Tag: Todd McLellan

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NHL Nick's Net

Kings tie it late, win in overtime on the road in Boston

Trevor Moore tied the game with about 30 seconds left in regulation to force overtime before Andreas Athanasiou intercepted a turnover in the extra frame and capitalized on a breakaway game-winner to lead the Los Angeles Kings over the Boston Bruins, 3-2, at TD Garden Monday night.

Cal Petersen (16-8-1, 2.60 goals-against average, .904 save percentage in 26 games played) made 30 saves on 32 shots against in the win for Los Angeles.

Boston goaltender, Linus Ullmark (17-9-2, 2.81 goals-against average, .907 save percentage in 29 games played), stopped 25 out of 28 shots faced in the overtime loss.

The Bruins dropped to 34-18-5 (73 points) on the season and remain 4th in the Atlantic Division, as well as in command of the first wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.

The Kings improved to 32-19-7 (71 points) on the season and trail the Calgary Flames by four points for the top spot in the Pacific Division.

Los Angeles is 2nd in their division, while Boston trails the Toronto Maple Leafs by three points for the final divisional playoff berth in the Atlantic.

The B’s finished their regular season series with the Kings 1-0-1 after winning, 7-0, in Los Angeles on Feb. 28th and losing, 3-2, in overtime Monday night in Boston.

Matt Grzelcyk (upper body) was a game-time decision and missed Monday night’s action, joining Jakub Zboril (right ACL) and Urho Vaakanainen (undisclosed) on Boston’s short list of players out of the lineup due to injury.

Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy, indicated to reporters ahead of the game that Vaakanainen is likely to return Thursday or Saturday.

With Grzelcyk out of the lineup, Jack Ahcan returned to the blue line, while Cassidy left his forward lines alone.

Ahcan fit right alongside Brandon Carlo on the second defensive pairing, while the rest of the defense saw no changes from Saturday night’s, 5-4, shootout win in Columbus to Monday night’s return to TD Garden.

Jesper Frödén and Anton Blidh served as Boston’s healthy scratches against the Kings.

Midway through the opening frame, Los Angeles defender, Mikey Anderson, tried to check Brad Marchand along the wall and paid the price of defensive awareness as Marchand absorbed the blow and made a reverse hit– rendering Anderson to the ice and clutching at his upper body as, presumably, he had the air knocked out of him at the very least.

Anderson skated off the ice with a little help from a Kings trainer and would not return to the night’s action with an upper body injury.

Moments later, Craig Smith won a footrace in Boston’s attacking zone and sent a shot that rebounded off of Petersen.

Charlie Coyle crashed the net and scooped up the loose puck before slidding a pass to Trent Frederic (4) for a one-timed redirection goal from the slot to give the Bruins a, 1-0, lead at 14:02 of the first period.

Coyle (16) and Smith (14) tallied the assists on Frederic’s goal as Boston’s third line continued its string of recent dominance.

The B’s didn’t hold onto the lead for long as the Kings evened things up 69 seconds after Frederic put Boston ahead.

Olli Määttä sent an errant pass to the slot off of David Pastrnak where Blake Lizotte (8) was in the right place at the right time to bury the rubber biscuit behind Ullmark– tying the game, 1-1, in the process.

Määttä (3) and Carl Grundström (4) notched the assists on Lizotte’s goal at 15:11 of the first period.

Entering the first intermission, the score was tied, 1-1, despite the Bruins holding an advantage in shots on goal, 12-11.

Early in the middle frame, Jake DeBrusk made no effort to stop on a drive to the net and crashed into Petersen with enough momentum to knock over the Los Angeles goaltender.

DeBrusk, as a result, cut a rut to the penalty box for goaltender interference at 6:00 of the second period– yielding the game’s first power play to the Kings.

Los Angeles’ power play was unable to convert on the ensuing skater advantage however.

Boston’s penalty kill stood tall once again when Mike Reilly was penalized for boarding at 10:49 as the Kings couldn’t muster anything past Ullmark on the resulting power play.

With less than a minute remaining in the second period, the Bruins won an offensive zone faceoff and worked the puck around the zone, whereby Coyle ended up with possession behind the goal line and brought it around the boards as Smith worked his way into the slot in front of the net.

Coyle setup Smith (11) for a catch and release goal on the glove side from the doorstep of Petersen’s crease– giving the Bruins a, 2-1, lead at 19:05 of the second period.

Coyle (17) and Reilly (10) had the assists on Smith’s goal as Boston carried a, 2-1, lead into the second intermission, as well as a, 20-17, advantage in shots on net.

Los Angeles, meanwhile, dominated in faceoff win percentage, 62-38, and went 0/2 on the power play heading into the final frame of regulation.

Boston got their first chance on the power play at 3:00 of the third period when Grundström sent the puck over the glass and out of play– yielding an automatic minor infraction for delay of game, but the Bruins’ power play went by the wayside.

With 2:10 remaining in the period, Kings head coach, Todd McLellan, pulled his goaltender for an extra attacker.

Los Angeles used their timeout after a stoppage in play with about 30.8 seconds left on the clock after Patrice Bergeron cleared the puck off the glass and out of play from his own zone.

The ensuing faceoff would take place in the Kings’ attacking zone and McLellan recognized an opportunity to draw up a last-ditch effort at evening the score.

Los Angeles won the faceoff and worked the rubber biscuit around the zone while Moore (10) cut to the net and cherry picked a deflection behind Ullmark to tie the game, 2-2, at 19:34 of the third period.

Arthur Kaliyev (9) and Sean Durzi (14) tallied the assists on Moore’s goal as the Kings forced overtime, while the Bruins gave up another goal in the final 30 seconds of any third period for the third time in their last four games.

