season last year, with his career-high 22 goals, but the money into an Olympic training centre with a rink, dormitories. The clock’s ticking on his July 1 free-agency path with other NHL teams players can live on-site with their families. There’s a baby-sitting service. allowed to make their sales pitches starting the day after the NHL draft It’s first rate,” said King, who nevertheless realizes it’s a different bag for ends June 23. a North American coach. So far, all quiet on the western front. “You have to coach with a translator but that can be quite enjoyable “Ken (GM Holland) and I have talked but nothing serious,” said agent Pat because you have to pick your words carefully and keep it concise. Morris. Maybe it makes you a little sharper than just speaking English,” said King. Holland has had a full plate since he was hired a month ago, but of his NHL team unrestricted free-agents — Alex Petrovic, Kevin Gravel, This ’n that: Winger Jesse Puljujarvi is reportedly spending time on the Anthony Stolarz — Chiasson is clearly his most pressing issue. ice with Oilers skating coach David Pelletier after his hip surgery three Chiasson’s 22 goals may be a one-off after he signed that tryout months ago. Holland’s only dipped his toe in the water in terms of talking $650,000 deal last fall, but when given the chance for the first time in his about a new deal for the restricted free-agent forward. The Oilers see NHL career to play in the top six, he wasn’t overwhelmed. Maybe he’s him as a third-line RW for now, playing with a centre who can push the better served to be a third-line RW and net-front power-play presence, pace and get him the puck … With coach Dave Tippett hired here, would but he could still score 12-15 goals and get 35 points. How much is that the Oilers change gear and think of re-upping Tobias Rieder, even if worth, and for how long? OEG chair Bob Nicholson said late in the season that the German winger wasn’t coming back? Rieder had his best years under Tippett in Arizona How about the same money as Zack Kassian ($1.95 mil) for three years? where Tippett used him over 17 minutes a game. Almost identical career numbers, and both role players, and both 28? Holland has likely talked to countless Oilers people and has heard the Edmonton Sun: LOADED: 06.08.2019 same stories about Chiasson’s character, his work ethic, his leadership, his size around the net and deflection ability on the PP, but also the fact he’s not a great skater in a racehorse NHL today. He likely doesn’t want to give him home-run numbers off one 22-goal year in a new deal. Somebody else can do that July 1.
If Chiasson, off those 22 snipes, can get Derek Ryan ($3 mil a year x 3) like the role-playing, right-shot centre got from Calgary last summer, great. Holland would like him back but not at that price. So maybe he wants a few days after July 1 to see how the dust clears, or he offers three years at $2 million now to Morris, an agent he’s done countless deals with over the years.
Chiasson was fourth in Oiler goals behind Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Only eight other teams had more than four guys with more than his 22 goals. His 17.2 shooting percentage was 22nd in the NHL but that’s probably not going to happen again, off his career average 12.7 percent. Still, he’s a big body who can tip pucks.
“He goes to where you have to go to score goals,” said former head coach Ken Hitchcock.
A team comparable is probably Kassian. Kassian has played 466 games with 67 goals and 143 points. Chiasson has played 454 games and has 81 goals and 162 points. Kassian had a career high 15 goals last year.
Maybe the Oilers see Chiasson as more fourth-liner if they get deeper at forward and the team actually makes the playoffs—he was streaky last year, going almost two months with a goal—but for now he’s a top 9 player until Tyler Benson and Kailer Yamamoto and others push him farther down the lineup. He had 38 points last season.
“I want to be back here,” Chiasson said repeatedly during the season and afterwards.
One salient fact: in one season, he became part of the team leadership group. And not just because he had a Cup ring from Washington. He analyzed his game and the team’s game after wins and losses as Mark Letestu did, with great thought. No stick handling.
Two or three years at $2 mil average would seem in Holland’s price range for Chiasson, not the fastest skater but smart and also able to kill penalties.
“I would think Chiasson would be attractive as a free-agent to teams in the Western Conference who saw him a lot last year, and probably the Islanders with his former Washington coach Barry Trotz,” said an NHL executive.
Yaroslavl not Siberia 1146317 Edmonton Oilers their own defensive teammates but also missed time for injury and personal reasons.
It’s Nurse who both played monster minutes (539 in total) and performed How will Ken Holland build around Connor McDavid? well against elites in 2017-18. That’s wildly encouraging, giving Edmonton a young defenceman (22 at the time) who played big minutes against elites and held them at bay. You’re always concerned about the Allan Mitchell “McDavid zoom” which is defined by playing with (and being aided by) the captain in those elite minutes. Puck IQ is currently working on a ‘with Jun 7, 2019 or without you’ feature that should lay that discussion to rest. Still, this is a very encouraging season from a young player.
The Boston Bruins are authoring an impressive Stanley Cup run with a Russell struggled again, but credit him with holding the trust of the coach. team that has been built over a 15-year period. From the 2003 draft In two seasons, Russell was one of four the coach deployed in the (Patrice Bergeron) through the deadline deals for Charlie Coyle and toughest moments of the game. Marcus Johansson, the long journey to the 2019 final is a tribute to team 2018-19 building across hockey generations. Draft, develop, patience. Benning shines like a diamond in this discipline, but once again it’s The heart of the order for the current Bruins comes from the 2011 team, clearly in third pairing minutes. He’s effective in the role, perhaps a Boston’s most recent Stanley Cup winner. All of Bergeron, Zdeno Chara, reason he is in trade rumours. Sekera was injured again and there’s not David Krejci, Brad Marchand and Tuukka Rask were on the 2011 winner, much to say about his 62 minutes. It was a poor season for the “big four” and each man is playing a massive role in the 2019 run. of Russell, Nurse, Klefbom and Larsson. Nurse’s numbers are the The layers of talent on Boston’s 2011 team are fascinating. The club had poorest, although ironically Larsson has been taking most of the heat young stars like Marchand and Tyler Seguin, plus mid-20s quality in over the early portion of Edmonton’s postseason. Bergeron, Krejci, Milan Lucic, Nathan Horton and Johnny Boychuk. Edmonton’s six Boston’s 30-plus veterans were led by Chara (33 at the time), Mark Recchi and Tim Thomas. Layers of talent from each age range, and Holland’s future in Edmonton depends on identifying the right players to collectively a formidable team with quality, balance and depth. keep and the right ones to send away. One of the things about analytics that gets missed, and is the most important part of the entire process, is Ken Holland doesn’t have 15 years and he doesn’t have those five how to read these numbers correctly. Everyone talks about the data, but veterans who are keeping the Bruins focused on the ultimate prize. How the key is getting the right read on these numbers. will he build around Connor McDavid? Matt Benning doesn’t play as much against elites as the rest, just 780 The McDavid cluster minutes in three seasons. On the other hand, his DFF percentage at 5- Finding the modern Chara, Rask, Bergeron, Marchand and Krejci sounds on-5 against those elites is 50.7. I keep reading trade rumours about like a neat trick, but that’s the job for Holland in Edmonton. The Oilers’ Benning, and it’s clear his coaches don’t believe he’s a top-four new general manager has two aces up his sleeve in Connor McDavid defenceman, but the results against elites have been impressive during and Leon Draisaitl, but who does he consider part of the McDavid his Oilers career. cluster? It’s a fascinating question and we may be close to an answer. Oscar Klefbom spent 1,243 minutes against elites 5-on-5 since 2016, Only Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is mentioned among forwards as part of the posting a 47.9 DFF percentage. That’s damned good, and reflects McDavid future, and no current goaltender is included in that Klefbom’s range of skills designed to get the puck out under control. He conversation. The focus for Holland, at least for now, surrounds the skates well, can retrieve and is a fine passer who can also transport the future on defence. puck on his own. I worry Holland will trade him before seeing a complete season, I believe Klefbom’s performances over the last three seasons Fans and some media have always believed Darnell Nurse was part of have earned him a spot in the McDavid cluster. One worry: Injury. that cluster, but do the numbers suggest that is wise? Who is the defenceman on this Oilers team who Holland sees as part of the inner Adam Larsson has played 1,449 minutes against elites at 5-on-5 over the circle of Oilers future? Is there more than one? last three seasons, posting a 46.4 DFF percentage. He is a rare righty defender and is a true shutdown player. He has had to contend with Puck IQ provides us with a unique look at usage of defencemen by NHL personal loss and injury impacted his 2018-19 season. The only reason coaches. In a three-year look at the numbers, we can see who is having to deal him, in my opinion, is over worry that he has truly lost a step. He a positive (or negative) impact and what players the coach relies on is 26; Larsson should have several years left at a high level. I suspect heavily against the league’s best opposition. Since Edmonton has been Holland would like to keep him. running a fairly stable group of defenders since 2016, we have a nice sample size from which to draw conclusions. Kris Russell played 1,220 minutes against elites 5-on-5 over the last three seasons, posting a DFF percentage of 45.4. He also boasts a Note: DFF Percentage is the percentage of possession during each positive goal differential (43-39) in those minutes, perhaps offering a clue player’s time on ice against elites at 5-on-5. DFF percentage RC is about why coaches love him. The analytics folks I speak to talk about individual ratio relative to teammates for specific level of competition. It regression but in Russell’s case he has been able to (mostly) avoid a puts all the defencemen on each team on a level playing field and gives disastrous goals-against in this discipline over three winters. us an idea about who is delivering the most compared to his defensive teammates. It’s Corsi Rel, except Dangerous Fenwick, described as a Darnell Nurse is a game rooster who has skated miles against elite weighted shot metric using shot distance location and type of shot to give competition 5-on-5 (1,226 minutes), especially over the last two seasons. each shot a “danger” value. This is a unique and highly informative stat In the three years we’re looking at, his DFF percentage against elites is pack. 45.3. His 2017-18 season was so impressive it has to be tempting to keep him. I expect he’ll have a new partner this coming season and will 2016-17 be eager to see the results. Math people are divided on Nurse but there’s so much potential and one impressive season on the resume. Holland is The most effective defencemen on this team, the one that went to the probably wise to see if Nurse can settle in as a defensive player. playoffs, are Klefbom, Larsson and Sekera. Benning was surprisingly effective as a rookie but didn’t play as much against elites. Nurse Andrej Sekera has battled injuries in these seasons, playing just 622 struggled against elites and didn’t play as much against them as the rest minutes (most of them in 2016-17). Sekera’s DFF 5-on-5 against elites in in the group, while Russell played a lot and struggled. If we had only this these seasons is 44.3, and the big question surrounding his future is one season to go on, it would be Russell who would be voted off the about how much success he’ll have against elite opposition after the island. injuries.
2017-18 What does it all mean?
Benning shows well again (he’s an underrated player) but once again he There are three strong long-term options for the McDavid Oilers under didn’t play the kind of tough minutes others on the team were tasked with Holland: Klefbom, Nurse and Larsson. Holland has likely decided one of during 2017-18. Klefbom and Larsson both performed well relative to these men has to go based on roster depth and quality on defence, and the lack of it everywhere else.
The best skater is Nurse; the best defender is Larsson; the best player is Klefbom. The player who is asked after the most may be the player dealt.
Holland is going to want to change the course of this team as quickly as possible, while also holding on to the important parts (as he sees it) of the McDavid cluster.
I keep coming back to these rumours about the Oilers’ interest in Philip Broberg. NHL teams lie like sidewalks about draft picks this time of year, but Broberg fits the Holland template like a glove. Craig Button said last August “everything about his game screams top pair defenceman, if not a No. 1 defenceman in the NHL” and Broberg has only gotten better since then.
I’ve always believed Nurse would be a part of the McDavid cluster in Edmonton. His 2017-18 season seemed to confirm it, but 2018-19 was a struggle. Will Holland view this summer as an opportunity to cash in Nurse before his big payday next summer?
Klefbom is Edmonton’s most complete defender, built for the modern game. He has endured some injuries in his young career. Could Holland be contemplating something rash?
Larsson is a horse, right-handed and effective in a shutdown role. He has a mean streak and is reliable. Will Holland risk trading his top righty blue for immediate help?
Holland didn’t sign on to any ideas, plans or clusters. He has a bunch of LH defencemen who have value, plus potentially one in the draft he appears to prize a great deal. He could trade a piece on defence for a handsome return elsewhere. It’s the play, but there’s a risk. Does he get it right without having a season to watch these men perform and make his own evaluation?
This is about to get interesting.
The Athletic LOADED: 06.08.2019 1146318 Florida Panthers “I kind of knew I would go third, but I’m just glad I didn’t have to wait too long because my parents were so nervous. I was really happy. I had a good feeling I was going to end up with the Panthers. It was probably 70- NHL Draft memories: Jonathan Huberdeau hoped to go to Panthers, 30. I was a little nervous because you never know. They could have gone wants to stay with them now with another guy.
“To be a young guy like that and hear your name called, you know you have a foot in the door, you have the chance to be in the NHL. When George Richards Dale said my name, I turned and saw the emotion in the eyes of my family. We were so happy. It was a special moment to share with Jun 7, 2019 everyone. It wasn’t just a great moment for me, but for them as well. They were as excited as I was. Maybe even more so.”
SUNRISE, Fla. — The day before the 2011 NHL Draft, Jonathan The NHL draft will be held in Vancouver later this month with the Huberdeau slipped on a green golf shirt with the draft logo and joined the Panthers holding the 13th overall pick. There will be a flurry of activity as rest of the top prospects to meet the media at a hotel in downtown there always is at the draft, but as Huberdeau says, it is a time that Minneapolis. belongs to the players taken.
The Edmonton Oilers held the first pick, so expected No. 1 selection When the Panthers took Huberdeau on June 25, 2011, the big news Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was the star of the show. surrounding the team that night was the pending trade between Florida and Chicago for defenseman Brian Campbell. Huberdeau, who hails from Quebec, was also a popular figure for the gathered media — and it wasn’t just because he spoke French. The Huberdeau news almost got shuffled to the side a bit on his big day, but it was a special time nonetheless and one he recalls fondly whenever A few weeks earlier, playing for Saint John, Huberdeau had been named he and the Panthers visit Minnesota or he watches the draft on television. MVP of the Memorial Cup — the Canadian junior hockey championship — and his draft stock was soaring. He wasn’t going to go first in this “Of course I had heard about Campbell coming, but at the draft, it is your draft, but he would go very early. day,” Huberdeau said. “After you get drafted, you spend a few hours downstairs doing interviews and taking pictures. He hoped he would go to the Panthers with the third pick and made that point clear in his discussions with the reporters surrounding him. “So many things are going on. I enjoyed every minute of it, and so did my family. It is a great day. Whenever I watch the draft, I think of that day The Panthers had a lot of things going on in Minnesota aside from the and how fast everything went by.” draft. Vacationing at home Not only were they talking to Edmonton about trading for that first pick, but the Panthers were also having conversations with other teams about The Panthers had meetings with dozens of players in the days leading up moving down and adding more draft picks and players under contract. to the 2011 draft, but with the possibility that the team could either stay in the top three or move back, they cast a wide net in their interviews. General manager Dale Tallon only had a handful of players signed for the 2011-12 season, so he was working on bringing in more. One of the players Florida was especially interested in was Huberdeau, a skilled forward who scored 85 goals over two full seasons (including the “We are going to be aggressive,” said Tallon, who, at the time of the playoffs) for a Sea Dogs team coached by Gerard Gallant. draft, was $30 million short of the salary cap floor. Huberdeau liked the Panthers as well. The Panthers, however, felt that Edmonton’s price for the top pick was too rich and offers for the third pick were not enough. So Florida stayed For years, he and his family had driven south to Florida during the right where it was. holiday season from their home near Montreal to bask in the sun — and to watch some hockey in Sunrise. Edmonton took Nugent-Hopkins as expected, and Florida was OK with taking either Huberdeau or Gabriel Landeskog at No. 3. Colorado picked One of the family traditions was getting tickets to watch their hometown second, and whichever player the Avalanche took, the Panthers would Canadiens against the Panthers, and they would usually park their RV at happily snag the other. the Walmart down the way from the arena.
Tallon told Huberdeau he would select him if he was still on the board. Huberdeau shared this tidbit with the Panthers in their official interview with him. “You know how Dale is,” Huberdeau recalled on Thursday. “He is a great guy and, in a situation like that, wants you to feel comfortable and not be “We could upgrade him from the Walmart to the BankAtlantic Center,” nervous around him. then-scouting director Scott Luce said. “We’ll probably even paint their initials in the parking lot.” “He told me I was their guy, but I know he was saying the same thing to Landeskog.” The Huberdeau family continues to winter in South Florida, and they still go to the arena when the Canadiens are in town. Only now they usually Landeskog went second to the Avs. stay with Jonathan and root on the Panthers.
Minutes later, Tallon strode to the stage at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul HUBERDEAU'S FAMILY PAYS A VISIT – NATIONAL HOCKEY with a large contingent from the Florida front office and scouting LEAGUE NEWS – HTTPS://T.CO/1HJZMU0MUE department. One person was carrying the new red Panthers jersey the PIC.TWITTER.COM/QXYSUNKOLY team was set to unveil that night. Stitched onto it was a No. 11. — MLB &NHL NEWS NOW (@MLB_NEWS247) DECEMBER 29, 2018 The 11 signified the year the draft was held, but it was also the number Huberdeau wore with Saint John. “I didn’t think about it at the time, but there were 30 teams drafting that day, and I ended up at the place I knew and had great memories of being It is the same number Huberdeau wears to this day with the Panthers. with my family,” he said. “It is pretty crazy.”
Huberdeau sports his No. 11 before a game this January against the Huberdeau said his father, Alain — who was one of about 15 family Oilers in Edmonton. (Perry Nelson / USA Today) members who traveled to Minnesota for the draft — had his fingers crossed that the Panthers would call Jonathan’s name when it was their “It worked out perfect,” he said. turn. That particular red jersey Huberdeau was handed is now framed and Dad did not leave disappointed. Neither did his son. hangs at the Huberdeau family home in Quebec, serving as a reminder of a week in Minnesota they will never forget. “He really wanted me to go to Florida because of our past there,” Huberdeau said. “We were always going to Florida to spend Christmas, “When I heard my name, that was one of the best moments in my life,” so the chance to live and play there was just unbelievable.” Huberdeau said Thursday as he recalled his draft day eight years ago. Big mover and value at $5.9 million per season, his name has surfaced in trade rumors, first at last season’s deadline and again this summer. As draft season approached, Huberdeau was already considered a top prospect. Now training in Montreal, Huberdeau said it’s tough to avoid hearing the latest trade rumors involving him — like the latest potential deal where In January, the NHL Central Scouting midseason rankings had he’d be sent to Pittsburgh for Evgeni Malkin — from family, friends and Huberdeau ranked fourth among North American skaters (future others who recognize him around town. teammate Vincent Trocheck was No. 47). By the time of the draft, he stood third behind Nugent-Hopkins and Landeskog. But as was the case last February, there probably isn’t much to this latest rumor either. Huberdeau says he has learned not to worry about things Huberdeau scored 15 goals in 61 regular-season games in his first year he cannot control. with the Sea Dogs in 2009-10 but put himself on the map with 11 goals in 16 postseason games. He continued to rise as he scored 43 during the Eight years ago in Minnesota, Huberdeau was excited to be part of the regular season of his draft year, and he capped that off with three goals Panthers. Now, he says he wants to be part of their future. in four games of the Cup final to earn MVP honors. “I want to stay there my whole career,” Huberdeau said. “There are “I don’t think I was on any list until that first playoff when I really started to always rumors, but this is the place I want to be. play well,” said Huberdeau, who turned 26 on Tuesday. “We have the group to win. It is coming. You never know what a team is “Then I came back and I just played. I wasn’t really thinking about the going to do, but hopefully I get to stay and continue to be part of it. … It draft. But I was playing with confidence and Turk (Gallant) was giving me just feels like next year is really going to be something.” a lot of ice time and allowing me to play in every situation. I was scoring a lot of points, we got to the playoffs and won the Memorial Cup. We had a The Athletic LOADED: 06.08.2019 good team and the scouts were always there. It helped me that year.”
The Panthers were desperate for scoring, and a player like Huberdeau was just what they needed.
In 467 NHL games with the Panthers, Huberdeau has 125 goals and 359 points — including career-highs of 30 goals and 90 points this past season.
Huberdeau ended up playing parts of four seasons with the Sea Dogs.
After being drafted in 2011, he came to camp with the Panthers but was one of the final cuts. Tallon went on a spending spree following the draft, not only adding Campbell but also Tomas Kopecky, Ed Jovanovski, Sean Bergenheim, Scottie Upshall, Tomas Fleischmann and Kris Versteeg.
Tallon thought Huberdeau needed to get stronger to compete at the NHL level and, with so many new veterans on his team, he thought it would be best to send him back to his junior team.
The Panthers and their new lineup won the Southeast Division in 2011- 12 and lost to the Devils in the opening round of the playoffs — with Huberdeau still playing for Saint John.
JONATHAN HUBERDEAU NETTED ONE GOAL FOR THE SAINT JOHN SEA DOGS IN A LOSING CAUSE AGAINST SHAWINIGAN. @FLAPANTHERS PIC.TWITTER.COM/2HP0JIBO
— MICHAEL HAWKINS (@HAWKALICIOUS) NOVEMBER 5, 2012
Huberdeau started the 2012-13 season with the Sea Dogs as well because of the NHL lockout. He made his NHL debut on Jan. 19, 2013, and scored a goal with two assists in Florida’s delayed opening night win against Carolina.
“You saw a pretty good snapshot of his skill set,” then-coach Kevin Dineen said after the game. “Pretty impressive debut to say the least.”
Huberdeau scored 14 goals with 31 points as he played in all 48 games of the lockout-shortened NHL season. Huberdeau was named the league’s top rookie — the first Calder Trophy winner in franchise history.
“I think he’s a great player,” Pittsburgh center Sidney Crosby said at the NHL Awards that year. “He’s a great young player with a lot of skill. He seemed to adjust pretty quickly.”
Part of the core
Huberdeau was one of the first top players selected by Tallon after he took over the Panthers in 2010. The year before, Florida had three first- round draft picks and took defenseman Erik Gudbranson at No. 3 before adding Nick Bjugstad (19th) and Quinton Howden (25th) later on.
In subsequent drafts, the Panthers added Mike Matheson (23rd overall, 2012), Sasha Barkov (second, 2013) and Aaron Ekblad (first, 2014).
All three of the Panthers’ first-round picks selected the year before Huberdeau have been traded or let go in the past three years — Bjugstad back in February.
Huberdeau has four years left on the six-year contract extension he signed with the Panthers in 2016. But despite his offensive production 1146319 Los Angeles Kings “The entitlement thing is a valid point,” he said. “I have a hard time buying the hunger argument and maybe that’s just me. Maybe it’s something that varies from guy to guy, but I don’t think that there’s a lack Alec Martinez on Kings’ culture drop-off: ‘The entitlement thing is a valid of hunger in the room. I mean the whole thing where it’s like, ‘Oh you win point’ once or twice, you become complacent.’ Winning is so much fun that you want to do it again.
“I know everyone’s different, but as an athlete you want to win. That goes Lisa Dillman from something as simple as a puck battle to a game to a season to a series to a (Stanley) Cup. You just want to win. I have a hard time buying Jun 7, 2019 the hunger thing because I don’t think that there’s anyone in that locker room that was content with what happened this year.”
In a few days, Alec Martinez will remember what day it is again. I asked Martinez about what teammate Tyler Toffoli had said on breakup day about poor practice habits, having used the word ‘pathetic.’ This week has been a time zone readjustment for him after playing at the IIHF World Championships in Slovakia for Team USA and spending Toffoli, of course, wasn’t wrong. some time in Europe afterward. The Kings defenseman came home and His burst of candor was attention-grabbing, to say the least. New Kings joked about showing up at a farmers market on the wrong day in coach Todd McLellan will walk in the door with instant credibility, but he Manhattan Beach. can only do so much if the core players don’t learn from the mistakes There will be no such confusion about June 13. they made under John Stevens and interim coach Willie Desjardins this past season. “I stumble across the highlights and someone will tweet something at you,” Martinez said. “But I certainly don’t just sit around watching it. Every “Every coach has their own style and things like that,” Martinez said. “I’m once in a while, it pops up on your Twitter, but I don’t hit play.” not here bad-mouthing anyone. I know that the way that we practiced translated into games. When you lack accountability, and if you’re sloppy Thursday, June 13 is the five-year anniversary of Game 5 of the Stanley in practice, you’re going to be sloppy in games. That’s something that Cup final against the New York Rangers, when Martinez scored the Cup- you learn very early on. There is no switch to be flipped. clinching goal for the Kings in double overtime. His Jazz Hands celebration was perfect punctuation and, well, led to a catchy nickname. “It’s not like you can just half-ass practice and then all of a sudden when it becomes game time expect to be sharp and crisp. That was part of our “I certainly appreciate both times we won,” Martinez said. “But when issue this year and I guess in short, yes. I do think the practices were a you’re a player, you still have an opportunity to do it again. I know I say part of our lack of success. But I also think that we did some certain this a lot but it’s just one of those things you might think about more or things to address and they got better. Too little too late. reflect on it more once you’re done playing. “We’ve obviously faced a little adversity, but I think that it’s also a good “Everyone will always talk about two Cups, the two Cups. At some point, opportunity to reevaluate, look at things, and get better going forward. you look back at it and it’s like, ‘well, the last one was five years ago. And This year was this year. If you use it in the right way, then maybe we’re we’ve won one playoff game in five years.’ It’s just something that myself talking about it in a different light a few years from now.” and quite a few of the guys have talked about.” Martinez tackled a few other topics in addition to the organizational His observation served as a launching-off point for the next part of our challenges that lie ahead for the Kings. Team USA lost to Russia, 4-3, in wide-ranging conversation about the direction of the struggling Kings, the quarterfinals in Slovakia and Martinez was able to play for one of his who are coming off a 30th-place finish, a meaningful and unexpected early mentors, Jeff Blashill, and was a teammate of defenseman Quinn drop-off in team and individual performance. Martinez is No. 2 in tenure Hughes, of the Canucks, and Jack Hughes, who is projected by many to on the Kings’ blue line – behind Drew Doughty – and the only other be the No. 1 pick in the NHL Draft later this month in Vancouver. The players who have been in Los Angeles longer are Dustin Brown, Anze Kings had the second-best odds of landing the top selection in the draft Kopitar, Trevor Lewis and Jonathan Quick. lottery, but fell to No. 5. Here’s what he had to say:
Martinez offers the same intelligent perspective of a Brown, a link to the On the World Championships past glory days and a barometer of the present. When you get the opportunity to represent your country and wear that Since the end of the regular season, there has been so much talk about jersey, it’s something special. I was really happy that I went. The way that entitlement, complacency and hunger – it sounds more like a soap opera year had gone, you leave the rink and you have a sour taste in your plot than a hockey team losing its way. Colleague Josh Cooper recently mouth. The World Championships provides you an opportunity to go into spoke with several former Kings players about the issue of entitlement the summer with a little bit better feeling. and the erosion of the Kings’ winning culture. Martinez is the first player to talk to The Athletic about those issues, including the topic of poor When I went last year, I didn’t know a single guy on the team. Which is practice habits, since breakup day in April. kind of crazy to think. I got to know some new guys. For me, I played for one organization my whole career, played essentially one system, You Time helps lend perspective, and so does the fact the Kings have won go there and you meet other people around the game, other coaches and one playoff game in five years. you see other coaching styles. You meet other general managers, see their styles, you play different systems, you play with different guys. It’s a “I look at my individual career – that’s half my career – and quite frankly, good opportunity to kind of learn and grow that way. that’s just unacceptable,” Martinez said. “Maybe the sense of entitlement, I guess that word is derived just from the fact that we didn’t adapt or On Team USA Coach Jeff Blashill of the Detroit Red Wings maybe we didn’t do the things necessary to stay up to date. I truly believe in the group of guys that we have both on and off the ice. But I guess it’s I would say that he’s one of three guys that were really big in my just like anything; sometimes you’ve got to go through something like this development and responsible for why I’m here. He’s very methodical. He to really get a kick in the rear. cares a lot. I think that he’s a really good quote unquote ‘new-age coach.’ He’s hard but in a good way. He can relate to guys. I’ve also seen him in “You look at a team like Boston right now. They were obviously really a different capacity. I saw him as an assistant at Miami and. …. there successful, but then they had some down years as well. And then now were plenty of screaming matches that were very one-sided, on his part, the past few years, they’ve been playing really good hockey. And which is good. But he also has the ability to kind of turn it off, too. He’s a everyone was doubting them saying their core is washed up, they are too good balance of that. Obviously I’m biased since I’ve had a relationship old. You watch them in the playoffs, and you watch the series and all that with him for a really long time. He’s come to both my Cup parties. … he’s and it’s clearly not the case. I don’t want to say natural progression almost a part of the family.” because it shouldn’t happen but sometimes things like this happen.” On playing with brothers Jack Hughes and Quinn Hughes Martinez had a slightly different view on the issue of hunger/complacency. I knew Quinn from last year. He was talking to me as a guy that was in college and had left early, just picking my brain a little bit. He’s a really good kid. I met Jack this time around. You can just tell they come from a good family. They’re obviously very good hockey players but you can tell that they’re good people. Some of the stuff that he (Jack) does out there. I would never even think about doing that. You can tell his habits are good too. I was really impressed. He’s a young kid. Hell, half the tournament he was wearing a full cage because he’s only 17.
The Athletic LOADED: 06.08.2019 1146320 Montreal Canadiens crushing realization the Canadiens have either signed no one of note, or worse, have signed Karl Alzner to a $23-million contract.
Montreal Gazette LOADED: 06.08.2019 What the Puck: Habs should go hard to land Erik Karlsson
BRENDAN KELLY, Updated: June 7, 2019
There was only one topic of conversation among Habs fans this week and it circled around a titillating question: Will Erik Karlsson end up wearing a Canadiens sweater next season?
The superstar defenceman is arguably the hottest free agent on the market this summer and the story broke a few days back in the Ottawa Sun the two-time Norris Trophy winner is looking closely at two teams in particular, the Ottawa Senators and the Montreal Canadiens. The story goes his wife, Melinda, who was born and raised in Ottawa, is homesick and wants to return to the nation’s capital and so he wants to be on a team in or very close to Ottawa. Apparently, per the Sun’s source, Toronto and Buffalo are not on Karlsson’s short list.
Of course, no one knows what will happen with the 29-year-old Swede come free-agency day on July 1. One source close to the Karlsson camp threw cold water on the rumours of the free agent coming to Montreal, telling me this was just much media ado about nothing. But it’s rare with gusts up to unheard of that you get the real story about what a free agent is going to do until he actually does it.
For one thing, he might not even be leaving the San Jose Sharks. Elliotte Friedman said on Hockey Night in Canada this week he might stay in California.
“The word is that Erik Karlsson is taking a long, hard look at deciding if he wants to stay in San Jose,” Friedman said. “And I think we’re going to know, in about a week, if he’s going to stay or if he’s going to investigate his other free-agency options. He wants to win, the Sharks are perennially in it [and] they’ve made a good impression on him.”
But if he leaves San Jose and tests the free-agency waters, maybe Montreal might be one of his preferred teams and not only for family reasons. There’s no question the Habs are a more attractive destination this summer compared to last. They have an exciting young team that came within two points of making it into the post-season and so it’s not impossible a superstar might at least take a look at the Canadiens.
Famously in the summer of 2018, top free agent John Tavares wouldn’t even take Habs GM Marc Bergevin’s phone call, which was not surprising at the time given that Montreal looked like a basket-case team. So Montreal might be on the list for Karlsson — and for Artemi Panarin and Matt Duchene, too, — but the other question is whether signing a star free agent is high up on Bergevin’s to-do list.
The Montreal GM has never been a fan of the July 1 shenanigans and you could argue going after Karlsson doesn’t fit into Bergevin’s much- discussed reset plan that is essentially based on continuing to make good draft picks, developing the young players already in the pipeline and hoping it all comes together at the right time.
My view is if it’s true Karlsson is interested in coming here, you would be nuts not to try to snare him. Free agency can be considered playing with house money. You potentially get something great without having to give up any assets. And there’s no question Karlsson would instantly make the Canadiens a much better team, filling two key needs: He’d hugely improve the sad-sack power play and he’s a ridiculously talented puck- moving defenceman, something in short supply on the team.
On the down side, he’ll cost you big time. Some have said you’ll need to give him six or seven years at $10 million or $11 million and that’s a lot of dough, especially since Carey Price’s cap hit is $10.5 million and Shea Weber’s is $7.8 million, with both those contracts going for another seven years.
If you signed Karlsson, you’d have to dump a player or two and there would be some hard decisions to make.
In the end, the talk about Karlsson joining the Canadiens’ blue-line corps might well be the latest version of something us Habs fans do every June. We dream about all the great players who are going to be inking contracts with the Habs on Canada Day — remember all the Tavares-to- Montreal chatter last year? — and then we wake up July 2 with the 1146321 Montreal Canadiens It’s not difficult to understand how Mete made the adjustment from junior to the NHL relatively seamlessly in spite of the obstacles in his way.
“Not every player, even at the NHL level, is like that,” said Turk, who Hitting the ice with Victor Mete as he attempts to weaponize his shot this works with multiple NHL players including Brendan Gallagher, a client for summer nine years. “You know he wants to work, and he likes this type of teaching process.”
By Arpon Basu Jun 7, 2019 What does that process entail? Let’s jump on the ice and find out.
The session begins with a warmup where Mete and Mizzi start in a corner, Turk sets up along the boards at the blueline, takes a pass and BRAMPTON, Ont. – It is late May and the rink is cold and empty. Only redirects it to the middle where they curl to meet the puck and shoot it on one of the three ice sheets at the CAA Centre, home of the ECHL’s goal. Pretty standard stuff, right? Brampton Beast, is lit up. It awaits the arrival of Victor Mete as he continues his summer project. It was during this basic warmup that Turk provided the type of tiny detail he is known for. As Mete shot it, Turk immediately bellowed how perfect This is Mete’s second session of the offseason with Tim Turk, a skills the shot was because, as opposed to his earlier suggestion to make coach who specializes in every aspect imaginable of shooting a hockey adjustments to Mete’s stick, he didn’t hear anything. puck. He calls sticks “tools” and slap or snap shots “impact shots” and can break down the tiny details of both – the tool and the swing of an “Yeah!” Turk yelled. “That silencer’s beautiful!” impact shot – to provide the little advantages that are the difference Turk went on to explain to Mete and Mizzi that goalie coaches will teach between an NHL goal and a save. to listen for the sound of a shot coming. The impact of a stick on the ice The end goal, of course, is for Mete to end the NHL’s longest current or on the puck. When the goalies hear that, even if they are looking goal drought. He has played 120 games in the NHL and has not scored through a maze of sticks and legs and are unable to see the puck, the once; no player currently in the NHL has gone as many games between sound of the shot will trigger a reaction to get big in goal in anticipation of goals, with the added distinction of going this deep into his career without a puck emerging from the visual obstacles in the way. one. “So if you can silently release it coming through the shooting lanes, it’s Mete’s take on this has been consistent, continually saying it doesn’t going to produce more goals,” Turk explained. bother him that he hasn’t scored a goal yet. It’s become a running gag in And so Mete and Mizzi focused on having their shots make no sound, or the Canadiens room, with Andrew Shaw ribbing him over it as recently as at least as little as possible. This is the first layer of adjustment Turk laid locker clean out day, and his buddy Jesperi Kotkaniemi adding a little down. There would be many more to come. offseason shot for good measure. The first drill When Kotkaniemi was told last month that The Athletic would be joining Mete on the ice as he worked with a shooting coach, Kotkaniemi laughed Again, a super simple drill that suddenly gets complicated as Turk adds before adding a suggested headline for the story. layers of changes, one after another.
“You should title the story The Victor Mete Scoring Clinic,” he said with a Turk pulls out a stickhandling aid – a piece of a stick shaft propped up on big smile. two hockey pucks at each end – and has the pucks on one side of it and the shooter on the other. Simply put, the shooter had to pull the puck You get the idea. under the aid and then, with the puck still in motion, make an impact shot What Mete was doing in this cold, dark rink in late May was attempting to on goal. Again, pretty simple at first, but just wait. There is, in fact, a lot not only put an end to the jokes, but to make a difference at the offensive going on here. end next season. To be a contributor. This is one way he can do that, by “The closer the puck is to the net, the better it is,” Turk explains. making his shot more dangerous and effective. That one statement says a ton. This is Turk’s specialty, because he can pinpoint the tiniest detail that would help Mete make those contributions. It didn’t take long to see the First off, Turk is referring to the position of the puck in relation to the first example of this expertise at work. shooter’s body. So the puck should not be directly in front of the shooter, but slightly ahead of him, or closer to the net. Aside from the obvious Mete was on the ice warming up and let go of a slapshot – sorry, impact reasoning that the puck being closer to the net improves its odds of shot – from the middle of the ice. Turk was skating away from him, he entering said net, there are two other primary benefits. The first is that if didn’t see the shot, his back was to him, but he still informed Mete as the puck is ahead of you, it reduces the amount of stick motion required soon as he let go of the shot that he needs to change the specs of his to get the shot off because it basically forces you to use a quick release. tool. But the other aspect is the most important one, which is that having the He knew because he heard it. puck positioned there forces the shooter to get closer to the ice, or get lower, which allows him to generate more power on the shot. “It gets to a point where I can acoustically know,” Turk says. Once the puck positioning is addressed, Turk adds another layer. The The next day, Turk explained what he heard. lead foot, so in Mete’s case his right foot, must be pointed towards the net on release. This accomplishes two things, the obvious one being that “He was trying a newer stick that was a little bit of a stiffer flex,” Turk it helps with aim because the foot is pointed towards the target and not said. “What happens is it reacts differently on the puck and the ice off to the side. But the next one is more important; having the lead foot impact, so it sounds different. The less flex, the more snap you hear, the pointing toward the net forces the shooter to open his hips, which is the more flex, the more of a thud you hear, the harder impact that you hear. part of the body that power is generated from. “So I was hearing that hard impact.” Next, once that is settled – and again, just to emphasize the point, Mete This is the level of detail involved when you work with Turk. This is what only needed to be told once before making the adjustment immediately – Mete came to this cold, dark rink in late May to learn. This is what he Turk turns his attention to the other foot. So with the front foot pointed allowed The Athletic to come see. The biggest takeaway from the hour toward the net and the puck positioned slightly ahead of the shooter, spent on the ice with Mete, Turk and a friend of Mete’s, Joseph Mizzi, Turk asks Mete to push off on his back foot, or his left foot, as he is was the incredible extent to which Mete is coachable. shooting. This is not a natural motion, but one that once again helps in a number of small ways. For one, it forces the shooter to straighten his Every time Mete took a shot, Turk would suggest a slight tweak meant to back leg as he shoots, which has a variety of benefits including body improve its efficiency and velocity. And every single time, Mete would alignment and optimal power generation. But that is not the primary execute the tweak perfectly on the very next shot. Turn your right foot benefit. toward the net, open up your hips, push off with your back foot as you release the shot, again and again and again. As you can see here, Mete’s back leg is not straight. By the end of the session, it was. “See that?” Turk asks Mete once he yet again executes the adjustment take a shot and their back arm, even if they lock it, it will be parallel to the perfectly on his first try. “You’re getting lower. That’s the point.” ice in a straight line towards the target in front of their chest. But you can still lock your arm in a straight line and have the trajectory be at a 45- At first glance, this was a rather simplistic drill for players of this calibre, degree angle down; that’s what Vic was doing when he was doing that far from rocket science. But there is science behind it, and that’s why quick release. That was like music to my ears when I heard the impact Turk is there. and it’s a beautiful sight, because he was now sustaining his body “I’m trying to establish a transfer of weight with their body alignment position. going towards the target,” Turk explained the following day. “Think of “So you have to do full power, let the impact take place, but then you’ve spine angle; the spine needs to be as upright as possible but low, and got to decelerate to make sure you’re prepared. If it hits a shin pad and the chest needs to be forward a little bit. So when they push off, it’s like a your arm’s parallel to the ice, then that reaction time to get your stick weight transfer towards the target and it also mimics a game situation, from there all the way down to the ice is a lost opportunity. If your hand’s where they would be in motion, hips facing the net, toes facing the net. that low, then your blade is lower to the ice and you can possibly react on So that allows them to get that feel.” something.”
Second drill These are the tiny details that could make Mete’s shot a weapon next Again, this is about as simple as things can get with complex benefits. It season, but the important part of his summer work will be maintaining is a two-touch drill. what he learns and executing it in live action situations next season. None of these things – pointing the front foot toward the net, pushing off The shooter places himself in the high slot. Turk is at the boards, hits him the back foot, locking the back knee or the bottom hand elbow – are with a pass, the shooter accepts the pass – that is one touch – then natural to Mete. Therefore, he may be susceptible to Turk’s favourite rotates his body into a shooting position on the puck and shoots it, the catchphrase, which is “reverting to comfort.” second touch. The trick will be for Mete to do these things often enough this summer to Basic, basic, basic. make sure they become his new comfort.
