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  • Blackhawks and Ducks swap minor leaguers

    In a late transaction prior to the 3 PM ET trade deadline on Wednesday the Anaheim Ducks acquired forwards Sam Carrick and Spencer Abbott from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for left winger Kenton Helgesen and a 7th round pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.

    Unknown-1Carrick, 25, has yet to play in a NHL game this season, but has appeared in 19 career NHL games since the 2014-2015 season for the Toronto Maple Leafs. He has 1-1-2 totals and 13 penalty minutes in his young NHL career.

    Additionally, Carrick has been in 249 career AHL games with the Toronto Marlies and Rockford IceHogs, notching 52 goals and 76 assists for 128 points since the 2012-2013 season. He had 11-17-28 totals in 57 games played with Rockford this season prior to being traded.

    The 6’0″, 207-pound forward has played in 36 career Calder Cup Playoff games with 6-11-17 totals.

    He was drafted by 144th overall in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft by Toronto and can become an unrestricted free agent this July.

    Abbott, 28, has appeared in two career NHL games since the 2013-2014 season with the Maple Leafs and the Blackhawks. He has yet to record his first career NHL point.

    In 240 career AHL games with the Marlies and IceHogs, Abbott has 64 goals and 119 assists for 183 points since the 2011-2012 season. He had 15-20-35 totals in 53 games so far this season with Rockford. Abbott has participated in 29 career Calder Cup Playoff games and has nine goals and 13 assists for 22 points in that span.

    He was undrafted and can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st.

    Abbott and Carrick will report to the Anaheim Ducks AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls.

    imgresHelgesen, 22, has yet to make his NHL debut and has recorded five goals and 13 assists for 18 points in 69 career ECHL games with the Utah Grizzlies.

    The 6’3″, 194-pound forward had 3-10-13 totals in 38 games played with Utah prior to being traded Wednesday. Helgesen has played in four ECHL playoff games in his short professional career since 2016.

    He was originally drafted 187th overall by Anaheim in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft and is a pending restricted free agent this summer.

  • Florida completes minor trade with New Jersey

    Shortly before Wednesday afternoon’s trade deadline the Florida Panthers swapped minor leaguers with the New Jersey Devils. Florida traded right winger Shane Harper to New Jersey. In return, the Panthers received defenseman Reece Scarlett.

    New Jersey Devils LogoHarper is a 28-year-old right winger who made his NHL debut earlier this season with the Panthers and played in 14 games, yielding two goals and one assist. In 39 games with the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds this season, Harper had 7-12-19 totals.

    He will report to New Jersey’s AHL affiliate, the Albany Devils.

    Florida_Panthers_logo_2016Scarlett is a 23-year-old defenseman who has yet to make his NHL debut and was drafted by the Devils 159th overall in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. In 50 games with the Albany Devils this season, Scarlett had 4-17-21 totals.

    He will report to Florida’s AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds.

  • Tampa Bay flips Streit to Pittsburgh

    Earlier on Wednesday, the Tampa Bay Lightning acquired defenseman Mark Streit from the Philadelphia Flyers. Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman then flipped Streit to the Pittsburgh Penguins prior to the 3 PM ET trade deadline later that day.

    Unknown-3Pittsburgh sent a 2018 4th round pick in exchange for Streit from Tampa Bay. The Lightning retained 50% of Streit’s salary.

    The 39-year-old defenseman can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st.

    He had 5-16-21 totals with in 49 games with the Flyers this season and is a native of Bern, Switzerland. The 5’11”, 191-pound blue liner has played 11 seasons in the league for the Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders and Flyers, amassing 95 goals and 333 assists in his time for 428 points in his career.

    pittsburgh_penguins_logoAdditionally, Streit has four goals and nine assists in 31 career Stanley Cup Playoff games.

    He was originally drafted by Montreal in the ninth round (262nd overall) of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.

  • Blue Jackets acquire Lauri Korpikoski from Dallas

    The Columbus Blue Jackets made another trade late Wednesday afternoon, this time with the Dallas Stars. Columbus sent defenseman Dillon Heatherington to the Stars in exchange for winger Lauri Korpikoski.