At the horn, Derek Forbort exchanged pleasantries with Adrian Kempe, who, minutes earlier yanked down Charlie McAvoy away from the puck– much to the displeasure of McAvoy’s teammates– as the two players raced to the endboards in anticipation of a play.

Forbort and Kempe each received a pair of roughing minors at 20:00 of the third period– rending the two players out for the majority of the overtime action, should it take that long.

It didn’t take that long.

After 60 minutes of action, the Bruins and Kings were tied, 2-2, on the scoreboard despite Boston leading in shots on goal, 31-26, including an, 11-9, advantage in the third period.

As there were no penalties called in overtime, Los Angeles finished 0/2 on the power play, while Boston went 0/1.

McLellan sent out Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty and Moore to start the extra frame, while Cassidy countered with Coyle, DeBrusk and McAvoy.

Each team went through one or two shifts as both teams were in the midst of a change when Athanasiou intercepted a pass attempt from Coyle while the Bruins forward tried a spin-o-rama backhand pass back to one of his teammates in Boston’s attacking zone.

Athanasiou (8) broke free and rushed up the ice on a breakaway and elevated a shot high into the twine behind Ullmark for an unassisted game-winning goal to give Los Angeles a, 3-2, overtime win at 1:53 of the extra period.

The Bruins finished the night leading in shots on goal, 32-28, despite being outshot by the Kings, 2-1, in overtime alone.

Los Angeles left the building with two points in the win column and the advantage in blocked shots (19-12), giveaways (12-9), hits (35-29) and faceoff win% (58-42).

The Kings improved to 5-5 in overtime this season (7-7 past regulation), while the B’s fell to 4-3 in overtime and 6-5 overall after 60 minutes.

Boston also fell to 24-7-2 (10-4-1 at home) when scoring first, 8-5-2 (3-3-1 at home) when tied after one period and 23-1-3 (8-1-1 at home) when leading after the second period this season.

Los Angeles improved to 15-13-4 (9-4-3 on the road) when allowing the game’s first goal, 17-7-5 (8-3-3 on the road) when tied after the first period and 6-13-2 (4-5-1 on the road) when trailing after two periods in 2021-22.

The Bruins host Chicago on Thursday before the Arizona Coyotes pay a visit to the Hub on Saturday.

Boston hits the road for four games beginning on March 15th in Chicago and making their way through Minnesota, Winnipeg and Montréal before returning to TD Garden on March 24th.

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NHL Nick's Net Previews

Los Angeles Kings 2021-22 Season Preview

2020-21 record 21-28-7, 49 points

6th in the Honda NHL West Division

Missed the postseason for the third-straight year

Additions: F Viktor Arvidsson (acquired from NSH), F Brayden Burke (acquired from ARI), F Phillip Danault, F T.J. Tynan, D Alexander Edler, G Garret Sparks

Subtractions: F Michael Eyssimont (signed with WPG), F Bokondji Imama (traded to ARI), F Matt Luff (signed with NSH), F Tyler Steenburgen (acquired from ARI, signed Liiga), D Mark Alt (signed with San Jose Barracuda, AHL), D Daniel Brickley (signed with Chicago Wolves, AHL), D Cole Hults (traded to ARI), D Kurtis MacDermid (expansion, SEA), G Troy Grosenick (signed with BOS)

Still Unsigned: F Drake Rymsha

Re-signed: F Lias Andersson, F Andreas Athanasiou, F Blake Lizotte, F Trevor Moore, D Kale Clague, D Jacob Moverare, D Austin Strand, D Christian Wolanin

Offseason Analysis: The Kings looked competitive and ahead of schedule, but couldn’t carry the momentum down the stretch and make a surprise appearance in the playoff hunt.

Los Angeles has a great pool of prospects and Quinton Byfield is shaping up to make an impact in his first full season, while General Manager, Rob Blake, was tasked with finding the right fit for a few pieces in the offseason that very well might put the Kings over the edge and back into Stanley Cup Playoff contention.

In a few years, they might be trending down the path of a Cup contender instead of going through a long, strenuous, rebuild.

Despite Anze Kopitar’s $10.000 million cap hit (which runs through 2023-24) and Drew Doughty’s $11.500 million cap hit (which expires after the 2026-27 season), Los Angeles was able to add without subtracting and could salvage the remnants of Jonathan Quick and Dustin Brown from the Kings’ glory days to their current days while Cal Petersen continues to emerge in the crease.

The addition of Alexander Edler on a one-year, $3.500 million contract brings some stability to the blue line and valuable experience to leave an impression on the younger defenders, like Michael Anderson and Tobias Björnfot.

Edler’s presence and shot blocking capabilities should also prove vital in shaping how guys like Olli Määttä, Matt Roy, Sean Walker and Christian Wolanin– already in their defensive primes– compete with each other for their jobs and evolve.

But Edler alone wasn’t the biggest move that Blake made in the offseason.

Sure, there’s the Viktor Arvidsson trade that brings the 28-year-old winger to Los Angeles after breaking into the league with the Nashville Predators in the 2014-15 season and scoring 10-15–25 totals in 50 games in 2020-21 with the Preds, but Blake went a step further and found the answer to a hole down the middle.

The Kings signed Phillip Danault to a six-year contract worth $5.500 million per season, bringing the 28-year-old Victoriaville, Québec native to Los Angeles’ second line for a good stretch of his prime.

Though his production was down from 47 points (13 goals, 34 assists) in 71 games with the Montréal Canadiens in 2019-20 to 5-19–24 totals in 53 games with the Habs in 2020-21, Danault has reached 40 or more points in three out of his last five seasons with varying degrees of talent around him.