But again, there is much more going on here than meets the eye. First is “I’m not done with him now, I’m going to keep going on with him puck positioning, which in this case is accomplished by how you are throughout the summertime, so hopefully by then it will have been four positioning your body as it rotates to “surround the puck,” as Turk called months that I’ve worked on it so it will become more natural than it was it. It is important to remember while doing this that the puck needs to be come October,” Mete said once the session was over. “Plus, you can slightly ahead of you and not right in front of you for the same reasons always work on it during the season.” Turk explained in the first drill. What will make working on it during the season easier is the knowledge On the first try, Mete hammers an impact shot top corner. that Turk will be watching. When he sees Mete reverting to comfort, he will reach out and let him know. “Beautiful!” Turk yells. “No way you can do that again.” “If I see something during the season, I’ll just send a text saying, for On the next one, Mete drills one off the crossbar. example, lock equals power,” Turk said. “Or hips back, or something like They do this over and over again, with Turk making tiny adjustments that. I’ll just send one or two words, send a text off and then they can along the way just as he did in the first drill, further complicating the drill reestablish that again. with each one. “The guys who I have a personal connection to, I’ll do that if they accept “Number one is to establish proper puck position,” Turk said. “So when it. But it has to be agreed upon because these guys are under so much you stop it in a certain area, the better prepared it is, the better you can pressure.” put proper power output into the shot. Two, you need to protect it, you Mete has already booked four more sessions with Turk this summer, a need to shield it, so that’s where you’re activating hips, you’re swinging number limited by Turk’s busy offseason schedule working with kids right around, you’re surrounding it, you’re creating a shield when you need to up to the pros; he will be back in Vancouver in July to work with take that shot. And three, every time you do an impact shot of that nature Gallagher and the other pros that work out at his father’s gym for a your stride leg needs to go back, so it’s reiterating that knee lock and the seventh straight year. elbow lock to sustain the power when you do it.” But Turk is convinced Mete’s shot can become a weapon at the NHL That elbow lock was something Mete did not do before. As he was level if he is able to implement certain adjustments, the first one being his watching Mizzi shoot, he noticed his right arm – the bottom hand on his stick. stick as he is a right shot – was straight and asked Turk if his left arm should be straight when he shoots. “I think his tool needs to be fine-tuned, which is his stick,” Turk said. “Once we fine-tune his stick; you’d be surprised how, with these guys, “On an impact shot, the stick is like a pendulum swinging in a straight their confidence levels are dictated through what we do with their stick line,” Turk says as he demonstrates with his stick swinging back and and how it works for them. Vic’s in between right now. He knows that forth. changes need to be made. So when he gets to the end product, then he’ll The elbow lock, much like the knee lock, provides optimal power be more confident and comfortable in being able to place the puck where generation and consistency in the shot. he wants, when he wants. So it’s a combination of getting his stick fitted properly with his confidence level rising to take the shot at any time in One final tip from Turk referred to the follow-through on the shot, how any situation that he’s in. limiting the follow-through while maintaining the power at impact is a far better option than having the stick swing through the shot like a golf “I’m not making predictions, but I know that if he keeps this up this swing. He references Shea Weber as an example. summer the way he’s going, he’s going to have a serious year. Then from there, I’m pretty sure he’s going to have more offensive output this “No problem,” I tell Mete once Turk is done explaining it. “Just shoot it season.” like Weber.” The Athletic LOADED: 06.08.2019 Mete laughed. But there is a reason Weber shoots like that, and he’s not the only one. Weber’s shot is incredibly compact; the stick doesn’t travel too far back and it stops almost immediately after impact.
Here is why.
“If you think about body control and action or possible reaction, the ability to be ready for what comes next, so whenever you do a motion pattern, if you overly extend or overly follow through, it takes your stick and takes your body in an upward trajectory. Everything’s kind of going up,” Turk said. “So when they’re shooting I’m trying to make sure they still go full power and that the follow through is still there, but minimize how long the extension is as long as you’ve locked your arm. A lot of players they’ll 1146322 New Jersey Devils Trading back 12 spots in the draft and adding a backup goalie was a weird move for the Dallas Stars. Tugnutt spent two unremarkable years with the Stars, Vas never made it to the NHL and Paille carved out a What history and draft boards tell us about the Devils’ many options with career as a bottom-six forward that included nearly 600 NHL games. the No. 34 pick 2002 — Flyers trade Ruslan Fedotenko, No. 34 (Tobias Stephan) and No. 52 (Dan Spang) to the Lightning for No. 4 (Joni Pitkanen)
By Corey Masisak Jun 7, 2019 Fedotenko had 17 goals as a 23-year-old for Philadelphia in 2002 and, clearly, the Tampa Bay Lightning saw a lot more potential. Giving up the No. 4 pick for a decent young player and two second-round picks probably isn’t happening in 2019. Much of the next two weeks will be consumed by fans and media alike pondering what the Devils will do with the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NHL 2003 — Panthers trade No. 34 (Mike Egener), No. 41 (Matt Smaby) and Draft. No. 192 (Doug O’Brien) to the Lightning for No. 25 (Anthony Stewart)
Either Jack Hughes or Kaapo Kakko — the favorites to go at the top — The 2003 draft is one of the deepest of all-time. Stewart didn’t pan out in will hug family members and then stride to the stage at Rogers Arena in the NHL, but the Panthers saw enough value to move up nine spots. Vancouver to shake hands, pose for photographs with commissioner Gary Bettman and members of the New Jersey organization and collect BONUS: 2003 — Ducks trade No. 36 (Vojtech Polak), No. 54 (B.J. some new red-and-black gear to model. Then, the other will do the same Crombeen) to the Stars for No. 28 (Corey Perry) a few minutes later with the Rangers as the No. 2 pick, and they will This one did work out pretty well for Anaheim. Imagine if Dallas had officially be part of a rivalry they’ll be expected to headline for years to Perry on those Dave Tippett-coach teams in 2007, and especially 2008 come. when the Stars reached the Conference Finals.
The second-biggest storyline for the Devils on NHL draft weekend will be 2008 — Coyotes trade No. 35 (Nicolas Deschamps) and No. 39 (Eric what general manager Ray Shero does with the other nine selections in O’Dell) to the Ducks for 28 (Viktor Tikhonov) his possession. Specifically, will Shero use any of them to trade for players who can upgrade the New Jersey roster for next season? 2009 — Lightning trade No. 32 (Landon Ferraro) and No. 75 (Andrej Nestrasil) to the Red Wings for No. 29 (Carter Ashton) New Jersey currently has picks No. 34, 55, 61 or 62 (from the Bruins, pending the result of the Stanley Cup Final), 70 and 80 in the second and These two deals are good examples of how the currency of early second- third rounds. The Devils could use any of them as part of a package to round picks can change from year to year. It took two seconds to move land a piece on their shopping list, namely a top-six forward or a top-four up seven spots one year, and then a second and a third to move up three defenseman. the next.
“Nothing changes when you have the picks (compared to last season 2011 — Senators trade No. 35 (Tomas Jurco) and No. 48 (Xavier when New Jersey had none in the second or third rounds), but it does Ouellet) to the Red Wings for No. 24 (Matt Puempel) heighten the due diligence a little bit more, or it seems that way,” assistant general manager Tom Fitzgerald said at the NHL scouting Ottawa collected one of the better values for its picks here, moving up 11 combine. “Whether it is focusing on clustering a group of guys that we spots in exchange for one early and one mid-second rounder. But the think are going to be available at certain picks, or really trying to poke Red Wings ended up with the two best players in the deal, even if none holes in guys to see the resilience of a future NHLer and their character.” of the three have become more than players shuffling between the AHL and NHL. Having a pick near the top of the second round adds some intrigue for the Devils, once the pomp and circumstance of the No. 1 pick gives way 2010 — Islanders trade No. 35 (Ludvig Rensfeldt) and No. 58 (Kent to the rest of the first round. No. 34 could be a strong starting point in a Simpson) to the Blackhawks for No. 30 (Brock Nelson) package deal to move up and land a second first-round talent. By staying 2014 — Islanders trade No. 35 (Dominik Masin) and No. 57 (Johnathan put, however, the Devils could land a player who’s in their top 31 and is MacLeod) to the Lightning for No. 28 (Joshua Ho-Sang) still available at No. 34, and feel like they nabbed two first-round talents. These two recent moves by the Islanders are probably the best examples It will be one of the first selections on Saturday morning, after every NHL of what a Devils deal to get into the first round a second time could look team has had a chance to rest and reset draft boards. Other teams will like. It might cost both Nos. 34 and 55 to move into the 28-30 range. If have a little more time to contemplate offering a trade to move up to No. Shero could pull it off by using No. 61/62 or No. 70 to get there (or higher 34 than they would once the rapid-fire nature of the second day of the than No. 28), the value could be worth it. draft is in full swing. Trade for immediate help So, the Devils have four options with the No. 34 pick — trade it as part of a deal to move up, trade it as part of a deal for immediate help, trade it as Shero and the Devils would probably like to use the picks after No. 34 to part of a deal to move back and collect more assets, or make the team’s trade for NHL help, but it could be in play if other assets don’t get the job second selection of the weekend. Let’s take a look both at what teams done. Similar trades near or at the draft have been rare recently, after have done historically on the trade market with picks in the 31-35 range, being quite frequent earlier this century. Teams valuing the players and at what players might be available and of interest to the Devils. available in the 31-35 range as essentially first-rounders might be one of the reasons for that. The NHL draft has included at least 30 teams since 2000, so we’ll start there in our review of nearly two decades of wheeling and dealing near 2000 — Blue Jackets trade No. 32 (Tomas Kurka) to the Avalanche for the top of the second round. For this exercise, we’re only including trades Marc Denis that were made within a month of the draft. Lots of trades happen before Columbus was an expansion team, and trading a second-round pick for a the draft order is actually set, but we’re looking for deals where the team young goalie might not have been the best long-term approach, but knew a pick in the 31-35 range was involved (and maybe a couple of Denis eventually became the No. 1 goaltender for the club. bonus deals that include No. 36). 2000 — Islanders trade Eric Brewer, Josh Green and No. 35 (Brad Trade up Winchester) to the Oilers for Roman Hamrlik If there is one prospect the Devils are particularly keen on in the 20-35 Hamrlik wanted out of Edmonton, and the Islanders gave up a 21-year- range of selections, and that player is still available in the mid-to-late 20s, old defenseman who was the No. 5 pick in the 1997 draft, a 22-year-old New Jersey has plenty of draft capital to swing a move late Friday night forward who had arrived in a blockbuster trade the year before and the to jump back into the first round. 35th pick to get him. It’s hard to rationalize some of Mike Milbury’s moves A similar deal has happened eight times with a pick from Nos. 31-35 from his tenure with the Islanders, but Hamrlik was a productive, top- since 2000 (plus a bonus deal involving No. 36 worth mentioning). pairing defenseman — the type of player that a big package like this should net in return. 2002 — Blue Jackets trade Ron Tugnutt, No. 32 (Janos Vas) to the Stars for No. 20 (Daniel Paille) 2002 — Thrashers trade No. 31 (Jeff Deslauriers) and No. 82 (John that surprising if an opposing GM offered the Devils a 2020 first-round Adams) to the Sabres for Slava Kozlov and No. 41 (Joakim Lindstrom) pick for No. 34 on Saturday morning, if there’s a player available that team really likes. 2002 — Sabres trade No. 31 (Jeff Deslauriers) and No. 36 (Jarret Stoll) for Jochen Hecht 2017 — Coyotes trade No. 35 for (Isaac Ratcliffe) to the Flyers for No. 44 (Filip Westerlund), No. 75 (Nate Schnarr) and No. 108 (Noel Buffalo traded franchise icon Dominik Hasek to Detroit the year before for Hoefenmayer) Kozlov and a first-round pick (Jim Slater). After one unsuccessful year with the Sabres, Kozlov became one of the best players for Atlanta The Devils probably don’t need two extra picks after the second round in before the franchise moved to Winnipeg. this draft, but the Flyers gave up a lot here to move up nine spots.
The Sabres then flipped No. 31 with another high second-rounder for BONUS: 2015 — Devils trade No. 36 (Gabriel Gagne) for No. 42 Hecht, who was a solid player for Buffalo for a long time. That’s not an (Mackenzie Blackwood) and 2015 4th or 2016 3rd (Joey Anderson) ideal return for that much draft capital, especially since Stoll ended up having a similar career. This deal didn’t stand out as one of Shero’s best in the moment, but it is trending towards heist territory. Gagne had six goals and 16 points in the 2002 — Lightning trade No. 34 (Tobias Stephan) to the Stars for Brad AHL last year, while Blackwood and Anderson could be longtime, Lukowich and a 2003 seventh-rounder (Jay Rosehill) productive NHL players. Being patient, and taking the third-round pick a year later, was a smart move. The No. 34 pick in 2002 was actually traded four times — in 1999 by the Lightning as part of the compensation to add Rick Dudley as general Keep the pick manager, at the 2001 draft and then twice at the 2002 draft. It’s safe to say the Devils will aim higher than a player like Lukowich with the There are some intriguing differences between Corey Pronman’s top collection of draft picks and prospects they have at their disposal. prospects list and his first mock draft. Pronman has a run of defensemen going at the end of the first round, including a couple he personally has 2013 — Hurricanes trade Jamie McBain, No. 35 (J.T. Compher) to the rated lower. Sabres for Andrej Sekera Picking at No. 34 is going to be about surveying the trends of this specific This was an interesting one. McBain was an NHL regular for three draft and watching for opportunities — either to move up and land a seasons at this point, but Carolina moved him and the pick for an player who is falling, sit tight and pick the best player available or move upgrade on the defense corps. back and still land a player the scouting staff covets.
2015 — Sabres trade Mikhail Grigorenko, Nikita Zadorov, J.T. Compher The Devils met with about 60 players at the NHL scouting combine, and No. 31 (Jeremy Roy) to the Avalanche for Ryan O’Reilly and Jamie though it’s hard to gather much intel from that since teams at times will McGinn select prospects they didn’t meet with. The highest-rated player on Pronman’s board who doesn’t appear in his first-round mock draft is The pick is not the driving force of this transaction, but this is one of the forward Robert Mastrosimone, a kid from Long Island who was one of the best recent examples of a team bundling young assets together in a top scorers in the USHL this past season. package for a star player. Buffalo traded their 2012 and 2013 first-round picks plus a second-rounder in Compher. Here are some of the names from Pronman’s board to keep in mind if they’re still available when the Devils are ready to pick. A similar equivalent for the Devils would be moving Pavel Zacha, Michael McLeod and either Jesper Boqvist or Nathan Bastian along with the No. Robert Mastrosimone, LW, Chicago-USHL 34 pick. That’s a big package, but a move of this magnitude paid off for the Sabres. O’Reilly is one of the best two-way centers in the league. No. 26 on Pronman’s list, Mastrosimone did meet with the Devils and Buffalo made a much worse deal to move on from O’Reilly three years said he thought it went well. He also has one of the highest hockey sense later, and now he’s the leading regular-season and postseason scorer for grades (65) for the players outside of the top tiers on Pronman’s list, a team that’s one win from the Stanley Cup. which is a quality the Devils have been vocal about prioritizing.
2016 — Canucks trade Jared McCann, No. 33 (Rasmus Asplund) and Egor Afanasyev, LW, Muskegon-USHL No. 94 (Jonathan Ang) to the Panthers for Erik Gudbransson and No. No. 30 on Pronman’s list, Afanasyev moved to the United States from 140 (Cole Candella) Russia and played for ex-Devils forward Brian Rolston in the Little Vancouver was hunting a top-four defenseman. Gudbransson was the Caesar’s youth program before spending the past two years in the USHL. wrong choice, but the Canucks have quite the recent history of acquiring He’s a big kid, measuring in at 6-foot-3.25 and 204 pounds at the bad defensemen. McCann was a first-round pick who looked like a much combine. better player with the Penguins after another team moved on from him, “We had a good time. They have fun personalities,” Afanasyev said of as well. meeting with the Devils. “They have a nice GM. … One question they A similar move for the Devils might be to trade for Nikita Zaitsev, who like had was, ‘Would you rather play one year in the NHL and win the Stanley Gudbransson is signed to a long, bad contract (five more years at $4.5 Cup or play 10 years with no Cup?’ That was a tough question. I said, million). The Devils should aim higher than Zaitsev. ‘Play 10 years in the NHL and win the Cup in the 11th.'”
Trade down John Beecher, C, USNTDP-USHL
This is the least sexy of the three trade routes. The Devils need No. 32 on Pronman’s list, Beecher was a standout during the physical immediate help this offseason and already have a cache of extra picks. testing at the combine. He also measured at 6-foot-3.25 and weighed Still, adding more if the value is right could be prudent. 212 pounds. He’s a big kid with top-end speed.
If the Devils did trade down, don’t be surprised if they tried to add future “That was a great interview,” Beecher said of meeting with the Devils. “I picks instead of just stockpiling more for 2019. A 2020 second-rounder think it’s a world-class organization and a great spot to be.” would be interesting bait for a potential post-draft trade if Shero doesn’t Beecher spent most of his time at the program as a third- or fourth-line get the business he wants done before or in Vancouver. center, on a team with Jack Hughes, Alex Turcotte and Trevor Zegras, 2007 — Blackhawks trade No. 35 (Tommy Cross) to the Bruins for No. who could all be drafted in the top 4-8 picks in Vancouver. He’ll play at 38 (Bill Sweatt) and No. 69 (Maxime Tanguay) Michigan next year and could have more offensive upside than he was able to show with the NTDP. If there are several players the Devils like at No. 34, moving back a few spots and collecting an extra third-round pick could be good business. “I could have gotten more opportunities in other places,” Beecher said. “That would have been an easier way to go. I don’t know if that would 2015 — Avalanche trade No. 31 (Jeremy Roy) to the Sharks for No. 39 have pushed me as hard. I was still able to develop other areas of my (A.J. Greer), a 2016 2nd (Cameron Morrison) and a 2017 6th (Denis game. I was really able to hone that power forward role. I was a guy my Smirnov) team could count on in the D-zone and late in games. I wouldn’t take back anything from the past two years.” This is the type of deal that was addressed above — San Jose gave up a lot here. Teams tend to undervalue picks in future drafts. It wouldn’t be Matthew Robertson, D, Edmonton-WHL No. 35 on Pronman’s list, if the Devils are in the mood for a big (6-foot- 3.25, 200 pounds) defenseman, Robertson could be their guy. He’s a left-handed shot and skates well, and Pronman suggests he looks like a first-round talent at times. Most of the defensemen the Devils have drafted of late have been smaller in size, though Xavier Bernard, a 2018 fourth-round pick, is about Robertson’s size.
Tobias Bjornfot, D, Djuargarden-J20 SuperElit
No. 37 on Pronman’s list, Bjornfot is a strong skater with good hockey sense, two hallmarks of New Jersey’s top defense prospects. Bjornfot and Robertson are two defensemen The Athletic’s Max Bultman identified as potential candidates for the Red Wings, who hold the No. 35 pick.
Mattias Norlinder, D, MODO-Allsvenskan
No. 49 on Pronman’s list, but someone he said could be move up during the draft process, Norlinder is another smooth-skating, smart Swedish defenseman. He was too old to play for Sweden in the U-18 world championships, but he plays for MODO and was in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden, for the tournament.
“I’m a two-way D. I like to be creative out there,” Norlinder said. “I think I’m a funny guy to be around. I hope so. Calm and humble guy off the ice. That’s me.”
The Athletic LOADED: 06.08.2019 1146323 New York Rangers “Ricky was one of those guys,” said Glenn Healy, his goaltending partner in ’93-94. “He was all athleticism. He was so talented. All talent. Just the brilliancy of Mike Richter. You’d have games where you’d go over the ‘Just play him honest’: 25 years later, Mike Richter and others reflect on rosters of other teams and you’d go, ‘OK, Mats Sundin, loves ‘The Save’ backhand/deke.’ Then Mats would have a breakaway and he’d go backhand/deke, and Ricky would say to me, ‘Who was that on the breakaway.’ Um, Mats Sundin. Their captain. He’s 6-foot-6. I don’t know, how did you miss that one?’ But Ricky’s athleticism was just so extreme. By Rick Carpiniello Jun 7, 2019 My gosh. And his compete level. Is that the element that is just so spectacular?”
It was just another moment of truth for a Rangers team that went through Now the Russian Rocket had a penalty shot, with a chance to give the about four weeks worth of them 25 years ago. Canucks a 3-1 advantage and maybe even up the series.
On June 7, 1994, in Vancouver, British Columbia, two great friends – Bure was a Hall of Fame sniper (437-342-779 in 702 career games, each a legit candidate to become the first American to win the Conn including an NHL-leading 60 goals and 107 points in 1993-94), who was Smythe Trophy as playoffs MVP — were involved in what could have able to put up similar numbers in a strong playoff career. In 1994, he been a make-or-break instance. scored 16 goals and 31 points in 24 postseason games and had ended the Canucks’ quarterfinals series against Calgary with a Game 7 We say “could have been” because we don’t know how it might have all breakaway goal. turned out had Brian Leetch’s takedown of Pavel Bure in the second period of Game 4 of the Stanley Cup final never happened. Or if Mike Not only was he among the best goal scorers of his era, but Bure was Richter had reacted just a bit differently to the ensuing penalty shot. We also just a fabulous skater. do know that this event is still looked upon as a critical turning point, even Richter, 25 years later, isn’t convinced that Bure deserved the penalty if the series hardly turned. shot. The Rangers, despite being battered from a seven-game blood series He thinks Bure sold it, embellished it, “as a willing participant in that against the Devils in the Eastern Conference final, really could have been charade” despite it being such an obvious penalty. breaking out the brooms for a sweep that night, because they should have won Game 1 versus Vancouver at Madison Square Garden. At any rate, here was the moment. Canucks goalie Kirk McLean played spectacularly, while the Rangers gave up a lead with a minute left. After Brian Leetch hit the crossbar in a What was Richter thinking? terribly lopsided (16 Rangers shots) overtime, the result was a Greg “I had (Esa) Tikkanen seriously in my ear, yapping about ‘This is no Adams odd-man rush and winning goal against Richter. problem, you do this, you do that … he likes to do this, he likes to shoot After the Rangers gathered themselves to even the series in Game 2, …’ I just said to Zubie, ‘get him away from me. Just get him the fuck out they won again in Vancouver despite a breakaway goal by Bure, who of here.’ I thought, if this guy would just leave me alone, I’ll be fine.” was being battered – as was the plan, same as the Canucks’ very much The crowd was predictably frenzied as Bure stepped to center ice and stated plan against Leetch, Messier and Sergei Zubov. In the first period waited for a signal from referee Terry Gregson to take the puck at the red of that Game 3, Bure had enough. He retaliated against Jay Wells with a line and go in alone. This was in the days before the postgame careless stick that cut Wells’ face. Bure received a major and a game shootouts, where players have made a habit of going in on goal in super misconduct and the Rangers, with that enormous gift, romped to a 5-1 slo-mo and putting on a show. victory and a 2-1 series lead. No, Bure wasn’t coming in slowly. He was using all of the gifts in his bag, So here we were, at a potential crossroads Game 4, with the Canucks up the speed, the moves, the skill … maybe the shot. Or the deke. 2-0 in a first period in which Messier took a major penalty (Canucks coach Pat Quinn was infuriated that Messier didn’t also get a game “I know he’s coming with speed,” Richter remembered. “This was straight misconduct, as Bure had in Game 3). down the pike. JD (John Davidson on MSG Network) later on said this was very similar to the breakaway he had against me in the All-Star Leetch scored his 10th goal of the playoffs to cut the lead to 2-1 in the game that year. That honestly never crossed my mind. We had seen so second. But then it happened. About two minutes later. much of Pav that year, it never crossed my mind. He probably had five Leetch had a chance in the offensive zone, toward the end of a shift, and breakaways in all the times we played him that season. I’ve (got) to tell caught a stick across the nose. The shot to the nose (there was still a you, there’s nothing he can’t do. He’s scored shooting between my legs bloody scab there when the series ended) caused Leetch’s eyes to water on the breakaway. He’s gone high. He liked shooting high, always high and suddenly Bure was behind him. glove. He’s a skilled player and he takes what you give him. That’s really where I was thinking: ‘Just play him honest.’ “I suppose nowadays you grab your face and throw your head back and throw your gloves and they call a penalty,” Leetch said. “But back then “If I came out far, like I did, he may try to deke. If I stay back he may you couldn’t do that.” shoot. You can shade one side and give him a little opening, but you better be careful because A) he might not see it, or B) he might see it and Leetch put his head down and tried to stay with the man they called “the know that you’re giving it to him and then go somewhere else. A good Russian Rocket.” player like that, a Mario Lemieux, a Leetchie, they’ve got a lot of options. There’s not much they can’t do. So you try to be as patient as possible. “I was actually stride for stride with him early and had him,” Leetch said. The only way to be patient with a guy with that much speed is to match “But I was tired and he started pulling away and I said, ‘I’m just going to his speed as much as you can. And I was able to.” pull him down.’ I knew how good Mike Richter was with breakaways and penalty shots. I figured he’d have a better shot with this.” Bure made one small flinch as if to shoot. Richter, who had come out, now was backing in. Bure saw that Richter stayed with him and instead Richter was indeed good with breakaways and penalty shots. In fact, he went to the backhand/deke and back to the forehand, as he had done in was spectacular. In his career, he stopped 12 of 13 penalty shots, the All-Star game, and tried to stuff it inside the left post. including one other in the playoffs, against Randy Wood of the Islanders. The only penalty-shot goal he ever surrendered was to his friend and Richter exploded across the crease and got his right pad on Bure’s former teammate Doug Weight. Richter tossed out an expletive when he attempt. recalled that single failure all these years later. “Save by Richter!” Sam Rosen famously screamed on television. His multiple stops of breakaways, including at least one on Bure, who had taken a touchdown pass from Detroit’s Sergei Fedorov, helped “I remember hoping Bure was going to make a move, hoping he wasn’t Richter win the MVP of the ’94 All-Star game at the Garden. going to shoot,” Leetch said. “I thought he had a much better chance to score if he shot it at Mike because I know how good Mike is laterally, Lateral explosion, they called it. Richter exploding across the goal line, skating wise. Once I saw him go to the move, I’m thinking Mike’s going to post-to-post, as well as any goalie of his time, probably of any time. save this. In a split second I knew the save was going to happen before it actually happened. He just fires across. He’s so good laterally.” Bure, that night, said, “He came out from the net and that’s why I couldn’t shoot. After, he backed up right away and didn’t give me any room. I tried to deke him, but he didn’t give me any room.”
Rangers coach Mike Keenan recalled, “The save by Michael on the penalty shot was incredible. It was huge for us. I can still remember the players jumping up and down on the bench when he did make the stop … against one of the greatest goal-scorers ever.”
That night Keenan said it was the biggest save of Richter’s career. He wasn’t wrong.
“I think that, to me, was the series,” Healy said. “There was more work to do, but to me that was a defining moment of ‘Here’s your best against our best in net.’ And we were not going to be denied. First off, I played against Pavel and I can remember many times he’d get the puck behind his net and it was basically, ‘Retreat.’ I mean, this guy came at you 200 mph.
“To look at the save that Ricky made, the athleticism, the pure determination in his soul, oh my gosh. That, to me, was as good as you’re going to get. I can tell you, No. 30 for the Rangers, I ain’t making that save.
“I mean, he literally shut down their best player on that one move. And I remember sitting on the bench thinking, ‘We got this. We got it.’ That would have sent the series in a whole different way.”
Healy was told about Richter’s 12-for-13 stat and shrugged.
“That’s a great stat,” Healy said. “Wonderful. But when it mattered most, when you have the most important save that you ever had to make, for a team, for three generations of Rangers fans, you did that? I’m just saying.”
It’s remarkable, perhaps, that Leetch and Richter have never joked about it, despite being such close friends who have joked about pretty much everything else. You might think that Leetch would have thanked Richter for bailing him out or that Richter might have said something sarcastic to Leetch at some point for putting him on the spot against the most dangerous scorer in the game. But no. They were so wrapped up in that playoff run, that championship, which was close enough to smell and taste; and with avoiding all the curses and ghosts and dragons that had taken down the previous 54 years worth of Rangers teams.
“I just remember going out there, patting him on the pads and going right back to work,” Leetch said.
Typically, that’s exactly what Richter thought. Back to work.
“Obviously it’s a big save and a big moment and a highlight, and there’s a definite rush ,” Richter said. “It can screw you up. If you save it, or let it go against you, you have to let it go and get ready for the next shot. So you make that big save there, that’s super, but if you let the next one up, it’s not so good. That’s fairly obvious, but it’s a goaltender’s job to quickly forget what just happened, good or bad and be prepared for the next moment, the next shot.
“Yeah, everybody comes out and they’re shouting and banging your head and it’s like the game was won. But it’s not. You’re somewhere in the second period and it can go in any direction from there. So you roll with it. You either scrape it off if you missed it or you keep going and get on your toes.”
Zubov, banged up as he was, tied the game with 16 seconds left in the second period, on the power play. Alexei Kovalev got the go-ahead goal, also on the power play, late in the third, and Steve Larmer added another one. All of them assisted by Leetch, whose shoulder was so bad by then that he couldn’t raise his arm to celebrate Kovalev’s goal.
The Rangers were up 3-1, one win away, and headed home to the Garden for Game 5, where the Cup would be in the house. And where they had never before even had an opportunity to clinch a Stanley Cup.
“Almost,” Keenan said that night. “It’ll certainly be a frenzy … We’ll feed off of it, but we’ll have to deal with it, too, because the place will be a madhouse.”
The Rangers thought about completing a mission that began the first day of training camp.
Little did they know, as they flew back across the continent, that the turning point of the series wasn’t exactly that.
The Athletic LOADED: 06.08.2019 1146324 NHL He empathizes with what fans in Seattle went through losing the Sonics. And he can’t see why the NBA won’t return to play games at a redeveloped KeyArena, a project he also has a financial stake in.
For Seattle NHL owner Mitch Garber, it’s always been sports first “I think Seattle is a great sports town that’s missing two major sports league teams – hockey and basketball,’’ he said. “So it’s great being a part of bringing one of them to Seattle.’’ June 7, 2019 at 2:17 pm Updated June 7, 2019 at 9:24 PM He doesn’t want to wade into the NBA part of things too formally, though By Geoff Baker he’s certain Bonderman – part owner of the Boston Celtics – would make a great Seattle basketball owner as well.
“It all starts with solid ownership,’’ he said. “And with David Bonderman, MONTREAL – Looking out his expansive office windows atop this city’s you’ll have the most solid owner you’re going to have in all of bustling downtown core, one of the owners of a future Seattle hockey professional sports. He’ll be the .0001 percent of quality, committed, team nearly 2,300 miles away described the naturalness of that journey. decent owners.’’ For sports-fan-turned-lawyer-turned-businessman Mitch Garber, 54, Bonderman changed Garber’s life – to where he can now afford the owning a piece of an NHL team is something no pure-blooded Montrealer minimum $5 million NHL minority owner buy-in price without blinking – could possibly turn down. It’s just that when you happen to be the when they met just more than a decade ago. The late Hockey Hall of chairman of the famed Cirque du Soleil, one of multiple companies Fame winger Dickie Moore had once told Garber amid their many owned by Seattle NHL team managing partner David Bonderman, the conversations that it was better to be lucky than good. chance at being offered said piece becomes a lot more real than it does for the average Joe, or Jean-Claude. And Garber knows luck played a key role in emerging from a humble upbringing. “It’s not a cliché that I grew up in Canada and in Montreal, so I have hockey in my blood,’’ said Garber, who still plays recreationally twice a His restaurateur father had been the first person in North America to week. “Everyone who’s ever lived or been to Montreal knows that’s the deliver pizza to homes, but suffered from depression and later went religion in Montreal. And I love business. I’ve just been very fortunate to broke. Garber was nonetheless afforded a private Jewish high school be involved in business with David Bonderman since 2008 and he’s been education funded through donations to students by Montreal’s Jewish a great friend and a great mentor. When he gave me an opportunity to community. He pursued a law degree and career in Canada, helping play a small part and be in the group with him, I jumped at the broker a 1996 deal to revive the Canadian Football League’s Montreal opportunity. I didn’t even think about it. I was very grateful.’’ Alouettes by moving the league’s former Baltimore Stallions franchise to his hometown ahead of the NFL going back to Maryland as the Ravens. His closeness working with Bonderman gives Garber a perspective on the billionaire that not a lot of the other Seattle team owners have. And By 1999, he’d left law and sports-radio hosting for good and helped Garber’s takes on personal fandom, fan loyalty, the NBA returning to create SureFire Commerce Inc., an online payment processing start-up Seattle and the heartbreak of having a team poached by another city are company. From there, he moved into the online and social gaming word, something jilted Sonics devotees could easily find common ground with becoming CEO of Party Gaming LLC in 2006 and watching it become the him on. world’s largest interactive gaming company.
Garber was quick to mention several times that he isn’t looking to He joined Bonderman’s TPG Capital in 2008, becoming CEO of Caesars overshadow the other Seattle owners, insisting he’s just one of many and Acquisition Company – which controlled six casinos and hotels – and of that the Seattle NHL show belongs to Bonderman and film producer Jerry Caesar’s Interactive Entertainment and its renowned World Series of Bruckheimer, as well as a team of locally based owners he’ll meet with in Poker. By 2011, he’d helped Caesars acquire the Israeli start-up social Seattle next week. gaming company Playtika for roughly $100 million, then saw it flipped in 2017 for $4.4 billion to a Chinese consortium. But Garber is somewhat different from your typical North American owner in that for him, it’s always been about sports first and the business world Garber’s personal cut from the sale wound up being $210 million, giving second. He’d worked part time on sports-talk radio both solo and with him enough money to buy in to hockey and baseball teams, donate $1 longtime Montreal host Mitch Melnick for years in the 1990s and they did million annually to charity and pretty much do what he wants. a popular “Sports Hot Seat’’ cable television show together as well before many fans figured out Garber was actually a corporate lawyer. Though on this particular day, he was hustling around the office with nary a spare moment. The next day was Cirque du Soleil’s annual board As a boy in the early 1970s, he’d fallen in love with baseball and the meeting and Bonderman was flying into town for it. fledgling Montreal Expos, who broke his heart in relocating to Washington, D.C., in 2005. He’d scored their games from home as a With it also being Grand Prix weekend in Montreal, Garber was prepared child, then as a season-ticket holder with a partner at his law firm and to chaperone his boss wherever he wanted to go in town. Just like he’s also from the Olympic Stadium press box, where he’d mingle with beat prepared to contribute in any role he’s told to play on the hockey team. writers and gather tidbits for his radio shows. Garber’s skillset might be vast, but he knows others on the NHL Seattle Naturally, Garber is now helping lead the charge to revive the Expos in a ownership group – Amazon Web Services CEO Andy Jassy for one – are group headed by his “very close friend’’ in billionaire Seagram’s liquor equally, if not more adept in the online realm and have their own heir Stephen Bronfman. specialties as well.
In doing so, he keeps in mind daily how it felt losing that team. “I think every businessperson in the group will bring a certain perspective on things,’’ Garber said. “I see that David has gone out and gotten an “There are two opportunities for baseball in Montreal – the first is the eclectic group of businesspeople headlined by a very strong Seattle- relocation of an existing franchise and the other, obviously, is based group.” expansion,’’ Garber said. “And since Major League Baseball is not currently contemplating expansion, to my knowledge, there’s a lot of talk As for things he can add: “There’s so much ahead of professional sports about the relocation of a team and certainly a lot of talk about Tampa. in terms of online marketing and online sales. Sports betting, fantasy. The future is long and certainly those things are going to play an “As a baseball fan who suffered watching a team’s attendance and important role in the future.’’ support dwindle, and watching an ownership group move that team out of Montreal, I don’t wish that on any city. So I don’t want to be part of a What that role will be has yet to completely shake out. But for the diehard group hoping that a team fails in a city so that we can get the team.’’ fan and former sports-talk show host that now gets to be a team owner, he’ll take whatever he can get. Garber understands that the Tampa Bay Rays relocating could be the only way to bring a team back to Montreal. But he’s sticking with extolling Seattle Times LOADED: 06.08.2019 how Montreal “is on the biggest economic upswing we’ve been on the last 40 years’’ and letting Major League Baseball decide what it wants to do. 1146325 Pittsburgh Penguins
As clincher grows closer, Stanley Cup ratings rise in Pittsburgh market
JONATHAN BOMBULIE | Friday, June 7, 2019 11:50 a.m.
As the Stanley Cup gets closer to being awarded, local hockey fans are paying more attention to the final series between the St. Louis Blues and Boston Bruins.
The Pittsburgh market ranked fifth in the country with a 6.0 rating for Thursday night’s 2-1 Blues victory on NBC, behind Boston, St. Louis, Providence and Buffalo.
Pittsburgh also ranked fifth for Game 2 earlier in the series, but with a 4.0 rating. For Game 4, the Kansas City market moved ahead of Pittsburgh into the fifth spot.
Last year, with Marc-Andre Fleury’s Vegas Golden Knights facing the Washington Capitals, Game 5 drew a 10.7 rating in the Pittsburgh market.
The national overnight rating of 3.97 on Thursday was the fourth-best recorded by NBC Sports for a non-clinching game. The best was a 4.41 for Game 5 between the Penguins and Detroit Red Wings in 2008, a game won by the Penguins on a Petr Sykora goal in the third overtime.
Tribune Review LOADED: 06.08.2019 1146326 Pittsburgh Penguins Normally, when any team drafts a rookie quarterback especially first overall there is a steep learning curve.
Fitzgerald On QB1 Kyler Murray: First Call: Penguins trade chip besides Phil Kessel?; blown call stings Bruins “He knows the system better than we do. He can get us into any play at any time and then he has the ultimate weapon in the exit button.” pic.twitter.com/LodeW3acdZ
TIM BENZ | Friday, June 7, 2019 8:28 a.m. — Mike Jurecki (@mikejurecki) June 6, 2019
One thing Murray has going for him is that Kliff Kingsbury’s offense with In “First Call” Friday, there may be a trade chip on the Penguins besides the Cardinals has some similarities to what he did at Oklahoma. Phil Kessel. The Bruins got screwed in the Stanley Cup Final. The Big Kingsburry told us all to expect this. He has long said Murray would be a Ten/ACC Challenge should be fantastic. good fit coming out of the Sooners’ program for what the Cardinals are Who else besides Phil? trying to do on the pro level.
The Athletic listed its top 20 trade candidates. Not going to hold my breath
Two Penguins made it. The NFL is trying to get its collective bargaining agreement hammered out by Sept. 1. Writer Craig Custance listed Penguins winger Phil Kessel as third on the list behind only Jacob Trouba of the Jets and Nashville’s P.K. Subban. According to ProFootballTalk, the league is targeting that date because it wants its 100th season celebration free-and-clear of negative distractions That’s no surprise. Jason Zucker of Minnesota, the winger rumored to be about a potential labor stoppage. swapped for Kessel a few weeks ago, is sixth. Good luck with that. Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta is No. 20. The CBA doesn’t expire until after 2020, and there are lots of Here is Custance’s explanation: “GM Jim Rutherford has to do something complicated issues to fix. So I don’t see a new agreement getting to fix the Penguins’ defense with Maatta and Jack Johnson both hammered out in less than three months. candidates to be moved. The problem, besides Johnson’s contract, is that injuries have slowed down Maatta. ‘I think that holds him back now,” December Demons said an NHL scout. “I don’t think he’s a very good skater.’ ” We told you that Pitt will be playing Rutgers in the Big Ten/ACC That’s not exactly the most revolutionary scouting report on Maatta. Challenge. Criticism like that has been out there about his game for a long time. We also know Penn State will be playing Wake Forest on Dec. 4 in State But if he goes and Johnson goes, then the Penguins better use some of College. The game will be at the Bryce Jordan Center. that new cap space to get an upgraded top-6 blueliner somewhere. Other highlight games include national champion Virginia visiting Purdue Those are hard to find, and they don’t come cheap. in a rematch of their overtime Elite Eight game. Duke goes to Michigan State. That’s another Elite Eight rematch. The Spartans won that one. Welcome to the club And Louisville welcomes Michigan.
The Bruins are the latest team to be victimized by a blown call in the Speaking of March Madness familiarity, the Cardinals beat the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Wolverines in the NCAA title game in 2013.
Watch Tyler Bozak trip Noel Acciari. Then watch the officials swallow Tribune Review LOADED: 06.08.2019 their whistles.
This is the play that gave the Blues a 2-0 lead.
The Bruins and their fans were livid after the no-call on Tyler Bozak. pic.twitter.com/Omo4gbQDlt
— Hockey Night in Canada (@hockeynight) June 7, 2019
That was former Penguin David Perron scoring the goal to make it 2-0 in the third period. Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy summed up the play very succinctly.
Bruce Cassidy is heated. pic.twitter.com/K5UJli3mGr
— Zack Cox (@ZackCoxNESN) June 7, 2019
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch played into the trip up on their cover.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch has no mercy with their headline this morning pic.twitter.com/lMmcj2delz
— Heart of NHL (@HeartofNHL) June 7, 2019
I guess if you stick around in the playoffs long enough this year, you are going to get an awful call made against you. The Blue Jackets would probably say the Bruins had this one coming after this blow to the head from Charlie McAvoy only got a minor in the second round of the playoffs.
The Blues won 2-1. They have a 3-2 lead in the Stanley Cup Final heading back to St. Louis for Game 6 on Sunday.
Fawning Fitz
Larry Fitzgerald is giving a thumbs up to his new quarterback.
It sounds like Kyler Murray is adjusting to NFL life well as the league’s top draft pick. 1146327 San Jose Sharks
Sharks' Evander Kane reveals tattoo honoring his child lost in pregnancy
By Jessica Kleinschmidt June 07, 2019 12:46 PM
It was back in March when Sharks winger Evander Kane announced the devastating news that he and his wife lost their daughter, Eva, during pregnancy.
He posted the news on social media and received an overwhelming amount of support from his family and friends as well as the community.