    Unknown-2Heatherington, 21, had 1-5-6 totals in 38 games played for the Cleveland Monsters (AHL) this season.

    He contributed to Lake Erie’s Calder Cup championship last season in his rookie year of professional hockey, appearing in 15 Calder Cup Playoff games and contributing three assists.

    He has played in 104 career AHL games and has 26 career points over the course of two seasons. The 6’4″, 215-pound native of Calgary, Alberta was selected by Columbus 50th overall in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. Heatherington will report to Dallas’s AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars.

    Columbus Blue Jackets LogoKorpikoski, 30, had 8-12-20 totals in 60 games played for Dallas this season. The Turku, Finland native has 86 goals and 115 assists (201 points) in 600 career NHL games among the New York Rangers, Arizona Coyotes, Edmonton Oilers and Stars.

    The 6’1″, 195-pound winger has two goals and three assists in 30 career Stanley Cup Playoff games.

    He recorded career highs in goals, assists and points in the 2010-2011 season with Arizona amassing 19-21-40 totals in 79 games. Korpikoski was selected by the Rangers 19th overall in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.

  • March 2 – Day 134 – Subban’s back

    Now that the trade deadline is behind us, it’s time to clamp down and see how the 39 remaining days of the regular season are going to play out.

    That watch starts with a bang tonight, as there’s 10 games on tonight’s schedule. The action gets underway at 7 p.m. with five games (New Jersey at Washington, the New York Rangers at Boston [NBCSN/TVAS], Florida at Philadelphia, Minnesota at Columbus and Arizona at Buffalo), followed half an hour later by two more (Nashville at Montréal [RDS/SN] and Colorado at Ottawa [RDS2]). The New York Islanders at Dallas drops the puck at 8:30 p.m., trailed two hours later by tonight’s co-nightcaps: Toronto at Los Angeles and Vancouver at San Jose.

    Short list:

    • New York at Boston: You know, it’s just an Original Six rivalry between two playoff contenders.
    • Nashville at Montréal: The game many in Quebec have been waiting for: the return of  P.K. Subban.
    • Colorado at Ottawa: Patrick Wiercioch also returns to his former home arena of five seasons tonight.

    No discussion. There’s no way we’re not watching Subban’s return to the Bell Centre.

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    It was one of the biggest probably most unexpected trades of the 2016 offseason. Marc Bergevin decided to swap defensemen with the Predators, shipping Subban to the Music City in exchange for Shea Weber. Nothing else was involved in the trade – no money or salary retention, no picks or prospects. Just man for man.

    Subban was drafted 43rd-overall by the Habs in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, and he has playing regularly in the league since the 2010-’11 season. Known for his offensive abilities just as much as his defensive play, he scored 278 points over his seven seasons in Montréal, and helped them to five playoff appearances, including two Eastern Conference Finals appearances.

    One of those Conference Finals appearances was in 2010. Subban’s first taste of the playoffs was only his third NHL game played, but that didn’t seem to phase him. In the 14 games he appeared for the Habs before they were eliminated by Philadelphia, he notched eight points – the second-most on the team by a blueliner, and with five fewer games than Roman Hamrlik.

    But unlike other blueliners who are often caught sacrificing their defensive responsibilities to get their names on the scoreboard, Subban rarely makes his goaltender a victim of his play. He’s blocked a total of 685 shots in his career and has a +29 rating since ’10-’11, the 21st-best mark among defensemen with at least 154 points to their name in that time. That came to a point in his 2012-’13 campaign, when he won the Norris Trophy with 38 points and 49 shot blocks.

    Given the fact that both clubs seem to be headed to the playoffs this season, neither team has lost the trade in the short-term. But it is surprising that the Canadiens would give up Subban, who is going to turn 28-years-old in May, for Weber, who turned 31 in August. Four years isn’t much in the “real world,” but in sports that’s a huge number. It could be argued that Weber has more experience, but what more does Subban really have to learn? Plus, Subban has so much more hockey to provide his club. Thanks to this trade, the Predators should be a threat in the Central Division for years to come.

    Speaking of the Preds, they enter tonight’s game riding a four-game winning streak with a 32-22-9 record, the third-best mark in the Central Division. Offense has been the name of the game this season in Nashville, as the Predators have managed 186 goals in 63 games – the eighth-best scoring rate in the league.