Now in Los Angeles, Danault could suit up between guys like Alex Iafallo, Arvidsson, Adrian Kempe or Brown– bringing a balance of youth, speed, experience and playmaking abilities to go with the scoring prowess of any of the aforementioned wingers.

Arvidsson and Danault bring more of a two-way, contemporary, game that aligns well with Kopitar’s two-time Frank J. Selke Trophy winning style

Brown recorded 17 goals in 49 games last season, while Iafallo had 13 goals in 55 games and Kempe notched 14 goals in 56 games. There’s no reason to believe that all three players can’t reach the 20-goal plateau in a full 82-game schedule.

But for all the improvements made among their skaters, the Kings might continue to encounter some growing pains in net as Petersen continues to make his mark on the league as a starting goaltender, while Quick’s dominant days wane in the twilight of his career.

Petersen went 9-18-5 in 35 games last season and had a 2.89 goals-against average, as well as a .911 save percentage in that span.

Through 54 games at the NHL level, Petersen has a career 2.79 goals-against average and a career .916 save percentage and only one shutout.

For comparison’s sake, Quick has a 2.81 goals-against average in his last two seasons combined (64 appearances), but a .902 save percentage in that span.

Quick was Los Angeles’ starter in 2019-20 and had a 16-22-4 record in 42 games played with a 2.79 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage in that span, as well as one shutout.

Last season, Quick went 11-9-2 in 22 games and recorded two shutouts to go along with his 2.86 goals-against average and an .898 save percentage.

For all the promise that Petersen showed in his collegiate days at Notre Dame, he’s yet to make the transition to the professional game and as the years go by, so does his chance at emerging in the average goaltending prime.

If Los Angeles is to make the playoffs next season, Petersen will need to improve.

If the Kings falter, Petersen still has a chance at redeeming himself, though he won’t see much of a pay raise next offseason– but he could still be a late bloomer and sign a short-term bridge extension, awaiting a larger payday after sustained success and better numbers at the NHL level.

This is where it’s important to note that Petersen is a pending-unrestricted free agent come July 1, 2022, while Quick’s contract expires after the 2022-23 season.

If winning with the remnants of their 2012 and 2014 Stanley Cup championship core is important to the Kings, then winning again sooner rather than later is paramount.

Offseason Grade: A-

The Danault signing alone is an exceptionally good contract for a player that could really come into his own with the depth and talent of the Kings around him.

Blake’s given Todd McLellan some better pieces to work with– now it’s up to Los Angeles’ head coach to find the right chemistry among his players to get them back into the hunt.

The return of the usual division alignments for 2021-22 is a welcome sign for the Kings’ chances of making the playoffs in 2022, as they should be better than their counterparts in California, as well as the rebuilding Arizona Coyotes and stagnant teams north of the border in Vancouver and Calgary.

Now as for how far things will go? Well, that depends on if they make the playoffs first and whether or not Los Angeles lucks out having to face a relatively inexperienced team in the postseason.

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Podcasts

DTFR Podcast #204- Late For Everything!

Nick and Colby talk about what went wrong for the Toronto Maple Leafs and other teams eliminated in the 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifier, as well as preview the already in progress 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs First Round.

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NHL Nick's Net

Kings reign over Bruins, 4-3, in OT

Anze Kopitar’s game-winning goal in overtime lifted the Los Angeles Kings over the Boston Bruins, 4-3, on Tuesday night at TD Garden.

Jonathan Quick (10-12-2 record, 3.05 goals against average, .893 save percentage in 24 games played) made 37 saves on 40 shots against (.925 SV%) in the win for the Kings.

Bruins goaltender, Tuukka Rask (13-4-4, 2.31 GAA, .923 SV% in 21 games played) stopped 23 out of 27 shots faced in the overtime loss.

Boston fell to 21-7-7 (49 points) on the season, but remained in command of the Atlantic Division. Meanwhile, Los Angeles improved to 15-18-3 (33 points) and moved to 7th place in the Pacific Division.

The Bruins fell to 12-1-6 at home this season, while the Kings improved to 5-12-3 on the road this season.

The Bruins were without the services of Kevan Miller (knee), Karson Kuhlman (fractured tibia) and Zach Senyshyn (lower body) on Tuesday.

Kuhlman and Anton Blidh (shoulder) skated on their own on Monday as the two work to get back into their respective lineups (Kuhlman likely with Boston, while Blidh is rehabbing an injury sustained in the preseason and would likely be assigned to the Providence Bruins (AHL) when he is reactivated).

B’s head coach, Bruce Cassidy, made no changes to his lineup from last Saturday night’s, 4-2, victory in Florida.

Once more, Connor Clifton, Par Lindholm and Brett Ritchie comprised of Boston’s healthy scratches.

The Bruins had too many skaters on the ice exactly one minute into the first period and presented Los Angeles with their first power play opportunity of the night.

The Kings took full advantage as Jeff Carter rocketed an intentionally wide shot to Blake Lizotte (4) for the redirection into the twine, giving Los Angeles the, 1-0, lead at 2:17 of the first period.

Carter (6) and Tyler Toffoli (12) had the assists on Lizotte’s power play goal as the Bruins gave up the game’s first goal on home ice for the 11th time this season.

Late in the opening frame, Kyle Clifford knocked down Chris Wagner while the B’s forward didn’t have possession of the puck and received an interference infraction as a result at 18:14.

Boston capitalized on their first power play of the game as Danton Heinen (6) redirected the puck into the net with his right skate– tying the game, 1-1, in the process.

Heinen’s power play goal was reviewed for a distinct kicking motion, but the call on the ice stood.

Brad Marchand (33) and David Pastrnak (21) notched the assists on Heinen’s goal at 19:01.

Pastrnak surpassed Barry Pederson for sole possession of the 4th most points by a Bruins player before the age of 24 with the secondary assist on Heinen’s goal.