Recently, Kane posted a photo on his Instagram story of a tattoo he obtained recently honoring Eva. It included her name along with a set of footprints:
On Mother's Day, Kane posted a photo on Instagram of him and his wife.
"To my incredibly strong, selfless, beautiful wife you are amazing and Eva was and is so lucky to have you as her mom."
Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 06.08.2019 1146328 St Louis Blues St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 06.08.2019
Updated: Armstrong calls Barbashev suspension "excessive"
By Jim Thomas St. Louis Post-Dispatch 5 hrs ago
Don't look now, but another Blues player has been suspended during the Stanley Cup Final.
Valuable fourth-line forward Ivan Barbashev was given a one-game suspension early Friday evening after a hearing with the NHL Player Safety department earlier in the day. He will not play in Sunday's Game 6 at Enterprise Center.
Unlike the Oskar Sundqvist suspension last week, Blues general manager Doug Armstrong was critical of this ruling.
"We feel that the suspension to Ivan is excessive for the play on the ice," Armstrong told the Post-Dispatch via text. "Regardless, we need to prepare for a quality Boston team on Sunday.
"The NHL on_ and off-ice officials have a difficult job and we respect their integrity."
The league determined that Barbashev delivered an illegal check to the head of Boston's Marcus Johansson in Game 5 on Thursday against the Bruins.
Barbashev was not penalized on the play.
Before the suspension came down, coach Craig Berube was asked if he was surprised that the league would hold a hearing for a non-penalized play.
"Well, I mean, they’re going to look at things that happen in games, and that’s just part of it," he said. "It’s physical hockey, it’s heavy hockey out there both ways and they’re going to look at some stuff once in a while. So that’s the way it goes."
Last week, Sundqvist received a one-game suspension for boarding Boston defenseman Matt Grzelcyk in Game 2 of the series. Grzelcyk went into concussion protocol and hasn't played since. Sundqvist sat out Game 3, a 7-2 Blues loss.
Barbashev has three goals, three assists and is plus-1 during the playoffs. Barbashev and the rest of the fourth line have played a key role in smothering Boston's Patrice Bergeron line — known as the Perfection Line — in this series, which the Blues lead 3-2.
Berube said of Barbashev's contributions: "A lot like Sundqvist, you know? Heavy hockey, good defensive stuff, penalty kill. Just relentless on the puck and the forecheck. They’ve been a physical line throughout the playoffs."
"Obviously, a very competitive guy," linemate Alexander Steen added. "Plays with a lot of intensity and passion. Both sides of the puck, he’s really intelligent. Good player for us."
Barbashev had not been fined or suspended previously in his NHL career.
With Robert Thomas (wrist) still out, likely replacements are Robby Fabbri or Jordan Nolan.
"Somebody’s going to have to step in and go do the job, for sure," Berube said. "A lot like Sundqvist with the suspension there. somebody will come in and do the job, for sure."
After Game 2, it turned out to be Zach Sanford, who played well enough in Sundqvist's absence in Game 3 to bump Fabbri out of the lineup in Games 4 and 5 after Sundqvist's return.
Officiating has become an issue again after officials missed an apparent tripping call on Tyler Bozak in the third period of Thursday's 2-1 Blues victory and Boston coach Bruce Cassidy responded with sharp criticism.
As for Berube and the Blues?
"We’re going to focus on playing the game," he said. "It goes both ways. Like I’ve said, there’s calls either way that could be made, and some are made and some aren’t made. That’s just the way we look at it." 1146329 St Louis Blues Cassidy went on to say that the NHL is “getting a black-eye” with their playoff officiating and said the no-call on Bozak was “egregious.”
The NHL eventually apologized for the blown call on the hand pass by What a trip! Blues on the brink of winning franchise's first Stanley Cup San Jose. At the start of the Cup Final, commissioner Gary Bettman said his head almost exploded when he saw that play.
By Jim Thomas St. Louis Post-Dispatch 10 hrs ago There were no apologies from the NHL on Thursday night.
NHL senior vice president and director of officiating Stephen Walkom said this about Thursday’s no-call to a pool reporter after the game: BOSTON • Three down, one to go. The Blues are on the doorstep of hockey history, on the brink of winning the franchise’s first Stanley Cup. “We don’t make comments on judgment calls within games. There are hundreds of judgment calls in every game. The official on the play, he It came cloaked in some controversy, but Thursday’s 2-1 victory over the viewed it and he didn’t view it as a penalty at the time.” Boston Bruins at TD Garden gave the Blues a 3-2 lead in the best-of- seven Cup Final. They can clinch with a victory in Game 6 Sunday at So the Blues had a 2-0 lead with 9:24 to go, but not for long. With the Enterprise Center in St. Louis. Blues about to get whistled for a delayed penalty, Jake DeBrusk fired from the right faceoff circle and beat Binnington. With 6:28 to play it was Just one more win. a 2-1 game and TD Garden came alive.
“It’s obviously a lot of emotion that goes through your head and stuff like But the Blues weathered the storm down the stretch, continuing their that,” Brayden Schenn said. “We’ve been battling all year, we’ve been road warrior ways. It was their ninth victory in 12 away games this grinding all year. We know what’s at stake ... and we’re gonna be ready postseason. In the history of the Stanley Cup, only five teams have won for Game 6.” more in a single postseason.
Watch and listen: Blues push Bruins to the brink “Probably not as pretty as we’d like it to be, but we gutted it out and got the job done,” Schenn said. “Binner played unbelievable for us. They The Blues got goals from a suddenly-revived Ryan O’Reilly and feisty took it to us for most of that game. We sat back maybe a little too much, David Perron. They got one of the best games yet from rookie goalie and we’re gonna have to change that for Game 6.’ Jordan Binnington, who stopped 38 of 39 shots. In the process, Binnington continued his own march through playoff history. Bozak agreed.
His ninth road victory established an NHL record for a rookie goaltender “They pushed hard in the first, the second and the third,” he said. “I think in one postseason. And he tied the NHL rookie record for most overall Binner really held it down for us. And we got a couple late for him.” wins in one postseason at 15, a mark he now shares with four others. Well, actually the game’s first goal - O’Reilly’s - came just 55 seconds “He was excellent all game, and did a great job in the first period for into the second period. sure,” coach Craig Berube said. “They came hard, Boston. We were tested in the first (period) for sure and ‘Binner’ stood tall. Big reason we The line of Zach Sanford-O’Reilly-Perron has been together for only 14 won the game.” games - regular season and playoffs combined, but they ended Game 5 with 14 goals and 27 assists in those games with the first goal coming on The Blues killed off three Boston power plays Thursday, making them 6- a dazzling between-the-legs backhand pass from Sanford to O’Reilly. for-6 on the penalty kill since allowing four power-play goals in Game 3 Saturday. And they may have benefited most from a penalty that wasn’t Actually, Sanford’s pass was between two sets of legs - his own and then called. Boston defenseman Charlie McAvoy, with O’Reilly on the receiving end in front of the net. O’Reilly’s backhand beat Rask top shelf. Midway through the third period, with the Blues up 1-0, Tyler Bozak came at Boston’s Noel Acciari from behind. Bozak stuck out his stick and And helped put the Blues just one win away from hockey history. appeared to touch the puck, Acciari fell backward and the crowd at TD St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 06.08.2019 Garden, not to mention everyone on the Boston bench, thought it should have been a tripping penalty.
But there was no call by referees Steve Kozari and Kelly Sutherland. Seconds later, Perron scored his seventh goal of the postseason but first of this series on an attempted pass that deflected off Boston goalie Tuukka Rask and into the net.
“It’s not like something crazy was missed in my opinion,” Perron said of the no-call. “I don’t know.”
The crowd thought otherwise, showering the ice with debris.
“It was a little puck battle,” Bozak said. “I went for the puck with my stick and it kinda got caught in his feet. I don’t know. And then we just got the puck back. DP (Perron) tried to pass it and it banked in off Rask and went in. So we’ll take it.”
Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy didn’t take it - lightly, that is - when it came to the no-call.
“The narrative changed after Game 3,” Cassidy said. “There’s a complaint or whatever put forth by the opposition. It just seems to have changed everything.”
That was a reference to some mild complaining by Berube following his team’s 7-2 loss in Game 3 about the amount of penalties being called against the Blues.
In stark contrast to Berube after the “Hand Pass” game against San Jose, when the Blues coach said very little about that blown call in overtime, Cassidy had plenty to say about the Bozak no-call.
“Their player is on his way to the box,” Cassidy said. “It’s right in front of the official. ... The spotter took (Acciari) out of the game for a possible concussion. I mean, it’s blatant. It had a big effect on the game.” 1146330 St Louis Blues but it really made it difficult for us to get the win tonight. So I’m disappointed. So I guess to answer your original question, it was egregious. But we’re moving on. We’re getting ready for Game 6.”
'Embarrassing ... egregious ... a black eye': Bruins not happy with non- Cassidy was asked what was said on the bench after the goal. call “What was being said was he missed an eff-in call,” Cassidy said. “But after that we had to settle down and play. Listen we thought we got By Tom Timmermann St. Louis Post-Dispatch 10 hrs ago screwed but you’ve gotta keep playing and we did. We scored the next goal and gave ourselves the chance to win. We tried to rally around that.”
Boston was down 3-2 to Toronto in the first round and rallied to take that BOSTON – This is the big test facing the Boston Bruins now: Can they series, winning Game 6 in Toronto and then taking Game 7 at home. So handle the missed call in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final as well as the they know they can turn things around. Blues handled the missed call in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals. “I think we've done a good job with that over the course of the year,” Rask said. “We stay in the moment and we focus on the next game That was the game where a blatant hand pass by San Jose led to the ahead. That's always the biggest thing that matters to us. It doesn't winning goal in overtime. It was a blown call significant enough that the matter if you win or lose, you focus on the next one and try to play good league acknowledged the mistake, replay review policies are going to be enough to win and then you live with the results again. Now the season's looked at, and the officials who didn't make the call didn't work another on the line again so we've got to go up there and play our best.” game in the postseason. But after that call, the Blues put it aside, won the next three games and advanced. St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 06.08.2019
Now the Bruins know how the Blues felt. To most of the hockey-watching world, Tyler Bozak tripped Noel Acciari midway through the third period of Game 5. Referees Steve Kozari and Kelly Sutherland didn't call it. While Acciari was still lying on the ice, the Blues scored to make it 2-0, and that goal loomed large in the Blues' 2-1 win that put them one win away from the franchise's first Stanley Cup title.
Now Boston has a challenge: Can they do what the Blues did and put it behind them?
“I know everyone's going to be ready for Game 6,” Acciari said. “Everyone's fired up. That's the thing about this team. We never give up and so it will be a good Game 6.”
But first, they had some thoughts about Game 5.
“That’s a penalty every time,” said defenseman Torey Krug. “There’s no ifs, ands, or buts about it. I’m all for letting us play, but when it leads to scoring chances and the opposing team ends up with the puck, it should be going our way. It should be a penalty. They missed one there, I think.”
“Yeah it looked like a tripping, probably,” goalie Tuukka Rask said. “Things happen quick, but it doesn’t help to complain about it afterwards. But, you know, I mean it (stinks) it was kind of a deciding play of the game. So, it is what it is.”
“It's a missed call,” Acciari said. “It was big in the outcome of the game. They scored a goal off it that ends up being the game winner. It's embarrassing.”
The Bruins, to some extent, felt that that Blues coach Craig Berube's comments after Game 3, when he said that he had some issues with the officiating, led to a change in how the series was called. In that game, the Bruins scored four goals on four power plays. Since then, they've had five power plays in two games (going 0 for 5), but the bigger concern for Boston coach Bruce Cassidy was the calls that aren't being made. He felt there were some hits, like one by Ivan Barbashev on Marcus Johansson in the first period, should have been penalties.
“Those are the hits they want to get out of the game, correct?” Cassidy said. “That’s what I hear a lot about. Clearly, they missed a couple tonight. It’s a fast game. I sat here two days ago or whatever it was and said I believe these officials are at this level because they’ve earned the right to be here. You should be getting the best. But, I mean, the narrative changed after Game 3. There’s a complaint or whatever put forth by the opposition. It just seems to have changed everything.
The Blues' 2-1 victory in Game 5 at Boston came cloaked in some controversy, as they may have benefited most from a no call on a play the Bruins thought should have been a tripping penalty. With a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series, the Blues can win the Cup in Sunday's Game 6 at Enterprise Center.
“The non-call on Acciari … their player is on his way to the box. It’s right in front of the official. It’s a slew foot. Our guy’s gone. The spotter took him out of the game for a possible concussion. I mean, it’s blatant. It had a big effect on the game. This has happened. I’m a fan of the game. The National Hockey League’s getting a black eye with their officiating in these playoffs, and there’s another one that’s going to be talked about. I thought it was a great hockey game. That call, probably … there’s time, 1146331 St Louis Blues Binnington blanketed Boston until the third. He gave the Bruins one single breath when Jake DeBrusk’s one-timer from the circle hit the net with 6:28 to play. And then the goalie ripped hope away once more. BenFred: Binnington's dominance, not Bozak's missed trip, defined Against a team that had found new life, beneath the roar of a crowd that Game 5 was foaming at the mouth, Binnington faced five more shots on goal before the game’s end. He stopped them all.
Sean Kuraly tried and failed. Charlie McAvoy tried and failed. John More 10 hrs ago tried and failed. Torey Krug tried and failed. Twice.
Ben Frederickson In the biggest game in Blues history until Sunday, Binnington tied his hero Patrick Roy (1986) as one of four goalies who have 15 playoff wins
as a rookie. BOSTON • Marcus Johansson’s reaction was a sign. His ninth road win this postseason set an NHL rookie record. It will get lost, of course, because Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final went His postseason-best 38-save performance, a Stanley Cup Final record mad. by a rookie in a win, included a stuffed wraparound that stood the test of The story will shift to the men on the ice we are not supposed to notice, a review, a puck punched out of the air, a puck kicked to safety, multiple because that’s what happens when a league can’t seem to figure out saves made while Binnington was being pushed out his net, and multiple how to find officials who can keep up with the cameras that catch what saves made while Binnington was pushing Bruins out of his net. He lured human eyes miss. Bruins troublemaker Brad Marchand into a slashing penalty. He held the Bruins' stellar power play to zero goals on three attempts. The discussion will stick on Tyler Bozak’s trip of Noel Acciari, and how and why things might have changed if a missed penalty didn’t help the "I don't really keep tabs," Binnington said when asked if this game was Blues take a two-goal third-period lead in a game they won 2-1. his best game.
There’s just one problem there. Thousands of Blues fans attending the watch party watch the Blues take down the Bruins in Game 5, 2-1 of the Stanley Cup Final. That story completely ignores the beginning and the end, and it omits the main character. One thing is certain. He's at his best when it matters most. The Blues are now 7-1 in Games 5, 6 and 7 during this run. Binnington has not allowed The Blues are not one win away from lifting the Stanley Cup for the first more than two goals in any of these eight games. He's now averaging time because of a non-call. They are not one win away from becoming 1.25 goals allowed in Games 5, 6 and 7. And here are his goals allowed legends forever because a trip was missed. They left here 60 minutes in the five most-recent editions of those games: 1, 1, 0, 1 and 1. away from breaking a curse because of a 25-year-old who wears No. 50. Thursday's first period belonged to Binnington, and the importance of that Jordan Binnington is doing it again.The Blues’ rookie goalie is once more can't be overstated. The Garden was a feeding frenzy thanks to the choking the life out of another playoff opponent as a series reaches its presence of Bruins captain Zdeno Chara, the defenseman who played most crucial point. Johansson told us so. with what is believed to be a broken jaw. Then Chara smashed Brayden Schenn moments into the game, and loud got louder. The Bruins out- Before the Blues had to dodge water bottles, before discarded rally shot the Blues 17-8 in that period. The B's were on the attack. The Blues towels fell toward the ice like snow, before fans wearing black and yellow were getting knocked around. At one point, the Blues iced the puck in went from trading high-fives to exchanging haymakers, Johansson desperation. At another point, they chipped the puck into the stands in a offered a tell. panic. When Marchand, who ripped four shots and put two on goal in that The Bruins were trailing 1-0 when the forward on Boston’s silent second period, zoomed into Binnington after a save to give him a poke with his line found a wide-open lane and launched his left-handed shot toward stick, you had to wonder how long the goalie could hold up. Long Binnington. It was the kind of shot that can make a goalie look like he’s enough. Binnington smoothed a rough start like a Zamboni. buffering until the goal horn sounds. Binnington did look frozen at first. "We knew they were going to come hard," he said. "The first period was He never moved. Didn’t need to. He was already in the perfect position. huge. We just battled it out, trusted each other and stayed with it. We got better as the game went on." Save made. The Blues found their game in the second. They rolled their lines in short Easy. shifts, creating offensive zone time and stressful scoring chances. Their constant was in the crease. Seven and a half minutes into a third period that was about to spiral into madness, Johansson responded to Binnington’s save by looking toward Binnington got some luck, like when two pucks hit posts. He got some the TD Garden rafters, where the banners of the Bruins and the Celtics help, like when Carl Gunnarsson’s diving save cleared a puck as hang, as if to ask the sports gods of this championship-rich city if they Binnington searched for his blocker. More than anything, the goalie who have ever encountered an opponent like this. Johansson bent at his pulled this season away from the edge of disaster got the Blues here, to waist. He looked at his skates. His hands rested on his knees. And there the precipice of immortality. it was, a sign of the crack before the chaos. Binnington's final save came against Krug with seven seconds left. We will never know for sure what would have happened if Bozak’s trip of Acciari — a missed penalty but one that was not as obvious as some will Boston fans were already trickling toward the exits by then, which said a make it seem — would have been called. We can, however, take an lot about how they figured this was going to end. educated guess. The team with the better goalie would have won the One young Bruins fan flashed Binnington a middle finger. game. No. 50 was No. 1. Advantage, Blues. St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 06.08.2019 The Blues won, in part, because a whistle did not blow. They won, in part, because David Perron was the only player on the ice who played until the whistle did blow. They won because Zach Sanford, a Boston- area native who watched the first two games of this series from the press box alongside Post-Dispatch scribes as a healthy scratch, made a jaw- dropping first-period pass to teammate Ryan O’Reilly, who is playing like a man possessed.
But more than anything, the Blues won because Binnington plays for the Blues. 1146332 St Louis Blues Pang concurs, saying he gave Vitale this advice at the beginning: “Dive into this. It will take you some places that are a lot of fun. I’ll try my best to prepare you for whatever you want to do. If it means going through the Media Views: Joey Vitale has rollicking rookie year as Blues broadcaster books I use to prepare for games, systems every broadcaster has, we’ll do that.”
How has Vitale done? By Dan Caesar St. Louis Post-Dispatch 16 hrs ago “He’s soaked everything in, every little thing you mention to him or point out, he listens to you and is respectful,” Pang said. “He has a great feel for the game.” Joey Vitale hopes to join the club. OBJECTIVE TAKE When the Rams won the Super Bowl to cap the 1999 season, Mike Bush was the team’s radio play-by-play announcer. It was the only year he had Unlike some analysts, Vitale hasn’t been afraid to offer analysis that is that role with the team. critical of the home team, which is something at which Chase excelled. Fair, objective critiquing gives a broadcaster credibility with the audience. In 2006, when the Cardinals won the World Series for the first time in 24 years, John Rooney was in his initial season in the team’s booth. He was Vitale said he talked to Kelly, Kerber and Pang — who also are objective a seasoned baseball broadcaster, but not with the Redbirds. — about how to handle this.
Now Vitale could jump onto that select list of calling a St. Louis “They all have the same motto: Don’t say anything on the air that you championship club in his first year with the team. Vitale, who had no wouldn’t say to the player’s face,” Vitale said. “That is what I remember. If previous broadcast experience, took over for Kelly Chase this season as I say, ‘He’s not having a good night tonight,’ people might think that’s the Blues’ radio analyst and next week could be on the air describing critical. But I could easily go to that player the next day and say, ‘Hey, how their players are skating around with the Stanley Cup for the first that just wasn’t your night.’ And he’ll go, ‘You know what, it wasn’t.’ For time in the club’s history. me to criticize (in a manner) I wouldn’t say it to the player’s face, I’d never cross that line. As long I feel confident that when I see this player “It’s been awesome. I never saw it happening this way,” he said of his tomorrow I can say exactly what I said over the air, I feel it’s just healthy rookie broadcasting season. “But I’ll take it.” criticism.” It’s been a rollicking ride for Vitale, 33, who was a center and played in Kerber concurs. 163 NHL games over parts of six seasons with Pittsburgh and Arizona in a career that ended three seasons ago. He grew up in St. Louis and after “As a broadcaster, you live by two big rules” regarding criticism, he said. his playing days ended returned to town. He had been working for his “The first is you don’t say something you wouldn’t say to somebody’s father’s construction company before the broadcasting opportunity arose, face. The second is, if you critique the play and not the player, you’re when Chase stepped down to work in other endeavors that allow him to fine. When you start to critique the player and it gets personal, you don’t spend more time with his family. know what’s going on in his life. You don’t know if his mom is sick, if his child was up all night. So the hockey job came at a key time in Vitale’s life. He had studied journalism at Northeastern University, but this was going to be on-the-job “He and I talked about that in the early going. It’s not like the analyst has training. to be critical of the team, he just breaks the play down very honestly and (if you do that) listeners can deduce whatever they need from that.” “I don’t think I was very good at the beginning. I’m sure my closest relatives and people around me would say, ‘Hang in there, you’re doing BOSS AND PARTNER great.’ But I think I’ve grown a lot in the role. I’d like to think I’ve improved.” Kerber is in the interesting position of not only being Vitale’s partner on the air, but also his boss. Kerber is the team’s vice president of broadcast He credits Blues radio play-by-play broadcaster Chris Kerber, television and content development and was instrumental in Vitale being hired. play-by-play announcer John Kelly and especially TV analyst Darren Kerber said he was impressed from the beginning, about questions Vitale Pang as being key mentors. asked during the interview process.
“I got great advice from John, Chris and Darren,” he said. “And Darren It wasn’t, ‘What does it pay?’ or that kind of thing. It was, ‘What makes a Pang probably is my best asset I’ve used because I’m in the same good analyst, what is the work that goes into being a good analyst?” position he has, he’s been doing it so long. He’s constantly talking to me Kerber said. “It was a different type of question you got from Joe. It about things to look for, observations on teams and players. Being next showed he already had a bit of an analytical approachat what it was to him throughout this process has been tremendously helpful.” going to take to be good on the job.”
Pang, a former goaltender who works from ice level whereas Vitale is in Part of the hiring process included going to the broadcast booth and the booth, said he has been glad to help and has had a good student calling a period of a game from last season via a TV recording. with whom to work. “You could tell by the level of seriousness he took into it by how prepared “No. 1, as a fellow broadcaster you try to be there for any questions he he was when he showed up to do that,” Kerber said. might have,” Pang said. “We sit on the plane together, we go to dinner a lot, even between periods of a hockey game we will go back and forth And Vitale really came prepared, knowing ahead of time what game sending texts. He often asks me, ‘What do you see down there? I’ll let would be shown during the audition. him know, then afterwards we talk about the game and what we saw. We “He was smart enough to know you can find those games online, and he don’t always see the same thing, because I see things from maybe the had watched the period already, which was good,” Kerber said. “Again, it defensive point of view or the goaltender’s point of view and he sees it was a little less about how good do you sound but what do you put into from something else. it? You could tell he was ready for it.”
“He’s helped me as much as I’ve helped him. It’s been a pleasure to be Although Vitale lacked broadcasting experience, he certainly didn’t lack with him.” verbal communication skills.
BEARING DOWN “I’ve always spoken quickly. I come from a big Italian family, so being Kerber is impressed by Vitale’s work ethic. able to speak quickly and relatively efficiently is important or else you kind of get overlooked,” he said, chuckling. “He’s gotten better as the season has gone along, and he really has been great from the start,” Kerber said. “He works at it, he cares. He talks Still, analyzing a play in a concise, articulate manner given the time with other analysts and play-by-play guys about what they do well, what constraints of a hockey broadcast is not an easy task. He says his they like best, and he utilizes it. I think he’s grown tremendously and background has helped him in that aspect. done a hell of a job.” “Playing hockey, you have to think quickly because it’s such a fast game,” he said. “I’ve been playing this game since I was 5, so I think my motor skills and brain really fire pretty quickly because I’m constantly under distress at a hockey game or practice. I think that (applies) not only at the rink but also in everyday conversations or engaging in normal everyday life. I think it comes back to playing a sport that is very fast.”
Pang says the pace of a radio broadcast can be more difficult from a telecast because the listener is not seeing the play.
“You learn when to jump in, when to jump out,” he said. “The breathing of your partner, you can tell when he needs a bit of a break, you can tell when he’s going to stop. You feel that, it’s like you’re in synchronized swimming together. You have to have a quick mind, a sharp mind. You’ve got to be able to get in and out. He’s made that transition pretty nicely.”
Vitale quickly has fallen in to what could be an unprecedented year for the Blues.
“I feel very honored to be in this position, I take it very seriously,” he said. “I’ve really enjoyed myself this year, it’s been an incredible season.”
St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 06.08.2019 1146333 St Louis Blues He didn’t score, but the statement was made. The Blues were rejuvenated.
Forty second later … goal. Hochman: Long-suffering Blues fans, like Federko, are close to a glorious finish Ryan O’Reilly scored it, but we’ll remember it because of the Zach Sanford pass. Backhand. Between his legs … and the defender’s. O’Reilly did the rest.
11 hrs ago David Perron, a hated Blue in Boston, scored the winning goal.
Benjamin Hochman Thousands of Blues fans attending the watch party watch the Blues take down the Bruins in Game 5, 2-1 of the Stanley Cup Final.
BOSTON • Jordan Binnington stood in a quiet TD Garden hallway The Blues are coming home with a chance to win their first Cup. plastered with posterboards, decorated with well-wishes for the Bruins by Earlier this series, passionate Blues fan Jon Hamm was asked about his sweet schoolchildren whose souls this man had crushed. childhood St. Louis sports fandom. The Emmy-winning actor from “Mad He had just stopped 38 of 39 Boston shots, won Game 5 on the road and Men” put the Blues winning the Cup in perspective by comparing it to his said live on ESPN, when asked what makes him nervous, that “when you childhood as a Cardinals fan. find out, you let me know.” And now, the Blues goalie was here, all alone, “In ‘82,” he said, “my dad took me to Game 1 and Game 7. We lost asked to put it all in perspective. Game 1 and won Game 7. I didn’t know what to do. I was a Cardinal fan “I’m a loyal guy,” Binnington said softy, talking about both St. Louis and in the 1970s – I didn’t think we were ever going to go to the World Series, the Blues. “The fan base is incredible. I love being part of a team. As a much less win it. I was just kind of running around, I didn’t know what to goalie, you just try to be there for when the team needs you, and trust do, randomly screaming. No one did! I think if this happens, it’s going to them to do their job – and they’ve been incredible. I’m happy I could be of be that times infinity.” help for them. … We have each other’s backs.” St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 06.08.2019 In the latest biggest game in franchise history, Binnngton had everyone’s back. Blues 2, Bruins 1. The Blues will host Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final, and if the Blues win they win the Stanley Cup. It’s unbelievable. It’s unfathomable. It’s happening.
The fellows with the white gloves will bring Lord Stanley’s Cup to the Enterprise Center on Sunday. Magical words in St. Louis.
The night before Game 5, on the quiet, narrow streets of Boston’s old Italian area, noise spilled out of one of the North End restaurants. Just what was going on in there? As you walked closer, you began to make out the sound. Could it be? Yep, it was “Gloria.” And inside, there was Blues legend Bernie Federko, the Hall of Famer, a great grin across his famous face. He was responsible for the request – talked the owner into it – and Federko and some other Blues folks soaked it all in.
A night later, so did all of St. Louis.
Now, closing out a series, so many in sports say, is always the hardest task. But the Blues have two shots at it now. Or they might not need them both.
“We’ve got a job to do here,” captain Alex Pietrangelo said, when asked about the emotions building toward Game 6. “We still have to win our next game. We still have a lot of things that we can get better at. I know you’re probably looking for some big emotion – and don’t get me wrong, we’re all happy we’re in this spot – but we’ll take tonight and regroup tomorrow and get ready for Sunday.”
The Blues sure don’t want to return back to Boston, where they got away with a trip and ran away with Game 5 in their sweaty hockey bags.
It’s been a series defined by tough plays, starting all the way back to Game 1, when a helmet-less Torey Krug avoided a charging penalty and obliterated Blues rookie Robert Thomas, who hasn’t played since. But a non-call in Game 5 will be remembered – Tyler Bozak’s arguable trip on Noel Acciari. There wasn’t a call, and the Blues scored in the following seconds. The TD Garden crowd booed, threw items onto the ice, and booed some more. The Bruins got the goal back with 6:28 left, but that only cut the lead to 2-1, ultimately the final score.
The Blues bruise. They’re tough, unfazed, and they throw four lines at opponents – basically, they’re out-Bostoning Boston.
“It wasn’t our best game of the series, but sometimes your goalie is going to make some big saves, especially early on to change the momentum,” Pietrangelo said. “He did that, and I thought we played a lot better in the second period there. We had some good looks.”
The first period was exactly what the Blues didn’t want – Boston creating offense, peppering Binnington and even getting a power play. But the Blues survived and kept it scoreless. Credit the coaches and players for the infusion of energy and strategy. Before the Olympia ice resurfacer could be parked following the first intermission, the Blues already had a breakaway chance, thanks to the intense speed of Vladimir Tarasenko. 1146334 St Louis Blues round series with Toronto and the first three games of the next round with Columbus.
CONVENIENT STOP Stanley Cup notebook: Chara plays through pain; Backes a healthy scratch Playing in a Stanley Cup Final has been a big thrill for Blues forward Zach Sanford, and it’s also been pretty convenient since he grew up in the Boston area and his family is still here.
By Tom Timmermann St. Louis Post-Dispatch 18 hrs ago “It’s pretty cool,” he said. “They don’t really have too travel to go to the away games. My family’s been at all the games so far, even when I haven’t played. So they’ve been so supportive.” BOSTON • Bruins captain Zdeno Chara took a puck to the face in the second period of Game 4, may have broken his jaw, and on Thursday He’s also heard from friends he grew up with. night, he was back in the lineup for Game 5. “I’ve even gotten some texts they hope I do well but they want to the Fellow defenseman Matt Grzelcyk, out since entering the concussion Bruins to win,” he said. “But I think they’re slowly shifting over to protocol after a hit by Oskar Sundqvist in Game 2, did not return to the becoming Blues fans.” lineup. St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 06.08.2019 With uncertainty over how much Chara would be able to play, the Bruins dressed seven defensemen, also sending out Steven Kampfer. That meant Boston had to drop a forward, and former Blues captain David Backes was the odd man out.
Chara’s status was the mystery of the day. He took the ice for the team’s optional morning skate, moving at half speed through practice. Coach Bruce Cassidy said Chara and Grzelcyk would be game-time decisions. Grzelcyk spoke to the media and said, “If I’m in, I’m going to be ready to play and I’ll be excited to join the guys again.”
Chara, meanwhile, couldn’t speak. He answered, in writing, two questions asked by the Professional Hockey Writers Association through the Bruins public relations staff.
Q: What’s your biggest challenge in skating with this type of injury?
A: “At this time of the playoffs, everyone has injuries and there are challenges that you have to overcome to play. I’m no different than any player on either team.”
Q: How do you weigh the risk of further injury when deciding whether to play?
A: “You don’t think about that. You think about playing. You don’t go into a game thinking you might get hurt.”
Just his presence on the ice in the morning was enough to spur on his teammates.
“When you hear the stories of how he was brought up,” Bruins forward Brad Marchand said, “he was brought up as a tough, hard-working person. Very respectful. So it doesn’t surprise me at all to see him — I don’t think it surprised anyone to see him out there. He wants to win more than anything, and he shows that every single night. You never know what he’s playing through — he keeps everything quiet and to him, and he’s not worried about complaining about injuries or anything like that. He’s willing to play with one leg, one arm. It doesn’t matter. He’s out there working as hard as he can and sacrificing his body because he knows, at the end of the day, you win — it’s worth everything you go through. Not everyone has that. You can’t teach that, you can’t push that on people. It’s either in you or it’s not. He’s able to play through pain — a lot more pain than most people. Probably anyone in this league. It’s incredible to see. I know I couldn’t do what he does. So you have a lot of respect for him, watching what he puts himself through and how he just goes about his business.”
“Much is made of his professionalism, his toughness, his approach,” defenseman John Moore said. “But until you see that in the flesh, you have a whole other level of appreciation for it. The guy’s 42. When I’m 42, I’m certainly not going to be the first guy in the gym, weighing all my food, squatting the most on the team. Those are all the things you respect. You throw in the fact that what he’s going through — that’s something I’ll tell my kids about. Life lessons I’ll carry long beyond hockey.”
Chara got a thunderous and extended ovation when he was introduced in the starting lineup before the game, standing on the ice with a helmet with a football-style mouth guard but no visor. In the morning, he skated with a full visor.
Backes had played just 9:09 in Game 4, the least ice time for any Bruin other than Chara. He had no points in the first four games and was a healthy scratch earlier in the playoffs, for the last two games of the first- 1146335 St Louis Blues
Small bet on Blues (at 300-1 odds) could pay off big for two St. Louisans
By Dan Caesar St. Louis Post-Dispatch 16 hrs ago
Hundreds of thousands of people in the St. Louis area are pulling with their hearts for the Blues to win the Stanley Cup. Scott Kramer is one of them, but he also has a big additional rooting interest — a financial one.
Kramer, who works in marketing for Enterprise car rental, was planning a family trip to Las Vegas in late December when the Blues were wallowing in the dregs of the NHL standings. He said he and his brother-in law, Craig Steckler, were discussing bowl wagers to place while at a Christmas Day gathering. Kramer was looking at betting lines on the app for the Westgate “SuperBook,” one of the biggest and most popular sports betting shops in Vegas.
“He said, ‘What are futures on the Stanley Cup?’ and I mentioned some of the teams,” Kramer, 49, said. “He said, ‘What are the Blues?’ I almost dropped the phone. ‘I said, ‘Oh my God, they’re 300-1.’ His jaw dropped, he started reeling off (players’ names) — Tarasenko, O’Reilly, ‘Petro.’ He says, ‘This is crazy, they’re a lot better team than this.’ We started doing the math. All they have to do is make the playoffs, then anything can happen. At 300-1 odds, it was ‘We have to throw something on this.’ We agreed we’d each throw 10 bucks on it.”
So if the Blues win the Cup, their $20 ticket will be worth $6,020 — the payout for the huge odds plus the return of the stake.
“Our feeling was, at those odds, if we didn’t put anything on them and this was somehow the year they made the run and won it, we’d probably regret it the rest of our lives,” Kramer said.
He’s gotten a lot of mileage out of this already.
“In January when I got back to work I told people I had bet on the Blues, and most were shrugging me off and laughing,” Kramer said. “As the months went by, they kept coming by saying, ‘You took the Blues to win, right?’ All of a sudden everybody started getting interested in the story. ‘Can I see a picture of the ticket? Oh my God, that’s cool.’”
By the way, Kramer already is a winner on the Blues.
“When I got to the Westgate I saw they were 150-1 to win the West, so I threw another $10 on that,” he said.
That was worth a $1,500 profit. But an even bigger payday now is possible.
“It’s been crazy but fun,” Kramer said. “Even if they don’t win, the fun we’ve had on a $10 bet for each of us for the last six months has been well worth it just for the hope, the ride we’ve had.”
PREGAME PARADE
Because of Blues mania, Fox Sports Midwest is doubling the length of its pregame program to an hour for the remainder of the Stanley Cup Final. Shows Sunday, and Wednesday if Game 7 is needed, begin at 6 p.m.
KSDK (Channel 5), which shows the games, has its lead-in shows at 6:30 p.m., though an earlier start is possible. NBCSN and NHL Network have two-hour productions beginning at 5 p.m.
St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 06.08.2019 1146336 St Louis Blues National Hockey League’s getting a black-eye with their officiating in these playoffs, and there’s another one that’s going to be talked about. I thought it was a great hockey game. That call, probably … there’s time, One win away! Blues beat the Bruins 2-1 in Game 5 but it really made it difficult for us to get the win tonight. So I’m disappointed. So I guess to answer your original question, it was egregious. But we’re moving on. We’re getting ready for Game 6.”
By Tom Timmermann St. Louis Post-Dispatch Jun 6, 2019 "That my comments changed (the officiating), I don’t agree with it, but it doesn’t matter," Berube said, "I’m not here to judge the officials and calls
that could have been or couldn’t have. They go both ways. There were BOSTON -- The Blues moved to within one win of the franchise's first calls the other way that could have been called and they weren’t. So, I Stanley Cup with a 2-1 win over Boston in Game 5 on Thursday at TD don’t know what to say about that. I really don’t want to say anything Garden. about it.”
The Blues will have a chance to take the trophy that has eluded them Binnington faced 39 shots in the game and stopped all but the one. since they came into the league in 1967 on Sunday night at Enterprise Boston pulled Rask with about a minute to go and had steady pressure in Center. If they don't win there, they'll have a second chance in Game 7 the Blues end, but couldn't get the tying goal. For the game, Boston on Wednesday in Boston in Game 7. outshot the Blues 39-21.
"It’s exciting," said defenseman Colton Parayko. "It’s huge for our group. "Unbelievable," defenseman Colton Parayko said of Binnington. "I mean, We’ve had quite the season so far. We continued to battle we never gave obviously he won one for us here. It was a huge game by him. Very up on each other. We expect the best game in the whole series from impressive. I don't really know. I could talk about that performance all them so we’re going to have to match it." day. It was unreal. Good for him. That was awesome."
“I don’t think it feels any different than coming into Game 5 for me O'Reilly finished off another slick pass from Zach Sanford to put the personally," Blues coach Craig Berube said. "We’ve got a big job ahead Blues up 1-0 after two periods. of us, that’s the way I look at it. I hope our team looks at it that way. O'Reilly, who had two goals in Game 4, took a pass from Sanford that not We’re going to get a real good Boston Bruins team again. I thought they only went between Sanford's legs, but between defender Charlie were really good tonight. We gutted our win out, which is great, but we’re McAvoy's as well. O'Reilly needed one touch to control the puck and then going to get a great performance from them and we need to be good, we put a backhander past Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask. It was the sixth goal need to be ready. So, I don’t look at it that way to be honest with you. I of the postseason for O'Reilly. try to keep everything in perspective and calm and cool as much as I can. It’s hard. And it’s hard for the players too, but it’s important that we With the series tied at two games apiece, the winner of Game 5 will be keep our heads and keep level headed knowing we’ve got a big job one win away from winning the Stanley Cup. ahead of us for Game 6.” Sanford, who went back into the lineup when Oskar Sundqvist was A goal by Ryan O'Reilly put the Blues up 1-0 in the second period and a suspended for Game 3 for his hit on Matt Grzelcyk, has a point in each of goal by David Perron with 9:24 to go in the third made it 2-0. That goal those games. It's another case of a move by coach Craig Berube was protested by the Bruins and angered the fans, who threw water producing valuable results. bottles and towels on the ice. The play was set in motion when Tyler Bozak got the puck back by taking the legs out from under Noel Acciari, The Blues had to kill another penalty when David Perron was called for and with Acciari down on the ice, Perron was able to score the insurance interference, and they did it. Boston has a 25-14 edge in shots on goal goal, banking it in off Boston. There was fairly universal agreement that it after two periods, but Jordan Binnington has remained perfect. was a trip -- it's always a tipoff when players and coaches say, "I haven't The Blues almost made it 2-0 in the closing seconds of the period, but seen it" -- but the referees didn't call it. Boston's David Krejci got behind Rask, who was out of the net, and "I honestly don't know (if it was a trip)," Bozak said. "It's a fast game out blocked a shot by Alex Pietrangelo. there. I couldn't tell. I was just battling for the puck. Luckily we ended up The return of Zdeno Chara gave the Bruins an energy boost from the with it and it ended up in the back of the net, so we'll take it." start and the return of the team's captain helped them control the action "Bottom line you have to be ready for Game 6, that’s all we can really for much of the first period, but couldn't produce a goal and the teams worry about, and that’s all we can focus on," Boston's Patrice Bergeron were even at 0-0 after one period. said. "I think we all had the same opinion about (the call). I think I don’t The Bruins outshot the Blues 17-8 in the period and the Blues had just need to expand more than it is what it is, you know?" five shots on goal before getting a power play with 2:38 to go in the "We don't make comments on judgment calls within games," NHL period. The Bruins had a 27-14 edge in shot attempts. director of officiating Stephen Walkom told a pool reporter. "There are Binnington had his work cut out for him in goal and he made some sharp hundreds of judgment calls in every game. The official on the play, he saves to keep the Bruins off the board. He also got help from the goal viewed it and he didn't view it as a penalty at the time." frame, as Brad Marchand hit a post with just under five minutes to go.