    Smashville‘s first line truly lives up to it’s club’s nickname, as they are the true backbone on this team. Both Filip Forsberg and Ryan Johansen have notched 49 points so far this season to co-head the squad in the statistic, but it’s been Forsberg who has been the most dominant player in a gold sweater. He’s buried 26 goals to lead the side, and is on pace for eight more. If he can reach that total (which he’s trying hard to do, scoring 10 goals in his last five games), it would set a new career-high by beating last year’s 33-goal mark.

    Themselves riding a three-game winning streak, the Canadiens boast a 35-21-8 record for their season’s mark, good enough for first place in the Atlantic Division. Nashville‘s vaunted offense will face a stiff test this evening, as the Habs like to play defense – and they do a pretty good job of it. They’ve allowed only 161 tallies against in 64 contests, which ties for the sixth-best rate in the NHL.

    Of course, that effort starts in net, where the Canadiens are pleased to employ 27-16-5 Carey Price. A team knows they’ve found a good goaltender when he’s having an average year by his standards, but is still one of the best in the league. He has a season .92 save percentage and 2.37 GAA, the (t)ninth and 11th-best effort among the 43 netminders with at least 24 appearances.

    It doesn’t hurt that he has a defense in front of him that ties for 12th-best in the league at limiting shots on his net. Led by Weber’s 130 shot blocks, the Predators allow only 30 shots-per-game to reach Price’s net.

    Although the offense as a whole hasn’t been anything to write home about, the Habs‘ power play is still one of the best in the league. Led by Weber’s 21 points with the man-advantage, Montréal ties for 10th-best on the power play with a 21.5% success rate. 11 of Weber’s points have been goals, which leads not only the team, but is also tied for fourth-most in the entire NHL (most among blueliners).

    The Candiens have already made their yearly visit to Bridgestone Arena, but it wasn’t an easy trip. They needed an overtime winner from Captain Max Pacioretty to claim a 2-1 victory over Nashville on January 3.

    Some players to keep an eye on this evening include Montréal‘s Pacioretty (31 goals [tied for second-most in the league]) and Price (.92 save percentage [10th-best in the NHL] for 27 wins [tied for eighth-most in the league) & Nashville‘s Johansen (39 assists [tied for seventh-most in the NHL]) and Pekka Rinne (25 wins [10th-most in the league]).

    Vegas is siding with home ice and defense tonight, as they’ve marked Montréal a -130 favorite. That’s a line I have to agree with. Both teams seem to be on the upswing at the right time, but an always strong Bell Centre crowd will propel Le Grand Club to victory.

    Hockey Birthday

    • Bill Quackenbush (1922-1999) – This Hall of Fame defenseman played 14 seasons in the NHL, almost evenly splitting time between Detroit and Boston (he played more games for the Bruins). An eight-time All-Star, he won the 1949 Lady Byng Memorial Trophy.
    • Claude Larose (1942-) – A long-time Canadien, this right wing was a member of five Stanley Cup-winning clubs. He played in four All-Star games in his 16-year career and registered 483 points.
    • Eddie Johnstone (1954-) – Selected by the Rangers in the sixth-round of the 1974 NHL Amateur Draft, this right wing played 10 seasons in the NHL. His best campaign was in the 1980-’81 season when he scored a career-best 68 points, and he was rewarded with his lone All-Star appearance.
    • Raimo Summanen (1962-) – Another sixth-rounder, this left wing was selected by Edmonton in the 1982 NHL Entry Draft. He may have only played in five NHL seasons, but he was a member of the Oilers‘ 1984 Stanley Cup-winning squad.
    • Tomas Kaberle (1978-) – Players drafted in the eighth-round are not expected to be this good, but Toronto found a stud in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft. This defenseman, who spent most of his career with the Maple Leafs, was named to four All-Star Games, and also hoisted the 2011 Stanley Cup.
    • Henrik Lundqvist (1982-) – Speaking of late picks, this goaltender turned out to be okay. King Henrik was selected by the Rangers in the seventh-round of the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, and the rest is history. A three-time All Star and the winner of the 2012 Vezina Trophy, the only accolade missing from his resume is a title.
    • Jay McClement (1983-) – St. Louis picked this center 57th-overall in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, but he’s currently playing his third season in Carolina. He’s registered 243 points in his 12-year career.
    • Ryan Shannon (1983-) – This center played only six seasons in the NHL, but he managed to hoist the Stanley Cup in his rookie season with Anaheim‘s 2006-’07 club.