Only Bobby Orr (507 points from 1966-72), Ray Bourque (399 points from 1979-84) and Joe Thornton (348 points from 1997-2003) had more points with Boston than Pastrnak (333) before turning 24-years-old.

After one period of play Tuesday night at TD Garden, the B’s and Kings were tied, 1-1, on the scoreboard with Boston outshooting Los Angeles, 11-7.

Boston also held the advantage in giveaways (4-3) and faceoff win percentage (57-43), while Los Angeles led in blocked shots (4-3) and takeaways (5-4).

Both teams had eight hits aside and were 1/1 on the power play heading into the first intermission.

Trevor Lewis hooked Jake DeBrusk and was sent to the penalty box at 1:59 of the second period as the Kings kicked off the middle frame with an infraction.

While on the power play, the Bruins couldn’t manage to keep the puck in the attacking zone as Los Angeles worked a quick break turned shorthanded breakaway attempt for Adrian Kempe heading the other way.

Kempe (5) slid a backhand shot through Rask’s five-hole for the third shorthanded goal allowed this season by Boston, as well as the third shorthanded goal for Los Angeles this season.

Kempe’s shorthanded goal gave the Kings a, 2-1, lead and was unassisted at 2:45 of the second period.

Midway through the middle frame, Patrice Bergeron (11) fired a wrist shot from the high slot off the post and in behind Quick with traffic in front of the net to tie the game, 2-2.

Torey Krug (19) had the only assist on Bergeron’s goal at 10:44.

Late in the period, Dustin Brown slashed Charlie McAvoy’s stick out of the Boston defender’s hands and received a minor penalty for his action at 16:07.

The Bruins did not convert on the ensuing power play.

The two clubs entered the second intermission tied, 2-2, on the scoreboard, with the B’s leading in shots on goal, 21-17, through 40 minutes.

Both teams had 10 shots on net in the second period alone.

Meanwhile, the Bruins led in giveaways (10-4), hits (17-14) and faceoff win% (64-36) and the Kings led in blocked shots (9-5) and takeaways (11-6) entering the third period.

Los Angeles was 1/1 on the skater advantage, while Boston was 1/3 on the power play.

Brandon Carlo (3) snapped a 23-game goalless drought after he floated a soft goal past Quick from the point to give the Bruins their first lead of the night, 3-2, at 1:24 of the third period.

DeBrusk (9) and Heinen (9) had the assists on Carlo’s goal.

There were no penalties called in the third period.

With 2:08 remaining in regulation, Kings head coach, Todd McLellan, pulled Quick for an extra skater. It didn’t take long for Los Angeles to capitalize and tie the game.

Matt Roy (4) sent a shot from the point that had eyes and almost was tipped by Carter before reaching the back of the net at 17:59– tying the game, 3-3.

Nikolai Prokhorkin (4) had the only assist on Roy’s goal as the Kings forced overtime with their first shot on goal in a 10:04 span.

At the end of regulation, the Bruins led the Kings in shots on goal, 37-25– including a, 16-8, advantage in the third period alone.

Boston held the advantage in giveaways (11-9), hits (24-22) and faceoff win% (62-38), while Los Angeles led in takeaways (12-8).

Both teams had ten blocked shots each.

Los Angeles finished the night 1/1 on the skater advantage and the B’s went 1/3 on the power play as there were no penalties called in the third period or overtime.

Cassidy started Bergeron, Marchand and Krug in the extra frame, while McLellan opted for Kopitar, Alex Iafallo and Drew Doughty.

The Bruins surged with a couple of breakaways– one from Anders Bjork that was poke checked away by Quick and the other from Bergeron that was sent wide of the goal– but they were no match for Los Angeles’ quick break the other way as Kopitar (14) put the final nail in the coffin.

The Kings had defeated the Bruins, 4-3, at 3:23 of the overtime period with Doughty (17) tallying the only assist.

Boston finished the night leading in shots on goal (40-27), giveaways (11-10) and faceoff win% (63-38), while both teams managed to amass ten blocked shots aside and 24 hits each.

Los Angeles improved to 4-2 in overtime this season, while the B’s fell to 2-3 in the extra frame thus far.

The Kings are now 3-0-0 when scoring a shorthanded goal in a game this season, while the Bruins fell to 5-1-4 when tied after one period and 5-2-2 when tied after two periods this season.

Boston continues their four-game homestand (0-0-1) on Thursday night against the New York Islanders before hosting the Nashville Predators on Saturday and wrapping up before the holiday break next Monday against the Washington Capitals.

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Podcasts

DTFR Podcast #174- Coaching Conundrums

Some firsts, 100s, broken fingers and pointing fingers– who should be concerned about their job security behind the bench? Plus Cap’n and Pete are back.

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Podcasts

DTFR Podcast #168- 2019-20 Season Preview: Pacific Division

The U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2019 was announced, a major shakeup in the Board of Governors may be ahead, extensions were signed, Jake Gardiner joined the Carolina Hurricanes and it’s time for our DTFR Podcast season previews (starting with the Pacific Division).

Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and/or on Spotify. Support the show on Patreon.

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NHL Nick's Net Previews

Edmonton Oilers 2019-20 Season Preview

Edmonton Oilers

35-38-9, 79 points, 7th in the Pacific Division

Have made the postseason once in the last 13 years

Additions: F Josh Archibald, F Markus Granlund, F Tomas Jurco, F James Neal (acquired from CGY), F Riley Sheahan, G Mike Smith

Subtractions: F Mitch Callahan (DEL), F Milan Lucic (traded to CGY), F Ty Rattie (KHL), F Tobias Rieder (signed to a PTO with CGY), D Kevin Gravel (signed with TOR), D John Marino (traded to PIT), D Robin Norell (SHL), D Alexander Petrovic (signed a PTO with BOS), D Ryan Stanton (signed with Ontario, AHL), G Anthony Stolarz (signed with ANA)

Still Unsigned: F Colin Larkin, F Jesse Puljujarvi (has an agreement with a Liiga team, if not traded by EDM), F Tyler Vesel, G Al Montoya

Re-signed: F Alex Chiasson, F Jujhar Khaira

Offseason Analysis: Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but the Edmonton Oilers have a new head coach and a new General Manager.