That goal loomed large. Boston pulled within a goal with 6:28 to go when Chara's status for the game was uncertain, but he took the ice in Jake DeBrusk scored on a slapshot after Torey Krug took the puck from pregame warmups and was deemed fit enough to play. Just to be safe, Oskar Sundqvist as he tried to get the puck out of the Bruins zone. the Bruins dressed seven defensemen and only 11 forwards, scratching Sundqvist was going to be called for a high stick, but DeBrusk scored on former Blues captain David Backes. the delayed penalty. Thousands of Blues fans attending the watch party watch the Blues take After the game, Boston coach Bruce Cassidy was critical of the down the Bruins in Game 5, 2-1 of the Stanley Cup Final. officiating, not just in Game 5, but in Game 4 as well. In addition to the non-call on the goal, he thought there were some hits by the Blues that Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy put Chara in the starting lineup and he got a went uncalled. massive ovation when he was introduced before the game. Chara took a puck to the face in Game 4 and didn't finish the game, with what was “Those are the hits they want to get out of the game, correct?" Cassidy reported in several places to be a broken jaw. The return of the team's said. "That’s what I hear a lot about. Clearly, they missed a couple captain and spiritual leader spurred on the team, who went at the Blues tonight. It’s a fast game. I sat here two days ago or whatever it was and right from the start. Through two periods, Chara played 12:10 and had said I believe these officials are at this level because they’ve earned the four hits, two shots on goal and he blocked three shots. right to be here. You should be getting the best. But, I mean, the narrative changed after Game 3. There’s a complaint or whatever put Each team had a power play in the first period, with Vince Dunn being forth by the opposition. It just seems to have changed everything. The sent off delay of game and Marchand going off for slashing. On the no-call on Acciari … their player is on his way to the box. It’s right in front Blues' power play, their best chance came on a shot by David Perron that of the official. It’s a slew foot. Our guy’s gone. The spotter took him out of Tuukka Rask blocked with his stick. the game for a possible concussion. I mean, it’s blatant. It had a big effect on the game. This has happened. I’m a fan of the game. It’s the St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 06.08.2019 1146337 St Louis Blues Matt Grzelcyk, the Bruins defenseman Oskar Sundqvist smashed into the boards in Game 2, was behind the microphone on the media room stage Thursday morning.
BenFred: Blues salute Bruins captain Chara as hockey celebrates He was asked if he had been medically cleared to play. another rushed return “I’m not really sure,” he said. “Game-time decision. Obviously, if I’m in, I’ll be ready to play.”
Jun 6, 2019 At this time of the year, being ready is a rather relative term.
Ben Frederickson St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 06.08.2019
BOSTON — Other than that Stanley Cup Final thing going on in town, the big news here in Boston is that Patriots quarterback Tom Brady wants to copyright the nickname Tom Terrific.
Perhaps Zdeno Chara, a buddy of Brady’s, should get in on the action.
If Brady can poach Tom Seaver, Chara can pilfer Superman. The Bruins' captain is the new Man of Steel.
It became clear early Thursday morning that Chara, the 42-year-old warhorse in skates, is planning on playing against the Blues in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final after a puck to the face knocked him out of Game 4.
But reports say he has a broken jaw!
And some reporters are clucking about concussion protocol!
And?
If you are the type to get tied up in that player safety stuff, realize this is the league that sent commissioner Gary Bettman to the podium for his state of the league speech without one talking point on concussions. The NFL pretends to care about head injuries. The NHL just ignores them.
The Bruins downplayed the notion of Chara's brain being injured by a puck that reportedly broke his jaw. They said Chara is a game-time decision and that he would have to be cleared by doctors before he could play in Game 5. They said it will then be up to the player.
Hockey sense says the Bruins are not going to take their captain off the ice if he’s capable of being on it, and hockey sense says there’s no way Chara is going to sit if he has a say.
It was Brayden Schenn's Game 4 shot that bounced off Chara's stick and up into his face, splattering enough blood across the ice that it had to be chipped off before play resumed. But Chara returned to the bench later in that game, wearing a full shield over his face so he could be close to his teammates. He skated here at TD Garden on Thursday, then wrote out answers to questions about his concerns for his own safety. He said he isn’t worried about making a horrific injury worse by playing. He said he's no different than any other player who is willing to be uncomfortable on the ice if it means a chance to lift the Stanley Cup.
The Blues came as close as they could to saluting an opponent.
“He’s a good competitor,” Pat Maroon said. “He’s 42 years old and still playing hockey. He’s done a heck of a job being in this league, and he has a lot of respect around the league. Any player who is playing with a broken jaw, it says a lot about their character.”
“I don't think it surprises anyone,” Jay Bouwmeester said. “You look at his reputation, and the things he's been through over his career, he's a very well-respected guy. It doesn't surprise anybody."
"Good for them," David Perron said, sincerely. "We want to play their best team possible. He's one of their good players over there. We wouldn't be surprised if he played."
Chara's heroics will be the story of Game 5 unless the Blues force a change in the script. His presence on the ice will ignite this venue. He is the story, but this postseason, like every postseason, is filled with chapters of compromised players rushing back, results be damned.
Just look at the Blues.
Vince Dunn is back after taking a puck to the face earlier in the playoffs. Robert Thomas played through a wrist injury as long as possible before Boston’s Torey Krug knocked him into the press box. Carl Gunnarsson wore a wrist wrap during Thursday’s interviews. Ryan O’Reilly has played through closely-guarded pain for much of the postseason. And those are just the injuries we know about. 1146338 St Louis Blues don’t know of any of those things that were offered as reasons by the official.
He’s probably the second-most experienced referee they would have ‘This is a tripping penalty missed’: Ex-official Bryan Lewis on another going into the finals. So I can’t find a mechanic that would say, “OK, I non-call that puts the refs under scrutiny missed this because …” We’re really only talking about a judgment factor, in my mind. So he looks at it and says, “No, I don’t think it’s a penalty.” By John Vogl Jun 7, 2019 I look at this and say, “This is a tripping penalty missed.” We can say from our business, it’s very, very unfortunate. … And then, of course, it lends itself, as we have in our business, when I’ve got bad luck, that’s the It’s been 20 years since Bryan Lewis stood in Buffalo’s arena and only luck I’ve got. From a referee’s perspective, this is the combination of explained one of the most controversial goals in Stanley Cup history. The a whole bunch of bad luck at the end of the day. The team goes in and former NHL director of officiating remains confident that he and the scores really at the end of the game, and it becomes a game-winning referees got Brett Hull’s goal correct. goal — all those things just add to the magnitude. Lewis has no idea how it went so wrong in Boston. I can’t speak for the referee, but I would imagine there’d be some “This is just a combination of flat-out bad judgment, bad luck to have the sleepless moments when you get a chance to look at it. other team come down and shoot, score and ultimately win the hockey And as you mentioned, the bad luck just followed each other on the game,” Lewis said by phone Friday. “Those are all the things you don’t biggest stage with the game-winning goal in the closing minutes. I saw want to have happen to you as an official.” the Boston coach said after the game, “The NHL is just getting a black Referee Kelly Sutherland has joined Ulf Samuelsson and Matt Cooke on eye with the officiating this playoffs.” Do you feel that or is it just … the list of Bruins villains after allowing St. Louis’ Tyler Bozak to trip Noel Let’s put it this way: If I was in the management position here, I’d be like, Acciari, leading to Thursday’s winning goal and a 3-2 series deficit for “Oh, my gosh. When can we get things turned around?” You think about Boston in the Stanley Cup final. the five-minute major in the Vegas series. The hand pass that wasn’t. “It seems to be on every sports broadcast that I’ve seen,” said Lewis, And a missed penalty last night. We’re not talking here about a minor who oversaw the league’s officials from 1989 to 2000 after refereeing penalty missed at center ice. These are items of magnitude and you say, more than 1,000 games and four Cup finals. “This gets magnified by the “Holy gosh, when will this get turned around?” mere fact the winning goal was scored as the result of actions that I think So to your point, this is just a bunch of officiating bad luck brought on by any of us that backed up the videotape would say, ‘You know what? bad positioning. I can overemphasize the word bad. Bad judgment would That’s a penalty that should have been called.’” be part of it. Bad positioning. Bad action by a player to say, “Oh, why’d The Athletic called on Lewis to explain what might have happened during he do that?” But at the end of the day, it was a judgment call that we can Game 5 in Boston and to see if anything had changed since Game 6 of all debate whether it was or wasn’t, and there’s not much debate as to the 1999 final, when Hull scored with his foot in the crease to lift Dallas to whether it should have or should not have been a penalty. the Cup and sink Buffalo into a “No Goal” dismay that lingers to this day. As you said, it’s a tough day for anyone wearing a striped shirt in any Here’s the conversation: sport. As someone who’s worn that shirt so long, is it tough for you to see Well, first off, I’ll get your thoughts on the Boston play overall. an official go through this or have officiating be such a headlining thing?
What I try to do in these cases is put myself on the ice as an active Absolutely. It’s part of a fraternity, and you reach out and you feel for official. It doesn’t make me be an expert, but it makes me have some them. There’s been some people — I’ll call it officiating duress for a understanding of what may or may not happen. I happen to have been in variety of reasons — that I have written to and communicated with and the league when we brought in the two-referee system, so I can kind of phoned and talked to because all of us with experiences have been speak a little on that and what it was intended to do. through this at some particular point in time. So, yeah, you kind of reach out to the guy. You look at it and say, “OK, from where I am, the angle I’m looking at, the first thing that may cause me problems: Is there somebody in front of For sure. Obviously, each conversation when you’d reach out would be me? Did somebody skate across? Have I lost my balance? Am I falling?” different, but is there a common theme you try to tell the guys when you In other words, is my attention diverted from where I should be looking? do reach out? Because the referee in the end zone, his responsibility is what they call They’ve got bosses in the building, and I know (director of officiating) the action area. Let’s just say that you’re outside the blue line. Your Steve Walkom was there. I’m sure Stephen would talk to him relative to responsibility is everything else going on. So somebody away from the things that we chatted about — positioning and all those kind of things. play is slashed or hacked or whatever, that becomes your job. I don’t Was there a mechanic that broke down, and how could we fix it in want to see you come in and say, “Bryan, that’s an interference penalty,” preparation for your next game, and all that kind of stuff. underneath my nose when I’m the one watching the action. Mine would be more along the lines of the proverbial shoulder to cry on. At the end of the day, we live and die by the fact that if I miss it, you Part of it would be to encourage the guy. As down as you may feel today, should get it, but there are very clearly defined areas of responsibility. I anybody in the officiating business will get through it, and it’ll be turned happened to be the referee in chief when we brought in the two-referee around. At the end of the day, hopefully, he will be better for it. system, so I’m looking here, and I can’t see anything that mitigates and allows for “I didn’t see this because …” Now, I know you weren’t on the ice for the Brett Hull goal back in Buffalo, but it’s been 20 years and it still pops up whenever something like this I don’t have it freeze-framed and looking at it, so I would ask: Does there happens. Is there … appear to you to be anything that would say “Referee X is blocked out because …”? No, you made it pop up. I didn’t. You did. (Laughs.)
Not from the angles I saw. True.
And I agree. I’m not here to dispute. I’m here to walk you through what I And you know what? At the end of the day here, we’re talking about would do if I’m on the ice. something here where one is a mechanic and one is a judgment call.
So now it becomes an opinion of that referee deep in the end zone The mechanic of that one — and I don’t know what I did two days ago, looking at it and saying, “I don’t think it’s that bad.” You’ve got to never mind 20 years ago — but we’ve had situations that happened, understand, TV or anybody can look up all kind of camera angles that I even during that season, that were identical in nature and ruled in the don’t have, and I’m not looking at it. So my opinion says, “That’s not a same manner. I appreciate the fact that people don’t like it, or they feel penalty because …” they were cheated, whatever the language would be. There has to be some comfort in the fact that as you walk through the rulebook — and in I don’t know what the referee’s “becauses” were. I don’t know what he that particular case then, I walked through the rulebook that night. I never said. Did he just miss it? Was he blocked out? Was there something left the arena until Gary Meagher, our PR guy, said, “OK, it’s good to go.” obstructing his view? Did I have a mechanical problem with my eye? I A rebound off the goalpost, a rebound off the goalie doesn’t change possession, and there you look at it, all right, it’s a tough mechanic. And I read from the rulebook that night — I remember doing that, reading from the rulebook. You don’t know it, you don’t like it, everybody feels you’ve been wronged or whatever have you, you have to work out and say, “Well, it was right. If that happened again, I would do it the same way again.”
Where you look at a situation here, we’re talking about judgment, and as a result of looking at something, you might say, “You know what? Maybe I wouldn’t do it that way the next time.” So for me, it’s not really fair to draw a comparison. One is a mechanic based on the rulebook that’s clearly described, and the other one is judgment aspect.
That makes sense. So, as you mentioned, looking at the mechanic issue of it for the Hull one, there is nothing really to change from 20 years ago? Or nothing you would alter?
No. And you know what? First of all, it was a very tough rule to deal with anyway with your foot in the crease. And I’m going through that in another league. I’m a referee chief of university hockey in Ontario, and we’re going through that because that’s a common rule that shows up in the playoffs. Everybody is trying to get the goalie off his game, all right? And when I’m at a game now, I actually chart how many guys are active in and around the crease. I’ve learned over the years that’s a style of play by some teams.
That’s one of the rules that we are looking at this year at the university level is should we tighten this up? To use international hockey as an example, if you go and you stand in the crease for any reason, they stop the play and take the faceoff outside. That’s a significant rule option, but it’s there, with the message being to the attacking players: “Stay the heck out of the crease and let the goalie do his job.”
Which was always the intent. I don’t want to say it was a good rule or a bad rule because my job was to make sure they got written in the rulebook and we told the officials what to do with it. … If I had a chance to take the tape and walk you through the rebound, the bounce off the goalpost or the bounce off the goalie and then show you the rulebook, I would like to think you would understand it better.
I actually said to a guy today — we were talking about a conservation situation for a guy who wants to add an addition onto his house. I’m a politician up here in town, as well, and I said, “Here’s the rules, and here’s the regulations. These are what they are, but you don’t have to like them.” And that would be the same thing in Buffalo. Here’s what it is. It’s tough to explain. You don’t have to like it.
I’ve seen a bunch of things mentioned today that there should be expanded replay, there should be a ref at ice level, there should be more coach’s challenges. What do you think could be done to kind of lessen these controversial plays?
(Sighs.) I tried to think of that. I got asked that this morning. How do you solve that? How do we solve what it is?
Replay came in for five, maybe six reasons, and it seemed to work. Then all of a sudden this happens, that happens, we look and say, “How do we fix it? Well, why can’t we go to replay?” So that goes back to the coach’s challenge, goes back to the play at the blue line. I’m having a tough time thinking how can I be upstairs.
Let’s just say it’s a high stick. I’m up top and I think, “Holy God. He hit him with a high stick. How do I stop play?” Then I look at the replay to find out it’s his own player’s stick or a teammate’s stick. In the meantime, I’ve stopped play by the attacking team going in on the defending goal. I think I can give you enough examples of why more replays are not needed.
Years ago, it was the judgment of the official. The coach and the manager or the fans could dispute that, but at the end of the day, it was ultimately my decision as I walked out of the building. So I’m not an advocate for more replays. I think that we have to guide and school and counsel our officials to make sure they do what is right. We will always have mistakes.
To be very candid, I don’t know how we build a better mousetrap.
The Athletic LOADED: 06.08.2019 1146339 St Louis Blues hockey, “your best players have to be your best players.” By one particular shot attempt stat – Corsi relative to teammates – the Bruins top line of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak were Bourne: Seven thoughts about the final with the Blues just one win away Boston’s worst line in Game 5. And as a reminder, that’s at home, with from their first Stanley Cup last change. With the Blues, the top guys in that category were either on the Ryan O’Reilly line, David Perron or were one of their big three D- men.
By Justin Bourne Jun 7, 2019 The Blues won.
All these pieces of information seem connected.
I hate even talking about these sorts of plays, but it’s pretty hard not to It’s impossible to play armchair doctor, but if the Bruins top guys aren’t given the impact the non-call on Bozak had on the outcome of the game. hurt – and we should note, they almost certainly are, though who and to (I mostly hate talking about it because the comment section and Twitter what degree isn’t known – they deserve a swift kick in the pants. They tend to devolve into partisan “whataboutism,” which is the worst.) just haven’t been good enough, and have to find another gear or it just isn’t going to happen for Boston this year. I agree with literally everyone, it was absolutely a penalty on Bozak. But I want to talk about how a smart player ends up making a play like that, Parayko has been amazing which looks so utterly dumb given the game state (1-0 in the third on the road in the offensive zone). I don’t know if this guy’s name has come up in the Conn Smythe conversation much, but if the Blues win, it certainly should. Jay What’s tough in a fast game like Game 5 is that when you’re in the thick Bouwmeester had an excellent Game 5, which was huge for the Blues (I of it, having an overview of what’s happening on the ice is extremely mentioned his performance the rest of the way would be key for the hard. Goddamn is it easy to play from the couch and press box. You can Blues in a recent article). But Bouwmeester hasn’t suddenly found the see all 10 skaters, you can see plays start to unfold and you can almost fountain of youth – he just happens to be playing alongside Parayko, who always find the open guy (or at least the open area of the ice) where the has been the Blues do-it-all shutdown godsend. puck should go. But placed in the midst of the forest amongst the trees, you’re constantly trying to take stock of what that picture looks like Yesterday there was a play where Marchand took off to the races for a despite the objects in the way, and so the more you can scan around like certain breakaway, but the much bigger Parayko got on his horse and got a Google car driving through a neighborhood, the easier it is for you to up to a speed that made Marchand pull the chute on the drive, curling ballpark the whole map of the ice surface. and delaying in hope of support. It was a great example of how Parayko turns events into non-events. He has a good stick, good feet and a good With that, you often have to deal with getting past one battle before you head. That’s a nice combo in a huge bodied defender. can get to the next, which is more or less what happened with Bozak. He saw early that the puck was rimmed around and would end up along the Chara is a madman wall near the hashmarks. (Excuse the Zapruder-quality Images below, Having myself had a broken jaw, I can barely watch Zdeno Chara play but despite the low quality, they will really help emphasize my points.) right now. I just know how each bump vibrates your face, and how much With that, to even get to the battle as the guy with a legit chance to win it would’ve hurt me when I was dealing with jaw pain. I was hesitant to the puck, he’s got to beat big ol’ Brandon Carlo to the puck. He’s realized eat toast, for crying out loud. Chara never seemed quite comfortable to this below and started jockeying for body position with a few hard strides. me, and that could well be due to, y’know, that. Even when he’s getting Their shoulders make contact, but Bozak has the speed (I mean, glorified for running at the first guy he could hit and throwing a check, comparably, in this instance). He’s going to get to the puck first. let’s note that he ended up on his keister. It very well could be that a little wariness, a little hesitance to throw everything into the hit had him more After having just completed that battle, Bozak must prepare because he on his heels and in turn, had him on his pants. knows there’s another one to come, this time with Noel Acciari. It’s most likely Acciari will let the puck come to him and then either eat it or play it I do believe that when a player shows a will to win like Chara, it is higher in the zone. By the time Bozak switches targets to battle numero inspiring for other players. You have zero excuse not to give all of dos, Acciari is already at the puck and isn’t just stationary, he’s moving yourself at that point. But having a defender playing somewhat-poor-to- back and in to Bozak. OK minutes while scratching a player the team has seemed to like in this series (David Backes) isn’t a win for the team, or at least wasn’t in Game With the whole “two trains traveling in opposite directions at different 5. It’s very possible he’ll be more comfortable with his jaw guard next speeds” equation to work out in real, split-second time, and with Acciari game, more sure what to expect in terms of pain and will play better. wisely protecting the puck, the whole thing comes up on Bozak faster than he expects it to. He’s still looking at the puck, even as he’s moved But he might not. And that’d be bad news hockey bears for Beantown. almost above it here. Binnington’s attitude
There’s just no access to that puck from that position (a different player I have no idea if I like Jordan Binnington’s attitude or not, but I’m certain I may have more wisely selected the “body check” button on their would if I were his teammate and just as certain that I would not if I was controller here). But still, I get how it happens, as foolish as it looks. playing against him. In hockey terms, that’s a compliment. Nothing There’s no intent, no plan of a slewfoot, nothing like that – it’s just a last- seems to rattle this guy’s cage, though he isn’t shy to show when he is, in ditch effort reach where the play has put him in a really bad spot. fact, mentally affected by events (the whack on Bishop, the comments The reality of hockey is, manslaughter is supposed to be treated the he’s made, the way he skates by the opposition whenever he can). I think same as murder with most penalties – premeditation doesn’t matter. it’s a healthy way to be – he’s not a robot that’s unaware of the moment, Nobody cares if you meant to high stick someone, if you do it, you’re in he’s just unafraid of it. Aware but unrattled – that sounds like a pretty the box. Still, the magnitude of this play may be getting a little overblown, good demeanor for a goalie on the verge of winning the Stanley Cup, even as large as the moment was. It still wasn’t more important than the doesn’t it? other 59:30 combined. Nor was it cause for a referee summit to overhaul Bruins D has to be banged up beyond Big Z the system. Neither is the series rigged. Chara aside, the Bruins D-corps must have a handful of other injuries. The Bruins got dealt some bad cards. When you let your opponent keep Cassidy alluded to it postgame, which made sense in my head. If Chara the game close, or even play with the lead in the third period of a Cup couldn’t operate up to appropriate speed, they’d have been down to five. final game in your building, you’re a little more susceptible to the sting of That’s not ideal, but it’s livable with a few young D-man in the Bruins mix. a random chance missed call hurting really bad. And certainly, that one The fear, I’m guessing, was that there was going to be a couple of guys hurt. who couldn’t quite go, at least one more anyway. And if that player AND Let the big dogs eat Chara couldn’t go, well, four D simply isn’t livable, given a penalty or two or an injury leaves you completely hamstrung. Many sports sayings become clichéd for a reason, which isn’t because sporting humans are boring and uncreative, it’s because those saying are I’m guessing they go back to 12 and 6 in Game 6 (from 11 and 7) sometimes correct and relevant. Sort of like how in the big picture in knowing that Chara can at least play for sure (though what they’ll get is still a mystery). And finally …
I got this message unsolicited from TicketIQ, so I can’t fully verify the information, but their account is verified so let’s run with it.
Game 6 in St. Louis is the second most expensive ticket for a North American major sporting event over the past decade, based on average cost.
Certainly, there has been some waiting – that city is ready to explode.
Speaking of waiting, the teams don’t match up again until Sunday, where the Blues will have the chance to be only the fourth team over the past 12 years to win a Stanley Cup at home, with the last being the Blackhawks in 2015. Get. Your. Popcorn. Ready.
The Athletic LOADED: 06.08.2019 1146340 St Louis Blues “You’re absolutely right by the way, there are at least four guys you could look at,” Hamm said over the phone from L.A. “At any time in these playoffs we’ve had different guys take the team on their shoulders for a LeBrun: Who would be the Blues’ Conn Smythe winner? Wayne Gretzky stretch. I think back at the Schwartz hat tricks in the early rounds. We and others weigh in on a tight race don’t advance here without him. Tarasenko? Look at his huge offensive contribution the last 9-10 games. O’Reilly has had big goals and big moments. You can go on. I literally can’t point to one guy and it’s why this team has been so successful. We’ve had four forward lines and great D.” By Pierre LeBrun Jun 7, 2019 Hamm was catching parts of Game 5 on his phone during breaks in
shooting Thursday night for Top Gun, the sequel. He will be in the house ST. LOUIS — It is one of the more surreal moments on the night the NHL Sunday night for Game 6. season ends. Finally, Hamm continued, there’s Jordan Binnington in the Conn Smythe Mere minutes before the Stanley Cup is handed off from Gary Bettman, discussion of course. the commissioner first awards the Conn Smythe Trophy to the playoff “You could look at Binnington obviously,” said Hamm. “I don’t want to say MVP. he stole Game 5 last night but man he did steal that game. The Bruins What has struck me over the years is how uncomfortable the recipient probably couldn’t believe they weren’t up 2-0 after the first period.” often appears in that moment. Sometimes it’s because it is getting in the So, your Conn Smythe choice right now, Jon? way, even if just briefly, of the true moment that players dream of: Lifting that silver mug. “Who’s the guy? I just don’t know. Probably the last guy in that group to do something special or spectacular before it’s over. What a great series. But I also think it’s because this is a hockey culture where putting an Both teams are mirror Images. How about Chara playing last night? I individual on a pedestal for having done more over two months to help couldn’t even take a bath with a broken jaw. Amazing.” his group win is, well, counter-intuitive to everything that’s actually led to that achievement. I asked a number of hockey people for their three top Blues choices.
It takes 20-plus players to get it done and most Conn Smythe Trophy Brett Hull texted back Thursday night after Game 5: “Only one — the recipients I’ve ever interviewed genuinely question the idea that his goalie,’’ said the former Blues superstar scorer. contribution somehow should stand above. Other responses: But an important tradition it remains. From a Western Conference rival coach: If the Boston Bruins come back to win this series, the vote will undoubtedly be a landslide in favour of Tuukka Rask (although Torrey “Binnington, (Ryan) O’Reilly — he does a lot of little things that help them Krug has been a stud all playoffs long). win — and (Colton) Parayko has been an absolute stud for them the whole playoffs.’’ But should the Blues, however, finish the job Sunday night at Enterprise Center, the 18-member panel from the Professional Hockey Writers’ Blues broadcaster and former NHL netminder Darren Pang, aside from Association who vote for the playoff MVP will have their hands full. mentioning the obvious candidates, pointed out an under-the-radar choice, one which he knew wouldn’t get as much attention. This year’s selection from the Blues might be one of the more intriguing choices in years. It reminds me of the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks when “Parayko has been a machine. He and (Jay) Bouwmeester have been Patrick Kane won the Conn Smythe in a very close vote because an the hard matchup versus some of the very best in the NHL: versus the argument that year could easily have been made for Corey Crawford and Schefeile line, versus the Seguin line, versus the Couture line, and now Duncan Keith among other players. There wasn’t that clear, No. 1 front- against the best line in hockey, the Bergeron line. He may not get runner. traction, but he deserves it.’’
Other years there’s been a compelling yet evident 1-2 debate: Alex So there’s a few mentions of Parayko, whose stout defensive play in Ovechkin and Evgeni Kuznetsov last June, Sidney Crosby and Phil these playoffs has been consistent and yet until now, I can’t say I’ve Kessel in 2016 or Justin Williams and Drew Doughty in 2014. But this heard his name bandied about much for the Conn Smythe. Hard to argue year’s vote if the Blues win the Cup has a deep list of candidates. with the fact he at least deserves some mention.
“They’ve definitely been led by a group, it hasn’t been that one guy that’s From a Western Conference rival executive: dominated every game,” said Wayne Gretzky, who still owns a home in “(Vladimir) Tarasenko, O’Reilly, Binnington with an honourable mention St. Louis and has watched the Blues intently this spring. “It’s been every to (Oscar) Sundqvist.’’ night a different guy leading the charge which is a testament to their team, you know? I think on a whole, their defense has been outstanding, The Blues’ fourth line centred by Sundqvist has been a force all spring any one of those top three defensemen have been instrumental in the long. The unit reminds me of how Samuel Pahlsson’s checking line in success throughout every series. Up front, there’s been different guys 2007 was instrumental in Anaheim winning the Cup. Sundqvist won’t get scoring the big goal or making the big play in each series to vault them many Conn Smythe votes, but it’s a worthy point to be made. where they are today. From Blues legend and Hockey Hall of Famer Bernie Federko: “But I think ultimately, the goaltender has been just rock solid throughout the playoffs,” Gretzky added. “Maybe you can say he had a tough night in “This has been an amazing run from a group that you can really call a Game 3 but other than that, I don’t know that he’s had a bad game team. Some of the most unlikely guys have been difference-makers throughout the playoffs.’’ when that was really needed but I think that first, Binnington has been the catalyst that made the timely save that never cause a panic on or off the Gretzky, twice a Conn Smythe Trophy winner, reminds our readers of the ice. Tarasenko has brought a whole new game because of the extra fact that unlike other sports, the trophy covers off two months of hockey effort he provides, not only with the obvious offensive numbers but the even if some voters sometimes choose to weigh the Cup final to a physical and defensive elements that we maybe didn’t see on a greater degree. consistent level during the regular season. And Colton Parayko has been the strength of this defensive core throughout the entire playoffs going “There’s always the debate, is it MVP of the final or MVP of the whole head to head with the top offensive lines all the series and chipping in playoffs,’’ said Gretzky. “From my point of view, it should be based on the offensively as well. I do not think the Blues could be where they are basis of the total package, what the player has done for the team the without his play. Ryan O’Reilly has been the most consistent player all whole four rounds. I don’t think there’s any question that (Jordan) year long and certainly is always a factor.’’ Binnington has been just stellar. To me, he’s the Conn Smythe (front- runner) for St. Louis.’’ From an Eastern Conference executive:
Actor and Blues superfan Jon Hamm had trouble picking just one player “Binnington, O’Reilly, Tarasenko. Binnington has been the lone constant for the honour, while stressing how captivating the Cup final has been throughout. The reason they are one win away is they are getting timely overall. goals from up and down the lineup. Not just one guy or one line; total team effort. So having said that Binnington would be my choice.’’
From a Western Conference rival GM:
“Binnington, O’Reilly, (Alex) Pietrangelo.’’
So in the end, you’ve got a meaty list of candidates in Binnington, Tarasenko, O’Reilly, Pietrangelo, Parayko.
“And you know, (Jaden) Schwartz has done really well, he was great in the other series, (Brayden) Schenn has been strong every game, O’Reilly has been outstanding, there’s a lot of guys to pick from,” said Gretzky.
“But I think ultimately, Binnington has been the backbone of the team throughout the playoffs.’’
Many actually had Schwartz as their front-runner for the Blues before the Stanley Cup final began but his offence has dried up of late.
I wondered, meanwhile, if Binnington’s Conn Smythe stock took a hit when he was pulled in Game 3 of the final, but he’s since stopped 59 of 62 shots in back-to-back wins that has St. Louis on the brink of the Cup.
In my mind, Tarasenko deserves a serious look. He’s played his best hockey over the past two rounds when the stakes were at their highest.
O’Reilly has been a two-way beast. Pietrangelo leads the Blues in minutes played and plays in all situations.
Tough choices all-around. Let the debate begin if St. Louis does indeed win.
It’s a debate Blues fans would love to have.
The Athletic LOADED: 06.08.2019 1146341 St Louis Blues could really use scoring help, Neal would have the opportunity to regain the offensive form he most recently showed in Vegas.
From Lamoriello to Jason Botterill (Buffalo): Andrew Ladd Duhatschek Notebook: What if NHL GMs played the white elephant gift exchange with bad contracts? Ladd was signed by the previous regime on Long Island and it may well be that injuries have taken their toll and that at 33, he’ll never be a 50- point scorer again. But he is a proven winner, a heart-and-soul player By Eric Duhatschek Jun 7, 2019 and a former captain in Winnipeg. With new coach Ralph Krueger in place, Ladd could be a valuable dressing-room presence, helping to reinforce Kruger’s messaging among the Sabres talented, if occasionally erratic, young players. Ultimately, the Sabres could use someone to do Do you ever have a white elephant gift exchange at your family for them what Justin Williams did for Carolina this past season – and help Christmas dinner? You know the game I mean. Every guest is asked to Buffalo’s emerging talent learn what it takes to succeed on the bring a brightly wrapped present, usually something that’s gathering dust professional hockey path. in a closet. Just before the turkey gets served, the mystery gifts are handed out, one by one – and subsequently swapped back and forth until From Botterill to Rob Blake (Los Angeles): Kyle Okposo everyone ends up with someone else’s treasure. Once in a great while, you can even find a hidden gem among all the re-gifted merchandise, Does anyone need a power-play fix more than L.A.? OK, maybe something that appeals to you, even if it happened to be a discard from Nashville. But the Kings were a bottom-five team with the man advantage your brother-in-law’s office party. last year and Okposo managed seven of his 14 goals on the power play, where he has long been a force. Concussion symptoms derailed his I’ve long imagined an NHL version of the same game. season last year, but a fresh start for Okposo – maybe on a line with former Des Moines Buccaneers teammate Trevor Lewis – would create In my variation, you’d seat a dozen general managers in a circle – and greater scoring balance on a Kings’ team that will be in transition for at each would come equipped with a bad contract that they desperately least a couple more years. wanted to unload. This past week, the idea came into sharper focus after my colleague Jonathan Willis posted a well-researched story ranking the From Blake to Kyle Dubas (Toronto): Ilya Kovalchuk top 25 candidates for the NHL’s upcoming buyout window. Kovalchuk loved L.A. off the ice, even if his on-ice adjustment wasn’t Helpfully, he also explained why about 10 or 12 of the NHL’s worst nearly as smooth. But Kovalchuk ultimately returned to North America contracts are virtually buyout proof. Once you factor in the age of the from the KHL with the goal of winning a championship. If that’s still a player; how the contracts are structured (signing bonuses, for example, priority, then the chances are far greater in Toronto over the next two cannot be bought out); and the cost to replace a player, on some years than they are in L.A. Kovalchuk still has great hands. Even if he occasions it didn’t make any practical sense to buy them out. can’t get around the ice the way he once did, when he’s on his game – which he showed occasional flashes of last year – he can still be a A lot of these contracts – for the likes of Loui Eriksson, Ilya Kovalchuk, dynamic performer. It’ll take a strong coach to manage Kovalchuk, but Andrew Ladd, Milan Lucic, Kyle Okposo, Patrick Marleau and others – the Leafs have that in Mike Babcock. Kovalchuk in Toronto would only also come equipped with no-move or no-trade protection for the players, work however if … adding a further level of complication to an already complex problem. From Kyle Dubas (back) to Blake: Patrick Marleau But for the purposes of this exercise/parlor game, let’s waive that consideration and see what happens if you shuffled a few of those For family reasons, Marleau wants to return to southern California. Partly contracts around. the inquiries Dubas made on his behalf were designed to facilitate that, if possible. Marleau only has a year remaining on his contract, but his Ultimately, the goal is a serious one – to give a player struggling in one connections to both Blake and new coach Todd McLellan suggest that organization a chance to make a fresh start somewhere else. Even if he, like Okposo, would create a positive impact on the cultural they cannot exactly resurrect their flagging careers, the hope is that they adjustments the Kings are trying to make in conjunction with their rebuild. can contribute more to a new club than what they’re accomplishing with their current teams. There are a lot of different ways you can play the That would give Blake a second turn in our game, resulting in Blake to game, but let’s keep it simple for our GMs. Once someone hands you a Holland: Dion Phaneuf bad contract, then you get to pass along one of your own. Now, the odds of Phaneuf actually waiving his no-move to go to Let’s begin. Edmonton from comfy Los Angeles are probably negligible. But going to Edmonton would give Phaneuf a chance to finish his career in the city From Ken Holland (Edmonton) to Jim Benning (Vancouver): Milan Lucic where he was born and also complete an Alberta trifecta (junior career in It hasn’t been a fit for Lucic in Edmonton and he’s openly acknowledged Red Deer and first pro team, the Calgary Flames). And let’s face it, for as that a move to his hometown would be welcome. On a Vancouver team long as Connor McDavid is the face of the Oilers’ franchise, any player with so much emerging young talent, someone of Lucic’s physical that still has his competitive juices flowing is going to want to play on the presence might create an improved comfort level as they adjust to life in same team as him. the NHL. Lucic looks as if he would be happier anywhere but Edmonton Show them the money! right now. Maybe the chance to return to his hockey-playing roots sparks something within him. Since we’re referencing the work of colleagues this week, Craig Custance did a nice job of putting together a first look at free agency for From Benning to Brad Treliving (Calgary): Loui Eriksson the summer of 2019. The focus was on the impressive UFA class, which Chances are the Flames will be moving on from Michael Frolik this is as deep as it’s been in a while, maybe forever. But when you also offseason (Frolik is going into the final year of his contract and was the factor in the number of prominent young restricted free agents – all player going the other way in the aborted Jason Zucker deal). If that wanting to make a killing in their second contracts – who are also trying happens and if the Flames want someone to step in and play alongside to negotiate expensive extensions, you wonder: Is there going to be Mikael Backlund in Frolik’s spot, Eriksson could be a seamless enough money to go around? replacement. Eriksson possesses many of same two-way characteristics The NHL’s current cap is set at $79.5 million and projected to rise to $83 as Frolik and Calgary has a heavy concentration of Swedish players that million. While there’s some wiggle room, it’s not a lot, given that just may help him acclimate quickly. about every team is already burdened by a salary-cap anchor or two that From Treliving to Lou Lamoriello (New York Islanders): James Neal will limit what they can do – and how much they can spend.
Some people believe Neal’s productive years in Nashville overlapped The problem is exacerbated by the fact that the cost of signing those with Barry Trotz’s time behind the bench, but the reality is, Neal didn’t RFAs is going to be higher than ever. It was only three years ago, when arrive until the season after Trotz’s departure for Washington. But given the going rate for the Mark Scheifeles and Nathan MacKinnons, the Trotz’s ties to the Nashville market, he could get an in-depth scouting Johnny Gaudreaus and Sean Monahans, fell somewhere in the $6- to report on Neal’s strengths and shortcomings. On an Islanders team that $7-million per season range on a long-term deal. Now those deals will seem like eye-popping bargains, given what the likes of Mitch Marner, Brayden Point, Mikko Rantanen, Sebastien Aho, Matthew Tkachuk and But league-wide, and especially among the decision-makers when it all the rest are going to demand in their new deals. comes to rule changes, the far greater concern is how the officiating standard continues to vary so widely from month to month. That’s Part A of the problem. Katie Strang did an investigation of this phenomenon earlier in the Part B is that unusually strong cast of unrestricted free agents heading to playoffs– outlining the peculiar rhythm of almost every NHL season. The market this season. The names are familiar to you by now – starting with rules are the rules for a while; then they get relaxed a little in the playoffs. three big fish who ended the season in Columbus (Artemi Panarin, Matt Duchene and goalie Sergei Bobrovsky), not to mention Erik Karlsson, It appeared as if a directive went out at the start of the Stanley Cup final, Tyler Myers, Jake Gardiner, Jeff Skinner, Kevin Hayes, Joe Pavelski, instructing referees to tighten things up. That lasted three games; and Anders Lee, Mats Zuccarello, Gus Nyquist, Micheal Ferland, Marcus then in the next two, they were back to where they were earlier in the Johansson, Ryan Dzingel, Wayne Simmonds, Jordan Eberle – all of playoffs. What’s going to happen in Game 6? Nobody knows. It’s a whom are going to command interest in the market. guessing game – and that’s problematic. Everybody wants consistency. When you don’t get it, it creates uncertainty and frustration – and it takes Some have more red flags attached than others – injury concerns, or the spotlight away from the play on the ice, which is where you ideally advancing age, or both, which may mitigate what they actually earn. want it trained right now.
Most years, even when the free-agent crop is just so-so, a handful of Unhappily, that level of confusion is also a problem for managers and players fall through the cracks – and linger on the market for weeks and their team-building strategies. In the copycat way of the NHL, the Stanley sometimes months. This year, the risk seems far greater. Cup winner often dictates the style of play that everyone else adopts Accordingly, there is a real danger here – for players and for the agents moving forward. Accordingly, when the dust eventually settles after this that represent them – of miscalculating the market. If your client happens postseason ends, what intelligence can a GM reasonably take into his to be one that falls through the cracks early because teams are running offseason war room from what he’s seen, as he puts together a roster for out of cap space, ultimately, they may have to sign for a deep discount or the start of play in 2019-20? attend training camps on a tryout basis. If you based your decisions strictly on regular-season action, then the What it also does is put the teams with dollars to spend – such as the value of small and skilled players, such as Clayton Keller, Marner and Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Flyers, Florida Panthers, New York Gaudreau, is heightened. Islanders, Colorado Avalanche and the New Jersey Devils, among others If you based your decisions on what’s been happening in the postseason, – in a very enviable position. where harder, heavier players have thrived, then you might need to re- Philadelphia took the first step in reuniting their new coach, Alain evaluate your priorities. Vigneault, with a former New York Rangers’ centreman by acquiring the There was a curious six-year period between 2010 and 2015 when the rights to Hayes for a fifth-round pick. Presumably, the hope there is that Chicago Blackhawks won three championships, with a speedy, skilled Hayes will sign ahead of July 1 and take himself off the market. Why team, and the Los Angeles Kings won twice, with an emphasis on would he do that, this close to the finish line? Well, if the Flyers put a toughness and grit. That was confusing for long-range planning – how it firm, attractive offer on the table, and it’s a destination that ranked high could flip flop so dramatically from year to year. This is an equally on his list anyway, it might not be the worst idea ever. Almost every puzzling moment in time. player that’s gone down that path before – think Keith Yandle, whose rights were traded by Arizona to Florida – made out like a financial The reality is, teams are almost certainly going to become a hybrid of bandit. sorts, with a foot in each camp, preparing for every eventuality.
If I were a player, anticipating the cash crunch that is sure to come at Why was Devante Smith-Pelly so effective for Washington in last year’s some point this offseason, I’d think about trying to be off the market first playoffs, but could never find his footing again in this past regular and get signed before the money runs out. Even if that approach goes season? against the conventional thinking, you hope that any agents, trying to act responsibly, are at least alerting their clients to that possibility, so they Because the playoffs tend to reward the big and strong, over the fleet can go into the summer with their eyes wide open. and frail. That may well be the lasting lesson of the 2019 playoffs, however they turn out. Because it does require you to probe a little below the surface. Recently, because teams have been so successful in re-signing their own UFAs, If the NHL cannot escape an officiating cycle that keeps repeating itself few players in the John Tavares category ever hit the open market. This year after year, teams will need to protect themselves against summer feels different. Collectively, GMs will tell you, trying to make the consistently inconsistent refereeing by keeping a few old-school warriors financial pieces fit will be their single most challenging task of the around. summer. And also the one that will create the greatest headaches. Some, of course, may even see that as a good thing.