    If you didn’t heed our advice and watch yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day, you missed an absolutely phenomenal contest. The most surprising part of Chicago‘s 4-1 victory over the Penguins? It was Blackhawks goaltender Scott Darling that was the First Star of the Game, not hat trick-scoring Patrick Kane, who was left with Second Star honors.

    Kane’s (Third Star Nick Schmaltz) first of three tallies were struck 28:49 into the game, giving the Hawks a one-goal lead. Pittsburgh fought back with three minutes remaining in the second period when Scott Wilson (Ron Hainsey) buried a slap shot so fast that the referee didn’t see the puck enter the net (Toronto had to stop the game for an official review), but Richard Panik (Duncan Keith) reclaimed the lead for Chicago with one of the best goals of the year. That 2-1 lead held into the second intermission.

    Kane took credit for both the insurance goals in the final frame. The first (Schmaltz and Artemi Panarin) was a snap shot, and the second was an unassisted backhander on an empty net.

    Darling earned the victory after saving 36-of-37 shots faced (97.3%). Marc-Andre Fleury also had a better game than the numbers indicate in the loss, saving 25-of-28 (89.3%).

    With Chicago‘s home victory, DtFR Game of the Day hosts have pulled within 10 points of the 70-44-22 roadies.

  • TRADE: Boston acquires Drew Stafford from Winnipeg

    Despite indicating that the Boston Bruins would likely be inactive at the deadline, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney added a little depth where he saw fit in the acquisition of veteran winger Drew Stafford from the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for a conditional 6th round pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.

    Unknown-7Stafford is a 31-year-old versatile winger in his 11th season in the NHL and appeared in 40 games thus far with the Jets.

    He brings his 4-9-13 totals and 12 penalty minutes to Boston after Wednesday’s trade.

    The Milwaukee, Wisconsin native was originally drafted by the Buffalo Sabres 13th overall at the 2004 NHL Entry Draft and has 179 goals and 213 assists for 392 points in 707 career NHL games.

    Additionally, Stafford has appeared in 24 Stanley Cup Playoff games for Winnipeg and Buffalo, amassing four goals and five assists for nine career postseason points.

    He had a career high in goals (31) and points (52) in 62 games for the Sabres in 2010-2011 and notched nine goals and 15 assists in 50 games with Buffalo before being traded to the Jets, where he went on to score nine more goals and collect 10 assists over the last 26 games of the 2014-2015 season.

    The 6’2″, 214-pound winger can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st if he does not re-sign with the Bruins this offseason.

    Unknown-4The conditions of the 2018 6th round pick involved in the transaction are as follows.

    If Drew Stafford plays in 50% or more of the rest of the 2016-2017 regular season games and playoffs and the Bruins win Round 1, then the 2018 6th round pick becomes a 2018 4th round pick for Winnipeg.

  • TRADE: Leafs deal Corrado to Pittsburgh, acquire Fehr, Oleksy

    The Toronto Maple Leafs got involved in a little trade deadline action on Wednesday afternoon, trading defenseman Frank Corrado to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for forward Eric Fehr, defenseman Steven Oleksy and a 4th round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.

    UnknownFehr is a 31-year-old forward played in 52 games with Pittsburgh this season prior to the trade and had 6-5-11 totals, as well as 14 penalty minutes.

    In 561 career NHL games among the Washington Capitals, Winnipeg Jets and Penguins, Fehr recorded 103 goals and 99 assists (202 points).

    Additionally, Fehr has been part of 60 Stanley Cup Playoffs games with Washington and Pittsburgh, notching eight goals and two assists in his postseason career. He was a member of the 2016 Stanley Cup champion Penguins team last season.

    Fehr has two years left on his current contract and a cap hit of $2.000 million according to CapFriendly. He was the 18th overall selection by Washington at the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.