Dave Tippett brings his expertise behind the bench in place of Ken Hitchcock’s short tenure as head coach of the Oilers (after replacing Todd McLellan about a quarter of the way into last season), while Ken Holland is large and in charge of the reigns in Edmonton’s front office.

Tippett is fresh off of a few years without an NHL head coaching job, since being relieved of his duties from the Arizona Coyotes after the 2016-17 season.

On May 7th, Holland left the Detroit Red Wings for the Oilers after being “promoted” to a senior advisor role a couple of weeks prior– coinciding with Detroit’s hiring of Steve Yzerman as GM on April 19th.

Over the course of a generation’s time, Holland is known for making small, but deliberate, moves in the offseason to build his roster.

The additions of Markus Granlund and Tomas Jurco reflect the need for flexible top-nine depth.

While scouring the market, Holland found a perfect suitor for Milan Lucic’s massive contract and subsequently dealt Lucic to the Calgary Flames along with a conditional 2020 3rd round pick in exchange for James Neal.

Neal, 32, is a year older than Lucic and signed through the 2022-23 season, which is… just as long as Lucic is under contract for, but now with Calgary.

Oh, and the Oilers retained 12.5 percent of Lucic’s salary ($750,000 per season), because of course.

To top things off, the conditional 2020 3rd round pick becomes property of the Flames if Neal scores 21 goals and Lucic scores 10 or fewer goals than Neal in 2019-20.

Neal had seven goals and 12 assists (19 points) in 63 games with the Flames last season (down from 25-19–44 totals in 71 games with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017-18).

Lucic had six goals and 14 assists (20 points) in 79 games with the Oilers last season (down from 10-24–34 totals in 82 games in 2017-18). The new No. 17 for Calgary had been in decline each season while in Edmonton.

Looks like it’s business as usual in Edmonton so far.

What’s more, Holland faces an increasingly difficult 2020 offseason with 14 pending free agents, including 24-year-old defender (and pending-restricted free agent at season’s end), Darnell Nurse.

Nurse is looking to have a breakout year to translate into a big payday thereafter.

Meanwhile, it’d almost be better for the Oilers to just not re-sign any of their pending free agents, but then again teams still have to be cap compliant in order to participate in the league, so…

Holland also traded defensive prospect John Marino to the Pittsburgh Penguins in hopes of landing a touchdown in a conditional 2021 6th round pick.

The “Hail Mary” pass went incomplete as Marino signed his entry-level contract with the Penguins and the Oilers missed out on the draft pick.

At least there’s some stability in the crease with 31-year-old, Mikko Koskinen (25-21-6 record in 55 games played last season, 2.93 goals against average, .906 save percentage and 4 shutouts), and 37-year-old, two-time All Star, Mike Smith (23-16-2 record in 42 games with Calgary last season, 2.73 GAA, .898 SV% and 2 SO).

The average age of Edmonton’s goaltenders? 34.

Koskinen took over the starting role, while Smith was brought in as the backup in the post-Cam Talbot Era (Talbot was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers last season and signed with the Flames this offseason).

At least the Oilers have Connor McDavid (a career-high 41-75–116 totals in 78 games played last season) and Leon Draisaitl (a career-high 50-55–102 totals in 82 games last season).

Offseason Grade: F

The whole point of trying to trade Lucic was to save money and in the end, the result was not a gain, but a loss in salary cap space. At least the only players with no-trade or no-movement clauses (for now) are Kris Russell, Koskinen and Smith.

Nothing is overnight, but for an organization to have fallen so far* while having one of the best players in the world (McDavid) on their roster is about as bad as intentionally running things into the ground while still hoping the public will pay for a new arena and threatening to move the team if your demands aren’t met in the meantime.

*Relatively speaking from that one postseason appearance in 2017.

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NHL Nick's Net Previews

Los Angeles Kings 2019-20 Season Preview

Los Angeles Kings

31-42-9, 71 points, 8th in the Pacific Division

Missed the postseason for the third time in five years

Additions: F Martin Frk, F Mario Kempe, D Joakim Ryan

Subtractions: F Jonny Brodzinski (signed with SJS), F Pavel Jenys (signed ELH), F Brendan Leipsic (signed with WSH), F Zack Mitchell (KHL), F Nikita Scherbak (KHL), D Alex Lintuniemi (signed with CAR), D Dion Phaneuf (bought out), G Peter Budaj (retired)

Still unsigned: F Matheson Iacopelli, F Adrian Kempe,

Re-signed: F Michael Amadio, F Alex Iafallo, D Matt Roy, G Cal Petersen

Offseason Analysis: Los Angeles General Manager Rob Blake is entering his third season at the helm of the Kings and didn’t make the same mistake twice from last offseason to this offseason.

Ilya Kovalchuk (16-18–34 totals in 64 games last season) was signed last July, Dion Phaneuf– after being acquired in a trade with the Ottawa Senators in February 2018– had the final two years of his contract bought out this June.

Despite getting rid of Phaneuf (who’ll carry a $2.188 million cap penalty this season, $4.063 million next season and $1.063 million from 2021-22 to 2022-23), the Kings still have eight players age 30 or older on their roster– including Kovalchuk.