What … officiating … again? The Athletic LOADED: 06.08.2019 This past week, I was speaking to an NHL executive about something draft-related when the conversation veered to officiating. He asked: What have you thought about the refereeing in the playoffs? I paused for a moment and hesitantly answered: So far, I like it in the Stanley Cup final better than I did in the first three rounds.
This conversation took place the morning after Game 4, and he pounced on my response. His own take was that the first three games between the Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues were called more or less by the book. That meant a penalty was a penalty and it helped the Bruins, because they were winning the special teams’ battle. Game 4 reverted back to the 2019 playoff norm, in which the ‘let-them-play’ school of officiating held sway. That’s when referees get so concerned about influencing the outcome of a game with a late penalty call that anything borderline tends to get ignored. Ultimately, Game 5 turned on a play just like that: Tyler Bozak tripping up Noel Acciari in the third, no penalty on the play and David Perron scoring the eventual game-winner seconds later. Depending upon your point of view, it was either a missed or an ignored call.
When it comes to the state of NHL officiating, most of the focus this spring has been on video replay – and its role in potentially helping referees make the correct call. 1146342 St Louis Blues According to league commissioner Patrick Kelly, the Eagles just kept the trophy instead of returning it, possibly because they’re no longer in the league (they moved to the AHL this past season). The Eagles say that DGB Grab Bag: Keys to victory for Blues and Bruins, stolen trophies and they tried to arrange a return but never heard back. The league says that when players gave real interviews isn’t the case, and it’s unclear why the Eagles couldn’t just drop the thing in the mail. Either way, the ECHL had to have a new Kelly Cup created, a replica which will become the new trophy, at least until they can reacquire the old one. By Sean McIndoe Jun 7, 2019 Two things here. First, I think we can all agree that the Eagles absolutely
lost the trophy and were really hoping the league had forgotten about it. The Stanley Cup will be in the building on Sunday in St. Louis, as the We’ve all been there. If you ever lend me something, there’s a 75 percent Blues try to close out the final and take home their first-ever chance I will immediately misplace it, then lie and claim it’s totally around championship. But even with only one or two more games to go, this here somewhere every time you ask about it until one of us dies. series is still very much up for grabs. What will it take to win? After Second, the NHL needs to steal this idea. consulting with various experts and insiders around the league, here are ten keys to victory the rest of the way. Not with the Stanley Cup. That’s too important, and besides, there are those two guys with white gloves who follow it around at all times and Blues: While the whole urinal story was fun for a few days, Carl probably have secret ninja powers. But what about the individual player Gunnarsson doesn’t actually need to keep standing right next to Craig awards? I think we’d have something to work with there. Berube every time he pees, the Blues coach has said, before adding that it’s also 4:00 a.m. so maybe get the hell out of his house. Here’s what I’m proposing. Starting this year, be it resolved that we tell every award winner that they can keep their trophy for one year. Take it Bruins: Must remember that the Stanley Cup final is all about creating home, put it on the mantle, let the kids take it to show and tell, that sort of indelible moments that define legacies, so if you score a big goal in thing. Each spring, you send each of those winners an envelope. Most of overtime don’t forget to jump and fly through the air for absolutely no real those envelopes contain instructions on how to return the trophy. But one reason. of them simply says “You have been chosen.” That person gets to keep Blues: Pat Maroon’s entire family is from St. Louis and have all been the trophy until the NHL awards show, at which point the new winner has Blues fans for decades, so let’s get him to politely ask them to stop to fight them for it. constantly muttering about how something terrible is about to happen. See, right there, I can feel some of you pulling away on this one. But Bruins: Their powerplay has so been dominant that it was recently don’t act like you wouldn’t watch the hell out of the annual awards show if praised by Don Cherry, and if anyone would know about the Boston you knew that one and only one of the trophies were going to be subject Bruins using an extra man in the playoffs, it’s that guy. to trial by combat. You’d have jumped out of your chair last year if Victor Hedman had walked up to the stage to accept the Norris, only to get to Blues: I don’t know, maybe try playing that “Gloria” song for a change the podium and realize it wasn’t there as the camera slowly panned and see if that helps? around to show Brent Burns standing behind him, breathing heavily and holding a steel chair. Bruins: Could really use the unstoppable goal-scoring prowess of a Bruins legend like Phil Esposito from the mid-70s or Cam Neely from the I’ll grant there may be a few flaws with my plan, including that it’s immoral early 90s or David Pastrnak from the first two rounds. and illegal and that if it had been in place throughout history then Gordie Howe would have kept the Hart Trophy for roughly six decades. Still, tell Maple Leafs: Are not, in the strictest technical sense, involved in this me you wouldn’t tune in to see Nikita Kucherov try to take the Hart away series, but still need to be mentioned in every article about hockey from Taylor Hall. You wouldn’t be on the edge of your seat with each anyone ever writes. So here you go. award announcement, hoping that this was the year we got a Jack Blues: Should stay focused by remembering that there are far less Adams battle? Or two Lady Byng winners awkwardly pawing at each fortunate people out there who will never have anything close to this sort other before agreeing to just share the award in the spirit of friendship? of opportunity and couldn’t even comprehend the lives they lead and OK, the idea may need some work. But there’s something here. And it would kill to trade places with any one of them for even so much as a couldn’t be any worse than filling the show with C-level celebrities and single moment, before gently telling Ryan O’Reilly that’s enough Buffalo bad magicians. They stole a trophy, we steal their idea. Let’s make it Sabres stories for now. happen. Bruins: Zdeno Chara has become the inspiring hero of the series by Obscure former player of the week playing through a badly broken jaw, which is weird because you’d think if any Bruins was going to create a feel-good story by not being able to talk We have yet another refereeing controversy, this time thanks to a non- it would be Brad Marchand. call on Tyler Bozak’s leg sweep on Noel Acciari last night. We should be used to it by now, because the theme of this year’s playoffs has been the Blues: Have fought and bled and persevered and never ever quit just for officiating, with just about every series having at least a few a chance to win the Stanley Cup, but the whole thing is just going to controversies. Whether it was a missed call, a made-up one, an obscure come down to some random lucky bounce, so they should probably try rule or just general inconsistency, it seems like everyone in the entire really hard to get that too. league has been constantly complaining about being robbed by a whistle. Bruins: Should ask the Blues if they’d mind playing the next game with This week’s obscure player is Rob Whistle. penalties turned on. Whistle was a defenseman who was one of the relatively rare undrafted The week’s three stars of comedy players who made it to the NHL after playing out his college career in The third star: Vladimir Tarasenko – I’m not completely sure why “What’s Canada. He finished three years at Wilfred Laurier University before a rub off means?” is so funny, but it is. (And Ryan O’Reilly and Alex signing with the Rangers in 1985 at the age of 24. He made his NHL Pietrangelo apparently agree.) debut that season, playing 32 games and recording six points, while also suiting up for three playoff games. The first star: Alex Pietrangelo – If you’re a parent and you can go the rest of the week without saying “Settle down, buffalo head” to your kid ten Whistle couldn’t crack the Rangers lineup the following season, spending times a day, you’re a better person than I am. the year in the AHL. He was traded to the Blues in 1987 in exchange for Bruce Bell. Yes, that’s right, the NHL had a Bell and Whistle trade. It’s Be It Resolved not quite as fun as the Takko-Bell trade, but it’s still pretty neat, and I hope these guys write a song about it. The weirdest story in hockey this week – and maybe this year – is the case of the missing Kelly Cup. The ECHL’s championship trophy was Whistle played 19 games for the 1987-88 Blues, recording six points. He won last year by the Colorado Eagles. And this week, we found out that had the only two multi-point games of his NHL career, both of which they never gave it back. would come in Toronto because, of course they did. He was traded to the Capitals early in the 1988-89 season and spent the year with their AHL affiliate, then retired at the end of the year at the age of 28. His NHL the time, it was considered the richest deal in the history of pro sports, career ended up spanning two seasons and 51 games, during which he but Sanderson was battling chronic colitis and didn’t play often or well, recorded seven goals and 12 points. leading to headlines calling him a “fourth-string millionaire.” A year later, he negotiated a seven-figure WHA buyout to return to the Bruins, where He doesn’t seem to have gone on to a post-playing career as a referee, he’d play two more seasons before bouncing around the NHL for the rest but there’s still time. of the decade as his life unraveled. Again, the story has a happy ending, Classic YouTube clip breakdown but it’s one worth learning about.
We’ve heard plenty of Bruins soundbites over the last seven weeks of As for part two, you can find that right here. I’d include a writeup, but I’m their playoff run. A few have been vaguely noteworthy. Most haven’t not sure I can come up with any better one-liners than 1971 Derek been. That’s not a criticism of the Bruins, but more the default state for Sanderson explaining his relationship with autograph-seeking fans – today’s NHL players. They rarely say anything interesting, either because especially the females. Let’s just say the clip is, uh, interesting. they’re not interesting people or (more likely) they’ve been specifically Anyways, hope you enjoyed a few minutes of actual NHL honesty. Back trained by media consultants on how to sound boring at all times. to players mumbling about giving 100 percent and getting pucks in deep.
It wasn’t always this way. Today, let’s head back to a bygone era and The Athletic LOADED: 06.08.2019 remember a time when an NHL star could just say whatever was on his mind.
(Thanks to reader Ilan for sending in this clip.)
It’s 1971, and our friend here is Bruins’ star forward Derek Sanderson. You may have seen him serving as the Bruins’ banner captain alongside Bobby Orr last night. Here, he’s four seasons into his NHL career. He has some thoughts he’d like to share, in this two-part clip from the CBC.
“What are you doing Monday morning?” We join Sanderson pretty much mid-thought and he goes on a little rant about eating breakfast that transitions into a complaint about “newspapermen” not caring about his 40-goal performance. Then the playoffs arrive and apparently, everyone wants to know about his eating habits. I don’t know, it was the 70s, let’s just go with it.
Now I want to show up at the next Cup final media availability and walk around asking all the Bruins these questions. “Did you eat this? What kind of steak did you have? Zdeno, how did you fit it into the blender?”
“It’s all the same. I can’t see the hassle, the Stanley Cup.” A fun game to play during this interview is to find all the quotes that would make Don Cherry’s head explode if some European said them today.
“What’s the greatest thrill you’ve ever had in hockey? I haven’t had one. I’ve never been thrilled by anything.” Another fun game is to try to guess if that’s a quote from Derek Sanderson in 1971, or every member of the 2018-19 Senators.
We get an extended riff about how much fun it is to score goals, and how that makes everyone love you including your mom and dad. Then Sanderson looks dead into the camera and says “So it’s kind of empty, you know?”
That seems like a funny non-sequitur, and maybe it was. But Sanderson would go on to have a difficult decade, one marked by drugs, alcohol, financial problems, homelessness and personal tragedy. He eventually got sober, wrote a book and went on to a career as a financial advisor. To this day, he’s easily one of the more interesting characters in NHL history.
The interview continues with a funny story about Sanderson accidentally body-checking his own father during the 1970 Cup celebration, which is a reminder of one of the underrated insane things about pro sports back in the day: They used to let fans run out on the playing surface to celebrate with the players. This was considered a normal thing up until around the late 80s. Somebody would hit a home run or sink a jumper or score an overtime goal and there would suddenly be some teenager in a leather jacket jumping on their back and we were all just fine with it.
We cut to Sanderson’s dad, who might be the highlight of the entire clip. “Oh, he’s something else, that guy.” See, back in the 70s, even the parents could take a hard hit without crying to the referees about it.
We close with another near-poignant moment, as Sanderson admits that he likes the money he’s making but has mixed feelings about “being owned” by the Bruins. “If I felt like quitting hockey, I’d quit. It’s no big thing,” because he’d be just as happy selling surfboards or being a bartender. Again, imagine somebody today saying that today, when trying to do a little acting on the side or giving money to a children’s hospital is considered proof that you’re not focused enough to be a real hockey player.
And with that, the first half of our clip is done. Not long after this interview, Sanderson signed a controversial deal with the fledgling WHA, one that got him kicked off Team Canada for the 1972 Summit Series. At 1146343 St Louis Blues impressive. I don’t really know. I could talk about that performance all day. It was unreal. Good for him. That was awesome.”
“He was unbelievable,” Pietrangelo said. “They threw a lot of stuff from Was that Jordan Binnington’s best game? A teammate says yes, but the tough angles, but he was tough at clearing those rebounds. He did rookie doesn’t ‘keep tabs’ everything we needed him to tonight.”
It appeared that Boston’s David Krejci might have scored in the third By Jeremy Rutherford Jun 7, 2019 period, tying the score at 1-1, but after looking at the replay, officials ruled there was no goal.
“I just got to the post and tried to hold my ground there,” Binnington said. BOSTON — In the final question for Jordan Binnington on Thursday “It was an aggressive play, right? It’s the playoffs and (Krejci) is trying to morning, a reporter wondered why the Blues’ rookie goaltender chooses score. I was pretty confident that it wasn’t going to count and moved on.” to do interviews fairly regularly on game days while other goalies decline. After the Blues went ahead 2-0 on a goal by Perron, the Bruins’ Jake “I just kind of feel it out,” Binnington said. “If I want to talk to you guys, I DeBrusk scored, but even he acknowledged being impressed by will. If I don’t, I won’t.” Binnington after the game.
Once the puck drops, though, the 25-year-old doesn’t have the luxury of “He played well,” DeBrusk said. “He gave them a chance to win. There being able to pick his spots — particularly on nights like Thursday, when were second and third chances there, but they either cleared it or we just the Blues went back to Boston for Game 5 of the Stanley Cup final. weren’t there.” There was no feeling-out process. He had to be on, and he was. After being pulled for the first time in his career in Game 3, Binnington is Binnington made 17 of his 38 saves in the first period en route to a 2-1 2-0 with a 1.50 goals-against average and has stopped 59 of 62 shots for victory over Boston, marking a record-setting night for him. His ninth a .952 save percentage. playoff road win pushed him past Philadelphia’s Ron Hextall, and his 15th win overall allowed him to join Hextall, Patrick Roy, Cam Ward and The Blues went to congratulate him, but Perron said Binnington, as Matt Murray for the most by a rookie in the postseason. usual, isn’t too accepting of the praise.
Three of those four won the Stanley Cup, and Binnington will have a “He’s dialed in. He’s focused,” Perron said. “He wants more and it’s chance to add his name to that elite group Sunday when the Blues, who bringing a lot of confidence to our group, even when the buzzer ends. lead the best-of-seven series 3-2, host Boston in a potential Cup- Everyone is excited, and it seems like he’s moved on already, so it’s clinching game at Enterprise Center. awesome.”
If they’re able to win the franchise’s first championship, the Conn Smythe Binnington has a 2.46 GAA and a .913 save percentage in the playoffs, conversation will include Binnington, Jaden Schwartz, Vladimir but he’s even better as the series have gotten deeper, running his record Tarasenko, Ryan O’Reilly and Alex Pietrangelo. But the goalie might to 7-1 in Games 5-7 in the four rounds. have put himself in front for the playoff MVP award with his performance “I guess it’s been a little pattern, but I think we kind of figure it out as we Thursday. go and we stay with it and we stay composed and we get better as we The 39th win of Binnington’s career, including the regular season, was go,” Binnington said. arguably his best, according to Pietrangelo, when you consider the The Blues are now also 9-3 on the road, outscoring opponents 38-29. circumstances: Boston great Bobby Orr waving the Bruins’ flag before According to the NHL, only five teams in league history have more road the game, an emotionally charged, sold-out crowd of 17,565 cheering on wins in a single playoff season: the 1995 New Jersey Devils (10-1), 2012 Zdeno Chara’s appearance with a broken jaw and the chance for Boston L.A. Kings (10-1), 2000 Devils (10-2), 2018 Washington Capitals (10‑3) to take another lead in the series. and 2004 Calgary Flames (10-4). “It’s pretty impressive,” Pietrangelo said. “On this stage … rookie “No secret,” Binnington said of the road success. “We come together and goaltender … I’ll tell you what, that’s pretty impressive.” we play for each other and we play as a team.” Asked point-blank if Game 5 was his best, Binnington said, “I don’t keep There was a secret, but it’s not so quiet anymore. It’s Binnington. He’s tabs. I felt good tonight, the boys battled hard, and it was a big win, so breaking records, including those held by Hextall, a former teammate of hopefully, we can carry that momentum into the next game.” Blues coach Craig Berube in Philadelphia in 1987. But others, such as O’Reilly and Tyler Bozak, were keeping tabs in the They’re different goalies and even different personalities, but they have first period, when Binnington made a big stop on Boston’s Sean Kuraly similar track records early in their careers. just 3 1/2 minutes in. The Bruins outshot the Blues 9-2 in the early going. “They’re different people, for sure, so I can’t compare them that way, but “This guy right here,” said O’Reilly, sitting next to Binnington at the I can compare just the outstanding play from a rookie goalie in the postgame press conference. “Binner played unbelievable in that first National Hockey League in the playoffs,” Berube said. “I was part of that (period) when we didn’t really have our legs and we were kind of caught team back then with Ron Hextall as our goalie, and now seeing Binner, on our heels a bit. We were able to get through when (Boston) had he takes a different approach to the game but getting the same results.” obviously some real Grade-A chances, made some huge saves, and we just hung on.” 40 – Ron Hextall (Game 7 in 1987)
“What can be said about Binner tonight?” Bozak added. “He kept us in 40 – Rogie Vachon (Game 2 in 1967) the game. They’re a great team. They play hard at home. They could’ve had a few goals in the first. Binner really bailed us out, like he has all 38 – Jordan Binnington (Game 5 in 2019) year, and gave us a chance to win. We were lucky to be able to pull it off 38 – Glenn Hall (Game 1 in 1956)#NHLStats for him.” 122 It was the second time this postseason that Binnington had made 17 first- period saves, including a Game 2 loss to Dallas in the second round. 11:30 PM - Jun 6, 2019
“We knew they were going to come hard, and the first period was huge,” It was a game day and Binnington was talking, but he wasn’t saying Binnington said. “We just battled it out, trusted each other and stayed much about his success. with it, and got better as the game went along. That first period is huge, so we’ve got to prepare, stay composed and be disciplined.” “I just want to play hard for our teammates, do my job, and that’s what I’m trying to focus on,” he said. “Let the rest take care of itself.” The Blues picked up a goal in the opening minutes of the second period from O’Reilly, and Binnington maintained that level. The Athletic LOADED: 06.08.2019
“Unbelievable,” Blues defenseman Colton Parayko said. “I mean, obviously, he won one for us here. It was a huge game by him. Very 1146344 Tampa Bay Lightning Pam Iorio, Tampa mayor (2003-2011): I was sitting in the arena and I remember these Calgary fans in front of me drinking these 20-ounce beers, and they kept drinking them. I thought, “Gosh, how much can they On this day, Lightning created indelible memories drink?” After we won, it was just one big group hug inside that arena. I even hugged the Calgary fans. I went down and congratulated the team, and then we went outside and celebrated. But we didn’t have any place to go. We did have a parade two days later, but we didn’t have a By Ernest Hooper destination that night for music and fireworks. We had already made the Published Yesterday Riverwalk a priority, but when I met with the staff the next morning, we all said, “We gotta get going.” We had a master plan, but the old Tampa Museum of Art was sitting in the middle of the old Hixon Park, the Tampa Bay History Center hadn’t opened, so the Riverwalk didn’t extend to the Worth Knowing. arena. Now we have the Riverwalk and the new Curtis Hixon Waterfront Worth Subscribing. Park. We actually have a place to go celebrate. We are so ready when we win the Stanley Cup, and it’s because that night was an unforgettable If you believe all the stories, 100,000 people filled the arena the night the catalyst for the city staff. Lightning captured the Stanley Cup with a Game 7 victory against the Calgary Flames. Allie in the Cup
Sure, we know the arena holds only 20,000, but forgive those fans who Wharton High basketball coach Tommy Tonelli: Dave Andreychuk lives in stretch the truth in an attempt to wax eloquently about the joyous history Hunters Green and at the time his kids attended Hunters Green of June 7, 2004. Elementary where my sons attended. He brought the cup to the school and to the Hunters Green community. He’s a great guy and he wanted to Everybody in the then St. Pete Times Forum can’t forget the game. share it with the people in the community where he lives. Just like Everybody not present still holds a connection to one of the most glorious hundreds of other people, we got in line to shake his hand and see the moments in Tampa Bay sports history. Where were you the night the cup. And it was awesome. My sons were really into it and supporting the Lightning reigned over the NHL. We convene a special roundtable to get Lightning. I had my daughter and I asked permission if I could put her up answers. there. That was hilarious. I remember it like it was yesterday. Obviously, Allie doesn’t remember, but I tell her it’s a photo of her with the most The quiet before the Stanley storm iconic trophy in all of sports, I tell her about the whole aura of that trophy Martin Fennelly, columnist @mjfennelly: ”I had never heard anything like and the fact that it was such a great accomplishment in Tampa Bay the silence in Calgary’s Saddledome after Marty St. Louis scored in sports history. It was incredible, amazing. It’s probably more amazing overtime to bring the Lightning back from the brink to win Game 6 and than when the Bucs won the Super Bowl. Fifteen years later, Allie went to force Game 7. The Lightning, counted out after losing Game 5, shut up her first game. Flames fans and maybe all of Canada after St. Louis’ goal. I was sitting Tampa Bay Times LOADED: 06.08.2019 in the press box, high atop the arena, and it was so quiet I could hear Lighting players celebrating down below. There was no way they would lose Game 7, not after that. And they didn’t.”
Savoring the big win in a ‘Tiny’ place
Ernest Hooper, columnist/assistant sports editor, @hoop4you: Every sports bar was sure to fill, and we wanted to avoid the crowds and maintain our grass roots approach as “real fans.” So, we had planned to watch the game at a bar that never screens sporting events. A certain Irish pub that, to this day, only breaks out the television to show Irish soccer. First mistake. So, we ended up at the Tiny Tap Tavern, a classic dive bar famous for serving Pabst Blue Ribbon at 9 in the morning, and not famous for its televisions. It didn’t matter. We huddled around the screen, cheered when Ruslan Fedotenko scored what proved to be the game winner and called the Times desk with this suggested headline: Lords of the Rink. It stuck, and landed on the front page. I believe my friends and I collaborated on the suggestion, but those present now claim to be the sole originator. Really, the headline was my idea. See how that works?
Dave Mishkin, Lightning radio play-by-play: I remember in the pregame being really antsy and nervous. When you’re in a tense playoff series, the feeling is like a lot of fans: nervous in between games. With a later start, I think the game started after 8 p.m., it made for a long afternoon. But once the game started, I focused on what I was doing. During the game, I really wasn’t jittery and nervous. Maybe during the intermissions, but not during the game. My other takeaway? I remember acknowledging this at the time, but several years later, they did a rebroadcast of the game and what struck me was how dominant the Lightning were in that game. Looking at it rationally and objectively, that was one of their best games in the series. In the deciding game, they were decisively the better team. They carried play throughout, went up 2-0. When Calgary scored with 10 minutes remaining to make it 2-1, I recall a lot of nail biting. Everyone remembers the save Khabibulin had on Jordan Leopold. But when you go back and look at the game, they continued to carry play even after that goal. They didn’t let up. After the game, I went down and congratulated the coaches and everyone. that was pre-kids, so it wasn’t a problem to stay up late. I walked across the street to Champions with my wife. At some point, (Fox Sports Sun broadcaster) Paul Kennedy stopped in and my wife has a picture of the two of us — looking like we had been there for awhile.
A catalyst for change 1146345 Toronto Maple Leafs
Maple Leafs' Patrick Marleau puts Toronto home on sales block
Michael Traikos
Published:June 7, 2019
Updated:June 7, 2019 1:23 PM EDT
The Toronto Maple Leafs might be ready to move on from Patrick Marleau. And it appears the feeling is mutual.
Though the 39-year-old forward has a no-trade clause in his contract, the news on Friday that he listed his $12-million Toronto home for sale is a good indication that he does not plan on living in the city for long.
It’s been reported that Marleau is looking to move back to San Jose, where he spent the first 19 years of his NHL career. But there have also been rumours of him being traded to Arizona or Los Angeles, the latter being where his former head coach Todd McLellan recently took a job.
Wherever he ends up, moving his $6.25-million contract won’t be easy. Though Marleau only has one more year remaining on the three-year deal, he is coming off a down season where he scored 16 goals and 37 points – his lowest output in an 82-game season since his rookie year.
Working in Toronto’s favour is that Marleau has already been paid $14.5 million of his $18.75-million contract, with another $3 million coming on July 1 in the form of a bonus. That leaves just $1.25 million in real dollars for his final year.
For a cap-crunched team such as the Leafs, removing a $6.25-million cap hit provides essential savings when trying to re-sign Mitch Marner and other young players this summer. But for a team operating at the salary level floor, such as the Coyotes, paying $1.25 million for a player who can still score you 15 goals could be a bargain.
Of course, helping the Leafs won’t come cheap.
Expect Toronto to have to sweeten any trade with an additional draft pick or young roster player, such as Connor Brown or perhaps even Andreas Johnsson.
Toronto Sun LOADED: 06.08.2019 1146346 Toronto Maple Leafs honoured as the league’s most sportsmanlike player, grew up playing for top minor hockey programs in Oakville and London.
Their paths have travelled relatively straight lines. How the Leafs acquired Justin Brazeau, a big kid from a small town with huge plans This season, Bouchard, a 10th-overall pick by the Edmonton Oilers, played on the titanic London Knights, often alongside Chicago Blackhawks eighth-overall pick Adam Boqvist. Ratcliffe, a second-round By Scott Wheeler Jun 7, 2019 NHL draft pick, and Suzuki, taken 13th overall, played on the OHL champion Guelph Storm on the same line.
Meanwhile, the twice-undrafted Brazeau, a towering 6-foot-6 winger, Shortly after his client’s seven-point game at the end of October, agent played on a 13th-place Battalion roster devoid of NHL talent — and still John Walters got a phone call from Maple Leafs senior director of player posted 113 points and 61 goals in 68 games, a 32-point gap over his evaluation Jim Paliafito to ask what all the buzz was about. nearest teammate.
Walters replied that he had begun to get a lot of the same kind of calls And for that, he earned the respect of all his opponents. but that their plan was to play out the remainder of the season and make a decision at its conclusion. Bouchard, whose Knights only played Brazeau’s Battalion twice last season, called that a “very good thing.” He’d already been asked by one AHL team if his client was prepared to leave his OHL team behind and join them in-season because they lacked “He’s an extremely hard person to contain. He’s got the size, plus he’s a depth. The answer then was “Uhm, I don’t think we want to do that,” so top-notch player,” said Bouchard. Walters told Paliafito that unless the Leafs could offer his player an entry- “He’s big but he plays like a skilled guy out there. He’s got hands like he level contract that they would have to submit their best AHL contract offer shouldn’t have, like a smaller player has. There’s definitely a place in the — and their development plan — and stand in line in May. game for someone like him.”
That call between Paliafito and Walters was the beginning of the Jason Robertson, who bested Brazeau by four points to win the OHL’s realization of a different conversation Walters had with North Bay scoring crown, admitted he, at 6-foot-2 and more than 200 pounds, Battalion head coach and general manager Stan Butler a few years couldn’t wrangle Brazeau. earlier. “Whenever I was on him, he has such a long reach and he was able to Walters, whose brother played under Butler and who’d attended his use his length and his long stick to take advantage of me. He’s a good camps when he was a kid, was on a flight back from the NHL draft when player and he’s going to have a good career in the NHL, I really think Butler turned to him and said he had this kid from New Liskeard’s midget that,” Robertson said. team that he took in the 13th round that he wanted to sign. Nor could Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, named the league’s top goalie and “It’s a funny story. I go ‘Well who is it?’ and he goes ‘Justin Brazeau’ and most outstanding player, stop him. This season, in eight games against I said ‘I’ve got to be honest, man, I haven’t seen him play before,'” Luukkonen’s Sudbury Wolves, Brazeau scored four times. Walters said, laughing at the memory. “I won’t admit that he scored on me but he might have had a couple,” “And I go ‘And he played midget this year?’ And he goes ‘If you want him, Luukkonen said, smiling. then he needs somebody. I’m going to do the deal and I want you to take care of him.’ And I said ‘OK, no problem.’ And I remember when he was “Especially in front of the net as a goalie. Because he’s a really skillful leaving because I dropped him off at his car and Stan said ‘I promise player too, having him in front of the net and not seeing the puck, he’s you, you will make money on this kid one day.’” something else. He was the best player in front of the net in the league this year. He’s a really talented player.” Inside the Hockey Hall of Fame, Brazeau rises from his seat in the front row of the OHL’s awards ceremony to accept the Leo Lalonde Memorial The day after that phone call with Butler, Walters was on the phone with Trophy as the league’s top overage player. Brazeau and his parents, Greg and Heather, to go over the contract, from the ins and outs of the school package to the OHL’s disability insurance. He begins his speech by thanking Butler. A few months after that, he was watching the lanky teenager who could “And without Stan Butler I wouldn’t be the player that I am today. He really shoot but struggled as a skater, play in the Battalion’s preseason. believed in me on Day 1 when he drafted me and he gave me a chance to play and I’m really thankful for that. I spent four years there and it was In those days, the prospect of winning OHL awards, or of being the some of the best years of my life,” Brazeau says. league’s second-leading scorer, was out of the question.
“I am so honoured to receive this award this year. There were so many “It has been crazy. I remember the day I was drafted, where I was, I amazing overagers in the league who had some special seasons so it’s a remember thinking at the time how honoured I was to be drafted, and I great feeling.” never really thought that much of necessarily playing in the league,” Brazeau said. “It was always a dream but to see where I’ve come from When the ceremony wraps, his parents, Heather and Greg, greet him there it’s definitely special and I’ll definitely remember it forever.” and reflect on how far he has come, pointing to how people from Toronto don’t realize how different their hockey world is, and the five-hour drives His game began to change when his body did. Before his OHL draft year, it required. They’re “road warriors,” Greg jokes. Brazeau’s measurements were 5-foot-10 and 140 pounds at the New Liskeard Cubs’ summer camp. By the end of that year, when Butler Five-hundred kilometres north, in New Liskeard, the ice at the local rink drafted him, he was 6-foot-2 and 180 pounds and he decided he needed has been out since March. This isn’t supposed to happen for a kid from to return to midget for another year while he figured out his new body. there, so Heather and Greg brought things for the local celebrity to sign that they can bring back. Then it changed again. When his rookie season in North Bay began, Brazeau was 6-foot-4 and 195 pounds and scored just six goals. In New Liskeard, hockey isn’t a year-round lifestyle. Brazeau grew up playing competitive baseball, soccer and golf to keep busy during the Today, he’s two inches taller than that and nearly 235 pounds. Quickly, summer months. he needed new sticks and skates to match his length — and size 16 shoes. But he wouldn’t change anything about his journey. His progression was slow as a result. But there was always interest, or at “Being from New Liskeard is awesome,” Brazeau said. “You walk around least a fascination, in his skill set. the community now and everybody kind of comes to talk to you and chat with you, so it’s definitely a cool environment.” The Red Wings invited Brazeau to their development camp after that six- goal season. The Columbus Blue Jackets invited him to theirs a year Around him in the hall, Brazeau’s peers have travelled very different later when those numbers ballooned to 22 goals. The Sharks did the paths. Evan Bouchard, honoured as the league’s top defenceman, Isaac same the year after that when he posted 39 goals. And by the end of his Ratcliffe, honoured as the league’s top captain and Nick Suzuki, 61-goal season this year, the number of teams with interest reached After returning home at the end of the Battalion’s playoff run to rest the double digits. ailing injuries left over by two consecutive seasons where he played in every game as the centre of attention for opposing teams, Brazeau has Brazeau credits the eventual adjustment to a few things: his multi-sport already made the move to Toronto to begin working full-time with the background, the guidance of former teammate Mike Amadio, the Leafs. confidence that first invite by the Red Wings gave him and the proximity of North Bay to New Liskeard and his parents, who he said missed only He plans on being one of their successful projects and has studied the four home games in four years. paths taken by players like Justin Holl and Mason Marchment.
Walters remembers the turning point, in training camp of Brazeau’s third “They made it very clear to me that they’ve done this before and they see season, when he thought “This kid’s a man amongst boys right now” after it in me. I’m going to do whatever I can to help myself make that next Brazeau used his “patented move to get around guys where he extends step and they’ve made that very clear to me,” he said. his arms and uses a one-handed move to protect the puck and it’s like nobody can touch it.” “For myself, I just thought it was the best fit going forward, the best opportunity to develop. It’s the Toronto Maple Leafs. It’s pretty cool.” When Brazeau was quickly sent home by the Sharks ahead of his final OHL season, he and Walters knew he could build on the 75 points of a He plans on skating with Underhill a lot, too. year before and take his game to a new level to prove them wrong. If he was disappointed in not getting an entry-level contract after a 61- “Like Justin is the nicest, quietest guy you’ll ever meet in your life. He’s goal season, he didn’t show it. the most polite guy. I wish all of my clients were like that but some of “It was ‘If this is what I’ve got to do to get to the next level then let’s go.’ I them just challenge you sometimes. With Justin, honest to god, four mean, what can you say? Let Justin prove himself, we’re not in any years in the OHL never complained once. Nothing,” Walters said. hurry, we know what we have here, it took him four years in the OHL, if it “Honestly you couldn’t find a better kid. Being in this business, there’s takes him two or three years to get to the Maple Leafs, then so be it,” always certain issues and this kid has never, ever ever complained.” Walters said.
As Brazeau’s junior career came to its conclusion, the calls from Paliafito “We left money on the table for the Toronto opportunity but what Kyle went from sporadic to almost daily and the list of potential landing spots had to say, it held its weight in gold.” had been narrowed to two. Brazeau already sees himself as capable of becoming an NHL player.
Eventually, Walters asked Paliafito what general manager Kyle Dubas “Growing up I was more of a playmaker so I always thought Joe Thornton thought of Brazeau. but in the OHL I was able to score a lot more so I’ve heard Patrick Then Dubas called. Maroon comparisons, players who are big guys and may not be the fastest but they use their body really well and they’re able to produce,” “Hey, we really want this guy,” Walters remembers Dubas saying when Brazeau said. he picked up the phone. “Being from New Liskeard, it’s obviously got its pros and cons but the Eventually, Dubas called Brazeau personally as well. training aspect and the skating aspect is something I’ve never really had. If I can improve on that, I can go wherever I want with it.” Though the other team offered slightly more money on a two-year AHL contract, Brazeau and Walters ultimately settled on the Leafs in part The Athletic LOADED: 06.08.2019 because of the initiative of their general manager. Dubas was the only general manager of an NHL team that reached out personally.
The second team of interest tabled a development plan that included a skating coach — who Brazeau would have had to pay for himself and work with a certain number of times a month — that was four hours away from the team’s trainers.
When Dubas explained the Leafs’ plan, he detailed a one-stop shop that included player development consultant Darryl Belfry, skills development coach Mike Ellis, skating consultant Barb Underhill and director of athlete performance Rich Rotenberg.
And when it came time to make a decision and the Brazeaus came to Walters and Butler with their questions, unsure what the right choice was, Walters — after some admittedly sleepless nights — gave them his advice.
“I said ‘Look guys, Toronto is going to be heavily, heavily invested in providing you an opportunity.’ And the closing statement which closed us was Dubas said ‘John, if this guy doesn’t play a game for the Toronto Maple Leafs then we’ve failed.’ So to me it was like ‘How could you go wrong?’” Walters said.
It didn’t hurt that Brazeau grew up a Leafs fan, that Dubas had previously built some goodwill with Walters by trading his client Josh Leivo to the Canucks, that cap concerns may require that they use cheap depth players like Brazeau at some point, or that they felt Brazeau fit in favourably inside Toronto’s prospect pool. But they ultimately decided on the Leafs because of the breadth of their development team and the personal touch made by Dubas.
And Brazeau was on board, even though an entry-level contract wasn’t in the mix.
“Justin’s like ‘All right, listen, I’ve had to go and prove people wrong my whole life and if I’ve got to start here and prove to the Maple Leafs that I can score goals and play on their pro team then I’ll do that,'” Walters said.
“He just made it work with what he had there (in North Bay). It was Justin against the world this year.” 1146347 Washington Capitals
Caps players celebrate one-year anniversary of Stanley Cup Championship
Grace Remington
June 07, 2019 1:42 PM
One year ago today, the Washington Capitals pulled off the biggest feat in franchise history, clinching their first-ever Stanley Cup Championship.
It was the first championship for the Capitals in 44 years, and the first title for any Washington D.C. sports team in 26 years. The last professional D.C. team to win a championship was the Washington Redskins in the 1992 Super Bowl.
On June 7, 2018, the Caps rallied with two goals in the third period to beat the first-year Las Vegas Golden Knights, 4-3, in Game 5.
Capitals players returned home and famously celebrated with fans around the city until there was no beer left in the District.
Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 06.08.2019 1146348 Washington Capitals push this thing to seven. What the heck would everyone’s mindset be at that point?
All these things ran through my head as the third period began. All doubt One year later, remembering the culmination of a lifetime of Capitals was erased when Devante Smith-Pelly tied the game. fandom First, let’s take a moment to appreciate how incredible that goal was. Brooks Orpik just barely kept the puck in at the blue line, he fired the J.J. Regan puck back in and Smith-Pelly kicked the puck off his skate, to his stick and scored all while falling over and he did it in such a way that it felt like June 07, 2019 10:00 AM an entirely fluid motion. Incredible.
I am not going to say I wasn’t nervous the rest of the game, I was. But I knew when Smith-Pelly scored that this would be it. This would be the It was one year ago. One year ago on June 7, 2018, the Capitals won moment. A few minutes later, I was watching Lars Eller. I can’t tell you their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. It is a moment all Caps fans why I was fixated on him on that particular play as he skated behind the will remember and reminisce on forever, a day that will live on with the goal line, but I remember watching him specifically. When everyone else championship banner that now hangs from the rafters at Capital One stopped when Marc-Andre Fleury stopped a Brett Connolly shot, I quickly Arena. noticed Eller fighting to get behind Fleury. Could…could the puck have It was a moment that justified the faith and fandom that so many fans had gotten through? Sure enough, Eller grabbed the loose puck that no one poured into the team for so many years. Including me. knew was there and buried in the biggest goal in the history of the Washington Capitals. Every Caps fans no doubt has a story of that night. What they felt as they watched, where they watched, what it felt like when the team won. Here’s I could not sit down after that. I paced up and down the newsroom with mine. every stoppage in play. I leaned over my desk standing and watching when the puck was in play. I watched the clock as much as I watched the I’ll let you all in on a little secret. OK, maybe it’s not as much of a secret play on the ice from that point. And then the clock went out. I freaked. as it should be or as I would like it to be, but here it is: I am a Capitals fan. I became interested in sports because of the Caps. “THE CLOCK IS OUT!” I screamed over and over again, hoping someone in Vegas could hear me from Bethesda. How much time was The first time I even became aware of sports was when my parents took left? Did anyone realize it wasn’t moving? Would they have to replay the me to a Capitals game when I was three. They played the Winnipeg Jets time when the clock was not moving? How did they know how much time at the old Capital Centre. One game and I was hooked. Through all the had passed? ups and downs, I have been obsessed ever since. Those last few minutes felt like a lifetime. Even once the clocked was I had my 5th grade class excited about the 1998 playoff run, I was in the fixed, all strategy went out the window. The Caps iced the puck every sparse crowds at MCI Center during the rebuild, I watched Sergey chance they had. Nicklas Backstrom missed an empty-netter. They just Fedorov win Game 7 against the New York Rangers from my college could not put this game away. dorm room, I jumped and hugged strangers at a bar when Joel Ward scored in overtime to beat the Boston Bruins and I had to be talked out of Finally, the time clicked to under a second. There was just the one more walking out of dinner with friends when Wards’ double-minor turned into faceoff and…that was it. It was over. the game-tying and game-winning goal for the Rangers. It was such a surreal feeling. I’ve been through all the ups and downs. I watch other sports and cheer for other teams, but the pinnacle of sports It used to be taboo for someone who works in sports media to admit that in my mind had always been this moment, seeing my all-time favorite you actually like a certain team. I have taken great strides to try to make team win the greatest trophy in sports. I didn’t know what to do, I didn’t sure my love for the Caps does not affect how I cover the team and I know how to feel. always remain professional while on the job. From there, I have only scattered memories. As much as I wanted to sit But when a team wins a championship, all bets are off. back and just enjoy it, I had work to do. I tried to take it all in as I typed frantically away. I remember Ovechkin getting the Conn Smythe. I The playoffs are an exhausting time for us in the media, even in a short remember when he was called get the Cup, he turned back to his run. You don’t know how long it is going to last so you pour everything teammates and pumped them up before skating over to Gary Bettman. I you can into it. You never really stop working until it ends. remember when he first grabbed the Cup, he did a pump down before he lifted it up. I remember him skating with Nicklas Backstrom in a moment On June 7, I was exhausted. Not only had the playoffs lasted a month that seemed to encapsulate the modern era of the Capitals. And of longer than it usually does in Washington, but the lead up to Game 5 was course, I remember T.J. Oshie’s emotional embrace with his father. Even insane. Washington was one win away from the Stanley Cup and the before he was interviewed, I knew the enormity of what that moment build-up was almost too much to take. It was a relief when the game meant. actually started, or at least it was for the first five seconds before my heart started pounding out of my chest and I became a nervous wreck. I wrote through the night. Literally. I did not get home until 6:30 am. My wife was waiting for me, smiling from ear-to-ear. I did not get the chance to go to Vegas for the game. Instead, I was in the NBC Sports Washington studio in Bethesda. Typically there is a crew of My wife tolerates hockey more than anything else. She enjoys going to Capitals people – producers and talent for the shows, other writers, etc. – games, but does not watch if I am not around. I am also pretty sure she’s who watch the games together. For Game 5, however, everyone was in not thrilled by how much the game takes over our lives during the season different places. Some people were in Vegas, some were at Capital One both because of my job and my fandom. Arena for the viewing party and those who were in the studio were scrambling around with plenty of work to do. But she knows how much the Caps mean to me and she was excited. I told her about how it all happened, how the Caps had finally won it and As the biggest game of my life started, I sat at my desk, watching on my what my night had been like. She listened intently, more excited for me desk TV, alone. There were other people in the newsroom, but I couldn’t than for the team. Finally, she left for work at about 7, but I still could not tell you who. I don’t think I spoke to anyone until the game ended. go to bed. On Fridays, my wife would go to work early meaning I had to take our son to daycare. I dressed him and strapped him in his car seat I was pretty even-keeled at first, but after 40 minutes I was a mess. hoping desperately that the adrenaline would keep me functioning until Vegas had taken control of the game and had a 3-2 lead. after I dropped him off. But … this was the night they were supposed to win it all! I thought about Once I got home, I finally collapsed. I slept for about four hours, got up the leadup to that game and having to do that all again … and in and watched every replay I could. Washington. It was daunting. I wondered if all the “here we go again” and “same old Caps” narrative would come back again. It’s stupid, I know. I had long dreamed about the Caps winning the Stanley Cup. I assumed I They were in the Stanley Cup Final so that narrative should have been would cry when it happened. I didn’t. I was too busy to think or to look dead, but I thought about it nonetheless. Heaven forbid Vegas actually back and appreciate the moment. The tears finally came the next day as I watched the replays. It really began to sink in that they had finally done it.