    Oleksy, 31, is a defenseman who had been part of 11 games with the Pens this season, collecting one assist and 24 penalty minutes. He has played 73 career NHL games among the Washington and Pittsburgh, amassing 3-17-20 career totals. Oleksy has played in seven career Stanley Cup Playoff games, all of them with Washington in 2013, where he registered one point.

    The Maple Leafs will utilize Oleksy’s services in their AHL organization, the Toronto Marlies.

    pittsburgh_penguins_logoCorrado, 23, has played in two games this season with Toronto and 18 games with the Marlies (AHL). While in the AHL, Corrado has recorded 1-11-12 totals.

    He has appeared in 69 career NHL games with the Vancouver Canucks and the Maple Leafs and was originally drafted by Vancouver 15oth overall at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

    In parts of six AHL seasons, Corrado has 14-37-51 totals. The arbitration eligible, pending restricted free agent on July 1st will report to Pittsburgh’s AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

  • TRADE: Flyers get Filppula, Lightning flip Streit

    The Philadelphia Flyers made a splash in the trading market acquiring the service of center Valtteri Filppula, a 2017 4th round pick and a conditional 2017 7th round pick from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for defenseman Mark Streit.

    The Flyers retained 4.7% of Streit’s salary in the deal.

    Philadelphia Flyers LogoFilppula was drafted 95th overall in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft by the Detroit Red Wings. The 32-year-old forward is a native of Vantaa, Finland and had 7-27-34 totals in 59 games played with Tampa this season.

    He has 152 goals and 270 assists for 422 points in 775 career NHL games with the Red Wings and the Lightning, in addition to 24-55-79 totals in 152 Stanley Cup Playoff appearances.

    The veteran center was a member of the 2008 Stanley Cup champion Red Wings.

    Unknown-3Streit was acquired by the Lightning on Wednesday afternoon before being flipped to the Pittsburgh Penguins. He leaves the Flyers organization after almost four complete seasons with the team and having served as an alternate captain for the last three.

    He has 5-16-21 totals in 49 games played this season and amassed 30-110-140 totals in 274 games as a member of Philadelphia.

  • TRADE: Colorado and Arizona swap minor leaguers

    In another early trade during the March 1st trade deadline, the Colorado Avalanche sent left winger Joe Whitney to the Arizona Coyotes and received left wing Brendan Ranford in return.

    Unknown-3Whitney is a 29-year-old native of Reading, Massachusetts and had 11-17-28 totals for the San Antonio Rampage in 55 games played prior to being traded.

    He made his NHL debut with the New Jersey Devils in the 2013-2014 season and has one goal in five career NHL games.

    The veteran winger is an unrestricted free agent this July, if not re-signed.

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    Ranford is a 24-year-old native of Lais, Germany and had 6-11-17 totals in 46 games played between the Texas Stars and the Tucson Roadrunners this season.

    He made his NHL debut with the Dallas Stars and played in one game during the 2014-2015 season.

    He could become an unrestricted free agent in July.

  • TRADE: COL and WSH make minor move

    Early in the day on Wednesday the Colorado Avalanche and the Washington Capitals swapped minor league players.

    The Avalanche acquired goaltender Joe Cannata in exchange for defenseman Cody Corbett.

    Unknown-1Cannata is a 27-year-old native of Wakefield, Massachusetts who was originally drafted by the Vancouver Canucks 173rd overall in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

    In 22 appearances with the Hershey Bears (AHL) this season, Cannata amassed a 11-5-4 record with a 3.22 GAA and a .876 save percentage.

    The veteran goaltender also played in three games with the South Carolina Stingrays (ECHL) this season with a perfect 3-0-0 record in addition to a 2.33 GAA and a .916 SV%.

    Washington Capitals LogoCorbett is a 23-year-old native of Lakeland, Minnesota who was undrafted. In 23 games with the San Antonio Rampage (AHL), Corbett had two goals and eight assists. He has 8-17-25 totals in 93 career AHL games.

    The pending restricted free agent had 2-3-5 totals in seven games with the ECHL’s Colorado Eagles.

    Corbett played junior hockey with the Edmonton Oil Kings for three seasons, winning two WHL championships and a Memorial Cup championship in 2013-2014.