This isn’t 2012 or 2014, Los Angeles, it’s 2019.

Every member from the two Cups in three years core is older. Every draft pick between now and then should have either panned out by now or been traded in a bundle to get something that would’ve been proactive to counteract the aging curve.

Meanwhile, the Kovalchuk dilemma appears to be at ease for the time being. Willie Desjardins is out and Todd McLellan is in as the new head coach behind the bench at Staples Center.

Now it’s up to Kovalchuk to prove he’s worthy of his ice time– even as a 36-year-old veteran of the game. Last season was a wakeup call for him as the league has shifted drastically in many ways since his departure from the NHL in 2013.

Los Angeles’ expectations for this season? Get better. Period.

If not, trades must occur. Adapt or finish second-to-last in the overall standings for the second straight season.

There’s just one problem for Blake– Adrian Kempe is still unsigned as a restricted free agent and key to the Kings’ transition.

With about $8.740 million in cap space and only four no-trade or no-movement clauses on the books, Los Angeles should be an active seller if the old guard can’t dish out one last hurrah.

Offseason Grade: C-

Alex Turcotte was selected 5th overall by Los Angeles in the draft this year and there’s a plethora of youth in the system, but at some point, prospects have to be tested to see where they’re at and to evaluate the strength of the organization as a whole.

Despite not making any bad decisions this offseason, the Kings made no decisions to drastically alter an otherwise faltering team. At least the 1990s Heritage sweaters will look sweet coming out of the vault.

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NHL Nick's Net Previews Stats Forecasts

2019-20 Pacific Division Outlook

As the entire hockey world awaits training camp action next month, let’s make some (un)educated guesses about the upcoming season that will totally pan out because everything always goes as expected. (It doesn’t.)

The projected standings below are only a forecast.

They are based on recent indications– as well as the last few seasons of stats– and cannot account for variations in roster construction (a.k.a. trades and free agency moves).

There’s a lot of variables that will turn the tables upside down, including transactions, injuries and otherwise. Anything can happen.

As always, it’s more important to remember 1) the spread and 2) the positioning.

Just how many points separate the projected division winner from the last wild card spot (the spread) and where a team is supposed to finish in the division standings (the position) can imply that things aren’t always what they seem.

A team that’s projected to win it all still has to play an 82-game regular season, qualify for the playoffs and go on to amass 16 wins in the postseason.

Projected Standings After ZERO Months

Pacific Division

  1. y-Vegas Golden Knights, 101 points
  2. x-San Jose Sharks, 100 points
  3. x-Anaheim Ducks, 96 points
  4. wc1- Calgary Flames, 93 points
  5. Los Angeles Kings, 89 points
  6. Vancouver Canucks, 83 points
  7. Arizona Coyotes, 78 points
  8. Edmonton Oilers, 77 points

Vegas Golden Knights: Pros and Cons

Despite a colossal collapse in Game 7 of their First Round matchup with the San Jose Sharks this spring, the Golden Knights are ready for what could be another deep playoff run in 2020.

A full season of Mark Stone– plus the rest of the original and supporting cast (Jonathan Marchessault, Reilly Smith, Paul Stastny, Max Pacioretty, Marc-Andre Fleury, etc.)– should provide Vegas with enough scoring power, while Nate Schmidt anchors the defense with Shea Theodore, Brayden McNabb, Jon Merrill and adopted Vegas son, Deryk Engelland.

Aside from working on the penalty kill and the peaceful transition of power from George McPhee to Kelly McCrimmon as General Manager of the organization (effective Sept. 1st), the Golden Knights have had a quiet offseason.

Sure, they traded Colin Miller to the Buffalo Sabres which hurts their blue line depth in the event of injuries, but Vegas has a few notable prospects with the Chicago Wolves (AHL) in Jake Bischoff, Nic Hague and Jimmy Schudlt that should be ready for a taste of NHL action if necessary.

Owner, Bill Foley, has his sights set on his original vision for the franchise– winning a Cup within the first three seasons of its existence.

The only downside for the Golden Knights heading into the 2019-20 season? Goaltending.

No, Fleury isn’t in decline from his status as one of the better goaltenders in the league, but his time in the crease has to be managed.

Though he was limited to 46 games in 2017-18 due to injury, Fleury amassed a 29-13-4 record with a 2.24 goals against average and a .927 save percentage. Vegas’ backup goaltender, Malcolm Subban, managed a 13-4-2 record in 22 games played that season with a 2.68 GAA and a .910 SV% in his rookie season.

Last season, Subban’s numbers took a turn for the worse.

He had an 8-10-2 record in 21 games played with a 2.93 GAA and a .902 SV%– all while Fleury was forced to carry a heavier schedule load, seeing his stat line slip to a 2.51 GAA and a .913 SV% in the process, but improving his overall record to 35-21-5 in 61 games.

Vegas added Garret Sparks, who carries a career GAA (3.09) and SV% (.898) that’s worst than Subban in six fewer games played over two full-time seasons as a backup (Sparks appeared in 37 games with Toronto, while Subban’s played in 43 with Vegas since 2017-18).

Gerard Gallant can’t rely on a fallback plan if one of them doesn’t yield a significant turnaround at this point in their careers (because there isn’t one) and he also can’t overexert Fleury in the buildup to the postseason.

This is why you can never have too many goaltenders in the system.

How would the Golden Knights fail?

If an Uber driver records their players complaining about their special teams play and/or said Uber driver can’t do a better job at not allowing four power play goals against on a five-minute major penalty kill.

San Jose Sharks: Pros and Cons

San Jose has about $4.683 million in cap space and Joe Thornton is still unsigned. Are we really ready to live in a world where Thornton isn’t on the Sharks and it’s not 1997-2005 again?