As I look back, the biggest feeling I felt and still feel to this day isn’t joy, but relief. When I was a kid, every playoff loss was gut-wrenching, but I always got over it knowing that the day would come when they won the Cup and then it would all be worth it. As a kid, I never doubted. One day, that childlike hope begins to fade. You look around at other sports teams and realize that day never came for teams like the Buffalo Sabres, Vancouver Canucks, San Jose Sharks, Cleveland Browns, Buffalo Bills, Indiana Pacers, Seattle Mariners and so many others. Maybe the day will come for those teams, but maybe it won’t. And even if it does, maybe you won’t be around to see it. The Chicago Cubs went 108 years between championships. When you begin to realize that not every story in life gets a happy ending, that is an earth-shattering revelation.
But now Caps fans don’t have to worry about that. We got our title. That’s what June 7 means to me. It means peace for the fanatical sports fan inside of me. I don’t have to wonder each year if they will ever do it. I don’t have to look at the empty rafters at Capital One Arena and wonder what a Stanley Cup banner will look like. I don’t have to turn away from the TV every time they show the montage of Stanley Cup winners hoisting the Cup.
It also makes me really want them to win it again because this time I can just enjoy it. The next one won’t just be about getting the monkey off our back, it will just be about celebrating a title.
My Stanley Cup night was different than most. I did not make the trek to Vegas, I was not with the fans in the streets are huddled around the TV in a bar or with friends. I was in the newsroom, alone with my thoughts. The party was muted as I worked all night stopping only briefly at CVS on my way home for whatever sugar and caffeine I could get my hands on. I went to bed at 8 am, woke up and spent way too much money, like an embarrassing amount of money on Capitals Stanley Cup championship gear.
And you know what? I wouldn’t change a thing.
A new team will be crowned champions in 2019, but in my heart, the Caps will always and forever be the champs. That is my June 7th story. What’s yours?
Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 06.08.2019 1146349 Washington Capitals “Olaf! Olaf!” Then the two men smiled and did a simultaneous fist pump. The ice was filled with such interactions.
Kolzig grabbed Holtby and fellow goalies Philipp Grubauer and Pheonix On Stanley Cup anniversary, a behind-the-scenes look back at Caps’ Copley and goaltender coach Mitch Korn for a group picture. Carlson and memorable night in Vegas Beagle, teammates for nine years, found the Cup again and held it up together for a picture. The trophy moved around a lot over the 75 minutes from when NHL commissioner Gary Bettman handed it to Ovechkin until Brian McNally he finally kissed the Cup one last time on the bench, thanked the city of Las Vegas, and took it back to the locker room and his waiting June 07, 2019 6:51 AM teammates.
After the raucous locker room celebration, where beer was drunk and Even as they celebrated winning the Stanley Cup exactly one year ago sprayed in equal measures, the team bus was off to dinner back at the last June 7, all smiles and hugs and jubilation on the ice at T-Mobile hotel and then, as early risers back in Washington were just waking up, Arena in Las Vegas, the Capitals knew the moment was fleeting and the Cup made its way through the MGM Grand Casino on the Las Vegas precious. Strip. Ovechkin walked it past Caps fans and late-night gamblers and right into a hotel nightclub. It took 44 years for the organization to finally win the Cup. For Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom, it was earned after a decade of playoff It all flashed by so quickly as life’s best moments do. Before they knew it, heartbreak. For Barry Trotz it came only after 20 years as an NHL head the Capitals were back in Washington for a wild weekend celebration that coach. ranged from Arlington bars to Nationals Park to the Georgetown waterfront to Adams Morgan to DuPont Circle clubs. But even as the celebration raged, with thousands of Capitals fans in the building moving down to the lower-level seats to cheer as the players By Monday, Holtby and Ovechkin were in New York for an appearance skated the Cup around the ice, all involved knew to hold on tight. The on The Tonight Show. Tuesday was the long-awaited championship sights and sounds would soon enough be relegated to memory, stories parade up Constitution Avenue, one of the great parties in D.C. history. told to those who were not there - or re-told over and over to those that Yet within a week, Trotz had resigned and taken a new job with the New were. Trotz said he already can’t wait for the reunions. York Islanders and Lambert and Korn went with him. Within two weeks T.J. Oshie began crying before he even left the bench as the final buzzer Brooks Orpik and Grubauer had been traded to Colorado at the NHL sounded. In the crowd, his father, Tim, his lifelong coach, hollered for his Draft and within three Beagle had signed as a free agent with Vancouver. son. Early-onset Alzheimer’s Disease was ravaging his mind and stealing Orpik would soon return, but the group was already breaking up. these moments from him. Not today, though. Oshie fought back tears Throughout July and August, the Cup made its way from Washington to during a few media interviews on the ice before eventually finding Tim Moscow and everywhere in between. But soon the short summer was and embracing him. over and a new season - one that would not end with a title - had begun. “What a great human being, what a great man, what a great father,” Within days the Stanley Cup will belong to someone else. The Capitals’ Oshie said. “Some things slip his memory these days, but this one is year with it is almost over. The party has moved on. What’s left are the going to be seared in there. I don’t think any disease is going to take this memories and the stories of a magical playoff run that ended exactly a one away from him.” year ago in Vegas and that so many never thought they’d see. Wander the ice and you saw dozens of unique stories playing out in the Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 06.08.2019 aftermath of the championship win amongst players and coaches, executives and staff. Over the summer most of them would get a day of their own with the Cup. Their kids would eat ice cream out of it, long-time friends would sing songs around it, towns big and small from British Columbia to Siberia would host it.
But that night in Vegas was pure chaos. Thirty minutes after the game ended, reporters were allowed onto an ice sheet soon crowded with family and friends.
Lars Eller’s father, Olaf, a hockey coach back home in Denmark, grabbed his son, who patiently listened for the millionth time as his dad told him how proud he was. Lars Eller was the first Danish player to win the Stanley Cup, which would eventually make its way to his hometown of Rodovre.
Evgeny Kuznetsov found his dad, also named Evgeny, in the madness and promptly slapped the snazzy gray-and-white Stanley Cup championship hat on his head. It was a long way from Chelyabinsk, Russia, the industrial town where Kuznetsov grew up and where his older brother, Alexander, died in 2003 during a May Day holiday celebration that turned violent. Every one of them had a back story that made the moment special.
Real life still intruded over and over again. Jay Beagle’s toddler son crashed to the ice and had a meltdown. He cut short an interview to soothe him. John Carlson’s kids, Rudy and Lucca, were better behaved as they took a big Carlson family photo with the Cup, multiple generations experiencing a lifelong dream.
Tom Wilson teased teammate Braden Holtby’s son, Benjamin, and the six-year-old took the barbs in stride. He seemed to expect it. Holtby then laughed as he saw his mom, Tammi, overcome with emotion and told her to take a breath.
The moments spun like a kaleidoscope. Ovechkin saw his old teammate, Olie Kolzig, the man who kept him in line as a young player during his first three years in the NHL, the last goalie to take Washington to the Stanley Cup Final in 1998. Ovechkin yelled to get Kolzig’s attention: 1146350 Winnipeg Jets Lowry. And qualify both Beaulieu and Morrow at the same salary they made last season — US$2.4 million for Beaulieu and US$1 million for Morrow, but not a penny more.
Jets can be strong, and cap-compliant Add it all up and we now have 20 players under contract to the tune of US$82.6 million. With three spots to fill, we’re right up against the cap ceiling. And that’s where some more moves are going to need to be Mike McIntyre made, and quickly.
06/8/2019 3:00 AM First, say good-bye to Dmitry Kulikov and his US$4.3-million deal, which has one year left. Similar to last summer and the Steve Mason salary
dump, there’s going to have to be a sweetener added for another team to Brace yourselves, Jets fans. We’re going to do some heavy lifting today. take this one. A young prospect of some kind will have to be included, but it’s going to have to be a necessary evil. A team like Ottawa will With both the NHL draft and free agency fast approaching, the clock is struggle to reach the salary-cap floor this season and can easily take on ticking for general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff to flex his muscles in an some bad contracts, for a price. attempt to keep his roster in tip-top shape. To me, a buyout doesn’t make much sense with just one year remaining, It’s a ton to be carrying around right now. So how about we give him a bit given the cap penalty you pay plus the contract of his replacement. of a hand? Moving him should be the priority.
I’ve spent considerable time sweating over the situation and crunching Next up is Mathieu Perreault, who is also going to have to be dealt, along the numbers, and am ready to present to you what the Jets roster would with the two years remaining on his deal at US$4.125 million. Unlike look like for the upcoming season if put in charge of all the weighty Kulikov, I think Perreault would still carry some value for a young team decisions. with cap space looking to add a veteran to the mix. Even if you’re getting just a draft pick back, it’s a move worth making for the other flexibility it As you’ll see, it’s both salary-cap compliant — with even a little bit of allows. breathing room to spare — while also strong enough, at least on paper, to still be among hockey’s powerhouses. We’re back to down to 18 players at US$74.2 million.
But be forewarned: it required a flurry of activity to get there, along with There’s no way UFAs Tyler Myers or Brandon Tanev can be brought saying farewell to several familiar faces. back, unless they’re willing to take massive hometown discounts. The fact is, there will be teams out there willing to pay them far beyond what Let’s start with what’s etched in stone. According to CapFriendly, the Jets the Jets can afford. So they’re gone. currently have 14 players under contract who will make a combined US$57.6 million next season. That includes seven forwards (Blake However, there’s room to re-sign pending UFAs Ben Chiarot and Par Wheeler, Mark Scheifele, Nikolaj Ehlers, Bryan Little, Mathieu Perreault, Lindholm. I think US$2.5 million can get it done with Chiarot, while US$1 Adam Lowry and Jack Roslovic), five defencemen (Dustin Byfuglien, million gets you Lindholm back. Dmitry Kulikov, Josh Morrissey, Sami Niku and Tucker Poolman) and two goaltenders (Connor Hellebuyck and Laurent Brossoit). So back up to 20 we go, now at US$77.7 million.
You need 23 players to fill out an NHL roster, meaning there are nine Mason Appleton has a team-friendly entry-level deal that helps his cause. spots left and US$25.4 million to get under the US$83-million salary cap. (Ruth Bonneville / Winnipeg Free Press files)
Laine should get US$8 million in a short-term bridge deal that allows both Mason Appleton has a team-friendly entry-level deal that helps his cause. sides a couple more years to see where he’s at. (David Lipnowski / (Ruth Bonneville / Winnipeg Free Press files) Winnipeg Free Press files) Next, pencil both Mason Appleton and Kristian Vesalainen onto the 23- Laine should get US$8 million in a short-term bridge deal that allows both man roster. Both would appear ready to take another step in their sides a couple more years to see where he’s at. (David Lipnowski / development, while also having team-friendly entry-level deals that help Winnipeg Free Press files) their cause. Combined, the two would add US$1.6 million to the payroll.
There are six restricted free agents who need new deals. Patrik Laine, Now we’re up to 22 players, at US$79.3 million. We’ll up that to US$79.6 Kyle Connor, Andrew Copp, Jacob Trouba, Nathan Beaulieu and Joe million on the assumption Jack Roslovic cashes in his US$212,000 Morrow. performance bonus and Sami Niku gets his US$60,000 one, the only two players next season with such clauses to worry about. First move is a big one: Trade Trouba. At the latest, during the upcoming draft on June 21-22 in Vancouver. He’s clearly not interested in signing Which gives us US$3.4 million in cap space left, and one more player to long-term here, so it’s time to move on. A top priority is getting back not sign. I’d use no more than US$2 million of that to go find another depth only a defenceman, but one who has some cost certainty. forward who can play in your bottom-six, kill penalties, check and hit. (I’d also sign a couple more players with some NHL experience for the Getting a capable, two-way blue-liner back who makes in the range of Moose, on two-way deals, who could step in if needed. Their salaries US$4-5 million is critical. Some teams, and names, out there include wouldn’t count towards the 23-man NHL roster, of course). New Jersey’s Damon Severson (US$4.1 million); Pittsburgh’s Brian Dumoulin (US$4.1 million); Detroit’s Danny DeKeyser (US$5 million, but However, with roster surgery nearly complete, I’m still left with one he would have to waive his no-trade clause); New York’s Brady Skjei nagging issue: perhaps the most important need on the team still hasn’t (US$5.2 million); and Buffalo’s Rasmus Ristolainen (US$5.4 million). been addressed. That would be the second-line centre position, which Cheveldayoff has now tried on two straight trade deadlines to fill — first, The Jets should also be aiming to get a draft pick back — if not a first- with Paul Stastny, then with Kevin Hayes. Both were just temporary fixes. rounder, then an early second-rounder. All of which is why the Devils might make a lot of sense. Severson, 24, is a right-shot like Trouba, had Bryan Little has played there in the past, but is not getting any younger. a career-high 11 goals and 28 assists last season, and is under contract That ship has sailed, from my perspective, and Little is better in your for four more seasons. Plus, New Jersey has a ton of draft picks. No, bottom six. Copp is also an option, as he looked great at centre last they’re not giving Winnipeg the first-overall selection, but how about their season, but I’m not sure he has the offence needed to be in your top six. 34th-overall pick. I suppose Roslovic could be given another shot, but he seemed to For the sake of argument, I’ll include a US$4.1-million cap hit for struggle last year while playing up the middle in a more sheltered role. Trouba’s replacement. No, I think it’s time for one more trade. And a big one, at that. As for the remaining RFAs, they would break down as follows: Enter Nikolaj Ehlers, the flashy, 23-year-old winger with six more years Pay Laine US$8 million in a short-term bridge deal that allows both sides left on his deal at US$6 million per season. We know the Jets have a couple more years to see where he’s at. Pay Connor US$7 million on a plenty of depth on the wings, with players like Roslovic, Appleton and long-term extension. Give Copp a nice pay raise to US$2.5 million on a Vesalainen pressing for work. So, why not deal from a position of shorter deal (two or three years) similar to the one done last with Adam strength to help fill a weakness? How good would Ehlers look on the wing with Edmonton’s Connor McDavid? And, wouldn’t you know it, the Oilers have a second-line centre in 26-year-old Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, locked in at the exact same US$6 million per season, for two more years.
Seems like a potential match made in hockey heaven to me, for both teams looking to shake things up a bit. Other possible options out there include Toronto’s Nazem Kadri (US$4.5 million) and Detroit’s Dylan Larkin (US6.1 million). Again, for the sake of argument, I’ll pencil in an equal-salaried replacement for Ehlers.
As a result, my 2019-20 opening night roster would look as follows, with a total cap hit of US$81.6 million — or US$1.4 million under the cap:
Regardless of how accurate this template ends up being, one thing is clear: the Jets are likely going to undergo an extreme makeover, one way or the other.
Winnipeg Free Press LOADED 06.08.2019 1146351 Winnipeg Jets Morris’ hunt for a ball glove was about to connect him to an even bigger dream.
“We walked into this Eaton’s store,” Morris said, “and Holy Toledo! There Foundations of a championship: The unique story of how the ‘79 Avco was Gordie Howe.” Cup-winning Jets came to be Morris had never met a professional hockey player before, let alone Mr. Hockey — from Saskatchewan, just like him.
Murat Ates He didn’t know what to do.
Jun 7, 2019 “I was panicking. He was at a table just doodling away. Eaton’s had him signing autographs but they forgot to tell anybody and there was nobody there.” The last time the Winnipeg Jets won a professional hockey championship, they did so under some of the most unique circumstances Morris turned to Ed, in disbelief. in sport. “Well, what do we do?”
Winnipeg’s 1978-79 WHA season began with an exodus of talent, an Ed didn’t say anything, so Morris pressed. “Do we go and talk to him?” influx of troops from a defunct former rival and a distinct sense of underachievement across a divided Jets dressing room. It included As an adult, Morris thinks often about what he calls “the next step.” It’s a changes in coaching and management, a long-term injury to its captain, a guiding principle, he says. What is the one next step he can take to premature retirement by Bobby Hull and the heroic late-season arrival of achieve his goal? an out-of-shape journeyman goaltender who promised, in-line with his ever-ballooning goals-against average, that he “wasn’t that good.” When Ed turned to him next, he put the decision squarely in Morris’ hands. “What do you think we should do?” It ended with a championship, the dissolution of the entire World Hockey Association and the pillaging of Winnipeg’s roster upon the Jets’ And that’s when Morris realized one of his earliest hockey dreams. absorption into the NHL. “I remember I got all panicky and I closed my eyes and a little voice said It’s the part in between — the team’s journey from a divided group of ‘Just go for it!’ And I remember that next step we took toward Gordie underachievers to an Avco Cup-winning band of brothers — that Howe. And we got to spend 45 minutes with him.” transcends the time between Winnipeg’s 1979 championship and its 40th Howe spent most of that time talking to Ed, says Morris. With nobody anniversary celebrations held in Winnipeg last weekend. else around, Mr. Hockey engaged Ed in discussions about hockey, On the surface, that journey begins at the start of 1978-79, with the Jets curling, baseball, golf and fishing, covering all sorts of ground. as defending Avco Cup Champions. In fact, Winnipeg had won two of the When Howe and Ed were done talking, Howe turned to young Morris. previous three WHA titles — the mark of a powerhouse in the making — but lost its entire top line in the offseason. “Morris, what do you love the most about hockey?” Howe asked.
Two of Winnipeg’s biggest stars — Ulf Nilsson and Anders Hedberg — “Mr. Howe, I love to score goals,” Morris said. left the WHA for the bright lights of the NHL. Winnipeg’s other superstar, At this, Howe gave a good laugh. Bobby Hull, played just four games at the start of the season before shutting it down for the year. Members of the “The Hot Line” — Hull, “I remember he chuckled,” says Morris. “I pulled out a card and he wrote Hedberg and Nilsson — had scored 146 times the previous season. In a ‘To Maurice’ but my name is M-O-R-R-I-S. flash, those goals were gone. “So as he was writing this, I said, ‘Mr. Howe, my name is actually M-O-R- Winnipeg was saved by the WHA’s own state of disarray. R-I-S.’ He said, ‘Maurice the Rocket Richard is an amazing goal scorer so are you OK if I write it like this?’ I thought about it and I really didn’t The Houston Aeros, led as they were by Gordie Howe and his sons Mark like the idea, yet who was I to argue with Gordie Howe? So I said ‘OK.'” and Marty Howe, were the WHA’s only other franchise to have won two Avco Cups. When the Jets won their first league championship in 1976, it “He wrote, ‘To Maurice: score lots of goals. Gordie Howe.’ And I put that was the Aeros who they beat in the final — and the series had been a picture up on the wall.” war. But the Aeros were in financial turmoil. Not long after Morris Lukowich met his idol in Saskatoon, a teen-aged Despite their on-ice excellence, the Aeros folded in the summer of 1978, Rich Preston approached a life-changing decision in Regina. exposing several excellent hockey players to a state of flux. Winnipeg pounced, buying the contracts of Morris Lukowich, Terry Ruskowski, Rich Preston came from a football family. His dad, Ken Preston, played Preston, Scott Campbell, John Gray, Steve West and Paul Terbenche. fullback for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers before embarking on an Each of these players would play a role in Winnipeg’s 1979 Avco Cup illustrious 20-year career as GM of the Saskatchewan Roughriders. On championship. Nov. 26, 1966, the same year Lukowich met Howe, Ken’s Roughriders won their first Grey Cup in franchise history. It was the line of Lukowich, Ruskowski and Preston in particular — largely kept together in Winnipeg as they had been in Houston — who Their waterboy — Rich — celebrated right there with them. And then, like Winnipeg leaned on to replace The Hot Line’s lost offense. his father before him and both of his brothers, he developed into a promising football player. By 1969, Preston was the starting quarterback This is why the story of the Winnipeg Jets 1979 Avco Cup Championship for Regina’s defending high school city champions. He was the back-up begins on a hot summer day in 1966. the previous season and now, as the starter, Rich’s team was off to a 3-1 start and had a second straight championship in its sights. Morris Lukowich was 10 years old, just a boy looking for a baseball glove. But Rich loved hockey. Better yet, the diminutive forward saw a future in it. Saskatoon was extraordinarily hot that summer day in 1966 but Lukowich had his big brother Ed with him. He decided to take a risk.
At 20, Ed Lukowich was already a celebrated athlete. He coached Morris “I tell people it was the hardest decision of my life,” Rich said. “I knew I in youth sports, acted as his mentor, and, along with Bobby Hull and wasn’t going anywhere in football — I was only about 5-foot-9. But my Gordie Howe, was one of Morris’ three biggest sports heroes. Ed won the dad was GM of the Riders so that’s a tough one.” Brier in 1978 and 1986 and led Canada to the 1986 World Curling Championship. Rich asked his football coach if he could miss a weekend of practice to try out for the Regina Pats. The answer? Sure thing. Whatever you want, Ed’s career was long and storied, like Morris’ is now. But on this Rich. scorching day in Saskatoon, his winning move was as Morris’ mentor. But if you miss practice, you’re off the football team. “I’m the starting quarterback, right? We’re about 3-1 in a 10 game “I put Howe’s picture up on the wall,” Lukowich said. “Right beside it, I put season. We won the city the year before when I was the backup a picture of Bobby Hull pitching a bail of hay. He looks just like The Hulk.” quarterback. My second brother is on the same team and we had a decent team the next year. I had to make a tough decision, especially in Lukowich had lived part of one half of his childhood dream — he’d met a small community when your dad’s in football and you’re quitting a Gordie Howe as a boy. Lukowich dutifully followed Howe’s instructions to football team.” score lots of goals, hitting 40 for the Medicine Hat Tigers as an 18-year- old, then 66 the following season — a year in which the 19-year-old It was a point of no return. Make the Pats and all goes well. Get cut from Lukowich racked up 142 points in 72 games. The second part of that the 80-person October training camp and miss out on both sports for an childhood dream came when Howe’s Aeros drafted him 22nd overall in entire year. Rich decided to go for it. He made the team, won SJHL the 1976 WHA entry draft. Rookie of the Year and then went to the Final Four in three out of his four NCAA seasons at the University of Denver. Lukowich made Howe’s team that summer, scoring 27 goals and 18 assists in his rookie season while Ruskowski and Preston led the 1976- “If I wouldn’t have made the Pats I’d have been fucked.” 77 Aeros in scoring.
Instead, Rich was charmed. Not only did he make the Pats and play four The three were fast friends. years for Denver, he made the Houston Aeros of the World Hockey Association in 1974-75 as an undrafted pro player. “Terry was just like a big brother,” says Lukowich. “He is real. He is one of the most amazing players I ever played with and Rich Preston is one Rich’s captain in Houston? Gordie Howe, who he got to play with for two of the best guys around.” full seasons before Lukowich joined him. The three would play together with Gordie Howe for one full season in In Houston, Preston met a tough-as-nails 19-year-old scorer from just 1976-77, realizing the second half of Lukowich’s childhood dream. Howe outside Prince Albert by the name of Terry Ruskowski. departed Houston for the WHA’s New England Whalers in 1977-78, while Lukowich, Ruskowski and Preston were joined in Houston by a promising Preston’s route to professional hockey had been a calculated gamble. young defenceman named Scott Campbell. Ruskowski’s offensive prowess was highly touted from an early age. When Houston folded in June, 1978, Lukowich’s other dream — to play Three years of standout play for Swift Current of the WCHL (now WHL) with Bobby Hull — came true soon afterward. culminated in a 133-point season in 1973-74, leading a team in scoring which also boasted Bryan Trottier and Tiger Williams. As Swift Current’s “To come to Winnipeg and spend time with Bobby Hull,” Lukowich said. captain, Ruskowski finished fifth in league scoring that season and was “For me it was like two dreams coming true.” selected in both the NHL and WHA drafts. But the dream was short lived. Hull would play just four games for the In September 1974, Ruskowski reported to Aeros camp in Houston Jets that season. And the influx of Aeros from the defunct Houston where he and Preston would play the first of nine straight professional franchise into Winnipeg’s dressing room caused turmoil before it created seasons together. triumph.
The team they joined was a powerhouse — the defending Avco Cup Before there could be a championship, Lukowich, Preston, Ruskowski, champions. Campbell and so many other Winnipeg Jets would have to overcome a tremendous amount of turbulence. Under the leadership of Howe, who scored 100 points in the regular season, Houston won the Avco World Trophy in 1974. The Aeros would The WHA Jets recently gathered in Winnipeg to commemorate the 40th do it all over again in 1975 — this time with Preston and Ruskowski. anniversary of their 1979 Avco Cup Championship. Dinners were held, stories were told and re-told and fans had the opportunity to speak to star “We were on the fourth line, Terry and I and another rookie — Don players and coaches from the city’s last Cup winning team. Larway,” Preston said. “We had such a good team. They put us on the fourth line together which was a great way to break in to pros.” The Athletic spoke to several of those same 1979 Jets for this two-part series, with the second part being an oral history of one of the most Preston put up 41 points in 78 games. Ruskowski hit 46 in 71. The Aeros unique seasons in professional hockey history. lost only one game in three playoff rounds on their way to a second consecutive championship. Their stories are terrific and the parallels to 2019 are clear but, most of all, the circumstances of the Jets’ 1978-79 season are bizarre. “To win it our first year was pretty special, so we were pretty tight — Terry and I,” Preston said. “When you think back, it’s amazing,” Preston said. “It will never happen again in sports.” The bond was formed. A dynasty was building in Houston. Howe once again surpassed 100 points in 1976, with the Aeros making a third We’ll share the rest of the story at The Athletic next week. consecutive WHA final. The Athletic LOADED: 06.08.2019 One little problem for Houston.
The Winnipeg Jets, led by Bobby Hull, Ulf Nilsson and Anders Hedberg, were on their way toward WHA dominance.
“Winnipeg was the first team to bring in the Europeans — especially the Swedes and the Finns,” Preston said. “We’d won my first year and then my second year, they’d beat us four straight. They beat us four straight in the final and they just destroyed us.”
“I had a new appreciation of the Swedish guys,” Ruskowski said. “We could play physical and a little dirty against them and their game didn’t change. They seemed to relish that. They’d just score more goals.”
The thought of someday trying to replace those players never entered their minds.
Back in Saskatchewan, Morris Lukowich’s childhood bedroom was a shrine to two hockey players.
The first is Howe, whose “To Maurice: score lots of goals” signature wowed the 10-year-old on that sunny day in Saskatoon. The second was Bobby Hull, whose Jets trounced the Aeros in 1976 — just one season before Lukowich joined Howe in Houston. 1146352 Vancouver Canucks Vancouver Province: LOADED: 06.08.2019
Patrick Johnston: Canucks would be wise to chase Jake Gardiner, but is he done with Canada?
Patrick Johnston
Given the Leafs' cap situation — and the fan fishbowl that is T.O. — most expect him to hit free-agency this summer.
Fair or not, it would seem pending free-agent defenceman Jake Gardiner’s been booed out of Toronto.
The smooth-skating, 28-year-old defender has become target No. 1 for Maple Leafs fans when it comes to expressing disdain over defensive miscues.
As it stands, the Leafs are likely going to have to let him go because of their salary-cap situation — though Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman is suggesting that if the Buds are able to move Nikita Zaitsev and/or Patrick Marleau, they may yet look to use the created financial space to bring Gardiner back, lightning-rod status and all.
Leafs management aren’t dummies, after all. The point is to win, not cater to a braying mob. So it’s possible Gardiner may yet be wooed home, but there are sure to be many suitors out there. The Canucks should be in on that chase.
Remember how people used to rip Alex Edler? They’d overlook all the good things the big Swede did and only focus on the errors.
You may have heard this before and you may not want to believe it, but here’s the thing with good players: They’re on the puck a lot. They’re inevitably going to make mistakes. There’s nothing you can do about that. Just as no team is going to go 82-0, no player is going play perfectly. What matters is whether they do far more positive than negative.
It’s fascinating to contemplate how few Edler critics there are now; surely this has something to do with the fact that he is the best defenceman the Canucks have, such has been the collection of duds who have graced the blue-line in recent seasons. When he’s been out of the lineup, we’ve noticed. The Canucks have been demonstrably worse on the back end when he’s absent.
And such is the case with Gardiner. There have been some high-profile blowups, but the fact remains that he’s been a minutes-muncher for the Leafs and Toronto has been far better when he’s on the ice. (He’s really the reverse of Zaitsev, who was, ironically, his most frequent defensive partner this past season.)
Gardiner puts up points at a rate that compares well with Alex Pietrangelo, leader of that powerful, productive, defensively sound sextet that the St. Louis Blues have been icing.
The Canucks’ blue-line corps needs puck-movers and would be better with Gardiner on their back end. Vancouver general manager Jim Benning, you might expect, will be making inquiries. It’s not often a player of this calibre hits the market.
As it’s been pointed out recently in other areas of the Canucks’ operation, speaking with someone isn’t the same as simply looking to get in contact with them. So Benning can call the Gardiner camp, but that doesn’t mean they’re going to speak with him.
And that, quite simply, is about what Gardiner himself may want from the off-ice experience. He’s from Minnesota, which, of course, is hockey- mad, but he’s spent his whole career in the fishbowl that is Toronto and he’s learned plenty about how heavy that can weigh on the psyche.
Would he want a similar experience in Vancouver? He’ll know how much hockey is talked about here, both among the fans and in the media. You can understand why his gut might say, “Who needs that? Let’s go to the States. Somewhere warm, without the public pressure.”
There’s an expression that Down Under sports fans like to use: “Back yourself,” they say. As in, trust your talents to take you where you want to go. So, we say to Jake Gardiner, who may be wavering about playing in another Canadian market: back yourself here. It’s a fresh start. This isn’t Toronto. You’d do well. You’d win over the fans. 1146353 Websites a golf course while its replacement is currently in use? And above all, why has the trophy’s whereabouts become a topic of public consumption?
The Athletic / Where did the Kelly Cup go? It’s a matter of dollars and Short answer: money. sense Lind says the league treated him unfairly when the Eagles left for the AHL. He accused the ECHL of not telling him there was a potential buyer Ryan S. Clark he could have sold his franchise spot to, which would have allowed him to recover the money he had to pay as an exit fee weeks before the Jun 7, 2019 Growlers received approval to join the league. He also claimed the ECHL left him out of the owner distributions for the 2017-18 season while also
stating the league has $175,000 of his money he would like returned. WINDSOR, Colo. — Anyone driving on Water Valley Parkway has likely Crelin denies those accusations. He was not involved in the Eagles’ exit made the turn onto Pelican Lakes Point and cruised the quarter-mile-long nor the Growlers’ entry into the league, but he said Lind was given time road surrounded by two-story homes with two-car garages, perfectly to find a buyer for his franchise spot. Crelin also said the ECHL did issue manicured lawns and what appear to be freshly paved sidewalks. Lind an owner distribution check, but it is holding Lind’s $175,000 as an For this is the entryway into the Pelican Lakes Golf Club and its insurance letter of credit to handle claims filed by players seeking championship-level course in the rolling plains of northern Colorado. medical attention. He said that it is a normal ECHL practice that takes Every building on the property looks like a contemporary log cabin with place whenever a team leaves the league. dark wood features and big glass windows. As for the old Kelly Cup? Just to the left of the grassy roundabout is a parking lot for about 200 “We don’t want the cup and we’re not holding it hostage for any dollar cars. To the right is the clubhouse and a few hundred feet farther, you’ll amount,” Lind said. “We want correspondence to resolve unresolved find three identical office buildings with their own designated parking issues.” spaces, some marked with bold white letters: “NO GOLF PARKING.” As far as Crelin is concerned, there is nothing to resolve. One of those buildings is the new home of the ECHL’s traveling championship trophy, the Kelly Cup. “They exited the league respectfully,” he said. “They paid an exit fee. We returned their letter of credit and what he is referring to is the insurance Hardly anyone knew the Kelly Cup remained in northern Colorado after letter of credit, which every departing member leaves on file with the the Colorado Eagles won their second straight ECHL title in 2018. But league for a number of years until we can ensure all the claims. They that changed a week ago when the private and mostly unknown dispute currently owe the ECHL money. That’s why we hold those letter of over a minor-league hockey trophy erupted into a public spectacle. credits.” Martin Lind, the Eagles owner, claims the ECHL mistreated him. The The Eagles were formed in 2003 and played their first eight seasons in league, for its part, says it acted fairly and by the book. the soon-to-be-shuttered Central Hockey League. The team reached the Lind, the son of a farmer and a schoolteacher, is a land developer in the playoffs every year and won two league titles. Lind, saying he was not community where he grew up. He is president and CEO of Water Valley comfortable with the CHL’s financial stability, sought a better option. Co., which operates in one of those contemporary log resort homes with The Eagles joined the ECHL for the 2011-12 season. When the CHL the big glass windows less than 1,000 feet away from Pelican Lakes’ folded in 2014, Lind said he reached out to owners he knew and clubhouse. recruited them to join the ECHL. Seven new teams were added to the It is on the bottom floor of that two-story building that the Kelly Cup league before the start of the 2014-15 season. resides, inside an office belonging to former Eagles defenseman and Lind and the Eagles played seven seasons in the ECHL and finished with alternate captain Jake Marto. He was a member of the Eagles’ team that back-to-back Kelly Cups before moving on to the become the won its second consecutive and final Kelly Cup after the 2017-18 season Avalanche’s AHL affiliate. Lind said they had a “respectful and and before they left the ECHL to become the AHL affiliate of the harmonious” relationship with the ECHL while Crelin, who has worked for Colorado Avalanche in 2018-19. Marto now works for the Eagles as a the league for more than a decade, said he has a “good relationship” with partnership coordinator. Lind as well. Marto’s office has several mementos from his playing days, including a In order for the Eagles to leave the ECHL for the AHL, they had to pay a heavy-looking all black case with aluminum framing and handles. This is $500,000 exit fee. Attorney Dan Etna, who is a partner and co-chair of the box where the Eagles keep the Kelly Cup, where it rests in crushed the sports practice at Herrick Feinstein LLP in New York, told The blue velvet and is readily available for viewing. Athletic that exit fees are not uncommon as a way for minor professional The case sits next to a window overlooking one of the man-made lakes sports leagues to keep their membership intact. on the golf course. It has been here for quite some time. But until now, Crelin said the ECHL also waived a year-long noncompete clause that only a select few knew about the Cup’s exact location. allowed the Eagles to immediately play in the AHL. Patrick J. Kelly was the ECHL’s boss for eight seasons, is now the “They required I give them a $500,000 (exit fee) but for that (exit fee), league’s commissioner emeritus and the “Kelly” of the Kelly’s Cup. He that would allow us to leave very honorably and it gave us the opportunity did an interview with a Toledo, Ohio, radio station May 31 and said the to sell our membership to another market,” Lind said. “Granted, the other Eagles kept the trophy and that the ECHL had to order a new one, which market would have to be approved and vetted by the ECHL just as we eventually went to the Newfoundland Growlers, the league’s newest were when we came in, but it gave us that opportunity. We did it. We champions. paid it. The league approved it. Kelly’s revelation set off a firestorm of public accusations and questions. “We ended up not finding a buyer and the league flat out told us they had Lind was in Nebraska for the final day of turkey hunting season when he no other knowledge of any other buyer coming into the league.” started getting calls and text messages. First-year ECHL commissioner Ryan Crelin, who was previously the league’s chief operating officer, was Lind said then-ECHL Commissioner Brian McKenna, who did not return on an airplane when Kelly’s statement started gaining traction. phone calls for comment, told him in November and December 2017 there were no other buyers for the franchise spot. Lind and the Eagles issued a statement that afternoon saying ECHL management has “full knowledge” of the situation and that he had made “And then we get the agenda for the winter meetings,” Lind said. “Lo and numerous attempts to return the trophy. Crelin and the ECHL released a behold, on the agenda is expansion approval for St. John’s. In essence, statement June 1 saying there was a “confirmed plan” with Eagles our own league competed with us for the very same thing to sell. That’s management to return the Kelly Cup in December 2018 but that the the bottom line of the deal. There is a covenant, we can’t sue and our “arrangement was not fulfilled,” so the league had to make a new trophy. legal counsel felt that is a very strong, written covenant and we would have been fruitless in the pursuit of that. How did it get to this point? What was the catalyst for all of this happening? Why is the Kelly Cup living out its newfound “retirement” on “We just had to say, ‘Wow!’ They treated us with no honor, no business The email, which was also sent to the ECHL’s owners, said that “you all ethics and they cheated me.” might want to take a hard look at your governance and hope you’re not treated someday like the Colorado Eagles have been and are currently Crelin said Lind had the opportunity to sell and transfer his league being treated by your leadership.” membership to another owner through mid-December 2017 but was not able to find a buyer. Lind said he received “zero” feedback from anyone about the email.
Lind’s argument is the league knew about the interest from the owners of Eventually, both sides moved on. The Eagles continued their first season the St. John’s-based Growlers and the ECHL did not tell him until he saw in the AHL, which resulted in them reaching the playoffs. the winter meetings agenda weeks after the deadline passed for him to sell his membership. Lind said knowing about the Growlers’ ownership Crelin was asked if the ECHL ever considered suing the Eagles in the would have provided him the chance to sell directly to them. hopes of getting the Kelly Cup back.
He said that could have allowed him to recover the money from the “By the time legal action would have ever come to fruition, I would have $500,000 exit fee while also potentially making an additional $250,000 presented three champions by then,” Crelin said. “It was a pretty easy from the sale. Instead, the Growlers entered the league as an expansion decision (to move on.)” team. The minimum fee for an expansion team is $1 million whereas a The ECHL commissioned Trophy Awards Manufacturing, Inc., to build a transaction between two parties must sell for more than $750,000, a new Kelly Cup. Trophy Awards is the company that also does annual source confirmed to The Athletic. maintenance once the cup has been returned from the previous winner. Growlers owner Dean MacDonald said he estimates that his group The Eagles still have a FedEx shipping label on the Kelly Cup’s crate contacted the ECHL around Christmas 2017 about joining the league for from Nov. 26, 2018, to return the award to Trophy Awards in the event an the 2018-19 season. He was told by the ECHL that the league was in no agreement was reached with the ECHL. position to add them because they did not have a venue. Crelin added Landon Martin, who works in marketing for Trophy Awards, said it took that while the Growlers were trying to play in 2018-19, they were unsure about a month to build a new Kelly Cup and the ballpark estimate was if they could get a lease in time. between $5,000 and $6,500.
The Growlers, who are the ECHL affiliate for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Several months passed and nobody knew about the Kelly Cup’s situation were approved by the league on the condition that they obtain a lease until Kelly talked about it a week ago. agreement with the Mile One Centre, according to a story in the St. John’s Telegram from Jan. 25, 2018. A deal was later finalized with the Now what? City of St. John’s issuing a release the ECHL agreed the team would play The Eagles are in another league and will head into Year 2 of their a minimum of 36 home games a year over the next three seasons. relationship with the Avalanche. The ECHL recently finished its season “Even if (Lind’s) franchise was for sale, I was not in a position to buy,” and the Growlers won the title in their first campaign and are now in MacDonald said. “I had nowhere to play. I was not interested in playing possession of the new Kelly Cup. somewhere else. I wanted to play in Newfoundland. That’s where I live.” Lind was asked what he will do with the Kelly Cup given there is a new Lind said each year the ECHL issues its owners a league distribution trophy in circulation. check. He said the ECHL makes money from items such as selling “I think eBay might be a good option,” he said with a smile. “Because I expansion teams or a line of credit surrendered by a team that’s leaving don’t want it.” the league altogether. The Athletic LOADED: 06.08.2019 Those funds, in turn, are then dispersed among the league’s owners. Lind said the league did not send him a distribution check from the 2017- 18 season, the Eagles’ final campaign in the ECHL.
“He needs to check his bank account,” Crelin said. “I issued every check they were owed for the 2017-18 season as required by our bylaws.”