Also, Patrick Marleau is still unsigned too, but that’s besides the point– plus he spent the last two years with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Anyway, the Sharks went all in on Erik Karlsson’s extension, shelling out $11.500 million per season for the next eight years through the 2026-27 season.

As long as Karlsson can remain healthy (and the rest of the roster for that matter, unlike in this spring’s Western Conference Final run), then San Jose’s blue line remains one of the most dynamic forces of offensive capabilities from an otherwise non-traditional source of scoring production.

Kevin Labanc is an emerging star in a Sharks uniform and will carry a bigger role this season with the departure of Joe Pavelski to the Dallas Stars via free agency.

Meanwhile, it’s officially the Logan Couture Era in Silicon Valley– if General Manager Doug Wilson is truly moving on from the days of Thornton and Marleau– with supporting roles from Tomas Hertl and Evander Kane.

While Karlsson’s cap hit tops the league on an otherwise unnerving contract if something goes wrong, Wilson managed to keep Timo Meier in teal for the next four seasons at an affordable $6.000 million cap hit.

Other than injuries, the only thing that could scare the Sharks out of the waters of contention is the inconsistency of Martin Jones and Aaron Dell in the crease.

Despite compiling 36 wins on the season in 62 games played, Jones had a career-worst GAA (2.94) and SV% (.896), while Dell also managed to have a career-worst performance as a backup with a 3.17 GAA and a .886 SV% in 25 games played (of which he won 10).

Yikes.

How would the Sharks fail?

San Jose has had everything imaginable happen to them in the postseason, so what seems irrational, inexplicable and/or unimaginable, because that’s probably how they’d lose (again).

Anaheim Ducks: Pros and Cons

The Ducks have about $8.500 million in cap space with a good mix of pending-unrestricted free agents and pending-restricted free agents next summer, which means they’ll only have more money to spend and reallocate to their better, younger players like Troy Terry and Daniel Sprong.

What’s the bad news?

It’s Anaheim. They’re suffering from buying out Corey Perry’s contract for the next four seasons ($2.625 million in 2019-20, $6.625 million in 2020-21 and $2.000 million from 2021-23), Ryan Getzlaf is signed through 2020-21 and has a no-movement clause, Ryan Kesler may never play again and is also signed through 2021-22 with a no-movement clause and finally, Adam Henrique has a modified no-trade clause and is signed through 2023-24.

Yes, Kesler can be place on long-term injured reserve and shelved for the remainder of his contract and/or traded elsewhere (after waiving his NMC) to free up cap space if he truly cannot return, but the fact of the matter is the Ducks are still too tied up to takeoff and fly.

The depth of prospects is sketchy with the Ducks, considering not much is known about their overall plan.

Are they overcooking some prospects for a better immediate impact in the NHL or should they just play the kids, wait around near the basement of the standings and rebuild?

Though this forecast has Anaheim tabbed for a divisional spot, they’re likely to be looking from outside the division with perhaps only the saving grace of a wild card spot thanks to John Gibson’s existence as one of the best goaltenders in the game (until the skaters in front of him let him down).

At the very least, Dallas Eakins is back as a head coach in the NHL, so all is right with the world (and he did a decent job resurrecting his career with a strong performance in San Diego (AHL) after his dismal days in Edmonton).

How would the Ducks fail?

General Manager Bob Murray holds onto his cards for too long, talent development stalls and/or Eakins turns out to not be one of those classic examples of a coach that just came into the league a little too early, then got a second chance and succeeded.

Calgary Flames: Pros and Cons

The Flames couldn’t win the Cup with two-time All Star goaltender, Mike Smith, on their roster, so they rolling with David Rittich and Cam Talbot– who joins Calgary from their intra-province rival Edmonton Oilers.

Speaking of the Oilers, that’s where Smith ended up. Goalie swap! But without any actual trading involved, since Talbot was most recently serving as a “Plan C” for the Philadelphia Flyers if Carter Hart, Brian Elliott and Co. weren’t ready to go down the stretch.

Anyway, back to the “C of Red”.

Calgary sent James Neal to Edmonton in exchange for Milan Lucic and ended up saving $500,000 per season for the remainder of Lucic’s contract (signed through 2022-23) in the process. The Oilers retained salary in the trade. You heard that right.

Matthew Tkachuk and Andrew Mangiapane are still unsigned RFAs and General Manager Brad Treliving has about $7.757 million to work with in cap space.

Get a deal done with Tkachuk and the Flames will go on without any interruption as a team that pleasantly turned a lot of heads in the regular season last year, then sputtered out in the First Round in five games to the Colorado Avalanche.

Bill Peters is ready for his second season behind the bench in Calgary and the roster looks set to remain in contention for a divisional berth, if not leading the Western Conference once again.

How would the Flames fail?

Simply put, if they flame out at the end of the regular season like they did last season– March was a bad month, which led to their demise in five games against Colorado in the First Round.

Los Angeles Kings: Pros and Cons

The good news for the Kings? Tyler Toffoli, Trevor Lewis, Kyle Clifford, Mario Kempe, Derek Forbort, Paul LaDue, Joakim Ryan and Jack Campbell are all pending-UFAs after next season and Carl Grundstrom, Austin Wagner, Sean Walker and Kurtis MacDermid are all pending-RFAs.

The bad news? Drew Doughty is signed through 2026-27 at $11.000 million per season, Anze Kopitar is making $10.000 million per season through 2023-24 and Adrian Kempe is currently an unsigned RFA.

General Manager Rob Blake has a lot to sort through this season, but he’s already made some corrections to his blunders in his first two seasons as an NHL GM.

For starters, he replaced Dion Phaneuf with Ryan in free agency, brought back his stable backup goaltender in Campbell on a one-year deal and didn’t give up on Ilya Kovalchuk, but rather hired an actual NHL head coach fit for the contemporary game in Todd McLellan.

Though Marco Sturm remains one of the best looking assistant coaches in the league, we’ll let this one slide, Los Angeles.

Are the Kings actually that much better than they were last season? Time will surely tell, but one thing’s for sure– they can’t possibly be much worse, right? Right!?!

If anything, the Kings are a wild card team at best or situated behind either Vancouver or Arizona at worst in the standings, but they should be lightyears from the basement in the division this season with some solid additions through the draft over the years in Alex Turcotte, Jaret Anderson-Dolan and Gabriel Vilardi.

Los Angeles should be able to (somewhat) bounce back from their regression last season, but at the same time, the year isn’t 2012 or 2014 anymore. It’s time to start cutting the chord with former “glue guys” turned placeholders on a roster that needs an influx of youth sooner rather than later.

How would the Kings fail?

If Jonathan Quick gets hurt in any fashion and Blake can’t get rid of at least one of the eight players on the 23-player roster over aged 30 or older.

Vancouver Canucks: Pros and Cons

The Canucks are looking to make it back into the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2015, but did General Manager, Jim Benning do enough this offseason to set Vancouver back on the right track for 2020?

Benning went out and acquired J.T. Miller from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for Marek Mazanec, a 2019 3rd round pick and a conditional 2020 1st round pick in June, then signed 29-year-old defender, Tyler Myers to a five-year, $30.000 million contract.

Miller and Myers are two quality assets compared to previous transactions made in the offseason by the Canucks. For once, Benning didn’t overpay an aging veteran player, but he also hasn’t cleaned up what might be a costly (both in price and on ice) fourth line in a league that runs four lines deep.

There’s a very real chance that none of the players on Vancouver’s fourth line any given night are making less than $3.000 million per season.

That’s unfathomable in a salary cap driven sport and only speaks to the number of misguided happenings in asset management by the Canucks.

Come to think of it, Vancouver only has five players out of a possible 23-player roster making less than $1.000 million per season. Sure, nobody’s making $10.000 million, but all those $2.000 million-plus, $3.000 million-plus, $4.000 million-plus and $5.000 million-plus contracts add up.

At least Elias Pettersson, Bo Horvat and Brock Boeser are worth watching night-in and night-out. Plus, Thatcher Demko should pan out to be one of the league’s better goaltenders.

There’s just one concern for Benning as the offseason continues– Boeser and Nikolay Goldobin are still unsigned RFAs.

And Boeser is certainly worth the four-year, $7.000 million cap hit he’s looking for. Too bad the Canucks only have $5.058 million in cap space though.

How would the Canucks fail?

By being close, but not close enough in yet another race for the playoffs. Things are heading in the right direction, however.

Arizona Coyotes: Pros and Cons

Mastermind GM John Chayka has landed this offseason’s biggest prize in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins– two-time Stanley Cup champion, Team USA representative and hot dog enthusiast, Phil “The Thrill” Kessel.

Kessel brings his goalscoring prowess to the Western Conference for the first time in his career, having been drafted by the Boston Bruins 5th overall in the 2006 NHL draft, then playing with Boston until being traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2009 and then again the Pittsburgh in 2015.

No. 81 had 82 points in 82 games played last season, which was down from career-high 34-58–92 totals in 2017-18. Additionally, he hasn’t missed a game since 2010.

Along with Carl Soderberg– another offseason acquisition in a trade with the Colorado Avalanche– Kessel and the Coyotes are revamped and poised to make a run for the postseason.

Arizona’s only ranked low in this forecast because of nearly a decade of middle of the road rosters and missed opportunities since losing in the 2012 Western Conference Final in five games to Los Angeles.

The Coyotes haven’t been back to the playoffs since, but they’re trending upward.

With Nick Schmaltz, Jakob Chychrun and Oliver Ekman-Larsson locked up on long-term contracts, the core has really come into fruition while Chayka remains active in the draft and trade market.

Now they just need a little luck on their side to avoid losing Antti Raanta to the injury bug again.

How would the Coyotes fail?

If this forecast actually turns out to be true and Arizona finished 7th in the division, because otherwise who would actually want to see them fail?

Edmonton Oilers: Pros and Cons

Pro: New GM (Ken Holland) and a new head coach (Dave Tippett).

Con: Another new GM and a new head coach.

Pro: Connor McDavid!

Con: Plays for the Oilers.

Pro: They were able to trade Milan Lucic.

Con: While acquiring James Neal and retaining part of Lucic’s salary in the process, thereby spending more money than in the first place.

Pro: They should actually be better this year.

Con: We keep saying every year, even about a team that has the second-greatest player in the game behind Sidney Crosby on the roster.

Pro: There’s a lot of pending UFAs and RFAs on the roster.

Con: That means at least half of them are now going to have a career-year in a contract year and be overpaid either by Edmonton or other teams in the next offseason.

Pro: Two-time All Star Mike Smith signed a one-year deal to backup Mikko Koskinen.

Con: The average age of Edmonton’s goaltending duo is 34.

How would the Oilers fail?

How there’s any such thing as optimism besides having McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in Edmonton is incredible. If they make it to a wild card berth, it’d take McDavid playing every position, probably.

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Podcasts

DTFR Podcast #154- Sweep City!

Nick, Colby and Pete assess the Philadelphia Flyers’ hiring of Alain Vigneault, the Los Angeles Kings’ hiring of Todd McLellan, where does this leave the Buffalo Sabres in their search for a head coach, as well as some of the good (CBJ and NYI sweep), bad and ugly from the ongoing First Round of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts (iTunes), Stitcher and/oron Spotify. Support the show onPatreon.