Another issue Lind raised is he says the ECHL has $175,000 of his money.
“I don’t owe them anything,” Lind said. “There is a claim against our insurance for $25,000. I don’t owe the league anything. It’s for workman’s comp claims guarantee and it is supposed to be incrementally released to me as time goes by.”
Crelin said there are two letters of credit for each team. There is the letter of credit to the ECHL itself, which he says was returned to the Eagles after they left the league. The second letter of credit is related to insurance. Crelin said the insurance letter of credit is not completed until the claims are closed. He said that is standard practice with every team that leaves the league.
He also said the $175,000 that Lind and all ECHL owners pay for the insurance letter of credit serves as collateral. In the event an owner does not choose to pay for medical treatment, the league uses that money to pay for those claims. Crelin said it is possible the $25,000 claim could increase if more medical assistance is required.
Crelin said once the claim is officially completed and Lind pays for the final total, he will receive the $175,000 from the ECHL.
“It’s for player insurance,” Crelin said. “It’s like an insurance claim and they take time to resolve. We have it in our a CBA and an obligation to ensure (players) are taken care of.”
Lind confirmed that he wrote an email to Crelin in January 2019 regarding an offer to return the Kelly Cup if the Eagles and the league could “honorably finalize the financial matters” outstanding. The email, a copy of which was obtained by The Athletic, notes how Lind’s attorney was told the league was “not interested in attempting to resolve this matter.” 1146354 Websites 2019-20 salaries: $47.4 million
RFAs estimate: $7 million
The Athletic / Mirtle: Ranking all 31 NHL team’s salary-cap situations, Projected cap space: $28.6 million from best to worst Another team that’s going to be in tough to be competitive, even with the addition of Jack Hughes (or Kaapo Kakko) courtesy of the No. 1 overall pick. James Mirtle New Jersey isn’t really losing anyone of note in free agency, and they Jun 7, 2019 also don’t have any big-name RFAs to get locked up. Even after signing their young players, they’ll still be well below the salary floor.
This is going to be a crazy, busy offseason in the NHL. Unlike Ottawa, the Devils ownership group has shown an inclination to spend to the cap in the past, and they’ve heavily invested in a new A huge reason for that is the salary cap. We often hear about the analytics department this offseason in an aim to do things differently. It’ll disparity between financial haves and have nots in the NHL, but a be fascinating to see how they try to weaponize their nearly $30-million in scenario is shaping up this summer where you have teams that are order to try and make strides toward competitiveness as they build completely capped out and others that have acres and acres of cap around Hughes or Kakko. space. It’s become a situation of extremes, as there are nine teams projected to have $18-million or more in cap space after signing their The Taylor Hall situation looms large, too. restricted free agents and another 10 teams that will have $4-million or Notable unsigned UFAs: Kenny Agostino, Drew Stafford less. 3. New York Islanders Those two types of teams will need to work together in some cases, with the cap space clubs solving the problems of those without – for a price. 2019-20 salaries: $54.5 million
Cap Friendly does a nice job of giving us a team’s cap picture on a RFAs estimate: $3 million specific day, but I wanted to take their information one step further. After teams have signed their restricted free agents, put injured players on Projected cap space: $25.5 million LTIR and used buyouts, how much space will they really have to Unlike the first two teams on this list, the Islanders had a very good maneuver in trades and free agency? season and should be competitive again in 2019-20.
This obviously requires making some projections and educated guesses. What also makes the Islanders different is they’ve got some big-name We don’t know which RFAs are going to sign bridge deals and which will UFAs that they are still trying to re-sign. It appears Jordan Eberle will go sign long term, but I think even ballparking what teams need to spend to free agency, but if GM Lou Lamoriello gets Anders Lee and Robin there gives us a clearer picture of their cap situation. Lehner under contract, that could eat up a big chunk of the $25-million in Here are the results of my calculations, in a nutshell: open space.
Based on that information, here is an average NHL team, with the draft Even so, the Islanders are going to have money to spend in free agency, and free agency quickly approaching in the next few weeks: beyond keeping their own players. And they could add even more to that if they decide to buy out or trade away some of the bad contracts they Current payroll: $61.8-million have on the books.
Estimated RFA cost: $9.3-million A definite dark horse to land some of the big names in free agency like Artemi Panarin. LTIR players: $1.6-million Notable unsigned UFAs: Anders Lee, Jordan Eberle, Robin Lehner, Salary cap space: $12-million Valtteri Filppula
What follows is a closer look, team by team, starting with clubs like 4. Detroit Red Wings Ottawa and New Jersey which have plenty of money to spend this summer. 2019-20 salaries: $59.3 million
1. Ottawa Senators RFAs estimate: $1 million
2019-20 salaries: $37.3 million Projected cap space: $22.7 million
RFAs estimate: $10 million The Atlantic Division got a whole lot more interesting this offseason in a number of spots. In Detroit, Steve Yzerman — one of the most Projected cap space: $35.7 million successful GMs in the past decade — takes over a huge rebuilding If not for the contracts for Clarke MacArthur and Marian Gaborik, the project but has a ton of cap space to work with. Senators might have trouble reaching the $61.3-million salary floor for This offseason is an important one for him to begin to make his mark. next season. The Red Wings have a lot of players signed. They have some bad This projected cap space number is so large in part because I’ve put both contracts. They’ve got a pile of money they can open up in LTIR with players on long-term injured reserve, but it’s highly unlikely Ottawa needs Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen presumably going back there for to do so given the room they have. the full year.
After signing their three notable RFAs (Cody Ceci, Colin White and But they need more help everywhere on the roster, and I can’t imagine Anthony Duclair), the Senators will have nine forwards, six defensemen Yzerman views free agency as the place to buy it. Some creative trades and two goaltenders under contract and will still have nearly $25-million and making use of their cap advantage could go a long way toward they can spend even without dipping into LTIR. Given they’ll have a setting up the Red Wings to be a good team in two or three years. young, rebuilding team, this should be a big opportunity for GM Pierre Dorion to use that excess space to take on other team’s bad contracts Notable unsigned UFAs: Niklas Kronwall, Thomas Vanek along with useful assets like picks and prospects. 5. Buffalo Sabres No team is better positioned to help out some of the teams in cap hell – if Senators ownership is willing to spend a little to do so. 2019-20 salaries: $52.5 million
Notable unsigned UFAs: Oscar Lindberg, Magnus Paajarvi, Brian RFAs estimate: $10 million Gibbons Projected cap space: $20.5 million 2. New Jersey Devils Buffalo has a ton of cap space. But it comes with a caveat: If they re-sign The Canucks have a ton of forwards signed and more coming once they Jeff Skinner to a monster deal in the $9-million a season range, they drop lock up their RFAs. Not everyone can be on the roster, which is another down to 18th on this list and would only have $11-million or so to spend. avenue they can go to free up even more space.
Now, they could add to that if they don’t give qualifying offers to some of What they really need is some experienced defensemen, which is where their RFAs. I’ve re-signed them all for this exercise, but the Sabres have the Nikita Zaitsev trade rumors come in. Because after Erik Karlsson and some tough calls given the performance of some of their young players. Jake Gardiner, there’s not a ton available in free agency, which is why They could also buy out someone like Marco Scandella, who I’ve kept on some team may overpay someone like Tyler Myers. the roster at this point. Vancouver, given their roster, their cap situation and their front office, Whether they keep Skinner or not, GM Jason Botterill is going to have may well be that team. some money to play with to try and add a difference maker on the blue line to help out Rasmus Dahlin. If they lose Skinner, they’ll suddenly have Notable unsigned UFAs: Alex Edler, Luke Schenn a huge pile of money – and will need to get aggressive to fill multiple 9. Anaheim Ducks holes. 2019-20 salaries: $63.8 million Notable unsigned UFAs: Jeff Skinner, Jason Pominville RFAs estimate: $1 million 6. Carolina Hurricanes Projected cap space: $18.2 million 2019-20 salaries: $51.3 million Anaheim is a bit of a weird one. RFAs estimate: $12.5 million If they use LTIR, which is how I calculated the cap-space figure above, Projected cap space: $19.2 million then they have plenty of space to do something significant this summer. Once the Hurricanes buy out Scott Darling, they’ll have … no goalies. And they kind of need to, given how their season went and the fact they And a lot of cap space. only have three veterans signed on defense.
This $19-million is without Justin Williams and Micheal Ferland, who are But the Ducks are rarely a cap team – let alone a team that exceeds the both UFA, so that could eat into the money some if either is re-signed. cap – so they may not choose to take the $10-million in LTIR money from But you add in two goaltenders, even at lower salaries, and Carolina still Ryan Kesler and Patrick Eaves and invest it on their blue line. can be a player for a significant free-agent forward. If they don’t go into LTIR, however, their cap space shrinks to about $8- Especially given they’re likely to move out a defenseman in a trade, million. And they’ll need to sign a couple forwards, two or three which could open up even more space. And they may be given the green defensemen and a backup goaltender. Yikes. light to use all of that space if new owner Tom Dundon is convinced to Notable unsigned UFAs: Ryan Miller, Derek Grant spend to the cap, after their successful run to the conference final. 10. Florida Panthers Notable unsigned UFAs: Justin Williams, Micheal Ferland, Petr Mrazek, Curtis McElhinney, Greg McKegg 2019-20 salaries: $61 million
7. Columbus Blue Jackets RFAs estimate: $5 million
2019-20 salaries: $50.5 million Projected cap space: $17 million
RFAs estimate: $14 million If the Panthers are going to add Panarin and Bobrovsky, they probably have just enough cap space to pull off those two huge contracts. And not Projected cap space: $18.5 million much else.
The bad news is the Blue Jackets’ big play at the trade deadline of That, however, is before we factor in whatever happens with James keeping their pending UFAs didn’t pay off. Reimer, who will likely be moved in a retained-salary transaction or The good news is they still have a pretty good team and a whole lotta bought out. moolah to spend this summer. And that’s even before buying out If they land the two big fish, they’ll have to find another salary to move someone like Brandon Dubinsky. out or things will be really tight all season. It’ll be a fascinating year in Columbus obviously needs some forward help to replace Panarin and South Florida as ownership really goes for it. Matt Duchene, but they seem set on using two young goaltenders. If that Notable unsigned UFAs: Troy Brouwer, Riley Sheahan works, it’ll save them a ton on the cap at that position, which they can then allocate elsewhere. 11. Philadelphia Flyers
Zach Werenski and Ryan Murray need new contracts, which is a big 2019-20 salaries: $48.8 million chunk of that RFA number above, but there’ll be an opportunity to invest RFAs estimate: $17.5 million up front. The only question, given the free-agent class, is who do they target? Projected cap space: $16.7 million
Notable unsigned UFAs: Artemi Panarin, Sergei Bobrovsky, Matt The Flyers don’t have much salary committed for next year, but they do Duchene, Ryan Dzingel, Adam McQuaid have a lot of interesting RFA deals to sign, headlined by Ivan Provorov, who could get a massive, long-term commitment given his role. What a 8. Vancouver Canucks player. 2019-20 salaries: $49.1 million I’ve only calculated Colorado and Winnipeg to have more to spend on RFAs estimate: $15.5 million RFAs this offseason, which means those contracts will be important in determining how much space the Flyers have to utilize elsewhere. Projected cap space: $18.4 million More than anything, Philadelphia needs more stability in goal, when half The Canucks should be thinking rebuild, with an eye to contending two or of the journeymen starters in the league seemed to get a turn in net in three years down the road with a roster built around Elias Pettersson and 2018-19. Beyond that, it’ll be interesting where they decide to spend, as Brock Boeser. They certainly have the cap room this year to assume you can make the case for either a high-end forward or defenseman on some bad money from elsewhere. this roster.
But after so many years out of the postseason, and a GM who has to be The Flyers could be a dark-horse candidate for one of the big UFA fish if concerned about keeping his job, you wonder how they’ll proceed with they decide to spend right to the cap. Which they usually do. this much flexibility under the cap. Notable unsigned UFAs: Cam Talbot, Brian Elliott 12. Colorado Avalanche Projected cap space: $15.4 million
2019-20 salaries: $46 million The Sharks are another team where their cap space is misleading.
RFAs estimate: $20.5 million If they want to bring back Big Joe and Little Joe, that would eat a significant portion of any room they have. And that could mean letting go Projected cap space: $16.5 million a significant number of key contributors, including Erik Karlsson, whose The Avs are really starting to feel like a team on the rise in the West. huge contract will be difficult to fit in without subtracting someone else.
They’ve got a lot of good contracts and strong prospects coming. There’s GM Doug Wilson has a really tough puzzle to solve if the Sharks are a test here for management to get their many RFAs signed for a going to stay on top of the Western Conference. reasonable rate, with Mikko Rantanen the toughest exam of the bunch. Notable unsigned UFAs: Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton, Erik Karlsson, (My projection is going to be high if they go for a bridge deal with him. Joonas Donskoi, Gustav Nyquist, Tim Heed But no matter what they have a lot to spend on getting their young players all re-signed.) 16. Dallas Stars
With defensemen Cale Makar and Samuel Girard on their ELCs and 2019-20 salaries: $63.6 million Philipp Grubauer making a bargain salary in goal, they’re well-positioned to add a difference-making forward up front to give them some more RFAs estimate: $6 million depth beyond their big line. And to take a step forward in the standings. Projected cap space: $13.4 million
It’s been quite a turnaround for Joe Sakic. With Martin Hanzal unlikely to be able to play, the Stars can place him on Notable unsigned UFAs: Semyon Varlamov, Derick Brassard, Colin LTIR and free up nearly $5-million in cap space this offseason. Wilson, Patrick Nemeth, Gabriel Bourque That, combined with subtracting Jason Spezza’s monster contract, will 13. Chicago Blackhawks give them plenty of room to add another quality defenseman and either bring back Mats Zuccarello or find another scoring option on the wing. 2019-20 salaries: $62.6 million The Stars are really top heavy under the cap with nearly $20-million RFAs estimate: $4.5 million committed to Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin, but with the cap rising and players like Miro Heiskanen on their entry-level deals, they’re in a Projected cap space: $15.9 million comfortable position cap wise. Given the age of many of their key When’s the last time the Blackhawks weren’t in cap hell and were real contributors, the time to go for it is now. players in free agency and offseason trades? They could make some noise in the next few weeks.
I honestly don’t know the answer. Notable unsigned UFAs: Mats Zuccarello, Jason Spezza, Ben Lovejoy, The question is how do they best complement their aging core for a few Taylor Fedun more big runs? They suddenly have a lot of terrific players on ELCs – 17. New York Rangers Dylan Strome, Alex DeBrincat, Dominik Kahun and Henri Jokiharju could all take big steps forward again – and have cap space to improve their 2019-20 salaries: $62.1 million depth both up front and on defense. Someone like Jake Gardiner might make sense, just to give them another option in the top four to eat a lot of RFAs estimate: $9.5 million minutes and take the pressure off Brent Seabrook. Projected cap space: $11.4 million
This is Corey Crawford’s last year under contract, and at 34, it’s Another rebuilding team that has some money to throw around this worthwhile to question how many more years he has a No. 1. The clock offseason. is ticking, in more ways than one. It’ll be interesting to see how patient the Rangers are here. They have But Chicago could surprise with a renaissance here if GM Stan Bowman some good young players coming, but there’s also the fact that Henrik has a big summer. Lundqvist is winding down his career and there have been rumors New Notable unsigned UFAs: Cam Ward, Chris Kunitz, Marcus Kruger York could be players for Panarin or another big name via trade.
Paul Fenton New York could also buy out some of the bad contracts on their roster, creating even more space to maneuver, but the issue there is it doubles 14. Minnesota Wild the number of years that the cap hit for the likes of Brendan Smith and Matt Beleskey will be on the roster. 2019-20 salaries: $61.5 million The Rangers would be better off trying to absorb some bad deals from RFAs estimate: $6 million elsewhere in exchange for picks or prospects and settling for another low Projected cap space: $15.4 million finish in the standings. They’re going to have a ton of cap space freed up for the summer of 2020 and some of their young players like Adam Fox The Wild are trying to move Jason Zucker and his $5.5-million will likely be able to contribute more in the NHL by that point. commitment, which would set Minnesota up really well under the cap. But you wonder what new GM Paul Fenton has up his sleeve here, assuming Notable unsigned UFAs: None the Phil Kessel trade doesn’t come through. 18. Arizona Coyotes
The Wild are in a tough spot with their huge commitments to Zach Parise 2019-20 salaries: $68.4 million and Ryan Suter now into their eighth season. They can’t exactly go into rebuild mode the way other teams in their position can. RFAs estimate: $5.5 million
But they’re not really burdened by many bad contracts, and there’s room Projected cap space: $9.1 million to improve if they can be players for some of the significant free agents. Finding the right way to spend that $15-million or so is going to be vital if The Coyotes shockingly are closer to the cap than the floor, which feels they’re going to return to the postseason. like new territory for the franchise.
Notable unsigned UFAs: Eric Fehr Even if you subtract Marian Hossa’s dead money, they’ll be less than $10-million from the ceiling once their RFAs are signed, and that’s with 15. San Jose Sharks letting Richard Panik head to free agency.
2019-20 salaries: $57.6 million The big question for GM John Chayka is how can he give this group a bump offensively? Arizona was tied for third last in goal production last RFAs estimate: $10 million year, and while Clayton Keller is likely to continue to improve, he needs more help. Unless they decide to spend closer to the cap, that’s going to be a 2019-20 salaries: $64.3 million challenge to find. And they’re not in as strong of a position to take on bad contracts as they used to be. RFAs estimate: $14.5 million
Notable unsigned UFAs: Richard Panik Projected cap space: $4.2 million
19. Montreal Canadiens It’s hard to know what the Blues are going to have to pay playoff hero Jordan Binnington. And there are a lot of other middling RFA contracts to 2019-20 salaries: $69.5 million sort out.
RFAs estimate: $6 million But the core of this team is still signed. And if they can get out from under Jake Allen’s $4.35-million salary the next two years – even with a buyout Projected cap space: $7.4 million – then they’ll open up even more room to add a piece or two. (Or just We’re starting to get into teams that have less room to play with here. bring back someone like Patrick Maroon.)
Now, the Habs could buy out Karl Alzner, freeing up another $2.5-million St. Louis is going to have to pay Alex Pietrangelo and Brayden Schenn or so in space than demoting him to the minors would. They’ve also got starting in 2020-21, so things could get murkier down the line, but they’re 17 forwards that could be under NHL contracts once they have their in a good position to remain a contender with a similar roster for another RFAs signed, so obviously something has to give there. They could stash season beyond this one. And perhaps even add another quality player in a bunch of that in the AHL. free agency this summer.
Failing being able to make a play in free agency, the Canadiens could Notable unsigned UFAs: Patrick Maroon, Carl Gunnarsson, Michael Del also attempt some 2-for-1 trades, moving multiple players for an Zotto upgrade. Those deals, however, can be hard to make. They could also 23. Nashville Predators attempt to bring in a bad contract in order to help in some other way, as Sean Gordon documented nicely here. 2019-20 salaries: $75.9 million
Regardless, Montreal doesn’t really have any hard decisions under the RFAs estimate: $3 million cap this offseason. Those will come down the road when they have to re- sign their young players while continuing to work around the big, long- Projected cap space: $4.1 million term contracts of Carey Price and Shea Weber. You can see why they’re exploring the idea of trading P.K. Subban.
Notable unsigned UFAs: Jordie Benn He’s their highest paid player, just turned 30 and is coming off a down 20. Edmonton Oilers season. Furthermore, team captain Roman Josi is going to get an absolute monster of a contract that will kick in starting in 2020. 2019-20 salaries: $72.2 million Even in the near term, things are getting tight for Nashville, and they’re RFAs estimate: $4 million coming off a disappointing season. In addition to the early playoff exit, they were 19th in goal production and dead last on the power play during Projected cap space: $6.8 million the regular season. They’d love to become a more dynamic team up front The Oilers have a new GM in Ken Holland. A new coach in Dave Tippett. to complement their strengths on D and in goal, but that’s going to mean And, surprisingly, they have some cap space to work with, despite all of rearranging some pieces. the ugly contracts on the board. And to be a player in free agency, they’ll have to free up more salary. Granted, $6.8-million isn’t a ton, but they should be able to add at least The Preds offseason could be one of the more fascinating ones around one impact player – preferably someone to skate alongside Connor the league. McDavid. And if Holland is able to clear some of Peter Chiarelli’s bad Notable unsigned UFAs: Wayne Simmonds, Brian Boyle contracts, perhaps he is able to add more than one new piece? 24. Washington Capitals Let’s hope so, anyway, for Oilers fans’ sake. 2019-20 salaries: $72.9 million The doorway of hope has opened. No pressure, Mr. Holland. RFAs estimate: $8 million Notable unsigned UFAs: Alex Chiasson, Alex Petrovic Projected cap space: $2.1 million 21. Los Angeles Kings Two million bucks. That’s not a lot, especially considering it doesn’t 2019-20 salaries: $71.3 million include someone like Brett Connolly, who had a nice breakout season RFAs estimate: $6.5 million this year in Washington and will be looking to cash in in free agency for the first time, at age 27. Projected cap space: $5.2 million Jakub Vrana’s second contract likely won’t be cheap, which puts some Uh oh. It’s one thing to be nearly capped out when you have a good pressure on the front office on the RFA front, but the real question is how team, like Tampa, Toronto or Vegas, who we’ll get to below. they’ll tweak their depth behind their well-paid stars.
But when you’re a bottom feeder and you don’t have any space? And There’s not a lot of room for a makeover here, not without moving out a you’ve got a roster filled with aging, declining veterans? player who was a key piece of the 2018 championship run. But maybe it’s time for that change, with Matt Niskanen one possibility to go. Yikes. Notable unsigned UFAs: Brett Connolly, Carl Hagelin, Brooks Orpik, I thought it was really interesting to hear that GM Rob Blake was trying to Devante Smith-Pelly dump a bad contract in a potential Patrick Marleau trade. That’s the kind of forward-thinking move they need to make, just to get out from under (Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire) some of these deals that are on the books well into the future. 25. Calgary Flames Even some buyouts for players like Dion Phaneuf wouldn’t be a bad idea, if a trade involving salary retention can’t be made. Just move on and look 2019-20 salaries: $67.1 million toward the future, rather than try and win with what worked in the past. RFAs estimate: $14 million
Because that Cup win in 2014 was a while ago now. And those days ain’t Projected cap space: $1.9 million coming back. Matthew Tkachuk is another tough RFA to project. But it’s safe to say Notable unsigned UFAs: None he’ll be getting a big contract, one that will put pressure on the Flames 22. St. Louis Blues front office to improve the rest of the roster around him. That’s where all the talk of Calgary trading a defenseman has arisen over Erik Cernak has emerged as one top-four option, and Mikhail Sergachev the past few weeks, with both TJ Brodie and Travis Hamonic’s names in can likely play more minutes, too. Maybe Cal Foote is ready to recall the rumor mill. Buying out Michael Stone would also give them an extra from the minors, but it feels like Tampa will need to add on the blue line, $2.3-million, which they’ll likely need to come up with a replacement for and they’ll need to create some cap room in order to do so. Mike Smith in goal. Buying out Ryan Callahan’s final year would free up another $3.1-million, They’d also like to find a way to keep Garnet Hathaway and some depth but in a best-case scenario, they can find a way to trade the full $5.8- on defense, in case their younger options struggle to fill in on the top million to one of the teams at the top of this list somehow. Maybe by four. So it’s hard to see Calgary being all that active in free agency. including one of their many budding young prospects?
That ugly James Neal contract looms large right now. Maybe they can Once Point signs, the Lightning will have eight forwards making $5- call Ottawa? million or more and a ninth making $4.45-million in Alex Killorn. At some point, while that depth is great to have, it may not be sustainable. Notable unsigned UFAs: Mike Smith, Garnet Hathaway, Oscar Especially with the contracts they’ll have to sign in 2020. Fantenberg Notable unsigned UFAs: Dan Girardi, Anton Stralman, Braydon Coburn 26. Winnipeg Jets 29. Pittsburgh Penguins 2019-20 salaries: $56.9 million 2019-20 salaries: $79.1 million RFAs estimate: $24.5 million RFAs estimate: $3.5 million Projected cap space: $1.6 million Projected cap space: $0.4 million There’s an argument to be made that Winnipeg has the toughest offseason in the NHL. The Erik Gudbranson and Jack Johnson contracts loom large now.
They have three RFAs who can legitimately ask for monster contracts in Combined they’re making $7.25-million for another two seasons, despite Patrik Laine, Kyle Connor and Jacob Trouba. They’re going to lose Tyler the fact they were getting third-pair minutes in the playoffs (such as they Myers on defense to free agency. And they need to somehow add were for Pittsburgh). another top-four defenseman and a couple of depth forwards despite minimal space with which to do so. GM Jim Rutherford wants to shake things up, and moving Phil Kessel’s big contract would qualify, but the Penguins are boxed in here in part Buying out Dmitry Kulikov will save the Jets nearly $3-million next because of the bad contracts they’ve got on the books. season, some badly needed breathing room. But one wonders if this is finally the year when they’ll have to trade someone like Trouba, who Unless they find a way to shed payroll, they’re going to be a complete hasn’t shown much willingness to sign long term in Winnipeg. non-factor in free agency. And it’s hard to see a path to get a lot better unless Rutherford can win a trade or two, which can be hard to do when They need to be careful or next season could be an even bigger step you’re looking at subtracting a point-a-game player. back. Notable unsigned UFAs: Matt Cullen, Garrett Wilson Notable unsigned UFAs: Kevin Hayes, Tyler Myers, Brandon Tanev, Ben Chiarot, Par Lindholm 30. Toronto Maple Leafs
27. Boston Bruins 2019-20 salaries: $68.9 million
2019-20 salaries: $68 million RFAs estimate: $15 million
RFAs estimate: $13.5 million Projected cap space: -$0.9 million
Projected cap space: $1.5 million Our first team in the red.
The Bruins obviously have bigger concerns right now given they’re The Leafs cap situation has been discussed so much already this spring trailing in the Stanley Cup final, but they’ll again have a tight cap situation that we probably don’t need to rehash every detail. But once Mitch in their short offseason. Marner gets a big contract, and once Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson re-sign, things are very, very tight. New contracts for Charlie McAvoy, Brandon Carlo and Danton Heinen could be pricey, so much so that bringing back Marcus Johansson feels Someone is going to have to be traded in order to make room for like a long shot, despite his strong postseason. everyone.
Moving out some of David Backes and John Moore’s contracts could be Now “someone” could be as small of a change as moving Connor Brown a priority, as that would allow GM Don Sweeney to do more than simply for a draft pick, to open up a couple million dollars. But with Patrick return the same team as they had much of this season. But even if they Marleau and Nikita Zaitsev both on the trade block, it’s clear that GM don’t end up being very active on the trade market or in free agency, Kyle Dubas is trying to free up a lot more space than a million or two. If they’ll remain a contender, yet again. he can move all three players without retaining salary (or taking a bad contract back), the Leafs cap picture gets far more wide open and they They still have a lot of value contracts, which will allow them to keep the can make some additions on the blueline. gang together for some time. Notable unsigned UFAs: Jake Gardiner, Ron Hainsey, Tyler Ennis Notable unsigned UFAs: Marcus Johansson, Noel Acciari 31. Vegas Golden Knights 28. Tampa Bay Lightning 2019-20 salaries: $77.1 million 2019-20 salaries: $74.4 million RFAs estimate: $8.5 million RFAs estimate: $8 million Projected cap space: -$2.6 million Projected cap space: $0.6 million It’s hard to believe, but the NHL’s youngest franchise is also its most cap- Getting Brayden Point re-signed is the focal point, but he can’t be the strapped. only one. They can put David Clarkson’s contract on LTIR, but even then, they’re I’ve given him a bridge deal in these calculations, as that was the only close to the cap and need to sign William Karlsson and several other way to fit everyone under the cap. But the Lightning are losing three RFAs. (My estimate here is likely too low given the addition of Nikita veteran defencemen in this scenario, with Dan Girardi, Anton Stralman Gusev, who needs a new contract after coming over from the KHL. and Braydon Coburn all UFAs. Therefore, consider $2.6-million on the very low end of what they need to drop to get cap compliant by the start of the regular season.) Vegas is certainly going to have to shed salary this summer. Maybe it’s something as simple as trading away Colin Miller, but things are definitely tight after adding Mark Stone’s $9.5-million deal. Without further additions, will their blue line be good enough to keep them among the best teams in the West?
This is going to be one of the more interesting teams to watch in the next few weeks.
Notable unsigned UFAs: P-E Bellemare, Deryk Engelland, Ryan Carpenter, Brandon Pirri
There’s a lot of information in here, given we’re dealing with every non- UFA contract in the entire league. If you notice an error, let me know in the comments or on social media, and we’ll make sure it gets corrected.
The Athletic LOADED: 06.08.2019 1146355 Websites The second star: Charles Barkley – Who says that people from other sports can’t grasp the subtleties of hockey fandom?
BRAD MARCHAND ON CHARLES BARKLEY: “I THINK HE JUST The Athletic / DGB Grab Bag: Keys to victory for Blues and Bruins, stolen WANTS TO BE MY FRIEND” PIC.TWITTER.COM/8DIDXYJ88U trophies and when players gave real interviews — HEART OF NHL (@HEARTOFNHL) JUNE 2, 2019
The first star: Alex Pietrangelo – If you’re a parent and you can go the Sean McIndoe rest of the week without saying “Settle down, buffalo head” to your kid ten Jun 7, 2019 times a day, you’re a better person than I am.
I’VE HEARD A LOT OF CHIRPS OVER THE YEARS ON THE ICE … BUT ALEX PIETRANGELO TELLING DAVID BACKES TO The Stanley Cup will be in the building on Sunday in St. Louis, as the "SETTLE DOWN, 헯혂헳헳헮헹헼 헵헲헮헱" STICKS OUT AS ONE Blues try to close out the final and take home their first-ever OF THE MOST CREATIVE. PIC.TWITTER.COM/F7JC5W8VHL championship. But even with only one or two more games to go, this series is still very much up for grabs. What will it take to win? After — CRISTIANO SIMONETTA (@CMS_74_) JUNE 1, 2019 consulting with various experts and insiders around the league, here are Be It Resolved ten keys to victory the rest of the way. The weirdest story in hockey this week – and maybe this year – is the Blues: While the whole urinal story was fun for a few days, Carl case of the missing Kelly Cup. The ECHL’s championship trophy was Gunnarsson doesn’t actually need to keep standing right next to Craig won last year by the Colorado Eagles. And this week, we found out that Berube every time he pees, the Blues coach has said, before adding that they never gave it back. it’s also 4:00 a.m. so maybe get the hell out of his house. According to league commissioner Patrick Kelly, the Eagles just kept the Bruins: Must remember that the Stanley Cup final is all about creating trophy instead of returning it, possibly because they’re no longer in the indelible moments that define legacies, so if you score a big goal in league (they moved to the AHL this past season). The Eagles say that overtime don’t forget to jump and fly through the air for absolutely no real they tried to arrange a return but never heard back. The league says that reason. isn’t the case, and it’s unclear why the Eagles couldn’t just drop the thing Blues: Pat Maroon’s entire family is from St. Louis and have all been in the mail. Either way, the ECHL had to have a new Kelly Cup created, a Blues fans for decades, so let’s get him to politely ask them to stop replica which will become the new trophy, at least until they can constantly muttering about how something terrible is about to happen. reacquire the old one.
Bruins: Their powerplay has so been dominant that it was recently Two things here. First, I think we can all agree that the Eagles absolutely praised by Don Cherry, and if anyone would know about the Boston lost the trophy and were really hoping the league had forgotten about it. Bruins using an extra man in the playoffs, it’s that guy. We’ve all been there. If you ever lend me something, there’s a 75 percent chance I will immediately misplace it, then lie and claim it’s totally around Blues: I don’t know, maybe try playing that “Gloria” song for a change here somewhere every time you ask about it until one of us dies. and see if that helps? Second, the NHL needs to steal this idea. Bruins: Could really use the unstoppable goal-scoring prowess of a Bruins legend like Phil Esposito from the mid-70s or Cam Neely from the Not with the Stanley Cup. That’s too important, and besides, there are early 90s or David Pastrnak from the first two rounds. those two guys with white gloves who follow it around at all times and probably have secret ninja powers. But what about the individual player Maple Leafs: Are not, in the strictest technical sense, involved in this awards? I think we’d have something to work with there. series, but still need to be mentioned in every article about hockey anyone ever writes. So here you go. Here’s what I’m proposing. Starting this year, be it resolved that we tell every award winner that they can keep their trophy for one year. Take it Blues: Should stay focused by remembering that there are far less home, put it on the mantle, let the kids take it to show and tell, that sort of fortunate people out there who will never have anything close to this sort thing. Each spring, you send each of those winners an envelope. Most of of opportunity and couldn’t even comprehend the lives they lead and those envelopes contain instructions on how to return the trophy. But one would kill to trade places with any one of them for even so much as a of them simply says “You have been chosen.” That person gets to keep single moment, before gently telling Ryan O’Reilly that’s enough Buffalo the trophy until the NHL awards show, at which point the new winner has Sabres stories for now. to fight them for it.
Bruins: Zdeno Chara has become the inspiring hero of the series by See, right there, I can feel some of you pulling away on this one. But playing through a badly broken jaw, which is weird because you’d think if don’t act like you wouldn’t watch the hell out of the annual awards show if any Bruins was going to create a feel-good story by not being able to talk you knew that one and only one of the trophies were going to be subject it would be Brad Marchand. to trial by combat. You’d have jumped out of your chair last year if Victor Blues: Have fought and bled and persevered and never ever quit just for Hedman had walked up to the stage to accept the Norris, only to get to a chance to win the Stanley Cup, but the whole thing is just going to the podium and realize it wasn’t there as the camera slowly panned come down to some random lucky bounce, so they should probably try around to show Brent Burns standing behind him, breathing heavily and really hard to get that too. holding a steel chair.
Bruins: Should ask the Blues if they’d mind playing the next game with I’ll grant there may be a few flaws with my plan, including that it’s immoral and illegal and that if it had been in place throughout history then Gordie penalties turned on. Howe would have kept the Hart Trophy for roughly six decades. Still, tell The week’s three stars of comedy me you wouldn’t tune in to see Nikita Kucherov try to take the Hart away from Taylor Hall. You wouldn’t be on the edge of your seat with each The third star: Vladimir Tarasenko – I’m not completely sure why “What’s award announcement, hoping that this was the year we got a Jack a rub off means?” is so funny, but it is. (And Ryan O’Reilly and Alex Adams battle? Or two Lady Byng winners awkwardly pawing at each Pietrangelo apparently agree.) other before agreeing to just share the award in the spirit of friendship?
REPORTER: “HOW MUCH DOES HAVING A GUY LIKE RYAN OK, the idea may need some work. But there’s something here. And it O’REILLY IN THE LOCKER ROOM RUB OFF ON YOU AND THE REST couldn’t be any worse than filling the show with C-level celebrities and OF THE TEAM?” bad magicians. They stole a trophy, we steal their idea. Let’s make it TARASENKO: “WHAT’S A RUB OFF MEANS?” happen. PIC.TWITTER.COM/ENQM8DWXE1 Obscure former player of the week
— COLE PADAWER (@COLEPADAWER) JUNE 4, 2019 We have yet another refereeing controversy, this time thanks to a non- call on Tyler Bozak’s leg sweep on Noel Acciari last night. We should be used to it by now, because the theme of this year’s playoffs has been the reminder of one of the underrated insane things about pro sports back in officiating, with just about every series having at least a few the day: They used to let fans run out on the playing surface to celebrate controversies. Whether it was a missed call, a made-up one, an obscure with the players. This was considered a normal thing up until around the rule or just general inconsistency, it seems like everyone in the entire late 80s. Somebody would hit a home run or sink a jumper or score an league has been constantly complaining about being robbed by a whistle. overtime goal and there would suddenly be some teenager in a leather jacket jumping on their back and we were all just fine with it. This week’s obscure player is Rob Whistle. We cut to Sanderson’s dad, who might be the highlight of the entire clip. Whistle was a defenseman who was one of the relatively rare undrafted “Oh, he’s something else, that guy.” See, back in the 70s, even the players who made it to the NHL after playing out his college career in parents could take a hard hit without crying to the referees about it. Canada. He finished three years at Wilfred Laurier University before signing with the Rangers in 1985 at the age of 24. He made his NHL We close with another near-poignant moment, as Sanderson admits that debut that season, playing 32 games and recording six points, while also he likes the money he’s making but has mixed feelings about “being suiting up for three playoff games. owned” by the Bruins. “If I felt like quitting hockey, I’d quit. It’s no big thing,” because he’d be just as happy selling surfboards or being a Whistle couldn’t crack the Rangers lineup the following season, spending bartender. Again, imagine somebody today saying that today, when the year in the AHL. He was traded to the Blues in 1987 in exchange for trying to do a little acting on the side or giving money to a children’s Bruce Bell. Yes, that’s right, the NHL had a Bell and Whistle trade. It’s hospital is considered proof that you’re not focused enough to be a real not quite as fun as the Takko-Bell trade, but it’s still pretty neat, and I hockey player. hope these guys write a song about it. And with that, the first half of our clip is done. Not long after this Whistle played 19 games for the 1987-88 Blues, recording six points. He interview, Sanderson signed a controversial deal with the fledgling WHA, had the only two multi-point games of his NHL career, both of which one that got him kicked off Team Canada for the 1972 Summit Series. At would come in Toronto because, of course they did. He was traded to the the time, it was considered the richest deal in the history of pro sports, Capitals early in the 1988-89 season and spent the year with their AHL but Sanderson was battling chronic colitis and didn’t play often or well, affiliate, then retired at the end of the year at the age of 28. His NHL leading to headlines calling him a “fourth-string millionaire.” A year later, career ended up spanning two seasons and 51 games, during which he he negotiated a seven-figure WHA buyout to return to the Bruins, where recorded seven goals and 12 points. he’d play two more seasons before bouncing around the NHL for the rest He doesn’t seem to have gone on to a post-playing career as a referee, of the decade as his life unraveled. Again, the story has a happy ending, but there’s still time. but it’s one worth learning about.
We’ve heard plenty of Bruins soundbites over the last seven weeks of As for part two, you can find that right here. I’d include a writeup, but I’m their playoff run. A few have been vaguely noteworthy. Most haven’t not sure I can come up with any better one-liners than 1971 Derek been. That’s not a criticism of the Bruins, but more the default state for Sanderson explaining his relationship with autograph-seeking fans – today’s NHL players. They rarely say anything interesting, either because especially the females. Let’s just say the clip is, uh, interesting. they’re not interesting people or (more likely) they’ve been specifically Anyways, hope you enjoyed a few minutes of actual NHL honesty. Back trained by media consultants on how to sound boring at all times. to players mumbling about giving 100 percent and getting pucks in deep.
It wasn’t always this way. Today, let’s head back to a bygone era and The Athletic LOADED: 06.08.2019 remember a time when an NHL star could just say whatever was on his mind.
(Thanks to reader Ilan for sending in this clip.)
It’s 1971, and our friend here is Bruins’ star forward Derek Sanderson. You may have seen him serving as the Bruins’ banner captain alongside Bobby Orr last night. Here, he’s four seasons into his NHL career. He has some thoughts he’d like to share, in this two-part clip from the CBC.
“What are you doing Monday morning?” We join Sanderson pretty much mid-thought and he goes on a little rant about eating breakfast that transitions into a complaint about “newspapermen” not caring about his 40-goal performance. Then the playoffs arrive and apparently, everyone wants to know about his eating habits. I don’t know, it was the 70s, let’s just go with it.
Now I want to show up at the next Cup final media availability and walk around asking all the Bruins these questions. “Did you eat this? What kind of steak did you have? Zdeno, how did you fit it into the blender?”
“It’s all the same. I can’t see the hassle, the Stanley Cup.” A fun game to play during this interview is to find all the quotes that would make Don Cherry’s head explode if some European said them today.
“What’s the greatest thrill you’ve ever had in hockey? I haven’t had one. I’ve never been thrilled by anything.” Another fun game is to try to guess if that’s a quote from Derek Sanderson in 1971, or every member of the 2018-19 Senators.
We get an extended riff about how much fun it is to score goals, and how that makes everyone love you including your mom and dad. Then Sanderson looks dead into the camera and says “So it’s kind of empty, you know?”
That seems like a funny non-sequitur, and maybe it was. But Sanderson would go on to have a difficult decade, one marked by drugs, alcohol, financial problems, homelessness and personal tragedy. He eventually got sober, wrote a book and went on to a career as a financial advisor. To this day, he’s easily one of the more interesting characters in NHL history.
The interview continues with a funny story about Sanderson accidentally body-checking his own father during the 1970 Cup celebration, which is a 1146356 Websites Podkolzin is a physical force, who will quickly become a fan favorite and become despised by rival fans.
One of the ways Podkolzin generated buzz early on was with goals The Athletic / What to expect by drafting forward Vasili Podkolzin where he seemingly willed the puck by defenders and into the net.
Scouts often describe him as a hard-charging winger because he attacks Corey Pronman the net so much and shows no fear, even when he’s surrounded by multiple defenders, to try and drive the puck in. Jun 7, 2019 His net drive mentality is great with the puck, but what also distinguishes Podkolzin is how hard he plays without the puck. He makes his presence known with his physicality. I’ve seen Vasili Podkolzin play live about 15 times in the past two years, plus many more times on video, and yet going into this draft season, he’s This play was one of my favorites of his. I want to caption it with “MINE!!” a player I had to think about a lot. as Podkolzin easily wins this battle and gets the puck back following a chance. It was a borderline interference call, but it’s the thought we’re Ultimately, I see a very talented player who could be a top-line power looking for. forward and a fan favorite, if he comes to the NHL. This one is a reminder that opponents should keep their heads up Here is why I have Podkolzin at No. 12 on my draft board. whenever he’s on the ice. Puck Skills Skating Podkolzin excited people early on with his Hlinka Gretzky tournament, Everything about Podkolzin’s game is a plus, if not a major plus, except dominating the tournament and scoring several highlight reel goals that for his skating, which is mediocre at best and I graded as below-average. showcased his skill level. Here are just a couple of those goals. Look not His stride has a technical flaw with a significant heel kick, where he just at the skill, but where he is making the plays. He attacks the net and doesn’t extend his legs out but he’s hunched over and his feet kick the middle of the ice. backward. Podkolzin’s ability and willingness to attack the hard area allow his very This clip from the World Junior Championship is a good camera angle to good, albeit not elite, hands to shine as he showcases very quick show the issue. maneuvers in tight. Here is another good clip with a close-in on his skating as it shows how He does have some of the flashier dangles in his game when he wants to his technique limits his explosiveness into the zone. pull out that card. If that happened every so often, I wouldn’t call it a problem. Players I debated giving his hands a 60 or 65 grade all season but ultimately sometimes lose their stride technique when they are tired. But it happens settled on a 60 because, while I think he makes plays through defenders, consistently for Podkolzin, on straight away rushes and off his first few he lacks that extra element to make a special skill play. He showed that steps. consistently throughout the season instead of just flashes. When his stride doesn’t break down, he has powerful legs and flashes Vision pro average speed, but he doesn’t do it consistently. Despite the fact Podkolzin only had seven assists all season, I was very Production impressed by his vision all season and occasionally debated grading him as one of the very best passers in the draft. Podkolzin bounced around between the MHL, Russia’s top junior league and the VHL (the second tier pro league) for most of the season. In both One of his best plays came at the very end of the season at the U18s. leagues, as his club team SKA St. Petersburg tends to do, he was on a He pounces on this loose puck, wins the battle, knows his option is out top-tier team and wasn’t handed top ice time. This issue is more front and fires a bullet pass to the tape without a look. prevalent in the Western Conference of Russia’s leagues, something I brought up last year with Grigori Denisenko who showed at the world A lot of his best plays weren’t half-wall seam passes or long stretch juniors why he’s a top prospect despite some having similar concerns. passes, but plays he made around his favorite area – the net. Podkolzin’s numbers don’t rack up well historically to others of similar This first play is a great example of Podkolzin knowing he has an option age in those leagues (although he’s one of the youngest 2001s among and using his typical 100 percent effort to get it to his teammate. Notice the top prospects), but I think the fact he was playing on teams with a lot the skating stride here looks a little awkward. We’ll get to that later. of good pros or top, older juniors played a part in that.
This play is another example of his awareness. He gets the puck in an When Podkolzin played versus his peers, he was a top player. He was OK shooting position but is aware of his teammate across the crease. one of the best players at the Hlinka Gretzky and World Jr. A Challenge, and was very good for a U18 player at the world juniors, earning top I wouldn’t call his power play QB skills amazing, but he knows how to power play duty for the U20 team. move pucks around and can find lanes. For Russia’s U18 team, he typically ran the first power play unit; and for SKA, he moved around The KHL Contract between the flank and net. SKA, the richest team in the KHL, paid money to acquire Podkolzin last Here’s an example of how a good feed opened up a play to use his great year from his prior club and signed him to a contract through the 2021 shot, showing both his vision and timing. season.
Shot When discussing his future, Podkolzin consistently told me through a translator that he plans to play out the remainder of his contract and then Podkolzin is a very good passer but also a very good finisher. He’s got a he will decide if he wants to sign in North America. hard, accurate wrist shot and one-timer, and will be a team’s top goal scorer in the NHL. While Podkolzin may seem like a Russian homebody to some, playing for SKA and not giving firm details on his future, I wouldn’t say that is He has the ability to pick corners. completely the case. He has a North American agent in Newport. When And his shot/one-timer is hard enough to beat goalies if they don’t square he was at the World Jr. A Challenge in Bonnyville in December, he talked up quickly enough. to me about how he tried to go around the rink talking to the locals in English to try and improve his English language skills. Compete Level When I asked him what were his biggest aspirations in the sport of Podkolzin is very talented as a handler, playmaker and finisher, but it’s hockey, he said through a translator: “It’s to continue to play for the not off the charts talent. What makes him appealing as a top prospect is Russian national team, to win World Championships and Olympic Gold his great talent combined with elite on-ice work ethic and physicality. for the national team, and to one day win the Stanley Cup.” While most NHL folks think Podkolzin will be in the NHL following the end of his current contract with SKA, there is a minority that is concerned that, as one NHL source put it, “they (SKA) dump a truck full of money in front of his home,” when it’s decision time.
Hockey World’s Impressions
An NHL scout said: “He’s got very good offensive skill and hockey sense. He gets pucks inside very well. He’s got that shot to score from outside. I love the competitiveness. He always elevated when the stakes were high. He’s unpredictable for defenders to check.”
An NHL scout said: “There are skating issues with him that have been known for a while, but everything else about his game is high end. He’s dynamic and fearless.”
An NHL scout said: “He’s the real deal. He impacts games in so many ways.”
Russian U18 coach Vladimir Filatov said: “He’s the heart of a team. He always wants to set an example on and off the ice. He’s maybe not the most elite skill player or an elite sniper, but he’s a leader, he runs the game. His game is always about controlling the puck, pushing the play forward and putting everything on the net. “
Projection
Podkolzin will likely have a lot of things said about him in the coming weeks. Whether due to his KHL contract, his lack of blow you away MHL stats or the fact he didn’t dominate the IIHF U18s.
Despite all that, I still see a forward with high-end skill, high-end vision, a high-end shot, an elite compete level and physicality, all despite iffy skating, I think he has the potential to be a top-line power winger in the NHL. If I was a betting man, I also think he will come over at the end of his current contract with SKA.
This aspect of player evaluation is always subject to debate, but teammates and people who know him rave about Podkolzin’s character. His U18 coach always led with the term “leader” when discussing Podkolzin. After a hard fought game against the USA U18s, which saw Russia break an elite USA team’s gold medal dream, it was Podkolzin who went over to goalie Spencer Knight as the teams were leaving the ice to commend his effort. After Russia lost to Sweden in the gold medal game and the Russians were lying on the ice devastated and some in tears, it was Podkolzin who lined up first on the blue line to get the silver medal.
He will instantly become a lightning rod no matter where he is drafted, but there is a point where he will be worth it because the skill and the man will become a valuable part of an NHL team.
The Athletic LOADED: 06.08.2019 1146357 Websites It’s not difficult to understand how Mete made the adjustment from junior to the NHL relatively seamlessly in spite of the obstacles in his way.
“Not every player, even at the NHL level, is like that,” said Turk, who The Athletic / Hitting the ice with Victor Mete as he attempts to works with multiple NHL players including Brendan Gallagher, a client for weaponize his shot this summer nine years. “You know he wants to work, and he likes this type of teaching process.”
Arpon Basu What does that process entail? Let’s jump on the ice and find out.
Jun 7, 2019 The session begins with a warmup where Mete and Mizzi start in a corner, Turk sets up along the boards at the blueline, takes a pass and redirects it to the middle where they curl to meet the puck and shoot it on goal. Pretty standard stuff, right? BRAMPTON, Ont. – It is late May and the rink is cold and empty. Only one of the three ice sheets at the CAA Centre, home of the ECHL’s It was during this basic warmup that Turk provided the type of tiny detail Brampton Beast, is lit up. It awaits the arrival of Victor Mete as he he is known for. As Mete shot it, Turk immediately bellowed how perfect continues his summer project. the shot was because, as opposed to his earlier suggestion to make adjustments to Mete’s stick, he didn’t hear anything. This is Mete’s second session of the offseason with Tim Turk, a skills coach who specializes in every aspect imaginable of shooting a hockey “Yeah!” Turk yelled. “That silencer’s beautiful!” puck. He calls sticks “tools” and slap or snap shots “impact shots” and can break down the tiny details of both – the tool and the swing of an Turk went on to explain to Mete and Mizzi that goalie coaches will teach impact shot – to provide the little advantages that are the difference to listen for the sound of a shot coming. The impact of a stick on the ice between an NHL goal and a save. or on the puck. When the goalies hear that, even if they are looking through a maze of sticks and legs and are unable to see the puck, the The end goal, of course, is for Mete to end the NHL’s longest current sound of the shot will trigger a reaction to get big in goal in anticipation of goal drought. He has played 120 games in the NHL and has not scored a puck emerging from the visual obstacles in the way. once; no player currently in the NHL has gone as many games between goals, with the added distinction of going this deep into his career without “So if you can silently release it coming through the shooting lanes, it’s one. going to produce more goals,” Turk explained.
Mete’s take on this has been consistent, continually saying it doesn’t And so Mete and Mizzi focused on having their shots make no sound, or bother him that he hasn’t scored a goal yet. It’s become a running gag in at least as little as possible. This is the first layer of adjustment Turk laid the Canadiens room, with Andrew Shaw ribbing him over it as recently as down. There would be many more to come. locker clean out day, and his buddy Jesperi Kotkaniemi adding a little The first drill offseason shot for good measure. Again, a super simple drill that suddenly gets complicated as Turk adds When Kotkaniemi was told last month that The Athletic would be joining layers of changes, one after another. Mete on the ice as he worked with a shooting coach, Kotkaniemi laughed before adding a suggested headline for the story. Turk pulls out a stickhandling aid – a piece of a stick shaft propped up on two hockey pucks at each end – and has the pucks on one side of it and “You should title the story The Victor Mete Scoring Clinic,” he said with a the shooter on the other. Simply put, the shooter had to pull the puck big smile. under the aid and then, with the puck still in motion, make an impact shot You get the idea. on goal. Again, pretty simple at first, but just wait. There is, in fact, a lot going on here. What Mete was doing in this cold, dark rink in late May was attempting to not only put an end to the jokes, but to make a difference at the offensive “The closer the puck is to the net, the better it is,” Turk explains. end next season. To be a contributor. This is one way he can do that, by That one statement says a ton. making his shot more dangerous and effective. First off, Turk is referring to the position of the puck in relation to the This is Turk’s specialty, because he can pinpoint the tiniest detail that shooter’s body. So the puck should not be directly in front of the shooter, would help Mete make those contributions. It didn’t take long to see the but slightly ahead of him, or closer to the net. Aside from the obvious first example of this expertise at work. reasoning that the puck being closer to the net improves its odds of Mete was on the ice warming up and let go of a slapshot – sorry, impact entering said net, there are two other primary benefits. The first is that if shot – from the middle of the ice. Turk was skating away from him, he the puck is ahead of you, it reduces the amount of stick motion required didn’t see the shot, his back was to him, but he still informed Mete as to get the shot off because it basically forces you to use a quick release. soon as he let go of the shot that he needs to change the specs of his But the other aspect is the most important one, which is that having the tool. puck positioned there forces the shooter to get closer to the ice, or get lower, which allows him to generate more power on the shot. He knew because he heard it. Once the puck positioning is addressed, Turk adds another layer. The “It gets to a point where I can acoustically know,” Turk says. lead foot, so in Mete’s case his right foot, must be pointed towards the net on release. This accomplishes two things, the obvious one being that The next day, Turk explained what he heard. it helps with aim because the foot is pointed towards the target and not “He was trying a newer stick that was a little bit of a stiffer flex,” Turk off to the side. But the next one is more important; having the lead foot said. “What happens is it reacts differently on the puck and the ice pointing toward the net forces the shooter to open his hips, which is the impact, so it sounds different. The less flex, the more snap you hear, the part of the body that power is generated from. more flex, the more of a thud you hear, the harder impact that you hear. Next, once that is settled – and again, just to emphasize the point, Mete “So I was hearing that hard impact.” only needed to be told once before making the adjustment immediately – Turk turns his attention to the other foot. So with the front foot pointed This is the level of detail involved when you work with Turk. This is what toward the net and the puck positioned slightly ahead of the shooter, Mete came to this cold, dark rink in late May to learn. This is what he Turk asks Mete to push off on his back foot, or his left foot, as he is allowed The Athletic to come see. The biggest takeaway from the hour shooting. This is not a natural motion, but one that once again helps in a spent on the ice with Mete, Turk and a friend of Mete’s, Joseph Mizzi, number of small ways. For one, it forces the shooter to straighten his was the incredible extent to which Mete is coachable. back leg as he shoots, which has a variety of benefits including body alignment and optimal power generation. But that is not the primary Every time Mete took a shot, Turk would suggest a slight tweak meant to benefit. improve its efficiency and velocity. And every single time, Mete would execute the tweak perfectly on the very next shot. Turn your right foot As you can see here, Mete’s back leg is not straight. By the end of the toward the net, open up your hips, push off with your back foot as you session, it was. release the shot, again and again and again. “See that?” Turk asks Mete once he yet again executes the adjustment take a shot and their back arm, even if they lock it, it will be parallel to the perfectly on his first try. “You’re getting lower. That’s the point.” ice in a straight line towards the target in front of their chest. But you can still lock your arm in a straight line and have the trajectory be at a 45- At first glance, this was a rather simplistic drill for players of this calibre, degree angle down; that’s what Vic was doing when he was doing that far from rocket science. But there is science behind it, and that’s why quick release. That was like music to my ears when I heard the impact Turk is there. and it’s a beautiful sight, because he was now sustaining his body “I’m trying to establish a transfer of weight with their body alignment position. going towards the target,” Turk explained the following day. “Think of “So you have to do full power, let the impact take place, but then you’ve spine angle; the spine needs to be as upright as possible but low, and got to decelerate to make sure you’re prepared. If it hits a shin pad and the chest needs to be forward a little bit. So when they push off, it’s like a your arm’s parallel to the ice, then that reaction time to get your stick weight transfer towards the target and it also mimics a game situation, from there all the way down to the ice is a lost opportunity. If your hand’s where they would be in motion, hips facing the net, toes facing the net. that low, then your blade is lower to the ice and you can possibly react on So that allows them to get that feel.” something.”
Second drill These are the tiny details that could make Mete’s shot a weapon next Again, this is about as simple as things can get with complex benefits. It season, but the important part of his summer work will be maintaining is a two-touch drill. what he learns and executing it in live action situations next season. None of these things – pointing the front foot toward the net, pushing off The shooter places himself in the high slot. Turk is at the boards, hits him the back foot, locking the back knee or the bottom hand elbow – are with a pass, the shooter accepts the pass – that is one touch – then natural to Mete. Therefore, he may be susceptible to Turk’s favourite rotates his body into a shooting position on the puck and shoots it, the catchphrase, which is “reverting to comfort.” second touch. The trick will be for Mete to do these things often enough this summer to Basic, basic, basic. make sure they become his new comfort.
But again, there is much more going on here than meets the eye. First is “I’m not done with him now, I’m going to keep going on with him puck positioning, which in this case is accomplished by how you are throughout the summertime, so hopefully by then it will have been four positioning your body as it rotates to “surround the puck,” as Turk called months that I’ve worked on it so it will become more natural than it was it. It is important to remember while doing this that the puck needs to be come October,” Mete said once the session was over. “Plus, you can slightly ahead of you and not right in front of you for the same reasons always work on it during the season.” Turk explained in the first drill. What will make working on it during the season easier is the knowledge On the first try, Mete hammers an impact shot top corner. that Turk will be watching. When he sees Mete reverting to comfort, he will reach out and let him know. “Beautiful!” Turk yells. “No way you can do that again.” “If I see something during the season, I’ll just send a text saying, for On the next one, Mete drills one off the crossbar. example, lock equals power,” Turk said. “Or hips back, or something like They do this over and over again, with Turk making tiny adjustments that. I’ll just send one or two words, send a text off and then they can along the way just as he did in the first drill, further complicating the drill reestablish that again. with each one. “The guys who I have a personal connection to, I’ll do that if they accept “Number one is to establish proper puck position,” Turk said. “So when it. But it has to be agreed upon because these guys are under so much you stop it in a certain area, the better prepared it is, the better you can pressure.” put proper power output into the shot. Two, you need to protect it, you Mete has already booked four more sessions with Turk this summer, a need to shield it, so that’s where you’re activating hips, you’re swinging number limited by Turk’s busy offseason schedule working with kids right around, you’re surrounding it, you’re creating a shield when you need to up to the pros; he will be back in Vancouver in July to work with take that shot. And three, every time you do an impact shot of that nature Gallagher and the other pros that work out at his father’s gym for a your stride leg needs to go back, so it’s reiterating that knee lock and the seventh straight year. elbow lock to sustain the power when you do it.” But Turk is convinced Mete’s shot can become a weapon at the NHL That elbow lock was something Mete did not do before. As he was level if he is able to implement certain adjustments, the first one being his watching Mizzi shoot, he noticed his right arm – the bottom hand on his stick. stick as he is a right shot – was straight and asked Turk if his left arm should be straight when he shoots. “I think his tool needs to be fine-tuned, which is his stick,” Turk said. “Once we fine-tune his stick; you’d be surprised how, with these guys, “On an impact shot, the stick is like a pendulum swinging in a straight their confidence levels are dictated through what we do with their stick line,” Turk says as he demonstrates with his stick swinging back and and how it works for them. Vic’s in between right now. He knows that forth. changes need to be made. So when he gets to the end product, then he’ll The elbow lock, much like the knee lock, provides optimal power be more confident and comfortable in being able to place the puck where generation and consistency in the shot. he wants, when he wants. So it’s a combination of getting his stick fitted properly with his confidence level rising to take the shot at any time in One final tip from Turk referred to the follow-through on the shot, how any situation that he’s in. limiting the follow-through while maintaining the power at impact is a far better option than having the stick swing through the shot like a golf “I’m not making predictions, but I know that if he keeps this up this swing. He references Shea Weber as an example. summer the way he’s going, he’s going to have a serious year. Then from there, I’m pretty sure he’s going to have more offensive output this “No problem,” I tell Mete once Turk is done explaining it. “Just shoot it season.” like Weber.” The Athletic LOADED: 06.08.2019 Mete laughed. But there is a reason Weber shoots like that, and he’s not the only one. Weber’s shot is incredibly compact; the stick doesn’t travel too far back and it stops almost immediately after impact.
Here is why.
“If you think about body control and action or possible reaction, the ability to be ready for what comes next, so whenever you do a motion pattern, if you overly extend or overly follow through, it takes your stick and takes your body in an upward trajectory. Everything’s kind of going up,” Turk said. “So when they’re shooting I’m trying to make sure they still go full power and that the follow through is still there, but minimize how long the extension is as long as you’ve locked your arm. A lot of players they’ll 1146358 Websites anything conclusive in the replays, but the NHL decided to negate the goal. The other thought in this is: if Landeskog was still ruled to be part of the play, how could there not be a too many men call, as his replacement Sportsnet.ca / A look at the most controversial calls of the Stanley Cup already hopped on the ice? Playoffs The result: The Avs put on pressure, that’s for sure. San Jose only registered two shots in the entire third period, but they never surrendered another goal. The Sharks moved through to the Western Conference Rory Boylen Final with another controversial Game 7 win. The reaction from the losing team this time was more tepid because the general feeling was that with June 7, 2019, 1:34 PM a little hustle, this was avoidable.
What the aggrieved side said: “It’s just a clumsy mistake – get off the Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final couldn’t end without controversy. The ice,” Landeskog said afterwards. “If I could have done something game-winning goal that put the Blues up 3-2 in the series came just after different on that play I would have jumped the boards a lot quicker.” what looked like an obvious tripping infraction that went uncalled against Rule 83.3, regarding offside on line changes: St. Louis. pic.twitter.com/omlxpSVfkS Of course – and unfortunately – refereeing has been a big story — Scouting The Refs (@ScoutingTheRefs) May 9, 2019 throughout these playoffs. There have been some very controversial calls, and missed calls, that have given one team a big advantage at one BOSTON-COLUMBUS GAME 5: PUCK HITS THE NETTING BUT A moment in time. Not always have these calls definitively turned the tides GOAL FOLLOWS ANYWAY in one direction, but the NHL will certainly leave this post-season with a lot to consider in terms of reform. Increase plays that can be reviewed? What happened: You may have forgotten the Blue Jackets led their Open coaches’ challenges to more infractions? Take one referee off the Round 2 series against Boston 2-1. And though they lost the last three ice and put him in the press box as an eye in the sky? Everything will games to fall in six, there was a moment in Game 4 that could have have to be reviewed this summer. swung momentum in Columbus’s favour.
“The ability to review and parse plays down to the millisecond has The Bruins led 2-0 in the first half of the first period and seemed to be in become both a blessing and a curse,” Bettman said in late May. “No one full control. But Artemi Panarin got Columbus on the board just a minute- should doubt that we want to get it right. The fundamental question is the and-a-half after the Bruins’ second goal and now we had a game. The it; when to intervene and what are the instances that require doing so, thing was, just before Panarin put it in, the puck hit the netting behind the and of course, how to do it without destroying the fabric and essential goal, so the play should have been blown dead. elements of our game. The result: Columbus didn’t score again and Boston converted twice in “We want every call to be correct.” the third period, so ultimately this goal didn’t tip the scales in an unjust direction. But the fallout brought into question what is, and what should Game 5’s missed call was just the latest. Here’s a reminder of some of be, reviewable. According to the NHL rulebook, had the puck hit the the other ones that have made the refs a focal point of these playoffs. netting and “immediately” gone into the net, this goal could have been reviewed and would have been overturned. But because the play SAN JOSE-VEGAS GAME 7: CODY EAKIN’S FIVE-MINUTE MAJOR continued for another six seconds and was touched by a couple of What happened: Up 3-0 with a little more than half of the third period left, different players, the goal wasn’t immediate enough. Vegas was in full control and seemingly on its way to a Round 1 victory What the aggrieved side said: “In this day and age I think it’s crazy that, over San Jose. But off a faceoff in Vegas’s end, Cody Eakin got tied up you know, if the refs don’t see it, why the league can’t call … I mean, with Joe Pavelski, who ended up falling so awkwardly that he was left they’re watching the game, right?” Tuukka Rask said. “I mean, what if bloody and had to be helped off the ice. Pavelski didn’t return to the that’s in overtime, you know? It didn’t cost us, but I think it’s just funny game and Eakin was given a five-minute major for cross-checking. Upon that they can look at a lot of other goals going back and calling back, so further review, the most that should have come out of this was a two- why not that?” minute minor, if any penalty should have been called at all. SAN JOSE-ST. LOUIS GAME 3: THE HAND PASS The result: Unfathomably, the Sharks used the advantage to come all the way back and even take the lead. Their first power-play marker came What happened: There were a couple wild swings in this game. San Jose seven seconds into the power play and they added their second 49 had a 3-1 lead at one point, but then St. Louis scored three goals to close seconds later. By the time Eakin had left the box, San Jose scored four out the second period with a 4-3 lead. Logan Couture scored with 1:01 goals and were up 4-3 with just over five minutes left. With the goalie left in regulation to send it to overtime, when another controversial pulled, Vegas actually tied it on a Jonathan Marchessault goal that forced missed call occurred. With the Sharks attacking, Timo Meier fell to the ice overtime, but San Jose’s Barclay Goodrow scored to end the series. and batted the puck towards the front of the net with his hand. Gustav Afterwards, Vegas GM George McPhee said the league apologized for Nyquist was the first player to touch it afterwards, which should have the call. resulted in the play being blown dead.
What the aggrieved side said: “They called five minutes for that? Why The result: After Nyquist touched it, he passed the puck over to a wide don’t you have hockey replay or something? It changed the whole open Erik Karlsson, who scored his second of the game to give the outcome of the game,” Marchessault said. “Seriously. What is that? It’s Sharks a 2-1 series lead. There was some debate about whether or not so disappointing. The game is not even close, it’s 3-0. Call the two, OK, the puck deflected off Jay Bouwmeester’s leg before it reached Nyquist, but a five? With something you don’t even see? You just called the but the rulebook clearly states that a simple deflection doesn’t negate a outcome. It’s a joke, that’s what it is. It’s embarrassing.” hand pass in the offensive zone. And besides, Bouwmeester himself said the puck didn’t hit him. SAN JOSE-COLORADO GAME 7: CONTROVERSIAL OFFSIDE OVERTURNS GOAL The FanDuel sportsbook offered “bad beat relief” for those who placed a single money-line wager on the Blues with their bet refunded in website What happened: As the Avs trailed 2-1 with a little more than 12 minutes credit. St. Louis did its job to rally though and never trailed again the rest left in the second period, a turnover just outside the blue line resulted in a of the series. They won three in a row, outscoring the Sharks 12-2 in 2-on-1 led by Nathan MacKinnon and Colin Wilson, who seemingly Games 4-6 and advanced to the Stanley Cup Final. scored to tie the game. But the Sharks challenged the call for offside, specifically because it appeared Gabriel Landeskog may not have tagged What the aggrieved side said: “I didn’t really get an explanation,” Alex up outside the offensive zone as he was heading to the bench for a Pietrangelo said. “I guess there’s a different set of rules for two different change. teams. I’m sure (the referees) will lose some sleep tonight after looking at it.” The controversy around this one had to do with definitive evidence that either, a) Landeskog didn’t tag up and his back foot was still in the #Blues fans can't believe their eyes#StanleyCup offensive zone rather than touching the blue line, or b) that his back foot pic.twitter.com/uCMSPmG96O was lifted off the ice as he was exiting play. It’s really hard to find — Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 16, 2019
ST. LOUIS-BOSTON GAME 5: THE MISSED TRIPPING CALL
What happened: With the Blues up 1-0, but Boston holding a distinct edge in shots, St. Louis got an insurance marker about halfway through the third period after a blatant missed call. As Noel Acciari got the puck near the boards in his own end, Tyler Bozak hit him skate-on-skate and tripped up the Bruins forward. Maybe (maybe) there was some embellishment on Acciari’s part, but the egregious miss here was on Bozak, who should have gone to the box for two minutes.
Whatever you think about it, the play should have been blown dead. Instead, Acciari was removed from the play and the Blues scored seconds later to take a 2-0 lead.
The result: That Bozak got a secondary assist on the goal added salt to the wound, but Jake DeBrusk’s marker for Boston three minutes later made this controversial goal stand as the game-winner. The Bruins outshot the Blues 39-21 so in the grand scheme it was another terrific game from Jordan Binnington that was the difference for St. Louis, but on a micro level the game-winner shouldn’t have counted. Now the series heads back to St. Louis and the Blues have a chance to win the Cup on home ice.
What the aggrieved side said: “The National Hockey League’s getting a black eye with their officiating in these playoffs, and there’s another one that’s going to be talked about,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. “It’s right in front of the official. It’s a slewfoot. Our guy’s gone. The spotter took him out of the game for a possible concussion. I mean, it’s blatant. It had a big effect on the game.
“It really made it difficult for us to get the win tonight. So, I’m disappointed.”
Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 06.08.2019 1146359 Websites “You get one chance, you need to take it. He really took his chance in Game 3 and has been playing great ever since,” Sundqvist says. “Feels like when he came into the series, he’s been really good every shift. I’m Sportsnet.ca / Zach Sanford’s dad seeing his best hockey: ‘He’s pretty sure he’s just gonna keep going.” psyched up there’ Sanford played so well, worked so hard, he was promoted to O’Reilly’s second line for the next two games, even with Sundqvist back. Now the 24-year-old has a three-game point streak — not to mention a few gif- Luke Fox worthy hits — in the Cup Final.
June 7, 2019, 4:26 PM Zach Sanford lays a big hit on Charlie McAvoy pic.twitter.com/vAIzihYFjt
— Here's Your Replay (@HeresYourReplay) June 4, 2019 ST. LOUIS – Zach Sanford wouldn’t be here without his dad. “The importance of staying ready is huge, and a lot of it, that’s on him Now, Zach Sanford is here without his dad. working hard,” Berube says. “He’s jumped in there, and he’s been great. Between long shifts at Angelica’s Restaurant in Middleton, Mass., and Looks strong, fresh, skating well. It’s good on him and good on our staff.” short shifts at his own recreational hockey games, Michael Sanford Thursday marked Sanford’s first-ever game at TD Garden, the local barn raised Zach to be a Boston Bruins fan in a family overrun with them. where his boyhood heroes wowed, where so many of his friends and Because he wanted a more flexible schedule, one that would allow him to family members’ allegiance still laid until, oh, about yesterday. His mother attend more of young Zach’s minor hockey games and practices, Michael Cindy’s included. started his own furniture repair business and began coaching Zach’s “It’s a little weird playing against your team growing up. I was even teams, extolling the virtues of hard work. talking to my mom. She was at the games in Boston, and she caught If Zach or any of his mates had a shot of making it, Michael would say, herself cheering for the Bruins here and there and had to fix that. It’s they’d better grind. pretty crazy how things work out like that,” says Sanford.
The grind paid off, first with a ride to Boston College, then a draft to Ryan Dixon and Rory Boylen go deep on pucks with a mix of facts and Washington — but Michael never could make it in the building for any of fun, leaning on a varied group of hockey voices to give their take on the Zach’s NHL games. country’s most beloved game.
Zach did bring Michael on the St. Louis fathers’ trip last season, but the He fondly recalls picking out a Brian Rolston stick from the pro shop as a winger had a dislocated shoulder and never dressed. The highlight was kid and running a victory lap around the neighbourhood with his buddies watching Michael acting like a little kid meeting the Blues coaches and in 2011. execs. “I just grew up watching every one of their games with my dad. Our On the bubble at this fall’s training camp, Zach awoke to 10 missed family’s big fans — but obviously not anymore. phone calls from his sister, Melanie. Michael had suffered a heart attack “It’s time for us to get our own banner too.” in his sleep. He’d been rushed to the hospital and wasn’t awake. He couldn’t speak to Zach, and by the time Zach returned from the day’s Zach doesn’t believe it’s an accident that he’s enjoying the best stretch of practice, Michael had passed. hockey of his life on this stage, against this opponent. He’s quick to credit his veteran linemates and the tightness of a dressing room filled with Zach never got to say goodbye. more feel-good stories than flashy superstars. “You know how it’s always hard to remember your dreams?” Zach wrote “But I think my dad is definitely watching over and helping out a little bit, for NHL.com in October. and I think he will continue to stay right there,” Zach says. “I think about “I never remember any of mine, but the day after my dad died, I had a him every day… Every day. Every game. Every practice. dream that I remember very well. It was just me and dad, driving in his “It’s been a little different not having him, but I know he’s watching, and car listening to his old rock ’n’ roll music. Nothing major, but it was just he’s definitely pretty psyched up there.” him and me, and he was happy. It was almost like he was telling me that he’s resting easy and he’s happy where he is now.” Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 06.08.2019 Where Michael is now, Zach is certain, is way up high, cheering as his son makes beautiful, blue-collar plays in the most critical hockey of St. Louis Blues’ 52-year history.
Like Zach’s nifty blind, backhanded pass from behind the Bruins’ net in Game 5 to set up Ryan O’Reilly for the crowd-hushing opening goal. The one made under duress, with Charlie McAvoy charging toward him from his left and Zdeno Chara from his right. The one Zach deftly slipped through two sets of legs, his own and McAvoy’s, and onto O’Reilly’s tape.
“He’s got outstanding vision,” says O’Reilly, whose own game has accelerated to a Conn Smythe–chatter level since Sanford was promoted to his and David Perron’s line. “We all kind of complement each other well.”
Do you believe in fate?
Preparation?
How about dreams? Because, in real life, stars don’t align like this, do they?
If everything went smoothly, coach Craig Berube probably never would’ve inserted Sanford into the Stanley Cup Final.
But once Oskar Sundqvist earned himself a one-game suspension for boarding Boston’s Matt Grzelcyk to the point of concussion in Game 2, he deemed the lifelong Bruins fanatic the best option and slotted him on to the fourth line for Game 3. 1146360 Websites “It’s not like something crazy was missed,” Perron added. “I don’t agree with it, obviously. Anything I say won’t sound good. Sorry, I’m French. I could say it better in French.”
Sportsnet.ca / Tyler Bozak non-call latest ‘black eye’ for NHL officiating Acciari, still pleading on his knees as the Blues celebrated behind him, saw it differently.
Luke Fox “It’s just kind of embarrassing,” he said.
June 7, 2019, 2:01 AM Earlier in the game, Torey Krug disputed a hard check from Zach Sanford and Marcus Johansson could make a case that his head was targeted by Ivan Barbashev.
“We’re not going to concern ourselves with the officials – until they stink, “Those are the hits they want to get out of the game, correct? That’s what and they go against us, right?” — Bruce Cassidy, Monday I hear a lot about,” Cassidy said.
BOSTON – So this is how we find out Cam Neely is a lefty. But it’s the lack of a whistle after the Bozak trip that’s most enraging the whistleblowers. The uncalled penalty was so blatant and so instrumental to the outcome of the game and, possibly, the championship that the president of the “That’s a penalty every time. There’s no ifs, ands, or buts about it. I’m all Boston Bruins stood up enraged in the press box, snatched a water for letting us play, but when it leads to scoring chances and the opposing bottle with his left hand and, in one fluid motion, whipped it against the team ends up with the puck, it should be going our way,” Krug said. wall like Pedro Martinez. “It’s different game to game. You get two officials each game that come We imagine the Dasani container like commissioner Gary Bettman’s in and they try to establish a different standard. Sometimes it’s tough, but head after seeing the St. Louis Blues get jerked by a hand pass in the we’ll have to figure out what that standard is next game and try to live on previous round: trying not to explode. the edge.”
Happy 54th birthday, Mr. Neely. Throw Bozak’s jutting leg on the pile with Timo Meier’s hand and Cody Eakin’s phantom high stick: no matter how the series ends, it won’t be Your team is the latest to get screwed by an egregious officiating gaffe in forgotten. a pivotal moment of the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs. “We don’t make comments on judgment calls within games. There are With the series knotted at two, and the Blues leading 1-0 midway through hundreds of judgment calls in every game,” officiating chief Stephen the third period of Game 5 on Thursday, Tyler Bozak took out a puck- Walkom told a pool reporter. “The official on the play, he viewed it and he playing Noel Acciari’s left leg from behind, flinging his opponent on his didn’t view it as a penalty at the time.” back. A clear trip in plain sight of officials Kelly Sutherland and Steve Kozari. Prior to this two-game winning streak that has given the Blues their first series lead, Blues coach Craig Berube’s tone was decidedly different. Seconds later, David Perron squeaked the puck through Tuukka Rask, giving Bozak an assist and the Blues a 2-0 lead. “I don’t agree with all the calls,” Berube said Sunday. “We were the least penalized team in the playoffs coming into this round. Now all these Because Jake DeBrusk later scored for the home side, the Perron strike penalties.” became the winner. The goal that gives St. Louis two cracks to win its first-ever Cup, starting with a home-ice opportunity Sunday? It’s charged Adding a rich little wrinkle to the controversy, Berube’s tone changed in with controversy. the wake of Game 5.
“The National Hockey League’s getting a black eye with their officiating in “I’m not here to judge the officials and calls that could have been or these playoffs, and there’s another one that’s going to be talked about,” couldn’t have. They go both ways,” he said. “We play a hard game. Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. We’re a physical team. We forecheck hard. I’ll say it again: we are the least penalized team in the playoffs. End of story. I don’t need to talk any “It’s right in front of the official. It’s a slewfoot. Our guy’s gone. The more about it.” spotter took him out of the game for a possible concussion. I mean, it’s blatant. It had a big effect on the game. Cassidy believes the “narrative” has veered since Berube complained, and Patrice Bergeron was asked if Berube had subtly planted a seed in “It really made it difficult for us to get the win tonight. So, I’m the stripes’ mind. disappointed.” “I hope not,” Bergeron said. “I hope not, because that shouldn’t change Cassidy was hardly the only one. anything.” A shower of rally towels, sticky cups and water bottles, like the one Neely Unfortunately, the hoopla over the officiating obscures the facts: that the had chucked, littered the ice surface as fans chanted, “Bulls—!” More determined Blues earned this win; that Ryan O’Reilly has been the best garbage rained as the shovel crew needed another lap to tidy up the skater on the ice in the past 120 minutes; that St. Louis has now shut mess. down Boston’s power play five times straight; and that rookie Jordan “It happens when people expect things to go a certain way, and it Binnington pitched his best performance of the series, of his life, a 38- doesn’t,” Bozak said, following the 2-1 squeaker. “It happened in Toronto save gem. quite a bit. It happened in St. Louis before. Emotions run high, especially After a silent Neely rode a crowded service elevator down six floors with at this time of year.” the folks that will be writing about his water bottle, one reporter asked if Bozak dismissed the trip as a simple “puck battle,” yet he raised his right he’d like to comment on the call that wasn’t. arm, opened his palm and appeared to be appealing a whistle that never Neely didn’t want to talk. sounded. But the Stanley Cup Final now has two off-days so everyone else will. Was he surprised there was no call? Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 06.08.2019 “It’s a fast game out there, I couldn’t tell ya,” Bozak said. “I saw the puck there, went for it, we got it back, and he was down. I don’t really know what happened to be honest with you, but we’ll take it.”
This is amazing. Not only is the official looking right at the trip but Tyler Bozak immediately looks over because he knows he messed up pic.twitter.com/ixuL2EIR1w
— Dimitri Filipovic (@DimFilipovic) June 7, 2019 1146361 Websites Cassidy had his say, too, and is now moving on.
“Today is a new day,” Cassidy said.
TSN.CA / Cassidy shifts focus from blown call back to Bruins As far as fixing what ails the Bruins, Cassidy had three things on his agenda for practice on Saturday. He wanted to focus on how the Bruins can better “finish some plays” in the offensive zone. He will look at Frank Seravalli adjustments for the power play that has “kind of gotten stuck.” Solving St. Louis’ riddle at the blueline on entries is the other.
“I thought they did a good job of forcing us to one side,” Cassidy said. BOSTON - The morning after Bruce Cassidy said officiating has given “We’ve got to be quicker in identifying that, because we’re not partial to these NHL playoffs a “black eye,” the Bruins’ coach turned the turned the one side – we’ve got Marchy on one side and Pasta on the other.” conversation back to his team. In the Stanley Cup playoffs, energy is at a premium - and the Bruins The blown calls haven’t helped, but the Bruins need to be better. spent way too much of it thinking and talking about a missed call that they can’t change. “Our play should define us, not a call,” Cassidy said Friday. “I didn’t push the right buttons. We didn’t generate enough offence to win the game.” The focus is back now where it should be: on the ice.
Before that admission Cassidy’s comments served as a Band-Aid, “The emotion now is we’ve got to put it behind us and we’ve got to win covering up the Bruins’ shortcomings in this Stanley Cup final. Game 6,” Cassidy said. “That’s what’s in front of us. That’s what the mindset is today … Every player is probably frustrated for their own Blues centre Ryan O’Reilly has singlehandedly outscored the Bruins’ top reason. So let’s get them out of their own way, breathe, and just play.” line by a 3-0 margin at even strength in the series. Brad Marchand netted an empty-net goal in Game 1; Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak both TSN.CA LOADED: 06.08.2019 scored on the power play in Game 3.
Speaking of which, that once-lethal Bruins’ power play suddenly has a power outage. Boston is 0-for-5 in the last two games. When you take out the perfect 4-for-4 night that won Game 3, the Bruins are just 2-for-15 on the series.
In other words, even if referee Kelly Sutherland whistled Tyler Bozak for the “egregious” trip on Noel Acciari – as Cassidy called it – that occurred right in front of him, there was no guarantee the Bruins would be one win closer to the Stanley Cup than St. Louis.
It just rubbed salt in the wound.
“My feeling about it hasn’t changed,” Cassidy said Friday. “I thought it was a missed call that impacted the game in a negative way for us.”
Button wants NHL to own up to mistakes, offers ideas to aid in blown calls
Should the NHL do more to admit fault when there is a blown call as bad as the one from Game 5 that led to the Blues' game-winning goal? TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button thinks so and shares two suggestions that he believes would ultimately help reduce bad calls.
The other missed call may result in a suspension. Blues forward Ivan Barbashev will have a hearing on Friday with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety for his check to the head of Marcus Johansson that went unpenalized.
Barbashev cleanly picked Johansson’s head with his shoulder, not unlike the hit Boston defenceman Charlie McAvoy made on Columbus winger Josh Anderson in Round 2 that cost him one game.
The pendulum has swung both ways in these playoffs. The Bruins have felt both end of the NHL’s scales of justice: McAvoy skirted a game- changing major penalty for that hit on Anderson; Bozak’s trip went uncalled by the same referee in Game 5.
The NHL opted not to fine Cassidy for his postgame criticism of the officiating. Other coaches have been fined for less, especially since Cassidy alleged that the officials changed their approach to the series based on Craig Berube’s earlier complaints about calls.
“I mean, the narrative changed after Game 3,” Cassidy said after Game 5. “There’s a complaint or whatever put forth by the opposition. It just seems to have changed everything.”
The practice of coaches lobbying officials through the media and in pre- game meetings with the series supervisor is practically as old as the Stanley Cup itself.
Heck, the difference in officiating between the regular season and playoffs is why these two “heavy” teams have a leg up in the postseason anyway. Both teams play right on the line.
“We play a hard game,” Berube said Thursday. “We’re a physical team. We forecheck hard. I’ll say it again: We are the least penalized team in the playoffs. End of story. I don’t need to talk any more about it.”